All Asia articles – Page 490

  • News

    China's Chengtian buys controlling stake in Golden Harvest

    2008-06-05T14:26:00Z

    Mainland China's Chengtian Entertainment Group has picked up a 55.9% majority stake in Hong Kong's Golden Harvest Group.Beijing-based Chengtian previously secured its place as the largest single shareholder in the Hong Kong entertainment group last November. The latest series of deals took Chengtian's 19.7% stake in Golden Harvest to 55.9%.Chengtian ...

  • News

    KOFICDevelopment Lab announces mentors and fellows

    2008-06-05T05:04:00Z

    The Korean Film Council (KOFIC)'s Filmmakers' Development Lab (FDL) has confirmed its mentors, including Warner Brothers executive Lauren Craniotes, and five fellows who will be developing their English-language projects for presentation at the IFP's Independent Film Week in New York and the Asian Film Market in Pusan. Craniotes helped develop ...

  • News

    The Caregiver, Il Divo among international box-office hits

    2008-06-04T17:16:00Z

    Filipino film The Caregiver proved a sensational local hit this weekend with a whopping $20,616 screen average in its first weekend, the highest by a long run over the three-day period. The top 40 international films generated $181.9m across 42,426 screens for the period of May 30-June 1. For the ...

  • News

    Asia Culture Technology Investment launches $15m content fund

    2008-06-04T09:32:00Z

    Korean venture capital firm Asia Culture Technology Investment (ACTI) has completed a $15m fund for films, TV drama series, performing arts, animation, and games. In what is being called a first for a city council investing such a significant sum in a fund, Busan Metropolitan City is participating with $2m, ...

  • News

    Usen, NTT Docomo and KDDI heat up Japanese mobile movie market

    2008-06-03T12:48:00Z

    Japan's biggest contents and mobile serviceproviders Usen, NTT Docomo, and KDDI are heating up the mobile phone market for feature films with new services and upgrades this month. Usen's Mobile GyaO service launched a major upgrade yesterday for subscribers to NTT Docomo's i-mode internet service to watch GyaO movie, animation, ...

  • News

    CJ Entertainment wraps further Good Cannes deals

    2008-06-03T10:10:00Z

    South Korea's CJ Entertainment has announced a raft of further deals from a busyCannes, led by the UK deal for Kim Jee-woon's 'Oriental Western' The Good, The Bad, The Weird to Icon Film Distribution.(Theformerly announced UK deal with Tartanwhen Cineclick Asia was handling the titlehadpreviously beencancelled.)Kim's homage to Sergio Leone's ...

  • News

    Hato set sail on Korea-Japan co-production Boat

    2008-06-03T06:59:00Z

    South Korea's Kraze Pictures has announced a co-production Boat with Japan's IMJ Entertainment to star Ha Jung-woo from recent Cannes thriller The Chaser and Satoshi Tsumabuki from arthouse favorite Josee, The Tiger And The Fish. Byun Bonghyun, producer at Kraze said, 'The Korean market has its limits, and the Japan ...

  • News

    Australia's Prodigy, UK's TFD rejoin for thriller Road Train

    2008-06-02T14:49:00Z

    Producers Michael Robertson of Australia's ProdigyMovies and Paul Cowan and Chris Wheeldon of the UK's TFD will again work together on Road Train.The supernatural thriller will mark the debut of director Dean Francis, working from a script by Clive Hopkins.Prodigy and TFD also worked together on crocodile horror hit Black ...

  • News

    Astro Boy creator Tezuka's MW gets live action treatment

    2008-06-02T12:30:00Z

    Legendary manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka's MW is being adapted into a live-action film starring Hiroshi Tamaki.Based on a manga serialised in Big Comic between 1976 and 1978, MW stars Tamaki as a high level banker leading a double life as a calculating serial killer. He takes revenge on ...

  • News

    Kang to head KOFIC

    2008-06-02T03:19:00Z

    South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has appointed Kang Han-sup as the new chairman of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). A well-known critic, Kang has been a professor of film at Seoul Institute of Arts since 1994. His experience also includes serving on the Media Ratings Board in ...

