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Recognizing the brilliance of British director Lucy Walker, both as a filmmaker and as an advocate for the documentary format, Shekhar Kapur hurriedly arranged an additional masterclass on Saturday at the International Film Festival of India, where he is festival director. And hosted the session himself.

Their conversation ranged from technology and technique through to the filmmaker’s responsibility towards the subject. In particular, it dug deep into how and where to find a story.

After an era of editing with film stock, Walker said that around the time she went to film school computer editing came in and changed the game. “You could start to be able to build stories in the editing room. And do some of the writing later. You [still] have to choose good enough ingredients for your recipe. But I felt like the tools [offered] different options, allowing you to create a proper movie that audiences would find really satisfying,...

Mount Everest, the highest summit on the planet, has become an enduring symbol of adventure and human capabilities. Its dangerous conditions and deadly allure have motivated filmmakers to explore the triumphs, tragedies, and enigmas surrounding the mountain. Films about the true story of Everest vary from thrilling fiction to gripping documentaries, each offering a distinct perspective on conquering the mountain or, sadly, succumbing to it. Through a blend of reenactments, personal accounts, and footage shot near the peak, these films bring audiences closer to the real dangers and motivations of those who aspire to reach the summit of Everest.

The best Mount Everest-related films are judged based on storytelling, emotional impact, and realism. The films span a wide range of genres with awe-inspiring visuals and elegant cinematography, featuring tales of personal triumph, historical expeditions, or hazardous rescues that could compare to some of the best disaster movies of all time.

Jackie Chan's career as an actor and stuntman spans decades, starting in the 60s with Hong Kong films before making it big in Hollywood. His versatility as an actor shines through in his physical performance, humor, and ability to deliver emotional dialogue alongside his martial arts skills. Chan's numerous cameo appearances in films, both Chinese and Western, highlight his popularity and talent, whether it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment or a more impactful role.

Jackie Chan is an incredible, athlete, actor, and stuntman, and always a highlight in any film he cameos in. Jackie Chan has been a staple in Hollywood since the 90s, but his acting career goes back much further than that. His acting career began in the 60s with appearances in several movies produced in Hong Kong, which led to him becoming a stunt double and actor in dozens more films throughout the 70s and 80s. When Chan...

Hello. Alright. Okay. You have opened this article because that headline offers a promise of the correct order to watch the sprawling "Children of the Corn" franchise, a horror series that spans nine films in the core canon, plus two completely separate remakes of the original (each re-telling the original Stephen King short story), for a grand total of 11 movies. Before you go any further, let this be your warning: This is one of the worst horror franchises out there, and even the best films in the series are largely unwatchable compared to other horror series with similar longevity. By planning to watch all "Children of the Corn" movies, you are planning to embark on several days' worth of headaches as you try to suss out "What the heck were they thinking?" with each entry. You're going to have a bad time.

Oh, wait. You're here because you want to...

“The Great” Canceled at Hulu

The reign of “The Great” is over at Hulu. The streamer has officially canceled the series after three seasons, coming as a shock for the fan-favorite alternate history satire.

Watch the “The Great” Season 3 trailer below:

Created by Tony McNamara, “The Great” reimagined the life of Catherine the Great, Russia’s reigning empress from 1762 to 1796. The third season premiered on May 12 and revolved around Catherine (played by Elle Fanning) and her husband Peter III (Nicholas Hoult) working on their marriage.

There’s no word yet if “The Great” will be shopped at other networks and streamers.

30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com “Our Flag Means Death” Gets Official Season 2 Premiere Date

A week after HBO announced its hit comedy series “Our Flag Means Death” would return to Max in October, the rom-com has been given an official premiere date.

Season 2 of the Taikia Waititi and...

At this point, calling Mads Mikkelsen a king of fictional villainy is no mere exaggeration. Western media's flaws aside, America has provided fertile ground for Mikkelsen to conquer almost every major franchise of note. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marks his latest cinematic Mount Everest, but let's be honest for a moment: most of these IP movies barely gave him any material upon which to wield his not-insignificant charms. "But Hollywood villains aren't supposed to be nuanced!" you cry. I hear you. To call an "evil to the core" Mads Mikkelsen performance unentertaining is a falsehood (translation: you don't know how to have fun). But for his best work in the shoes of a complicated bad guy — a mixture of outlandish black comedy, heart-in-throat unease, and pathos characteristic of the Cannes Award-winning performer — we turn to the year 2003 and Mikkelsen's home country.

