Guillermo del Toro’s acclaimed 1960s-set fantasy picked up nominations in several top categories, including best motion picture drama and best actress for Sally Hawkins.

“The Post” and “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” followed with six nods and coming-of-age film “Lady Bird” got four nominations.

The announcements will give the nominees a welcome boost going into the race for March’s Oscars, with the influential Screen Actors Guild nominations to come later this week.

The other best motion picture drama nominees are “Call Me By Your Name,” another coming-of-age tale, World War II thriller “Dunkirk,” media drama “The Post” and “Three Billboards.”

The Globes are seen as a chance for Hollywood to demonstrate its intolerance of sexual misconduct following a wave of allegations that emerged after movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused of decades of misbehavior that would make him the most egregious sexual predator in the history of filmmaking.

The Weinstein Company, which sacked its co-founder, was never expected to land nominations at the ceremony — and it did not.

The wider fallout, however, is likely to have a seismic effect on the awards season, as numerous other powerful figures have been accused of sexual misconduct.

The HFPA — apparently sensitive to the message it would send out — largely avoided rewarding the work of Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, Louis C.K., Brett Ratner and numerous other scandal-hit big players.

 

– Rebuke –

 

Spacey, who won best actor in 2015 for “House of Cards,” never had a chance of a repeat following a litany of allegations of impropriety with young men.

But his alleged misdeeds also appeared to have harmed the chances of his colleagues such as Robin Wright — the show was blanked this year.

“Transparent,” which has also had numerous nominations and a win for Tambor, found itself in the same boat with HFPA members giving the comedy a hard pass.

Spacey had been expected to front an awards campaign for “All the Money in the World” before Ridley Scott decided to expunge the actor from his latest movie.

His replacement Christopher Plummer — added via last-minute reshoots in a groundbreaking move — earned a surprise nomination for best supporting actor in a film.

Meanwhile, the HFPA went for scandal-free old favorites like Scott, Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”) and Steven Spielberg (“The Post”).

“The Post,” a defense of the free press widely seen as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, is an early Oscars favorite.

Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards,” starring Frances McDormand as a mother seeking to avenge the rape and murder of her daughter, is also widely fancied since taking the influential audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

“Coco,” a colorful take on Mexico’s Day of the Dead, was nominated and should be the comfortable frontrunner for best animated film — despite Pixar co-founder John Lassiter’s recent admission of inappropriate behavior towards employees.

On the downside, “Dunkirk” — an early Oscars favorite much loved for its masterful cinematography, if not its sparkling dialogue — earned just three nominations.

 

– ‘Wonder Woman’ snubbed –

 

“Call Me By Your Name” was widely expected to be the top contender, but disappointed with just three nominations, for best film drama, lead actor Timothee Chalamet and supporting actor Armie Hammer.

“Get Out” — a satire on racism and middle class white guilt — made perhaps the biggest and most unexpected impact of any movie this year but also came up short, with just two nominations for best comedy and best actor for Daniel Kaluuya.

HFPA president and Indian journalist Meher Tatna nevertheless praised the diversity of nominees.

“I’m excited that we’re recognizing people like me that I had not seen on television when I first came to this country. As a journalist, I always look for diversity and I’m happy to celebrate it,” she said.

Some Globes watchers noted on social media however that while ethnic minorities were well represented, there were no nominations for female filmmakers.

DC superhero movie “Wonder Woman” was perhaps the most controversial snub of the day, picking up no nominations at all, sparking an angry backlash from fans.

The movie, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, is the first female-led superhero movie directed by a woman (Patty Jenkins) and was selected in the American Film Institute’s top 10 films of the year.

“Sorry Golden Globes, but Wonder Woman was a better movie than Dunkirk,” tweeted one disappointed fan.

On the television front, HBO drama “Big Little Lies” — already rewarded with several Emmys — led with six nominations.

FX anthology series “Feud: Bette and Joan” was close behind with four nominations, while “Fargo,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “This is Us” grabbed three each.

HBO comfortably led the television nominations with 12.

The 75th Golden Globe Awards will take place in Beverly Hills on January 7, with talk show host Seth Meyers presenting.

