All articles by Silvia Wong – Page 19
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Lucasfilm sets up Singapore animation studio
Making its first foray intoAsia, US entertainment company Lucasfilm has set up Lucasfilm AnimationSingapore for the production of digital animated content including films.Through the Singapore outfitGeorge Lucas aims to combine Asian cinema with animation. 'We can create a newstyle of animation that will blend East and West and offer something ...
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China box office stunned by Flying Daggers
Chinese director ZhangYimou's martial arts epic House Of FlyingDaggers has become the biggestever opener in China.Released on 360 printsacross China, the hugely anticipated period film was the number one earner overthe weekend (July 16-18), collecting $6.7m (RMB55m).The opening figure passedthe previous record held by Zhang's Hero,which earned $6.2m (RM52m) on ...
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EMI buys into Hong Kong's Golden Harvest
EMI Group, the world'sthird-largest music company, plans to buy a stake in Hong Kong film maker anddistributor Golden Harvest Entertainment.Golden Harvest said in astatement on Monday it wants to raise US$4.9m (HK$38m) via the issue of 155million new shares to Typhoon Music (PRC) Ltd. which is jointly owned by EMIGroup ...
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Singapore, China players partner for Stupid sequel
Singapore's MediaCorp Raintree Picturesis tapping into the huge China market following an agreement with the ShanghaiFilm Group to make a sequel to its 2002 box office hit I Not Stupid.Like the first movie, I Not Stupid 2 is a satirical comedy tobe directed and written by Jack Neo. Raintree CEO ...
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Singapore Bet pays off with record haul
Singapore's satiricalcomedy The Best Bet scored$66,000 (S$113,530) on 38 prints on its June 9 opening, making it the biggestever opening day gross for a local film. It also raked in $99,000 from itssneak preview over the weekend.The $584,000 The Best Bet, made by homegrown TV comedian-turned-director JackNeo and starring a ...
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Media Asia goes for Singapore listing
Through a listing inSingapore, Hong Kong film outfit Media Asia is going for an initial publicoffering in July in a bid to raise $11.7m (S$20m).'The fund raised through theIPO will be used to increase our film output as well as to make movies withhefty budgets,' said executive director and production ...
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Increased cinema-going prompts new cinemas in Malaysia
Withthe robust growth in cinema attendance, Singapore-based exhibitor CathayCineplexes is beefing up its presence in Malaysia with plans to add 13 newcinema screens across the straits.A 10-screenmultiplex with over 2,000 seats will be sited at Cineleisure Damansara, anentertainment complex in Kuala Lumpur similar in concept to Cathay's Singaporeflagship nine-screen Cineplex.Another ...
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Wong Kar Wai takes on kung fu grandmaster
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai has set his sights on the life story of Ip Man (pictured), the real life kung fu master of the legendary star Bruce Lee, as the subject of his next film. A spokesperson of Wong's production outfit, Jet Tone Films, said that Ip's ...
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Malaysia censor approves Kill Bill - but only Vol 2
Quentin Tarantino's KillBill Vol 2 has been passed by Malaysia's censorship board with a 18certificate - although Kill Bill Vol 1 was never released in theterritory.Local distributor SunnyFilm, which is releasing Vol 2, didnot even bother to acquire the first part, knowing that it would never beapproved by the censorship ...
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Singapore unveils international funding incentive
In an attempt to lureinternational film makers to shoot and produce their pictures in thecity-state, Singapore has announced Film In Singapore, a $5.8m (S$10m) fundingincentive set up by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).Under the scheme, filmmakers will receive a subsidy of up to 50% of the expenses incurred duringfilming in ...
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Kal Ho Naa Ho dominates Indian Academy Awards
NikhilAdvani's Kal Ho Naa Ho walked away with eight top honours at thisyear's International Indian Film Academy awards (IIFA) -Bollywood's equivalent to the Oscar's - bagging best film, bestactress (Preity Zinta), best supporting actor (Saif Ali Khan) and actress (JayaBachchan) as well as four out of the five awards in ...
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Malaysian Princess eyes international market
Through an exclusivemarketing deal with Rossellini and Associates, epic drama Puteri GunungLedang (The Princess Of Mount Ledang) is set to be the first Malaysian filmthat will break into the international market.Malaysia's new productioncompany Enfiniti is financing the Malay-language film, which is made at abudget of $4m (RM15m), the most expensive ...
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Kapur teams with Rings producer for Indian movies
Indian director ShekharKapur (Elizabeth) is teaming up with Lord Of The Rings producerBarrie Osborne for the first time to make two films in India.First up is Paani (Water),a $20m futuristic tale which addresses the issue of water scarcity and featuresa love story set in Mumbai, 15 years in the future. ...
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Kal Ho Naa Ho dominates Indian Academy awards
NikhilAdvani's Kal Ho Naa Ho walked awaywith eight top honours at this year's International Indian Film Academy awards(IIFA) - Bollywood's equivalent to the Oscar's - bagging best film, bestactress (Preity Zinta), best supporting actor(Saif Ali Khan) and actress (Jaya Bachchan) as well as four out of the fiveawards in the ...
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Hong Kong tycoon acquire a 17% stake in movie powerhouse Golden Harvest
Hong Kong property andtelecoms tycoon Li Ka Shing looks set to acquire a 17% stake in moviepowerhouse Golden Harvest Entertainment from Taiwan's computer giant Acer,which was brought in as a shareholder in 2000.The transaction between Liand Acer is understood to be a done deal. An official announcement - nowpending approval ...
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Censored: Singapore Film Festival
As this year'sSingapore International Film Festival draws to a close on May 1, festivaldirector Philip Cheah has revealed that the Board of Film Censors banned threefilms and asked to cut another three which were scheduled for screening -effectively removing six titles from the event.Censorship is aconstant problem for the festival. ...
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Distance takes top Silver Screen award in Singapore
Turkish director Nuri BilgeCeylan's Uzak (Distance) emerged as the main winner at the Silver ScreenAwards of the 17th Singapore International Film Festival, bagging three majorprizes in the Asian feature film category.Beating 12 other contenders,Uzak was named the Best Film, with Ceylan winning Best Director andMehmet Emin Toprak earning Best Actor. ...
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Malaysia cracks down on film piracy
Malaysia scored a major crackdown on piracy on 1 April when $1.3m worth of illegal DVDs and VCDs and replicating equipment were seized from a single syndicate. Some of the discs were for distribution to India.The seizure is the biggest this year: together with 18 CD burners, more than 800,000 ...
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Astro poised to enter China Pay-TV market
Through Celestial Pictures, its 100% owned subsidiary in Hong Kong, Malaysia's pay-TV operator Astro All Asia Networks is poised to replicate its popular Celestial Movies channel in China.According to William Pfeiffer, CEO of Celestial Pictures, the company is waiting for a decision on landing rights in China. If approved, Celestial ...
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Singapore unveils world's first digital multiplex
Singapore exhibitor Eng Wah Organization is on target to roll out the world's first full digital multiplex, strengthening Singapore's reputation as a pioneer in digital cinema technology.Installation of 2K digital screens at a five-screen multiplex of Eng Wah is near completion. The five digital cinema screens supplied by Barco are ...