The long-in-development, at least from a post-production point-of-view, action comedy “Hidden Strike” has its first trailer, which you can watch above. That means the Jackie Chan/John Cena team-up flick, which was shot back in 2018, may finally reach cinemas or at least VOD. The film, initially titled “Snafu,” became a consistent victim of changing circumstances but external and internal.

The film was green-lit and shot amid a resurgence specifically in China for Jackie Chan-fronted actioners like “Kung Fu Yoga” and “Skiptrace.” The latter was also a (partially) English-language romp starring Johnny Knoxville in a clear attempt to recapture some of that “Rush Hour” or “Shanghai Knights” magic from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Skiptrace” earned $131 million in 2016 while the former globe-trotting adventure film “Kung Fu Yoga” earned $256 million in 2017. “Since then, “The Climbers” earned $174 million in 2019, but Covid obviously put a damper on such robust earnings for a moment.

Four years ago, Euphoria fans were clamoring for the official release of “Never Felt So Alone,” a song that Labrinth barely acknowledge the existence of at the time. “Whoever said I had a song called ‘never felt soo alone?'” he asked on Twitter in 2019, responding to the collective realization that the song that had been briefly previewed on the show wasn’t included on the acclaimed season one soundtrack.

Labrinth has helmed the score and soundtrack for both seasons of Euphoria, capturing the menacing presence of Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi...

Cinema box office in China hit RMB4.2 billion ($651 million) over the seven-day National Holiday period, according to government sources on Friday.

By far the top title was “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” which had grossed RMB3.50 billion ($543 million) by 5pm local time on Friday, its ninth day of release. In second place over the holiday period was “My Country, My Parents” with RMB1,08 billion ($167 million).

Like “Battle,” “Parents” was released on Sept. 30, a day before the Oct. 1 festivities which celebrate the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and kick off a prolonged official holiday, also known as ‘Golden Week.’

The total is 5% short of the RMB4.4 billion recorded in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the global film industry. Including the weekend preceding the 2019 official holiday, the ten-day total in 2019 was RMB5 billion.

A key difference is that 2019 benefited from the release of three blockbusters – “My People, My Country,...

Ewan McGregor, Sam Heughan and Mark Strong are set to star in “Everest,” the next film from director Doug Liman (“Edge of Tomorrow”) about a team of climbers in 1921 who attempt to brave the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest.

The film is being presented to buyers at the Cannes Film Market next week, with UTA Independent Film Group overseeing the U.S. sale and HanWay Films handling international sales and distribution. Production aims to begin in the UK and Italy in January 2022, and the film is produced by Jennifer Klein and Liman.

“Everest” is not based on a true story of real climbers, but is inspired by the novel “Paths of Glory” by author Jeffrey Archer. The book tells the story of a climber named George Mallory who died attempting to climb Everest; in the novel, it remained a mystery whether or not he ever reached the summit.

The...

A stuntwoman ascended to the top of a 50-foot tall wooden tower at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu as a crowd of 85 attendees watched from below. The audience erupted in gasps and cheers as the stuntwoman reached the platform at the summit and lifted a torch in triumph.

The stunt kicked off proceedings for the premiere screening of Amazon Prime’s new young adult thriller series, “Panic,” which was held outdoors on Wednesday night at the rustic venue tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains. It was reminiscent of a scene from the show’s pilot episode in which teenagers jumped off the peak of a cliff into a treacherously shallow lake filled with rocks while bearing lit torches.

“Panic” follows a group of recently graduated high school seniors in a rural Texas town who annually participate in Panic, a high-stakes game of increasingly dangerous challenges, to win a life-changing amount of money.

This morning, animation legend Glen Keane was up before the sun and learned that he’d scored his first Oscar nom for Best Animated Feature Film, for his debut feature — Netflix musical fantasy, Over the Moon.

