4.5.2010 - News

CF: Tao Hong Fulfills Her Promise
[Death Dowry] tells the story of a poverty-stricken woman who travels to a new place with her mentally retarded son to seek a living. After suffering a number of difficulties, she meets a man who changes her fate.
Taipei Times: Au Revoir Taipei
Variety: To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey
Hollywood's postwar Asian superstar, Nancy Kwan, acts as tour guide around her personal and professional history in the solid if pedestrian docu "To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey."

CRI: Cast of "Ocean Heaven" (formerly Ocean Paradise) Attend Autism Awareness Day Event in Beijing
The movie is about the relationship between a terminally ill man played by [Jet] Li and his autistic adolescent son played by rising actor Wen Zhang. Actress Kwai Lun-Mei stars in the film as a clown who performs at the aquarium and meets the father and son.

Actress, director Jiang Wenli 

John Woo

Stanley Tong

Gu Changwei, John Woo, Jiang Wenli, Woo's wife, Jiang Wen

CRI: Jiang Wenli's Film Draws Star-Studded Audience

Chinese actress Jiang Wenli on Sunday invited her celebrity friends for a special screening of her directorial debut film, "Lan". (Sina)

CRI: Echoes of the Rainbow stills

Sandra Ng, Simon Yam

A celebration banquet was held in Tsimshatsui by the cast and crew of Echoes of the Rainbow

(Sina)

Chrissie Chau attending screening of Barbara Wong's Break Up Club

(Sina)

Karen Mok was one of many stars to help Andrew Lau celebrate his 50th birthday in Sai Kung yesterday.

(Sina)

Andy Lau gets emotional at Southwest drought relief fundraiser in Beijing 

(Sina)

ESWN: Gigi Leung Microblog Post Censored

CRI: Jackie Chan Records Song for Those Affected by Drought

Zhang Ziyi was not invited to Harper's Bazaar's upcoming Charity Night in Shanghai. On the invitees list were celebrities John Woo, Lin Chi-Ling, Zhang Hanyu, Carina Lau and many others. The eighth annual gala will be held on Apr.25 the eve of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo. (Xinhua)

CRI: Pop Queen Faye Wong to Start Concert Tour In Oct

Taipei Times: Pop Stop

Carina Lau desperate trying to get pregnant

Eason Chan spotted with unknown female companion

Andy Lau: "no regrets" having kept his 24-year romance a secret

1970s screen siren Cleopatra Wong looking to film a movie

2.15.2010 - News

Growing pains of China's animation movie

Chop Socky Chooks: Volume One

Screen Daily: A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop (A Simple Noodle Story)

Playing more like a slapstick version of the Coen brothers’ classic Blood Simple than a remake, Zhang Yimou’s latest moves the action back a few hundred years and switches location to the spectacularYellow Earth landscapes of Northern China.
Variety: A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

For the record, pic's international version is four minutes shorter than that released in China and Hong Kong.
Chinese remake of Coen brothers classic screens in Berlin

Screen Daily: Au Revoir Taipei

Asian-American director Arvin Chen’s boy-meets-girl romance coasts along on sheer goofy sweetness. A brightly-coloured Before Sunrise in Taiwanese screwball sauce with just a pinch ofUmbrellas Of Cherbourg thrown in, it does little except charm, seduce and mildly amuse. But it does so with enough grace and storytelling skill to keep most audiences hooked though to the end, even though the sugar-rush wears off pretty soon after leaving the cinema.

Variety: Monga (Taiwan)

It's the kind of larger-spanned movie that Taiwan should be attempting if the island's industry is ever to get back on its feet again. Niu's gamble looks to be repaid -- at least locally -- with "Monga" strong-arming a brawny $1.6 million in its first week since bowing Feb. 5.

