city Golden, county Bell: Last News

Naman Ramachandran “Crazy Rich Asians” producer Janice Chua has boarded global production company Third Culture Content (TCC) as co-founder and producer, as the banner simultaneously reveals development on a U.S. adaptation of Korean drama hit “King the Land.” The Los Angeles and Seoul-based outfit, which produced the English-Korean bilingual series “Dramaworld” that bowed on Netflix globally before its second season hit Prime Video (U.S.), ITV (U.K.), CBC (Canada), iQiyi (Southeast Asia), Tving (Korea), and U-Next (Japan), is plotting an ambitious growth strategy for 2025.

Naman Ramachandran Taiwan is making a strong showing at the Berlin Film Festival with four features in official selection, anchored by queer crime thriller “Silent Sparks” and cross-border pic “Dreams in Nightmares” in the Panorama strand. The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) is meanwhile mounting an aggressive market push, bringing 99 titles from 45 companies to the European Film Market (EFM). “Silent Sparks,” marking helmer Ping Chu’s feature debut, packs serious star wattage with Golden Horse winner Shih Ming Shuai and Golden Bell recipient Akira Huang headlining what’s being billed as a distinctly Taiwanese take on LGBTQ+ crime fare.

The second season of award-winning Taiwanese LGBTQ+ series Fragrance Of The First Flower will be available on Netflix Asia from February 18 following a deal with GOL Studios, marking the first time the Taipei-based company has sold a series to the global streamer. 

How do you react if you’re an award-winning actress but feel like you don’t have much control over the direction of your career? In the case of Taiwan’s Yen Yi-wen, you start writing and directing your own series. 

Naman Ramachandran It was standing room only as the follow-up to 2019 Taiwanese series “The World Between Us” debuted its teaser at Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), with “Meteor Garden” star Vic Chou leading an ensemble cast. The series, set for a 2025 release, comes after five years of script development.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief GrX Studio has set its sights on an international expansion that matches its leading position within Taiwan’s film and TV production industry. At a fast-paced event on Monday held on the margins of the Busan International Film Festival, the company detailed plans to invest some $45 million over five years into 15 Mandarin-language series and five horror films through a new fund. The launch event also included a roster of current shows from the group, which was formerly known as Greener Grass Productions. It was previously responsible for “Copycat Killer,” a series which has performed strongly for streaming giant Netflix. Taiwan actor Ning Chang and Vietnam actor Lien Binh Phat from “The Outlaw Doctor,” a crime series which is now in post-production and which GrX co-produced with Public Television Service Foundation (PTS) and Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), and Korean celebrity Jinyoung and Taiwan actress Moon Lee from “The Photo from 1977.” The title is a romance film facilitated by the Hakka Affairs Council, with script development supported by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and is part-funded by the Hakka Public Communication Foundation. Other titles confirmed at the event included: a horror film “Trapped in Yellow”; a boys’ love (BL) feature film “Wild With You,” produced by Golden Bell Awards-winning producer Phoebe Ma; and the thriller series “The Ones I Killed and the Ones Who Killed Me,” that is currently in development and is adapted from the popular Japanese novel by Akira Higashiyama. An historical series set in Taiwan and Japan, titled “KOHAKU: The Traitor of the Night,” is to be directed by Lien Yi-chi and Kentaro Hagiwara.

Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos will reteam with Element Pictures on a remake of South Korean fantasy comedy “Save the Green Planet,” Variety has learned. Lanthimos — whose latest film, “Poor Things,” is nominated for 11 Oscars and just won five BAFTAs (including best actress for Emma Stone) — is expected to start shooting the movie in the U.K. and New York this summer.

With a background in Taiwanese public television and now president of leading production company Greener Grass Culture, Phil Tang has been one of the key players in Taiwan’s evolving drama production space. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Unscripted queer reality dating series “Boys Like Boys” is to air on Warner Bros. Discovery’s TLC channel in Taiwan in early 2024, making it the first local LGBTQ+ dating reality show to air on linear TV in the territory. The show is an original production by GagaOOLala, Asia’s out and proud LGBTQ+ streaming service, which is pitching an expanded array of queer content at the Taiwan Creative Contents Fest (TCCF) that launches Tuesday in Taipei. “Boys Like Boys” had its premiere at the Kaohsiung International Film Festival and is now available worldwide on GagaOOLala and WeTV in the Philippines and Thailand, where the ‘Boys Love’ genre has become highly popular.

Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to create and distribute Taiwanese original content locally and across international markets.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production begins next month on “Black Tide Island,” a historical drama series that presents a Taiwanese insight into the Korean War. Production is headed by Hakka TV and Go Inside. Halla TV is the local Hakka-language linear satellite television channel operated by Taiwan Broadcasting System.

Taipei Film Festival is aiming to shine an international spotlight on Taiwanese actors through a new initiative, Top Talents, that will showcase nine actors including major stars Kai Ko and Chen Bolin. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Coo-Coo 043,” a family drama set in the world of racing pigeons, has been set as the opening film of the 2022 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. The closing film is comedy “Marry My Dead Body.”  “Coo-Coo 043” is the second film directed by Chan Ching-lin (“The Island That All Flow By”) and stars Golden Bell Awards winners Yu An-shun and Yang Li-yin, along with Golden Harvest Awards best new performer Hu Jhih-ciang and emerging new talent Rimong Ihwar. Chan was previously nominated for Golden Horse Awards best short film for “A Breath From the Bottom,” and as best new director with his feature debut “The Island That All Flow By.” As a work in progress, “Coo-Coo 043” previously participated in the 2021 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion.