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Hong Kong’s Pccw Media and Sk Global, the company behind Crazy Rich Asians and Delhi Crime, have teamed up for the big-budget Hong Kong-set drama series The Season.

The show is created and executive produced by writer and producer Yalun Tu, known for his work on NCIS: Hawaii and Wu Assassins. Chilean filmmaker Marialy Rivas (The Jetty) serves as lead director and executive producer.

The series has a buzzy, White Lotus-like premise set amidst Hong Kong high society.

The official logline reads: “Set against the opulence and striking contrasts of Hong Kong, The Season follows a privileged group of friends gathering for a summer of sun-drenched luxury as boating season begins. What starts as a glamorous escape soon spirals into a web of deception, power struggles, and life-altering consequences.”

The ensemble cast features a mix of acclaimed regional talent, led by Jessie Mei Li (Shadow and Bone), three-time Golden Horse winner Karena Lam,...

Hong Kong’s Pccw Media is linking up with independent film and TV studio Sk Global Entertainment (“Crazy Rich Asians”) to produce the drama series, “The Season.”

The six-part series is set in Hong Kong and tells of a group of friends gathering for a summer of fun in the sun as boating season begins but which spirals into a web of deception and power struggles. The show was unveiled at a special presentation at Hong Kong FilMart.

“We believe “The Season” is a story that will connect with audiences everywhere through the characters’ personal journeys, relationships and conflicts at times,” said Janice Lee, managing director of Pccw Media Group and CEO of Viu, the company’s multi-territory video streamer.

The show’s cast is led by Jessie Mei Li (“Shadow and Bone”), three-time Golden Horse winner Karena Lam, Justin Chien (“The Brothers Sun”), Yvonne Chapman (“Avatar: The Last Airbender...

Pccw Media and Crazy Rich Asians producer Sk Global are joining forces on Hong Kong-set premium series The Season, created and executive produced by Yalun Tu.

The English-language series features an ensemble cast of international talent including Jessie Mei Li (Shadow And Bone), award-winning Hong Kong actress Karena Lam, Justin Chien (The Brothers Sun), Yvonne Chapman (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Celina Jade (Wolf Warrior 2) and Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson And The Olympians).

Chilean director Marialy Rivas (The Jetty) serves as the show’s lead director and executive producer. Agatha Lo will executive produce for Pccw Media and Chloe Dan, Matt Aragachi and Dylan Tarason for Sk Global, with Aaron Shershow (Expats) as producer. Production is expected to start in Hong Kong soon.

Yalun Tu is known for writing and producing credits on NCIS: Hawaii and Wu Assassins, as well as My Undead Yokai Girlfriend for Prime Video Japan.

The...

The Hong Kong box office recorded a rise of 22.2% year-on year over the Easter holiday weekend led by We 12, the action comedy starring all 12 members of Cantopop boy band Mirror.

Gross box office in the territory from March 29 to April 1 was $4.7m (Hk$36.8m) further powered by new releases Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Kung Fu Panda 4, according to data provided by Hong Kong Box Office.

Last year, the Easter weekend ran from April 7-10 and marked a return to pre-pandemic levels, up 1.6% on Easter 2019.

Distributed by Edko Films, We 12 topped the four-day chart with revenues of...

Marking his first feature in five years, Election and Drug War director Johnnie To has quietly embarked on his next project. Although no official details have been announced regarding the title or plot, HK01 (via Frank Yan) spotted To filming a scene with Hong Kong pop star Anson Lo, who plays a driver in the film. There’ll surely be more to come, but it’s exciting to see one of our great directors back at work.

Darren Aronofsky has found his next film and star. Following The Whale, he’ll direct Austin Butler in Caught Stealing, Deadline reports, a sports crime drama scripted by Charlie Huston based on his own book. The Sony Pictures project is described as an “adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride” and will follow Butler as Hank Thompson, “a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ‘90s NYC.

Trinity CineAsia has acquired UK and Ireland rights to We 12, the upcoming action comedy starring all 12 members of Cantopop boy band Mirror, in a deal with Hong Kong’s Makerville.

The film will open in UK and Ireland cinemas on March 29, the day after its release in Hong Kong through Edko Films, and coincides with the Easter holiday weekend.

Directed by Berry Ho and written by Lai Sze Cheung, the story follows 12 members of an underground organisation who secretly maintain peace in the world using a range of extraordinary skills. After long being separated, they must reunite to steal an...