Variety: The Actresses (South Korea)

Six movie stars -- playing themselves -- gather for a Vogue photo shoot in a Seoul studio in "The Actresses," a talky but involving fakumentary that continually plays with the thin dividing line between reality and fiction. Hardly the catfight it's expected to be, this cheekiest outing yet from writer-director E J-yong is a funny, sometimes surprisingly touching exploration of the role of actresses in South Korea's still socially proscribed film world, though considerable knowledge of local showbiz and the thesps themselves is necessary to get the most from the movie. Asia-friendly fests should extend invites to these broads.

Variety: I'm In Trouble (South Korea)

Korean Academy of Film Arts alum So Sang-min makes a promising feature debut with "I'm in Trouble!," a charmingly modest talking-eating-drinking movie -- carved from the same rockface as helmers like Hong Sang-soo, Emmanuel Mouret and Woody Allen -- in which a bunch of likable, indecisive losers endlessly repeat the same emotional mistakes.

Taipei Times: You might as well live

Based on a novel by one of Japan’s most acclaimed fiction writers of the 20th century, ‘Villon’s Wife’ possesses a cinematic presence rarely achieved by literary adaptations

All's Well Ends Well Too 2010

Ronald Cheng, Raymond Wong, Louis Koo, Sandra Ng

Raymond Wong

Sandra Ng

Ronald Cheng, Louis Koo
(Xinhua)

Jacky Cheung

Jacky Cheung promoting his new CD Private Corner on a TV program

(Xinhua)

Chrissie Chau

Chrissie Chau will celebrate Valentine's Day with boyfriend Avis
(Sina)

Liza Wang, Law Kar-Ying

(Sina)

AngelaBaby

James Parry, AngelaBaby (Sina)

Donnie Yen (Sina)

Rainie Yang (Sina)

Faye Wong - CCTV Spring Gala Festival

(Sina) (36)

CRI: Faye Wong, Tigers Are Highlights of CCTV Spring Festival Gala

Donnie Yen: I'm good in bedroom kungfu

Sandra Ng has no time to go online

Jackie Chan backs Vivian Hsu's Jap comeback

Zhang Ziyi - Chinese art of reveling in another's pain

Taipei Times: Pop Stop

With so many in Taiwan’s celebrity firmament embroiled in scandals over the past few years, 2010 may turn out to be the year when some turn to religion to change their evil ways. But don’t count on it.

Shannon Lee at Hollywood Madame Tussauds

(Sina)

2.5.2010 - News

Avatar Fever, Catch It Series (China Hush)

Taipei Times: Monga

With a stellar cast and entertaining storyline that weaves together action and drama, the film should do well with younger audience members who like to view the underworld through rose-tinted glasses.

My Rainy Days: Japanese romance flirts with underage prostitutes (THR)

A romance as pretty and immaterial as a swirl of bubbles.

THR: Best of Times (Thailand)

A love story between an elderly couple that is tender without being schmaltzy.

Where You Can See Jackie Chan's Banned Film, 'Shinjuku Incident'

Limited US release begins this Friday

Taipei Times: ‘Confucius’ struggles against ‘Avatar’

On the popular movie site Mtime.com, it scored a 3.8 out of 10 in user-submitted reviews, compared to 9.4 for Avatar. The Global Times gave it a 4 out of 10, calling it “thoughtless and mind-numbing.”...
Han Han, one of China’s most popular writers who is widely viewed as a key voice of the country’s youth generation, gave it a two on his popular blog, calling it an entertainment, educational, and business failure.

