Smuggler thought he'd come up with the perfect hiding place for semi-automatic gun - until he was caught

Nick Cannon has a regret about parenthood — but it’s not what you’d expect.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In front of a panel of skeptical and often hostile U.S. representatives, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to make the case for why the popular app is not a security threat to the country — and why a government ban of the app would be the wrong course of action. A U.S. ban of the app would hurt the country’s economy, reduce competition and “silence the voices of over 150 million Americans,” Chew said in testimony submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” was held Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. The Biden administration recently demanded that ByteDance divest its ownership stake in TikTok or potentially be banned in the U.S. over national-security concerns given TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Under pending congressional legislation, which has bipartisan support, President Biden would have the authority to ban TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief It is becoming harder not to perceive Tencent, China’s tech and entertainment giant and the world’s largest games firm by revenue, as a utility. It is now too big to be a growth stock darling and too widely-spread to escape the gravity of China’s underlying economic trends. Revenues in calendar 2022 flatlined at RMB554 billion, while net profits dropped 16% to RMB188.2 billion ($27.0 billion). The decrease reflected China’s economic reversal that began in the second quarter of the year with the arrival of a new COVID strain and stricter government measures to combat it. Tencent’s advertising revenues fell slightly, costs rose somewhat, and subscriber number were mixed – rising in music, but falling in video.

Lance Reddick was on everyone’s mind as they descended on the TCL Chinese Theatre for the premiere of John Wick: Chapter 4 on Monday (March 20) in Hollywood, Calif.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood’s new release titles fantasy action adventure “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and horror thriller “M3gan” made only modest impressions on the box office in mainland China in their opening weekends. The box office chart was led by “Post-Truth,” a Chinese comedy which probes the impact of social media in a story about a wronged small-time businessman. It earned $18.8 million (RMB130 million) in its second weekend of release, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was an increase of more than 10% on its opening frame. After ten days on release, “Post-Truth” has a cumulative of $51.2 million (RMB353 million).

How could a trip to the motherland go so hilariously, disastrously wrong? The quartet at the heart of Adele Lim’s “Joy Ride” – Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu – have no idea what they’re in for at the top of the trailer, which Lionsgate released Friday ahead of the film’s premiere at SXSW.The trailer begins with the origin story of Audrey (Park) and Lolo’s (Cola) friendship, when they meet at a park as young kids. Lolo punches a white boy in the throat after he calls Audrey a racist slur, sealing the deal on their lifelong friendship.

A big feature of the TCM Classic Film Festival is providing world premieres of major restorations of some of those classics. This year’s 14th annual fest is no different as Turner Classic Movies has announced its opening night, April 13, will feature the premiere of a 4K restoration of Howard Hawk’s 1959 Western Rio Bravo, in partnership with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, as part of the yearlong celebration of Warner Bros’ 100th anniversary.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The recent reopening of the mainland Chinese box office, including a $1 billion Chinese New Year holiday season, has put a different complexion on the global theatrical industry. Few companies could be closer to that change in fortune than Imax China, a stock market-listed subsidiary of the Imax Corp. The company operates as both a supplier of screens, audio and projection equipment for premium cinemas and as a partner in making local Chinese films fit for exhibition in the giant format. During Chinese New Year, Imax was represented by “Avatar: The Way of Water” and four Chinese movies. Daniel Manwaring, CEO of Imax China, spoke to Variety in his first interview since taking on the top job in January.

“Masked Singer” host did not attend the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night but gave TMZ his feedback on Kimmel’s opening monologue, which included a joke about him and his12 offspring. “Disney spent $2 billion on this movie, and just to break even, all of Nick Cannon’s kids had to see ‘Avatar’ four times,” Kimmel, 55, joked about theOscar-winning“Avatar: The Way of Water.”“It’s hilarious,” Cannon told the outlet while leaving the Avra Beverly Hills restaurant.“I created ‘Wild ‘n Out,'” he added about his longtime improv, comedy TV series.

Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Paul Rogers was clearly overwhelmed following the film’s Oscar win for Film Editing. “This is too much, wow, this is my second film y’all, this is crazy.” He went on to thank his wife, “the most incredible woman in the room,” his family, and cast.

EXCLUSIVE: Drift director Anthony Chen is gearing up to direct his first US-set project, Heartbeat: A New York Story, about the rarely-told experiences of the Asian gay community during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s New York.

Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan's new Disney+ series, , has a premiere date.Ahead of the Oscars on Sunday, where Yeoh and Quan could make history if they win Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor for, Disney+ announced the upcoming series will drop Wednesday, May 24. A 30-second teaser highlights Yeoh and Quan's performances, along with their co-star, Stephanie Hsu, who guest stars on  Based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang,  tells the story of Jin Wang (Ben Wang), an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief American musical comedy film “Lyle Lyle Crocodile,” is set to release in mainland China cinemas, having received approvals for import and distribution from Chinese authorities. It will play in China from April 15, 2023. The film was released in North America in early October last year and many other territories at the end of 2022. Parts of Asia have been later to receive the title with Korea and Taiwan play it from January and Japan set to open it from March 24. The film has grossed $108 million worldwide, with $60.9 million of that coming from international markets and $46.8 million from the North American domestic market, studio backer Sony Pictures reported.

fathering 12 kids with six different women in recent years.But this time, he’s in on the joke. Cannon shocked the internet on Tuesday when he began promoting a fake game show titled “Who’s Having My Baby?” to be released on the E! network this spring.The actor shared a promo video that truly looked like an E! television commercial teasing a new show with Kevin Hart that would be “the mother of all game shows.”“We’re not kidding around,” the narrator said in the fake ad — though they were.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Adam Driver-starring sci-fi adventure film “65” has been approved for theatrical release in mainland China. It will hit cinemas on March 31, some three weeks after the film began to release in other international territories. The film is branded as a Columbia Pictures title and will be released by the Sony label in most territories. In China, however, all revenue-sharing import titles are officially handled by a state-owned enterprise. The Hollywood studio’s Chinese office theoretically operates in an advisory capacity, though in practice it is likely to be involved in marketing strategy and p&a decisions. The film has a survival-quest narrative. After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth some 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive.

Naman Ramachandran Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” will release in China on March 31. Starring Bollywood A-listers Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, the film follows an unemployed small-town man who defies all odds and naysayers and revives his family’s garment business. The film’s plot is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that Indians should be self-dependent to achieve their goals. Dhawan plays a tailor, while Sharma plays an embroiderer in the film who, as husband and wife, team to fulfil their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The film is directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films. The trio previously collaborated on the hit “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” (2015).

Nick Cannon’s new game show “Who’s Having My Baby?” sounds more like a sketch than an actual TV show… that’s because you’re right. No, there won’t be a TV show called “Who’s Having My Baby?” because, well, what would that show even look like anyway? Instead, the idea for “Who’s Having My Baby?” is actually a gag, orchestrated by comedian Kevin Hart, as a sketch for an upcoming, not-yet-announced project. According to insiders, all will be revealed as soon as tomorrow, as Hart continues to expand his empire with another comedy franchise inside the NBCUniversal universe. That doesn’t mean Hart and Cannon aren’t having some fun first with the confusion over the faux TV series. Cannon went on Twitter Tuesday to claim he would be starring in E! Entertainment’s “Who’s Having My Baby?” and even shared a teaser. (Yes, that’s a sketch, not a show.) As hosted by Hart, the fake show would appear to be a competition between single women eager to birth Cannon’s next child.

Nick Cannon could possibly be expecting his 13th child, after dropping a hint on Monday. The US presenter, 42, announced on Twitter that he will be sharing a “big” update soon, writing: “EXPECT some big news tomorrow…” as he added a baby’s bottle emoji. This suggestive tweet has led followers to believe Cannon is about to reveal he has a 13th child on the way.

Una Healy’s love life has been a hot topic recently, but now it seems that her three-way relationship with boxing star David Haye and his girlfriend Siân Rose Osbourne has ended. After new reports that The Saturdays singer has called time on the throuple, a source tells us that Una, 41, is now focusing on herself and her children, Aoife, 10, and Tadhg, eight, who she shares with rugby player ex husband Ben Foden, 37.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief TriStar Pictures film “The Woman King” has been given official permission to release in cinemas in mainland China. It is expected to debut on April 14. The Viola Davis-starring fantasy action film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year and went into U.S. and international commercial release shortly after. The film has grossed $97.2 million worldwide, with $29.9 million coming from international markets and $67.3 million in North America. While the China release is significantly later than the rest of the world, potentially opening the film to online piracy, the launch date was communicated by Chinese authorities with some five weeks of advanced notice. That is more than many Hollywood films have received in China and gives the local marketing teams a reasonable chance to promote the film’s theatrical launch.