“It’s pretty exciting. I tend to get up around four o’clock anyway, but this was something to get up at four o’clock for,” says the director. “I am just so thankful that [the Academy] recognized the beauty of this movie. It was such a labor of love.”

In conversation with Deadline, Keane shared his feeling that the message of his film is “the right one for this year: healing and love.”

“There’s a moment in the movie where Fei Fei says, ‘I just wish things could go back to the way they were,’ but we don’t go backwards, as we’re finding out,” he added. “We go forward, and it’s...

Tom Holkenborg wants to take an entirely different spin on the music we associate with Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. To be sure, the famous electric cello theme composed by Hans Zimmer, whom Holkenborg collaborated with on the score to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), still appears in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Yet this time around, the Dutch composer, who is also known as Junkie Xl, was looking to bring out a different side of Wonder Woman’s personality, not to mention Zack Snyder’s decidedly more ancient interpretation of the Amazons.

“It does use that [Zimmer] riff,” Holkenborg says when we sit down for a Zoom roundtable interview. “But what was missing, potentially, in an earlier approach is that everything Diana does is covered with a blanket of being feminine and being respectful that she’s a woman. My answer [to that] is, ‘Have you actually seen how she kicks ass?...

One of the most influential artists working in the medium of animation over the last half-century, Glen Keane brought his long-awaited debut feature to the screen just last fall. That film—the musical fantasy Over the Moon—certainly was worth the wait.

Bringing splendid life to both modern-day China and a fantastical realm known as Lunaria, Over the Moon centers on Fei Fei, a 14-year-old Chinese girl who has long been told the legend of the Moon goddess Chang’e. While struggling to cope with the loss of her mother, the teenager decides to journey into space to prove that the immortal being is real. Produced by Pearl Studio and Netflix Animation, from a script by the late Audrey Wells, the animated feature is the first distributed by a major Hollywood studio to center on an entirely Asian cast.

Spending 38 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios—where he illustrated such...

In 2004, filmmaker Mel Gibson presented the world with his take on the story of Jesus with The Passion of the Christ, starring Jim Caviezel in the lead role as Jesus of Nazareth. The movie became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of its time. In a recent interview, Caviezel revealed work is in progress on the highly-ambitious sequel.

"Mel Gibson just sent me the third picture, the third draft. It's coming. It's called The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection. It's going to be the biggest film in world history."

No one was expecting The Passion of the Christ to do as well at the box office as it did. Yet, Gibson's depiction of the last twelve hours of Christ's life touched a chord with audiences worldwide. In the past, the writer of the movie, Randall Wallace, had also hinted that a sequel is in the works, describing the project as the "Mount...

Any movie based on a beloved book with a massive built-in audience that made over $600 million at the box office would instantly have the studio heads rubbing their hands in glee with dollar signs in their eyes and franchise potential on their minds, but you wouldn’t have thought those rules would apply to the Bible.

Never mind the fact that there’s only one book to mine for source material, but Jesus’ arc seemed to have a pretty definitive ending. That being said, faith-based movies have always done respectable business among the target demographic, and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ was the biggest of them all after pulling in the kind of numbers that a $100 million action blockbuster would kill for.

Talks about a sequel have been ongoing for well over a decade now, with regular Gibson collaborator Randall Wallace recently claiming that it would be...

Celebrating its 5th Anniversary, Asian Pop Up Cinema: Season 11 will present 22 movies and one of its strongest lineups with its first joint virtual and drive-in film festival both opening September 10 and running through October 10, 2020, with a Plus addition October 30 – 31 celebrating Halloween at the drive-in.

In addition to many North American premieres, the drive-in features seven movies with a grand opening and closing night screenings, the recurring annual Mid-Autumn Festival “Movie with Mooncakes” and a screening fundraiser for the Filipino Young Leaders Program (Fylpro) benefiting the frontline healthcare workers, while celebrating Filipino American History Month. The two drive-in screenings for Halloween weekend is a double-feature horror presentation directed by the internationally known Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, Train to Busan and its new sequel Peninsula.

The Festival’s programming is selected by Sophia’s Choice (aka Festival Director and Founder Sophia Wong Boccio) who went the extra mile to spotlight an exciting...

