Patrick: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The advertising market in the Asia-Pacific region is poised to grow by 5.1% in the current year and at an average 4% through to 2029, when it would reach $290 billion. According to a new report from consultancy and research firm Media Partners Asia digital media will grow in significance and expand its share of the market from a current 69% (worth $164 billion) to 74%, worth $215 billion by 2029. Seven markets – China, Japan, India, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam – will drive the sector’s growth, contributing nearly $50 billion in incremental revenue between 2024 and 2029. India is forecast to be the top performer, with a projected 10.4% growth in 2024 and a 9.0% compound average growth rate over the 2024-29 period. Retail media (advertising on a retailer’s media network or third-party publisher’s platform which leverages shopping data) and online video are key growth drivers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Moro,” a tale of fractious fraternal relations that debuted last year in the Jiseok section of the Busan International Film Festival, has begun airing on Netflix in Southeast Asia, including director Brillante Mendoza’s native Philippines. In other territories, the film’s rights are being represented by Manila-based finance, production and sales firm Fire and Ice. With a screenplay by Honeylyn Joy Alipio, and production by Mendoza’s Center Stage Productions, “Moro” tells a story about a widowed mother (played by Laurice Guillen) who tries to reconcile two brothers who are feuding over a piece of disputed land in Mindanao. The older brother is diligent and responsible, the younger one has squandered his savings on gambling.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Newcomer Kabita Napali takes the co-leading role opposite the U.K.’s Jamie Bacon in “Eklo I,” a film which claims to be Nepal’s first sci-fi movie. Three months of production are now underway in the Himalayan country, which is previously best known for art-house titles and low-budget drama films. In a post-apocalyptic 2090, some 60 years after humanity fled the Earth due to an epidemic, two astronauts crash-land in the Himalayan mountains while on a reconnaissance mission. The astronauts uncover a hidden city of caves among the towering mountains and there encounter a mysterious guardian who holds secrets that challenge their understanding of survival and destiny.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Apparently based on real-world events in which a Japanese school was sued by a pupil after it banned romantic liaisons between students, “Chastity High” is poised to be Netflix’s first young adult series from Japan. The series, which premiers on Aug. 29, takes a glimpse into a world where a prestigious high school bans dating between students and chaos follows.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After years of project markets and multiple rounds of Asian grant funding applications, Vietnamese horror-comedy “Don’t Cry Butterfly,” is confirmed to have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Critics Week. Its backers have unveiled a first poster image. Written and directed by Duong Dieu Linh, the Hanoi-set film follows a housewife who uses voodoo to try and get her cheating husband fall back into love with her, but instead invites a mysterious presence into the house.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Successor,” a Chinese-produced comedy drama about escape from poverty, dominated a big weekend at the Mainland China box office. The session also saw an impressive re-release for Japanese animation “Your Name” and Hollywood action film “Twisters” blown into instant irrelevance. Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway showed “Successor” earning RMB633 million ($89.1 million) between Friday and Sunday in China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Escape,” a Korean-made action drama that has been on release for most of the month, took the lead at the South Korean box office over the latest weekend. The film recounts the story of a North Korean soldier who dreams of defecting and the South Korean officer who pursues him. It is directed by Lee Jong-pil, who previously made surprise 2020 hit “Samjin Company English Class.” It stars Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan in the lead roles. “Escape” earned $2.61 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Nattawut ‘Baz’ Poonpiriya, the director of 2017 pan-Asian hit “Bad Genius,” has joined forces with Thailand’s leading film studio GDH559 to launch new production company BASK. GDH, a subsidiary of the GMM group, is currently riding another wave of regional success with comedy-drama “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” breaking box office records in Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Vietnam and The Philippines. Earlier this week, the company unveiled a powerful production and releasing slate covering the next year. Co-headed by GDH producer, Vanridee Pongsittisak, BASK says it will work alongside top U.S.-based producers to offer a fresh perspective on Thai and Asian culture for global audiences. “My goal is to be the international voice that speaks louder,” said Poonpiriya.

