Park Chan-wook-Produced ‘War and Revolt’ Set at Netflix

Manchester United are closing in on a deal to sign Mason Mount after agreeing a £60million fee with Chelsea, according to reports.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief KC Global Media, a leading multi-territory operator of linear TV channels in Asia, has sold Animax Korea to Aniplus, an Asian multinational television channel and anime distributor based in Singapore and South Korea. The deal “aims to elevate Animax Korea’s offerings while focusing on horizontally integrating its content across Aniplus’ platform and reach,” the companies said. The deal was agreed in April, but was subject to regulatory approvals. These have now been obtained. Deal terms were not disclosed. But sources close to the transaction suggest that it was valued at some KRW46 billion ($35.5 million).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan International Film Festival has apologized for its mishandling of the resignation of its executive director Huh Moon-young and related sexual harassment allegations. “We sincerely apologize over the sexual harassment case that occurred in the workplace,” BIFF said in a Korean-language statement on Thursday. (A festival spokesperson said that an English-language statement, along with an update, will be issued in the coming days.) Huh has publicly denied the allegations, though he has not replied to email and telephone requests for comment by Variety.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief NBCUniversal is to expand its One Platform advertising, technology, data and measurement system further into global markets through an alliance with international broadcast and tech partners. The move was announced on Tuesday at the Cannes Lions advertising convention in Cannes, France.International partners include Atresmedia from Spain, Bell Media from Canada, Channel 4 from the U.K., Mediaset from Italy, Seven West Media from Australia, Sky Media from the U.K., Italy and Germany, and Talpa from the Netherlands, TF1 Pub of France, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting Systems and Omnicom Media Group. “By bringing together leading local broadcasters and publishers across the world, NBCUniversal seeks to enhance the premium video ecosystem and build the foundation for greater industry advancement and collaboration at an international level, across data and identity, activation and automation, ad innovation, and measurement,” NBCUniversal explained in a statement.

Vanderpump Rules cast. That's right, Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval are calling it quits. Last week, Schwartz announced that he was taking a “break” from his BFF Sandoval in light of his , adding that he felt his friend “exploited” his loyalty. “It's hard for me not to be resentful of him," Schwartz said on the When Reality Hits podcast. Now, on the latest episode of , Schwartz said he's “stepping away” from his friendship with Sandoval “permanently.” Lala Kent's perspective on Raquel Leviss has shifted since watching the reunion. By "It seems each time I try to weigh in or talk about, ramble on about it, drivel on, I inevitably sound like I'm somehow justifying it or making excuses for it, and I'm not," Schwartz said.

Parents have reacted with horror to the opening of a “vapes and candy” shop just around the corner from a high school.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney is to close its six remaining linear TV channels in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea as the conglomerate puts a greater emphasis on direct-to-consumer streaming. The channels concerned are National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Star Chinese Movies, Star Chinese Channel, Star Movies and Star World. Linear services will end from September in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Korea, and by December in Taiwan. The group expects to retain a streamlined television portfolio with channels in Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand for the time being.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading K-pop acts including Ateez, Cravity and (G)-Idle are set to perform at this year’s K-CON convention and concert series in Los Angeles. The convention returned as a live event in 2022 and attracted some 90,000 attendees to the Los Angeles Convention Center with two nights of concerts held at the adjacent Crypto.com Arena. The convention will again run for three days (Aug. 18-20), but the concert series will be expanded to run multi-act performances on all three nights. The performer full line-up will include: Ateez, Cravity, Everglow, (G) Idle, INI, Itzy, Ive, J01, Kep1er, Lapillus, Nmixx, Shownu x Hyungwon (Monsta X), Stray Kids, Taemin, Taemin, Taeyong, The Boyz, WayV, xikers, and Zerobaseone.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival, in Saitama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, will hold its 2023 edition with both in-person and online components, long after COVID, which necessitated such hybrid formats, has retreated. The festival, which sees itself as a gateway for emerging talent, and has operated since 2004, will hold its physical edition July 15-23 and its online from July 22- 26, organizers said on Wednesday. This year, the festival will begin with the world premiere of “Confetti,” which was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the festival as well as the 90th anniversary of its Kawaguchi City base.