Iconic auteur director Wong Kar-wai has finally confirmed “Blossoms Shanghai” will be his first dive into dramatic TV series production.

An adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s multi-award-winning Shanghai-set novel, “Blossoms,” the series also marks a return for Wong to his birthplace. Although he is associated with the free-wheeling Hong Kong film industry, Wong was born in Shanghai and studied in the Chinese commercial capital.

Wong is set as series producer and director of the pilot episode. Jet Tone (Xiangshan), a branch of Wong’s Jet Tone Films, will produce the series, with his related company Block 2 Distribution handling international sales. Tencent Penguin Pictures has acquired the rights for China, making it likely that the show will be released through the Tencent Video streaming platform.

The adaptation is written by Shanghainese screenwriter, Qin Wen. Production, entirely in Shanghai, will involve Wong partnering with Academy Award-winning cinematographer, Peter Pau. The cast...

Iconic auteur director, Wong Kar-wai has finally confirmed “Blossoms Shanghai” will be his first dive into dramatic TV series production.

An adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s multi-award-winning Shanghai-set novel, “Blossoms,” the series also marks a return for Wong to his birthplace. Although he is associated with the free-wheeling Hong Kong film industry, Wong was born in Shanghai and studied in the Chinese commercial capital.

Wong is set as series producer and director of the pilot episode. Jet Tone (Xiangshan), a branch of Wong’s Jet Tone Films, will produce the series, with his related company Block 2 Distribution handling international sales. Tencent Penguin Pictures has acquired the rights for China, making it likely that the show will be released through the Tencent Video streaming platform.

The adaptation is written by award-winning Shanghainese screenwriter, Qin Wen. Production, entirely in Shanghai, will involve Wong partnering with Academy Award-winning cinematographer, Peter Pau. The...

Dwayne Johnson and Jennifer Lopez go 1-2 for a second straight week on The Hollywood Reporter’s Top Actors chart, part of the Social Climbers chart catalog, while The Umbrella Academy vaults back to No. 1 on the Top Scripted ranking dated Aug. 5.

THR’s Social Climbers charts are rankings of the most popular entities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, with global data provided by social media analytics company Mvp. The chart's methodology blends engagement to entities’ social media accounts along with weekly additions of followers/subscribers. The latest tracking week ended July 28.

The Umbrella Academy ascends 3-1 on ...

Dwayne Johnson and Jennifer Lopez go 1-2 for a second straight week on The Hollywood Reporter’s Top Actors chart, part of the Social Climbers chart catalog, while The Umbrella Academy vaults back to No. 1 on the Top Scripted ranking dated Aug. 5.

THR’s Social Climbers charts are rankings of the most popular entities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, with global data provided by social media analytics company Mvp. The chart's methodology blends engagement to entities’ social media accounts along with weekly additions of followers/subscribers. The latest tracking week ended July 28.

The Umbrella Academy ascends 3-1 on ...

New Indie

While I didn’t find Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” (Lionsgate/Mrc) as wonderful a whodunit as most audiences (and critics), I do cheer his evident love for the genre and his energy and enthusiasm in revitalizing the all-star murder mystery. (Give me a crisp new story like this over a thousand sludgy remakes like the recent “Murder on the Orient Express.”) And it’s a win for everyone when an original movie — not a sequel, not a remake, not a reboot, not an adaptation — becomes a much-talked-about hit. So let’s hear it for more fresh takes on beloved movie tropes.

Also available: Keep your indies straight — “The Wave” (Echo Wolf/Epic) features Justin Long on a psychedelic trip, while the critically acclaimed “Waves” (Lionsgate) is a powerful tale of race and family featuring powerhouse acting from Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell and Kelvin Harrison, Jr.; the...

Hengdian World Studios, one of China’s largest, cautiously reopened for business today after it shut down all production in recent weeks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The move comes a day after Chinese authorities released an official statement pledging government support for the struggling entertainment sector.

Huge portions of the world’s second largest economy have been at a standstill since the virus swept the country. Though work officially began again Monday after an extended holiday for the Chinese new year, many are still working remotely as China continues intensive measures such as travel restrictions to keep a lid on the disease’s spread.

