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DAILY MARCH 25, FILMART 2014 №2 THR.COM/FILMART AllRightsCover_Day 2.indd 1 3/21/14 3:46 PM MORITZBLEIBTREUJÜRGENVOGEL FILMART SCREENING Tuesday | Mar 25th | 6:00 p.m. HKCEC Theatre 1 A FILM BY MAXIMILIAN ERLENWEIN HONG KONG CONTACT Tassilo Hallbauer | European Pavilion 1C-C25 | +49 176 1031 26 46 | [email protected] BETA_Day 2.indd 1 3/19/14 11:55 AM MARCH 25, 2014 THR.COM/FILMART FILMART №2 HONG KONG TODAY TOMORROW WEATHER AND HIGH 75° F 72° F TEMPS 24° C 22° C MEDIA ASIA Filmart Buzzes Over ‘New China’ PREPS NEW With Scarlett Johansson visiting Beijing, Johnny Depp’s Transcendence getting a Mainland release MONKEY and another state distributor likely — is a new era of openness on the horizon? By Clifford Coonan By Karen Chu ith the possibility of incresed liberaliza- Corporation (CNCAC), which is linked to the Min- edia Asia announced tion of mainland China’s distribution istry of Culture, believes it is set to be awarded a five new titles at W system, news of a simultaneous U.S. theatrical distribution licence, breaking China Film M Filmart on Monday, and China launch for Johnny Depp’s Transcendence and Huaxia’s monopoly on distributing revenue- including an English-language coupled with the sight of Scarlett Johansson and sharing movies in China. Senior government offi- animated release called Samuel L. Jackson selling Captain America: The cials from the Ministry of Propaganda are expected Monkey King Reloaded in 3D. Winter Soldier at a Beijing shopping mall, the buzz in Hong Kong to announce the deal on Thursday. Cantopop superstar Leon Lai at Filmart is all about how the world’s second Sci-fi thriller Transcendence will open in China at (Forever Enthralled) will largest film market — or “the new China” as one the same time as the U.S. on Apr. 18, and it will be produce the feature, attendee called it — is becoming a more open and the only territory where the film will be screened which will be directed hospitable place. in 3D, the Beijing-based studio DMG, co-producers by Felix Ip and Paul The destiny of Hong Kong’s film business is of Transcendence with Alcon Entertainment and Lai Wang. The film follows inextricably linked to that of Mainland China, Warner Bros., told The Hollywood Reporter. the monkey king of and developments north of the border are closely DMG has been extremely successful in selling Chinese legend as he ventures watched in the territory. its movies in China — Iron Man 3 took $125 million into New York. The film is The last few weeks have seen a lot of activity, last year. targeted for a release in the with Shanghai Media Group, China’s second biggest The movie will unspool in 2D, 3D, Imax and New Year slot in 2015. media group, inking a multi-year deal with Walt Dmax on an as-yet unspecified number of screens. The Hong Kong-based Disney Studios, and Huayi Bros announcing its China raised the number of foreign films that can CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 plans to inject up to $150 million into former War- imported on a revenue-sharing basis to 34 in 2012, ner Bros’ chief Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8. and sources recently said that there plans afoot to The state-backed China National Culture & Art CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 GTH’s Diary Sparks Sales By Patrick Brzeski hailand’s top hit- making studio of the T moment, GTH, has released its follow-up to last year’s local box office record- smashing ghost comedy Pee Mak ($33 million domesti- cally, $10 million abroad). The new title, The Teacher’s Diary, from director Nithi- wat Tharatorn (Dear Galileo, 2009; Seasons Change, 2006), opened at number one in Thailand last Thursday and has grossed $1 million in its first four days — well ahead of Divergent’s $615,000 opening haul over the same period. The Teacher’s Diary also sold briskly across Asia on the first day of Filmart. From left, QiQi Yam, Simon Said to be inspired by a Yam and Kara Wai attend the Hong Kong International true story, the film stars Film Festival’s Opening Thai heartthrob Bie-Sukrit Night Gala for Fruit Chan’s The Midnight After. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 XAUME OLLEROS / GETTY OLLEROS XAUME IMAGES THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 1 day2_newsC.indd 1 3/24/14 9:38 PM theREPORT HEAT INDEX Aussie Thriller Deep Water Put on Hold The project, a follow-up to surprise hit Bait 3D, and was targeted for a budget of was shelved thanks to $25 million. Arclight sources say it’s eerie similarities to they are fast-tracking develop- the disappearance of ment of a sci-fi adaptation of Malaysian flight MH370 the classic Joseph Conrad novel, Heart of Darkness while they put By Patrick Brzeski Deep Water on ice. rclight Films says it is Deep Water is the second putting preproduction of APAC-based film project to make SCARLET JOHANSSON its upcoming film Deep a pivot out of sympathy to those Despite being five months pregnant, A Scar-Jo jetted off to China where Water on hold, due to some un- impacted by Flight MH370. she was greeted by a sea of adoring fans at the Beijing premiere of comfortable similarities between Chinese director Vincent Zhou’s Captain America 2. the project and the mysterious 3D action thriller Last Flight, disappearance of Malaysian starring Ed Westwick and Zhu Zhu, flight MH370. has toned down its marketing “Out of sensitivity to the campaign in response to the Malaysia flight situation, we’ve missing Malaysian plane. The film decided to put it on pause for film’s director, Alister Grierson, tells the story of an old Boeing now,” Gary Hamilton, managing has been involved in a movie 747 that takes off for its last red- director of Arclight told THR. marked by a bizarre quality of eye flight from a small Pacific Deep Water tells the story art imitating life. Sanctum (2011), island and is hit by “unusual of a flight that crashes in a the project for which he is best events.” While the passengers remote part of the ocean on known, is about an underwater panic, the captain and the chief AARON PAUL Paul’s Need for Speed stalled in its North its way to China. As the airbus cave diving exhibition that turns flight attendant investigate and American debut, but in car-crazy China, sinks into the titular deep wa- into a watery, heart-pounding try to regain control of the plane. the actor’s brand is on the rise: the 3-D release has won two consecutive ters, the survivors are attacked survival catastrophe. It was The film’s producers and weekends and made $44.9 million. by ravenous sharks. released in Australia two weeks distributors, Shanghai Media The film’s tagline in early pro- before Queensland and Northern Group, canceled the glitzy motional materials reads: “Survi- New South Wales were hit by premiere event it had planned vors of a plane crash face terror catrostrophic floods in 2011. for Beijing, where many of the beyond reckoning as the plane is Originally developed as a se- missing passengers were from. starting to sink into a bottomless quel to shark horror flick Bait 3D Instead, reps from the company abyss and soon discover they’re — which grossed $24.7 million in told THR that they decided to surrounded by the deadliest its first three weeks of release — roll out the film in Shanghai, natural born killers on earth.” the project received development Nanjing and Shenzhen with more It’s not the first time the funding from Screen Australia understated opening events. THR LOUIS KOO Hong Kong International Film Festival Ambassador Koo is seemingly everywhere Asian Film Awards Academy Helps Ease Tensions at Filmart this year, with starring roles in festival opener Aberdeen, as well as hot Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo Fest’s set aside political differences to toast rising star honoree market titles Z Storm, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2 and Paris Holiday. By Gavin J. Blair he cooperation between Busan Internation- choice of Kuriyama and Korea’s Kim Nam Gil (Lovers al Film Festival, Hong Kong International Vanished), artists with careers of more than a decade know your dealmaker T Film Festival Society, and Tokyo Interna- and nearly two decades respectively, as Rising Stars tional Film Festival on the newly-formed Asian calls into question the criteria for the awards. With Film Awards Academy (AFAA) is particularly wel- Hong Kong’s Donnie Yen and Carina Lau named as come at a time of regional tensions. However, if the outstanding actor and actress, it is difficult to shake AFAA wants to become the ‘Oscars of Asia,’ it will the feeling they’ve been neatly divided between the have to avoid the impression three festivals. that inter-festival politics and Kuriyama Kuriyama, who served as diplomacy are driving factors official muse for the Tokyo behind winners. festival last year, says she Chiaki Kuriyama, best known would like to work on a Hong to global audiences as the Kong-Japan co-production Shuntaro Sumiya deadly schoolgirl bodyguard given the chance. Manager, in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill “Not because I got the Sapporo Screen Authority The huge Sapporo Screen Authority Bill: Volume 1 (2003), told The award, but it’s the place in pavilion at Filmart was brimming with Hollywood Reporter she was de- Asia that I’ve been to most meetings on opening day. Sapporo has linked with 12 Japanese regions to lighted with the weighty statu- times, including to the fes- promote them as filming locations, with ette she was presented with as tival, and which I feel most reimbursements of up to two-thirds of local expenses on offer, as well as an inaugural Rising Star on affinity with,” Kuriyama told language support and other incentives.