Nippon TV Strikes Gold With Global Format ‘Mother’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A growing range of Thai, Japanese and Chinese-language films and TV shows are reaching global audiences – joining the by-now well-established international viewership for South Korean shows.Netflix’s Global Top 10 for the week April 3-10, sees made-for-streaming Korean title “Kill Boksoon” on top of the non-English-language films list, with 27.5 million hours watched in its second week of release. It is immediately followed by Thai film “Hunger,” about a young woman apprentice in an upmarket restaurant working under a tough boss. The film is directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri and stars “Bad Genius” breakout Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying.

Epix is to rebrand as MGM+ International outside the U.S. and has struck a content deal with Lionsgate for key European territories.

Design Agency Territory Studio Hires Former Netflix Executive

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief C More has commissioned a second, six-episode season of ITV Studios Finland’s glossy detective drama “Helsinki Crimes” (aka “Harjunpää”). The first season of Helsinki Crimes became one of C More’s most-watched crime series to date. After its launch on Netflix last year, in regions across CEE, Benelux, Austria and the Nordics, the series was one of the top ten most-watched series, and the third most-watched in Finland.  In the new season, Chief Constable Timo Harjunpää, portrayed by Olli Rahkonen, and his murder team investigate bloody clashes between street gangs, love scams and a wave of burglaries.

Refresh for latest…: Coming in higher than expected, Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves took a $71.5M global bow this weekend; that includes $33M from 60 offshore markets which is nicely above the $25M+ projected ahead of the frame.

Chrishell Stause and G Flip stunned on the red carpet as they attended Thursday's GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, California. The couple looked radiant as they posed for cameras while holding hands. Stause wore a tight red dress with an off-the-shoulder sleeve, while G Flip wore an off-white outfit with a sleeveless button-up crop top and trousers. Strause shared a video to her Instagram showing the couple having a good time inside the event. The Netflix star first confirmed she was dating G Flip during the Selling Sunset reunion special that aired in May 2022, shortly after she appeared in G Flip's steamy music video for their song, «Get Me Outta Here.»«I recently have been spending a lot of time with someone that's very important to me.

The Hollywood Reporter & Jimmy Choo Power Stylists Dinner on Tuesday, March 28. And nothing complements a retro look better than a few modern touches, like the rapper's stunningly chic .Meg's overall beauty look was, of course, flawless. The voluminous curls she's been sporting lately welcomed bangs last night, and the highlight on her brow bone corresponded perfectly with the pale gold of her strapless bra top and flared pants.

Naman Ramachandran Blue Ant Media and World of Wonder have launch free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel Drag Race Universe on Amazon Freevee in the U.S. Programming launch highlights on the Drag Race Universe channel include: “Canada’s Drag Race” seasons 2 and 3 (19 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. vs The World” (6 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” seasons 2 and 3 (20 x 60’). “Drag Race Holland” (8 x 60’), “Drag Race Espana” (10 x 60’), “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” seasons 1 and 2 (16 x 60’), the first season of “Drag Race Philippines” (10 x 60’) and “Drag Race Philippines Untucked” (10 x 30’), its companion series that follows the backstage drama.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Bad Kids,” a hit series from Chinese streamer iQiyi, is to be remade as a Japanese feature film “Gold Boy.” The 12-episode gritty crime thriller depicts the troubles that arise after three children accidentally film a murder. The series was previously licensed to Japanese pay-TV group Wowow.

Aristomenis Tsirbas’s ‘Timescape’ Sells WorldwideBudapest-based sales outfit Luminescence has unveiled a slew of deals for Canadian director Aristomenis Tsirbas’s adventure film Timescape. Newcomers Sofian Oleniuk and Lola Rossignol-Arts star as two youngsters who travel back in time to prehistoric times, where they encounter dinosaurs while trying to escape from an approaching asteroid. Luminescence took the film to the EFM where it secured deals to Australia (Eagle), France (Factoris), Hungary (ADS), Italy (Plaion), Japan (Nikkatsu), Korea (Yejilim), Latin America (Leda Films), CIS (,Nashe Kino), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (Filmfinity) in Taiwan (Cola Films) and the UK (Dazzler). The film was released theatrically in Canada via TVA Films in late 2022. XYZ Films acquired all U.S. rights earlier this year. The film was produced by David-Alexandre Coiteux at Fullum Films and Faisal Toor at Empress Road Pictures.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Cannes Screenplay List, an initiative backed by the talent platform Wscripted in partnership with MUBI, will be back for a third edition at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film. An international jury comprising filmmakers Mounia Meddour (“Papicha”, “Houria”), Funa Maduka (“Waiting for Hassana”), and Camille Griffin (“The Silent Night”) will sift through submitted feature scripts from women and non-binary writers. The final List of top scripts will be presented to producers during during the Cannes Marché du Film, in collaboration with MUBI.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indie sales agency All Rights Entertainment has achieved a string of pre-sales on “Lendarys,” a family adventure animation film that is currently in advanced stages of production and set for delivery later this year. The film was licensed to KMBO (France); Flins & Piniculas (Spain); Another World Entertainment (Denmark and Norway); Njuta Films (Sweden); Outsider Films (Portugal); Blitz Film (Ex-Yugoslavia), Five Stars Distribution (Israel), Selim Ramia and Co. (Middle East and North Africa), The Film Group (Greece & Cyprus), Kino Swiat (Poland), Nashe Kino (CIS excluding Baltics), ACME Film (Baltic States) and Madness Entertainment (Mexico).

