HANS: Last News

Reports of their break-up first surfaced on March 30, which was then confirmed by Ryu’s representation at C-JeS Studio that same day in a brief statement. Later, Han’s label 9ato Entertainment published a more detailed statement explaining the circumstances behind their decision to part ways.“[Han So-hee and Ryu Jun-yeol] both found their roles as actors to be more important.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ opened on top of the mainland China box office in its first official week of release. But its debut was soft and led the market to one of its quietest weekends of the year. The Universal-DreamWorks Animation picture earned $14.7 million (RMB105 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data provided by consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

Gyeongseong Creature star Han So-hee has denied she was dropped by brands over her relationship with actor Ryu Jun-yeol.Han So-hee’s agency, 9ato Entertainment had addressed speculation that the actress was dropped by several brands over her controversial relationship with actor Ryu Jun-yeol.The pair were confirmed to be dating last week, but soon stirred controversy on the internet over rumours that Ryu had started dating Han while still in a relationship with actress Hyeri.Soon after news broke, 9ato Entertainment had confirmed that Han So-hee’s sponsorship deals with soju brand Chum Churum and Nonghyup Bank had expired.“The allegations that actor Han So-hee’s advertisement contracts ended due to the recent issues surrounding the actor’s personal life are completely false,” the agency said, per Korea JoongAng Daily.“The agreement to end Han’s contract for beverage advertisement was made early this year, and for bank advertisement, toward the end of last year,” the agency clarified in its statement.Han So-hee recently starred in the Netflix K-drama series Gyeongseong Creature opposite Park Seo-jun. In a glowing four-star review, NME‘s Rhian Daly called it “a gripping story that’s not for the faint-hearted”.The streaming service has since confirmed that season two of the K-drama series will premiere sometime this year, with both Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon set to return as leads.Meanwhile, Ryu Jun-yeol recently starred in the South Korean film Alienoid: Return to the Future, a sequel to 2022′ Alienoid.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck’s documentary “Eternal You” is set to be theatrical released by Dogwoof in the U.K. and Farbfilm in Germany. The buzzed-about documentary explores ways that AI is being used by help people cope with grief, allowing them to interact with avatars of their deceased loved ones.

A new 50p coin that will excite Star Wars fans has been unveiled, commemorating one of the most notable aspects of the film franchise.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Previews for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” put the Chinese-themed film in fourth place at the mainland China box office, a week ahead of its official theatrical debut. Over the March 15-17 weekend, however, first and second places remained with holdover titles “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon” and “Dune: Part Two.” Taiwanese crime film “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon,” already playing on Netflix in territories outside China, topped the mainland China chart for the third successive weekend. According to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, it earned $11.1 million (RMB79.1 million), for a cumulative of $73.2 million (RMB520 million).

EXCLUSIVE: America’s undiscovered K-pop stars are getting their shot at fame.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Dune 2” launched in mainland China cinemas this weekend with a solid $19.9 million three-day haul. That put it in second place, narrowly behind holdover crime-drama “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon.” Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway, showed that “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” earned $21.3 million (RMB151 million) between Friday and Sunday, for a 10-day cumulative of $54.1 million (RMB384 million).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film projects to be produced by Andrew Lau (“Infernal Affairs,” “Initial D”) and Han Sanping, the former head of China Film Corp., are among the new in-development titles that grace the FilMart slate of Hong Kong studio Media Asia. The Peter Lam-controlled studio is also poised, at an event within FilMart on Monday, to detail its new alliance with China’s Alibaba Pictures Group. Lau is producing “Behind the Scene,” a book-to-film adaptation to be directed by Lee Kwong-yiu (“Insanity”) in which four friends uncover a meticulously planned murder that is carefully disguised as a kidnapping. Suspicions fall on a bank president who is involved in counterfeiting. Han is aiming to produce “Fading Tracks,” another crime title that is also adapted from a novel.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” notably features the acting return of Christoper Walken, who hasn’t been seen on the big screen in four years. The Oscar winner had a trio of films released in 2020 (“The War with Grandpa,” “Percy” and “Wild Mountain Thyme”) and then went on a hiatus from moviemaking (he did show up in the 2022 television series “Severance.”) Now, he joins “Dune: Part Two” as Shaddam IV, aka the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe. Why did Walken decide to make “Dune: Part Two” his comeback? It’s a question Vanity Fair asked the Oscar winner in a new interview, to which Walken responded: “I had, of course, seen the first ‘Dune’ a number of times.

Blood Free, starring Ju Ji-hoon and Han Hyo-joo. Read on for everything you need to know about the show.Blood Free is set in a future where humans no longer consume natural animal meat.

