Sex, Power and Financial Hierarchy Come Into Focus as Filmmakers Challenge Japanese Industry to Change or Die

Rebecca Souw Still riding high on the success of “The Roundup,” Korean indie film producer and seller K-Movie Entertainment, is showcasing a slate of 16 movies at the Asian and Contents Film Market, part of the Busan International Film Festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms. But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.  Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.

Mark Sutherland Sarah Brightman’s 40-year singing career has brought her global acclaim. But, the British star says, what she’s best known for varies according to where she is in the world. “In China, they know me far more for my later recorded work and not necessarily for ‘Phantom of the Opera,’” she tells Variety. “I’ve worked with very famous artists in Japan. And, in the last two years, I’ve even become well-known in France, which has always been quite a difficult market to penetrate. It’s great – it’s like you’re a new person in each city you go to…” Brightman’s American persona will be in the spotlight when the soprano is awarded her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 6, presented for her contributions to live theater and live performance.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Projects starring Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi are among the independently produced TV series to be launched on the sidelines of this week’s Busan International Film Festival. The company responsible is Changin’ Pictures, a would-be studio being hatched by Hong Kong-based film director and producer Peter Chan Ho-sun. Propelled by the growing recognition of Asian talent and the worldwide distribution potential of multinational SVOD platforms, Changin’ Pictures aims to be a powerhouse production hub suppling premium drama content to streaming players. The company has raised very substantial finance from Asian sources and aims to develop and produce series which it will pitch and license to the platforms, without recourse to the OTT companies’ production funding, greenlighting and editorial constraints.

L’Oreal Paris hosted a fashion show during Paris Fashion Week and lots of stars walked the runway!

It was a varied offering at the international box office this weekend with newcomers from Hollywood and offshore markets, as well as notable holds, as we inch closer to full-on action later in October. 

Dua Lipa and Trevor Noah are enjoying a night on the town.

Roger Federer has described the moment he was pictured holding hands with Rafael Nadal after his final ever match in competitive tennis as 'a secret thank you' for the moments they shared in the sport. The tennis legend brought a 24-year-long career to an end on Friday night alongside the Spaniard at the Laver Cup, with the 41-year-old understandably emotional at the thought. Federer is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time, given his dominance of the sport for so long in the 2000s.

Fans of The Great British Bake Off are feeling a bit of dread after Dame Prue Leith confirmed a twist is looming after a huge change was made during the latest episode. The hit Channel 4 show was back on screens on Tuesday night (September 27) for episode three.

Sony Pictures Classics co-chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, who are being feted by the Zurich Film Festival with the event’s GameChanger Award, took part today in a Zurich Summit panel about their careers and the state of the specialty business.

Disney yesterday began overseas rollout on the remastered rerelease of James Cameron’s Avatar in five early markets with the Na’vi seeing a collective $877K gross. The 4K high dynamic range version was No. 1 in France at $513K, coming in 8% ahead of the comparable 3D rerelease of Titanic in 2012.

The Cube producer Objective Media Group and The Traitors creator IDTV are forging an under-the-wraps format in the UK and U.S. titled The Unknown, a psychological social experiment that will be unveiled at next month’s Mipcom market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean film producer Baek Jaeho has been named as the inaugural recipient of the Choon-yun Award, a prize set up in honor of Lee Choon-yun, the late chairman of the Korean Association of Film Art & Industry. The award, worth KRW10 million ($7,100), will be presented on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 6 in conjunction with IOK Company. Baek participated in the production of 2021 title “Snowball” and was previously involved in indie films “Jane” in 2016 and last year’s “Role.” He also acts and directs. Veteran director Kang Je-kyu praised Baek as ”a filmmaker who maintains his values and outspreads his potential in the insufficient independent film environment.”

We may only be two episodes into this year's series of The Great British Bake Off but fans are fully invested in the new batch of bakers - and the themes. Week one started off strong with 'Cake Week' but viewers had to say a sad farewell to Will who became the first baker to be eliminated from the competition.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a new deal secured at this week’s San Sebastian Festival, Birgit Kemner’s Manny Films has partnered with Chile’s Storyboard Media to co-produce “Un Buen Día Para Morir” (“A Good Day to Die”), the third feature by Marcelo Ferrari (“Subterra,” “Bombal”). Inspired by the real story of pianist María Paz Santibáñez whose life took a dramatic turn during a protest against General Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1987, the drama turns on 24-year-old piano student Pachi who is shot in the head during a protest against the military regime. Seriously injured and pregnant, she manages to survive and give birth to her daughter. Escaping Chile, she settles in Paris where – against all odds – she fulfills her dream to become a concert pianist.

Toronto International Film Festival to discuss their new film “Chevalier,” a period drama about a Black 18th century classical composer who faced constant racism even as his music won the favor of Marie Antoinette. Played by “Luce” star Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film, Chevalier de Saint-Georges — born Joseph Bologne in Guadeloupe in 1745 — was the child of a white French plantation owner and an African slave.