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| Luke Kang, president of the Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, opens the Disney Content Showcase in Singapore, Wednesday. Courtesy of Walt Disney Company |
By Lee Gyu-lee
SINGAPORE ― The Walt Disney Company showed it is increasingly focusing on content creation and distribution in the Asia Pacific region during a two-day showcase in Singapore from Wednesday to Thursday.
The company unveiled at the event, which drew 400 people from the international press and media industry, the upcoming lineups of its major studios, as well as Disney+ original series in the Asia Pacific region.
"Today's showcase will bring to life how we are serving viewers in every market with globally branded content like Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, as well as locally produced stories that resonate, while taking the best of those stories global," Luke Kang, president of the Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, said in an opening speech at the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2022, held at the Marina Bay Sands resort, Wednesday.
"Our aspiration is for stories from the Asia Pacific region to be a key pillar for the Walt Disney Company's next 100 years ― and to continue to move the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide," he said.
During the first day of the two-day event, the company showcased over 50 shows from Disney's 2023 theatrical and streaming content and over 45 new Asia-Pacific titles from its streaming platform, Disney+.
It also shared exclusive trailers of much-anticipated titles, including the live-action film, "Little Mermaid," Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," and Pixar's "Elemental."
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| Pixar director Peter Sohn speaks during the Disney Content Showcase in Singapore, Wednesday, to discuss his upcoming film, "Elemental." Courtesy of Walt Disney Company |
Disney+ also gave a peek of its upcoming titles from Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Australia, announcing that the company will expand its partnership with Japan's publishing giant, Kodansha, for more exclusive anime originals and will also focus on Korean dramas and K-pop content.
"From Korea, 'Connect' and 'Big Bet' are the highly anticipated originals launching in December. And in 2023, we will continue to focus on scripted dramas with A-list stars and top-rated talents. We'll also launch more K-pop music-related programs, following the tremendous success of our exclusive BTS content on Disney this year," said Jessica Kam-Engle, head of content and development, APAC, at the Walt Disney Company.
The press event also offered glimpses into some of Disney+'s upcoming series ― Korean originals "Connect," "Call It Love" and "Big Bet," and the Japanese original "Gannibal."
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| From left, "Big Bet" stars Heo Sung-tae and Lee Dong-hwi and director Kang Yoon-sung pose at a press conference at the Disney Content Showcase in Singapore, Thursday. Courtesy of Walt Disney Company |
Director Kang Yoon-sung of "Big Bet," which garnered high anticipation as veteran actor Choi Min-sik's first series in 24 years, shared his experience of making his series debut and insight into how he came up with the gambling crime story.
"I've never done such long stories, so I was a bit nervous (to create the series) at first. But it just expanded into a long story as I was writing the script. The important part of a series is the elements that make you watch the next episode," Kang said during a press conference for the series, Thursday. "So I tried to focus on having good cliffhangers and was able to wrap up the series' production well."
The series revolves around a man (Choi) who becomes the "king" of gambling, but ends up losing everything and tries to return to the gambling scene. But in doing so, he risks his life.
Kang said he came up with the story after meeting a casino owner in the Philippines.
"I started interviewing this person for the story (after meeting him by chance). And as I met different people, that later became the pillar of the story as I started to develop the full branches of the plot, mixing the dramatic elements," he said.
"I was actually preparing to make a movie with Choi, but it got canceled for various reasons. So I gave him the script for 'Big Bet' and he was open to starring in it," Kang added.
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