All Asia articles – Page 555

  • News

    Original version of Lost In Beijing to screen at EFM

    2007-02-06T13:53:00Z

    The production and sales companies behind Berlin competition title Lost In Beijing say they plan to screen the original version of the film at the European Film Market, rather than the modified version that was approved yesterday by China 's censors. French sales outfit Films Distribution issued a statement today ...

  • News

    Fox buys UK and Australian rights to Scorsese's Stones documentary

    2007-02-06T13:46:00Z

    20th Century Fox International has picked up UK, Australia and New Zealand rights to Martin Scorsese's upcoming Rolling Stones documentary from international sales agent Fortissimo Films. As previously announced, Paramount will roll out the as-yet-untitled documentary in the US in late 2007. The film, which is centred around two New ...

  • News

    US studios set to do battle over Chinese New Year

    2007-02-06T12:44:00Z

    Five US films will be slugging it out at the Chinese box office during the upcoming Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) holiday season, a lucrative box office period that until a few years ago was reserved for local productions. The five foreign contenders are Sony's Casino Royale, which opened last ...

  • News

    Controversial Black Friday finally cleared for release in India

    2007-02-06T12:17:00Z

    After being banned for 20 months, controversial docu-drama Black Friday, based on the 1993 bombings in Mumbai, is being released in India and overseas this Friday. Adlabs Films acquired the worldwide distribution rights and is releasing it on 100 screens in India, 10 in the USA and 3 in South ...

  • News

    Odeon and Sky Filmworks strike first deal for UK rights to Kenny

    2007-02-06T04:00:00Z

    Odeon and Sky Filmworks, the new joint venture between broadcaster Sky and UK exhibitor Odeon, has announced details of its first acquisition. The company's debut release in UK theatres will be Australian hit comedy Kenny, a mockumentary about an employee in a company that rents toilets for big events. 'It ...

  • News

    Chinese censors approve Lost In Beijing with major cuts

    2007-02-05T11:45:00Z

    Li Yu's Berlin competition title Lost In Beijing was finally passed by China's Film Reviewing Committee this afternoon. However the approved film is 15 minutes shorter than the original version according to the film's producer Fang Li. Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the Film Bureau under the State Administration of ...

  • News

    Lost In Beijing producer awaits final decision from censors

    2007-02-05T04:06:00Z

    Fang Li, the producer of Berlin competition title Lost In Beijing, is having a final meeting with Chinese film censors today (Feb 5) in a last-ditch attempt to win approval for the film to participate in the festival. The Film Reviewing Committee under the State Administration of Radio, Film and ...

  • News

    Smith brings Happyness to SPRI at international box office

    2007-02-04T23:42:00Z

    The Pursuit Of Happyness ended the weekend as the number one overseas attraction in a highly successful week for Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI).The rags-to-riches drama stars Academy Award nominee Will Smith and grossed an estimated $16m to raise the tally to $71m.The result was buoyed by impressive debuts in ...

  • News

    Cineclick Asia picks up Berlin competitor Tuya's Marriage

    2007-02-02T16:48:00Z

    Korean sales agent Cineclick Asia has announced Berlinale competition film Tuya's Marriage as the latest addition to its EFM slate. The company picked up international rights to the Chinese film excluding French-speaking territories, BeNeLux, and Indonesia - which Pretty Pictures acquired at last year's Asian Film Market. Mainland China distribution ...

  • News

    Australian drama West strikes Lightning

    2007-02-02T02:30:00Z

    Los Angeles-based sales and distribution company Lightning Entertainment has boarded the edgy Australian drama West and will introduce the project to buyers in Berlin next week.The film will receive its world premiere in the Generation 14plus section of the festival and explores what happens when two slacker cousins find their ...

  • News

    Int'l Box Office Preview: the march rolls on for big US trio

    2007-02-01T22:18:00Z

    Ben Stiller, Will Smith and Beyonce are all in action this weekend as the race to dominate the international arena heats up.Fox International's Night At The Museum starring Stiller has swept all before it in the overseas arena for several weeks and must still be the one to beat.The family ...

  • News

    Golden Flower leads Hong Kong Film Awards nominations

    2007-02-01T14:35:00Z

    Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower is the clear frontrunner in the 26th edition of the Hong Kong Film Awards after earning 14 nominations, including best film, best director, best actor for Chow Yun Fat and best actress for Gong Li. The lavish historical drama also garnered nods for ...

  • News

    Fortissimo takes on non-Asian sales for Blood Brothers

    2007-02-01T12:24:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has picked up worldwide sales rights excluding Asia for Blood Brothers from CMC Entertainment and John Woo and Terrence Chang's Lions Rock Productions. Fortissimo will commence sales at the upcoming European Film Market. The London and New York University-educated Alexi Tan, discovered by Woo and Chang, is making ...

  • News

    Korean Film Commission plans US office led by Sun-young Moon

    2007-02-01T11:20:00Z

    The Korean Film Commission (KOFIC) has announced plans to open an LA office within the first half of the year, as part of an initiative to step up support for Korean films and filmmakers in the US. 'The initiative works on two planes - the industry side and the academic,' ...

  • News

    Global box office down slightly this week, as Germany and Japan slip

    2007-02-01T11:17:00Z

    Global box office takings took a slight dip of 2.9% this week in comparison to the same week last year and fell by less than 1% from last week, according to the Screen International Screen Index.The marginal decrease was led by year-on-year falls in major territories such as Germany, Japan, ...

  • News

    Lionsgate Australia makes a takeover bid for Magna Pacific

    2007-02-01T10:41:00Z

    The newly launched Lionsgate Australia has finally confirmed that it is hoping to get a quick leg-up into the Australian market by taking over Magna Pacific, the biggest independent DVD distributor in the country. Macquarie Private Portfolio Management Limited, the largest institutional shareholder in Magna Pacific, yesterday indicated that it ...

  • News

    Kadokawa to sell library online through BitTorrent

    2007-02-01T01:02:00Z

    Kadokawa Group Holdings has announced plans to set up an online pay service in the US offering 200 films from its library beginning this February. The service will use BitTorrent's peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software to distribute the titles. Kadokawa's stateside subsidiary, Kadokawa Pictures USA, will handle digitisation of the library ...

  • Reviews

    Clubland

    2007-01-31T22:02:00Z

    Directed by Cherie Nowlan. Australia. 2007. 108 mins.Clubland, Cherie Nowlan's first film since Thank God He Met Lizzie in 1997 is a rambling but likeable movie which continues the Ozzie tradition of blending offbeat comedy and high melodrama, a campy feelgood cocktail familiar from Muriel's Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, The Adventures ...

  • News

    Thailand 's box office up by 2.5% in 2006

    2007-01-31T10:03:00Z

    Thailand 's box office scored a hat trick in 2006 by breaking the $87m (BHT3bn) milestone for three years running. Total box office in the major cities of Bangkok and Chiangmai reached $91.69m (BHT3.15bn) in 2006, up by 2.5% from the previous year. The results were better than the Thai ...

  • News

    AFC selects eight projects for low-budget development lab

    2007-01-31T09:23:00Z

    Chopper producer Michele Bennett and Robyn Kershaw, whose credits include Looking For Alibrandi, are among the eight teams that have projects selected by the Australian Film Commission's (AFC) development laboratory for low-budget films. The series of workshops aim to simultaneously develop a film's script, the director's vision and the production ...