Hollywood
Malaysia-Singapore co-production gets funds at Golden Horse in Taipei
NEW DELHI: The Malaysia-Singapore co-production The Era of Farewell has won the Grand Prize at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP) in Taipei.
Based on the novel by Li Zi Shu, Era is the multi-generational tale of a gang boss’s wife who fights for her own independence. Director Adric Chong receives a NT$1 million (US$32,300) cash prize.
Juror Lee Lieh said that although Chong’s original treatment was problematic, he was awarded based on the strength of his short films and a revised synopsis. The film, budgeted at US$1.6 million, has yet to secure any financing.
Three films won two prizes: Midi Z’s The Road to Mandalay, Maisy Choi’s Have a Nice Trip and Kuo Cheng-chui’s For?t Debussy.
Mandalay, about illegal immigrants in Bangkok, won two prizes: The Pixelfly Digital Award and the inaugural Taipei New Horizon Screenplay Award, valued at NT$400,000 (US$12,900). It has raised US$100,000 of its US$750,000 budget.
Trip — about four elderly relatives visiting Japan — won The Hualien International Most Potential and Creative Award, valued at NT$300,000 (US$9,700), and the Modern Cinema Laboratory Award. Budgeted at US$1.85 million, it is produced by Hong Kong’s Amy Chin and Stanley Kwan.
France-Taiwan co-production Debussy — about a mother and daughter who flee into a forest to escape a media scandal — won the CNC Cash Award and the TMPC Award. The CNC prize, valued at €10,000 (US$12,500) is for projects that have potential as French co-productions.
Jenny Lu’s UK-Taiwan co-production The Receptionist won the Central Pictures Corporation Award for post-production. 2 Love Stories about Liang Liang, which has no director officially attached, won the CPC’s award for pre-production.
Both Debussy and Receptionist are also recipients of government production subsidies that were announced by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture in July.
Farewell the Good Old Days is set to be directed by Hong Kong’s Kevin CHU Ka-wang and Judy CHU — the duo behind indie drama I Sell Love — picked up the Moneff Award. The film will be Judy Chu’s directorial debut.
Singapore’s A Small Place won the 3H Sound Studio Award. Packages from Daddy won the LAPCC Award. Notes of a Desolate Man, based on a novel by Chu Tien-wen, won the Arrow Award.
Hollywood
Iger’s final act: Disney boss wraps up epic saga with a new captain at the helm
After 15 turbulent years, two stints in the c-suite, and billions spent on blockbuster acquisitions, Bob Iger is stepping away from the Magic Kingdom.
CALIFORNIA: The 75-year-old chief, hailed as one of the most transformative leaders in modern media, officially hands over to former parks chief Josh D’Amaro on 18 March. And this time, he’s getting the succession right.
Iger’s legacy glitters with big bets and epic wins: the $7.4bn Pixar buy, $4bn Marvel swoop, and the colossal $71bn 21st Century Fox deal. He dragged Disney into the streaming age, fought off activist investor Nelson Peltz, and saw off a political scrap with Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
But it hasn’t all been pixie dust. The forced return of Iger in 2022—after the short, shaky reign of successor Bob Chapek—tarnished an otherwise stellar run.
Now, D’Amaro takes the wheel with a streamlined leadership team and Disney firing on all cylinders. The firm’s streaming business is in the black, theme-park attendance is soaring, and five global films have hit $1billion at the box office in the past two years. Not bad for a firm that was on the ropes just months ago.
D’Amaro’s first move? A slick reorg under new president and chief creative officer Dana Walden, folding film, tv, streaming and gaming into one punchy unit. Sean Shoptaw, heading up the gaming division, now reports directly to Walden—bringing Fortnite and Epic Games collaborations closer to Disney’s creative heart.
Iger isn’t sailing off into the sunset just yet. He’ll keep busy with Angel City FC, the women’s football club he owns with his wife. And as Ann Mooney Murphy of Stevens Institute predicts: “A guy like that never truly retires.”
One era ends. Another begins. And the House of Mouse bets big on a future beyond the king.
