11.7.2011 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

This post was produced by Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver: http://yellowcranestower.blogspot.com

FBA: Starry Starry Night review
Disappointingly conventional tale of two lonely 13-year-olds, short on charm and drama.

FBA: Jump Ashin! review

Follow-your-dream heartwarmer centred on a male gymnast is okay but unoriginal.
FBA: Warriors of the Rainbow review

With Part I rating a noble 8/10, and Part II a lesser 6/10, the whole movie aggregates out at an impressive but not knockout 7/10. It well deserves, like the original Red Cliff, to be shown long after the "international version" has done its immediate business and been forgotten.
FBA: Stellar opening for Starry Night in Taipei
While Apple is the second-highest grossing local film in Taipei this year, placed after the first Warriors film, it has emerged as the highest grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong this year with HK$42.2 million ($5.4 million) after 18 days on release.

CF: Newly Married Karen Mok to Promote "East Meets West" in Hong Kong

Karen Mok

Ekin Cheng

Eason Chan

Stephy Tang and Alex Fong Lik-Sun also attended the promotion (Sina)

CF: Ming Zhenjiang on the future of the August First Film Studio
Chinese filmmakers have been quick to criticize a recently released propaganda film entitled "Shen Zhou 11" after it received the 'Best Movie Award' at the 28th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers awards ceremonies...

Our Liberation Army can fight against invaders from outer space too. America won't be the only force protecting the planet.

CF: Cinema, dConstructed

Interview with Karin Chien, founder and president of dGenerate Films, the leading distributor of independent Chinese cinema in the United States

Character posters for mainland racing film "Racer Legend". Cast also includes Shin and Wang Bo-jie.

Shawn Dou Xiao

Eric Tsang

Janine Chang Chun-Ning

Janine Chang Chun-Ning, Shawn Dou

Janine Chang, Eric Tsang (Sina), 2

Poster for Xu Jinglei's "Dear Enemy". Parts of the film were shot in Hong Kong, Australia and England. The cast includes Xu Jingleai, Stanley Huang, Gigi Leung, Christy Chung and Aarif Lee Chi-Ting (Aarif Rahman).

(Sina), 2

Andy On Chi-Kit in a series of new stills from Daniel Lee's "White Vengeance"

(Sina-gallery)

Not Feeling Too Lovey Dovey: Interview with Edison Chen (APA)
Edison Chen talks to Asia Pacific Arts about escaping his personal problems through his acting roles and his plan to release three albums next year.

MSN: Cammi Xie’s alleged erotic film leaked

Edison flew to Vancouver, Canada yesterday to attend the Asian Film Festival, so as to avoid media scrutiny. His action prompted an outcry from netizens, who left comments like, "Scum, couldn't even leave a 16-year-old alone" and "he's well-suited for a life in the US, don't come back!"

A1: Chinese pop diva wows Malaysians

Faye Wong wowed more than 8,000 fans at the Malaysian leg of her concert.

A1: Faye Wong delivers on her promise

MSN: Hannah Quinlivan pulls out of another show

11.4.2011 - News [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

This post was produced by Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver: http://yellowcranestower.blogspot.com

Variety: Beijing Besieged by Waste
Photographer Wang Jiu-liang transfers his documentation of Beijing's garbage dumps onto the bigscreen in this eye-opening docu.

NYTimes: Gang-Busting Cop Is One for the History Books in China
“We heard they wanted Johnnie To to direct it,” he said, referring to the Hong Kong crime movie director.

In fact, the leading contender now is Li Shaohong, the woman who made “Baober in Love” and a recent TV series of the classic Chinese novel “Dream of Red Mansions.”