Here are the nominees in key categories for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, which were announced Monday in Beverly Hills. The awards ceremony will take place on January 7:

 

– FILM –

 

Best film, drama

“Call Me by Your Name”

“Dunkirk”

“The Post”

“The Shape of Water”

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

 

Best film, musical or comedy

“The Disaster Artist”

“Get Out”

“The Greatest Showman”

“I, Tonya”

“Lady Bird”

 

Best actor, drama

Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”

Tom Hanks, “The Post”

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

 

Best actress, drama

Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Meryl Streep, “The Post”

Michelle Williams, “All the Money in the World”

 

Best actor, musical or comedy

Steve Carell, “Battle of the Sexes”

Ansel Elgort, “Baby Driver”

James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Hugh Jackman, “The Greatest Showman”

Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

 

Best actress, musical or comedy

Judi Dench, “Victoria & Abdul”

Helen Mirren, “The Leisure Seeker”

Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”

Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Emma Stone, “Battle of the Sexes”

 

Best supporting actor

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

 

Best supporting actress

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”

Hong Chau, “Downsizing”

Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

 

Best director

Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”

Ridley Scott, “All The Money in the World”

Steven Spielberg, “The Post”

 

Best foreign language film

“A Fantastic Woman”

“First They Killed My Father”

“In the Fade”

“Loveless”

“The Square”

 

Best animated feature

“The Boss Baby”

“The Breadwinner”

“Coco”

“Ferdinand”

“Loving Vincent”

 

– TELEVISION –

 

Best drama series

“The Crown”

“Game of Thrones”

“The Handmaid’s Tale”

“Stranger Things”

“This is Us”

 

Best drama actor

Jason Bateman, “Ozark”

Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”

Freddie Highmore, “The Good Doctor”

Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”

Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

 

Best drama actress

Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”

Claire Foy, “The Crown”

Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Deuce”

Katherine Langford, “13 Reasons Why”

Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

 

Best musical or comedy series

“Black-ish”

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

“Master of None”

“SMILF”

“Will & Grace”

 

Best musical or comedy actor

Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”

Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”

Kevin Bacon, “I Love Dick”

William H. Macy, “Shameless”

Eric McCormack, “Will and Grace”

 

Best musical or comedy actress

Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”

Alison Brie, “Glow”

Issa Rae, “Insecure”

Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Frankie Shaw, “SMILF”

 

Best limited series or TV movie

“Big Little Lies”

“Fargo”

“Feud: Bette and Joan”

“The Sinner”

“Top of the Lake: China Girl”

 

Best limited series or TV movie actor

Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies”

Jude Law, “The Young Pope”

Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”

Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”

Geoffrey Rush, “Genius”

 

Best limited series or TV movie actress

Jessica Biel, “The Sinner”

Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”

Jessica Lange, “Feud: Bette and Joan”

Susan Sarandon, “Feud: Bette and Joan”

Reese Witherspoon, “Big Little Lies”

 

– FILMS WITH MOST NOMINATIONS –

 

“The Shape of Water” – 7

“The Post” – 6

“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” – 6

“Lady Bird” – 4

When it comes to the world of film, there is little that Pimpaka Towira hasn’t done except actually star in front of the camera.

The first Thai female director to gain international recognition for her short and full-length feature films, she’s worked as a film journalist, a scriptwriter, a film distributor and a festival director and programmer. Most recently, she donned an international hat, signing up as the programme director of the Singapore International Film Festival on a three-year contract.

“It’s a challenge and I wanted to try so I applied for the job,” says Pimpaka.

This year marked the first time that the SGIFF had throw invitations for the job to non-Singaporeans. Pimpaka’s application impressed the organising committee. After a virtual interview with the festival team, she was selected as the festival programmer. The past few months have seen her working closely with the SGIFF team led by the event’s executive director Wahyuni A Hadi, the wife of Thai filmmaker Aditya Assarat.

Pimpaka learned she had been accepted for the post in early July and started work in August. She relocated to Singapore in September, joining her Singaporean counterparts and discussing the programmes that has already been chosen for the festival’s programme before putting her efforts into shaping the festival and the competition categories.

“Because I had little experience with local audiences, my task involved making the festival engaging to a larger cross-section of viewers and not just movie fans,” she says, adding that she found working in a new environment very stimulating.

Pimpaka replaced festival director Zhang Wenjie, who left earlier this year after being with the organisation since 2014.

“Here they work hard and I have learnt that making an international film doesn’t only mean to represent a (host) country but that it must represent the region as a whole. Likewise, a film festival doesn’t mean screening and watching films; it should go further than that, it should be a platform to create dialogue and networking among not just filmmakers but with everyone so that cinema moves forward in the region as a whole,” says Pimpaka.

