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In the cold open for Dead Talents Society, the new film by director John Hsu (2019’s Detention), a young woman enters hotel room 414. Bizarre events quickly add up, including a whole wall that is suddenly plastered with glamour pictures of a woman. Then the closet door creeps open and the woman from the picture emerges. She slowly begins walking backwards down the hall before going into a bone-cracking back bend, scurrying on all fours towards her terrified victim.

Before the scare can even sink in, the action pauses, revealing that this is footage being played on a supernatural talk show. The scary woman is revealed to be Catherine (Sandrine Pinna), arguably the most famous ghost in the world thanks to her incredibly effective urban legend. The talk show is made for and run by dead people, who compose a whole other world: a “scare the living” world of entertainment with its own rules and hierarchy.

Chicago – The 19th Edition of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) kicked off on March 20th, 2025, with excitement for the Opening Night film “Dead Talents Society.” Appearing on behalf of the film were director John Hsu and Taiwanese star Chen Bo-Lin. Hsu sat down for a Podtalk, Chen was interviewed on the Red Carpet.

APUC19th is the first competitive festival in its 10 year history, will continue through April 13th. For tickets, schedules, films and information, click APUC19. For this weekend’s upcoming line-up, click on APUC19 Calendar.

Filmmaker John Hsu & ‘Bright Star’ Chen Bo-Lin of ‘Dead Talents Society’

Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org

“Dead Talents Society” takes place in the after life, where a ghost’s value is determined by the fear they instill in the living. When ghost talent agent Makoto (Chen Bo-Lin) meets a rookie (Gingle Wang) with weak scaring abilities, he convinces his client – forgotten superstar Catherine (Sandrine Pinna...

Chicago – Opening Night for the 19th Edition of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) is Thursday, March 20th, 2025, with “Dead Talents Society” (Taiwan). Actor Chen Bo-Lin and director John Hsu will attend, and the first-time-in-its-history competitive festival runs March 20-April 13. For tickets, schedule and info, click APUC19.

Specifically, for the first time in Apuc’s history, competition selections will compete for the Grand Jury Feature Film Award in both narrative and documentary categories; the Best Short Film Award in narrative/animated and documentary categories; and the Francis Kwong Memorial Award, recognizing an emerging new director for their first or second feature film.

As in past years, the Festival will explore and celebrate cinema from countries across the Asian continent. This year’s program will feature work from India, Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and more, with the majority of presentations being held at the Festival’s hub theater, AMC Newcity 14 (1500 N.

China’s box office continued to be dominated by “Ne Zha 2,” which grossed RMB471.9 million ($65.5 million) over the Feb. 28–March 2 weekend, bringing its cumulative total to $1.98 billion, according to Artisan Gateway. The Cococartoon release is closing in on the $2 billion milestone with sustained audience interest.

“Ne Zha 2” also continued to set new benchmarks in Imax. The animated phenomenon added $7.6 million in Imax earnings over the weekend, bringing its cumulative total in the format to $144 million. The film has now surpassed 15 million Imax admissions in China alone, making it one of the top four most attended Imax movies of all time globally. Since the start of the Lunar New Year period, Imax titles have collectively reached a cumulative total of $160 million, with “Ne Zha 2” accounting for the lion’s share of that figure.

In second place, As One Production’s “Detective Chinatown 1900” added $6.9 million to its total,...

Asian Pop-Up Cinema has announced the full program for its 19th edition, running March 20 – April 13, 2025. The Festival is dedicated to showing works from regions throughout Asia, with films screened at the AMC Newcity 14 (1500 N. Clybourn Ave.), and select presentations at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and the Shultz Auditorium at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Opening the 19th edition of the film festival on March 20 is Taiwan’s Dead Talents Society, a supernatural comedy with director John Hsu appearing in person alongside star Chen Bo-Lin, who is set to receive the Festival’s Bright Star Award.

The Festival’s Centerpiece presentation is the U.S. premiere of director’s cut of Hong Kong drama The Last Dance on April 4, featuring a career-defining performance from star Michelle Wai, who will receive the Festival’s Extraordinary Actors Award.

The Closing Night on April 13 presents the first, and last, film by Keizo Murase,...

On February 10, 2025 Asian Pop-Up Cinema announced key highlights of its 19th edition, running March 20 – April 13, 2025. The Festival is dedicated to showing works from regions throughout Asia, with films screened in person weekends at AMC Newcity 14 (1500 N. Clybourn Ave.) This year’s program is the first to include a juried competition. The full program for the 19th Asian Pop-Up Cinema film festival will be announced on February 24, 2025; tickets for Opening, Closing, and Centerpiece presentations are on sale now on the official website Here, with full program tickets going on sale February 24.

