Premier Asia

Premier Asia was a United Kingdom DVD distribution company and specialist home-entertainment label that operated from 2003 to 2008. It was established within the Medusa Communications group and was positioned alongside Hong Kong Legends, a related label focused specifically on Hong Kong cinema. Premier Asia broadened that model by acquiring and distributing films from several other major Asian film-making centres, particularly Japan, South Korea and Thailand. The label emerged during a period when specialist DVD distributors were making comparatively wide selections of Asian cinema available to British audiences. Its catalogue covered action films, martial-arts pictures, horror, thrillers, crime dramas, historical films, anime-related material and commercially successful genre titles. Releases associated with the label included Bang Rajan, Bichunmoo, Brotherhood, The City of Violence, Crying Fist, Duelist, Ju-on: The Grudge, Ichi the Killer, Initial D, My Wife Is a Gangster, One Missed Call, Ong-Bak, Shutter, The Warrior, The Warrior King, Typhoon and Volcano High. Premier Asia’s identity was closely connected to the presentation style developed by Hong Kong Legends. A number of its earlier releases included audio commentaries and contextual material intended to help British viewers understand Asian cinema. Hong Kong cinema specialist, producer and screenwriter Bey Logan contributed commentaries to a number of releases, often alongside Asian-cinema expert Mike Leeder. This editorial approach made the label more than a basic licensing outlet: it marketed its films through specialist knowledge, genre expertise and supplementary content. Corporate ownership changed during the label’s short operating life. Medusa Communications owned Premier Asia during its first year. In 2004, Contender Entertainment Group acquired Medusa Communications, bringing Premier Asia and Hong Kong Legends into the Contender group. In 2007, Contender was acquired by Entertainment One, now associated with Lionsgate’s Canadian operations. These transactions placed the label within increasingly larger entertainment-distribution structures, although Premier Asia itself ceased operating as a distinct label in 2008. Premier Asia is therefore best understood as a defunct British home-video distribution brand rather than a film production studio. Its historical importance lies in helping circulate Japanese, South Korean and Thai films in the UK DVD market and in presenting those films with commentary-led specialist packaging. The available reference material does not establish a continuing corporate entity, an independent website, public listing, current owner or operations after 2008.

Premier Asia operated as a British DVD distribution company between 2003 and 2008. It was created within Medusa Communications as a sister label to Hong Kong Legends. The two labels shared a specialist interest in Asian cinema, but their catalogues were differentiated by geography. Hong Kong Legends concentrated on Hong Kong films, while Premier Asia was intended to cover productions from other major Asian film industries outside mainland China. The label’s principal areas of activity were Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Its catalogue included a broad mixture of martial-arts films, action titles, horror, crime, thrillers, anime-related material and dramatic features. Releases named in the reference material include Bang Rajan, Bichunmoo, Brotherhood, Champion, The City of Violence, Crying Fist, Duelist, Ju-on: The Grudge, Ju-on: The Grudge 2, Ichi the Killer, Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero, Initial D, My Wife Is a Gangster, Once Upon a Time in High School, One Missed Call, Ong-Bak, Shutter, The Warrior, Typhoon, The Warrior King and Volcano High. Premier Asia’s releases followed the specialist DVD conventions associated with Hong Kong Legends. Earlier editions often used audio commentaries to provide cultural, production and genre context. Bey Logan, known for his work as a Hong Kong cinema expert, producer and screenwriter, supplied commentary on a number of releases. He was partnered on many titles by Mike Leeder, an Asian-cinema expert. These contributions helped frame the label’s releases for English-speaking collectors and viewers who were becoming increasingly interested in Asian popular cinema. The company’s corporate history was short but involved several ownership changes. Medusa Communications owned Premier Asia during its first year. In 2004, Contender Entertainment Group acquired Medusa Communications, including Premier Asia and Hong Kong Legends. Contender itself was acquired by Entertainment One in 2007. The latter company is now associated with Lionsgate’s Canadian operations, but the available material does not establish that Premier Asia remained active as a separate label after the 2008 operating period. Premier Asia should be classified as a defunct home-video distribution brand rather than a production studio. It did not primarily make films; instead, it licensed, packaged and distributed films from Asian markets for British DVD audiences. Its significance came from the breadth of its regional catalogue and from the editorial treatment of its releases, which combined genre-focused acquisition with commentaries and specialist presentation. No current website, independent corporate listing, current executive team or continuing operations are identified in the available sources.

• 2008

  End of operating period

  [1]Premier Asiaen.wikipedia.org

  Premier Asia’s documented operating period ends, and the label is treated as defunct.

• 2007

  Contender is acquired by Entertainment One

  [1]Premier Asiaen.wikipedia.org

  Premier Asia becomes part of the Entertainment One group through its acquisition of Contender Entertainment Group.

• 2004

  Contender acquires Medusa Communications

  [1]Premier Asiaen.wikipedia.org

  Contender Entertainment Group takes over Medusa Communications, including Premier Asia and Hong Kong Legends.

• 2003

  Premier Asia begins operations

  [1]Premier Asiaen.wikipedia.org

  The UK DVD distribution label begins operating under Medusa Communications.

A specialist British home-entertainment label bringing commercially prominent and genre-oriented Asian films to the UK DVD market, with an emphasis on curated editions and expert commentary.

• DVD distribution · 2003

  Japanese film catalogue

  Premier Asia distributed UK DVD editions of Japanese films across horror, crime, action and thriller genres. Documented examples include Ichi the Killer, Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero, Ju-on: The Grudge, Ju-on: The Grudge 2, Initial D and One Missed Call. The releases formed part of the label’s effort to make contemporary Japanese genre cinema available to British audiences.

• DVD distribution · 2003

  South Korean film catalogue

  The South Korean catalogue covered action, martial-arts, drama and thriller titles. Documented releases include Bichunmoo, Brotherhood, The City of Violence, Crying Fist, Duelist, My Wife Is a Gangster, Once Upon a Time in High School, Typhoon and Volcano High. These titles reflected the label’s broader regional remit beyond Hong Kong cinema.

• DVD distribution · 2003

  Thai film catalogue

  Premier Asia distributed Thai action and martial-arts films, including Bang Rajan, Ong-Bak, Shutter and The Warrior King. The catalogue helped position the label as a regional Asian-cinema distributor rather than a company limited to one national film industry.

• DVD special editions · 2003

  Specialist commentary editions

  Many earlier releases used the commentary-led format associated with Hong Kong Legends. Audio commentaries and related contextual material featured contributors including Bey Logan and Mike Leeder, giving the discs an editorial and collector-oriented identity in addition to their basic distribution function.

• 2003

  Create a broader Asian-cinema sister labelStrategy

  Background

  Medusa Communications operated Hong Kong Legends as a label focused on Hong Kong films and used Premier Asia to address films from other major Asian production centres outside mainland China.

  Action taken

  Premier Asia distributed films from Japan, South Korea and Thailand, among other Asian markets.

  Aftermath

  The label developed a distinct regional identity within the UK specialist DVD market before its documented operating period ended in 2008.

  Source

• 2003

  Use expert commentary in DVD editionsProduct launch

  Background

  The label followed the specialist presentation model associated with Hong Kong Legends.

  Action taken

  Earlier releases included audio commentaries featuring Asian-cinema specialists such as Bey Logan and Mike Leeder.

  Aftermath

  The commentary format strengthened the label’s collector-oriented and explanatory approach to Asian-film distribution.

  Source

1. 1Premier Asiaen.wikipedia.org