Notizie

Beijing-based sales agency is also handling war epic Sacrifice and Vincent Zhao’s Counter Attack.

Beijing-based sales agency Blossoms Entertainment is launches sales on three new productions from leading Chinese studio Huayi Brothers at Filmart Online, headed by historical war epic Railway Heroes.

Starring Zhang Hanyu (Operation Red Sea) and Fan Wei (One Second), the film follows a group of Chinese railway workers during the Sino-Japanese War, who attempt to sabotage the enemy’s vital transport links whilst evading arrest. The film, directed by Yang Feng, is currently in production for release over China’s National Day Holidays in October.

TollywoodMiss Granny is a South Korean comedy-drama film directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk.Digital NativeSamantha Akkineni has been on the lookout for meaningful and performance-oriented roles. According to the latest buzz, she may be starring in the Telugu remake of the Korean movie Miss Granny which made it to the theatres in the year 2014. To be directed by Nandini Reddy, the remake will be bankrolled by Suresh Babu in association with Sunitha Tati. Miss Granny is a South Korean comedy-drama film that was directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Na Moon-hee stars as a woman in her 70s who magically finds herself in the body of her 20-year-old self after having herself photographed at a mysterious photo studio. The film opened to packed houses on January 22, 2014 and turned out to become a huge box office hit. It grossed Us$51.7 million at the box office. Samantha is a talented actor with a bunch of films in her kitty.

Korea’s mid-millennial territorial conflicts provide the backdrop for The Fortress, an historical epic focused on China’s 1636 invasion of the country and subsequent subjugation of the royal court. Grand in scope but narratively constrained, this is the type of Korean drama that plays best regionally, presenting limited interest elsewhere.

Dispensing with key plot preliminaries, writer-director Hwang Dong-Hyuk (Miss Granny) relies on a series of introductory cards to describe how the rise of the Qing dynasty emboldens the Chinese emperor to subjugate surrounding kingdoms and bring them under his direct rule. When King Injo (Park Hae-Il) of Korea’s Joseon dynasty refuses...

It’s finally out! A few images and bits of information had been trickling out from the sets of this much-anticipated period epic, but the makers have finally decided to unveil the first trailer of Namhansanseong Fortress. And it looks spectacular.

The film is directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who makes his foray into yet another new genre after 2011’s dark and challenging The Crucible (Silenced) and 2013’s comedy Miss Granny. Starring in key roles are Lee Byung-hun (Inside Men, I Saw the Devil), Kim Yoon-seok (The Priests), Park Hae-il (The Last Princess), Go Soo, Park Hee-soon and Jo Woo-jin.

Lee Byung-hun in Namhansanseong Fortress (2017)

The film is set during the Second Manchu invasion of Korea of 1636, when the newly established Manchu Qing dynasty invaded Korea’s Joseon kingdom. During the invasion, King Injo, the 16th Joseon king, and his retainers were forced to seek refuge in the fortress located in the mountain city of Namhansanseong.

Exhibitor opens new sites in Turkey and China.

Leading South Korean exhibitor Cj Cgv has opened a new theatre in Yozgat, Turkey pushing the company’s circuit to 400 cinemas worldwide.

The conglomerate-affiliated exhibitor acquired Turkey’s largest cinema chain, Mars Entertainment, last April and has been operating theatres under its Cinemaximum brand.

Cj Cgv also opened its 401st theatre in Chongqing, China on June 16 and boasts the company is now the fifth largest exhibitor globally.

Having opened its first multiplex in Seoul in 1998, Cj Cgv now has 139 theatres with 1,031 screens in South Korea and 262 theatres with 2,002 screens overseas including in the Us, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar.

The exhibitor is planning to open eight more sites around Asia by the end of the month. It aims to have 450 theatres by the end of the year and 10,000 screens by 2020.

This month, the company’s affiliate Cj E&M started shooting the Turkish remake of Korean film The Wedding Invitation...

Contents Panda handling sales on Psychokinesis, which stars Ryu Seung-ryong and Shim Eun-kyung.

