Film Journal October 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ASIA by Thomas Schmid FJI Far East Bureau CHINA BLOCKS CHRISTOPHER ROBIN RELEASE Chinese authorities have apparently blocked the release of Walt Disney Pictures’ liveaction Winnie the Pooh film, Christopher Robin, according to local media. The film, starring Ewan McGregor as a grownup Christopher Robin reuniting with his childhood friend Pooh, was originally scheduled to debut in the country in early August. While authorities have given no reason for denying the release, Chinese media have speculated that it might be connected to an ongoing nationwide clampdown on all references to the classic Winnie the Pooh character created by children’s-book author A.A. Milne. In 2013 a press photo of China’s president Xi Jinpeng walking alongside then-U.S. president Barack Obama was juxtaposed in the social media with an image of Pooh taking a stroll with Tigger. A year later, similar posts appeared of Xi Jinpeng and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who were being compared to Pooh and Eeyore, respectively. Then, in 2015, a photo showing Xi Jinpeng in a motorcade was accompanied by an image of Pooh sitting in a toy car. As the memes rapidly grew in popularity as an obvious expression of political dissent, Chinese authorities began to systematically block or delete images and even mere mentions of the cartoon character from posts across all social-media platforms. Meanwhile, British comedian John Oliver—himself having earned persona-non-grata status in China for his frequent sarcastic remarks about the country’s regime—in June roasted Xi Jinpeng on his U.S. talk show “Last Week Tonight,” criticizing the Chinese leader for his alleged sensitivity to being compared to Pooh. The respective “Last Week Tonight” episode was promptly blocked in China. CineAsia 2018 According to a report carried by BBC News, political analysis company Global Risk Insights has suggested that the heavy-handed censorship may be taking place because the comparisons of Pooh with Xi Jinpeng are seen by the Chinese government as “a serious effort to undermine the dignity of the presidential office and Xi himself.” But Christopher Robin is not the only Disney offering that has been denied a release in China, as earlier this year the studio’s adventure fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time likewise wasn’t permitted to make it to Chinese theatre screens. However, the release dates in China of other movies produced or co-produced by Disney have not been affected. THAILAND’S MAJOR CINEPLEX TO ACCEPT CRYPTOCURRENCY Thailand’s leading cinema chain Major Cineplex Group announced that it will become the country’s first operator to At CineAsia, attendees will get the chance to hear about the current trends and new state-of-the-art technologies in the motion picture industry. Nowhere else in Asia can you accomplish as much in a short period of time to sustain, and help grow, your business in the year to come. Join your cinema exhibition, distribution, and motion picture industry colleagues to network; and see product presentations and screenings of major Hollywood films soon to be released in Asia. Attendees will also get the opportunity to visit the Trade Show where you will find the latest equipment, products, and technologies to help make your theatre a must-attend destination. CineAsia will take place at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre on December 10-13, 2018. Visit http://www.filmexpos.com/cineasia/ accept cryptocurrency payments from moviegoers. The company said it expects to be ready to kick off cryptocurrency payments by the end of this year, which would then allow film fans to purchase movie tickets as well as popcorn and other snacks and soft drinks at its outlets. The move became possible after Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission introduced its Cryptocurrency Act in July, which effectively permits trading in seven different cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, BCH, ETC, LTC, XRP and XLM. In order to pay in cryptocurrency, Major Cineplex customers will have to use the government-approved and regulated online payment service “RapidzPay,” which utilizes highly scalable blockchain technology and a decentralized model with the aim of catering to all local and international e-commerce platforms. SINGAPORE FILM BAGS GOLDEN LEOPARD AT LOCARNO Although Singapore maintains a surprisingly prolific movie industry, films produced in the tiny Southeast Asian citystate remain largely unknown internationally, despite their often rather excellent production values and creative storylines. But A Land Imagined, co-produced by Akanga Film Asia (Singapore), mm2 Entertainment (Singapore), Films de Force Majeure (France) and Volya Films (The Netherlands), might finally have helped the country to break that spell. Directed by Yeo Siew Hua, the mystery thriller in the best tradition of film noir has won 72 FILMJOURNAL.COM / OCTOBER 2018 063-074.indd 72 9/5/18 3:41 PM
DOWN UNDER by David Pearce FJI Australia / New Zealand Correspondent the prestigious Golden Leopard trophy at the recent 71st Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, awarded by the International Competition jury presided over by acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke. It is the first time a Singaporean film has bagged the festival’s top award. A Land Imagined, which also celebrated its world premiere at Locarno, additionally won the Junior Jury Awards’ first prize for director Yeo Siew Hua, received a special mention from the Ecumenical Jury and earned its lead actress Luna Kwok the Boccalino d’Oro Award for best actress. The film’s international sales rights have reportedly been secured by U.S.