Josie Ho's 852 Films Unveils Five New Projects; Signs Acting Deal With Iman Taheri — Filmart
852 Films, which is co-founded by singer-actress Josie Ho and producer Conroy Chan, has launched five new projects at Hong Kong's Filmart.
Additionally, the production outfit unveiled Iman Taheri, who becomes their first signed artist. He stars in horror film The Mage, directed by Danny Pang. The film also stars Ho and German Cheung. Taheri is set to appear in the sequel The Mage 2, which will start filming in April this year — as well as in several upcoming films on the company's slate.
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852 Films has worked on Open Grave, starring Shalto Copley, Thomas Kretschmann and Josie Ho, as well as How To Talk To Girls At Parties, directed by John Cameron Mitchell.
Besides launching The Mage 2, 852 Films also unveiled Macao Redux, with Jordan Gertner (The Killer Inside Me) set to direct. The film follows four friends — Z, a magician; Jade, an actress; Marco, a tech wizard; and Hazel, a historian — who embark on an adventure in Macau for 'The Hidden Game' together — an innovative blend of augmented reality and treasure hunting.
The four friends accidentally steal an urn containing the ashes of a legendary ruler from a triad-controlled casino. Mistaken for infiltrators by the triads and suspects in a series of unsolved crimes by the police, they find themselves in a perilous game of cat and mouse as they navigate the streets of Macau and make us of their unique skills — Z's sleight of hand, Jade's dramatic improvisations, Marco's tech tricks, and Hazel's historical insights.
Another project on the 852 Films slate is mystery film The Connoisseurs, produced by Chan and Max Ip. Set in an opulent European mansion, an extravagant gala unfolds, filled with the elite of society. Iman, accompanied by his father, mingles with the guests, while a mafia boss mingles in the crowd and two cloaked figures quietly descend into the mansion.
Iman's father's prized possessions, including a magnificent diamond and two renowned paintings, go missing at the gala. Iman and the guests are thrust into a web of intrigue and betrayal, and scramble to uncover the truth behind the theft.
My Funny Valentine follows a prince, burdened with the responsibility of inheriting his family legacy — but just a week before his wedding, he finds out that his fiancée has been unfaithful. Devastated, the prince decides to escape to Semporna in Sabah, Malaysia, seeking solace and peace. There, he meets two affluent sisters in a luxurious resort.
The younger sister has been entrusted with managing the family resort. One day, the resort hosts a grand festival and the younger daughter, slightly tipsy, boards her family's yacht and sails out, before waking up the next morning and finding the prince onboard. Planning to return to the resort, they are confronted with a problem: the boat has run out of fuel. This serendipitous mishap sets the stage for a love story.
Báthory, with Matthew David Wilder (Your Name Here) set to direct, is based on the story of Hungary's Elizabeth Báthory, who found infamy after bathing in the blood of virgins.
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Ran' turns 40: How a clerical error and bad blood cost Akira Kurosawa an Oscar
Forty years ago, a clerical error and bad blood cost Akira Kurosawa an Oscar. The legendary Japanese filmmaker's Ran proved the final samurai masterpiece of his distinguished career. His third Shakespeare adaptation, the film is epic in every sense of the word — massive in scale, shot in glorious color, with vicious betrayal and intense action and emotion. At the time of its release in 1985, Kurosawa was certainly well-regarded by the Motion Picture Academy, receiving an Honorary Award for Outstanding Foreign-Language Film for Rashomon, followed by Best Foreign-Language Film in 1976 for Dersu Uzala. The 58th Academy Awards found Ran competing for four awards, including Kurosawa's only Best Director nod — despite not being submitted for Best Foreign-Language Film, a snub that was the product of a messy history. 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International fame aside, Kurosawa's relationship with the Japanese film industry was significantly strained in the late-'60s through early '70s. He was hired to direct the Japanese section of the 1970's Toei-Fox. coproduction Tora! Tora! Tora!, but had difficulty dealing with Fox's communication, editors, and oversight, and spent considerable time in the thick of a mental crisis. He was prescribed two months of rest, so producer Darryl F. Zanuck's son, Richard, flew to Japan to personally fire Kurosawa. Japanese funding for his projects became scarce, and he relied on external financing support from friends for financing Dodes'ka-den. Between health problems and career turmoil, at a particularly low point, Kurosawa