Netflix Removes Chinese Series ‘Flight to You’ After Vietnam Objects to Controversial Map

Muse are still set to perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this weekend despite the cancellation of the country’s Good Vibes Festival recently over controversies relating to The 1975.Last Friday (July 21), while headlining day one of Good Vibes, The 1975’s Matty Healy had criticised the country’s government for anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Healy – who was drinking onstage – also smashed a festival-owned drone and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald onstage, before announcing just seven songs into their set that they had been banned from Malaysia and had to leave.The following day (July 22), the country’s communications minister announced that he had ordered the rest of the festival cancelled.Now, concert promoter Hello Universe has confirmed that Muse’s concert will go ahead as planned, sharing set times on social media, as well as queueing details.

stated they would not participate amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.However, new “Jeopardy!” episodes will be produced in the fall with material penned by Writers Guild of America (WGA) members before the strike began in May.“Jeopardy! never had any intention of producing a Tournament of Champions for Season 39 until the strike is resolved,” a show spokesperson confirmed to The Post on Wednesday. The statement continued, “Further, no contestants from Season 39 have been contacted regarding their availability for any postseason tournaments, including the ToC.

TV star Sarah Beeny has shared a joyous update on her Breast Cancer treatment journey with her fans on social media this week.The New Life In The Country star, 51, has been very open about her cancer battle since being diagnosed with the disease last year and has been full of praise for the NHS workers and researchers who are helping her overcome the disease.Thankfully, the treatments she has received so far have been very successful as she was given the all clear from the disease in April this year. Sarah rightfully has shared each joyous milestone with her fans on social media who have been very supportive of the TV celebrity.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kris Wu, the Chinese-Canadian pop megastar who was jailed last year for rape and group sex, appeared in court in Beijing on Tuesday to appeal his convictions. The case was heard at the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court.

The 1975 have cancelled two tour dates in Asia after a Malaysian music festival was axed over pro-LGBT+ comments made by the band’s frontman Matty Healy.

Members of the Gosselin family are feuding after allegations have been thrown from both sides. Members of the former happy family showcased on TLC's "Jon and Kate Plus 8" have taken their grievances public. Kate Gosselin has responded to both her ex-husband Jon and her son Collin's allegations against her, claiming Collin is "a very troubled young man." Collin has previously accused his mother of abusing him when he was younger, saying she sent him away from home at the age of 12 after she alleged he had been diagnosed with a behavioral disorder.

Netflix has announced a second feature film with Indonesian action director Timo Tjahjanto, The Shadow Strays, starring a large ensemble cast of popular young actors. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean TV series and films are increasing still further their hold on streaming audiences across East Asia. They accounted for half of viewing time in the first half of the year, according to new third-party research. Korean-made premium VOD content captured 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership between January and June 2023, with a record 58 million VOD users tuning in nine East Asian territories (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), according to Singapore-based research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The analysis is based on the measured media consumption activity of 40,000 Asia Pacific consumers, conducted by AMPD, the analysis firm’s sister company.

Netflix has removed its Basic Ad-Free tier for subscribers in the U.S. and U.K. The plan, which previously cost $9.99 (£6.99) a month, was the streamer’s lowest cost ad-free option but was limited to 720p resolution and only had the ability to stream on a single device.The option can no longer be found on the streaming service, and a note on Netflix’s Plans and Pricing page reads, “The Basic plan is no longer available for new or rejoining members.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cineverse, the streaming and content distribution company previously known as Cinedigm, has acquired North American rights to the Chinese animated fantasy film “Warrior King.” Inspired by the legend of the hero and warrior, King Gesar, the film is directed by Lu Qi from a screenplay by Lu Wunan and Wang Yunsheng. Cineverse says that it will release the film in U.S. theaters Aug. 25, following its international theatrical debut.  The story of Gesar is considered one of Central Asia’s literary classics and was passed down in oral tradition for some 1,000 years, as well as literary, poetic and stage play versions. Its Tibetan iteration may now be the most prominent, It is certainly one of the longest, running to over 100 volumes and a million verses, according to some calculations.   

