Netflix unveils trailer for anime adaptation of hit South Korean webcomic ‘Lookism’

What’s not to love about Roald Dahl‘s “Matilda“? The 1998 children’s novel follows a precocious young girl who discovers she has superpowers and uses them to take charge of her destiny against the likes of her rotten headmaster, Miss Trunchbull. Movie fans of a certain generation will remember the 1996 film, but the book also became an award-winning musical in 2010.

Netflix has found Mike Moon’s replacement on the adult animation side.

Netflix has revealed its debut slate of original Thai productions, including four feature films and two TV series.

EXCLUSIVE: Gang Dong-Won, the South Korean actor whose credits include the Train to Busan sequel Peninsula and most recently the Hirokazu Kore-eda-directed Broker, which premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has signed with Range Media Partners.

The door for members of BTS to put their music careers on pause to serve in South Korea’s mandatory military draft is still very much open. In comments flagged by the Associated Press, Lee Ki Sik, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, said on Friday that it would be “desirable” for BTS members to take part in the draft in order to preserve the appearance of fairness. The government of South Korea appears close to deciding on whether or not the members of one of the biggest pop groups in the world will be forced to serve in the military.

BTS‘ exemption from military service by December.The announcement was made during tourism minister Park Bo-kyun’s attendance of the South Korean National Assembly’s parliamentary inspection of the administration yesterday (October 5), per Ten Asia. Park shared a timeline for the decision after People Power Party member Lee Yong-ho requested for him to “actively review the issue of BTS’s military service”, as translated by Soompi.“Member Jin’s enlistment is set to be sorted out by December, but the MCST will finalise our stance as soon as possible before then,” Park said in response.

Netflix has previewed a selection of upcoming films and shows aimed at the Arab world and hailing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning local time, just two days after Pyongyang sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  About 40 missiles have been launched by North Korea this year, including six in the past two weeks, but Tuesday's test marked the first time in five years that the country has sent a missile over Japan.  The U.S. and South Korea staged joint drills on Wednesday in response, with the USS Ronald Reagan moving into waters east of South Korea.

EXCLUSIVE: Theo Rossi has joined the Netflix Amblin Jaume Collet-Serra directed feature thriller Carry On opposite Jason Bateman, Taron Egerton and Sofia Carson.

BTS from compulsory military service.On October 4 at the National Defence Committee’s interpellation session, Lee was asked for his opinion on a bill proposed by Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea last month, which aims to allow pop celebrities like BTS, who have received merits from the government, to serve an alternative form of military service.According to KoreaJoongAngDaily, the defence minister stated that it is “desirable that members of BTS carry out their mandatory military service”. However, Lee also added that he would “respect the revised law if it does pass in Congress”.This follows the statement he made shortly after Kim’s bill was proposed, in which Lee said it would be “difficult” to extend this alternative [military service] programme to BTS due to “aspects of fairness on fulfilling mandatory military service”.In his original proposal, Kim suggested for existing provisions for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact be made available to decorated pop musicians such as BTS.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the success of one of Netflix’s biggest films of the summer in Purple Hearts, Netflix has moved fast to work with the films star as sources tell Deadline Sofia Caron is set to join Taron Egerton in the Netflix and Amblin thriller Carry On. The streamer is also reuniting with Harder They Fall breakout Danielle Deadwyler, who has also joined the ensemble that also stars Jason Bateman. Jaume Collet-Serra is directing. TJ Fixman penned the first draft of the screenplay, with Michael Green doing the most recent polish. Dylan Clark will produce. The film marks the first production to come out of the overall deal Amblin signed with Netflix last June.

The trailer for First Love is here!

A true story about a creep who stalks a family in their New Jersey home is now the subject of The Watcher, a Netflix limited series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan that premieres Oct. 13.

Ready for a return trip to France? Netflix’s popular series “Emily in Paris” is back for a third season. When viewers last left the title character, she was facing personal and professional choices that change everything.

