China's Zonbo, Singapore's Homerun Asia partner on slate of films

At the first ScreenSingapore event, Chinese media investment, production and distribution company Zonbo Media and Singapore-based film production and distribution company Homerun Asia today (June 7) have signed a partnership to collaborate on a slate of films starting with a remake of Dangerous Liaisons and the historical film 1965.

“In the next three years Zonbo Media and Homerun Asia will together invest RMB 400-500 million ($61.7m - $77.1m) in at least five commercial Asian films, including Dangerous Liaisons and 1965,” said Chen Weiming, founder and chairman of Zonbo Media.

Adapted from the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which has been remade into different films and plays including the US film starring John Malkovich and Glen Close, Zonbo and Homerun’s Dangerous Liaisons is set in 1930s Shanghai. Korean director Hur Jin-ho, whose previous films include A Good Rain Knows and Christmas In August, is directing the film.

A social-political thriller with a multi-threaded plot structure, 1965 is set in that year, when Singapore separated from Malaysia amidst racial and ideological tensions. The film is written and directed by Lee Thean-jeen of Homecoming. Peter Chan is credited as supervisory director.

Daniel Yun, founder and CEO of Homerun Asia, said, “Asia is our primary focus; China is our most crucial Asian market. Since the inception of Homerun Asia, we have been looking for a trusted partner in China to develop projects with. Zonbo Media is one of the few media companies in China with an international outlook. We are pleased to have found a partner with the same direction and focus as ourselves and hope that the relationship between the two companies will be meaningful and long-lasting. The first two titles of this collaboration, Dangerous Liaisons and 1965, demonstrate what we are both looking for – a powerful story and a commercial cast in a groundbreaking project.”