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Movie stars Zhou Xun and Jelly Lin head the cast of “Imperfect Victim,” a new mainland Chinese drama series that focuses on workplace sexual harassment and leads to a rape trial. Zhou (“Cloud Atlas,” “The Silent War,” “Painted Skin”) plays a lawyer who steps in to represent the character played by Lin (“The Mermaid”), who alleges assault by her boss at work. He is portrayed by TV veteran Liu Yijun (“Nirvana in Fire,” “The Pretender”). The case becomes complicated and Zhou’s character is forced to question her own ethics. The show is highly topical, given the slowly building #MeToo movement in China. This is being fuelled by numerous instances of sexual discrimination, sexual assault and outright violence towards women, many instances of which have gone viral on Chinese social media before being deleted by censors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Specialty distributor, Trinity CineAsia is releasing China’s summer blockbuster “Lost in the Stars” in the U.K and Ireland on some 30 screens from Friday. “I was fortunate to watch the film when it opened in China and once I saw it I just knew we had to have it,” said Cedric Behrel “‘Lost In The Stars’ is a very clever, uncanny thrill of a ride that harks back to classic Hitchcock and any noteworthy thriller since – the master himself had in fact once optioned the rights to the same story. We organized the fastest turnaround premiere known to man and we’ve been delighted by the reactions to the early previews. It epitomizes the best of what new Chinese cinema can bring to audiences.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda Investment, a subsidiary of the privately-owned Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda, has sold an 8.3% stake in Wanda Film Holding for RMB2.2 billion ($306 million). Wanda Film, which is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, operates China’s largest circuit of multiplexes and retains a stake in Hollywood producer Legendary Entertainment (“Dune”). The buyer is Lu Lili, the wife of Shen Jun, the controller of East Money Information, a financial data platform, Wanda Film said in a regulatory filing this week. The share sale appears to be a move to raise finance for Dalian Wanda and Wang Jianlin, the politically-connected former army officer who built one of China’s largest property empires and from 2012 mounted a seven-year campaign to own a large chunk of Hollywood.

The upcoming “Barbie” movie has been approved a commercial release in the Philippines after the country conducted “two review sessions and consultations with relevant government agencies,” as per a statement from the country’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) via Variety. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” has been allowed a commercial release in the Philippines, following a review by the country’s film censors. However, the scene that shows a controversial map may have to be blurred. The film was last week banned in Vietnam over its inclusion of a scene with a map alleged to show the ‘nine dash line’ by which China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea as its own territory. Vietnam says that China’s claims violate its sovereignty and that films and TV shows must not show the illegal map. On Monday, Vietnam banned Chinese series “Flight to You” for showing the map in multiple episodes.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Melbourne International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, with “Shayda,” by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari, set as the opening title. The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the COVID pandemic and MIFF found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition. The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.

Netflix has acquired romantic comedy drama Turn To Me Mukai-Kun from Japan’s Nippon TV. The series will stream on Netflix starting July 12, immediately after its broadcast on Nippon TV’s Wednesday primetime slot. Hulu Japan, which is owned by Nippon TV, will also stream the series in Japan immediately after its primetime broadcast. Based on the award-winning manga by Yoko Nemu, the series stars Eiji Akaso as a young man with a perfect life but disastrous love life who reconnects with an unforgettable ex.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kino Lorber has picked up North American rights to Pham Thien An’s debut feature “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell.” The Vietnamese drama appeared in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section and was winner of the Camera d’Or. The company plans a theatrical release as well as a digital and home video releases on all major platforms after the film makes multiple stops on the international film festival circuit. “The sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his five-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth. What began as a journey home becomes a pilgrimage marked by visual splendor and mystical overtones, a quest for understanding and certainty in a Vietnam that seems unable to provide any clear answers. As Thien battles with his own existential question of what is worth living for, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith, not only in the spiritual but in the delicate beauty of earthly existence,” said Kino Lorber by way of a long synopsis.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Authorities in The Philippines are weighing a decision on whether to follow the lead taken by Vietnam and ban Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie. Vietnam on Monday announced that it will bar the film’s commercial release due to the movie’s depiction of a map that depicts the “nine dash line,” a disputed representation of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Philippines, like Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, have competing claims in the South China Sea and strongly refute China’s claim to nearly the entire maritime region. “If the invalidated 9-dash line was indeed depicted in the movie ‘Barbie,’ then it is incumbent upon the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to ban the same as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty,” said Philippines Senator Francis Tolentino, vice chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, according to local media reports.

From one imaginary world to another, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig is further building her movie-making resume.