Yeon Sang-ho, director of hit zombie thriller Train To Busan, will start shooting his next film, Psychokinesis (a.k.a. Superpower), this coming Monday (April 17).

The live-action black comedy will star the voice acting leads from his Train To Busan prequel Seoul Station – Ryu Seung-ryong, who also starred in Roaring Currents and Miracle In Cell No. 7, and Shim Eun-kyung, who starred in Miss Granny. Shim also appears at the beginning of Train To Busan, which is meant to happen the day after the events of Seoul Station unfold.

The film also reunites the companies behind Train To Busan – production company Redpeter Film, investor/distributor Next Entertainment World (New) and its international sales arm Contents Panda.

Train To Busan, which premiered in Cannes last year, racked up $135m worldwide according to Contents Panda.

“Psychokinesis is a big project New is pushing as a 2018 tentpole title. Because...

Helmed by director Park Kwang-hyun of the 2005 critical and commercial hit Welcome to Dongmakgol, Fabricated City features Ji Chang-wook, Ahn Jae-hong who has been gaining notice as a commercial film star, appearing in Twenty (2015) and Coin Locker Girl (2015), and Shim Eun-kyung who rose to popularity through Sunny (2011) and Miss Granny (2014). Shim recently got behind the mic to provide her voice for Yeon Sang-ho’s Seoul Station and will soon be seen in the upcoming film Special Citizen alongside Choi Min-sik.

Plot

In real life, Kwon Yoo (played by Ji Chang-wook) is unemployed, but in the virtual game world he is the best leader. Kwon yoo is then framed for a murder. With the help of hacker Yeo-wool (Shim Eun-kyung), he tries to uncover the truth behind the murder case.

Fabricated City is eyeing a February release and will be distributed by Cj Entertainment.

Additional source: AsianWiki...

2017 is shaping up to be a special year for Korean Cinema. Featuring films from directors Ryoo Seung-Wan (Veteran), Won Shin-yeon (The Suspect) and films from Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy, I Saw The Devil), Song Kang-ho (Age of Shadows) , Lee Byung-hun and Ha Jung-Woo.

Here are 10 films we think you should be keeping an eye out for

Battleship Island (literal title)

Director: Ryoo Seung-wan (Veteran, 2015)

Distributor: Cj Entertainment

Cast: Hwang Jung-min, So Ji-sub, Song Joong-ki

Plot:

During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island to mine for coal, attempt to escape.

Lee Kang-ok (played by Hwang Jung-min) is a bandmaster at Kyungsung Hotel. He decides to go to Japan to protect his daughter, but he is drafted into Battleship Island by force, being deceived by talk to send him to Japan. On Battleship Island, he does anything to protect his daughter.

Choi Chil-sung (So Ji-sub...

Tyler Perry just entered the cinematic history books. It wasn't because Boo! A Madea Halloween set some crazy box office record. It's not because he's the first filmmaker ever to cross some boundary. In fact, the record isn't a first at all: it's for being one of eight filmmakers to remake the hit 2014 Korean body-swap comedy Miss Granny.  Yes, a Korean body-swap comedy called Miss Granny will soon have been remade eight times since 2014. This makes it, according to...

Read More

Read Comments...

Fresh from the box office triumph of Boo! A Madea Halloween, media mogul and multi-hyphenate Tyler Perry has announced his next inevitable-seeming project: a remake of the Korean film Miss Granny. This 2014 body-switching comedy, a runaway $53.7 million hit in its home country, has already inspired successful remakes in China and Vietnam, with Indonesian and Spanish versions on the way in 2017 and 2018 respectively. International audiences cannot get enough of the story of a sassy, ill-mannered grandmother who suddenly finds her cantankerous soul residing in the body of a 20-year-old woman.

The Korean entertainment conglomerate Cj E&M has partnered with Perry’s 34th Street Films to produce the English-language version of Miss Granny, due for release in 2018 and targeted at the African-American market. A quick glimpse at the Miss Granny trailer shows that Cj E&M definitely chose the right man for the job. This project seems ...

