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Park Chan-wook's Murder Comedy to Open Asia's Biggest Film Festival 

(L-R) South Korean director Park Chan-wook, actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran pose for a photo after a press conference for the opening film "No Other Choice" of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on September 17, 2025. (AFP)
(L-R) South Korean director Park Chan-wook, actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran pose for a photo after a press conference for the opening film "No Other Choice" of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on September 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Park Chan-wook's Murder Comedy to Open Asia's Biggest Film Festival 

(L-R) South Korean director Park Chan-wook, actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran pose for a photo after a press conference for the opening film "No Other Choice" of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on September 17, 2025. (AFP)
(L-R) South Korean director Park Chan-wook, actors Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran pose for a photo after a press conference for the opening film "No Other Choice" of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on September 17, 2025. (AFP)

Celebrated director Park Chan-wook's star-studded murder comedy will open Asia's biggest film festival Wednesday, which launches its first fully fledged competition lineup as South Korea projects its soft power worldwide.

The 30th edition of Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) arrives after the global success of critical works exploring Korean culture and experiences, such as "Squid Game", "Parasite" and this year's megahit "KPop Demon Hunters".

The festival, which has long focused on emerging talents in the region, is undergoing a revamp this year, launching its first major competition section featuring 14 titles, including four South Korean pictures.

The section includes seasoned Chinese director Zhang Lu's "Gloaming In Luomu" and Taiwan's megastar Shu Qi's directorial debut "Girl", and will be judged by juries headed by South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin.

The latest edition "sought not only to further expand its long-standing role as a platform for discovering emerging Asian talent, but also to effectively showcase the works of acclaimed Asian masters", festival director Jung Han-seok told AFP.

Karen Park, the festival's program director, said the lineup was designed to honor Asian cinema in the way it wishes to be understood.

"I believe it is meaningful that an Asian film festival, which understands Asian culture and its linguistic and historical contexts, evaluates Asian films and offers its own perspectives on them," she said.

Auteur Park Chan-wook -- best known for "Old Boy" -- which thrust him into the international spotlight in 2004 -- returns to Busan with his latest feature, "No Other Choice", after it featured at the Venice Film Festival which ended earlier this month.

Based on American writer Donald E. Westlake's 1997 novel "The Ax", the film, this year's BIFF opener, follows a desperate laid-off worker who decides to kill off potential competitors for a new job.

It stars South Korea's top actors -- "Squid Game" star Lee Byung-hun and "Crash Landing on You" actress Son Ye-jin -- in the lead.

The film was warmly received at Venice in August, with specialist outlet Variety calling it a "dazzling murder comedy" and a "masterclass in controlled chaos".

The opening film marks a shift from last year's choice of Netflix's period war drama "Uprising", which drew criticism in South Korea's cinema community given BIFF's tradition of championing theatrical films.

This year's edition features 241 official entries from 64 countries, including 90 world premieres.

Among them is "Hana Korea", a North Korean refugee drama with "Pachinko" star Kim Min-ha, and "The People Upstairs", from South Korean actor-director Ha Jung-woo, which centers on the issue of inter-floor noise.

BIFF will also host a singalong screening of Netflix's K-pop fantasy hit "KPop Demon Hunters".

As for emerging talents, there has been a "wave of exciting new voices emerging" in Asia, "especially in short films where sensitive themes are tackled with remarkable freedom", said Park Sung-ho, one of BIFF's programmers.

"In much of Asia, freedom of expression is still not widely guaranteed, yet within shorts young directors have revealed their individuality in striking ways, offering reasons to feel optimistic about the future of Asian cinema," he told AFP.

Among the star-studded guests are Asia's celebrated auteurs Bong Joon-ho and Jia Zhangke, French actress Juliette Binoche, American star Milla Jovovich, "KPop Demon Hunters" director Maggie Kang, and Hollywood auteur Michael Mann.

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Entertainment

'Send Help' Repeats as N.America Box Office Champ

Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
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'Send Help' Repeats as N.America Box Office Champ

Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)

Horror flick "Send Help" showed staying power, leading the North American box office for a second straight week with $10 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The 20th Century flick stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as a woman and her boss trying to survive on a deserted island after their plane crashes.
It marks a return to the genre for director Sam Raimi, who first made his name in the 1980s with the "Evil Dead" films.

Debuting in second place at $7.2 million was rom-com "Solo Mio" starring comedian Kevin James as a groom left at the altar in Italy, Exhibitor Relations reported.

"This is an excellent opening for a romantic comedy made on a micro-budget of $4 million," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, noting that critics and audiences have embraced the Angel Studios film.

Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thriller "Iron Lung" -- a video game adaptation written, directed and financed by YouTube star Mark Fischbach, known by his pseudonym Markiplier -- finished in third place at $6.7 million, AFP reported.

"Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience," a concert film for the K-pop boy band Stray Kids filmed at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, opened in fourth place at $5.6 million.

And in fifth place at $4.5 million was Luc Besson's English-language adaptation of "Dracula," which was released in select countries outside the United States last year.

Gross called it a "weak opening for a horror remake," noting the film's total production cost of $50 million and its modest $30 million take abroad so far.

