Frater Asia Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures‘ “Madame Web,” a standalone origin story in the studio’s array of “Spider-Man”-based Marvel characters, has been granted a theatrical release in mainland China. The film will open in the country on March 1 — two weeks after the title’s Valentine’s Day bow in North America and multiple international territories, including the Chinese-language markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The release marks a welcome opportunity for Sony, which, along with the other traditional studios faced difficulty in securing theatrical runs in China over recent years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese streamer Catchplay has added its original series “Not a Murder Story” to its available lineup in Indonesia. The eight-part series combines a gripping criminal thriller narrative with an exploration of greed and deception. The story revolves around Dong, an aspiring actor who finally gets an opportunity to become famous and successful, but wakes up one day next to a dead woman.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Chime,” a mid-length movie by leading Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, is among three late additions to the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special section. The two others are “August My Heaven,” another mid-length picture form Japan, directed by Kudo Riho, and “The Strangers’ Case,” a full-length feature directed by Brandt Andersen which will play as a Berlinale Special Gala presentation. In “Chime” Tashiro, a student at a culinary school, hears voices in his head.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indie distributor Bitters End has finally set a theatrical release date in Japan for Christopher Nolan’s lauded “Oppenheimer” – after the Oscars. The film will arrive in Japanese cinemas on March 29, the company said on Thursday. That date is some two and a half weeks after the Oscars ceremony (March 10 in Los Angeles, March 11 in Japan), at which “Oppenheimer” has a strong chance of winning multiple awards. At the Oscars nomination event, earlier this week, “Oppenheimer” became the front-runner, collecting 13 nods, including best picture, best director and a trio of acting nominations.A post shared by 映画会社ビターズ・エンド (@bitters_end) Despite its critical and commercial success in cinemas around the world last year – it earned $952 million – the film is controversial in Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Europe-based International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk has called for the immediate release of Myanmar documentary maker Shin Daewe. One of Myanmar’s leading female filmmakers, Shin Daewe (“An Untitled Life,” “Take Me Home,” “A Bright Future”) was arrested in Yangon in October after she had gone to collect a drone. After three months on remand she was tried by a military tribunal, inside the Insein Prison and without legal representation. She was sentenced to life imprisonment for violating Myanmar’s anti-terrorism law by possessing a drone. Myanmar is ruled by a military junta that seized control in February 2021 from a civilian government that it had previously backed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Six projects have been announced as participating in the inaugural edition of the HKIFF Industry – CAA China Genre Initiative, a project incubator in Hong Kong for Chinese-language genre films. The HCG platform will run March 11-13, 2024, alongside the 22nd Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) and the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FilMart), Asia’s largest film and TV rights market. From the six, two winning projects will each receive a cash prize of $20,000 for development funding.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Three Japanese films enjoying their world premieres, along with festival favorites “City of Wind” and “Solids by the Seashore,” are set to appear in the 13-title competition section of the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. The event will be held March 1-10 at venues including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, T-Joy Umeda and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. The opening and closing films will be announced in early February. The 19th edition of the festival, which will eventually contain 55 feature and short films, is set to also include three special programs – a “Thai Cinema Kaleidoscope,” “Taiwan: Movies on the Move,” and “Special Focus on Hong Kong” – as well as its regular Spotlight Section on underrated Asian films and the Indie Forum of more challenging and innovative works. The competition titles are: “City of Wind,” by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir; “Fire on Water,” by Malaysia’s Sun-J Perumal; “Hyphen,” by The Philippines Joy Arnaldo; “The Lyricist Wannabe,” by Hong Kong’s Norris Wong; “The Missing,” by The Philippines’ Carl Joseph E.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iconic Hollywood musical film “La La Land” is to re-release (again) in South Korean theaters from Wednesday. Distributed by Pancinema, it will play at the country’s Imax cinemas for a one-week limited run with tickets costing upwards of KRW15,000 ($11.25) for adults. The film was directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Ryan Gosling (newly Oscar-nominated for his role as Ken in “Barbie”) and Emma Stone, and holds the box office record for movie musicals with global box office of $470 million. It recently re-released in cinemas in China in time for the Christmas peak season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Media and entertainment veteran Kim Williams is to be appointed the next chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian federal prime minister Anthony Albanese’s office announced on Wednesday. Williams takes over from the departing Ita Buttrose and will have a five-year mandate. He joins at a moment when the ABC is enduring a moment of editorial turbulence.