Month: October 2018

Hong Kong crime thriller, “Project Gutenberg” scored $37.2 million at the Chinese box office to comfortably win the under-powered second weekend of a prolonged holiday period. Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow” placed second. For the film industry, the National Day sessions started on Sunday a week earlier, with the delayed releases of several titles. After a midweek

Ukrainian filmmaker Dar Gai, whose “Namdev Bhau in Search of Silence” has its world premiere in Busan’s A Window on Asian Cinema strand, has had a fascinating passage to India. The philosophy major spent 10 years acting, directing and organizing festivals in Ukraine. While she was familiar with Western culture, the east was yet to

October 7, 2018 3:20PM PT The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is expected Monday to unveil ambitious plans for an Asian Film Center. The new organization is envisaged as a policy-making body that would promote the region’s film industry. The proposal is expected to be made at a round table conference being organized by KOFIC on the

Busan: Autumn Sun Picks up ‘Legend of Erlang,’ ‘Man Who Feels No Pain’ – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds October 7, 2018 3:00PM PT Newly-launched Hong Kong sales outfit, Autumn Sun Company has picked up international rights to animated film “The Legend of Erlang” from Chinese studio Starry Entertainment

Busan International Film Festival might be the best-known feature of Busan, the city that styles itself as the hub of Asian cinema. On the production side, Busan has long been home and the location for the majority of South Korean films as well as a several big Asian films. The city boasts the Busan Film

Japanese multihyphenate Kiko Sugino (“Snow Woman”) will produce an omnibus film directed by seven women from Asian countries, the project’s executive producer Kousuke Ono (“Kinki”) revealed at the Platform Busan forum on Sunday. Ono was participating in a discussion on Asian omnibus films moderated by Busan International Film Festival Asian cinema programmer Kim Young-woo. Another

Leading Korean studio Lotte Entertainment will produce a Korean-language remake of Mexican comedy blockbuster “Instructions Not Included.” The group has partnered with Lionsgate-affiliated Globalgate Entertainment, which is developing local-language versions of the Eugenio Derbez-directed picture. “In addition to distribution rights, our sales and acquisitions businesses, we also see the growing importance of remake deals and

Independent Chinese director Zhang Wei must be one of the best-tempered auteurs in the industry. He repeatedly accepts setbacks like badges of honor, but plows on anyway. Zhang has produced, directed and financed socially aware films “Factory Boss” and “Sound of a Dream,” with his latest film, “The Rib,” world-premiering at the Busan International Film

October 7, 2018 2:00PM PT Vertically-integrated local studio BHD | Vietnam Media Corp. is launching international sales on two of its biggest titles at Busan’s Asian Film Market. “The Tap Box” (aka “Song Lang”) is an odd couple drama set in 1980s Saigon. It pitches a cold-hearted debt collector from the gangster milieu together with

After more than 30 years of civil war, Sri Lanka has slowly returned to normalcy. But the work of a generation of filmmakers has been informed by the war. One of them is Vimukthi Jayasundara, whose “The Forbidden Land,” with the war as a backdrop, won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 2005. His subsequent

Director Catherine Hardwicke made history with “Twilight,” creating one of the highest grossing live-action films directed by a woman ever; however, at the NY Comic Con “Twilight” 10th Anniversary panel, Hardwicke said Hollywood didn’t always believe in the franchise. “It was a modest budget because everybody thought, hey, a movie for women is only going

Did they, or didn’t they? Any baby boomer who saw Franco Zeffirelli’s sumptuous “Romeo & Juliet,” which opened in U.S. theaters Oct. 8, 1968, has wondered if stars Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting actually fell in love during the production. Their performances as Shakespeare’s star-crossed ill-fated lovers were so passionate, audiences naturally thought they were

To a much greater degree than their male counterparts, many of music’s top female singers have attempted to make the leap into the next frontier: acting. Yet only a few have managed to sustain major screen careers. Does Lady Gaga possess the thespian talent to pull it off? She already has a Golden Globe, for “American

Sony’s Tom Hardy vehicle “Venom” dominated the international box office, taking first in 57 of 58 markets and grossing an impressive $125.2 million from 20,800 screens. The superhero saga has become the top October launch internationally. The studio said that “Venom” had come in above recent stand-alone superhero titles, topping “Wonder Woman” by 38%, “Ant-Man

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 4th annual Careers in Film summit on Saturday at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The day-long event of panels with industry professionals gave high school and college students insight into navigating the world of filmmaking. The opening panel featured casting director Tiffany Little

October 7, 2018 8:14AM PT The unlikely dynamic duo of “Venom” and “A Star Is Born” have livened up the fall moviegoing season with the best October weekend of all time in North America. Tom Hardy’s superhero tale “Venom” grabbed $80 million at 4,250 sites for Sony and Marvel while the Lady Gaga-starring remake of