Ben Croll Once again claiming a centerpiece slot at the Annecy Animation Festival, this year’s Netflix’s animation showcase teased upcoming title “Leo” with an intro from Adam Sandler, drew buzz for series like “Blue Eye Samurai” with a stirring display, and offered an extended behind the scenes peak at “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” with the creative team in tow. Taking the stage to a warm welcome, Aardman co-founder Peter Lord, producer Leyla Hobart and the film’s director Sam Fell world premiered twelve minutes of fowl footage and shared technical details about a long-awaited sequel set to hatch on December 15 – the same end-of-year perch where Netflix placed “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong icon Johnnie To will head the jury of the sixth edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) next month. Other jurors include: Truong Ngoc Anh from Vietnam, Ryuichi Hiroki from Japan, Zizan Razak from Malaysia, and Eric Khoo from Singapore. The event will open with the world premiere of “Eraser,” directed by Mark Lee See Teck. The Malaysian film features the final on-screen appearance of the late Adibah Noor, a beloved Malaysian gem known for her timeless charisma. MIFFest will play “See You at the Rally,” directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Kanny Chang as its closing title. The festival is set to take place at LaLaport BBCC from July 23-29 and will play a total of 42 films from 15 countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Physical 100,” the first unscripted Korean show to top Netflix’s non-English global charts, is being given a second season. The show falls between a talent contest and a survival competition with 100 contestants, including Olympians, professional fighters, bodybuilders and former soldiers, through a series of quests to challenge their strength, endurance, agility, balance and willpower, and to develop the perfect physique. Controversially it mixed men and women and amateurs and professionals. The show incorporated a plaster cast of each contestant’s torso. This was destroyed with a sledgehammer when they were eliminated.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to be the president of the jury that decides the main competition prizes later this year at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Wenders has frequent connections with the Japanese capital and last year shot his “Perfect Days” film in the city. The film recently appeared in competition in Cannes and earned Yakusho Koji the best actor prize. The Tokyo festival confirmed plans to host a celebration of Japanese director Ozu Yasujiro, who was born 120 years ago and died exactly 60 years later. Wenders previously shot 1985 documentary “Tokyo-ga” as a tribute to Ozu.

Just when you thought the football season was over, there is another high-profile footballing event taking place with some very familiar, including many non-sporting, faces.

It isn’t just a potential friendship breakup between Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz in the wake of Scandoval — they might be ending their working relationship too, at least when it comes to their restaurant business!!!

Johnny Depp is celebrating his 60th birthday.  The actor has been entertaining audiences since he first appeared on-screen at the age of 21 in the 1984 horror movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street," playing Glen Lantz. Depp has since transformed for a handful of roles over the years, including his latest project as Louis XV.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S. film and television content captures 30% of viewing time in key Asia-Pacific territories, according to a new research report by consultancy Media Partners Asia. Korean product takes 40%. The study “U.S. Content in the Asia Pacific” tracked the video consumption behavior between January and March this year of some 40,000 consumers in ten Asia-Pacific markets: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Australia, a $2.2 billion SVOD market, exhibits the highest reliance on US entertainment with 72% of measured SVOD viewership, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines where U.S. content accounts for 40-50% of viewership on average, with Indonesia close behind at 35%.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After a few pandemic-addled years, the global box office is finally ready to feel the warmth of the studios’ tentpole releases. Though the swing-back to pre-pandemic release schedules is happening at different speeds in each market, the quartet of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” — not to mention “The Super Mario Bros Movie” before them — have announced the arrival of Hollywood’s version of summer across much of the planet. France saw admissions climb by 33% in the first five months of 2023, compared with the equivalent period last year, according to data from the CNC (National Film Board). Compared with an average figure for 2017 to 2019, the performance of the 2023 box office is (only) 12% behind. France’s recovery has been powered by a string of successful local films including “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” “Alibi.com 2,” “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan,” “The Crime Is Mine” and Cannes opener “Jeanne du Barry.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix is to launch a new Japanese reality show “Is She the Wolf?” which was developed with broadcaster Abema and adapted from the original show “Who Is the Wolf” which previously ran for 13 seasons. The show follows five men and five women on a quest for love through dates and a group project. However, some female participants are “lying wolves” who cannot fall in love. They must navigate the entire season without being discovered or accepting any declarations of love. It includes a diverse group of participants aged 22 to 32, including actors, artists, models, and athletes. “Is She the Wolf?” streams exclusively on Netflix in Japan beginning June 11, with new episodes streaming each Sunday. Outside Japan, all episodes will be released on Netflix in September 2023.

Dragonflies which gobble pesky midges are set for a boost in Scotland thanks to a new nature project.