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the digital comics that have been the source material for scores of Korean films and TV series, are to receive a major boost from the South Korean government. Yu In-chon, minister for culture, sports and tourism, on Tuesday said that the government will foster webtoon platform development, launch a major webtoon festival in the autumn of this year and by 2027 open a school dedicated to the emerging genre. Webtoons emerged in the early years of the 21st century shortly after the mass market a acceptance of smart phones – a technology sector where Korea’s Samsung Electronics is a major manufacturer – and are vertically-scrolling comics designed for consumption on a small screen. As a relatively new medium webtoons have escaped some of the strictures of Japan’s manga business or the cartoon industry in other countries. Instead, they have diverse story genres, are cheap to produce, which allows creators from non-professional backgrounds to participate, and have been quickly internationalized through multi-lingual translations and overseas platforms.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean rights sales firm Finecut is to handle the international distribution of “A Traveler’s Needs,” which on Monday was confirmed as debuting in the main competition section of next month’s Berlinale. Remarkably, it is director Hong Sang-soo’s sixth selection for Berlin since 2020. The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.” A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10. Two days earlier, on Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran filmmaker and industry administrator Park Kwang-su has been nominated as the next chairman of the Busan International Film Festival, following a period of behind-the-scenes turmoil. The event, however, has not yet begun the process of selecting a new festival director.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fourth weekend of release. Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll” opened in second position. “Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $15 million (RMB106 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Time traveling-fantasy-adventure movie “Alienoid 2” was a comfortable winner at the South Korea box office over the weekend. But with few fresh films on release the cinema-going market slowed. “Alienoid 2” earned $2.06 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That was down by 42% compared with its opening session a week earlier and leaves it with a total of $7.96 million after 12 days on release. The first instalment of “Alienoid” was one of the biggest flops of 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief First-time mainland Chinese director Lin Jianjie (aka JJ Lin) makes a splash this weekend with the premiere of his “Brief History of a Family.” Asking questions about family in the era since the end of China’s ‘One Child Policy,’ while also borrowing genre tropes such as the idea of the intruder and blood, it is a polished and ultra-modern fable that sees a teenage schoolboy ingratiate himself into another boy’s family.Variety spoke to biologist-turned-filmmaker Lin on the eve of his Sundance debut.How did you get from zero to making your first feature?[After graduating in biology] I did two short films at film school. I went to Tisch Asia, which had a campus in Singapore. We also had an exchange program with Tisch in New York.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sound of Freedom,” the indie action-drama film that earned some $184 million at the North American box office, has set a significant theatrical release in South Korea. Angel Studios, the crowd-funded Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the film, initially set up direct-to-theater releases for the film’s first international outings in the U.K., Australia and Latin America. In Korea, rights have been licensed in conventional fashion by the N.E.W. – Contents Panda group, which plans to give the picture a release from Feb. 21, 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning,’ a Korean-made animated horror film, has been added to the European Film Market slate of sales agent Finecut. The picture is derived from a novel and webtoon that are among the most successful in Korean history, about four individuals bestowed with special powers rooted in religion, the supernatural, and legend. The book sold 10 million copies and recorded 238 million views online. The film’s narrative is an origin story and recounts the first adventure of the foursome – an excommunicated priest, a young woman with telekinesis, a man who lost his sister to a malevolent spirit, and a child prodigy skilled in arcane magic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Mongrel,” a Taiwan-set drama film that has done the round of project markets, will appear at the International Film Festival Rotterdam as a work in progress. In addition to the screening of 15 minutes of footage, Taiwan-based Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang has confirmed the film’s cast as being headed by Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad (“Eternity,” “Manta Ray”) alongside Taiwanese female actor Lu Yi-ching (“The River”, “Stray Dogs”) and rapper Hong Yu-hong (“Bad Education”, “Miss Shampoo”) from Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One. Other key cast include Atchara Suwan (“By the Time It Gets Dark”), and Guo Shu-wei in his debut role.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Asian film directors including Josh Kim, Fukada Koji and Patiparn Boontarig line up to pitch their in-development projects at the March edition of the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). Leading directors Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Lu will also be on the ground at HAF, operating as producers. So too will established producers Yamamoto Teruhisa (“Drive My Car”) and Michael J.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film and TV Producers’ Groups Call for Government Regulation of Streamers, Protection of Indie Sector Against ‘Market Failure’ and Loss of IP Streaming platforms could be subject to tighter regulation and forced to loosen their control of intellectual property if national governments heed a call for action launched Thursday by film and TV producers’ trade organizations around the world. The “global screen producers’ statement on streaming platform regulation and intellectual property protections,” was published by some 20 groups including Australia’s Screen Producers Association, Germany’s Produzentenverband, Screen Producers Ireland, multinational Spanish-language group Federación Iberoamericana de Productores Cinematográficos y Audiovisuales and Belgium’s Union des Producteur.ices Francophones de Films & Series. They say that they, “share a commitment to securing regulation from our respective governments that will ensure that our industry continues to both be sustainable and maintains our nation’s cultural sovereignty.” Among the nine principles, that the groups want governments to follow, two stand out and would likely require regulation.