“The SGIFF in essence asks why we have to go to cinemart events in Europe to find financing and partnerships. It shows that we can meet in Singapore and identify collaboration in this region,” she adds.

Using a film festival for regional networking is nothing new. Pimpaka explains that she organised discussions and platforms for information sharing while working as programme director of both the Bangkok Film Festival and the Bangkok International Film Festival. In both cases, she was in charge of the South East Asian Panorama and also the SEA competition.

“Thai film has achieved international success on the festival circuit as well as commercially so we have enough material and the qualifications to be leaders in the film festival arena in this region. Yet we can’t do it because we don’t have long-term planning or the continuity that they have in Singapore. We Thais don’t have the same mindset as the Singaporeans. Working at the SGIFF offers a great opportunity to look at Thailand and see what we are lacking,” she adds.

Known for its efficiency, Singapore has the right environment to make its festival better and better. Support for the event is strong and the organisers have the determination and professionalism to turn the SGIFF into the festival hub of the region.

“It’s very satisfying to see how everyone works together to get festival up and running. Everywhere I go, I meet people from very part of society who are willing help the festival,” she says.

Cinema in the Asean region has been going through a rough patch in recent years, except in Indonesia, which continues to put out successful movies. And with stiff competition coming from the streaming networks, Pimpaka says it’s important for the Asean film industry to work together if it is to survive.

“We can’t survive if we do it alone because to the rest of the world, Asean films look the same. Co-productions say between Thailand and Singapore or with the Philippines could make all the difference and a festival should provide the platform to make that happen,” she says.

Most of the major film festivals in Thailand fall under the umbrella of government offices and usually have little engagement with the film industry sectors. The lack of commitment, continuity and a clear vision in the festival concept have resulted in the festivals struggling to survive, in direct contrast to the SGIFF, which is now in its 28th edition. After a brief hiatus, it was relaunched in 2014 and in just three short years has established itself as the hub of the Asean region.

“I believe Thailand can do it but it will require a lot of effort to reshape the organisers and push them to work more professionally. Right now, we don’t have the sort of engagement that’s required as we all feel that the film festival is just a government-run event to promote Thai movies. We must move beyond that mindset,” she says.

A graduate in film from Thammasat University’s Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Pimpaka worked for a while as a journalist for Manager and The Nation before being taking on as the festival programmer and director of the Bangkok Film Festival, which was sponsored by The Nation. She also worked for the short-lived Bangkok International Film Festival and was programme director for the Bangkok ASEAN festival from 2015 to 2017.

In between, she made the short film “Under Taboo” and the internationally acclaimed “Mae Nak” in 1997. Her first independent feature, “Khuen Rai Ngao” (“One Night Husband”) followed. Her most recent outing was the movie “Mahut samut lae susaan” (“The Island Funeral”), which won her an award in the Asian Future category at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

In 2009, she was recognised by Thailand’s Culture Ministry with a Silpathorn Award

Ayer, known directed box-office hits “Suicide Squad” and “Training Day”, sets the action-thriller in present day Los Angeles. It follows the story of two LAPD police officers played by Smith (Officer Ward) and Edgerton (Officer Jakoby).

“Bright” is the film with the highest investment made to date by Netflix and features four species – orcs, elves and fairies and humans.

“Bright” also has magic, explosions, car chases and a missing wand, making it an eclectic and ambitious movie. Even with the trailer, it can be a little confusing trying to pin down what “Bright” is.

Ayer referred to “Bright” earlier this year in San Diego Comic Con as “a bright is a user who has magical abilities. Humans, for example, do not in this world, and they cannot possess them. From what we can tell and based on what we heard, the only creatures that have magical abilities are the elves. Ayer added that in this world, the elves are considered the most elite class — the “one per cent”, as he referred to them.”

Jakoby is the first orc to ever be appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department and must contend with instant dismissal from his fellow officer, his new partner Ward and everyone else he encounters

Tikka (Lucy Fry) is an elf who betrayed her species by stealing and hiding the magical wand from Leilah. Leilah (Noomi Rapace), an evil elite elf who crafted a magical wand from her own body in order to use it as destruction.

How does fate intertwine these four characters when they are not from the same species? Find out by streaming “Bright” on December 22.

