Oscars Broadcast in China in Jeopardy Over Nomination of Hong Kong Protest Documentary

Godzilla vs. Kong, Hollywood's newly crowned pandemic-era box-office champ, has already suffered a surprise upset in China.

For his Oscar-nominated short documentary Do Not Split, director Anders Hammer spent a year in Hong Kong’s streets, capturing the drama and chaos as China cracked down on pro-democracy protests. The work came with inherent danger.

Rebecca Davis editorWhile the U.S. industry celebrated “Godzilla vs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJohn Sudworth, China correspondent for the BBC has left the Chinese mainland and relocated to Taiwan. His move follows mounting East-West tension over Xinjiang and Hong Kong and accusations that the BBC in particular has defamed China.Sudworth’s move was announced Wednesday by the BBC in a Twitter message.

TheHong Kong International Film Festivalhas scrapped its opening-night world premiere of Where the Wind Blows, a widely anticipated crime thriller directed by local industry veteran Philip Yung.

Derek Tsang's youth drama Better Days, nominated this year for the best international film Oscar, has given Hong Kong its first shot at Academy Awards glory since Farewell My Concubine got the nod in 1993. But in a mysterious move, it appears that the Oscars ceremony is set to go unaired in Hong Kong for the first time in over 50 years.

Bloomberg).But the move comes amid reports that China’s Communist party told all local media outlets to downplay live coverage of the ceremony stemming from the nomination of the documentary short “Do Not Split,” which focuses on the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and past comments made by Chinese-born “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao.Other local TV broadcasters in Hong Kong also do not have the broadcast rights, as reported by the Hong Kong news outlet The Standard.Also Read: Why

Despite securing its first Oscar nomination since 1993, Hong Kong looks set to not broadcast the Academy Awards this year after local station Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) opted not to renew its deal.

Better Days,” the territory’s leading free-to-air TV network Television Broadcasts (TVB) will be dropping television coverage of the Oscars ceremony.The network Monday confirmed that it did not have rights to broadcast the show this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn Hong Kong, where unsmiling mainland Chinese authorities have asserted their “comprehensive jurisdiction,” satire has become a dangerous form of humor. But at least one new satirical segment is soon set to brave the Special Administrative Region’s airwaves.From next month, activist and broadcaster James Ockenden is launching “The Alphard Wars” on RTHK.

Rebecca Davis editorEven though Chinese consumers are arduously calling for a boycott of Western brands concerned about potential human rights abuses in the country’s Xinjiang region, they apparently had no qualms about supporting Hollywood.Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla vs.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla vs.

Rebecca Davis editorAfter years of pining for Hollywood accolades, China has more to celebrate about the Academy’s nominations this year than it has in nearly a decade. But its own politics have prevented its media and many of its citizens from rejoicing.While Beijing’s submission, the propagandistic volleyball drama “Leap,” fell flat, Taiwan’s “A Sun” was shortlisted for Best International Feature Film and Hong Kong’s “Better Days” unexpectedly nabbed one of five nominations.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDespite a period of recent worries for Chinese tech firms, video entertainment firm Bilibili has confirmed details of its secondary share listing in Hong Kong. It set a maximum price of HK$988 per share, some 12% higher than the $113.31 Tuesday night close for its ADR form shares which are traded on the NASDAQ.At that price the company is expected to raise $3.2 billion (HK$24.7 billion).

Hong Kong protests was nominated for an award, according to a new report. The Communist Party’s propaganda department issued the order to all media outlets, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

Paddington Bear is heading to small screens in the Middle Kingdom. StudioCanal has partnered with Shanghai Senyu Media to bring its animated kids' series The Adventures of Paddington to mainland China, with the distributor representing the show at the virtual Filmart in Hong Kong.

The Chinese government has told local media to curb its coverage of the Oscars ceremony next month due to its concerns about the political views of Best Director nominee Chloe Zhao and the nomination of a short documentary about the Hong Kong protests.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Chinese government has reportedly told its local media channels not to transmit live coverage of the Oscars and to down play the awards ceremony.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefVivendi-owned European film and TV studio Studiocanal has sealed a deal with Shanghai Senyu Media to represent Studiocanal’s “The Adventures of Paddington Bear” animated series in mainland China. Rights are being promoted at the virtual edition of Hong Kong rights market FilMart.The series debuted on Nickelodeon in western markets and has already delivered two seasons.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese helmer Xu Lei will return to the subject of rural life in northern China for his second feature “The Peacemaker,” one of the 20 narrative film projects selected to participate in the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum this year.Xu’s suspenseful and darkly humorous first film “Summer Detective,” which he wrote and directed, was nominated for best feature and won the prize for best script at the 2019 FIRST International Film Festival, which focuses on emerging talent.