Japan to Remake Hit Taiwanese Movie ‘You are the Apple of My Eye’

According to Japanese media, Japan will remake hit Taiwanese movie ‘You are the Apple of My Eye’ (2011), which was directed by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko based on his semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Critically well received, the film also set box office records in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China in 2011. The Japanese remake stars Yuki Yamata and Asuka Saitō who is a member of Japanese idol group Nogizaka46. The shooting of the remake will start in October 2017, and the film is expected to be released in the fall of 2018. Read more on Mtime

The Golden Horse Film Festival Shows Preference for Arthouse Movies

On October 1, The 54th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival announced this year’s nominations, which were selected from 576 submissions. Overall, the festival shows its preference for arthouse movies. ‘The Great Buddha +,’ a movie shot by iPhone, leads the competition with ten nominations. Sylvia Chang’s ‘Love Education’ as well as Yang Ya-che’s ‘Xue Guanyin’ each picks seven nominations. Filmmakers from mainland China make up half of the nomination list. Award ceremony of the festival will take place on November 25 in Taipei. Read more on Mtime

What You Need to Know about the Company behind Box Office Hit ‘Never Say Die’?

As of October 3 (Beijing Time), Chinese comedy film ‘Never Say Die’ has made 642 million yuan (US $96.65 million) after only 4 days in release, leading China’s National Day holiday box office. And Mahua Funage, the company behind the film, is worth your attention. Beijing-based production company Mahua Funage was founded in 2003 to produce comedic stage shows. In 2015, the company started producing comedy films, and its performance in this new arena has been impressive thus far. Before ‘Never Say Die’ hit the big screen, Mahua’s previous production ‘Google Mr. Loser’ (2015) already impressed the market with total box office income of US $226.6 million in China. Currently, the company is pursuing IPO, and the box office performance of ‘Never Say Die’ is likely to have a big influence on the result. Read more on yuleguan001

Cultural Variety Shows are not “Safe” in China Anymore?

While China’s media regulators have been tightening their control over content on TV and the internet, cultural variety show is considered as a “safe” category, since most shows of this type promote Chinese culture and mainstream values. However, when hit Chinese variety show ‘Letters Alive’ (《见字如面》) , a show co-produced by CCTV (China Central Television) and once praised by People’s Daily， was cancelled lately, even industry experts are not certain what was happening. According to sources familiar with the matter, the overall programming vision of the show is not fully in line with the direction the country’s media regulators suggest. The author of this article believes, though, it is possible that this show will be resumed after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party. Read more on Ent Group

How Music IPs Became Popular with Chinese Film Producers?

Adapting music IPs into movies might sound bizarre. But some filmmakers actually did it in China and succeeded. Two most successful cases are ‘My Old Classmate’ (《同桌的你》) and ‘Forever Young’ (《栀子花开》). Both are adapted based on the lyrics of hit songs, and use the same name of the song as movie title. Such cases intrigue many Chinese film producers to do the same. However, it remains to be seen how many of them will make it. “What behind this phenomenon is the mindset of trying to make money via shortcut. However, not many of them truly know how to make and promote a movie.” Says Gao Xiaosong, renowned composer who wrote the song as well as the film ‘My Old Classmate.’ Read more on Star Daily