attempted to take his own life late in 1971, though he survived and recovered. The career that followed cemented his trajectory of international acclaim with minimal support from the Japanese film industry. In 1972, the Soviet studio Mosfilm approached the director for what became 1975's Academy Award-winning Dersu Uzala, but despite bringing numerous awards home to Japan, he again had difficulties funding his next epic, Kagemusha. Kurosawa met George Lucas and Frances Ford Coppola in 1978 while preparing for the project, and the pair were wowed by Kurosawa's vision. Coming off the success of Star Wars, Lucas convinced 20th Century Fox head Alan Ladd Jr. to provide a reported $6 million in 1979 to complete the film's funding. The film was a success, and Kurosawa ultimately referred to Kagemusha as a 'dress rehearsal' for his biggest project yet: Ran. Used to funding sources outside Japan, for Ran, Kurosawa secured the involvement of French producer Serge Silberman (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), alongside Japan's Nippon Herald Ace, to make the film, which opened in U.S. theaters on June 1, 1985. The Academy's rules for Best Foreign Film allowed one submission film per country to be considered for nomination, with each country having a unique nomination process. Speaking with The New York Times, Silberman admitted he had attempted to submit Ran as an 'independent' collaboration between France and Japan, an unintentional violation of Academy rules. Silberman next considered entering Ran as a French entry, but French rules stipulated submissions to be in the French language. That would require extensive dubbing, because the film starred Japanese actors and was shot and filmed in Japan. Silberman thought a French dub simply wouldn't have worked, so French submission was off the table. The final option would be submission to Japan's Motion Picture Producers Association (now MPPAJ), and this is where it gets even messier. According to the Times, a representative of the Japanese producers association said Ran wasn't submitted for consideration, and that the nominating committee was told the film would be submitted through France. Silberman claimed that the group refused to give more time to the decision after plans for an independent entry were nixed by the Academy. Then again, it's entirely plausible that major players in Japan's film industry weren't displeased with an opportunity to disrupt the film's Oscar chances. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Kurosawa refused to attend Ran's opening-night presentation at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Kurosawa had a rocky history of disagreements with Japan's film industry and had long relied on external funding for production, a recipe for strategic blunder. That snubbed festival was headed by Shigeru Okada, also the head of Toei and a member of Japan's Oscar-selection committee. It may not be a coincidence that Japan submitted Hana Ichi Monme (conveniently a Toei production) in Ran's stead. With its path to the foreign-language film category stymied, Silberman submitted Ran to the Academy for consideration in other feature-length categories, and the rest is Academy Award history. It all makes for a long, twisty story about how Kurosawa's final samurai masterpiece landed him a Best Director nomination in a year where, for a number of odd reasons, it wasn't even up for Best Foreign Film. He received one final honor from the Academy at the 62nd Academy Awards, an Honorary Award celebrating his life in film, appropriately presented by Lucas and Steven Spielberg. 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Hamilton Spectator
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London's V&A Storehouse museum lets visitors get their hands on 5,000 years of creativity
LONDON (AP) — A museum is like an iceberg. Most of it is out of sight. Most big collections have only a fraction of their items on display, with the rest locked away in storage. But not at the new V&A East Storehouse, where London's Victoria and Albert Museum has opened up its storerooms for visitors to view — and in many cases touch — the items within. The 16,000-square-meter (170,000-square-foot) building, bigger than 30 basketball courts, holds more than 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 archives. Wandering its huge, three-story collections hall feels like a trip to IKEA, but with treasures at every turn. The V&A is Britain's national museum of design, performance and applied arts, and the storehouse holds aisle after aisle of open shelves lined with everything from ancient Egyptian shoes to Roman pottery, ancient Indian sculptures, Japanese armor, Modernist furniture, a Piaggio scooter and a brightly painted garbage can from the Glastonbury Festival. 