Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi Amongst Expertise On Peter Chan’s Debut Streaming Slate – Deadline

Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-sun Chan has launched a manufacturing firm to concentrate on streaming content material, Changin’ Photos, with a debut slate of 5 tasks and expertise together with motion star Donnie Yen and Chinese language actress Zhang Ziyi.

The brand new outfit goals to “revolutionize the streaming multiverse in Asia” by signing up main filmmakers and recent expertise from throughout the area to create drama collection for a pan-Asian viewers and past. Chan additionally intends to collaborate with platforms and potential co-production companions who wish to leap into Asia’s increasing streaming market.

Changin’ Photos plans to roll out 20 restricted collection throughout numerous genres from throughout the Asia Pacific area in its first 4 years.

The primary two tasks on the slate are Korean collection, each tailored from widespread webtoons: ONE: Excessive College Heroes, produced by Covenant Photos (Determined Mr. X), a few bullied highschool child who transforms himself right into a hero; and Heesu In Class 2, produced by Movie Ok (Escape From Mogadishu), billed as a bittersweet romance between two highschool boys.

Donnie Yen is connected as showrunner to Outright Loser, Hidden Grasp, the motion star’s first foray into collection, billed as “a reinvention of the martial arts style in a never-before-seen universe”. Yen will even star as an Asian American martial artist who, after noticing that some abnormal people in Hong Kong are literally kung fu masters, discovers that martial artists have been passing down their lineage by imprinting their recollections and martial artwork abilities onto strangers’ our bodies.

Zhang Ziyi will star in The Assassin, a real crime suspense thriller, which will probably be directed by Chan. Based mostly on a historic case in Shanghai within the ’40s, the collection revolves round a lady accused of dismembering her husband and traces occasions in China from Japanese Occupation and the Nationalist authorities to the beginning of a brand new China.

The debut slate additionally consists of anthology horror collection The Eye, a reboot of the favored horror IP, produced by Thailand’s Banjong Pisanthanakun (Pee Mak), and directed by fellow high-profile Thai filmmakers Nattawut Baz Poonpiriya (One For The Street), Parkpoom Wongpoom (Shutter) and Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears Of The Black Tiger).

Esther Yeung is becoming a member of Changin’ Photos as chief working officer. She was previously basic supervisor, head of gross sales and distribution, at Invoice Kong’s Edko Movies, the place she oversaw the native launch of movies akin to Drive My Automotive, Parasite and Shoplifters.

Chan was one of many first Asian filmmakers to push pan-Asian collaboration again within the early 2000s by Hong Kong-based outfit Applause Photos, which spearheaded co-productions and anthologies with filmmakers together with Kim Jee-Woon, Park Chan-Wook, Takashi Miike, Hur Jin-Ho, Nonzee Nimibutr, the Pang Brothers and Fruit Chan.

“I don’t need this to be a Peter Chan’s firm,” stated Chan. “We’re not a director’s manufacturing firm. It’s only filmmaker-backed and filmmaker-driven in order that we might elevate our stage of productiveness and effectivity. We aspire to be Asia’s only one cease store for worldwide manufacturing companions and streaming platforms.”

Chans’ credit as director embrace Comrades, Virtually A Love Story (1996), Maybe Love (2005), The Warlords (2007), Bodyguards And Assassins (2009), Wu Xia (2011), American Goals In China (2013), Dearest (2014) and Leap (2020).