Opening the 19th season of the groundbreaking film festival on March 20 is Taiwan’s Dead Talents Society, John Hsu‘s supernatural comedy follow-up to his horror blockbuster Detention. A raucous mash-up of Monsters, Inc. and All About Eve, the hilarious satire of influencer culture and horror tropes and moving ode to underachievers won the Audience Award at Fantastic Fest and...

“Dead Talents Society,” directed by John Hsu and co-written with Kun-Lin Tsai, is a refreshing and playful take on the horror-comedy genre that expertly blends elements of East Asian folklore with contemporary societal concerns. The film introduces us to The Rookie, a humble teenage ghost who is portrayed by Gingle Wang and who grapples with the existential prospect of being forgotten by her family age.

In a world where ghosts fight for visibility and importance, she must perfect the art of scaring the living to ensure her afterlife—a haunting license, if you will. This narrative concept sets the setting for a series of humorous misadventures and reflects our modern fixation with fame and social media.

As Hsu walks us through this strange afterlife, the film skillfully portrays modern youth’s pressures. It captures a generation grappling with the demands of visibility and the fear of obscurity, much like the...

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival has unveiled its audience and jury award honorees for its 2024 edition, which ran from Oct. 17-24 at Nitehawk Cinema’s Williamsburg and Prospect Park locations.

Taking home the best film and best ensemble awards from the Dark Matter Jury was “Dead Talents Society” from writer-director John Hsu. The comedy horror, starring Bo-lin Chen, Sandrine Pinna and Gingle Wang, follows a ghost who joins a supernatural talent agency in hopes of becoming an urban legend.

Emma Benestan won best director from the Head Trip Jury, which honors films that deviate from the typical horror formula. Her film, “Animale,” follows a young bullfighter who begins noticing disturbing changes after a violent incident in the ring. Cast members include Oulaya Amamra, Damien Rebattel and Vivien Rodriguez.

For the Shorts Jury, Grace Rex’s script for “The Shadow Wrangler” took home best screenplay. Following an audiobook narrator tortured by...

John Hsu's Dead Talents Society is a cutesy and buoyant Taiwanese horror-comedy guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It's far funnier than frightening, with shades of Monsters, Inc., Beetlejuice, and The Influencer. John Hsu and Kun-Lin Tsai write the afterlife as a corporatized competition for virality, where your soul's worth is tied to its profit-grossing scare tactics. J-Horror influences inspire scare sequences, but the film is more interested in finding humor behind the scenes as "professionals" carefully architect each haunt's logistics. Imagine Sadako vs. Kayako but as a Christopher Guest sports comedy. Hsu values lighthearted entertainment over frights in a soulful way, which might not work for everyone, but ends with a climactic showdown event that brings everything together.

Gingle Wang stars as Cho Hsiao-lei, a novice spirit who is afraid of “glitching” into oblivion. If your living relatives forget your existence, you disappear like a bad...

Ghosts usually come with a fair bit of baggage in the movies: A tragic romance leading to an even more tragic suicide, maybe, or a howl for justice from a murder victim from beyond the grave. The protagonist of “Dead Talents Society” has no such tale attached to her untimely (and embarrassing) death, and this is where her problems begin. John Hsu’s frightfully entertaining Taiwanese horror-comedy imagines a world where the dead are just as beholden to the pressures of fame as the living, and an industry has grown around ambitious apparitions building their personal brands. Urban legends live forever, and forgotten ghosts literally disappear — so get out there and scare ‘em good, kid!

There’s obvious potential for media satire baked into the concept, and co-writer and director Hsu includes scenes of talk shows, ceremonies, and gala events where the undead stars come out to celebrate the afterlife awards season.

“Golden Horse Goes to Cannes” is looking to make a splash on the Croisette, marking a collaboration with the festival’s Marché du Film that aims to showcase the “diversity, vigor and bold competence of Taiwan cinema, ranging from epic, romance, comedy, fantasy and gender awareness.”

The reality of that promise, for those on the ground in France, will be the presentation on May 16 of five projects featuring the leading lights of contemporary Taiwanese cinema. They’ve been selected by the Golden Horse organization, the people behind Taiwan’s famed annual festival and awards night, to showcase the strength in depth boasted by a market that has always punched above its weight in terms of talent.

New works from directors Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko, and John Hsu will be on show, and they feature some of the island’s biggest stars, among them Sylvia Chang, who...

Taiwan’s major awards body Golden Horse will have a consolidated presence at Cannes’ Marché du Film for the first time, under the umbrella ‘Golden Horse Goes to Cannes’.

