MONDAY, MARCH 21 2011


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Tomson signs up with two Chang outfits


BY LIZ SHACKLETON Tomson International Entertain- ment Distribution, the new outfi t established by veteran producer Hsu Feng, has entered into first- look deals with John Woo and Ter- ence Chang’s Lion Rock Productions, and Abundance Pic- tures, established by Chang and Laura Fu. The two deals enable Tomson to


have a first look at distribution rights for Hong Kong and Taiwan to projects initiated by the two companies, as well as fi rst-negotia- tion rights for other Asian territo- ries. Tomson has agreed to take no fewer than four titles a year. Woo’s upcoming Flying Tigers project is not included in the deals. Abundance is a new company


established by Chang and Fu, a pro- ducer based between Hong Kong and Beijing, to produce projects from hot up-and-coming directors. Tomson is also co-producing


Tom Lin’s Starry Starry Night with Huayi Brothers and Taiwan’s Atom Cinema. The fi lm is an adaptation of a picture book by Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao.


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Filmart, HKIFF rally behind Japan


BY JEAN NOH In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami disaster of March 11 in Japan, Hong Kong Filmart and the festival are rallying to show sup- port for the Japanese fi lm industry as exhibitors attempt to carry on with business as usual. Fuji TV’s Filmart-bound execu-


tive Mina Mita voices the senti- ment that the initial disaster and ongoing effects are “unnerving” and a “constant worry”. “But at the same time, you can’t


just drop everything. We need to move forward and going to Fil- mart, albeit with heavy hearts, is a step in that direction,” she says. Filmart reports that although


two Japanese exhibitors have can- celled since the earthquake, 41 are attending as planned, including Gaga, Showgate, TBS, Nikkatsu and NTV. Buyer attendance data is not yet available, but it is confi rmed that Japanese director Iwai Shunji has cancelled his trip to HKIFF. The Asian Film Awards (AFA)


ceremony will include a tribute to Japan where the China All-Artists Union will present a letter of con- dolence to a representative of the Japanese fi lm industry. AFA’s offi - cial champagne sponsor Moët & Chandon will donate a correspond- ing amount of $1,300 (HK$10,000) to Japan disaster relief for each of the 14 awards plus four more prizes


picked from the winners. In total, Moët & Chandon will donate $23,000 (HK$180,000). Japanese sales and marketing


company Pictures Dept is holding fundraiser screenings in Hong Kong and Toronto. The March 24 Hong Kong Art Center screening will be of Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, with a Chinese subtitled print provided by Hong Kong distributor Panorama Entertainment. HKIFF chairman Wilfred Wong said yesterday: “I would like to express on behalf of the HKIFF Society, our sympathies to the Japanese people, and espe- cially all our friends there in the fi lm business at this diffi cult time.”


TODAY


NEWS Emperor conjures up Magician Slate is led by the period epic starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai » PAGE 4


REVIEWS Johnnie be good To’s latest, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, HKIFF’s opening night film, is an entertaining love triangle » PAGE 8


Four play Quattro Hong Kong 2 presents four vibrant, provocative shorts from four Asian directors » PAGE 8


SCREENINGS » START PAGE 22


Disney ramps up Chinese production with Hero


BY SCREEN STAFF The Walt Disney Company is gear- ing up to produce Mandarin-lan- guage fi lms for the Greater China market with plans to produce three titles a year starting this year. The fi rst project to go among the


Actress Miriam Yeung, posed last night with festival director Roger Garcia TBS’s Drucker goes to bat


BY JEAN NOH Tokyo Broadcasting System Televi- sion (TBS) is debuting a slate at Filmart led by Drucker In The Dug- Out, the story of how a girl uses business consultant Peter Druck- er’s management principles to shape up her school baseball team. Based on Natsumi Iwasaki’s


bestseller Drucker In The Dug-Out: A Japanese Baseball Girl Meets Peter Drucker, the film is directed by


Makoto Takada (The Vanished) and stars Atsuko Maeda. It is due for release in Japan in June. TBS is also selling Kochikame —


The Movie: Save The Kachidoki Bridge! directed by Yasuhiro Kawa- mura (Nodame Cantabile: The Movie II) and 16th-century action epic The Floating Castle co-directed by Isshin Inudo (La Maison De Himiko) and Shinji Higuchi (Sink- ing Of Japan).


Busan, Zonbo sign pact


BY JEAN NOH Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and Chinese investment and distribution company Zonbo Media have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for indus- try exchange and greater cinema- cultural business collaboration. BIFF director Lee Yong-kwan


and Zonbo chairman Chen Weim- ing signed the MOU on March 19. Distribution/production com-


Drucker In The Dug-Out


pany BALCON, founded with an investment by BIFF, and Zonbo Media are to co-found a fi lm distri- bution corporation called ‘Zonbo- BALCON’ (temporary name). It will support the domestic and international distribution of Korean independent fi lms as well as Asian Cinema Fund projects.


seven to eight in development is a comedy tentatively titled Becoming A Hero, an adaptation of Taiwanese novelist Gidden Ko’s Achoo. The film tells of a computer nerd who dreams of becoming a superhero. Hong Kong director Peter Ho-sun Chan is to produce the film while


the director is yet to be confi rmed, according to Peter Tsi, Disney’s vice- president, Theatrical Creative, Greater China. Disney has acquired the fi lm rights to the book and plans to start shooting by the end of 2011. Also in development is an action


fi lm to be directed by Benny Chan (Shaolin, New Police Story), a drama by Chi Ngai Lee (Sleepless Town, Dance Subaru), a comedy to be directed by Wong Jing and a romantic comedy to be directed by Wai Man Yip (Lost in Journey, Bruce Lee My Brother).


Celestial extends Kingdom


Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures has sealed three pre-sales on martial-arts drama My Kingdom, which is in post-production. The film, starring Wu Chun,


Barbie Hsu and pop idol Han Geng, has gone to Singapore’s Raintree MediaCorp, Malaysia’s Golden Screen and Indonesia’s PT Teguh Bakti Mandiri. The companies boarded the film


without seeing any footage — Celestial is kicking off its distribution push on the title here at Filmart. Produced by Beijing- based Skyland Films and Andre Morgan’s DW Films, My Kingdom


tells the story of two brothers’ quest for fame, love and revenge against the backdrop of the Shanghai opera stage in the 1920s. It is directed by Gao Xiaosong,


one of the up-and-coming film- makers Morgan is nurturing, with Hong Kong’s Sammo Hung as action director.


Liz Shackleton


My Kingdom


DAY 1


© 2011 Mosi-Dora Film Partners


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