'It's 5,000 years of creativity,' said Kate Parsons, the museum's director of collection care and access. It took more than a year, and 379 truckloads, to move the objects from the museum's former storage facility in west London to the new site. Get up close to objects In the museum's biggest innovation, anyone can book a one-on-one appointment with any object, from a Vivienne Westwood mohair sweater to a tiny Japanese netsuke figurine. Most of the items can even be handled, with exceptions for hazardous materials, such as Victorian wallpaper that contains arsenic. The Order an Object service offers 'a behind-the-scenes, very personal, close interaction' with the collection, Parsons said as she showed off one of the most requested items so far: a 1954 pink silk taffeta Balenciaga evening gown. Nearby in one of the study rooms were a Bob Mackie-designed military tunic worn by Elton John on his 1981 world tour and two silk kimonos laid out ready for a visit. Parsons said there has been 'a phenomenal response' from the public since the building opened at the end of May. Visitors have ranged from people seeking inspiration for their weddings to art students and 'someone last week who was using equipment to measure the thread count of an 1850 dress.' She says strangers who have come to view different objects often strike up conversations. 'It's just wonderful,' Parsons said. 'You never quite know. … We have this entirely new concept and of course we hope and we believe and we do audience research and we think that people are going to come. But until they actually did, and came through the doors, we didn't know.' A new cultural district The V&A's flagship museum in London's affluent South Kensington district, founded in the 1850s, is one of Britain's biggest tourist attractions. The Storehouse is across town in the Olympic Park, a post-industrial swath of east London that hosted the 2012 summer games. 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They face pressure to return objects acquired in sometimes contested circumstances during the days of the British Empire Senior curator Georgia Haseldine said the V&A is adopting a policy of transparency, 'so that we can talk very openly about where things have come from, how they ended up in the V&A's collection, and also make sure that researchers, as well as local people and people visiting from all around the world, have free and equitable access to these objects. 'On average, museums have one to five percent of their collections on show,' she said. 'What we're doing here is saying, 'No, this whole collection belongs to all of us. This is a national collection and you should have access to it.' That is our fundamental principle.'
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Inside the secret society of ‘real life vampires' — and the arousing secret of how they drink blood
Mobsters. Doctors. Politicians. Musicians. What's the common thread connecting this motley crew? Advertisement They're all in Australia's secret society of real vampires. Spawned from the goth subculture, this shadowy community – known as a 'vampire court' – now includes Aussies from all sorts of walks of life. 16 Stemming from goth subculture, this shadowy community – known as a 'vampire court' – includes Aussies. Andrey Kiselev – Think real vampires are just pale people drinking red cordial? Think again. Advertisement To many of its followers, the true blood lifestyle is about much more than fashion. It's about survival. And though they might not transform into bats or live forever, they do drink real human blood, wear surgically-enhanced fangs and let loose at vampire balls. 16 Followers drink real human blood, wear surgically-enhanced fangs and attend vampire balls. Gillie and Marc/Youtube Advertisement These days, their ranks are being quietly pumped by social media and the decline of religion. Just don't ask these creatures of the night to throw light on their very dark way of life. They claim they keep to themselves and aren't dangerous. But critics claim some vampires use this cloak of secrecy to exploit people. So are they really monsters? Medical mysteries? Or just misunderstood? Advertisement 'I want revenge' For centuries, vampire folklore has compelled us. Tales of bloodsucking beasts can be found in ancient cultures around the world including First Nations people. But in the last few decades, they've been forever fixed in pop culture as a romanticized symbol of finding identity in the world. This romanticism is at the heart of the complex history between real vampires and Sydney local Crystal, who does not wish to share her real name. On one hand, Crystal claims they've drugged her. Drank her blood without consent. Even forced her to drink the blood of others. On the other hand, she remains transfixed by their mythical morbidity. For Crystal, it all began when she was invited to an opulent mansion party in Sydney's affluent suburb of Vaucluse when she was just 18. Crystal, who was drawn to gothic culture at the time, said the house belonged to the father of a friend of a friend who worked as a nurse. Advertisement 16 Sydney local Crystal claims the vampires drank her blood without consent, but remains transfixed by their mythical morbidity. Supplied Inside the party, she claims to have found herself in imposing company. She was greeted by yakuza and triads – otherwise known as the Japanese and Chinese mafias. 