WELLINGTON (AFP) ― Director James Cameron announced Monday he will film three sequels to his record-breaking epic “Avatar” in New Zealand after striking a deal with the government for increased production subsidies.Cameron said the movies, with a combined budget of at least NZ$500 million ($415 million), would be shot back-to-back and released from late 2016.Aside from an increased subsidy that will account for up to 25 percent of the films’ budget, Cameron said New Zealand offered highly skille

HAVANA (AFP) ― For the past three decades, Brazilian telenovelas have helped Cubans forget their litany of woes for an hour a day. But today, dozens of South Korean soap operas are earning wide audiences.Following in the footsteps of South Korean films and K-pop, “doramas” ― South Korean soaps dubbed into Spanish ― first appeared on Cuban televisions earlier this year.  “Queen of Housewives,” “My Fair Lady,” “Dream High” and, for the past month, “Secret Garden,” are all winning fans on the Commu

The number of moviegoers is expected to break the 200 million mark this year, the Korean Film Commission said on Monday. The commission said local movie theaters sold 199.3 million tickets as of Dec. 15 and the figure would likely exceed 200 million by the end of this week, based on the average ticket sales on weekdays. Korean movies performed strongly this year, securing close to a 60 percent share in competition against big-budget Hollywood films.“Miracle in Cell No.7” emerged as the biggest K

Hwa-young, a former member of K-pop girl group T-ara, has signed an exclusive contract with a new agency named Wellmade STARM on Monday.“We have signed a contract with Hwa-young since we discovered her potential to become an actor,” said Wellmade STARM. “Through her transformation into an actress, she will develop new aspects of her that she hasn’t shown to the public yet.”Other actors the agency represents include Lee Jong-suk, Song Sae-byeok and Oh Yeon-seo.Hwa-young made her debut in 2010 as

James Cameron will be returning to New Zealand to film three sequels to ``Avatar,'' his enormously popular movie about the blue inhabitants of Pandora.The director made the announcement Monday in the capital Wellington with producer Jon Landau and Prime Minister John Key. The films will be made by Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox.``Avatar,'' released in 2009 and shot in New Zealand, won three Academy Awards and is the highest-grossing film in history, with an international box

Choo Sa-rang, an infant starlet who is captivating South Korean TV viewers once again gave a delightful scene: This time, showing her love toward Disney character Tinker Bell.In the episode of the variety TV show “Superman is Back” aired on Sunday, Choo and her father Choo Sung-hoon, went shopping together at a character store in Shibuya, downtown Tokyo.Little Choo, who showed her infinite love toward Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in previous episodes, asked her father to find her an item with T

YG Entertainment announced on Monday that Park Bom of 2NE1 and K-pop starlet Lee Hi will be releasing a digital Christmas single on Tuesday, the first of a series of a collaborative projects dubbed “YG x SAMSUNG MUSIC.”The agency said the special unit “BOM&HI” will release a new interpretation of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” at midnight on Tuesday. “Samsung Music” service, launched in May 2012, will own the exclusive rights to the song for the first three days, before it beco

Jang Beom-jun, vocalist and guitarist in South Korean band Busker Busker, is to get married next spring, his agency said Monday.“We deliver news of Busker Busker member Jang Beom-jun’s marriage with great joy,” Chungchun Music said via its official Twitter page. The company said Jang had been planning to fulfill his mandatory military service, but the unexpected pregnancy of his girlfriend, actress Song Ji-su, led him to get married first.The agency said that Busker Busker decided to suspend the

A residency program at Arts Council Korea has been dispatching artists to some of the most remote places in the world. Expeditions visit places such as the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Lake Baikal in Siberian Russia and Antarctica. Starting in 2008, the residency program has sent out more than 100 artists, giving them time to find inspiration while being immersed in a new environment and culture. On Monday, four artists will depart for Antarctica on a mission to explore new ways to practice their ar

Cable and general programming TV programs have been widely regarded as less in quality, but the recent success of several shows has brought change and dynamicity to a field that has long been ruled by terrestrial TV content. Armed with “daring” humor and nature, these minor players are emerging as trend setters, and the next possible hallyu engine. On Friday, Lee Woo-jung and Song Jae-jeong, writers for smash-hit TV shows “Reply 1994” and “Nine” respectively, won at the Korea Content Awards 2013

Kebee reinvents self with new album ‘Lost and Found'

NEW YORK (AP) ― Beyonce has released her new album in an unconventional way: She announced and dropped it on the same day.The singer released “Beyonce” exclusively on iTunes early Friday. She mirrors how Jay Z released “Magna Carta Holy Grail” earlier this year ― through a deal with Samsung where he gave the album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones days before its official release.Beyonce’s fifth effort features 14 songs and 17 videos. Jay Z, Drake and Frank Ocean make guest appearances

Dance “The Nutcracker by Nowon Leewonkook Ballet”: A 14-year-old ballerina is making her debut as Marie in Nowon Leewonkook Ballet’s upcoming run of “The Nutcracker.” Loosely based on French ballet choreographer Marius Petita’s version, Nowon Leewonkook Ballet offers a unique rendition of the world’s favorite Christmas ballet, directed by celebrated dancer and choreographer Lee Won-kook. Lee, who was with the Korea National Ballet and Universal Ballet Company for 20 years, founded his own troupe