Michaela Zee editor Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale have some nosy neighbors in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming true crime miniseries, “The Watcher,” as revealed by Netflix in the official trailer. Based on true events, the seven-episode series follows Dean (Cannavale) and Nora Brannock (Watts) as they move into their dream home in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, N. J., but they inevitably discover that their new neighborhood is not so welcoming. When the couple starts receiving ominous letters from someone named “The Watcher,” the neighborhood and its residents’ sinister secrets unfold. Along with Cannavale and Watts, the cast includes Mia Farrow, Terry Kinney, Richard Kind, Margo Martindale, Noma Dumezweni, Joe Mantello and Jennifer Coolidge as Karen Calhoun, the real estate agent who sells the unsuspecting couple their New Jersey home.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has unveiled the winner of the $20,000 Israeli Series Development Award following a week in which it has deepened ties with the nation.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic It takes six episodes for “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (yes, that is indeed the show’s full name) to meaningfully expand beyond the scope of either the serial killer or Evan Peters’ portrayal of him. In that episode, “Silenced,” directed by Paris Barclay and written by Janet Mock and David McMillan, the story of Dahmer victim Tony Anthony Hughes comes to the forefront. Tony (played with warm charm by “Deaf U” alum Rodney Burford) was a gregarious aspiring model with a big heart. He was Deaf, Black, gay, a great dancer. His friends and mother (a moving Karen Malina White) loved him very much. With every moment Burford gets to give Tony new life, the inevitable end of “Silenced” becomes all the more harrowing, and the cops’ inaction to find the truth all the more infuriating. But as the show’s nonsensical maze of a title suggests, this episode is an exception rather than the rule. Otherwise, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new Netflix series is a grim, sepia-toned slog that rarely justifies its own existence.

BTS’ Order of Cultural Merit awarded by former president Moon Jae-In in 2018 — should be allowed to serve an alternative form of military service.Korea JoongAng Daily reported on September 21 that Defence Minister Lee has since responded to the proposal, saying that it would be “difficult” to extend this alternative [military service] programme to BTS due to “aspects of fairness on fulfilling mandatory military service” during an interpellation at the National Assembly held on September 19.Kim Young-bae’s original proposal suggests that existing provisions in place for athletes, actors, directors and classical musicians who have made a significant international impact should be expanded to include decorated pop celebrities. “Korean pop celebrities active in the international field make unimaginable economic and social contributions,” said Kim, per The Korea Times.He also added that BTS’ recent appointment as ambassadors of Busan City is one way the boyband are actively serving South Korea’s national interests.

SM Entertainment on brand-new artist-themed attractions.According to a report from Korea JoongAng Daily earlier today (September 21), SM Entertainment announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Everland to introduce a space dedicated to content related to the SMCU (SM Culture Universe). The SMCU is a shared universe established by the music label featuring its artists engaged in fictional adventures.The collaboration will see the introduction of new SMCU-themed attractions and rides including “the Hurricane, Bumper Car, Amazon Express and Music Garden”.

Michaela Zee editorNetflix has released the official trailer for Mike Flanagan’s new horror series “The Midnight Club.”Based on novel of the same name by Christopher Pike, the 10-episode horror series follows a group of terminally ill patients in Rotterdam Home who gather at midnight to share scary stories. The group makes a pact to contact the others from beyond the grave should one of them perish.The series stars Adia, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Aya Furukawa, Annarah Shephard, William Chris Sumpter and Sauriyan Sapkota, with Heather Langenkamp as the enigmatic doctor presiding over Rotterdam Home.The series is created by Flanagan and “The Haunting of Bly Manor” writer Leah Fong. Flanagan executive produces for Intrepid Pictures along with Trevor Macy and Adam Fasullo, Intrepid Pictures’ vice president of television. Fong also serves as an executive producer with Julia Bicknell and “The Midnight Club” author, Pike. Elan Gale, James Flanagan and Chinaka Hodge write on the series, with Flanagan set to direct the first two episodes.