The caper or heist film is one of the sub-genres of action that has a lot to offer thematically and stylistically if done correctly. If we think back to “To Catch a Thief” or even the “Oceans”-series, the world these stories show are a reflection of a society based on materialism and property, with the thieves sharing the same obsession as the owners of the object they want to steal. On the other hand, given its potential to be an ensemble piece, the caper/heist feature also offers actors the chance to shine. Steve Yuen's “The Moon Thieves”, the director's third feature, tries to combine the two aspects of the genre, but fails to offer some depth to its otherwise intriguing premise.

The Moon Thieves is released exclusively in UK cinemas by Central City Media

Uncle (Keung To) is a major player in the Hong Kong underworld and...

The Hong Kong box office was dominated by a trio of local titles over Chinese New Year, earning almost $8m (Hk$62m) in 10 days.

Taking the top spot was Table For Six 2, with a cumulative box office of $4.07m (Hk$31.86m) as of February 18, while The Moon Thieves ($2.5m/Hk$19.58m) and Rob N Roll ($1.35/Hk$10.54m) ranked second and third respectively.

All three opened on Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9) when multiple tentpole titles traditionally open to take full advantage of the lucrative festive period.

Ensemble family comedy Table For Six 2 rode on the success of its predecessor,...

Three members of Hong Kong Cantopop band Mirror feature in this fiendishly watchable crime caper which steals much from Ocean’s Eleven and, oddly, Asmr videos

Here is a very silly and yet fiendishly watchable heist thriller that features three members – Edan Lui, Anson Lo and Keung To – of the Hong Kong Cantopop boyband Mirror in major roles. That’s worth knowing not because they break into song at any point, but because that explains the film’s prepackaged feel and why at least one of the actors, Keung To, feels so weirdly miscast as a ruthless gangster. But as with much of the plot mechanics in this film, it’s best not to think too much and just roll with punches.

The obscure objects of desire here are vintage watches: specifically a trio of timepieces owned at one point by Pablo Picasso and a fourth watch alleged to have been...

The crime drama will be released on December 30.

Trinity CineAsia has acquired Hong Kong tentpole The Goldfinger for the UK and Ireland after striking a deal with Emperor Motion Pictures.

The crime drama will reunite Hong Kong superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung with writer/director Felix Chong for the first time since 2002’s Infernal Affairs. That film, co-written by Chong and directed by Lau and Alan Mak, spawned a trilogy of films and inspired Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Oscar-winning crime thriller The Departed.

UK-based Trinity CineAsia will theatrically release The Goldfinger in UK and Irish cinemas on December 30, co-ordinated with...

The progress of director Eric Tsang Hing-weng has been gradual but steady. Hailing from a journalism and communications background at University, he has participated in Johnnie To's Fresh Wave Short Film Competition a number of times, working first as a Dop on the award winning “Liu Yang He” and then as a director himself with the Best Film winning “The Umbrella” followed by “A Thousand Sails”, which premiered at Sundance. In 2022, he finally progressed from the constraints of the short form to make his feature-length debut with “Hong Kong Family”, which debuted at the Busan International Film Festival.

The Sunny Side of the Street is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

Middle-aged couple Ling and Chun head to their ancestral home for the winter solstice dinner with their children Yeung and Ki. All through the journey, the two continue arguing over petty matters, an argument that continues when they reach their destination.

Some 16 titles were showcased at a packed launch in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong-based Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp) presented a massive line-up of 16 titles at Filmart, including actor Nicholas Tse’s directorial debut New Police Story 2 and a further two action films also led by Tse.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first New Police Story, which was directed by the late filmmaker Benny Chan. The new feature reunites the original cast, including Tse, Jackie Chan and Charlene Choi, from the original film. Chan will produce for Tse who will direct for the first time.

The film is set to enter production this year,...

Starring two members of boyband Mirror, it is set to world premiere in Busan.

Hong Kong-based Edko Films has picked up worldwide rights to Eric Tsang Hing-weng’s Hong Kong Family, which is set to world premiere at Busan International Film Festival.

Starring Edan Lui and Anson Lo, from hit Hong Kong boyband Mirror, along with veteran actors Teresa Mo and Tse Kwan Ho, the family drama is based on Tsang’s own family experience. Marking his feature directorial debut, it follows a family that was torn apart after their last winter solstice dinner turned sour. Eight years later, a...