CF: Three Male Award-winners to Team up with Actress Yang Mi in Derek Yee's New Film
Three heavyweight award-winning actors Lau Ching Wan, Nicholas Tse and Liu Kai Chi will team up with mainland actress Yang Mi, who will play an important role in this testerone-fueled project. Producer Yee revealed Nicholas Tse and Yang Mi will fall in love with each other in the film.
Set in a Shanghai arms factory during the Republic of China period of Chinese history, the film revolves around a series of strange murders that occur in the factory. A detective, portrayed by Lau Ching Wan and an officer played by Nicholas Tse thus start their dangerous quest for the truth.

CF: Breathtaking Scenes in the First Trailer for "Cold Steel"

Action-packed scenes including street fighting, explosions, gun battles and air bombardments were presented in the first trailer for the sniper-themed film "Cold Steel," which is due for release on the 2nd of December.

CF: "The Last Supper" Wraps up Shooting
Famed director Lu Chuan was seen giving every member of his production team a hug as the group celebrated the completion of filming for Lu's latest war epic, "The Last Supper" on November 1

Lu Chuan directs Chang Chen (Sina), 2

CF: Yang Mi to Star in Action Film "Wu Dang"

Director Patrick Leung, scriptwriter and producer Chan Khan along with cast members Yang Mi, Chiu Man Cheuk, Fan Siu-Wong, To Yu-Hang and Wang Xiao attended the event.
Yang, who wore a costume by Oscar-winning Japanese designer Emi Wada, said she would play a role of a young woman from an exotic land with high-level martial arts in the film.

CF: The Great Magician Tony Leung

CF: The Valiant General Jordan Chan

Director Daniel Lee's latest historical epic movie "White Vengeance" released a batch of still photos featuring actors in the run up of its release in November. The film recalls the banquet of Hongmen, a well-known event in 206 B.C. where warring general Xiang Yu was motivated to assassinate his rival Liu Bang.(Sina-gallery)

FBA: Guillotines cuts fine figure at AFM
Jimmy Wang Yu (Wu Xia) and Chinese pop singer Li Yuchun (Bodyguards and Assassins) recently joined the cast

FBA: Inseparable review
Chemistry between Kevin Spacey and Daniel Wu helps sustain a rather uneven Mephistophelian comedy.

HKMagazine: Starry Starry Night review

Though suffering from noticeable hiccups, Lin’s truthful adaptation is likely to satisfy both Liao’s loyal readers and regular moviegoers.
ChinaPost: Starry Starry Night review

HKStandard: Return to the age of innocence

The movie You Are the Apple of My Eye is a real hit. It has racked up more than HK$30 million at the box office in the two weeks since its release.


CF: Independents Day
Indie film like "Shattered" is pushing boundaries while offering commercial promise.

CIFF is the most important event on China's indie film circuit, drawing buyers and festival programmers from the US and Europe. It is also one of the few opportunities for independent filmmakers to show to large audiences.
Only films that have received the "dragon seal" after clearing the State Administration of Radio Film and Television approval process can normally be shown in commercial theaters, sold or broadcast on television. The approval process is both cumbersome and often entails compromise. 


Craig, Bardem star in new Bond thriller 'Skyfall' - no mentions of any Chinese actress in the cast

Craig will be joined by Spanish star Javier Bardem as Bond's nemisis, while British actors Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw will play as-yet-undisclosed roles.
Judi Dench returns as spy chief M and the film introduces two new Bond girls — English actress Naomie Harris as a field agent named Eve and French performer Berenice Marlohe as "a glamorous, enigmatic character" named Severine.
MSN: Daniel Craig wants double Bond bed
Alongside the double bed, Daniel's list of requirements also includes a coffee machine with South American beans, two bodyguards, a masseuse, a trainer and access to a gym.

CF: Li Bingbing Covers L' OFFICIEL Magazine

MSN: Did Cammi Tse lose her virginity to Edison Chen?
MSN: Selina Jen once contemplated suicide, (CNA)
At the press conference for his new book Yong Ai Shou Hou (Staying by with love) yesterday, Selina's father let on that his daughter would not be able to become pregnant in the next three years.

