Official still of ‘Midnight Diner 2’

Would You Pay to Smell a Movie?

Creating scents to accompany movies is what the Hangzhou-based VR and digital media company Scent Realm did for recent releases, such as ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Once Upon A Time’, and ‘Midnight Diner 2’. Audiences who are willing to pay extra 10 yuan to rent an odor-releasing device could smell what is happening in a movie. While Scent Realm is still in the process of refining their products and exploring how to collaborate and split revenues with film exhibitors, the company’s CEO Huang Jianwei feels very optimistic about the market potential for their products. Read more on yuleguan001

Hollywood Studios Win Copyright Case against Chinese Video Site Xunlei

In January 2015, some member studios of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) filed a law suite against Chinese video site Xunlei for copyright infringement. After spending over two years investigating and collecting evidence, a Chinese court recently announced that MPA wins the case. Xunlei is ordered to apologize for the infringement, stop piracy, and pay the equivalent of 1.4 million yuan for damages and legal costs. Read more on Mtime

Jackie Chan to Direct His First Arthouse Film

On August 21, Jackie Chan attended the local premiere of action thriller film ‘The Foreigner’ in Beijing. In an exclusive interview with Mtime after the premiere, Jackie Chan revealed that he plans to direct an arthouse movie at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. According to Chan, the script of the film has been revised many times, and he has selected a female lead for the film. While Jackie Chan has directed films before, he has never directed arthouse movies. Read more on Mtime

Clip from Chinese Military Film ‘Sky Hunter’ Shows off the Country’s Advanced Military Planes

‘Sky Hunter’, China’s first action movie focused on the country’s modern air force, recently released a clip with pilots from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) flying the nation’s most advanced fighter jets. As actor turned director Li Chen’s first feature film, ‘Sky Hunter’ also stars China’s highest paid actress Fan Bingbing. One of the film’s producers, Spring Era Film Company, also produced ‘Wolf Warriors 2’. ‘Sky Hunter’ is scheduled to release across China on September 30. Read more on Sina

iQiyi Expands in Anime Market in Full Force

iQiyi, one of China’s largest video portals, recently announced a series of new initiatives to expand in the anime market. On August 18, the company announced that Lin Gengxin (Kenny Lin) will be the new brand ambassador for iQiyi’s anime division. Lin is a Chinese actor who has a massive social media following, and is also known for his friendship with Wang Sicong, who’s father is Wangda’s CEO Wang Jianlin. Moreover, iQiyi recently released seven IPs, which the company plans to develop in 2017 and 2018. Read more on Ent Group