All Asia articles – Page 533

  • News

    Pusanfestival co-directors to oversee Asian Film Market

    2008-02-05T21:07:00Z

    The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has announced that festival co-directors Kim Dong-ho and Lee Yong-kwan will now head up the Asian Film Market. Former co-director Park Kwang-su bowed out of the market position last December to focus on his filmmaking work as previously planned.PIFF deputy director and World Cinema ...

  • News

    Malaysian box office hits all-time high of $100m

    2008-02-05T17:14:00Z

    Continuing on an upward trend, Malaysia's 2007 box office crossed RM300m for the first time with its revenues hitting an all-time high of $100.64m (RM325m), up a whopping 22.55% from the previous year. In addition to the three record-breaking Hollywood blockbusters - Transformers, Spider-Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: ...

  • News

    Warner Bros boosts post-production with Prime Focus alliance

    2008-02-05T15:54:00Z

    Warner Bros has broadened the reach of its Motion Picture Imaging post-production division in a strategic alliance with India-based Prime Focus.The agreement allows the companies to work seamlessly across time zones on projects and offers film-makers access to services throughout locations on the sub-continent and London as well as New ...

  • News

    Golden Network signs seven-picture deal with Sidus FNH

    2008-02-04T20:30:00Z

    Hong Kong-based sales agent Golden Network Asia has signed a deal with major South Korean production house and start-up local distributor Sidus FNH for worldwide rights excluding Korea to seven pictures. The films include hit Olympic drama Forever The Moment (aka Women's Handball Team), which was produced by MK Pictures ...

  • Reviews

    Wonderful Town

    2008-02-04T16:08:00Z

    Dir: Aditya Assarat. Thailand, 2007. 92 minsAditya Assarat's first feature, a tragic, melancholy, minimalist love story taking place in what was once a Thai beach resort before the 2004 tsunami hit, offers a poignant portrait of a place grappling with the loss of its main source of income amid the ...

  • News

    Polybona, EMP set up talent company with Jackie Chan

    2008-02-04T13:27:00Z

    Beijing-based Polybona Film Distribution, Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) and international star Jackie Chan have launched a joint venture artist management company, Bona Yinglong Artist Management. Chan will be the chairman of the new Beijing-based company with EMP's Albert Yeung as vice-chairman. Chan and Yeung are already partnered through ...

  • News

    Assembly becomes China's second biggest local film

    2008-02-04T13:11:00Z

    Feng Xiaogang's The Assembly has become the second highest-grossing local film in mainland Chinese box office history, according to figures released by producer-distributor Huayi Brothers, with revenues reaching $36.16m (RMB260m) as of Jan 31. The record surpassed that of Zhang Yimou's 2002 film Hero, which made $34.77m (RMB250m).Zhang's 2006 imperial ...

  • Reviews

    CJ7

    2008-02-04T12:00:00Z

    Dir: Stephen Chow. Hong Kong . 2008. 86 mins.Some might have had serious misgivings about Stephen Chow's plans to blend his trademark slapstick comedy with an ET-style story about a poor child and an alien, but they need not worry. The resulting souffle CJ7 is ...

  • News

    Hoshino appointed president of Japan's Studio Ghibli

    2008-02-04T11:57:00Z

    Japan 's Studio Ghibli has announced that Koji Hoshino has taken over as company president from Toshio Suzuki as of February 1. Suzuki, who had served as producer of all Ghibli productions since 1989, became president in 2005 after the studio became independent from parent company Tokuma Publishing.Suzuki stepped down ...

  • News

    Protege, Warlords lead race for Hong Kong Film Awards

    2008-02-04T11:47:00Z

    Derek Yee's Protege, produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan, and The Warlords, directed and produced by Chan, dominated the nominations for this year's Hong Kong Film Awards. Drug-trafficking thriller Protege picked up 15 nods, including best film and director, while The Warlords scored 13, including best film, director and two nods ...

  • News

    Korea's Showbox sells M, Happiness to Japan

    2008-02-03T20:30:00Z

    South Korean distributor Showbox Mediaplex has announced the sales of director Hur Jin-ho's Happiness and Lee Myung-se's M to Avex for Japan. The announcement comes on the heels of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC)'s latest report on exports dropping by 50% last year, with flat fee and high minimum guarantee ...

  • News

    Noise dominates Australian critics awards

    2008-02-03T11:32:00Z

    Noise , a drama about a police officer with a debilitating case of tinnitus, dominated the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards (FCCA).It earned best film for producer Trevor Blainey, best director for Matthew Saville, best actor for Brendan Cowell, best editor for Geoff Hitchins, and best music score for ...

  • News

    Noise dominates Australian critics awards

    2008-02-03T11:32:00Z

    Noise , a drama about a police officer with a debilitating case of tinnitus, dominated the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards (FCCA).It earned best film for producer Trevor Blainey, best director for Matthew Saville, best actor for Brendan Cowell, best editor for Geoff Hitchins, and best music score for ...

  • News

    India's UTV changes name to avoid AIM listing confusion

    2008-02-01T16:51:00Z

    India's UTV Motion Pictures, which floated on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) last year, has changed its name to UMP Plc to avoid confusion with another AIM-listed company, UTV Media Plc (formerly Ulster Television Plc). The company will be trading under the new name from Feb 4. Its wholly-owned subsidiary ...

  • News

    Warner Bros taps Oz tax break for next Harry Potter

    2008-02-01T13:52:00Z

    Warner Bros is set to be the first company to trigger the 15% post-production, digital and visual effects (PDV) offset introduced by the Australian government in May last year. The studio has signed with local effects house Rising Sun Pictures for some of the visual effects on Harry Potter And ...

  • News

    Strand Releasing takes US rights to Lee's Help Me Eros

    2008-02-01T12:08:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has announced a slew of sales coming out of the Rotterdam Film Festival and in the run up to next week's European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin. The company has sold all US rights to Lee Kang-sheng's Venice competition entry, Help Me Eros, to Strand Releasing. The Culver ...

  • News

    Imports gain upper hand at flat Japanese box office

    2008-02-01T10:49:00Z

    According to annual data published today by The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren), overall box office revenues for 2007 totalled $1.87bn (Y198.44bn), a 2.2% decrease from 2006's $1.91bn (Y202.93bn). The figure represents earnings on 163.19 million admissions, only a 0.8% drop on the previous year's 164.56m cinemagoers. The ...

  • News

    New Zealand box office up in 2007 but no records fall

    2008-01-31T18:06:00Z

    The $118.93m (NZ$151.74m) worth of tickets sold at New Zealand cinemas in 2007 exceeded the previous year by 3.6%, but fell short of 2003, the country's stand-out year in terms of gross box office. 'All the blockbusters did well in the middle of the year, yes, but business petered out ...

  • News

    Jeonju unveils African trio for digital shorts project

    2008-01-31T17:23:00Z

    South Korea's Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) has announced three African directors - Idrissa Ouedraogo, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun and Nacer Khemir - for its Jeonju Digital Project 2008, the festival's trademark shorts troika showcase. The festival provides each director with $53,000 to make a 30-minute short to be put in the ...

  • News

    CineMart prizes go to new projects from Sophie Fiennes, Liew Seng Tat

    2008-01-30T22:00:00Z

    At tonight's CineMart 2008 closing night party in Rotterdam, the Arte France Cinema Award for best project this year's co-production market went to The Pervert's Guide To Ideology, to be directed by UK film-maker Sophie Fiennes.The honour also comes with $14,856 (Euros 10,000) in cash. The film will continue Fiennes' ...