Hong Kong actors Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan and Adam Pak have been cast in the Asian remake of Richard Linklater’s Tape, scheduled to start shooting in Hong Kong in September.

Stephen Belber, who wrote both the original film and stage play, has co-written the remake with Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee and Bonnie Lo. Belber is also on board as a producer with Tong and Lee, while Tong directs. The film is a co-production between Hong Kong’s Phoenix Waters Productions and Agog Films and Singapore-based Marvion.

The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard in the story of three friends who are reunited 15 years after a life-changing event and forced to confront painful secrets from their past.

Belber said: “I’m excited to be part of a project that Bizhan has pursued with integrity, passion, intelligence and care, which the subject matter obviously requires. Bringing...

The First Two Episodes Of Fung Chih-chiang’S “I Swim”

Will Be Presented Downtown On April 3Rd

Starring Members Of ‘Mirror’ – Hong Kong’S Canto-pop Boy Band

Asian Pop-Up Cinema proudly presents its first world premiere of a television series screening prior to airing in its native origin – Hong Kong’s ViuTV Original Drama “I Swim”. The first two episodes will be shown on April 3, at 4:30pm at AMC River East 21.

Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s goal is to give Chicago audiences the first look of the new production written and directed by director Fung Chih-Chiang. Fung, no stranger to the festival, attended the festival in 2018 with the premiere of Concerto of The Bully; then again in the spring of 2020 for A Witness Out of The Blue for its North American Premiere.

A Witness Out of The Blue garnered 6 nominations including Best Actor and Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards,...

Mirror singer and actor Anson Lo has joined the cast of Bizhan Tong’s upcoming action thriller Chungking Mansions. Billed as Hong Kong’s biggest zombie film ever, the Phoenix Waters Productions pic, in co-production with Amm Global and Salon Films Japan, has also added Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korea’s Choi Si-Hun and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung.

They join previously announced cast members including Japanese action star Rina Takeda and Singapore’s Desmond Tan and Rebecca Lim.

Chungking Mansions tells the story of a disparate group of people from across the globe who must climb the iconic Chungking Mansions building amidst a zombie outbreak in Hong Kong. Centered around an American seeking to rescue his pregnant wife, the action moves between people of all nationalities across the city who are undergoing their own journeys to survive.

Lo, who became the most Googled Hong Kong...

Upcoming action thriller to be sold at Filmart.

Hong Kong singer Anson Lo has joined the cast of Bizhan Tong’s upcoming zombie thriller Chungking Mansions, which is being discussed with buyers at Filmart Online this week.

Lo is a member of popular boyband Mirror and previously starred in hit Bl series Ossan’s Love.

Further additions to the cast include Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korean star Choi Si-Hun, and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung. Davika Hoorne, known for Pee Mak, Thailand’s highest grossing film of all time, also joins the cast, taking over a...

Anson Lo, part of Hong Kong pop sensation Mirror, has joined the cast of “Chungking Mansions,” an ambitious zombie film that is currently in advanced preparation.

Alongside Lo, Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korean star Choi Si-Hun, and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung join the previously announced Japanese action star Rina Takeda and Singaporean actors Desmond Tan and Rebecca Lim.

Davika Hoorne, who previously starred in “Pee Mak,” Thailand’s highest grossing film of all time, will also join. She takes over a role previously assigned to Angel Locsin as the assistant to the American protagonist’s pregnant wife.

Directed by banker turned producer and director Bizhan Tong (“The Escort”), the film tracks a diverse group of people who, following a zombie attack, try to break into Chungking Mansions. The labyrinthine building was made famous in Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express” and is arguably the richest cultural...

Keung To and Jer Lau, two members of the wildly-popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror will make their screen debut with a feature film produced by Emperor Motion Pictures, the company announced on Monday.

The currently untitled production is to be directed by writer-director Kearan Pang (“29+1”) and will also star award-winning actress Teresa Mo (“Tomorrow Is Another Day”). Pang was previously a guest star of ViuTV’s reality show “King Maker,” in which Mirror was discovered.

Details of the production such as story synopsis, budget, start date and international sales company are yet to be revealed. However, it was indicated that Mo and Keung will play mother and son roles.

Mirror and four-piece boy band Error were formed following the first season of “King Maker” in 2018. But they did not shoot to superstardom until this year. In the last few months, they have become an antidote to the political strife...