The colorful film tells the story of Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a young Mexican who longs to become a musician despite his family’s unrelenting ban on music. He stumbles into the Land of the Dead, where trickster Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) helps him unravel a surprising family secret.

“Coco” has taken in $135.5 million since its release over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and is already the top-grossing film ever in Mexico. It is one of just four films to lead the North American box office for three weekends in a row this year, according to Variety.com.

But that is expected to change with the much-anticipated release next week of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” predicted to net up to a mammoth $200 million in its opening weekend.

Second on North American screens this weekend was Warner Bros.’s “Justice League,” taking in $9.6 million, for a four-week total of $212 million. Its all-star cast features Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, plus Ciaran Hinds as a supervillain.

Third was Lionsgate’s feel-good film “Wonder,” which netted $8.5 million. The movie, starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay, tells the story of a determined fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity who must deal with rudeness and bullying by schoolmates.

Shooting up to fourth place was “The Disaster Artist,” distributed by A24, a comedy-drama directed by James Franco about the making of 2003 cult movie “The Room,” reputedly one of the worst films ever (it made a grand total of $2,000 when first released). Starring Franco, Seth Rogen and Alison Brie, “Disaster” took in $6.4 million for the weekend.

And in fifth was “Thor: Ragnarok,” featuring the self-effacing humor of Chris Hemsworth as the powerful Norse god and Cate Blanchett as death goddess Hela. The Disney film netted $6.3 million, bumping up its six-week total to $301 million.

Rounding out the list were:

“Daddy’s Home 2” ($6 million)

“Murder on the Orient Express” ($5.1 million)

“The Star” ($3.7 million)

“Lady Bird” ($3.5 million)

“Just Getting Started” ($3.2 million)

All nine instalments will also be available on HBO and HBO Go on AIS Play and AIS Playbox.

This marks the first time that all nine films set in the fantastical wizarding world created by best-selling author JK Rowling will air on a single network, commercial-free.

From the moment readers and viewers alike first met young wizard Harry in the cupboard under the stairs, the Harry Potter franchise cast a spell on fans, sparking a global phenomenon. The eight-film adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint has earned $7.7 billion in box office sales, the second-highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The seven-book series is distributed in more 200 territories, has been translated into 68 languages and has sold over 400 million copies all over the world.

The Harry Potter marathon of all eight movies on HBO will kick-off on Friday, December 15 starting at 12.25pm with “Harry Portter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) and the marathon will close with the final film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” on Saturday, December 16 at 8pm.

Wrap 2017 and ring in the New Year with six all-new episodes of the always anxiety-inducing series, which this season stars Jesse Plemons, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jimmi Simpson, Cristin Milioti, Aldis Hodge, Maxine Peake, Andrea Riseborough, Letitia Wright and Michaela Coel, “Black Mirror” Season 4 directors include Jodie Foster, Toby Haynes, John Hillcoat, Colm McCarthy, Tim Van Patten and David Slade.

The British-American science fiction anthology is created and written by Charlie Brooker. It into our collective unease with the modern world, with each stand-alone episode a sharp, suspenseful tale exploring themes of contemporary techno-paranoia leading to an unforgettable – and sometimes unsettling – conclusion.

Technology has transformed all aspects of our lives; in every home; on every desk; in every palm – a plasma screen; a monitor; a Smartphone – a “Black Mirror” reflecting our 21st Century existence back at us.

“Black Mirror” was inspired by older anthology shows like “The Twilight Zone”, which were able to deal with controversial, contemporary topics without fear of censoring In 2017, the three-episode “San Junipero” earned Black Mirror its first Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special for Brooker.

 

Wrap 2017 and ring in the New Year with six all-new episodes of the always anxiety-inducing series, which this season stars Jesse Plemons, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jimmi Simpson, Cristin Milioti, Aldis Hodge, Maxine Peake, Andrea Riseborough, Letitia Wright and Michaela Coel, “Black Mirror” Season 4 directors include Jodie Foster, Toby Haynes, John Hillcoat, Colm McCarthy, Tim Van Patten and David Slade.

The British-American science fiction anthology is created and written by Charlie Brooker. It into our collective unease with the modern world, with each stand-alone episode a sharp, suspenseful tale exploring themes of contemporary techno-paranoia leading to an unforgettable – and sometimes unsettling – conclusion.

