All articles by Liz Shackleton – Page 185
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Last Life wraps as Bohemian's first film
Last Life In The Universe, the latest pan-Asian co-production and first feature from start-up production outfit Bohemian Films, is set to wrap this week following a six-week shoot in Bangkok.Directed by Thailand's Pen-ek Ratanaruang, the film is a dark comedy about a suicidal Japanese librarian, living in Bangkok, who is ...
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GMM Pictures boosts profile in burgeoning Thai film industry
GMM Pictures, the new film arm of Thai multimedia giant GMM Grammy, is emerging as a major player in the rapidly-expanding Thai film industry with its first feature set to open on 100 screens this weekend and another four pictures in various stages of production.The outfit's debut film, Mekong Full ...
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Bangkok film festival postponed, second event launched
The organisers of the Bangkok International Film Festival (BIFF) - English-language newspaper, The Nation, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) - have decided to postpone the event from November until January next year.Meanwhile, a second event is being organised by the festival's former director, Brian Bennett, and is set ...
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Hong Kong heavies to lobby China for better access
Golden Harvest chairman Raymond Chow, China Star's Charles Heung and Peter Lam of Media Asia are among the high-level delegates joining a networking mission to Beijing next month to discuss co-operation between Hong Kong film-makers and their counterparts on the mainland.Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC), the ...
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Hong Kong's Panorama steps up theatrical activity
Flush with cash from a flotation on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), Hong Kong distributor Panorama Entertainment is hoping to increase its share of the local theatrical market by doubling its slate to around 16 pictures a year.The newly-listed company has recently embarked on a spending spree, snapping up all ...
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Media Asia Films takes four films from start-up Base Production
Hong Kong's Media Asia Films has signed a four-picture deal with start-up production outfit Base Production, headed by Hong Kong director Andrew Lau.The first picture under the two-year deal will be $5.1m (HK$40m) thriller, I Want To Be You, set to star four previous winners of the Best Actor award ...
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Hong Kong pay-TV service iTV to close
Hong Kong's Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) plans to shut down its ailing pay-TV service, iTV, in September and hand its video-on-demand (VoD) licence back to the Broadcasting Authority.ITV offers interactive services such as VoD, home shopping and broadband internet access and was billed as the world's first VoD platform when ...
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Hong Kong films performing 30% below 2001 levels
While Hong Kong has high hopes for the international success of big budget summer films like The Touch, Highbinders and Hero, many feel that mainland China will prove a bigger market for Hong Kong movies than the West. The first half of 2002 has been disappointing for Hong Kong film, ...
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Fortune Star joins with DreamWorks for Hong Kong Cafe
Fortune Star, the new production division of News Corp's Star TV group, is teaming up with DreamWorks to distribute Hong Kong Cafe, a one-hour TV series celebrating Hong Kong action movies and martial arts. The series will feature clips from Star's 600-title library which includes films starring Jackie Chan, Bruce ...
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Hong Kong's Filmko sells Inner Senses to Horizon for Europe
Hong Kong production outfit Filmko Pictures has sold European rights to supernatural thriller Inner Senses to Vancouver-based sales company Horizon Entertainment.Horizon has several years experience handling Asian films in the European and North American markets. Its slate includes the celebrated Ring series, produced by Japan's Asmik Ace, one of its ...
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Li Ka Shing makes play for HK TV group
Tom.com, a Hong Kong multimedia company owned by the territory's richest tycoon, Li Ka-shing, is buying a 32.75% stake in local free-to-air broadcaster Asia Television (ATV).The move marks Li's first foray into TV broadcasting and forms part of Tom.com's diversification strategy. The company was listed as an internet portal in ...
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Hong Kong's Celestial Pictures pulls out of Naked Weapon
Hong Kong's Celestial Pictures has pulled out of co-producing action title Naked Weapon with East Asia Entertainment, a division of eSun Holdings which owns Media Asia Group.The English-language film, loosely based on producer Wong Jing's 1992 tongue-in-cheek action comedy Naked Killer, was initially developed by East Asia with Wong on ...
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Andy Lau being sued for $19.6m
Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau is being sued by his partner in Team Work Corporation - CCT Telecom Holdings - which claims it lost $19.6m (HK$153m) when he backed out of an unanimous decision to float the company.A CCT subsidiary, Noble Trend International, made the claim in a 34-page writ ...
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FilMart wins broad delegate approval
This year's Hong Kong International Film and Television Market (FilMart) ended on an upbeat note on Friday (June 28) with many delegates agreeing that the event was busier and had attracted a broader mix of participants than in previous years."We've seen more buyers from more countries and the prices being ...
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Applause to give an encore to horror hit The Eye
Hong Kong production house Applause Pictures has added several new projects to its development slate including a sequel to its recent horror film The Eye which grossed a healthy $1.8m (HK$13.8m) at the local box office in May and June.Thailand's Pang Brothers will again direct and are currently scripting the ...
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Hong Kong's Panorama signs library deal with Japan's Shochiku
Hong Kong distributor Panorama Entertainment has signed an output deal with Japan's Shochiku giving it exclusive video rights to the studio's back catalogue of around 4,000 films. The five-year deal, unveiled at FilMart on Thursday, includes titles such as the hit Tora-San comedy series, Yoji Yamada's 1977 The Yellow Handkerchief ...
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Jingle Ma to direct Jackie Chan in $40m Titanium Rain
Media Asia has lined up hot Hong Kong director Jingle Ma to direct its $40m Jackie Chan vehicle Titanium Rain.The futuristic action title is set in China, the US and Japan and is being scripted in both English and Mandarin. Production is scheduled to start next March for release during ...
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Hong Kong broadcaster lowers pay-TV asking price
Hong Kong broadcaster TVB has reportedly lowered the asking price for a 50% stake in its pay-TV arm, Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, as it struggles to find investors in the proposed platform.TVB originally planned to sell the stake for $200m, but is scaling back the project in an attempt to attract ...
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Hong Kong's FilMart to be biggest event yet
The sixth Hong Kong International Film and Television Market (FilMart) is set to be the biggest yet, with a 23% increase in the number of pre-registered buyers to 1,400, according to organisers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC).Exhibitor numbers for the three-day event, which kicks off Wednesday (June 26), ...
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Chinese drama scoops three awards at Shanghai festival
Life Show, a drama directed by China's Huo Jianqi, scooped three awards at the sixth Shanghai International Film Festival (June 8-16) on Sunday night, including best film, best actress for Tao Hong's performance and best cinematography for Sun Ming.Japanese feature, All About Lily Chou Chou, picked up the Special Jury ...