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based sales and distribution company Black Mandala has picked up international rights to Spanish-language genre film and 2023 festival hit “I’ll Crush Y’All” (aka “Os Reviento”). Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog. He could still box, but to avoid what led him to spend a few years in prison, he prefers to lead a quiet life.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and The India Center Foundation, two non-profit organizations working with South Asian film in the U.S., have agreed to merge. Already long-time collaborators, IFFLA and ICF will, among other things, work closely to incubate and launch an industry development program to showcase the next generation of South Asian talent to studios, funders and media executives. “We saw an opportunity to scale our work nationally as one of the leading supporters of emerging creative talent in the diaspora.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief As Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches its second anniversary, leading Russian director Aleksey German Jr. (“House Arrest,” “Under Electric Clouds”), is currently giving “Air,” his state-funded WWII thriller, a commercial release in Russian cinemas. With ferocious action and cruel detail, “Air” has been called out for being a patriotic film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Liam Neeson is to reprise his role as a truck driver turned rescue worker from 2021 indie hit “The Ice Road.” With director Jonathan Hensleigh (writer of “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” “Armageddon” and “Jumanji”) again on board, “The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky” relocates its story from Canada in the original to Nepal in the sequel. Film production is set to shift from North America to Australia’s Victoria State. Filming will begin this month using Gippsland town of Walhalla as the backdrop for some of the picture’s action scenes.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean film sales agent Finecut has picked up international distribution rights to “Noise,” a contemporary horror film by first time director Kim Soo-jin. The film will be launched next month a the European film Market in Berlin. The story follows a woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister’s disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sci-fi fantasy comedy “Alienoid 2” opened on top of the South Korean box office with $3.57 million on a weekend that otherwise saw five animation titles and a political documentary in the top ten. The big-budget, time-traveling “Alienoid 2” earned $3.57 million between Friday and Sunday with a market share of 39% and $4.77 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Imax reports that some $370,000 of the film’s total was earned from 24 Imax screens. The film was made as a two-parter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its third week of release. Two newcomers broke into the top five, comedy “Follow Bear for Action” and imported action title “The Beekeeper.” “Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $19.7 million (140 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another strong hold after an opening weekend of $26.1 million (on Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” dominated the nominations for the 17th edition of the Asian Film Awards. Both picked up six nominations, including those in the best film category. The nominations were announced on Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, ahead of a ceremony on March 10, that will return to the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District and the Qiyu Centre.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Parasite” director Boon Joon-ho led a press conference in Seoul on Friday, following the death by suicide of actor Lee Sun-kyun at the end of December. Lee had been investigated by police in Incheon for possible recreational use of drugs and was at the center of a maelstrom of media and social media commentary for the two months prior to his death.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief KCON, the Korean pop music and culture convention operated by CJ ENM, will hold five editions in 2024, organizers said on Thursday. The first of the year will be Hong Kong, a new destination for the convention series, before moving on to KCON Japan in May 10-12 and KCON LA July 26-28. Other editions will be held in Saudi Arabia and Europe at unspecified dates in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong edition will be held at March 30-31 at the AsiaWorld Expo, a 10,000 seater venue adjacent to the airport.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve has begun filming in Japan of “Spirit World,” a fantasy-drama film directed by Singapore’s Eric Khoo. Deneuve portrays a singer who dies suddenly while on tour in Japan. But her spirit lives on and she embarks on a journey to find humanity in the after-world.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Once banned in China, Stephen King’s “The Shawshank Redemption” had its much-anticipated debut as a stage play in the country’s tech capital Shenzhen on Jan. 4. Adding to its unusual status, the play is performed in Chinese by a cast of Western actors who are based in the Middle Kingdom.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” climbed to the top of the mainland China box office in its second weekend on release. Previous winner, “Shining for One Thing” dimmed quickly and tumbled to fifth place. The first weekend of the new year and following a welter of Christmas-New Year releases, the latest weekend represented a reordering of holdover titles, rather than a session with an injection of significant fresh movies. “Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $22.4 million (RMB159 million) from Friday to Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney animation film, “Wish” topped the South Korean box office on its opening weekend. It toppled local epic “Noryang: Deadly Sea,” which had dominated over Christmas and New Year. “Wish,” which has slowly been rolling out worldwide since a late November start in North America, made a respectable $3.29 million debut between Friday and Sunday according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). After five days on release in Korea, it has garnered $4.57 million. “Noryang,” which released on Dec.