With support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture under the ‘1plus4’ Taiwanese content plan, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee and the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development have collaborated to organize “Golden Horse Goes to Cannes” at the premier festival’s film market.

On May 16, the collaboration will present five upcoming projects, helmed by directors Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko and John Hsu.

Paranormal comedy Dead Talents Society by John Hsu has already secured major investment from Sony Pictures International Productions alongside Taiwan’s Activator, with the former also acquiring worldwide distribution rights and global remake rights.

Hsu’s debut feature Detention topped the domestic box office with over $8 million and also won the Best...

The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival is to showcase five upcoming Taiwanese projects at Cannes including features from Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko and John Hsu with stars such as Wu Kang-ren, Gingle Wang, Kai Ko, Caitlin Fang and Karena Lam.

The new programme, titled Golden Horse Goes To Cannes, comprises works-in-progress projects and will be presented to industry professionals on May 16 at Palais K during the Cannes Film Festival. It marks Golden Horse’s first collaboration with the Marche du Film.

See below for full project list

The collaboration was initiated by Taipei Golden Horse Film...

Patriot Games

The Hong Kong government has licensed the broadcast rights to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It intends to relicense the rights to four TV broadcasters in the city – Tvb, ViuTV, Hoy TV and government-owned Rthk. While in most territories, broadcasters negotiate directly with the International Olympic Committee or its agents, the Hong Kong government previously intervened in bidding for rights to the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021. It also organized large public screenings in shopping malls.

“By procuring the broadcasting rights for these two games in Hong Kong, members of the public will be able to enjoy the Paris Og and PG [Paralympic Games] on television free of charge, and to cheer for Mainland and Hong Kong athletes,” said Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung.

While the cost of the rights was not disclosed, Yeung said that the fee was lower than the rights for Tokyo. If correct,...

John Hsu’s long-awaited Dead Talents Society is set for a summer release, with an official opening date scheduled for August 7 in Taiwan.

Starring Chen Bo-lin, Sandrine Pinna and Gingle Wang, the supernatural comedy is backed by Sony Pictures International, which also handles worldwide distribution, and Taiwan’s Activator. Taiwan is the first territory to be dated and will be released through Sony Pictures Releasing Taiwan.

The story follows how veteran ghosts need to train a newcomer to become the next superstar among the dead. “Every ghost is trying to be the best of the best in an over-populated and competitive society,...

Taipei Film Festival is aiming to shine an international spotlight on Taiwanese actors through a new initiative, Top Talents, that will showcase nine actors including major stars Kai Ko and Chen Bolin.

Other actors selected for the initiative include Chen Yi-wen, who won a Golden Horse Award for A Sun; Taipei Film Award winners Hsu Wei-ning and Gingle Wang; Caitlin Fang who won best newcomer awards at both Golden Horse and Taipei Film Awards for American Girl; and Golden Bell Award regulars Hsueh Shih-ling, Esther Liu and Tseng Pei-yu.

Collaborating with Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca), the festival drew up a longlist from more than one hundred actors who had won prizes at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, Golden Bell Awards, which focus on TV production, and Taipei Film Awards.

The final list was selected by a committee of seven filmmakers including Taipei Film Festival director Li Ya-mei, executive producer Lee Lieh,...

Laha Mebow became the first woman from Taiwan to win the best director prize for ‘Gaga’.

Taiwanese family drama Coo-Coo 043 won best film and Hong Kong crime drama Limbo picked up the most prizes at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan on Saturday night (November 19) as Hong Kong cinema made a grand return winning nine awards.

The prizes were quite evenly distributed this year, with no single film sweeping the 59th edition of the annual ceremony, which was held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

Scroll down for list of winners

Chan Ching-lin’s feature debut Coo-Coo 043, set...

The Queer East Film Festival, that takes place from October to January in the United Kingdom, has opened its first edition with a screening of the Taiwanese critically acclaimed film: “Blue Gate Crossing”. Icing on the cake, it has been shown in 35 mm. It is first worth noticing that the festival has to face difficult and uncommon circumstances – considering the current Covid crisis – but still managed to deliver a very enjoyable experience. The cultural sector is badly hit and the consequences for festivals are, among others, less potential audience attending, no special guests presence for the Q&a (which is also one of the usual incentives for cinéphiles to attend festivals). However, the Queer East Film Festival managed to overcome that last part with an extended filmed-intro with Chih-Yen Yee. If it’s not quite the same experience, it was close enough and the best we could hope for in these difficult times.

Walt Disney Pictures has entered a long-term partnership with startup Taiwanese production company Wudi Pictures to co-develop live-action films targeting the massive Chinese movie market.

