NCT’s Ten to make solo debut with self-titled mini-album next month

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Subversive American author Bret Easton Ellis is set to make his directorial debut with “Relapse,” an elevated horror film he wrote starring “Stranger Things” breakout Joseph Quinn. Paris-based SND has boarded the project as producer, alongside Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo (“Penny Dreadful”) and Simon Wallon’s Kiss & Kill (“Bonnie”). SND will handle worldwide sales on “Relapse,” as well as French distribution, and will tease the title at the EFM with an exclusive sizzle reel.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Migration” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive week with £2.4 million ($3.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The global hit animation now has a total of £6.6 million in the territory.

Lisa, also known as a member of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, will be making her acting debut in The White Lotus season three.BLACKPINK’s Lisa has joined the cast of the third season of The White Lotus, according to a new report by Variety. Her role in the series is being kept confidential, as is the cast with other casting moves in the upcoming season, but it will notably be the K-pop idol’s acting debut.Also of note, The White Lotus season three will be set in Lisa’s home country of Thailand.

Following months of rumors that Lisa Manobal of BLACKPINK fame was set to make her acting debut, it was revealed on Monday that she’s joining the cast of HBO‘s The White Lotus for Season 3, the studio confirms. The series will begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok in February and will follow a new group of guests at another White Lotus property.

Katcy Stephan Ben Wang is the next Karate Kid. Wang, who previously starred opposite Michelle Yeoh in the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese,” landed the sought-after role after a worldwide search that saw thousands of young actors from around the globe vie for the title role in Sony’s new “Karate Kid” movie, which unites Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio. Per studio insiders, Wang delivered a standout audition performance that demonstrated his deep connection to the character.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Nele Wohlatz‘s “Sleep With Your Eyes Open,” which has its world premiere in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival, has debuted its trailer (below). Rediance has taken world sales rights. Wohlatz’s fiction debut “El futuro perfecto” won Locarno’s Golden Leopard for the best first feature in 2016, and was invited to more than 70 international film festivals.

A popular Manchester pizzeria has announced it is offering a masterclass to learn the secrets behind creating the perfect pizza.

Kanye West is gearing up for a new record and a world tour. “Vultures” will be dropping any time soon, and is the first record between West and Ty Dolla Sign, who’ve formed a duo known as ¥$. While the album has faced multiple delays (it was supposed to be released today), a new music video was released for the song “Talking/Once Again,” featuring Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s daughter North West in her musical debut.

Antiques Roadshow saw a particularly special and rare item break records during one episode, with an incredible valuation shocking the entire crowd of onlookers. An elderly couple arrived at the roadshow with an unusual and cultural design piece in the form of an Imperial robe from China.

BAFTA-winning Once Upon a Time In Northern Ireland creator James Bluemel has found his next project, an exploration of space.

The BBC has added a clarification to an episode of Dragons’ Den after concerns were raised the show promoted “unfounded” claims that a product could help myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

Alex Ritman Lucy van Beek, the award-winning factual TV and film specialist, has launched her own production outfit, Tailfeather Productions. The company, whose focus will be premium specialist factual documentaries and series for streaming platforms, broadcasters and theatrical release, launches with two major commissions, “Alexander: The Making of a God” for Netflix and “Born to Be Wild” for Apple TV+.

The BBC has pulled an episode of Dragons’ Den after a backlash due to a claim from a contestant that acupuncture and ear seeds helped her recover from ME.

China began loosening its one-child policy in 2015 until finally, in 2021, it abolished all restrictions on the number of children a family could have. Young Chinese filmmakers are beginning to grapple with the fallout of those prior decades in new fiction films that demonstrate how the Chinese family unit has been irreversibly transformed.

WJSN singer SeolA has become the first member of the girl group to go solo with the release of single album ‘Inside Out’, featuring the title track ‘Without U’.‘Inside Out’ was released yesterday (January 23), led by title track ‘Without U’ alongside two B-sides, ‘Let’s Talk (Loneliness)’ and ‘No Girl’. An accompanying music video for ‘Without You’ was also released simultaneously.

SEVENTEEN have debuted a new original single called ‘The Meaning of Meeting’ live during a concert in Macao.SEVENTEEN recently concluded a two-night concert at Macao’s Olympic Sports Center Stadium on January 20 and 21, as part of their ongoing ‘Follow’ world tour. During the set, the K-pop boyband performed a new Chinese track titled ‘The Meaning of Meeting’ (or ‘相遇的意义’ in Mandarin).Shortly after the concerts, SEVENTEEN released a special video with the official studio version of the song, alongside footage of their performance at the Macao shows.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie‘s debut feature “Brief History of a Family,” which is being sold by Films Boutique, has debuted its trailer (below), following its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival. The film, which will make its European premiere in the Panorama program of the Berlin Film Festival, was received warmly by Variety critic Carlos Aguilar. In the review, Aguilar says the suspenseful drama was “elevated by its consistent visual inventiveness.” He adds that although at first it seems to be the story of a “cunning infiltrator wreaking havoc in an unsuspecting household,” it then “reveals itself as a tale of wish fulfillment for everyone involved.” Aguilar says that it is this approach which “turns Lin’s debut into an engrossing brain-tickler.” The drama is put in motion by an incident at the high school attended by Wei, an outgoing only son from a middle-class family, and Shuo, his quiet, perceptive classmate.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

This Morning viewers were left making the same observation over Sian Welby's hosting debut. The radio and TV presenter was drafted in as the new co-host of the ITV daytime show on Monday (January 22) alongside Dermot O'Leary.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level.