All Asia articles – Page 482
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Taiwan's NDF to back Hou Hsiao-hsien's Assassin
Hou Hsiao-hsien's long-awaited martial arts fantasy The Assassin has become the first film to secure direct investment from Taiwan's National Development Fund. The script is based on a fantastical Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) short story about female assassin Nie Yinniang who can conjure horses out of folded paper and transform ...
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Fox Japan ramps up local production with Gunjo
20th Century Fox Japan has unveiled details of its latest foray into local feature film production with drama Gunjo (Ultramarine), starring Masami Nagasawa.Based on a popular serialised novel by Ayako Miyagi, the story depicts the spiritual recovery of a woman who returns to her father's home in Okinawa after her ...
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Disgrace adaptation takes Australian Writers Guild Award
Anna-Maria Monticelli has won an Australian Writers Guild Award for the script of her feature film adaptation of JM Coetzee's novel Disgrace, which will have its world premiere next month in a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival.In the original feature category, The Black Balloon earned its two ...
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ICA hosts premiere of Das' directorial debut Little Box Of Sweets
The entirely independently produced Little Box Of Sweets has its premiere tonight at the ICA in London.The film, which runs until Aug 28 at the ICA, is the directorial debut of UK-based actress Meneka Das, who also wrote the script. Her sister Sheenu Das produced. After the ICA, the film ...
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NZ's Ruth Harley appointed as head of Screen Australia
Ruth Harley has stepped down after a decade as chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) to take the same role at the new super agency in neighbouring Australia. She will be on deck at Screen Australia from November 15 but will attend a planning meeting of the ...
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Star Wars: The Clone Wars launches in 22 international territories to chase Knight, Mummy
The Dark Knight will soar past $300m this weekend as it bids to reclaim the overseas crown from The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor - however the force may be with an entirely new release. Warner Bros Pictures International's crime epic The Dark Knight stands at $285.9m and ...
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Warner Bros pushes back Harry Potter 6 to July 2009
In a move that highlights the crucial strategic role played by global day-and-date releases, Warner Bros has pushed back Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince from November 21 to July 17 2009.The sixth episode in the studio's highly successful children's fantasy franchise will now open day-and-date domestically and in the ...
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NZ's Ruth Harley appointed ashead of Screen Australia
Ruth Harley has stepped down as chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) to take the same role at the new super agency in the neighbouring and much bigger country of Australia. She will be on deck at Screen Australia from November 15, taking the reins from Lyn ...
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Animation draws Toho towards record-setting year
Japan's Toho Studios is on track to reach its stated goal of Y60bn ($548.5m) in box office earnings this year, which would make it the most the successful year in the company's history. Toho announced that in the first seven months of 2008 its releases earned $333.9m (Y36.52bn), a 26% ...
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Hwang leaves Shanghai-based Meridian Pictures
Bill Hwang is leaving Shanghai-based Meridian Pictures Group after two-and-a-half years as the company's director of international distribution. A former executive of Korea's Tube Entertainment and Kang Jegyu Films, Hwang came on board the Shanghai-based company in March 2006. He will officially leave at the end of August. Meridian has ...
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Celestialsigns distribution deals withUS trio
Hong Kong's Celestial Pictures has signed distribution agreements with BCI, Media Blasters and Well Go USA to release Shaw Brothers martial arts titles on home video in the US and Canada. The three partners, which specialise in distributing Asian-language content, have licensed the rights to 45 martial arts titles from ...
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Singh is Kinng rules on opening weekend
The Indian Film Company-Studio 18 release Singh Is Kinng has became the biggest Bollywood opener of 2008 in India and overseas. The success of the film, produced by Vipul Shah and directed by Anees Bazmee, follows a vast publicity and promotion campaign, while the film itself has met with mixed ...
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Showbox pre-sells Rough Cut to Japan's Pony Canyon
Korean sales agent Showbox has pre-sold action film Rough Cut to Pony Canyon for Japan. Directed by Kim Ki-duk protege Jang Hun, the $1.5m film wrapped principal photography last month.The film stars Kang Ji-hwan and So Ji-sub - well-known in both Japan and Korea for their TV drama performances. Kang ...
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Pusan's Asian Cinema Fund awards funding to 27 projects
The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) Committee has announced the 27 films selected to receive backing from the Asian Cinema Fund (ACF) this year. For the Independent Feature Script and Project Development Fund category, three Korean projects, including Seaside by Kim Jong-kwan, and four Asian projects, including Woman On Fire ...
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Gyeonggito supportUS-Korea ventures with $100m fund
South Korea's Gyeonggi province has launched an entertainment initiative to promote co-ventures with Hollywood, which includes a $100m fund for films, animation and games projects with global appeal. 'Gyeonggi Province will be putting in $20m seed money and we are currently bringing in other international investors,' said Yoonsik Choi, department ...
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Red Cliff becomes highest-grossing local film in China
John Woo's war epic Red Cliff has become the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Chinese film history. The film's mainland China distributor, China Film Group, said it had surpassed the RMB300m benchmark on Monday with a haul of $44.08m (RMB302.4m). The figure broke the RMB290m record set by Zhang Yimou's Curse ...
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Beijing box office expected to drop 50% during Olympics
The Olympic Gamesare drawing attention away from Chinese cinemas, especially in the host city of Beijing, where exhibitors estimate that box office sales dropped by 50% over the three-day weekend (August 8-10). China's public services and private companies all had the day off on Friday (Aug 8), the opening day ...
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Japan's Fuji TV to produce third Umizaru film
Fuji TV producer Hirotsugu Usui has announced a third sequel in the hit Umizaru marine action franchise. The news comes after two years of petitions by fans for a continuation in the story, leading Usui and the network to start work on a third installment. Umizaru 3 will again be ...
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Box Office: Knight flies ahead of Pineapple Express
The Dark Knight clung on to the number one spot at the North American box-office for the fourth consecutive weekend and edged out Sony's stoner comedy Pineapple Express thanks to an estimated $26m haul that boosted the film to within touching distance of Star Wars' second spot in the all-time ...
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The Mummy opens tops in 16 of its 22 new markets
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor kept The Dark Knight at bay for a second consecutive weekend and earned its stripes with another eye-popping result thanks to an estimated $56.1m from 6,453 sites in 49 Universal/UPI territories. The adventure sequel stands at $141.1m after two weekends and led ...