Latest – Page 445
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Japan, Korea make strong showing in HAF 2008 line-up
Japan's Nakata Hideo (Ring series) and South Korea's Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) and Bong Joon-ho (The Host) are among the world-renowned Asian filmmakers who have had projects selected for the 2008 edition of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). A total of 25 projects have been selected for the ...
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Yip rejoins Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures
May Yip has rejoined Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) as general manager for distribution. Yip left EMP in 2003 to join Fortune Star Entertainment in which she spent the next four years heading up distribution. In her new role at EMP, she reports directly to chief executive Albert Lee.Lee ...
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Li Kai wins top Beijing Projectprize
Chinese filmmaker Li Kai has taken the top Beijing Project prizeat the Second Forum on Young Generation in Filmmaking in the Chinese capital. Li's debut project August Unfinished was awarded a $1,364 (RMB10, 000) cash prize and a grant of $136,400 (RMB1m) by Chinese film investor Idealink Entertainment for the ...
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Seven number one openings for I Am Legend
I Am Legend consolidated on last weekend's promising launch in Asia with seven new number one debuts through Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) that contributed to an estimated $25.3m weekend haul from 15 markets.The sci-fi horror adaptation currently stands at $54.3m and is well poised to build throughout the holiday ...
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Feng's Assembly enjoys strong opening in China
Feng Xiaogang's war movie The Assembly grossed $2.03m (RMB15m) on its opening day in China yesterday, according to producer and distributor Huayi Brothers Pictures. The figure equals the record set by Zhang Yimou's 2006 hit, Curse Of The Golden Flower. The film, which opened on Thursday (Dec 20), was released ...
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US films' box office in China up by 37% in 2007
The box office revenues of US blockbusters continued to grow in mainland China in 2007. The combined grosses of the 20 revenue-sharing foreign films reached $158.87m (RMB1.17bn), an increase of 37.6% on 2006. Based on statistics which combine the Chinese Film Bureau's weekly box office figures and Screen International's own ...
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Thai interim parliament approves controversial film act
Thailand approved the controversial new Film and Video Act yesterday during the last days of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), the interim parliament installed by the military junta until Sunday's general election. The new law will see the launch of a film rating system for the first time, which in ...
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Pursuit Of Happyness cleared for China release
Amid rumors of a prolonged black-out period on US blockbusters, Sony's Will Smith-starrer The Pursuit Of Happyness is now scheduled for release in China on Jan 17. Chinese film import officials confirmed the release date. The film will be released on a revenue-sharing basis but will be shown only in ...
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Juthamas resigns from PPP following bribery accusations
Former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Juthamas Siriwan, yesterday (Dec 20) tendered her resignation as deputy head of Thailand's Puea Padin Party following the revelation of a bribery scandal over the Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF). The corruption link to Juthamas has been making top headlines all ...
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Kim to replace Shin as CJ international chief
Leading Korean investor/distributor CJ Entertainment has announced that head of International Business, David Shin, has stepped down. Former head of Domestic Marketing and Distribution, Kathy Kim, will take his place with an expanded role as head of International Business and Worldwide Distribution. Kim will continue to oversee distribution of foreign ...
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Luhrmann's Australia helps double Oz production to $232m
On first glance, figures released today indicate that more money is being poured into Australian features, which are traditionally made for very low budgets, but the improvement is illusionary. The numbers in the Australian Film Commission's (AFC) annual production survey only look healthier than the previous year because they have ...
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Khoo wraps Tamil-language drama You And Me
Singapore director Eric Khoo today wrapped his latest film You And Me after a 12-day shoot. The picture features a Tamil cast and the dialogues are in the Tamil language, making it the first Indian Tamil film made in Singapore. Amateur actor Francis Bosco plays a drunkard father who redeems ...
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Indian director Vidhu Vinod Chopra signs with ICM
Indianfilmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who directed the short documentary Oscar nomineeAn Encounter With Faces, has signed with ICM.Choprais preparing his English language debut, the thriller 64 Squares, and isdeveloping the Indian fantasy epic Talisman and a satire on India's educationalsystem.Hiscredits include the Bollywood Munna Bhai franchise as well as Parinda, ...
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International box office up 17% on last week boosted by Warlords
Chinese heavy-hitter The Warlords was this weekend's highest non-US entry to the international chart, helping boost the top 40 revenue by 17.3% week-on-week.The top 40 international films generated $169.7m from 43,384 screens for the period of December 14-16.For the full international chart, compiled by Len Klady, click here.The period epic, ...
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Gerald Green arrested over Bangkok film festival bribes
Los Angeles-based film executive Gerald Green and his wife Patricia of Film Festival Management (FFM) were arrested yesterday (Dec 18) in a Los Angeles federal court for paying bribes to obtain lucrative contracts for the Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF). The US Justice Department announced that a criminal complaint alleges ...
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China Film raises capital for digital production centre
Continuing its capital-raising streak, Chinese state-owned conglomerate, China Film Group Corporation, has issued $67.7m (RMB500m) in corporate bonds to finance digital film production and cinemas. The seven-year bonds have a fixed annual coupon rate of 6.1% and are available to domestic institutional investors. China Merchants Securities is the lead underwriter. ...
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Indigenous film-makers line up To Hell And Back, Samson and Delilah
Australia 's indigenous film-makers are telling their own stories with two features being prepared. Richard Frankland's road movie To Hell and Back finished its six-week shoot in Western Australia last week. Financed by Film Finance Corporation Australia and the local state agency ScreenWest, it has been dubbed the Australian version ...
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Jakarta honours 3 Days To Forever, Nagabonar
Riri Riza's road movie 3 Days To Forever was named best Indonesian film as the 9th Jakarta International Film Festival (Jiffest) came to a close. Deddy Mizwar bagged best Indonesian director for his comedy hit Nagabonar (Becomes) 2. Each was awarded a cash prize of US$5,000.To nurture young filmmakers, Jiffest ...
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Warlords rampages across Asia with $15m opening
Peter Ho-sun Chan's The Warlords has set a record as the biggest simultaneous Chinese release of the year, grossing $15m across five Asian territories on its opening weekend. The bulk of the box office came from China where the film became the biggest domestic opener of the year, clinching $12.2 ...
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Toho set for record annual box office, announces 2008 lineup
Japan's largest distributor, Toho Studios, has surpassed box office earnings of $442m (Y50b) for the fourth year in a row, the company announced. The company's releases during the lucrative Christmas/New Year's period are set to break Toho's record-setting year in 2006.Earnings up until the end of November totaled $476.4m (Y53.63b). ...