'They were just standing around wearing suits and watching anime movies', Crystal told Advertisement 'And they weren't shy about what they did'. As it happened, the mafia is not the only bloodthirsty group these men belonged to. Crystal soon learned they were part of the Australian chapter of an international 'vampire court'. Inside, Crystal says she was given a glass of champagne. Soon after drinking it, she claims she sat on a couch and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she alleges she felt lightheaded and her neck and arms were dotted by what she calls 'love bites'. Looking back, she believes she'd been drugged. There were no other signs of assault. Advertisement 'I didn't know what to think at the time,' she says. Before she left, Crystal was given a dark diagnosis. 'They told me I'd been infected with the virus.' She never reported her experience to the police. Indeed, real vampires would come back to haunt her before long. After moving into a Newcastle monastery to study business, Crystal met members of a local court. Advertisement 16 Nicolas Cage as Dracula in 'Renfield.' Photo Credit: Universal Pictures While things started safely, one night the group pressured her to drink from a bottle of red. It was human blood mixed with cordial. 'They said, 'it's time to join us',' says Crystal. 'You can't choose to join this society. They choose you.' Feeling powerless, Crystal agreed. But the court came harder than ever. Another night, Crystal woke with puncture wounds on her wrist. 16 'They said, 'it's time to join us',' says Crystal. 'You can't choose to join this society. They choose you.' Supplied Crystal believes the vampires had fed on her while she slept. She kept quiet about the incident because the court had 'powerful people on their side.' 'There are doctors, nurses, business owners and musicians,' she says. 'It's very secretive. From the outside, they live normal lives.' Until now, Crystal kept her experience to herself out of fear she would not be taken seriously. Or worse. But now, she wants to raise awareness. 16 'There are doctors, nurses, business owners and musicians,' she says. 'It's very secretive. From the outside, they live normal lives.' Supplied 'I want revenge for how I was treated.' Despite this messy history, Crystal's experience with the court was forever imprinted onto her self-image. She hopes to one day launch a safe-space for people to appreciate vampire culture. Medical mystery Crystal's disturbing account is not unlike a scene in a horror movie, where vampires lunge from the shadows and maul victims' necks before sucking on the flowing wine-like liquid. 16 In the movies, vampires lunge and maul victims' necks for their flowing, wine-like liquid. copy photo It's important to note that vampiric crime is rare, and abusers of power are far from unique to the courts. For most members, this community offers a sense of belonging, and some courts are heavily involved with charity causes. Not all 'real vampires' feed on blood. And for those who do, the practice is traditionally safe. So how does it work? 16 Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. Universal Studios What's known as a 'donor' will willingly offer their blood to a vampire. Both take medical tests and other precautions. Complications are rare. Which is fine. But it begs another question: why? Real vampires claim they feel sick and lethargic if they don't feed on human blood. It balances their energy. 16 Movie poster for 'Dracula 'starring Bela Lugosi. AP Some believe this thirst for blood is a sign of a deeper mental health problem. So is it all a big delusion? When vampires follow a code of silence, it's not easy to say. But that secrecy is well founded. They've learned the hard way their lifestyle inspires revulsion. That's why this community stays in the shadows. Most Australian vampires I contacted for this story declined to take part in it. One local fanged figure you need to know is Jason De Marco, otherwise known as Don Jason. Don Jason runs the Sydney Vampires Meetup Group. He's also an electioneering member of the Liberal Party, bringing new meaning to the idea of a bloodsucking politician. At least this one is honest. In a YouTube video made by married artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, Jason is seen wearing Edwardian-era clothing, surgically-enhanced fangs, and a wide smile. Among the graves of Waverley cemetery, he says Don Jason first knew what he was aged four. 