  • News

    Europe goes Sex mad, but Indy still on top overseas

    2008-06-01T22:32:00Z

    Knocked off its domestic perch, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull stayed on top overseas despite hot weather across Germany and central Europe as a muscular $71.5m haul from 8,439 sites in 60 territories boosted the score to $266m.This weekend's domestic champion Sex And The City came ...

  • News

    Europe joins Sex craze as Paramount pair cross $200m

    2008-05-30T02:10:00Z

    Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull will continue to dominate overseas this weekend and should soar past $200m.The adventure currently stands at more than $188.7m through Paramount Pictures International (PPI) and opens in India and several other key markets.Stablemate Iron Man will bring more good news for ...

  • News

    Cannes buyers snatch up Michael Moore's latest polemic

    2008-05-29T23:35:00Z

    Michael Moore's follow-up to Fahrenheit 9/11 led a strong Cannes sales market for Paramount Vantage, solidifying its credentials as an emergent heavyweight supplier.Moore descended on the Croisette to personally introduce the project - which he is now understood to be filming at undisclosed locations - and described it as a ...

  • News

    Cornish, Wasikowska honoured at Aussie Breakthrough Awards in LA

    2008-05-28T23:17:00Z

    Abbie Cornish and Mia Wasikowska will be the centre of attention at the Los Angeles-based Australians In Film's (AiF) fourth annual Breakthrough Awards on June 5.AiF president Susie Dobson announced she has established the Heath Ledger Scholarship Fund, which will be presented annually to a young Australia-based actor to help ...

  • News

    Cantet's The Class takes top honours from Screen's Critics Jury

    2008-05-28T22:28:00Z

    Laurent Cantet's The Class not only won the jury's Palme d'Or in Cannes, it also is the top-rated film from Screen International's Cannes critics jury. It scored an average of 3.3 out of a possible 4.0, making it the most popular of the 22 films in Competition.This year's jury votes ...

  • News

    Cannes hit Gomorrah crosses $8m in Italy

    2008-05-28T16:54:00Z

    While Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull clearly took the international crown this weekend, representing a whopping 65% of the top 40 revenue, a couple of Cannes competition films fared well in their home territories, each passing the $1m mark.The top 40 international films generated $225.5m across ...

  • News

    Fortissimo's racks up Cannes deals for Tokyo Sonata, Serbis

    2008-05-28T14:03:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has announced further sales from its Cannes slate.Wong Kar Wai's Ashes Of Time Redux, which screened out of competition, sold to Korea (Sponge) and the UK (Artificial Eye).Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata, in Un Certain Regard, sold to Korea (Sponge), France (ARP), Israel (United King), and Singapore (Cathay).Nathan Rissman's ...

  • News

    Narnia takes crown away from Partners in Japan

    2008-05-28T06:18:00Z

    Disney's The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian ascended to the throne at the box office this past weekend, earning $5.34m (Y551.84m) on 782 screens for a per screen average of $6,831.In an atypical release pattern, Caspian opened last Wednesday (May 21) without being tied in to a holiday or designated ...

  • News

    Naomi Kawase unveils ambitious plans for new Japanese festival

    2008-05-25T17:15:00Z

    Film-maker Naomi Kawase has unveiled plans to launch the Nara International Film Festival.Kawase - whose The Mourning Forest won the Cannes 2007 Grand Prix - is chairing non-profit organisation The Nara International Film Festival Planning Committee and is lobbying for funds for a major event through the federal government's $24.2m ...

  • News

    Jupiter picks up French-speaking territories to Yasukuni

    2008-05-24T15:35:00Z

    Jupiter Communications has picked up all rights for French-speaking territories to Li Ying's documentary Yasukuni, from Hong Kong-based sales agent The Film Library. The controversial film, about the Yasukuni shrine to worship the war dead in Tokyo, was released in Japan on May 3. It was originally scheduled to open ...