Chinese actress, mother of Hugh Grant's baby

Tinglan was described at the time as an actress but she is not listed on the film database IMDB and there are no traceable records of her participating in any television or film projects
.

4.21.2011 - News

CRI: Lynn Xiong Rumored to Have Brain Tumor

According to Next Magazine, Lynn Xiong (Hung Doi Lam) was reported to have been secretly hospitalized last week and diagnosed with a 2.5cm brain tumor last week after suffering from a persistent headache. Aaron Kwok rushed back to Hong Kong after his April 17th concert in Shanghai. Lynn's manager denied the report saying that she only went to the hospital for a stomach ache. The article reports that Lynn was overheard talking on the phone about worries of brain surgery. Doctors recommended that she stay in the hospital for observation but she was too anxious to remain and returned home. (Xinhua), 2

FBA: Kara Hui is engaged for Wedding Diary
Kara Hui the veteran actress whose career underwent a massive revival following At The End of Daybreak has joined the cast of Singaporean-Malaysian comedy The Wedding Diary.
FBA: Huayi's Resistance comes to a halt
Production of time travel romance Underground Resistance has been halted as producers reassess the film's viability following casting and script changes.
CRI: 'The Lost Bladesman' Opens Beijing Film Panorama

CF: Jackie Chan's Cinema Opens in NE China

Christopher Doyle
From Los Angeles, Doyle discusses Chungking Express, the revitalization of Asian cinema and the appeal of revisiting a masterwork.

Variety: Real estate to fund China films

The real estate sector is awash with cash as it's one of the few vehicles available to Chinese private investors, who get little return from bank deposits in a time of rising inflation; where better for the real estate sector itself to invest than in the film biz, which is yielding high returns as more theaters are built and a cinemagoing culture starts to kick in. It's a symbiotic relationship.

"The standing joke is that funding comes from coal mine owners with cash to burn [like The Warring States?], but it is a combination of wealthy individual investors, funds and traditional sources," said Celestial Pictures CEO Ross Pollack.

Variety: Songzhuang docu fest cancelled
Beijing festival shadow falls on smaller event

A well-known Chinese indie docu fest, the Songzhuang Documentary Film Festival China, was forced to cancel its May 1-7 event, bowing to pressure ahead of the first state-run Beijing Intl. Film Festival, which opens at the weekend. Film Festival Pulls Own Plug

THR: Independent Beijing Documentary Festival Canceled

THR: Bona Bumps Up 'Magician' to Christmas to Battle '13 Flowers'
CF: Stills out for "The Great Magician"

GlobalTimes: New film recycles Three Kingdoms story, (CF)

With mainly male actors and action scenes, The Lost Bladesman is a macho film with only one female character, Qi Lan.

It is well-known historical supposition – and common sense – that Cao admired Guan's extraordinary talents and martial-arts ability and tried to coerce him to join his side, while Guan steadfastly refused to betray his master Liu Bei. The Lost Bladesman highlights the two's love-hate dynamic and even hints at something of a homoerotic relationship. It's certainly a fresh angle to the tired Three Kingdoms formula Chinese audiences have long been spoon-fed.

Classic Leslie Cheung film to be re-released

It was reported that the film's original print underwent an exacting digit refurbishment in the lead up to the re-release.

A not-so-scary Chinese ghost story  -  review from Malaysia

What started off as a promis­ing premise turns choppy and relies very much on fast edit­ing to make the plot really pop out. While it is commendable to experiment with cameraworks, but tilting the camera again and again is just plain sick. I don't feel any artistic twist to it every time the filmmaker does that; more like a vomit-inducing effect that I am more than please to take it off...
At times her jumpy character can be really annoying, but it's her innocence that actually draws people to her - like it or not. And she so much reminds me of Joey Wong, when she broke into the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Not bad.

One more A Beautiful Life poster. 