HYBE Labels subsidiary ADOR, home to K-pop girl group NewJeans, have opened online auditions for a potential new boyband.Today (March 28), ADOR unveiled several posters and videos on social media and YouTube announcing its ‘The Real Hype Boys’ audition. The label will be accepting online auditions on ador.world from now until 1pm KST on April 14.An unnamed male trainee as well as the members of NewJeans feature in the promotional video for the auditions, which details the online application period and host countries where in-person auditions will take place.Per ADOR’s guidelines, the auditions are open to boys born between 2004-2012.

could get into, it makes sense why Kyle Richards — a favorite on  — is constantly seen wearing under eye patches throughout the show's 12 seasons. Sure, the drama might get exhausting, but we have to respect her dedication to her skincare routine in the midst of all of it. And while the OG Housewife relies on a number of top skincare and makeup products to perfect her beauty regimen, fans have taken notice of her affinity for under eye patches and gels — like the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Hydra-Gel Eye Patches — in particular.These 'Real Housewives'-approved, 24K Gold under eye patches help to «lift and firm» the appearance of the eyes through ingredients like caffeine, hyaluronic acid and Hydrolyzed Collagen.During the season 9 cast trip to Provence, France, Richards was shown wearing the gold eye patches while discussing group drama with Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.

Refresh for latest…: It was a bow-wow-wow! start for Lionsgate/Thunder Road Films/87 Eleven’s John Wick: Chapter 4 with $137.5M global this session. Of that, $64M is estimated from 71 international box office markets. All were No. 1 starts and cumulatively are 73% above John Wick 3 – Parabellum’s 2019 start.

Marta Balaga Netflix vowed to decarbonize its productions “across the globe” at Series Mania.   “That’s our main goal in the next couple of years,” said Claudia Augustinis, head of production at Netflix France. “We always say we want to entertain the world. But in order to do that, we need a world to entertain.”  While there is no standard formula that fits all productions, observed Netflix Spain’s Ester Velasco, hiring external vendors to help out producers is key. Be it on “Elite,” now in its sixth season, or rom-com “In Love All Over Again.” 

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Republic Pictures, an historic movie label founded in 1935 and shuttered in 1967, has been revived by parent company Paramount Global. The banner will function as an acquisitions play, releasing titles acquired by Paramount Global Content Distribution. “We’ve chosen to revitalize the Republic banner given its storied history of delivering popular movies to a global audience, ” said Dan Cohen, Paramount chief content licensing officer and newly-named president of Republic Pictures. “With our best-in-class global distribution teams working to identify the best homes around the world, we aim to continue that legacy by offering audiences great entertainment across all genres.”

Naman Ramachandran Channel 4’s “Derry Girls” and the BBC’s “This is Going to Hurt” and “The Traitors” have won the top honors at the U.K.’s annual Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards. “Derry Girls” won best comedy and best writer for Lisa McGee and the stars of “This is Going to Hurt,” Ben Whishaw and Ambika Mod won best actor and best actress. The most popular new reality show on British television, “The Traitors,” won best entertainment title. Other BBC shows among the awards were “Sherwood,” which won best drama, “The Real Mo Farah” best documentary mini series and “Frozen Planet II” best documentary.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Lisa Joy, showrunner of “Westworld” and “The Peripheral,” says the Writers’ Guild of America is “acting for [writers’] collective good” in its negotiations with studios, even if it could potentially lead to a strike in May. Joy, who runs production company Kilter Films, is being honored at French TV drama festival Series Mania this week. She took part in a keynote conversation on Wednesday, at which she quipped that a strike will mean “more time with my kids.” “It’s a little stressful because I’ve reached a point where I can manage without work for a while,” said Joy. “As it is, we have shows coming out and we’re in the editing process. We have a rotation of shows that aren’t dependent on writing at the phase they’re in. But I always stand by the decision of the Writers’ Guild — I know they’re acting for our collective good.”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Civil unrest in France is hitting drama event Series Mania as transit strikes and protests begin to impact festival goers. The popular European drama festival is held annually in Lille in northern France, and has this year drawn its largest number of delegates to date. But the event’s usually tranquil city setting has taken an unexpected turn amid national turmoil in France due to President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform. Macron’s government is raising the minimum retirement age in France from 62 to 64 years, and prolonging the years of contributions required for a full pension. The reforms were passed last week without a parliamentary vote, prompting widespread protests around the country that have only built upon months of hostilities and strikes by groups such as rail and waste disposal workers.