Tyler Perry just entered the cinematic history books. It wasn't because Boo! A Madea Halloween set some crazy box office record. It's not because he's the first filmmaker ever to cross some boundary. In fact, the record isn't a first at all: it's for being one of eight filmmakers to remake the hit 2014 Korean body-swap comedy Miss Granny.  Yes, a Korean body-swap comedy called Miss Granny will soon have been remade eight times since 2014. This makes it, according to original production company Cj Entertainment, the world's most adapted film. The film already has Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Indian and Japanese versions either in the can or on the way, and now The Hollywood Reporter says Spanish and English redos are on the way as...

Read More...

Hit 2014 Korean comedy Miss Granny has already been remade for China and several other countries, and is now getting the transfer treatment in English and Spanish. Korea powerhouse Cj E&M has unveiled a plan to jointly produce the English-language re-do with Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films and the Spanish take with Eugenio Derbez's 3pas Studios, according to local reports. The original Korean film, directed by Dong-hyuk Hwang, was the No. 5 title of 2014 with about $55M…...

Hit 2014 Korean comedy Miss Granny has already been remade for China and several other countries, and is now getting the transfer treatment in English and Spanish. Korea powerhouse Cj E&M has unveiled a plan to jointly produce the English-language re-do with Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films and the Spanish take with Eugenio Derbez's 3pas Studios, according to local reports. The original Korean film, directed by Dong-hyuk Hwang, was the No. 5 title of 2014 with about $55M…...

Matt Damon may be trying to give his best friend Ben Affleck a run for his money in a new poster from The Great Wall, which shows that, even though Ben Affleck is Batman, Damon can take to the skies as well. Of course, Matt Damon isn't playing a superhero in The Great Wall, but he sure does look like one, flying through the air during battle in this new poster. Legendary released the first trailer back in July, but this poster could mean that another trailer could be coming soon.

Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary's The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China.

Train to Busan won a standing ovation and drew strong reviews when it was premiered in Cannes earlier this year. Well Go USA recently snapped up North American rights to the zombie apocalypse thriller and released it in 27 theaters.

Also, Train to Busan made a solid splash at the Korean box office with an opening-day wave of 870,000 viewers, according to Kofic.

Plot

An infected passenger lurches on board and mere minutes later the train is tumbled into turmoil. The infection spreads within seconds, the zombies are fast and stampede over themselves down the train cabins, almost like a tsunami.

Indie animation director Yeon Sang-ho, whose films The King of Pigs and The Fake have garnered international acclaim, continues to make his mark with live action feature debut Train to Busan and animated prequel Seoul Station which precedes the countrywide viral outbreak leading up to the train.

Ryu Seung-ryong from heart...

The distributor has partnered with StarHub and Telkom Indonesia to roll out the new service in Q2 2016.

Taiwanese distributor Catchplay is launching a multi-platform streaming service, Catchplay On Demand, in Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia.

Catchplay, which was one of the investors in Oscar-winning movie The Revenant [pictured], launched the service in Taiwan today (March 22) and has also partnered with Singapore’s StarHub and Telkom Indonesia.

StarHub operates cable TV, Iptv and Ott platforms, while Telkom Indonesia is Indonesia’s leading telecoms operator with more than 150 million subscribers. Both operators said they would roll out Catchplay On Demand in the second quarter of 2016.

Catchplay said the new service would feature movies from NBC Universal, Warner Bros, Disney and Us independent studios, along with Chinese and other Asian-language films.

“In recent years, Catchplay has quietly and purposefully expanded its business from theatrical distribution to film financing and production, aggregating digital content for many leading digital platforms and the operation of our...

The film industry is a male-dominated world and Korea is no exception. This trend is obvious when one takes a look at the highest grossing Korean films of all time which shows none in the top ten feature important female roles.