Hengdian had closed off to all tourists on Jan. 25 before shutting down all production on Jan. 27, at a time when Chinese reports estimate 20 crews were filming and 11 preparing to begin.

It will now resume work in stages, the studio said in work guidelines posted Monday night.

Just two Us studio films, Avengers: Endgame and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs And Shaw, made it into the year-end top ten.

China’s box office increased by 5.4% to $9.2bn (RMB64.3bn) in 2019, according to figures from the China Film Administration, mostly off the back of a small number of out-sized local releases.

Local films accounted for 64% of total box office with a combined haul of $5.9bn (RMB41.2bn), despite a slowdown in local production due to increased censorship and the fallout from the tax scandal in 2018. Hollywood and other imported titles saw their market share decline further as Chinese films...

Note to would-be directors of animated features: get your composer involved from the start. That was one of the key observations from The Contenders L.A. DreamWorks Animation panel Saturday, that featured filmmaking talent behind How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Abominable.

“I try to put get [composer] John [Powell] involved as early as possible, sending him scripts from the earliest drafts,” said Dean DeBlois, director of all three Dragon films including The Hidden World.

“This is our third installment of a trilogy so we have honed a partnership over a 10-year period in which I completely trust John and his instincts and know that he is a great storyteller in his own right,” DeBlois added. “He finds themes that I might not be as aware of as I’m writing on the surface and they play like harmonies to the intention that I try to put on screen.

The first Hollywood blockbusters to hit China after the country’s big National Day holiday have, as expected, swept away holdover patriotic titles that had previously ruled the box office. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” edged out another new release, “Gemini Man,” to lead the pack with a $22.5 million opening weekend.

While Disney’s “Maleficent” arrived in China day-and-date with the U.S., the Ang Lee-directed “Gemini Man” hit theaters stateside a week before on Oct. 11. It grossed $21 million in its mainland opening, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Chinese user reviews for “Maleficent” were mixed, giving the film a 9.1 and 8.8 rating out of 10 on the Maoyan and Taopiaopiao ticketing platforms, respectively, but just 6.2 on the more discerning Douban site. Opinions of “Gemini Man” were less polarized, with users according it an 8.0, an 8.1 and a 7.1 score on the three platforms.

On Maoyan, most “Maleficent” commenters expressed admiration for Angelina Jolie...

Tense and exciting when it finally gets airborne, Chinese disaster movie “The Captain” is an effective tribute to those who saved the day when the cockpit window of a Sichuan Airlines flight shattered over the Tibetan Plateau on May 14, 2018. Capably assembled by Hong Kong director Andrew Lau (the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy), “The Captain” has gone stratospheric at the Chinese box office, grossing $373 million in its first 18 days. Business has been brisk in foreign territories including Australia and the U.K., all of which bodes well for the film’s North American release on Oct. 18.

One of three features released in time for China’s Oct. 1 National Day celebrations and week-long public holiday, “The Captain” is running a close second to flag-waving omnibus “My Country, My People,” and way ahead of the Mt. Everest-themed adventure “The Climbers.” Though nowhere near as politically patriotic as those films, “The Captain” still finds plenty...

Asian cinema has always had a degree of popularity in Western culture, but all too often they were done a huge disservice by being remade instead of shown in their original state.

That trend is changing drastically, with films such as Crazy Rich Asians finding success and leading viewers down the exciting pathway towards genuine Asian films. A post by Time reported that it was the first film by a major Hollywood studio that featured a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since 1993 and that it had the potential to change Hollywood.

BFI suggest it was hard to find East Asian films in UK cinemas a couple of years ago, but that is a situation that’s now rapidly evolving. The Climbers is a recent release which our article explains was shown in cinemas across the United Kingdom.

The thirst for Asian movies has increased dramatically, but...

Patriotic thriller “The Captain” held on to the top spot at the Chinese box office for the second weekend, again leading from propaganda omnibus “My People, My Country.”

“The Captain,” also known as “The Chinese Pilot” earned $34.9 million according to consultancy Artisan Gateway, for a two-week cumulative of $343 million. The cumulative for “People,” which had a huge opening day on Sept. 30, is higher still, at $362 million.