The partners already have collaborated on the development of romantic comedy Miss Taken, starring Chinese A-lister Jelly Lin (The Mermaid, Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back) and Chen Bolin (Chinese Zodiac). The project, co-produced by Walt Disney Studios China, Shanghai Artrendwave Productions and Shanghai Media Group Pictures, is currently in postproduction and will be released in China in the second half of 2017.

Wudi Pictures was founded in 2016 by veteran Taiwanese producer...

Cj E&M has announced Korea-China co-production Once Again, 20’s (working title), a Chinese-language film based on hit Korean comedy Miss Granny.

Taiwanese director Leste Chen, whose credits include The Heirloom and The Great Hypnotist, will direct star Yang Zishan from the mainland China hit So Young with veteran actress Gua Ah Leh (Eat, Drink, Man, Woman) and actor Bolin Chen.

The film starts shooting next month in China and is due for release this winter.

South Korea’s Cj E&M and China’s Beijing Century Media Co., Ltd. are producing and investing, while C2M, Huace Media and Media Asia are co-financing.

The original Miss Granny took $62m at the local box office according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Starring Shim Eun-kyung, the Korean film directed by Hwang Dong-hyeuk features a cranky old granny who is magically transformed into her 20-year-old self and joins her grandson’s band.

Kiyun Lee, senior...

Gold Circle Films is gearing up to remake the 2006 Hong Kong sci-fi thriller Silk. The studio has hired Frankie & Alice screenwriters Marko King, Mary King, and Jonathan Watters to draft an American version.

The original story centers on a group of scientists who capture the ghost of a young boy in an apartment, and the detective in charge of discovering the boy's identity. The American version will not keep the same plot line, and, although specifics were not revealed, this new story is described as, "Michael Crichton meets The Sixth Sense."

Paul Brooks will produce for Gold Circle Films alongside Rob Cowan and Robin Jonas, with Scott Niemeyer executive producing.

No production schedule was released for the Silk remake at this time.

Silk was released September 28th, 2006 and stars Chen Chang, Yôsuke Eguchi, Kar Yan Lam, Barbie Hsu, Bo-lin Chen, Chun-Ning Chang, Fang Wan, Kuan-Po Chen. The film is directed by Chao-Bin Su.

If you go into Li Yu's Buddha Mountain wanting more of the crude two fingers at mainland Chinese censors that was her earlier Lost In Beijing, you'll probably walk away disappointed. Buddha Mountain is still a raw, down and dirty little drama trailing a group of troubled urbanites while they try to sort their lives out, but it's considerably more restrained. It's an awkward film, showy and occasionally contrived with technical chops all over the place, and you've seen the general premise before, but there's much less in it that's gratuitous, the protagonists feel worth rooting for and the big moments are surprisingly subtle.Nan Feng (Fan Bingbing, Shaolin, Sacrifice), Ding Bo (Wilson Chen, My Airhostess Roommate, Waiting in the Dark) and Soap (Fei Long) are...

Probably due to his involvement in The Green Hornet which is out now on Blu-ray/DVD from Sony, Well Go USA has released Kung Fu Dunk starring Jay Chou.

Shi-Jie (Jay Chou) grows up in a martial arts school and he is well versed in kung-fu. With his skills and his good reflexes, Shi-Jie also excels in basketball, especially the slam dunk technique. On the pretext of helping Shi-Jie find his family, Wang-Li (Eric Tsang) invites him to join the university’s basketball team in hopes of making money out of him. There Shi-Jie faces new challenges on the basketball team, especially with team mates Ting-Wei (Wilson Chen) and Xiao-Lan (Baron Chen). With the upcoming championship games and the appearance of Li-Li (Charlene Choi), the team must put aside their differences and personal emotions to face their common rivals. Shi-Jie (Jay Chou) grows up in a martial arts school and...

You might think it doesn't seem to rate much interest - a youth-oriented romcom adapted from a popular internet novel, helmed by a director who hasn't done anything outside China's domestic market in years. Still, despite being fairly undemanding product in the long run, Jiang Qinmin's My Airhostess Roommate has enough lightness of touch and a few moments of grace that it might charm more forgiving viewers with money to burn on the mainland DVD.

The setup is tried-and-tested odd-couple, where world-weary shut-in Lu Fei (Wilson Chen, Kung Fu Dunk, A Chinese Tall Story) takes in vivacious flight attendant Ran Jing (mainland TV actress Wang Luodan). Initially Lu Fei only means for her to spend the night on his couch recovering from a hangover, but Ran Jing keeps coming back, finally explaining she's just been turfed out by her landlord, she's got nowhere else to go and could she please,...