But this spring, several movies will try to bring some gender balance to the scene. Ranging from crime thriller to historical drama, here are some female star-studded films to watch out for:

Missing You

Shim Eun-kyoung plays Hee-ju who lost her father to a serial killer and has been waiting for his release for 15 years. In her pursuit of answers about her father’s death, the two will inevitably get entangled in more drama.

Shim, who has shot to fame with Sunny(2011), almost single-handedly carried the mega box office hit Miss Granny (2014). This crime thriller will be a big shift in direction for Shim who traditionally played more upbeat and playful characters.

Korean box-office smash Miss Granny has been subject to a spate of remakes across Asia since its 2014 debut. Leste Chen's Chinese effort 20 Once Again was released back in January of last year before Sweet 20, the debut feature from director Phan Gia Nhat Linh, sailed to the top of the Vietnamese charts in December. This April will see the release of Japan's own take on the story.Ayashii Kanojo sticks to the successful formula of previous versions as Baisho Mitsuko takes up the role of the cantankerous grandmother who enters a mysterious photo studio only to leave in the body of her twenty-year-old self. Played by Tabe Mikako, the now youthful Katsu undergoes a makeover and enters a singing contest leading to the opportunity...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

At Busan’s Asian Film Market, producers of Chinese blockbusters shared their secrets to success such as walking their own paths and not trying to emulate Hollywood, Japan or Korea’s systems, even in co-productions.

Fang Li, producer at Laurel Films Company, Ltd. whose credits include Fan Bing Bing starrer Ever Since We Loved and Han Han’s The Continent, said, “I don’t make films for box office hits, I make them to get viewers emotional, to impress and to inspire. Art is the more important thing. Emotions and impressions are your biggest weapon.”

The panelists agreed that Chinese audiences have grown cinema savvy enough that they don’t necessarily go for star vehicles.

Du Yang, general manager at Beijing Skywheel Entertainment Co., Ltd., whose credits include Ning Hao’s Breakup Buddies and Zhang Ziyi starrer Sophie’s Revenge, said, “If you get many good reviews and audiences hear good word-of-mouth, they choose...

Korea’s leading film investor/distributor Cj Entertainment has signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand’s top exhibitor Major Cineplex Group to establish a joint venture for film production and investment.

The joint venture will announce about 10 Korea-Thailand co-productions and local films over the next three years. Cj Entertainment plans to discover and nurture local filmmakers for this task.

Cj E&M, the media and content company of which Cj Entertainment is the main film division, announced the Mou on Sunday (May 31). Cj E&M CEO Sung-soo Kim signed the deal with Major Cineplex Group CEO Vicha Poolvaraluck at the Quartier Cineart in Bangkok in May 27.

Cj Entertainment also expects to use its planning and marketing know-how to maximize Major Cineplex Group’s production and exhibition capabilities.

The Korean company reports it has sold and distributed about 290 Korean films in Thailand since 2000.

It is also set to release on June 4, Cha-Lui Reboot: Lost in Seoul - with...

Exclusive: Gfm Films hopes to feed film through UK-China co-pro agreement.

Chinese outfit C2M Media Group has come on board to co-develop and co-finance long-gestating sci-fi feature Neuromancer with UK sales team Gfm Films.

C2M, a co-production partner of Cj Entertainment, recently backed successful Chinese-Korean productions A Wedding Invitation and Miss Granny.

William Gibson’s influential sci-fi novel from 1984 follows a smooth ‘computer cowboy’ who is banished from cyberspace after double-crossing the wrong people until a shadowy conspiracy offers him a second chance at redemption.

Mr & Mrs Smith and Man on Fire producer Lucas Foster is currently in talks with new writers and a director on the project.

Foster said: “William Gibson’s books have been very prescient on the topic of Super Intelligence, which people variously call Machine Intelligence or A.I. As we surrender more and more of our thinking and imagining over to software, we lose something important and tangible in ourselves...

Since rocketing to worldwide fame after starring in the highly-acclaimed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Zhang Ziyi has steadily filled her portfolio not only with multi-awarded acting roles–the most memorable perhaps being Mei (“House of Flying Daggers”) and Sakamoto Chiyo (“Memoirs of a Geisha”)–but also some magnificent producer credits.

