WarnerMedia Readies Chinese-Language Original Series ‘Legacy’ and ‘Trinity of Shadows’

Refresh for latest…: Yet another international box office frame was led by Chinese movies in their home market as local May Day holdovers continued play coming off a record holiday session. While a handful of studio titles are doing business in other pockets of the world, we are in something of a holding pattern until majors like the UK and France begin opening in the coming weeks, and as Universal’s F9 is expected to rev up overseas turnstiles for Hollywood starting on May 19.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAmid a spate of anti-Asian hate crimes this past year, the story of Vincent Chin — the 27-year-old Chinese American brutally beaten and killed in 1982 by two former autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, who blamed him for the economic downturn in Detroit — has become the focus of renewed interest for the entertainment industry.

Rebecca Davis editorChina is preparing to hit Tencent Holding Ltd. with a fine of at least $1.54 billion (RMB10 billion) as part of a larger antitrust crackdown on its major internet firms, according to a report in Reuters.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAward-winning Chinese sci-fi novel “Folding Beijing” will move into production as a movie later this year, following a green light from mainland China studio Wanda Film.The film, titled “Folding City” is to be helmed by Josh Kim, the Korean-American director who previously made a splash with adolescent drama “How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)”. The film was selected as Thailand’s Oscar contender in 2015.

Rebecca Davis editorThe organization Chinese in Entertainment, the non-profit behind the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival (LACFF), is changing its name to remove the word “Chinese” after internal discussions about the political implications of the term.After some soul-searching, the team decided that the new name Sino Entertainment Association (SEA) would be better aligned with its goal of championing inclusivity and diversity.

Ten years after his last documentary, “I Wish I Knew” (screened in Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2011), acclaimed Chinese auteur Jia Zhang-Ke (“Ash Is Purest White,” “A Touch of Sin“) returns to non-fiction with “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue,” the final panel in his trilogy about the arts in China. It follows Venice winners “Dong” (2006) and “Useless” (2007).

He’s no longer singing the blues. After three months of being trapped on a Chinese boy band competition show, Russian language interpreter Vladislav Ivanov has finally been set free. “Thank y’all for your support,” said Ivanov, 27, on social media platform Weibo Saturday.

Chinese pop music superstar JJ Lin has signed with UTA for U.S. and European representation in all areas.

Guardian.Once entering the show, a boyband competition, Ivanov was forbidden from leaving without breaching his contract and paying a fine.Young musicians and performers compete against one another to eventually form an 11-member boyband.

Rebecca Davis editorAlthough Chinese New Year 2021 is only two months behind us, new Chinese blockbusters have already begun plotting their takeover of the biggest moviegoing week in the world’s largest film market for 2022.Four Chinese titles have just announced their plans to debut next Feb. 1, the first day of the 2022 lunar new year.

coronavirus pandemic.The painting by influential Chinese modern artist Xu Beihong depicts a slave hiding in a cave and a lion. It is based thematically from ancient Roman mythology and Aesop’s Fables, according to Christie’s auction house, which unveiled the painting Monday.Xu frequently uses the lion in his work to exemplify his faith in the rise of the Chinese nation.

Warner Bros. has dropped the first seven minutes of Mortal Kombat.

WarnerMedia unveiled a pair of Chinese-language original series for HBO Tuesday during the first day of APOS, Asia's leading media and entertainment industry summit. The shows include period drama Legacy, created by the same team behind the blockbuster Chinese series Story of Yanxi Palace, and contemporary noir drama Trinity of Shadows, which is a co-production with Taiwanese streaming service CatchPlay.