Technology has transformed all aspects of our lives; in every home; on every desk; in every palm – a plasma screen; a monitor; a Smartphone – a “Black Mirror” reflecting our 21st Century existence back at us.

“Black Mirror” was inspired by older anthology shows like “The Twilight Zone”, which were able to deal with controversial, contemporary topics without fear of censoring In 2017, the three-episode “San Junipero” earned Black Mirror its first Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special for Brooker.

 

Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel, “Big Little Lies” was initially broadcast as a mini-series, and was not intended to run beyond seven episodes shown at the start of 2017.

It was a major hit with viewers, picking up eight Emmy awards including Outstanding Limited Series, as well as individual gongs for director Jean-Marc Vallee and its Oscar-winning stars Kidman and Witherspoon.

As a result of its success, HBO launched production of a second season. Taking the reins from Vallee as director is Andrea Arnold, who was awarded an Oscar in 2005 for her short film “Wasp.”

“Most of the cast is expected to return and negotiations are underway,” HBO added in a statement.

“Big Little Lies” tells the story of three wealthy California mothers, who, behind the facade of seemingly perfect lives, are embroiled in behind-the-scenes jealousy, secrets and drama.

Writer David Kelley, who also worked on the first season, “wrote beautiful scripts and Reese and Nicole were, once again, a force to be reckoned with,” said Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming.

Meanwhile, Kidman said she was “grateful to have this opportunity to keep exploring these female characters and make this series with my friends.”

Thai talent was very much in the spotlight last week with three directors all picking up major prizes at both the Singapore International Film Festival’s Silver Screen Awards and TV Asian awards. The celebrations of big and small screen are part of the annual Singapore Media festival, which meshes media and entertainment events and this year ran from November 23 to December 3.

Director Anucha Boonyawatana was named Best Director in the Asian Feature Film Competition for her film “Malila” (“The Farewell Flower”), which earlier picked up top prizes at the Busan International and the Golden Horse film festivals.

Sorayos Prapapan took home the Best Director award in the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition and the Youth Jury Prize for “Awasarn Sound Man” (“Death of the Sound Man”), a hilarious satire centred on a guy involved in sound recording for film production, while Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke moved a step closer to making his debut feature by winning the Southeast Asian Film Lab’s Most Promising Project for “A Useful Ghost”. The Film Lab is a story development workshop for emerging filmmakers from Southeast Asia embarking on their first feature film.

 

Anucha, who was as ever dressed in an outfit made with traditional Thai fabric, said that winning the award had increased her confidence in filmmaking and confirmed that she was on the right path.

“Winning the Kim Ji seok award at the Busan International Film Festival was a great honour for me and taking home the best director prize here in Singapore tells me that my film is a good one, as movies selected by SGIFF always receive recognition from other festivals,” she told XP.

The Kim Ji seok award was initiated this year in memory of the BIFF’s festival programmer Kim who died of a heart attack while attending the Cannes International Film Festival in May. The jury praised Anucha for her “quiet, extremely sensitive, beautifully shot exploration of fundamental themes of our existence”, adding that the film gently “nudges us into a meditative state to enable us to explore for ourselves the meaning of being in the present.”

 

This year the Silver Screen Awards ceremony was held at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre. A total of 14 awards were presented, nine of them in the two most anticipated sections – the Asian Feature Film Competition and the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition. The Iranian film “Disappearance” by Ali Asgari picked up the Best Film prize in the former category while actress Sadaf Asgari collected the Best Performance award for her role as Sara in the film.

Thai filmmakers were also recognised in ways other than awards through the selection of Pimpaka Towira as the festival’s programme director, the first non-Singaporean to be chosen as the festival’s key figure.

 

Equally as sparkling were the Asian Television awards held over two days and giving out 47 prizes for excellence in programming, production and performance. More than 1,350 entries from 250 channels and 66 broadcasters across Asia submitted entries to this year’s event, which incorporates every kind of television programme and drama. It is a very open competition as it allows anyone interested in taking part to choose the best part of a series or best episode and submit it to award organiser Contineo Media. The entries are judged by a multi-country jury.

Three Thai programmes were entered into this year’s competition: Channel 3’s “Singer Auction” from Zense Entertainment Company and “House of Blast – Dracula in Trouble” from Workpoint Channel. The third entry was and a gay show hosted Niti ‘Pompam’ Chaichitatorn from GMM 25 –“Talk Ka Toey Tonight” (“Talk with Toey Tonight”) and this won best entertainment presenter, beating out well known hosts like Allen Wu from the “Amazing Race Asia”.