A May 20 simultaneous release was previously reported. (Sina)

The Peter Chan-Teddy Chen production of the martial arts film The Flying Guillotines has been delayed according to Taiwan media due to not having received necessary approvals from the mainland. Production was due to begin filming this month. Ethan Ruan returned to Taiwan from Beijing where he had been training. (Xinhua), (Sina)

Poster for Law Wing-Cheong's Punished, scheduled for a May 5 release (Sina)

Stills featuring Gong Beibi and Aaron Kwok from The Detective 2.

With no classification system, mainland audiences are warned that this is ' not another teen movie'. With scenes of a tongue being cut out, rotting corpses and other horrors, the words 'see with caution' have been added to all advertising posters, trailers, and other publicity materials in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.. A promotional gimmick or an informal rating? (Xinhua), 2, 3 In other news, Feng Xiaogang's cameo scene revealed in online photos in Gu Changwei's Till Death Do We Part has been deleted.

CRI: Top Directors Play Cameo Roles in Gu's Film

No. 32, B District poster

The Chinese-Thai co-production is called the Asian "Paranormal" and opens June 3.

(Sina)

Karen Mok posted pictures of herself taken while filming on Rt. 66 outside of Los Angeles and Las Vegas while filming a micro-film for Cadillac. The road was closed for shooting with the help of the police.

Poster for Committed to Freedom

The micro-film is a follow up to the first one starring Daniel Wu entitled On the Verge filmed in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

 (Xinhua), 2, 3

Cherie Chung's first TV advert in ages, directed by Lawrence Ah Mon and photographed by Cheung Man-Wa/Zhang Wenhua. [You can also look forward to seeing Cherie on the May cover of Elle.]

(Xinhua), (Sina-slideshow)

Li Bingbing promoting environmental protection in Beijing

 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan will be released in July after screening a 10 minute clip at Cannes. 

(Sina)

CNA:  Nicholas Tse says wife Cecilia Cheung is much more important than children

His comment took the blogosphere by storm, with come netizens even conferring upon him the title "Best Man of the Century" and expressing envy that Cheung had scored a husband whose love for her eclipsed his love for their children.

CNA: Kenny Bee's ex-wife claims Fan Jiang abused her daughter, goes to police 

CNA: Kitty Zhang marries director 21 years her senior

GlobalTimes: Legendary label celebrates 30 years in Beijing

For those who missed Rock Records' 30th anniversary in Taipei five months ago, its upcoming Beijing gig will offer another chance to catch up with the largest-ever line-up of Mandopop singers, responsible for 1,800 albums and 20,000 songs on Asia's largest independent label from the 1980s.

THR: Rising in the East

These days the answer to nearly every question about the Asian film industry is China...

"Our 2008 work 'Lady Cop & Papa Crook' was an effort to adapt ourselves more to the Chinese movie market and win favor with Chinese audiences," Mak says. "However, we have returned to the Hong Kong style in 'Overheard,' and I think it is the way for us to go -- to adapt ourselves to new markets while keeping our style."

Flying below the radar in China

'We should be looking closely at China because it is our future," Shelly Kraicer argues. "Shanghai is our future. It's vitally important we know what is going on."

One of the more mainstream offerings is Hong Kong director Ann Hui's Night and Fog. Based on a true story of horrific domestic violence, the film raises many provocative questions - about ethnicity, gender politics and the social responsibility and effectiveness of the state.

The Grey Area of Chinese Filmmaking

Independently filmed documentaries are using a grey area in a censorship-prone Chinese environment to find their way into the hearts and minds of people globally and those of a limited domestic audience as well. 

Chinese communist films get rare attention at NYFF
Chinese cinema flourished with the rise of communism, a timely relationship that resulted in tensions between artistic and moralistic tendencies.

Variety: 'John Rabe' goes with Strand in US

THR: 'Republic' opens 3rd in Hong Kong 

Behind ' District 9,' '3D Garfield's Pet Force'

SCMP video