All articles by Jean Noh – Page 89
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Lotte makes first move into international sales
LOTTE EMBARKS ON INTERNATIONAL SALESBy Jean NohLeading Korean exhibitor Lotte Entertainment is getting its feet wet in international sales with A Millionaire's First Love, selling the teen romance to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand at this Filmart, and is currently looking at deals for Hong Kong/China and Vietnam.The teen romance starring ...
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Chinese TV's biggest film channel grabs MK trio
Korean producer/distributor MK Pictures has announced a deal with China's government-run film channel CCTV-6 for broadcast rights to three films. The pact, signed in Beijing, is for MK Pictures library titles YMCA Baseball Team, a historical melodrama, Jung Ji-woo's critically acclaimed Happy End and melodrama If The Sun Rises In ...
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Adrift finds safe harbour with Korean distributor
Summit Entertainment hasclosed a deal with Korean major distributor Showbox Mediaplex forEnglish-language thriller Adrift. About a groupof holiday-makers who get stranded in the water without a ladder to get back upinto their yacht - with a baby alone on board, the film was all but sold out inBerlin. Korean acquisitionsexecutives ...
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Thailand's M Pictures gets Restless
Korea's CJ Entertainment has pre-sold swordplay fantasy Restless to Thailand's M Pictures. The film, starring Daisy's Jung Woo-sung, is about theexperiences of a slain warrior who remains in a 49-day purgatory beforeascending to heaven. Director Jo Dong-oh was formerly an assistant to Kim Sung-suon the swordplay epic Musa.Budgeted at $9m, ...
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Korea primed for novel entertainment
Korea's Prime Entertainment is poised to sign with Japanese novelist group Osawa Office to adapt an Arimasa Osawa novel for the screen, potentially leading to a partnership between the two companies for adaptation, production, and distribution.Head of production at Prime Entertainment, Lee Seung-jae tells Screen International: "With success, the deal ...
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Showbox sounds out dub-only release
In a bold marketing stratagem,leading Korean investor/distributor Showbox Mediaplex is considering releasing the animation Hoodwinked! inits locally dubbed version only. The irreverent whodunit comedy basedon the Little Red Riding Hood talewas picked up by Showbox in the pre-buy stages fromCinema Management Group.Known for its smart-bombingdistribution strategies for films like last ...
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Chinese studio start-up hires sales veteran
Korean sales executive Bill Hwang has moved to Meridian Pictures Group(MPG) as Director of International Distribution. Formerly of Tube Entertainment and KangJeKyu Film, Korean-AustralianHwang has relocated to Shanghai to join the newly formed Chineseinvestor/distributor.MPG is currently in the process of completing output deals for mainlandChina and international distribution from leading ...
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Biopic spies North Korean location shoot
A biopic about a Korean composer who was found guilty of spying for the North while in Germany is about to become the firstSouth Korean film to shoot on location in North Korea's capital city. LJ Film, with the backing ofparent company Innotz/Prime Entertainment, looks set to film Yun Isang, ...
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Korea to say hello to MGM, Hallyuwood
South Korea is in line for its first two entertainment themeparks - a Korean Wave-themed "Hallyuwood" and a Hollywood-themed MGM Studio City.Hallyuwood is set to open inGyeong-gi Province by 2008, while MGM plans to open an MGM Studio Cityin Busan by 2011.Taking its name from"Hallyu," which means Korean Wave in ...
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Korean DVD market springs to life for US studios
The US studios can expect DVD sales in South Korea to reach a record high this year, according to localIT trade publication The Electronic Times.Industry analysts estimatethat the five major US studios in Korea, including Warner Bros, Buena Vista and Fox, should see their combined DVD sales reach5.2 million units ...
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Busan boosted by spring shoots
For years the southern South Korean cityof Busan (also spelt "Pusan")was known as something of a cultural backwater, more so when compared to its biggermetropolitan rival Seoul.Then five years ago director KT Kwak shot his 1980s-set feature Friend back in his hometown, taking advantage of its distinctive characteristicssuch as the ...
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Im's Thousand Year Crane cranks up with Prime backing
Korean maestro ImKwon-taek's 100th film has started production with backing from start-up studioPrime Entertainment which is contributing 40% of the $3.8m budget and willdistribute the film. In addition, producer Kino2officially announced Cho Jae-hyun, whose credits include Kim Ki-duk's Bad Guy, as the male lead.Im's Cheon-nyun-hak, which translates literally as One ...
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Korean film King and the Clown rules the box office
Sleeperhit King and the Clown became Korea's biggesthit of all time with a tally of 11.8 million admissions yesterday (March 5), toppingprevious record-holder Taegukgiwith 11.7 million. Afterhaving its premiere at the Berlin market, internationalsales agent CJ Entertainment has decided to co-distribute the film directly in Japan with Kadokawa Herald Pictures, ...
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Korean theatres opt to keep screen quota intact
In a new twist in the on-goingsaga of Korea's screen quota system, the Seoul Theatre Associationhas announced it will maintain the current quota for local films irregardlessof the recent government decision to cut it by half. At a meeting yesterday (March2) arranged by the government between theatre representatives, governmentofficials and ...
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Korean star takes lead role in new entertainment venture
Koreansuperstar Bae Yong-joon is taking a leading role in an ambitious new Asian entertainment venture.Bae has become the largest shareholder in KOSDAQ-listed Autowin Tech in a joint investment with Japanese IT group Softbank. The plan is to transform the computer systems business, which will be known as Key East, into ...
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MK Pictures teams with Japanese animation house
Korean studio MK Picturesand Japanese animation group GDH KK have signed a memorandum of understandingfor mutual co-operation in the Asian market, including Korea and Japan. Signed by MK Pictures chiefexecutive officer Lee Eun and GDH KK chairman Showji Murahama today (Feb 21) inSeoul, the MOU covers co-operation in the production ...
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Korean filmmakers and farmers stage protest against screen quota
Korean filmmakers havejoined with rice farmers to protest the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA)in a mass rally entitled Candlelight Culture-fest "Rice and Cinema" to Maintainthe Screen Quota and Block the FTA. - US trade pressure for FTA negotiationsdemanding the halving of the screen quota and the opening of the rice ...
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CJ CGV to build multiplexes with Shanghai Film Group
Major Korean exhibitor CJCGV is forming a joint venture company with Chinese state-owned studio ShanghaiFilm Group (SFG) to build multiplexes in China. CJ CGV announced the dealwas signed by its chief executive Park Dong-ho and SFG president Ren Zhonglun yesterday(Feb 14) in Shanghai. The joint venture will be called Shangying ...
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Lee and Shin to oversee Korea's Prime Entertainment
Lee Seung-jae, CEO of Korean production company LJFilm, has confirmed that he will oversee film production at rising Koreanstudio Prime Entertainment, formerly known as Innotz.Lee brings with him CJ Entertainment's former head offilm business Shin Sang-han who will head up distribution and exhibition.Prime will produce 15 films a year starting ...
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Korean filmmakers stage screen quota protest
SouthKorean filmmakers across the nation put a stop to production for the day, andstaged a large-scale protest rally against the government's recent announcement- bending to US tradepressure - that it would half the 146-day screen quota. A turn-out of approximately 3,000protestors including filmmakers, actors, students, and citizens' group members,rallied this ...