 

“Given that the show’s title, this award goes to gender equality across Asia,” said Pompam in his acceptance speech, drawing loud applause from the audience in the Suntec City Convention Centre.

Hosted by Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Singapore Media Festival also includes the Asian Television Awards (ATA), the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), Asia’s marketplace ScreenSingapore, which offers a series of talk and seminars on film pitching for the SGIFF, and SMF Ignite.

A one-day conference and exhibition, VR X SMF Ignite aims to bring together technologists, creators, developers and users to exchange insights on the VR ecosystem and discuss how this new paradigm can create opportunities for businesses in media. This year the SMF also hosted its very first Country-of-Focus, selecting Indonesia for its rich stories, talents and achievements across the SMF’s various constituent events.

 

The Singapore Media Festival usually brings together more than 20,000 media and creative professionals, industry thought-leaders and fans of television and film from around the world. The 18th Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and the seventh ScreenSingapore ended with an estimated US$289 million (Bt9.42 billion) worth of deals sealed over four days. A total of 760 exhibiting companies from around the world showcased their latest programming and content. Exhibitors included major studios like CBS Studios International, Sony Pictures Television and The Walt Disney Company and Asia’s popular content providers from South Korea, Japan, India and China. Thailand was represented by Workpoint Entertainment, which showcased its TV game shows “Mic Mod Nee” (“Mic on Debt Off”) and the new singing contest show “Diva Makeover” which garnered plenty of attention from Southeast Asian buyers. The ATF also organised talks with well-known creators like Sana Amanat, aka Miss Marvel, cocreator of Marvel’s first Muslim superhero “Kamala Khan”.

“The goal of these media festivals is to bring together the component parts and provide opportunities to get business people and creators together to create new opportunities,” explained Robert Gilby, chairman of the Singapore Media Festival.

“The SMF is largest international media festival in Southeast Asia.  It’s a great venue to showcase ideas and stimulate conversations, to find buyers for shows and to find new financiers for programmes,” he added.

. These, as well as other weird concepts, are all part of the world of “Altered Carbon”, the new sci-fi series that’s set to debut on Netflix on February 2.

Based on the 2002 cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan, “Altered Carbon” is an intriguing story of murder, love, sex and betrayal, set more than 300 years in the future. Takeshi Kovacs (Will Yun Lee) is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned for centuries before being brought back and placed into a new body (Joel Kinnaman) courtesy of Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy), an impossibly wealthy man. In exchange, Kovacs has to solve a murder … that of Bancroft himself.

The sci-fi series is from writer-producer Laeta Kalogridis (“Shutter Island”) with a pilot shot by Miguel Sapochnik and also stars Joel Kinnaman, Kristin Lehman, Chris Connor, Antonio Marziale and Hiro Kanagawa.

US television channel CBS announced Wednesday it will resurrect the science-fiction series, in a bid to boost its subscription-based streaming platform CBS All Access.

Comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele — known for directing mystery thriller “Get Out,” which is heading into awards season — will helm the reboot.

First broadcast in 1959, “The Twilight Zone” was a pioneer in television drama, known for its suspenseful music composed by French-Romanian Marius Constant and the black-and-white spiral of the credits.

The series had no regular characters: each episode was instead a standalone exploration of fantasy, science-fiction, psychology and metaphysics, with dramatic tension always at the forefront.

However, the series did have an omnipresent narrator — portrayed by the show’s writer, Rod Serling.

“The Twilight Zone” also featured performances from several film stars — from Buster Keaton to Robert Redford, along with the likes of Mickey Rooney, Lee Van Cleef and William Shatner.

It served as inspiration for several other shows, including Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror” (Netflix), itself a hit offering unsettling, satirical explorations of the modern world.

It has already been remade twice, broadcast from 1985 to 1989 on CBS and again between 2002 and 2003 on the cable channel UPN.

Director and actor Peele will serve as executive producer on this third revival, alongside Simon Kinberg, best known for his work on the “X-Men” franchise.

Peele made an impression as a director with his first film, “Get Out,” released in February. Despite a $4.5 million budget, the critically acclaimed tale of a young black man meeting his white girlfriend’s sweet-turned-sinister family earned $175 million — with takings of $254 million internationally.

“Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, he said. “I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences.”