Steve Chung, Fox and CJ ENM Alumnus, Joins Azuki Anime Platform (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A collection of concert films featuring K-Pop icons BTS and Seventeen will start to become available worldwide on Asian-themed streaming platform Rakuten Viki from next week. An agreement between agency firm Hybe Corp. and Rakuten Viki provides a slate of nine concert films, variety shows, documentaries from July 5, kicking off with “BTS Speak Yourself in Seoul Final.” While the content deals are not exclusive, the deal is the first time that Rakuten Viki is partnering with Hybe to bring its K-Pop content to the platform.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hit Japanese anime series “Wind Breaker” has been confirmed for a second season, distributor Crunchyroll said on Thursday. The announcement came the same day as the finale of Season 1. “Welcome to Furin High School, an institution infamous for its population of brawny brutes who solve every conflict with a show of strength.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Expanding its Japanese content, Netflix has set up “Soul Mate,” a live-action series that charts the ten-year romance between a Korean man and a Japanese man. Traversing Berlin, Germany, Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, “Soul Mate” starts when a man who left everything behind in Japan (portrayed by Isomura Hayato), is saved by a boxer named Johan (portrayed by Ok Taec-yeon) in a foreign land.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Another “Frasier” alum is about to return to the series’ new revival: Harriet Sansom Harris, who originally played Frasier Crane’s agent, Bebe Glazer, is back for a guest role in Season 2. Joining her will be “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” star Rachel Bloom, who will play Bebe’s daughter, Phoebe Glazer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Malaysia International Film Festival (Miffest), which runs July 21-28, will open with horror film “Indera” by local director Woo Ming Jin and starring Shaheizy Sam and Azira Shafinaz. The festival will conclude with the double feature of “Love Lies” by Ho Miu Ki and “Peg O’ My Heart” by Nick Cheung.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Seven Types of Ambiguity,” the Australian TV series involving a mystery told from the shifting perspective of seven characters, is getting an Arabic adaptation as an original production for beIN Media Group’s TOD streaming platform. Titled “Mirage” or alternately (“Sarab”) in Arabic, the first international adaptation of the six-part ABC series – which is based on the acclaimed novel by Australian author Elliot Perlman, revolving around the disappearance of a child in suburban Melbourne — is being transposed to a Middle East setting.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Feelgood local movie “Moments We Shared” ran off to a dominant win at the mainland China box office, despite releasing only on Saturday. If ever there was need of further evidence of Hollywood’s diminished power with Chinese audiences, this weekend provided it. “Moments’” win came at the expense of two U.S.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jamie Kellner, who made his name as the only exec ever to create two broadcast networks — Fox and The WB (both of which also achieved profitability under his watch), died Friday at his home in Montecito, Calif. He was 77.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Extinction,” the Malaysian-produced animation that is playing at the Shanghai International Film Festival, has struck its first international rights sales deals. The film was recently picked up by All Rights Entertainment, the Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles-based sales agency. All Rights has subsequently licensed the title to Magic Film for the CIS region, to Dazzler Media for the U.K., to Red Cape Distribution for Israel and to Bir Film for Turkey.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda Film, China’s largest cinema operator, has expanded its business relationship with Imax Corp. in a huge deal that straddles technology and content. With 381 Imax installations, Wanda alone operates more Imax venues than most countries.

One thing about Steve-O: he’s ALWAYS going to do wild s**t.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Coralie Fargeat’s Demi Moore-starring feminist body horror film “The Substance” has been set as the closing night title for the New Zealand International Film Festival. The picture is one of 16 which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month selected for the NZIFF which is now under the artistic leadership of Paolo Bertolin.

EXCLUSIVE: British actor Tim Downie (Outlander, Good Omens) has signed on to star in the feature film All That Glitters, a young adult comedy-drama inspired by Shakespeare and how his work may have been shaped by modern life. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Zhang Yimou, director of many of China’s most spectacular and successful movies, is to try his hand at sci-fi. He will direct a film adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem.” The project was announced Sunday by Wang Changtian, founder and CEO of Enlight Media, one of China’s top three studios, at a forum organized within the Shanghai International Film Festival. Wang said that Zhang is in the early stages of preparations for the film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animation film “Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle” took a clear lead at the mainland China weekend box office – despite only being available for two of three days. Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed the film scoring $9.8 million (RMB69.4 million) in China, more than double that of second placed film “Be My Friend.” The win came despite “Haikyu!!” only being released on Saturday and measuring up against other tiles available throughout the whole of the Friday-Sunday period. “Haikyu!!” is the third Japanese film so far this year to lead the mainland Chinese box office, following “The Boy and the Heron” and “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony.” It was produced by Production IG, Toho Animation and Sony Music Entertainment Japan and released by Crunchyroll in multiple territories.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief All Rights Entertainment, the Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles-based international film agency has picked up international sales duties on animated children and family feature “Out of the Nest.” The film had its world premiere this week at the Annecy International Animation Festival. In the Kingdom of Castilia, days from the coronation of the new Emperor and Empress, their seven royal fledglings are taken and it’s up to one hero to return them safely; a teenage delivery boy, Arthur the Goat. His dreams of becoming a world-class barber are put on hold when he becomes the unwitting guardian of the royal heirs.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Ahead of the Emmy nomination voting on Thursday, the Television Academy has revised its Emmy rules regarding submissions and nominee numbers. This update will significantly impact the scripted variety category, which includes “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and “Saturday Night Live.” The new Rules and Procedures document on the Emmys website, updated on May 22, details changes under the Nominations Procedures section.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The Mediterrane Film Festival announced its complete program ahead of its second edition, taking place in Malta’s capital of Valetta from June 22-30. New titles selected include recent Cannes highlights in Coralie Fargeat’s Demi Moore-led body horror “The Substance” and Roberto Minvervini’s “The Damned,” which join previously announced films like Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” and Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw The TV Glow.” Further program additions include Mahdi Fleifel’s Directors’ Fortnight standout “To a Land Unknown,” which Variety labeled “a confident, angry, fully-realized drama,” and Truong Minh Quy’s Un Certain Regard breakout “Viet and Nam.” An extended version of the Malta-shot “Jurassic World: Dominion” will play as part of the Malta Expanded strand, while on the retrospective end of the program, the festival will honor David Bowie with screenings of Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and Lisa Azuelos’s “My Way,” plus a masterclass on the musician’s enduring legacy helmed by British Film Commissioner Adrian Wootton titled “David Bowie: Celebrating 60 Years of Genius.” Artistic Director Teresa Cavina said she is “very happy” with the selection, calling it “a chorus of strong and harmonious voices that, through extraordinary films, gives shape to a complex and varied universe, a mirror of the reality that surrounds us, often difficult to decipher, sometimes painful, but also full of hope and capacity for renewal.” Cavina also emphasised the strong female presence at this year’s festival, with 16 films — almost half of the festival’s official selection — comprised of works directed by women.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S-produced film and TV content has maintained leadership in terms of reach among Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) users in nine major markets in Asia-Pacific. And it remains important for acquiring and maintaining subscriptions, a new report finds. New research from consultancy firm Media Partners Asia is based on passively-collected data from 40,000 digital users amassed by its AMPD sister company.

While we still don’t know how a Season 2 of “Peacemaker” exists in the newly rebooted DCU, we know it’s happening. James Gunn says it’ll make sense.