-based Visit Films. A Land Imagined tells the story of foreign migrant worker Wang, who suffers a debilitating work injury and is afraid of deportation. Unable to sleep, he frequents a dreamy cybercafé where he forms a virtual friendship with a mysterious gamer that takes a sinister turn. When Wang suddenly disappears, police inspector Lok is assigned to locate him. Lok’s investigations eventually lead him to a land-reclamation site where he finally uncovers the truth behind Wang’s disappearance. The film’s producer and founder of Akanga Film Asia, Fran Borgia, said: “To be awarded the top prize at Locarno is one of our wildest dreams come true. A Land Imagined’s win is the firstever top prize for a Singapore film at [any] A-list festival, and it also is a win for the next generation of Singaporean and Southeast Asian filmmakers.” For feedback and inquiries, contact Thomas Schmid at thomas. schmid@filmjournal.com. MoviePass has been getting a lot of press in the U.S. but so far has not arrived Down Under. That is not to say it will not come here, but some industry figures have their doubts. Because most major chains do not have competing cinemas in the majority of their cities and suburbs, there is said to be less reason for them to look at outside moviesubscription services. However, cinema audiences per capita peaked in 2001, and cinema operators are always looking at ways to increase attendance. One U.S. movie subscription service, Sinemia, has arrived in Australia and is already doing business here, although no figures have been released. Sinemia is currently offering a similar rate as it does in the U.S., with a Winter Special of A$3.99 a month for one movie, A$7.99 for two and A$12.99 for three films a month. In the U.S. it charges customers an annual fee, while currently in Australia customers are billed monthly. Most chains have their own cinema clubs which offer members discounted tickets. I am sure they have all considered launching their own subscription service, but none has done so as yet. An alternative scheme is Choovie, an Australian company that uses a dynamic-pricing formula. Choovie tickets are as low as A$6 for sessions with low attendance, but average A$10.50. Prices vary depending on the film’s popularity and session sales. Choovie has been around for just over a year and has added extra cinemas in that period. Dendy and Majestic cinema chains are among the 69 Australian cinemas currently signed up. They charge exhibitors A$1.25 per ticket sold and the majority of tickets sold are for daytime sessions. They are now looking at expanding into New Zealand. little-known war story is that of the 20-person A Vienna Boys Choir and their visit to Australia for concerts in 1939. At the end of their tour, war broke out and they were declared enemy aliens. The Archbishop of Melbourne took them under his wing and found them homes while they were retained in Australia. They also became part of his choir. The choirmaster, Dr. George Gruber, became active in the music scene in Australia, but was arrested for having suspected Nazi contacts in 1941 and deported to Austria in 1947. He was later cleared by a de-Nazification tribunal. The 20 boy members of the choir remained in Australia. Jack Savige has written a screenplay, Stranded, based on the events, to be produced by Lance Reynolds and Icon Films. Although no casting has been announced, Chris Hemsworth has been approached to play Dr Gruber. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, Red Lamp Films and Australian writer-director Kim Mordaunt are currently working on the script adaptation of the Finnish children’s novel Monster Nanny by Tuutikki Tolonen. This family film focuses on a hairy, dusty monster who does not talk but is a children’s nanny. The children soon find out that some of their friends also have similar very hairy nannys. Animal Logic will also be involved in this Australian-U.K. production. In Marlene van Niekerk’s novel Agaat, a 40-year relationship develops between a young white woman, Milla, and her black maidservant Agaat during the apartheid era in South Africa. Milla gets married, has a child and helps run the family’s farm. As the years go by, the family falls apart, but Agaat remains and is now her caretaker. Jocelyn Moorhouse (The Dressmaker) is writing the script and will direct the film of Agaat for Bronte Pictures. Send your Australia/New Zealand news to David Pearce at insidemovies@hotmail.com. CINEASIA 10-13 DEC CONVENTION AND TRADE SHOW HONG KONG CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE 10-13 DECEMBER 2018 — CINEASIA.COM OCTOBER OFFICIAL 2018 / PRESENTING FILMJOURNAL.COM SPONSOR: 73 063-074.indd 73 9/5/18 3:41 PM
Page 1 and 2:
IT’S SIMPLE. Extraordinary Seats.
Page 3 and 4:
STRONG TECHNICAL SERVICES 24 × 7
Page 5 and 6:
CHRI4699_RealLaser_FJ_Ad_May-18_Fin
Page 7 and 8:
IMPRESS YOUR AUDIENCE Movie theater
Page 9 and 10:
taNet eTMS, BaseKey KDM Manager and
Page 11 and 12:
The Lives of Others). Tom Schilling
Page 13 and 14:
JOIN THE CELEBRATION! Kristin Kent
Page 15 and 16:
For every stage of a film, comScore
Page 17 and 18:
SymbioticAlly Speaking Frank Masi
Page 19 and 20: Time to replace your Series 1 proje
Page 21 and 22: Producer Graham King recounts his 1
Page 23 and 24: the know-how to wow Barco Laser pro
Page 25 and 26: OCTOBER 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 27 0
Page 27 and 28: CINEASIA 10-13 DEC CONVENTION AND T
Page 29 and 30: er when she was Lee Palestine!” H
Page 31 and 32: Untitled-1 1 5/21/18 3:13 PM
Page 35 and 36: West Liberty, Iowa Over 100 Years o
Page 37 and 38: concrete information at the Geneva
Page 39 and 40: Brock Bagby Executive VP B&B Theatr
Page 41 and 42: ate that “WOW” experience to
Page 43 and 44: in 2014. Despite widespread accepta
Page 48 and 49: Construction and Design PRESERVING
Page 50 and 51: is always funnier with shared laugh
Page 52 and 53: Construction and Design From One to
Page 54 and 55: The architects were able to optimiz
Page 56 and 57: Construction and Design THE PROFITS
Page 58 and 59: Construction and Design AVOID UNNEC
Page 60 and 61: Construction and Design KEY FACTORS
Page 62 and 63: Anchored by superb turns from Keira
Page 64 and 65: the story from a tricky perspective
Page 66 and 67: In the end, the story of Blaze Fole
Page 68 and 69: plans to ship her off to some unspe
Page 72 and 73: ADVERTISERS’ INDEX OCTOBER 2018 B
Page 74 and 75: vipcinemaseating.com 004-008.indd 2
Page 76: COMFORT INNOVATION DURABILITY SERVI
show all

Film Journal October 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?