Headlines from China: Fan Bingbing to Star in ‘355’ Despite Tax Evasion Scandal

Fan Bingbing to Star in ‘355’ Despite Tax Evasion Scandal

It was rumored that Chinese actress Fan Bingbing might lose the opportunity to star in the spy thriller movie 355, due to the tax evasion scandal. However, 355 director Simon Kinberg confirmed in a recent interview that Fan, as well as other female actresses announced earlier, will all appear in the movie. Kinberg also mentioned that the filming will start this year. Last May, Simon Kinberg attended the Cannes Film Festival along with the film’s main cast members including Fan Bingbing. In October, Fan Bingbing was caught up in a tax scandal, which led man media outlets to speculate that she would be eliminated from the cast. Read more on Mtime

Rob Minkoff to Chair the Jury for Beijing Int’l Film Festival’s Tiantan Awards

On April 3, the 9th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) held a press conference, announcing this year’s 15 films in the competition section and seven jury members for the Tiantan Awards. Heading the jury for the Tiantan Awards is acclaimed American director Rob Minkoff. Joining him are Chilean director Silvio Caiozzi;, Chinese director Cao Baoping, Russian director Sergey Dvortsevoy, Hong Kong actress Carina Lau, Iranian director Majid Majidi, and British director Simon West. The jury will be judging the 15 films from 20 countries, including 3 Chinese films: The Wandering Earth, The Eleventh Chapter, and The Composer (China-Kazakhstan co-production). These contenders were selected from 775 submissions, including 107 submissions from China. The 9th BJIFF runs from April 13 to April 20. Read more on CRI

Majority of Listed Chinese Film & TV Companies Saw Profit Loss in 2018

As of now, most of the listed Chinese film & TV companies in the A-share market have released their annual performance reports for 2018. Among 20 major film & TV companies, only four of them saw increase in net profit year-on-year while the remaining 16 companies saw decreased net profit with an estimated total loss of RMB 6 billion. The four winners are China Film, Beijing Enlight Media, Beijing Culture and H&R Century. Some of the companies that suffer loss include Huayi Brothers, Wanda Film, Huace Media, and Ciwen Media. Read more on entgroup.cn