Stray Kids are one of the biggest groups coming out of the South Korea.

—the largest unbroken caldera in the world—when our safari guide stops our vehicle in front of a dozen elephants. It is in this quiet moment of observation when Vanessa Berlowitz, the executive producer of National Geographic's , Queens, casually mentions the kind of random fact you know you’ll never forget.“Wrinkles on an elephant help them stay cool because their wrinkles retain ten times more water than smooth skin," she says.That’s my headline, I decide: “Elephants Reveal the Best Reason to Embrace Your Wrinkles.”And yet, little did I know that coming up with a headline—and a particular focus for this piece—was going to take weeks to figure out.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA — Antonio Chavarrías’ “Holy Mother,” Celia Rico’s “Little Loves” and Diogo Viegas’s “Alice’s Diary” play at this year’s 3rd Spanish Screenings Content, the Malaga Festival’s part of the Spanish Screenings XXL, Spain’s biggest international industry platform in its history, featuring over March 4-7 and – when it comes to Málaga – the monumental number of 222 titles. In production volume, Spain has never had it so good.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following its world premiere in the competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, Beta Cinema has revealed first sales across Europe and to Australia and New Zealand for Andreas Dresen’s “From Hilde, With Love.” The drama about anti-Nazi activists in Berlin, which is led by “Babylon Berlin’s” Liv Lisa Fries and introduces Johannes Hegemann in his first big screen appearance, will be released in France by Haut et Court, in Italy by Teodora and throughout Scandinavia by Angel Films. Beta Cinema also closed deals for Benelux (September Film), Portugal (Outsider), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Cirko) and Czech Republic (Film Europe). Palace Film picked up the film for Australia and New Zealand.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Streaming platform Disney+ will add four new Korean-language original series to its 2024 lineup. Its “Blood Free,” “Unmasked,” “The Tyrant” and “Gangnam B-Side” land in addition to a third season of “The Zone: Survival Mission” and the previously announced “Uncle Samsik” and “Light Shop” from webtoon pioneer and creator of the platform’s 2023 series hit “Moving.” “Blood Free,” which is to star Ju Jihoon (“Kingdom”) and Han Hyojoo (“Moving”), follows a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. He finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life. Set in modern-day Seoul, “Unmasked” follows a group of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story.

Unmasked, Blood Free, The Tyrant, Gangnam B-Side, Uncle Samsik and Light Shop, as well as the long-awaited third season of reality programme The Zone: Survival Mission. Blood Free will star Ju Ji-hoon (Kingdom) and Han Hyo-joo (Moving) in a tale of a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past, Meawhile, Unmasked, set in contemporary Seoul, follows a team of investigative journalists fighting for their careers as they reckon with the aftermath of broadcasting a controversial story.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “From Hilde, With Love,” which world premiered Saturday in competition at the Berlinale, has debuted its trailer (below). The film, directed by Andreas Dresen, centers on a group of young anti-Nazi activists in Berlin during World War II. (Read Variety‘s review here.) The film, which is being sold by Beta Cinema and is produced by Claudia Steffen and Christoph Friedel for Pandora Film, stars “Babylon Berlin” breakout Liv Lisa Fries and Johannes Hegemann.

Jessica Kiang It is increasingly weird to recall that for a while, French director Bruno Dumont was the kind of filmmaker who reminded you, often forcibly and somewhat against your will, that the word “auteur” contains most of the letters of “austere.” “The Empire,” another of the director’s proudly off-kilter comedies that pitches the bumbling denizens of a small French village into a vast, sinister conspiracy extending far beyond their foreshortened horizons, hovers several light years — and two janky light sabers — away from austerity. Unfortunately, though, the air out there is also a little thin on hilarity, with the film’s one-gag setup becoming stretched to the point that it doesn’t even matter that it’s a pretty good gag.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor When Laila Stieler’s script for “From Hilde, With Love,” which world premiered Saturday in competition at the Berlinale, first came to director Andreas Dresen he was a little reluctant to take the project on. The issue was not the script but the subject-matter: set in Nazi-era Berlin, “From Hilde, With Love” is a love story about two real life members of the pro-Communist, German resistance movement known as the Red Orchestra, Hilde and Hans Coppi. More than 50 members of the group were guillotined in Berlin’s Plötzensee Prison between 1942 and 1943, including the Coppis.

Catherine Bray Two years after their Berlinale prizewinner “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush,” veteran German director Andreas Dresen and his regular screenwriter Laila Stieler reteam for the moving drama “From Hilde, With Love.” Drawing on the compelling real-life case of the Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young married couple arrested and executed for treason by the Gestapo in wartime Berlin, the film cross-cuts between an idyllic summer romance and much darker later events.