HK Magazine: Confucius

Sze Nga (Michelle Wai)

Former - Sze Nga, Chapman To

Chapman To convinced Albert Yeung to produce small films like Former designed to bring new acting and directing talent to the screen. The artists are given creative space with no interference from Yeung. (Sina)

Huang Yi

Bernice Liu

Sire Ma Choi

Xu Jiao

Rose Chan, Bernice Liu

The cast of The Legend is Born - Ip Man (Ip Man Prequel), including Lam Suet, Yuen Biao and Du Yuhang, gathered for a production wrap banquet in Hong Kong last night. (Xinhua) (23)(Sina)

Chen Kaige - Zhao's Orphan

Chen Kaige held the first press conference for Zhao's Orphan. He said that the film will promote Tibetan culture. (Sina)

Zhang Ziyi embroiled in donation scandal
Wedding bells for Angelica Lee and Oxide Pang this Saturday
Aaron Kwok once gave Lynn Hung lingerie

Taipei Times: Pop Stop

Glass CDs, Panda Men and Golden Brooms

Spring Festival means 2.5 billion people on the move In photos (China Hush)

1.22.2010 - News

Red-faced General Guan Yu is to be the subject of three films this year. In March, it's reported that Donnie Yen will play Guan Yu to Zhang Hanyu's Cao Cao, to be directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. In another film, popular mainland actor Sun Honglei will play the general in the Tian Zhuangzhuang helmed version. Finally, Benny Chan has invited Louis Koo and Aaron Kwok to play the Guan Yu-Cao Cao duo. The dark-skinned Louis Koo said he was attracted to the script and  joked that the could play the general without makeup. (Xinhua)

The Legend of Chen Zhen's Shu Qi and Donnie Yen

Gordon Chan, Donnie Yen, Andrew Lau

Huang Bo

Investors have added an additional $20M yuan to the budget for special effects and a Hollywood post-production team bringing the total budget to $120M. (Sina)

CRI: Biopic Movie Stars, Crew Pay Tribute to Confucius

The Case of the Itaewon Homicide
South Korea Reopens the Burger King Murder File

The government's move follows a flurry of renewed interest in the crime in popular culture. In September, a blockbuster film that dramatized the murder, The Case of the Itaewon Homicide, swept South Korea.

CRI: Zhang Ziyi to Sue Media Company

Miriam Yeung to hold wedding banquet in Dec

The Wynners reunite on Here Comes Kang Xi

CRI: Stars Mark Expo 100-Day Countdown

CRI: Charming Gao Yuanyuan

Taipei Times: Pop Stop

Jay Chou, Lin Chi-Ling, Jolin Tsai, Terri Kwan and the Taiwanese Cher

1.15.2010 - News

CRI: Zhang Yimou Eyes Another Suspense Comedy
Though its name is as yet unknown, it has been revealed that the new comedy will borrow a similar structure to the 2005 Oscar winner "Crash", thereby telling the story of several unrelated characters, who become entangled in an unlikely event.

CRI: Jackie Chan Targets Kids with Low-Budget "Spy"


Biopic shows Confucius has new status in China

Hong Kong film development council to promote 3D movie making

Taipei Times capsule reviews
20th Century Boys: The Last Chapter - Our Flag
The final installment in this manga-sourced Japanese trilogy of kiddie-induced apocalyptic madness arrives in Taipei to a ready-made audience. Part 3 concentrates on the final stages of the attempt by doomsday cult leader Friend to destroy the world. His long-time opponents — a rock star and his female relative — attempt to frustrate him both within his organization and from the outside. It’s worth noting that this intriguing and sometimes disturbing mixture of cults, children, terrorism, pop music and religion could never have been made in the US.

Crazy Racer (瘋狂的賽車)
Frenetic Chinese action comedy involves a disgraced cyclist whom fate further mistreats by ensnaring him in a mish-mash of drug-running, spouse murder and even more nefarious activities. There’s action to spare and some innovative elements, too. Perfect for getting crazy on a brainless night out on the town. This is a follow-on of sorts from director Ning Hao’s (寧浩) Crazy Stone (瘋狂的石頭) in 2006.

The Warrior and the Wolf (狼災記)
Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang (田壯壯), who made the fine drama The Blue Kite (藍風箏), is a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, this strange, messy film may not enhance that reputation. Maggie Q (Die Hard 4.0) is a luckless widow, Japan’s Joe Odagiri (Air Doll, which also opens today) is a warrior and Taiwan’s Tou Chung-hua (庹宗華, from Lust, Caution) is a fallen general in this cosmopolitan action fantasy set thousands of years ago. The film offers two pieces of advice among the battles, rape sequences and pretty vistas: (1) Don’t fornicate with wolf-women and (2) Don’t assume eclectic Asian co-productions will make money.

