7.31.2012 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

FBA: Vulgaria review
Rough-and-ready satire of low-end Hong Kong filmmaking is what it is, and no more.

FBA: Fairy Tale Killer review

Scrappy serial-killer tale that fails to make a case for Danny Pang as a solo director. 

Review：Not So Awesome Foursome

The Four has so far raked in 150 million yuan ($23.5 million), leapfrogging domestic blockbuster Painted Skin: The Resurrection for top spot last week. But not all viewers of the film have given it the thumbs up, hinting at growing fatigue among Chinese audiences for kung fu productions.

GuardianUK: Why Painted Skin 2 has taken China by storm

  GlobalTimes: China's 1st Microfilm Competition launches alongside film festival

GlobalTimes: "Human flesh search" film renews discussion of Internet vigilantism
Chen Kaige's latest film "Caught in the Web" has drawn fresh attention to issues regarding privacy infringement and Internet-based vigilantism.

FBA: Kirk Wong rolls a Six
Hong Kong's Kirk WONG will shoot his first film in more than a decade when his upcoming Six cranks up in November in China and Louisiana, US.

SGYahoo: Lee Lik-Chi to film "Hua Xiao Hero"Hong Kong comedy director Lee Lik-Chi has confirmed that he will be making a Malaysian film titled "Hua Xiao Hero" soon, with local veteran artist Auguste Kwan to star as the male lead in the film

CF: "The Silent War" Premiers in Beijing
The production company of "The Silent War" announced at the ceremony that the release date of the film was moved up to August 7, three days earlier than the previously scheduled screening time.

Poster for "Dangerous Liaisons, to be released Sept. 27

(Sina)

CF: Kimi Qiao and Shi Yanfei "Kiss" at "Good-For-Nothing Heroes" Premiere Ceremony
Director Fu Yong, accompanied by actors Suet Lam, Kimi Qiao, Kent Cheng, Christy Chung, Terri Kwan, Shi Yanfei and Leni Yan, attended a premiere ceremony for the romance comedy "Good-For-Nothing Heroes" yesterday in Beijing.

"Justin" Lam Suet

Kent Cheng

Lam Suet, Christy Chung 

Leni Lan/Lan Yan (Sina-gallery)

CF: A Serious Chow Yun-Fat in the First Trailer of "The Last Tycoon"

Chow Yun-Fat

Huang Xiaoming (Sina)

CF: Zhou Xun's 20 Years from an Actress to a BO Revenue Guarantee

Zhou Xun in 1999 TV series

CF: Chinese Films to Enter American Homes
M1905.com, the China Movie Channel website, and Jiaflix, an American based enterprise, have teamed together to stream Chinese movies through set-top boxes. It will bring thousands of Chinese flicks into North American families' homes.

SGYahoo: Comedian Ng Mang Tat also sings?
Plays a karaoke champion in "Kara King"

SGYaoo: Chapman To joins "Wedding Diary 2"

Four years after 'singing' in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lin Miaoke co-stars in the thriller "Insistence"

Lin Miaoke, Ken Lok

"Insistence" poster (Sina)

A1: Zhang Ziyi ends her scandals with a ring
Zhang Ziyi's romance with CCTV host Sa Beining has been blown wide open with loads of consequences-China's news hounds are filling pages with wedding talk, Internet bloggers are chatting about Ziyi's motives, and businessmen are baiting fashion watchers with copies of the lovers' sandals!

A1: Crystal Liu Yifei can be emotionless

In Hong Kong director Gordon Chan's latest wuxia flick The Four, she plays a woman named Emotionless, who has telepathic and telekinetic powers.
MSN: Eason Chan’s wife slammed for “ill-mannered Chinese” comment

SGYahoo: Mad dash for In-N-Out burgers at Circular Road
Tuesday's pop-up store was a test case for In-N-Out -- a family-run chain famous in the US West Coast -- to see if it's worth setting up a permanent store in Singapore.

7.27.2012 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

FBA: Flying with You review
Fluffy Chinese vehicle for South Korean actress-singer Jang Na-ra is for addicts only.

CF: Final Poster of "The Silent War" Released
A final poster for the spy-themed film "The Silent War" was released today before the movie hits mainland screens on August 10

CF: Zhao Wei Celebrates Box Office Success with a Kiss and a Gold Mask

After setting a new box office record with a total of 685 million yuan (US$ 107.1 million), the production side of the movie "Painted Skin 2" held a celebration party yesterday in Shanghai [on a luxury cruise ship].

Zhao Wei

Celebrating RMB$700M take at the box office

(Sina-gallery) (Sina-slideshow)

CF: "Switch" Set for Release on November 2

With an investment of over 160 million yuan (about US$26 million), the movie was originally set to be released during the National Day Holiday slot. According to Zhang, in order to set aside enough time for the 3D effect team, they had postponed the movie's release to November.

