Premium Video Grows in Southeast Asia as Chinese Content Strikes a Chord in Thailand, Says Study

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Thai government is considering increasing the value of its production rebate scheme in order to improve the country’s competitive position in the race for international film and TV shoots.The current scheme was introduced in 2017 and offers a 15% rebate against location spending for those projects spending a minimum of THB50 million ($1.49 million) on services in the country.

Grandline Group has announced that Sitala will remain part of upcoming girl group H1-KEY, in spite of the ongoing controversy.Last week, Sitala, a Thai member of the forthcoming K-pop act, had caused a stir online over her family’s alleged involvement in the 2014 political crisis in Thailand.

The anchor called on American businesses to follow the example of the Women’s Tennis Association, which canceled events it was scheduled to hold in China after tennis player Peng Shuai accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAmazon Prime Video is hatching plans to launch its streaming service in Southeast Asia, the company said on Thursday.

Selome Hailu editorLana Cho, a writer and producer whose credits include “I Know What You Did Last Summer” for Amazon Prime Video and the upcoming “American Seoul” for Hulu, has signed a multi-year overall deal at 20th Television.Cho will create her own comedies and dramas for all platforms while supervising series from other writers. As her first project, she will co-executive produce “American Born Chinese” for Disney Plus.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAsian video streamer Line TV is to close its service in Thailand from the end of December.“Time flies and things continue to change, and Line TV does likewise. We would like to inform that Line TV Thailand service will be available until the end of this year on December 31, 2021.

Happy Friday International Insiders, Tom Grater here delivering your post-Thanksgiving rundown of the week’s top headlines. To get this sent to your inbox every Friday, sign up here.

It appears as though Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who has been at the center of an international controversy after high-profile leaders in the sport raised concerns about her well-being, may be safe and sound.

Naman Ramachandran Malaysian authorities have declined to approve the Chinese war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” for theatrical release after outrage emerged online that the film promotes Communism, which is banned in the country.The film’s local distributor Mega Film Distribution said in a statement that it is considering submitting the title again for reconsideration by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF), and expressed its regrets that the film which has grossed $890 million so

Tennis star Peng Shuai reappeared in public this weekend, showing up to a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos and video released by journalists in attendance at the event.

Guy Lodge Film CriticMany’s the child who, when faced with what they feel is undue criticism or complaint from their parents, has reacted with a standard adolescent whine: “I didn’t ask to be born!” It’s a sentiment that resonates a little differently, however, through “Four Journeys,” in which Dutch-based Chinese multimedia artist Louis Hothothot quite sincerely invites his parents to discuss why they had him, and they explain with some candor their regrets about doing so.

The owner of a Chinese takeaway shop in Salford has been hauled before court after inspectors found the shop in a disgusting state.

For Raya and the Last Dragon, the influences of a multitude of Southeast Asian cultures are apparent. For directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, and writer Qui Nguyen, it was important to bring to light a culture that is often unseen at on a large scale. From the use of Thai martial arts to Filipino weapons such as the Arnis, the inclusion of specific aspects of Southeast Asian culture helped to bond the amalgamation that was Kumandra.

Ubisoft‘s 35th anniversary, the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy is currently free to download for anyone on PC.PC players can download Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy for free until November 12. To grab the game while it’s free, fans can claim their copy via Ubisoft Connect on PC.For those who may have missed them at launch, each entry in the Chronicles Trilogy is a 2.5D stealth game set across three locations – Russia, China, and India.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe decision to make a second season of Netflix global hit “Squid Game” is a sound one, according to analysis firm Media Partners Asia which finds that Korean and Thai content have the strongest cross-border travel potential within the Asia-Pacific region.The company’s “Netflix in the Asia Pacific: The Scalability of Local Content” report is based on passive measurement of 30,000 streaming consumers in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines,

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFive filmmakers from Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have been selected to participate in the inaugural Seed Lab, operated by the non-profit Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab.The new program helps promising shorts filmmakers explore their directorial voices prior to the development of their first features.