CRI: Zhang Ziyi Sues Newspaper, Vivi Nevo Issues Statement
Zhang Ziyi strikes back at rumour mongers

Faye Wong's comeback gets a little help from Botox
Faye's back after five-year hiatus

Edison's women slow to bounce back

Gigi Leung appearing at an art event

(Xinhua) (15)

Zhang Yuqi at a shoe event (Xinhua)

(11)(Sina)

Taipei Times: Pop Stop
Jay Chou, Lin Chi-Ling, Monga, Elva Hsiao, et al.

Struggle aka Loan Sharks features Sam Lee, Eddie Cheung, shot in Malaysia

1.8.2010 - News

Future X-Cops' new release date is Feb.25

 (Sina)

CRI: In 'Hot Summer Days', It's Getting Really Hot
The new Chinese romantic movie "Hot Summer Days" is about six stories set in an unusually sultry summer. Just how hot could this fictitious summer be?
CRI: Maggie Cheung to Make Guest Appearance in "Hot Summer Days"

Variety: Iron Men (China)
Variety: Eagle Flute (China)
Variety: Eternal Beloved (China)
Variety: Tian An Men (China)

Gillian Chung's comeback movie showcases her first kiss and bedroom scene

Jeon Ji-hyun to star opposite Zhang Ziyi in new English movie adapted from bestseller

CRI: Fan Bingbing in the Onlookers' Eye
Fan Bingbing is called a Chinese 'Femme Fatale'.Maybe it is because her beauty is so blinding that few onlookers would look beyond her face and deep into her heart.

Fan Bingbing was the cover girl again for the February issue of 'Marie Claire' and an accompanied interview she emptied her heart to gave the readers a much closer look at this radiant star off screen.

CRI: Huang Yi Still Waits Her 'Big Day'
Rumor has it that Huang Yi had a flash marriage with her fiancé, Mr. Jiang Kai, CEO of ChinaFund, LP last August. The actress denied the gossip in the accompanying interview, saying marriage seems to be complicated and she won't take the plunge until she is very well prepared.

Taipei Times: Pop Stop
Lip-sync and other frauds

Andy On Chi-Kit gets painted for True Legend

(Sina) (2)

Miriam Yeung is a magician for a beverage advert

(Sina)

Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen repotedly made over RMB$200M last year, and over $10M for these underwear adverts. (Sina)

Karen Mok - One Life One Earth

From Karen Mok's educational travel program One Life One Earth - Australia chapter

  (Sina)

THR: China blocks access to movie site IMDB.com unavailable since Wednesday, cause unknown

Variety: China reports 44% rise in box office, (THR)
Multiplex growth averages 1.65 screens a day

China's B.O. boom continued unabated last year as box office rose a muscular 44% to 6.2 billion yuan ($910 million) on a sharp rise in the number of cinema screens in what's potentially the world's biggest market.
The China Film Group had earlier forecast 40% year-on-year growth (Daily Variety, Dec. 29).

With this kind of growth rate, I am confident that in 2010, China's box office will grow to a new height," China Film spokesman Weng Li said. His remarks were based on data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV.

This means for the last six years, the Chinese film market's box office has maintained an annual growth rate of more than 30%," Weng said, adding that China produced 456 domestic films in 2009.

The main impetus behind the strong growth was the rise in screen numbers. Citing SARFT figures, Weng said China had added 1.65 new screens every day last year.

China imports around 20 foreign films a year for theatrical release. The two top movies of 2009 were 2012," which took $67.5 million, and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which took $63 million.

Homegrown epic "The Founding of a Republic," celebrating the People's Republic of China's 60th anniversary, made $61 million.