The Shaolin senior: Meet China’s ‘kung fu granny’

Rebecca Davis editorJackie Chan has long been one of Hong Kong’s celebrities who most frequently and prominently engages in propaganda efforts for the mainland’s ruling Communist Party, but he recently took his public devotion to the Chinese regime to a new level.Chan declared his admiration for the Party at a symposium organized by the China Film Association last week to “study and implement the spirit” of a keynote speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping.“Abroad they often say,

Rebecca Davis editorChinese authorities in a number of counties nationwide plan to bar residents who have not been vaccinated from entering indoor entertainment venues, like cinemas, as part of its attempt to significantly ramp up its vaccination campaign.Policies restricting the movement and entry of unvaccinated people will been rolled out in various places around the country throughout the month of July. Chinese cinemas have been operating at 75% capacity since re-opening nationwide in July

Read more: At home with the Welsh entrepreneur who flopped on The Apprentice but now runs a £16m business and drives a Ferrari From being mobbed in the supermarket by fans to learning Welsh while living in China, Iain has revealed how he ended up as a celeb on the other side of the world. Born in Southampton and raised in Cardiff, the now 43-year-old is currently a bilingual presenter on a prime time Chinese television show.

Rebecca Davis editorThe tear-jerking, patriotic pandemic film “Chinese Doctors” locked down a $53.5 million China opening weekend, according to Maoyan, setting itself up to become the most commercially successful political tribute film so far this year.Such films have been helped along by a line-up cleared of competitors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Nocturna,” an Argentinian-made fantasy film that played last month in the Shanghai International Film Festival’s midnight fantasy section, has been picked up by Chinese company Naropean.Naropean, which shares executives with HGC Entertainment, one of the more prominent Chinese IP groups, has taken rights for China, Asia and Oceania, as well as remake rights.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese regulators have formally blocked the proposed merger of Huya and Douyu, two of the country’s largest live streaming operators. The planned merger had been orchestrated by social media and gaming giant Tencent and had been valued at approximately $5.3 billion.The announcement was made by the State Administration for Market Regulation in an online statement on Saturday morning, after relevant stock markets had closed.

It’s July 2021, and instead of talking about “F9,” “Black Widow,” or any of the summer blockbusters from this year, The Playlist Podcast is going back to the ‘80s to talk about two cult classic summer films, “Escape From New York” and “Big Trouble in Little China.” Why? Because they’re both celebrating big anniversaries. Oh, and because John Carpenter is one of the best filmmakers of all time and Kurt Russell is a national treasure.

Ashton Kutcher has a strong opinion about China's influence via social media. The 43-year-old actor recently appeared on the American Optimist YouTube channel and spoke about protecting children from various crimes on the internet.

Rebecca Davis editorTencent’s WeChat social media platform on Tuesday evening blocked and wiped all past content of the accounts for the campus LGBTQ groups of China’s top universities, striking a major blow against LGBTQ awareness and rights.Many campus LGBTQ clubs have never been officially recognized or condoned, but have been able to operate unofficially for years under the radar, posting content online and carrying out certain activities when possible amidst periodic crackdowns.Late

PUBG leaker, Riot is testing a Valorant battle royale mode with players in China.The rumour arrived courtesy of PlayerIGN who has a history of reliably leaking PUBG information.

Rebecca Davis editorTwenty-four years ago, on the evening that the U.K.

Rebecca Davis editorGuangzhou, the capital of China’s top movie-going province Guangdong, announced Friday that cinemas there can now reopen after nearly a month of closures due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.Theaters were shuttered in a number of districts in the city of more than 15 million on June 7 after an outbreak that authorities worried could be tied to new, more transmissible coronavirus variants.Cinemas were closed for 25 days before local authorities declared that the outbreak has now

Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Rushed, an indie thriller directed by Vibeke Muasya that stars Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Robert Patrick, Jake Weary and Peri Gilpin. A theatrical release is planned.

John Cena is revealing the tactics he used to keep the identity of his “F9” character under wraps.

Rebecca Davis editorChina struck back at the U.S. on Friday for President Joe Biden’s condemnation of its shutdown of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper.

Rebecca Davis editorDespite an unprecedentedly difficult year, the Chinese film industry has come roaring back.