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Li Bingbing's absence from The Meg 2 remains a mystery, with no official explanation given for her departure, leading to speculation and conjecture. Li Bingbing, a Chinese superstar, has only appeared in one other movie since her role in the first Meg, possibly indicating a focus on personal matters or other commitments. The Meg 2 provides an explanation for Suyin's absence in a harrowing twist, revealing that the character died between the two movies, leaving her fate open-ended and subject to speculation.

One former cast member from The Meg won't be coming back for its sequel, sparking curiosity about why the Li Bingbing Meg 2: The Trench character is absent. Directed by Ben Wheatley, Meg 2 is based on a science-fiction novel The Trench by Steve Alten and picks up after the events of the first movie, in which a research team had a brush with a Megalodon thought to...

Eddie Peng (“Operation Mekong” “The Hidden Man”) will head the cast of “Love After Love” the new film by Hong Kong’s Ann Hui. He plays opposite Ma Sichun.

The picture, which started shooting on Wednesday in China, is the story of a young woman from Shanghai who travels to Hong Kong, borrows money, and falls in with a rich crowd whose luxury lifestyle is beyond her means. The story is a reworking of an Eileen Chang short story “Aloeswood Incense” and is Hui’s third Chang adaptation after “Love in a Fallen City” and “Eighteen Springs.”

The film is backed by Alibaba Pictures, Hehe Pictures, Qingniao Pictures, Maxtime Culture, Black Ant Film and Dongtai Each Media. Fortissimo Films, which itself is backed by He He, handles international sales. The project was introduced to international distributors this week on the margins of the Cannes Film Festival.

A multi-award-winning crew included director of photography Christopher Doyle,...

TORONTO -- When the curtain goes up on the 29th Montreal World Film Festival on Friday night, it will launch eight weeks of marathon screenings in Montreal by three different festivals. A gala screening at the Place des Arts for Chinese director Xiaogang Feng's A World Without Thieves caps off a difficult year for MWFF founder and director Serge Losique, who lost key government funding to the rival New Montreal FilmFest, which opens Sept. 18. At the same time, Claude Chamberlan is set to go ahead with the 34th edition of the Montreal Festival of New Cinema and New Media on Oct. 13, having seen key backers Daniel Langlois and Sheila de la Varende defect to the New Montreal FilmFest.

HONG KONG -- Columbia Pictures' Kung Fu Hustle garnered best film honors at the Hong Kong Film Critics Assn.'s 10th annual Golden Bauhinia Awards on Sunday. Kung Fu Hustle also scored a supporting actor nod for actor Yuen Wah for his role as a Tai Chi master. The film was also named one of the year's top 10 Chinese-language movies. Kung Fu Hustle, about a wannabe gangster who finally turns his martial arts talents to saving others, is the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong. Hustle helmer Stephen Chow was bested in the director category by Derek Yee, who won for his dark crime drama One Nite in Mongkok, while 2046 star Tony Leung took home the best actor award. The nod for best actress went to Rene Liu for her performance in Feng Xiaogang's World Without Thieves.