Stephen Fung's "Tai Chi 0" will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival August 31. Angelababy and Eddie Peng will help to promote in Venice according to reports.

Angelababy (Sina), 2

CF: Mainland Box Office Chart for Week 29, 2012

Martial arts flick "The Four" kicked out "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" to sit in the top spot with a surprisingly $11.13 million in its second week of release for a two-week total of $24.16 million. "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" ended its fourth week of release to number two of the boxoffice chart, adding $9.13 million for a total of $109.15 million. Those figures put "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" officially to become the highest grossing domestic movie at all time, taking the boxoffice record from "Let the Bullet Fly" (2010), which grossed a total of $101.37 million in mainland China.

FBA: Thieves steals a march on competition

The 135-minute film features a gang of South Korean thieves who team up with a Hong Kong crew to steal a diamond necklace from a heavily-guarded casino safe in Macau. As the cops close in, old betrayals — and misunderstandings — resurface.

"The Thieves" poster (Sina)

 

Yahoo: Suit filed over 'Expendables 2' stuntman's death
Kun Liu was killed during a stunt in Bulgaria in October 2011 while performing in a rubber boat on Ognyanovo dam, just outside the capital, Sofia. He died after suffering wounds from a nearby explosion.

Original posts: 10.28.2011, 10.31.2011 

Cecilia Cheung in a series of stills modeling costume and on set for Joe Ma's "Lion Roars 2". Opening Aug. 17.

Cecilia Cheung

(Sina)

"Meet the In-Laws" stars Xu Zheng, Lin Peng and Hui Siu-Hung and opens Aug. 7

Lin Peng, Hui Siu-Hung, Xu Zheng

Hui Siu-Hung, Lin Peng, Xu Zheng

Hui Siu-Hung, Xu Zheng 

Trailer, frankly a little uninspiring

(Sina), 2, 3

"Good-for-Nothing Heros" 

Still with Kimi Qiao Renliang, Lam Suet reflects the original title, "Island Paradise" (Sina), 2

"Good-for-Nothing Heros" teaser and trailer

Tang Wei receiving an award for Most Popular Actress at the 2012 First Youth Film Festival

(Sina), 2, (CF)

Johnnie To, Keanu Reeves, Lisa S and Rosemary were among the stars on hand to help launch a new international movie channel in Hong Kong.

Lisa S.

Rosemary (Sina-slideshow)

MSN: Cecilia Cheung: “I’m calmly dealing with my divorce”
Asked what she thought of being dubbed 'Box Office Poison' after her recent films bombed at the box office, the actress said, "As an actress, as long as I do my part and work hard to showcase myself, ticket sales are not the most important."
MSN: Liu Yan denies causing Myolie Wu and Bosco Wong’s breakup

7.26.2012 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

CF: "The Last Supper" to Premiere at 37th Toronto Film Fest
"Last Supper" was scheduled to be released on the mainland on July, but the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television dashed that plan citing "nonbusiness reasons."

Daniel Wu

Liu Ye

Chang Chen

(Sina)

CF: 3rd NY Chinese Film Festival to Open in Oct.
At the press conference, M1905 also unveiled an Internet high definition movie player, which is a Netflix-like movie-streaming service.

CF: First Trailer of "Cloud Atlas" Is Released

The film's cast features a strong lineup, including Tom Cruise, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, Hally Berry, Du-na Bae from South Korea and Zhou Xun and Ju Ju from China. 

Zhou Xun, Tom Hanks - from the trailer (Sina) (VH1-trailer)

CF: Jiang Yiyan: Zombie-like Makeup in "The Bullet Vanishes"
CF/THR: China's Wanda Group Gets Regulatory Approval to Buy AMC Entertainment

'The Thieves' Breaks Record for Biggest Opening in Korean Film History
Director Choi Dong Hun of Tazza: The High Rollers and Woochi directed the film, and cast a variety of actors from Kim Yun Suk to Kim Hye Soo, Lee Jung Jae, Jun Ji Hyun, Kim Hae Suk, Oh Dal Su and Kim Soo Hyun. [Chinese cast includes: Simon Yam, Zhang Jingchu, Derek Tsang and Angelica Lee]

Celebrated Korean Feature Film “Tazza: The High Rollers” Comes to DVD as a 2-disc Special Edition on September 18, 2012 [Highly recommended - the film, don't know about this DVD edition]


TaipeiTimes: Pop Stop
Edison Chen, Zhang Ziyi, Shu Qi, et al.

MSN: Is marriage on the cards for Zhang Ziyi?
The Chinese actress has reportedly accepted Chinese host Sa Bei Ning’s proposal

7.25.2012 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

Brigitte Jolie (Southcn)

CF: Brigitte Lin Comes Out of Retirement for Zhang Yimou's New Film
With the budget of 100 million yuan, the film features a host of strong cast members including singer Hu Ling, pianist Lang Lang and comedian Guo Degang. But more surprisingly, Lin will play alongside the Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie.