Rounding out the top 10 are:
"Zootopia 2" ($4 million)
"The Strangers: Chapter 3" ($3.5 million)
"Avatar: Fire and Ash" ($3.5 million)
"Shelter" ($2.4 million)
"Melania" ($2.38 million)

Entertainment

Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
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Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)

American rapper Lil Jon said on Friday that his son, Nathan Smith, has died, the record producer confirmed in a joint statement with Smith’s mother.

"I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother (Nicole Smith) and I are devastated,” the statement said.

Lil Jon described his son as ‌an “amazingly talented ‌young man” who was ‌a ⁠music producer, artist, ‌engineer, and a New York University graduate.

“Thank you for all of the prayers and support in trying to locate him over the last several days. Thank you to the entire Milton police department involved,” the “Snap ⁠Yo Fingers” rapper added.

A missing persons report was ‌filed on Tuesday for Smith ‍in Milton, Georgia, authorities ‍said in a post on the ‍Milton government website.

Police officials added that a broader search for Smith, also known by the stage name DJ Young Slade, led divers from the Cherokee County Fire Department to recover a body from a pond near ⁠his home on Friday.

"The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the post continued.

While no foul play is suspected, the Milton Police Department Criminal Investigations Division will be investigating the events surrounding Smith’s death.

Lil Jon is a Grammy-winning rapper known for a string ‌of chart-topping hits and collaborations, including “Get Low,” “Turn Down for What” and “Shots.”

Entertainment

Keke Palmer Is a Fish Out of Water in Horror-Comedy Series Based on Cult Movie ‘The ’Burbs’

Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Keke Palmer Is a Fish Out of Water in Horror-Comedy Series Based on Cult Movie ‘The ’Burbs’

Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

The suburbs are anything but bland in the new Peacock series “The 'Burbs,” where strange things are going on. Like how jokes mix with the dread.

Inspired by the 1989 Tom Hanks-led movie of the same name, “The 'Burbs” follows a new mom as she navigates a foreign world of white picket fences and manicured lawns while also investigating a possible murder.

“It’s got the comedy, it has the drama, it's got the mystery, it's got the horror, the thrills, the suspense — all of it,” says Celeste Hughey, the creator, writer and executive producer. All eight episodes drop Friday.

Hanks is replaced by Keke Palmer, who plays a newlywed and new mom who moves into her husband's family home in fictional Hinkley Hills, where everyone is in everybody else's business. “Suburbia is a spectator sport,” she is told.

Across the street is an abandoned home, where a local teen disappeared decades ago. Palmer's Samira soon joins forces with a band of off-beat suburbanites to help solve the case, even if her own husband had some sort of role.

“I really wanted to focus on that fish-out-of-water feeling, centering Samira as a Black woman in a white suburb who is a new mom, a new wife — new everything — and trying to figure out where she belongs in the environment,” says Hughey.

The cast includes Jack Whitehall as Samira's husband and the trio of Julia Duffy, Mark Proksch and Paula Pell as her wine-swilling, investigating neighbors who form a sort of found family.

“The movie came out when I was quite young, but I remember seeing it as a kid and it being like this terrifying movie to me,” says Hughey. “But revisiting it as an adult, it's just like the most timely movie.”

The scripts crackle with witty humor, from references to Marie Kondo to “Baby Reindeer,” and jokes often improvised by the actors. Chocolate brownies are described as “the Beyoncé of desserts” and there’s a joke about how white ladies love salad.

“The ’Burbs” also touches on more serious issues over its eight episodes — microaggressions, racial profiling, bullying and childhood trauma — but takes a kooky, off-beat approach.

“I always look at things with a sense of humor,” says Hughey. “I think comedy is a way to be able to examine all these pretty heavy subjects, but in a way that’s accessible, in a way that is clarifying.”

Palmer says she grew up watching Norman Lear shows and admired his ability to both entertain and address social tensions — something she found in “The 'Burbs.”

“When I read this script for the first time, then as we started doing the show, it started to become clear that we had an opportunity to do the same thing,” Palmer says. “We can expose cliches, we can lean into things, which is one of the greatest tools of satire and comedy in itself, and horror as well, because horror can play as a good allegory for the issues in our life.”

Whitehall, who grew up in the London suburb of Putney, says he appreciates that the social commentary never feels that heavy handed between the comedy and horror: “It was great to sort of be able to play in both genres.”

There are multiple nods to the original movie, like picking the last name Fisher after the late actor Carrie Fisher, who appeared in the Hanks-led version, and naming a dog Darla after the name of the pup who starred in the 1989 version. Hanks, himself, appears in a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it image.

There’s a scene where Samira steps onto her neighbor’s grass and leaves suddenly swirl around her feet menacingly, an echo to the original. And there’s a moment when sardines and pretzels are served, a riff off a classic moment in the movie. The creators even asked original actor Wendy Schaal to return to play the town librarian.

“I really wanted to honor the original fans of the movie and make sure that they see that someone who respects the original material and loves the movie had it in their hands,” says Hughey. “I see the fans.”

Hughey said she wrote the series with Palmer's voice in mind, a piece of manifesting that turned out to actually work when she first met Palmer over a year later.

The music ranges from Bill Withers' “Lovely Day” to Steve Lacy's “Dark Red” to Doechii’s “Anxiety” and Big Pun's “I'm Not a Player.”

“Music is very much a part of my creative process and something that I wanted to stand out in the show as well,” says Hughey. “I got to pull in so many of my inspiration songs.”