Hollywood
Jackie Chan film to be highlight of Far East Film Festival in Italy
NEW DELHI: Legendary martial arts exponent Jackie Chan’s movie will be the opening film at the 17th Far East Film Festival in Udine in Italy.
The event opens with the international festival premiere of Dragon Blade. The period epic about exiled Chinese soldiers partnering with Roman soldiers to protect China’s borders also stars John Cusack and Adrien Brody along with Chan.
The Festival will be held from 24 April to 2 May and will screen around seventy feature films from eleven countries. The festival will see six world premieres, 13 international premieres, 25 European premiers and 14 Italian premieres.
A highlight will be a live concert by Joe Hisaishi, the composer best known for his soundtracks to films by Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano, a day before the formal opening.
The festival’s closing film is Tsui Hark’s The Taking of Tiger Mountain, a period action-adventure in which Communist soldiers infiltrate and raid a bandit group’s mountain base. It stars Zhang Hanyu, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Lin Gengxin. The festival will screen the 2D version of the film.
Five other films will have their international festival premiere in Italy namely Parasyte: Part 1 from Japan, Miss Granny from China and gangster epic Gangnam Blues 1970 from South Korea, romance thriller My Ordinary Love Story and palace drama The Royal Tailor.
This year’s films include Hong Kong thriller Helios, Chinese romance The Old Cinderella, Japanese boxing drama 100 Yen Love and Yubari award-winning comedy Make Room.
Other films include China road movie The Continent, Vietnamese horror Hollow and Cambodian youth drama The Last Reel. It is the first time that a Cambodian film will be screened at the Italian festival.
The programme includes a six-film retrospective dedicated to Hong Kong martial arts films from the 1970s and 1980s. The festival will also screen two restored classics, China’s Two Stage Sisters (1964) and samurai dramatic The Tragedy of Bushido (1960) from Japan.
Hollywood
Disney sells out ad slots for 98th Oscars broadcast
Strong demand for live events turns the Academy Awards into a global, multi-platform marketing moment
NEW YORK: Hollywood’s biggest night has also become one of advertising’s hottest tickets. Disney has sold out all advertising inventory for the 98th Oscars, underscoring the growing demand from brands eager to ride the cultural wave of major live events.
The sell-out marks the sixth consecutive live tentpole success for Disney Advertising. The streak includes last year’s 97th Oscars, the 59th Annual CMA Awards, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, signalling strong appetite among marketers for moments that bring audiences together in real time.
For advertisers, the Oscars are no longer just a single night of glitz and gold statues. Disney’s “Content Everywhere” strategy has expanded the awards show into a sprawling, multi-platform brand playground spanning linear television, streaming, social media and digital content.
“Live continues to be one of the most powerful ways for brands to connect with engaged audiences at scale, and the Oscars represent the very best of culture, creativity and community,” said Disney Advertising SVP, entertainment and streaming solutions John Campbell. He added that the company has reshaped the show’s commercial potential into a connected experience that stretches well beyond the broadcast.
Brands such as Mazda, Pfizer and Volkswagen of America are tapping into Disney’s wider ecosystem, appearing across original content segments including Know Your Movies on Hulu and Critically Acclaimed on Disney+. Partnerships also extend to social media through TikTok Pulse Premiere and to custom brand storytelling created by Disney CreativeWorks.
The result is what Disney calls the “Oscars Everywhere” approach. Rather than a few high-profile ad breaks, advertisers now find themselves woven through a series of moments before, during and after the ceremony.
These include On The Red Carpet at The Oscars, a live pre-show syndicated across major local markets and streamed nationwide, and the After the Oscars Show, which keeps the conversation going once the final award has been handed out.
This year’s sponsors include Rolex, returning for its ninth year, and Burger King, which joins the Oscars advertiser roster for the first time. Other brands in the mix include Disney Cruise Line, Dunkin’, Eli Lilly and Company, Eucerin, Intuit TurboTax, L’Oréal, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Miebo, Paris Baguette, Peacock, Starbucks, State Farm, Toyota and Verizon.
The 98th Oscars will take place on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC and streamed on Hulu, reaching audiences in more than 200 territories worldwide.
