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    ‘Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke to film romantic epic in China

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1063 Views
    Hollywood director Catherine Hardwicke smiles during an interview in Beijing, Thursday, June 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    By Louise Watt

    BEIJING (AP) --

    "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke said Thursday she is making a sweeping romantic epic set in an ancient Silk Road city located in present-day western China.

    "Loulan" will be based on a city and kingdom of the same name that mysteriously disappeared hundreds of years ago. Its ruins are surrounded by desert in China's Xinjiang region, which stretches to Central Asia. One mummy unearthed from the area in recent decades is known as the "Loulan Beauty," and she was Caucasian with European features.

    Hardwicke said the $50 million China-U.S. co-production will revolve around a princess who may be the Loulan Beauty's "great-great granddaughter," and who will be played by an American or English actress. It will be set in 200 B.C., at a time when Loulan was a thriving city on the Silk Road trading route that linked China to the West.

    The script is still being written, but the story in what is planned to be the first part of a trilogy will see Loulan fought over by Han Chinese and warlike nomads, the Huns.

    "We have the princess who is in a kind of neutral kingdom at the nexus to the Silk Road, Loulan, and she's trying to keep peace and stay neutral, try to stay like Switzerland between the Huns to the north and the Han dynasty to the east," Hardwicke said.

    She said the two warring sides both send "young charismatic hot men diplomats to try to win her heart and her loyalty." The movie will be a coming-of-age romance, set against the backdrop of a mixing pot of cultures including Persians, Indians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese, she said.

    Hardwicke, who directed the first installment of the successful movie series "Twilight" about a young girl caught in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf, told The Associated Press she thought she had been asked to direct "Loulan" because of "Twilight" — "that kind of powerful love story that was intimate yet had scope and scale and beauty."

    Explaining why she took on "Loulan," she said, "I loved the idea of this mix of cultures and these young kids that are in love and that are struggling with very heavy issues of war and peace."

    Filming in Xinjiang and Beijing is expected to start in August 2016, with a target release date of late 2017 or early 2018.

    The film is being produced by Loulan Mystery Movie & TV Culture (Beijing) Co. Ltd., a private special purpose company formed with Chinese investment, and Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, whose holding company is the Los Angeles-based Village Roadshow Entertainment Group.

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    Tags:Catherine HardwickeLoulanTwilight



    Miai+ hires Taylor Smith to lead new U.S. office

    Thursday, March 12, 2026
    Miai+'s (l-r) Bolu Akindoyin, Claudine Harris and Taylor Smith

    Brand partnerships agency Miai+ is expanding into the U.S., opening its first stateside office in Seattle and appointing former Xbox global brand marketing general manager Taylor Smith, as VP and managing director, U.S.

    Founded in the U.K., Miai’s partnership expertise was behind the multi-award-winning Xbox + Oreo “Cheat Cookies” campaign, Pringles’ “Meet Frank,” the Gucci + Xbox “Good Game” collection, and, as lead creative agency on Starfield + Tempur’s “Dream Chair” and Krispy Kreme + Xbox’s 20th Anniversary activation.

    At Xbox, Smith led global brand marketing across major franchises, including Halo, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport, and Minecraft, as well as the Xbox console ecosystem and Xbox Game Pass. His work has earned more than 60 Cannes Lions, with campaigns such as Halo 3’s “Believe” and Tomb Raider’s “Survival Billboard” contributing to Clio Advertiser of the Year honors--the only creative leader to achieve this distinction twice in a decade.

    Miai’s first U.S. office launches during a major sporting year in the U.S., headlined by the FIFA World Cup, and marks a natural next step for the well-established agency, supporting global clients including Xbox, Amazon Games, and Hasbro, with operations across both the U.K and North America.
    .
    The office will be a creative agency offering, led by ideas that cut through with brand partnerships that amplify them. The new office brings 15 years of expertise in partnerships between gaming properties and brands, as well as negotiating sports sponsorship deals.

    The Seattle base will operate as a hub for creative campaigns and partnerships, expanding capabilities across video, design, and content creation, while continuing to leverage... Read More

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