Both films were released in time for the National Day celebrations and the week-long public holiday in China. So large a large drop in individual and cumulative weekend scores was to be expected after the return to work. But per screening average grosses, at over $350 a time, remained very solid.

One of the few newcomers to make it into the chart was Hong Kong-made crime thriller “A Witness Out of the Blue,” starring the ever-popular Louis Koo. It made $14.8 million in just two days after a Saturday release.

Gemini Man earns $31.1m in first wide international session.

October 14 Update: The momentum rests with Joker as the Warner Bros tentpole demolished the competition in its second weekend, holding on to its global, international and North American box office crowns with ease as an estimated $178.7m propelled it past the half-billion global mark.

Meanwhile Ang Lee scored career-high debuts in 25 markets as Paramount’s sci-fi thriller Gemini Man generated an estimated $31.1m in its first wide international session. Abomimable and Downton Abbey crossed $100m and $150m, respectively, through Universal’s network.

Warner Bros Pictures International

Updated: Joker remains on devastating...

Gemini Man earns $31.1m in first wide international session.

The momentum rests with Joker as the Warner Bros tentpole demolished the competition in its second weekend, holding on to its global, international and North American box office crowns with ease as an estimated $178.7m propelled it past the half-billion global mark.

Meanwhile Ang Lee scored career-high debuts in 25 markets as Paramount’s sci-fi thriller Gemini Man generated $31.1m in its first wide international session. Abomimable and Downton Abbey crossed $100m and $150m, respectively, through Universal’s network.

Warner Bros Pictures International

Joker remains on devastating form at the international box...

Two Chinese films – both patriotic, but of very different genres – dominated the weekend box office in China. Both scored more than $100 million and extended their already stunning midweek tallies.

According to data from Artisan Gateway, Bona Film Group’s “The Captain” (aka “The Chinese Pilot”) earned $103 million, narrowly ahead of the state-backed omnibus film “My People, My Country,” which enjoyed a Friday-Sunday score of $102 million.

Both titles had been released on Monday, the day before the Oct. 1 National Day and had built up a head of steam, ahead of Shanghai Film Group’s “The Climbers,” a starry, nationalist tale about climbing Mt. Everest.

After six days on release, “People” had amassed $290 million, while “The Captain” had accumulated $253 million. Performing less well than anticipated, “The Climbers” ended the long holiday week with $108 million, including $31.3 million over the weekend.

“Abominable,” a Chinese-u.S. co-production between Pearl Studios and Universal, and boasting patriotic Chinese tones of its own,...

Joaquin Phoenix showed plenty of worldwide drawing power as “Joker” dominated international moviegoing with $140.5 million from 22,552 screens in 73 markets for Warner Bros.

Along with the North American results, the worldwide opening weekend totaled an impressive $234 million, outperforming expectations. Directed by Todd Phillips, “Joker” has been the subject of scrutiny in weeks leading up to its release over fears that the disturbing origin story of Batman’s infamous foe could inspire violence — a scenario had not materialized as of Sunday.

“Joker” generated the biggest 2019 opening for a Warner Bros. title in 39 markets including UK, Russia, Italy, Spain, Poland, UAE, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. It was also the biggest October opening weekend in 21 markets including Spain, UAE, Brazil, Mexico and Australia and the best opening weekend in half a dozen markets including Holland, Italy, Japan, Korea and Chile.

“Joker” also became Warner’s top opening weekend for the European...

While official policy is still unclear, buyers are avoiding Us indie, Swedish and South Korean films.

The big question being pondered by sales agents trying to sell into China in recent months is whether the country’s censorship regime will relax following the National Day holidays, which end on Monday (Oct 7).

A key box office period usually reserved for local films, this year’s holiday has been particularly sensitive as it also celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Chinese cinemas have been mostly showing nationalistic local films during the holidays (Oct 1-7), including The Climbers,...

A parade of patriotic films is set to march into Chinese cineplexes this month, crowding out Hollywood fare in a display of how firmly the entertainment industry remains under the control of the government. China may be the world’s second-biggest movie market after the U.S., but as far as its Communist rulers are concerned, politics trump economics.