Other reports still call it a false rumour. Wanda Pictures also denies it.  It is noted that Brigitte Lin, Angelina Jolie and Lang Lang's paychecks combined alone would blow the the budget. (Sina), 2

FBA: What can Iron Man 3 shoot in China?

CF: Joan Chen Plays Plastic Surgeon in "Double Xposure"
CF: New Posters of Joan Chen's Absurd Comedy "Let It Be"

CF: Lau Ching-wan Overcomes Mandarin Barriers for "The Bullet Vanishes", (Sina)
CF:  Nicholas Tse and Sean Lau Refuse Stand-ins in "The Bullet Vanishes"

CF: "The Silent War" Releases New Posters
CF: Good-for-Nothing" Releases New Posters
The production company for "Good-for-Nothing Heroes" released three posters to promote their upcoming film

Lam Suet, Leni Lan (Lan Yan)

Christy Chung plays a buck-toothed single mother in "Good-for-Nothing Heroes"

(Sina), 2, 3

CF: "Lethal Hostage" to hit screen in August

Veteran actor Sun Honglei leads a Chinese version of "Leon: The Professional," starring opposite actress Wang Luodan.

CF: Ni Ni and Liu Ye Riding a Horse Together

The suspense romantic film "Sha Jie" is intensely shooting in Beijing. A new series of still shots have been released to drum up the interest of the audience.

Ni Ni (Sina)

 

CF: Wang Xiaoshuai Talks about his First Micro Film

The 12 Star Signs [Zodiac?] Micro Films Project is co-filmed by Lu Chuan, Wang Xiaoshuai, Teng Huatao ["Love is Not Blind"] and Hao Lei. Each will shoot three films.

Co-sponsored by Buick, but not your father's Buick

Wang Xiaoshuai's "Far Away" (on poster)/"So Far So Free"(on video)
 Sagittarius and the need for passion (!)

Lu Chuan's "Heart Direction"/"The Way to Heart" (on video) based on Libra - freedom to choose?

CF: Zhao Wei Joins Stanley Kwan's "Fang Lang Ji", (Sina)
Chinese movies to feature Toronto Int'l Film Festival
Stephen Fung's Tai Chi 0, a period martial arts film, will also be a premiere in North America.

CF/FBA: Toronto Announces First Asian Titles

Peng Bo in comedy "BMW Rhapsody" starring Jordan Chan (below)

(Sina)

BusinessWeek: Louis Vuitton Bags Defeating Jet Li Heroes in Hong Kong
“One LV bag is the equivalent of a full house of 150-200 seats”

CF: Jackie Chan, Feng Xiaogang Gathered at Li Bingbing's Family Event
The wedding was held by Huayi Bros' top actress Li Bingbing. The bride is Li's younger sister and a manager at Huayi. The couple registered as a couple in Las Vegas, Nevada two years ago.

Fashion magazine editor, Su Mang, Li Bingbing and sister, Li Xue

Li Bingbing and nephew, the "Little Prince"

Jackie and the wedding couple

(Sina-gallery)

CF: Jackie Chan Sings "Best Wishes from Beijing" Along with Another 176 Celebrities

CF: Aaron Kwok Presents Award to Prince Harry
MSN: Zhang Ziyi’s new romance revealed
The Chinese actress was said to be dating a Chinese host for the past year (Sina-slideshow)

MSN: Are wedding bells set to ring for Shu Qi and Stephen Fung?
"Do they really want me to get married so desperately?" Shu Qi questioned helplessly.MSN: Gigi Lai celebrates twin daughters’ birthdays
The heavily pregnant actress made a rare appearance in public for the special occasion

MSN: Jay Chou meets Hannah Quinlivan’s family

MSN: Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung discuss business over a meal
MSN: Chinese star claims Deric Wan cheated her of money and love
A Chinese actress by the name of Wan Jiarong has shockingly claimed that Hong Kong actor Deric Wan is her ex-flame and cheated her of her money and love.

MSN: Is Eason Chan’s wife a party animal?

WaPo: Intense typhoon Vicente slamming Hong Kong (Jul 23)
The government of Hong Kong has issued its highest level typhoon warning for the city - known as the number 10 signal. Such a designation is reserved for storms expected to produce hurricane-force winds.
Hong Kong Book Fair Attracts 900,000 Visitors Despite Storm


Stanley Ho's relatives in the local news 
WaPo: Hong Kong tycoon Eric Hotung ordered to pay son Michael Hotung $1.2 million by Fairfax County jury
Son is illegitimate offspring of love affair with cousin Winnie Ho.
WaPo: Alleged crime ties may affect casino’s chances of coming to Prince George’s County
MGM Resorts is trying to open casino while reputation of Macau partner, Pansy Ho, is scrutinized.
When confronted with a similar question a couple of years ago, New Jersey, a state that is no stranger to organized crime, balked — leading to MGM’s expected exit from Atlantic City.