'I was different from other children' Jason said. 'I said I'm going to grow up and be Dracula.' 16 'I said I'm going to grow up and be Dracula,' Don Jason, who runs the Sydney Vampires Meetup Group, said. Gillie and Marc/Youtube He says he drinks exclusively from the razor-sliced thighs of female donors. They don't just consent to this feeding. They're aroused by it. 'They seem to get an orgasm off it every time,' he claimed. 'People can assume we're insane: why do you have this need to drink blood?' 16 'People can assume we're insane: why do you have this need to drink blood?' Don Jason says. Gillie and Marc/Youtube 'The only thing I have to worry about is my innate illness, which was ironically an illness associated with the vampire myth.' 'My vitals can shut down and I look like a corpse. People who had it used to be buried alive.' Marc Schattner said Don Jason suffers from porphyria, a rare blood disorder thought to have inspired early vampire mythology. 16 Marc Schattner said Don Jason suffers from porphyria, a rare blood disorder thought to have inspired early vampire mythology. Gillie and Marc/Youtube 'It can cause symptoms like extreme sensitivity to sunlight, skin blisters, and a reddish-purple discoloration,' he says. Jason is an extreme example. Some people just like vampires for a good old-fashioned doof. 'Not merely an event' The dawn of the vampire ball is misty. Sometime during the rise of Europe's medieval masquerade balls, a darker event emerged in honour of the undead. These days, the vampire ball circuit is an international network spanning Romania, the US and Australia. 16 Bela Lugosi in 'Mark of the Vampire.' Melbourne's annual Carpe Noctem Vampire Ball was recently held in April. The founder of the event, who asked to remain anonymous, said it's about something bigger than costumes. 'More than just an opportunity to don elaborate attire, the Carpe Noctem Vampire Ball is a celebration of identity and belonging.' After a signature 'bloodbath cocktail' (ingredients undisclosed), the crowd – comprised of goths, role players and the real deal – take part in rituals including a 'sacrifice' that 'lifts the veil between the living and the dead.' Australian vampires Few real-vampires claim to have the magical powers you'll find in Twilight. But if I had to throw money on one of them being superhuman, Andreas Bathory is the one. 16 Kristen Stewart, left, and Robert Pattinson are shown in a scene from 'Twilight.' AP He dwells on the sprawling grounds of Bran 'Dracula's' Castle in Romania's Transylvania. With these walls, Bathory drinks donated blood. Sometimes sleeps in a coffin. And channels Vlad the Impaler. 'It's not merely an event' Bathory says. 'It's a portal.' Bathory is the leader of the Ordo Dracul, a vampire court based in Transylvania. And he says more and more Aussies are signing up. 16 Bran Castle towers above Bran commune, in Brasov county. via REUTERS 'New initiates are joining from Australia. Some of my dearest allies come from Melbourne and the Gold Coast,' he said. 'Australia resonates with the old blood.' Bathory believes these vampires thrive in silence. 'Just because we're not loud, doesn't mean we're not present. In our world we prefer to walk the line of shadows.' 16 Bran Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle, in the Carpathian Mountains. REUTERS 'Realise their full potential' The University of Western Sydney's Dr Adam Possamai charted the rise of real vampires in his book Sociology of Religion for Generations X and Y. He believes it's a 'hyper-real religion' – a modern hybrid of religion, philosophy and popular culture that helps people find their identity in a noisy world. 'The vampire is no longer a monster that needs to be destroyed,' he said. 'It's now a superman-type of character that people aspire to become to realise their full potential. 'As society becomes more consumerist, I expect hyper-real religions like vampires to grow. But it's tricky to quantify.' 'Are they people who identify with the image alone? How far do their practices go? And how long will they keep them up?' Though Australian vampire groups have picked up thousands of members on social media, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said in a statement they don't formally recognise vampires. 'Vampires don't describe a stand-alone group in any of the statistical standard classifications used to disseminate Census data,' a spokesperson said. 'The ABS regularly reviews statistical standard classifications and holds public consultations to ensure standard classifications reflect the Australian community.' Until vampires are socially acknowledged, we'll never know how many of them walk among us or what secrets they hold. Nelson Groom is a freelance writer. His novel The Auction is coming soon. Learn more on his Instagram Got a story? Get in touch: nelsonsamuelgroom@