The National Day holiday, which extends from Oct. 1-7, is one of the country’s peak moviegoing periods, and typically marks a time when authorities impose an unofficial blackout on foreign titles so that local ones get a boost. This year, the holiday has thundered in with even greater fanfare — and censorship — because 2019 marks a key milestone for the Communist Party: the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic after a bloody civil war. That has resulted in a theatrical lineup stocked with overtly nationalistic films approved by...

The Chinese mountain-climbing adventure “The Climbers” works best when it’s an old-fashioned macho melodrama about the hardships faced by the first mountaineering team to document their summit of Mount Everest’s treacherous North-side in 1975.

In these scenes, writer-director Daniel Lee (“Black Mask”) and his colleagues deliver a less flamboyant but equally nationalistic mountain-climbing answer to “Top Gun,” one that’s mostly focused on the camaraderie and heartbreak that the (predominantly male) National Mountaineering Team faces whenever their stubborn but resourceful leaders Wuzhou Fang and Qu Songlin (Zhang Yi) press on in the face of avalanches, snow drifts, and other killer weather conditions.

Most action set pieces — which are the movie’s biggest selling point, given its IMAX presentation here in America — are marred by cheap-looking computer graphics and image-compositing, especially whenever the mountaineering team is super-imposed on the side of Everest during helicopter or crane shots. But impressive sound design,...

In a muddled pre-holiday weekend, patriotism rather than any individual film was the box office winner in China.

The upcoming 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, which will officially be celebrated Tuesday, has already affected the film-releasing calendar for weeks.

Over the past weekend, the top-scoring films were “The Captain” (previously known as “The Chinese Pilot”) and “Quomolangma” (aka “The Climbers”), neither of which officially release until Monday. Both were given wide previews on Saturday, earning $8.3 million and $6.42 million, respectively, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Another patriotic drama, “My Country, My People,” similarly previewed on Saturday, ahead of a Monday release. Directed by a medley of top directors including Chen Kaige, Ning Hao and Wen Muye, and boasting an ensemble cast that includes Ge You, Huang Bo, Liu Haoran and Kara Hui, it achieved a more modest single-day score of $1.81 million.

Over the three days from Friday to Sunday,...

Based on a true story, Cine Asia is proud to present a new big-screen adventure with some of China’s biggest stars! The Climbers arrives in UK & Roi cinemas from 4th October, with previews and IMAX from 30th September.

From award-winning director Daniel Lee and produced by action cinema legend Tsui Hark The Climbers is a thrilling epic you won’t want to miss.

Synopsis:

Based on a true story, The Climbers is an all-new adventure featuring China’s biggest stars Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi and a special guest appearance from action icon, Jackie Chan.

Set in 1960, it’s a cinematic retelling of the first Chinese climbers to summit Mount Everest – the first ever to do so from the North Ridge. Well-known as the most challenging side of the mountain, the perilous journey takes its toll on the mountaineers, physically and mentally, forcing them to make life or death decisions at every turn.

We’ve got an exciting trailer for you to check out for an upcoming adventure movie called The Climbers. It tells the intense and thrilling true story of the first Chinese climbers to summit Mount Everest.

The film comes from Chinese filmmaker Daniel Lee and it stars Wu Jing and Zhang Ziyi, with a special guest appearance from superstar Jackie Chan.

The Climbers is a cinematic retelling of the “first Chinese climbers to summit Mount Everest in May of 1960 - the first ever to do so from the North Ridge. Well-known as the most challenging side of the mountain, the perilous journey takes its toll on the mountaineers, physically and mentally, forcing them to make life or death decisions at every turn.”

I enjoy watching these kinds of films which involve the true stories of people performing incredible and dangerous feats and this one looks pretty epic. It also makes...

"We have to climb to the top ourselves." Well Go USA has debuted an official Us trailer for the intense new Chinese adventure movie The Climbers, the latest creation from award-winning Chinese filmmaker Daniel Lee. Mount Everest - the second step under the cliff. The four members of the China Everest Climbing Commando are attacking the most difficult and most dangerous "second step". This is their fifth attempt. The first four failures have cost them too much physical strength - finally, the wind and snow stop... This film tells the story of the Chinese team to summit Mount Everest from the North Ridge (through Tibet), the first people to do so in 1960. The ensemble cast stars Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yi, Jing Boran, Hu Ge, Long Chen, Duobujie, with Jackie Chan. I love climbing movies, but they're always so excruciatingly exaggerated and filled with CGI shots galore. ...

