UTA Alternative Agent Neil A. Cohen Moves To Paradigm

EXCLUSIVE: One day after New Mexico dropped criminal charges against Rust actor and producer Alec Baldwin in the tragic set death of DP Halyna Hutchins, Deadline has learned that the Oscar nominee and multi-Emmy winner is set to star in Mike Hatton’s feature directorial debut, Hollywood Heist.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Trinity CineAsia has acquired rights to Chinese tentpole action movie “Born to Fly,” and will release the film in cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has taken a strong early lead at the mainland China box office, picking up $13.8 million on its Thursday opening day. Films mostly release in China on Fridays, but the Japanese hit was given previews on Wednesday and a full court release on Thursday, starting with widespread midnight screenings. Data from local firm Ent Group reveals that the film earned $3.16 million from some 14,000 preview screenings on Wednesday, followed by $13.8 million on Thursday from 184,000 screening sessions. That gives it a $17 million cumulative and positions it at the top of the box office chart even before the conventional Friday to Sunday weekend begins.

Selling Sunset!Everyone’s favorite Hollywood realtors — and their drama – are returning for season 6 this May. Netflix announced that the hit reality series will be dropping 11 new episodes on May 19.Joining Jason Oppenheim and Brett Oppenheim for season 6 are Chrishell Stause, Emma Hernan, Mary Fitzgerald (and Romain Bonnet), Heather Rae El Moussa, Amanza Smith, Davina Potratz, Chelsea Lazkani and newbies Bre Tiesi and Nicole Young. Fans tuning in will get to see Stause have “an awakening” with her partner, G Flip, Heather Rae navigate pregnancy and giving birth and new girls Nicole Young and Bre Tiesi make their debut. Young might be new to the Netflix series, but she’s an original member of the Oppenheim Group.

Nick Cannon is opening up about how his oldest children feel about alllllll their siblings.

Flights from Manchester Airport to mainland China will return to pre-pandemic levels from next month in what has been described as a 'significant' economic boost for the city region, it was confirmed today.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jackie Chan-starring nostalgic stuntman comedy film “Ride On” trotted to a second weekend atop the mainland Chinese box office. “The Super Mario” Bros. Movie” remained in fourth place. “Ride On” earned $6.0 million (RMB41.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 48% week-on week drop, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That took it to a $22.6 million total since release on April 7. Below it, Japanese animation “Suzume” and Chinese shaggy dog story “Hachiko” swapped places. “Hachiko,” on its third weekend outing, earned $4.9 million, for a cumulative of $35.1 million. “Suzume” earned $4.5 million in its fourth weekend on release in China, giving it a $109 million cumulative.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese electronics giant, Sony has opened a virtual production studio in Shanghai, China, that it says can be used for shooting film, TV and commercials. The studio opened last month and is jointly operated with Gwantsi, one of China’s largest commercials production companies. Virtual production involves the use of high-resolution screens that create a backdrop in front of which actors perform. This can reduce the need for location travel, cut set-up times, shorten post-production and provide a more life-like environment for performers than traditional green-screen environments. VP studios are also well adapted to motion capture production.

EXCLUSIVE: Briarcliff Entertainment has taken domestic distribution rights to Sight starring Terry Chen (Almost Famous, Falling) and Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine, As Good as It Gets). A wide theatrical release has been set for Oct. 27.

Casemiro's agent Oscar Ribot has outlined the player's struggles during his period of suspension at Manchester United.

Beijing-based sales agent Rediance has revealed first look stills for Anthony Chen’s The Breaking Ice, which has been selected for the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. 

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led a delegation of lawmakers last week for meetings in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, with an eye toward gathering information on how the two California-centric industries interact with Beijing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate that once threatened to take over Hollywood, has put up for sale the Hoyts cinema chain in Australia that it bought in 2015. Hoyts is Australia’s second largest movie theater operator with 46 multiplexes housing 412 screens, according to 2022 data from Screen Australia. It also owns Val Morgan, Australia’s biggest cinema advertising firm.Wanda Cinema Line, itself China’s biggest theater operator, has appointed Credit Suisse and Nomura to handle the sale. Bidders are understood to have access to a “stapled debt” package (a line of agreed financing arranged by the banks) if the potential buyer cannot arrange sufficient finance of their own. A first deadline for bids is set at the beginning of May, with final offers to be submitted by the end of June.

A bird flu death has been recorded in China with a woman becoming the first person ever to die from the H3N8 strain.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Jackie Chan-starring stunt-man comedy drama “Ride On” pratfalled its way to first place at the mainland Chinese box office with a lowball $11.7 million opening. Still, that was enough to beat another new release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which ranked fourth over the latest weekend. Chan is an enduring, but fading, star in China and in the past his new release titles were often scheduled for the three biggest holiday seasons. “Ride On,” which sees Chan in an ode to the stunt players he has worked with, was released two days after the Ching Ming (Wednesday 5 April) holiday, when many folks honor their ancestors. Its opening three days were enough to depose “Suzume” from the top spot, where “Suzume” had ranked for the previous two weekends. “Suzume” earned $8.0 million over the latest weekend in China, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That gives it a $103 million cumulative after 17 days in mainland theaters, a China record for a Japanese animation film.

decrying the label as one used “to designate official state mouthpieces and propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China.””“NPR operates independently of the U.S. government,” the nonprofit media company said in a story posting on its website.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” opened in fourth place at the mainland China box office with a muted $5 million haul. Top honors belonged to Japanese animation film “Suzume” for the second weekend. “Suzume” incurred a 55% week-on-week drop, falling from $49.6 million in its opening weekend, to $22.1 million in is second, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. After ten days in Chinese theaters, “Suzume” now has a cumulative total of $80.6 million. Nevertheless, its lead at the top of the box office chart was unassailable. The weekend’s best-placed new release title was “Hachiko,” a Chinese retelling of the Japanese tale of a dog which faithfully waited at a station for its master years after his death. (The story was previously given a U.S. version with Richard Gere in the lead human role.) It earned $8.9 million (RMB61.2 million) in its opening weekend.

Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party plan to meet this week with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as screenwriters and other studio executives.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Bad Kids,” a hit series from Chinese streamer iQiyi, is to be remade as a Japanese feature film “Gold Boy.” The 12-episode gritty crime thriller depicts the troubles that arise after three children accidentally film a murder. The series was previously licensed to Japanese pay-TV group Wowow.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce and media group, unveiled a top to bottom corporate restructuring that it says is intended to “unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness.”  The group, which has a current market capitalization of $228 billion, will split itself into six divisions of differing sizes. Each unit will have a CEO and a board of directors and can pursue independent fund-raising or even IPOs, when they are ready. At present Alibaba has its shares and ADR shares listed in Hong Kong and New York. Some parts of its media business also have their own Hong Kong share listing Alibaba Pictures. (And there is a healthcare business with yet another share quote.)