Zhang Ziyi

Zhang’s first produced film, “Sophie’s Revenge,” may have gotten mixed reviews from critics but went on to bag a handful of awards, including Best New Director from China Film Media Awards and Next Generation Director Awards, Best Supporting Actress from China Hua Ding Film Awards, and Most Popular Actress from China Student Film Awards for Zhang herself.

This year, Zhang Ziyi continues to explore the cinematic field as a producer with the movie “The Baby from Universe.”

Juicy Details of the Much-Anticipated “The Baby from Universe”

Otherwise known as “Oh My God” (从天儿降/Cóng Tiān Er...

Exclusive: Sales also made of Salut d’Amour, The Peaceful Island and Empire of Lust by Korea’s Cj.

Korea’s Cj Entertainment has secured a raft of sales led by Jk Youn’s hit Ode to My Father going to Latin America (Alebrije) and Spain (European Dream Factory).

Taegukgi director Kang Je-kyu’s new romance Salut d’Amour, set for local release in April, sold to Australia (Mingyo).

Chang Youn-hyun’s mystery thriller The Peaceful Island has sold to Hwa Yea (Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei).

Period action romance Empire of Lust, starring Shin Ha-kyun, Jang hyuk and Kang Hanna, sold to Mongolia (Bloomsbury).

Popcorn has picked up Pan-Asian pay TV rights to romantic comedy Love Forecast and 20, Once Again, Leste Chen’s hit Chinese-language remake of the Korean comedy Miss Granny.

Legendary Pictures has revealed the full supporting cast for Zhang Yimou's upcoming fantasy epic "The Great Wall," the largest film ever shot completely in China.

The film's confirmed leads are Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal and Willem Dafoe whilst Chinese stars for the film include Andy Lau ("Infernal Affairs"), Tian Jing ("New Police Story"), Hanyu Zhang ("Taking Tiger Mountain"), Eddie Peng ("Fleet of Time"), Lu Han ("Miss Granny"), Gengxin Lin ("Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon"), Zheng Kai ("Fleet of Time"), Chen Xuedong ("Tiny Times 3"), Xuan Huang ("The Golden Era"), pop star Wang Junkai in his film debut, and newcomers Yu Xintian and Liu Qiong.

Set in the 15th Century, the story follows soldiers who go out in search of gunpowder and come across the construction of The Great Wall of China. They learn that the Chinese are not only building the Wall to keep out invading Mongolian forces,...

With filming set to begin at the end of this month, Legendary Pictures has announced the cast for the upcoming film, The Great Wall, which will be one of the largest films ever shot entirely within in China. Come inside to learn more.

I'd love to tell you more about The Great Wall, but right now we just don't have the information on what it will be about. The only description we have so far is this: "Zhang Yimou is directing the story of an elite force making a last stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure." That's a pretty basic plot description, but we Do know who will be starring in the film, thanks to a press release that dropped early this morning. Check it out:

Legendary Pictures announced today the principal cast for The Great Wall, the upcoming film production which is set to be...

Legendary Pictures revealed the supporting cast for their upcoming epic The Great Wall, which will be the largest film ever shot completely in China. Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal and Willem Dafoe have been confirmed to star, with the production bringing on Chinese stars Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, House of Flying Daggers), Tian Jing (New Police Story, Special ID), Hanyu Zhang (Taking Tiger Mountain, The Assembly), Eddie Peng (Fleet of Time, Rise of the Legend), Lu Han (Miss Granny), Gengxin Lin (Taking Tiger Mountain, Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon), Zheng Kai (Fleet of Time, The Running Man), Chen Xuedong (Tiny Times 3), Xuan Huang (The Golden Era, Blind Massage), and pop star Wang Junkai in his feature film debut.

Director Yimou Zhang has also cast newcomers Yu Xintian and Liu Qiong in supporting roles. The plot is set in the 15th Century, following soldiers who go out in search of gunpowder,...