UK-based distributor acquires the film for UK/Ireland, Eastern Europe and all Cis territories.

UK-based Trinity Cineasia has acquired Shanghai Film Group’s action drama The Climbers, starring Wu Jing and Jackie Chan, for the UK/Ireland, Eastern Europe and all Cis countries, including Russia and Ukraine.

Directed by Daniel Lee (Three Kingdoms) and produced by Tsui Hark (Detective Dee series), the film also stars Zhang Ziyi and Hu Ge (The Wild Goose Lake) and is being handled internationally by 1905 Pictures.

Set in the 1960s, The Climbers tells the real-life story of the first Chinese mountaineers to summit Mount...

Heading into the traditionally lucrative summer period, China’s censors are in overdrive as two local films with big potential have been yanked from schedules at the 11th hour, while the fate of at least one other hangs in the balance. This is particularly notable given the upcoming frame would typically kick off the Middle Kingdom’s (unofficial) July blackout on Hollywood movies. But winds are now blowing in the opposite direction — and despite the fears of some that Donald Trump’s trade war with China would impact the studios. Instead, and as we’ve previously noted, the big troubles in China are coming from the inside.

Just today, it was confirmed that war epic The Eight Hundred has stepped off of its July 5 date, after being pulled as the opening night showcase of the Shanghai Film Festival earlier this month. The July 5 change was expected, and there is currently...

Hong Kong’s Tony Leung Chiu-wai and mainland China’s Duan Yihong will head the cast of the Shanghai Film Group’s upcoming “Fox Hunt.”

The film is based on real live events and depicts the activities of Operation Fox Hunt, a worldwide anti-corruption initiative managed by China’s Ministry of Public Security. The operation seeks to find and repatriate Chinese people who have fled abroad to avoid accusations of corruption. The film is expected to show cross-border criminal proceedings and the use of Interpol’s so-called Red Notices. Production will take place in China and France.

State-backed, publicly-listed Shanghai Film Group is also behind action film “The Climbers” with Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi and Jing Boran in the cast. “Climbers” is expected to release on May 30,2019. Plans for “Fox Hunt” were unveiled at the end of May.

Both films fit with a policy of delivering patriotic movies in this anniversary year.

Chinese action hero Wu Jing and his fellow actors in the upcoming mountaineering adventure film The Climbers brought a big dose of star power to the Shanghai International Film Festival on Sunday.

The actor — China's reigning box office king, thanks to mega-blockbusters Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth — bounded to the stage at a packed gala hosted by Shanghai Film Group to unveil the first official trailer for his next action spectacle. (See the trailer below.)

Wu was accompanied at the event by the film's all-star production team and cast, including director Daniel Lee; producer Tsui Hark; actors ...

Chinese action hero Wu Jing and his fellow actors in the upcoming mountaineering adventure film The Climbers brought a big dose of star power to the Shanghai International Film Festival on Sunday.

The actor — China's reigning box office king, thanks to mega-blockbusters Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth — bounded to the stage at a packed gala hosted by Shanghai Film Group to unveil the first official trailer for his next action spectacle. (See the trailer below.)

Wu was accompanied at the event by the film's all-star production team and cast, including director Daniel Lee; producer Tsui Hark; actors ...

The Chinese film industry may not yet have emerged from a “cold winter” production freeze, nor its box office kept pace with 2018. But but those inclement elements did not put a chill on the pageantry at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The opening ceremony for the festival’s 22nd edition went ahead Saturday with the usual red carpet parade, and with the habitual speeches and formalities. But it did so without the scheduled world premiere screening of Guan Hu’s “The Eight Hundred.”

News that the historical war film had been cancelled “for technical reasons” was abruptly circulated just 24 hours earlier — too late for the festival to arrange another new film to take its place. The screening of the second opening film, Chinese drama “Beautiful Voyage,” went forward as planned.

The usual inclement seasonal weather, known locally as “plum rains” held off, permitting a red carpet parade that showcased mainland and Hong Kong stars,...