Two arrested for smashing a hole through Great Wall of China 'to make a shortcut'

K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN have taken down a teaser clip for their upcoming mini-album after receiving backlash from Chinese fans.Over the past few days, the 13-member group have released a series of teaser clips featuring famous landmarks in different cities around the world to promote their upcoming mini-album ‘Seventeenth Heaven’, which arrives in October.These included shots of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Times Square in New York, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo and the Great Wall of China in Beijing, with smiling chamomile flowers – also featured in the record’s album art – floating around them.SEVENTEEN (세븐틴) 11th Mini Album 'SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN'

K-pop girl group Kep1er may extend their contracts and promote together for a longer time.On September 22, SpoTV News reported that WAKEONE, the company managing Kep1er, recently held meetings with executives from the members’ respective agencies to discuss a potential extension of their contract.The girl group was formed in late 2021 through the project girl group series Girls Planet 999, which saw trainees from music agencies in Korea, Japan and China competing to win a spot in Kep1er. At the time, the girl group singed a contract to promote as a group for two-and-a-half years.In response to reports, WAKEONE confirmed that it had started discussions.

On another sleepy autumn weekend at the box office when actors can’t promote their movies due to the strikes, Millennium Media and Lionsgate are rolling out the latest in their long-in-the-tooth Sylvester Stallone-Jason Statham franchise, Expendables 4, to a weekend take between $15 million-$17 million.

On another sleepy autumn weekend at the box office when actors can’t promote due to the strikes, Millenium Media and Lionsgate are rolling out their long-in-the-tooth Sylvester Stallone-Jason Statham franchise, Expend4bles to a weekend take between $15M-$17M.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alibaba Pictures, the separately-listed film investment and distribution unit of China’s tech giant Alibaba behind recent box office hit “Lost in the Stars,” is to buy Damai. The target company is a major provider of live entertainment in the country that is currently controlled by the Alibaba parent company. The transaction is valued at $167 million, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday, and will be paid for by the issue of new Alibaba Pictures shares. Damai is involved in concerts, musical festivals, live house performances, plays, sports events and exhibitions in China.

A once-promising footballer whose career "fell by the wayside" was arrested at Manchester Airport after embarking on a different path. Sean Calvert had been on the books at Tranmere Rovers as a young midfielder.

Emily Longeretta Julie Chen Moonves is sharing her side of the story. In her new audiobook, “But First, God,” the television personality opens up for the first time about how she found her faith in 2018 following the ouster of husband, Les Moonves, who was forced to step down as the chairman of CBS after he was accused of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. At the time, Chen Moonves also exited “The Talk,” a decision she claims that she was pressured into.

Throughout an entire junket day as well as a special screening tonight at the TCL Grauman Chinese Theatre, The Creator filmmaker Gareth Edwards showed his solidarity for the pic’s cast as the SAG-AFTRA strike continued into its 67th day.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese, Badlands) is co-writing and developing a comic book series with veteran Marvel, DC and Valiant artist Sean Chen, with plans to adapt the property for film and TV starring Wu.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Expendables 4’ narrowly took top place at the mainland China box office on a quiet weekend preceding the National Day holiday season at the end of the month. “A Haunting in Venice” opened outside the top five. Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway shows “Expendables 4” earning $10.9 million (RMB78.6 million) over its debut weekend.

Amazon is giving all customers a free £5 voucher to spend to mark its 25th anniversary. The voucher can be claimed from 9am on Friday, September 15, but savvy shoppers will have to act quickly to take advantage, as it only lasts until midnight.

It was last held in 2019, but next weekend, Manchester Moon Festival will return for three days of celebrations.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Dust to Dust,” a low-key crime thriller, topped the mainland Chinese box office over the weekend, despite only being released on Saturday. The film, directed by Jonathan Li, recounts how 21 years after a major armed robbery, a video of the crime resurfaces and causes the police to reopen their investigation. It had its world premiere in June, in competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival. With Da Peng, a former talk show host, required to age significantly for the lead role, the film earned $22.2 million (RMB160 million) in just two days, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway.

“Kind of a Big Deal: How Anchorman Stayed Classy And Became The Most Iconic Comedy of the Twenty-First Century” (Dutton),” that script, then titled “Action News Man,” was still a very funny take on a shopworn premise.“Ron convinces the pilot he knows how to fly the charter jet, and he immediately crash lands it in the mountains,” Ferrell once explained of Anchorman’s iconic main character, Ron Burgundy. “They clipped a cargo plane .

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Lulu Wang’s The Farewell had opened to acclaim at Sundance when Nicole Kidman got in touch and said, “I have this book that I optioned and you’re really the only director that I want to make this.”

French filmmaker Claire Denis has been announced as the jury president for the Official Section of the 71st San Sebastian Film Festival, running from September 22-30.

Great Absence, the second feature film from Japanese director Kei Chika-ura, is receiving its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival’s Platform section. Inspired by Kei’s real-life experiences, the film tells the story of an actor living in Tokyo who is forced to travel home when the police call to say his father is suffering from dementia and has lost touch with reality. Making matters worse, his father’s second wife appears to be missing. The actor makes the trip home with his own wife, full of conflicted emotions over a man who left the family when he was still a child, and starts an exploration into the mysteries of his father’s life.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “No More Bets,” the smash hit Chinese crime thriller that has earned more than half a billion dollars in its home market, is hurriedly adding new territories to release. It will release in the U.K. and Ireland from Friday through distributor Trinity Cine Asia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Entertainment, sports and brand licensing firms WildBrain CPLG and WildBrain Ltd. have brokered location-based entertainment (LBE) deals on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide for “Peanuts,” “Teletubbies” and “In the Night Garden” with China’s Max-Matching Entertainments. These are expected to lead to the opening of family entertainment centers and IP-themed hotel rooms for each brand in Beijing, in Zhongshan City, Guangdong and a third city yet to be announced.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Greater China (UMGC) has appointed Timothy Xu as its new chairman and CEO of the Greater China division. He will be responsible for the music company’s operations across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, effective immediately.