MPM Premium has closed sales in France, Belgium and the Middle East and North Africa for Lotfi Achour’s “Red Path,” screening in the Filmmakers of the Present competition at Locarno this August. Nour Films will release “Red Path” in France, O’Brother in Belgium and ART in the MENA regions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Anna Torv, star of “Mindhunter” and “The Newsreader,” and Michael Dorman (“For All Mankind,” “Patriot”) head the extensive cast of Netflix’s upcoming Australian Outback epic series “Territory.” The series, previously known as “Desert King” is set to premiere on Oct. 24. The show is created by Timothy Lee (“Mystery Road,” “Bump”) and Ben Davies (“Bondi Rescue,” “The First Inventors,” “Outback Ringer”) and has its central premise an intense squabble for land.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A year after winning a bitter corporate battle for control of pioneering K-pop agency SM Entertainment, South Korean tech firm Kakao Entertainment says it is accelerating its expansion in music. Kakao already has a controlling stake in Melon, Korea’s leading subscription-based music streamer. It defeated BTS-backer Hybe Corp.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Successor,” a comedy drama film that has taken the Chinese box office by storm, is set for an international roll-out from early next month. Rights to the film have been picked up by CMC Pictures, the Chinese studio behind “The Meg” monster shark franchise. It will handle theatrical releases in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Nikki Semin Han’s U.S.-based Korean entertainment venture Titan Content has unveiled the first to members of its debut K-pop girl group AtHeart. Titan plans to debut two K-pop girl groups, two boy groups, one male soloist, and one female soloist by 2028. The first of these, AtHeart is set to officially launch in 20225 and will include an unspecified number of additional performers. The first two members of AtHeart, Sorin and Michi are both 17-years-old and hail from South Korea and Hawaii respectively. “Titan has been scouting and holding global auditions since the beginning of 2024, and we were captivated by the incredible talent we discovered.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Entropico, the Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles-based studio that last year hatched Netflix’s “ONEFOUR: Against All Odds,” has appointed Sele Leota as senior creative producer. He joins the team after collaborating with Entropico for nearly a year. Leota boasts a rich background in unscripted television and audio storytelling, including a five-year stint as storyteller and producer on E! Television’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Previous roles at Bunim-Murray Productions saw him contributing to series such as MTV’s “The Real World” and Lifetime Television Network’s “Project Runway.” He is also overseeing post-production of Netflix’s “Coming Out Colton” at 3/Ball Jeff Jenkins Productions. In the audio storytelling sector, he co-executive produced “Being Trans” and “Being Golden,” two of Lemonada Media‘s ground-breaking audio reality podcast series that won three Webby Awards in 2023. Entropico recently produced YouTube’s “A Drag Adventure Story,” starring iconic performers and creators Trixie Mattel and Juno Birch; “Enter the Realm,” a celebration of YouTube’s tabletop roleplaying games community; and a suite of branding and video assets for Google Marketing Live.

Neil Patrick Harris is mourning the death of his TV dad James B. Sikking.

Neil Patrick Harris is paying tribute to Emmy-nominated actor James B. Sikking, his former Doogie Howser, MD co-star, who died July 13 of complications of dementia at the age of 90.

It was confirmed on Monday that a body believed to be missing Jay Slater had been found, close to the spot where his mobile phone last 'pinged'.

The 36th edition of Ireland’s Galway Film Fleadh has come to an end with Best Irish Film going to breakout hit Kneecap, which played at Sundance earlier this year and was picked up by Sony Classics. Scroll down for a full list of winners.

Hill Street Blues between 1981 and 1987, as well as the father of Neil Patrick Harris’s character in Doogie Howser, M.D..Sikking died after battling dementia, with his publicist Cynthia Synder telling People he passed away “peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by family”.Born in Los Angeles, the actor earned a degree in Theatre Arts from UCLA, and also served in the army, which he revealed in 2014 served as inspiration for his role as Hunter in Hill Street Blues.“The drill instructor looked like he had steel for hair and his uniform had so much starch in it, you knew it would sit in the corner when he took it off in the barracks,” he told The Seattle Times.“So when I started to play Howard, I picked out the way he should be dressed. It had to be a very military look.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief With scamming a topic of current news and growing concern across Asia, Netflix’s “Tokyo Swindlers” is a timely addition to its slate of Japanese live-action programming. Ayano Go and Toyokawa Etsushi head the cast of the seven-episode crime drama series that is an adaptation of a bestselling novel by Shinjo Ko, originally published by Shueisha Bunko. The protagonists are a group of cunning con artists led by Harrison Yamanaka (Toyokawa) who use forged documents and recruit imposters to pose as landowners and defraud major land developers. Their biggest target is a JPY10-billion plot of land next to a Buddhist temple.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korea’s CJ ENM has appointed Jang Kyung-ik as CEO of its stock market-listed Studio Dragon unit. The company is one of the most prolific TV production houses in the world and a key partner of both Netflix and Tving, with hit shows that include “The Glory,” ‘Crash Landing on You” “Hotel Del Luna” and “Arthdal Chronicles.” Jang is the former president of Studio & NEW, a rival TV production nexus that is part of investor-distributor group Next Entertainment World. CJ ENM described Jang as “a distinguished content producer with a stellar career.” “His exceptional planning skills and keen insight have led to the production of highly successful dramas and films.