… Paulyn Sun Kai-Kwan (aka Pauline Suen aka Alien Sun)?

If you were a fan of mid-1990s Hong Kong cinema, you will undoubtedly recognize Paulyn Sun Kai-Kwan (孫佳君). After entering into the consciousness of HK movie fans and moviemakers with her role in the 1995 Stephen Chow Sing-Chi film SIXTY MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Sun had a solid three-year run as a leading lady that saw her star in middling films like: MR. MUMBLE, LOVE AND SEX AMONG THE RUINS and BANANA CLUB (not to be confused with TOP BANANA CLUB). When money for middling films dried up as a result of the Handover and the Asian economic crisis, Sun took on titillation roles as a maneater, literally, in THE UNTOLD STORY 2 and as “not Teresa Chiang Siu-Wai (the former Mrs. Kenny Bee)” in the Wong Jing-produced LOVE AND SEX IN THE EASTERN HOLLYWOOD.

While the aforementioned roles suggest that the years following her run as a B-level “It Girl” consisted entirely of lowlights, there were some highlights. Although she lost to Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk (THE SOONG SISTERS), Sun’s work in the 1997 film ISLAND OF GREED was recognized by a Best Actress award nomination at the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2000, Sun had a “heard but not seen” role as the cheating wife of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai’s Chow Mo-Wan character in Wong Kar-Wai’s masterpiece IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. She followed that up with a provocative role in Takashi Miike’s notorious ICHI THE KILLER.

After making the Japanese film in 2001, Sun worked sparingly. She did some television, some beauty product ads, had a supporting role in EVERY DOG HAS ITS DATE and lead roles in three films — BLESS THIS CHILD, FU BO and A WEDDING OR A FUNERAL — that essentially went straight-to-video. She has not appeared in anything since 2004.

What happened to Paulyn Sun Kai-Kwan in the years since her last appearance? According to an article in a March 2005 edition of East Weekly, Sun is now married and the mother of a son. In February 2005, East Weekly reporters spotted Sun and her husband eating and shopping in and around Tai Koo Shing. Reportedly, Sun’s husband, Mr. Chan, is a Mainland-based millionaire businessman in his 40s. Approached by East Weekly reporters who asked where she has been since 2004, Sun revealed: “I’ve gotten married. I even gave birth to a son. We didn’t marry in Hong Kong. About my husband, I won’t say too much. He’s not involved in the entertainment circle.”

Sun, who appeared about ten pounds heavier than she was during her entertainment circle heyday, was then asked about her future in the business. Sun: “Let’s just say that I won’t be making any more movies.”

The marriage puts an end to Sun’s somewhat tumultuous single life. As she received her break by appearing in a Stephen Chow Sing-Chi movie, there were, naturally, rumours that she was involved with Chow. There were also rumours linking her to Jimmy Wong Ka-Lok (a model/actor whose main claim to fame is that he had a four-year long relationship with Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam). Those rumours, however, paled to tales of a relationship with former billionaire business tycoon Louis Law Siu-Fai. In March 2002, an edition of East Weekly published photos exposing Sun as one of Law’s “kept women”. The article claimed that Sun was one of many HK female celebrities that Law “kept” by paying upwards of HK$500,000 a month. In addition to Sun, East Weekly alleged that Anita Yuen Wing-Yi, Carina Lau Ka-Ling, Teresa Mak Ka-Kei and Maggie Q — among others — were actresses that were “kept” by Law at one point or another.

Law, a billionaire real estate mogul in the early-1990s, was hit hard by the Asian economic crisis of the late-1990s. He incurred a heavy debt and attempted to commit suicide in December 2000. In January 2005, he was arrested on drug charges in Macau. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to two years in jail on those charges and fined 10,000 Macanse pacatas.

RECOMMENDATIONS: If you want to check out some of Paulyn Sun’s work, I would recommend starting with MR. MUBMLE and BANANA CLUB. MR. MUMBLE is based on the Japanese manga CITY HUNTER. Besides Sun, the film stars the likeable Michael Chow Man-Kin, hot babe Francoise Yip Fong-Wah and the always delightful Jessica Suen (aka Jessica Hester Hsuan). Despite having a lower budget and less star power, I thought MR. MUMBLE was more enjoyable and more fun than CITY HUNTER (Jackie Chan, Chingmy Yau Suk-Ching, Joey Wong Tso-Yin).

BANANA CLUB is a run-of-the-mill three boys/three girls romantic comedy but the charming boys (Michael Chow Man-Kin, Simon Lui Yu-Yeung, Edmond Leung Hon-Man) and charming girls (Paulyn Sun, Halina Tam Siu-Wan, Amanda Lee Wai-Man) make it worthwhile if you like that sort of thing.

If you want to check out Sun’s work while seeing a “good” movie then THE GOLDEN GIRLS and LOVE AND SEX AMONG THE RUINS are your best bets. There are also various editions of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE that feature scenes that Sun appears in but were cut out of the theatrical release of the film.

Related image:
http://img.ppzy.net//desk/renwu/gang/yan/1109148386.jpg (1280×1024 wallpaper of Paulyn Sun featuring a photo from a beauty ad)

MOVING FORWARD: No, no, this isn’t the section of the post where I do an ad for Toyota (though if Toyota wants to pay me a boatload of money for mentioning them here, I wouldn’t object). This is the section where I talk about the content of this blog in the short term. As I said in my last post, my HK entertainment database is badly out of date. Before last week, if you said “eye in the sky” to me, I would think “Alan Parsons Project” and not the film starring Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Simon Yam Tat-Wah. Consequently, for the next little while, this is going to be a little bit of a chat blog. I’ll talk about some of the HK-related stuff I’ve seen recently and see what you guys thought about them. Depending on how this post is received, I may do a few more “whatever happened to …” articles. We’ll see.

Eventually, I hope — in some fashion — to return to doing entertainment news. I just have to get my HK entertainment database updated. Right now, I’m learning about the rise of former Cookies member Stephy Tang Lai-Yan. Unlike Kozo, I am not as bemused by her success because I never doubt the power of Tang.

IN CLOSING … a few words about my e-mail situation. My Summer of Sloth included neglecting the e-mail account I set up for The House Where Words Gather. As a result, it has now turned into a spam nest. If you sent me an e-mail any time from the end of June to the beginning of November, it’s probably lost in the mess. Sorry. I’m looking into setting up another account. When I get the new account established, I promise to be much more diligent about e-mail. In the meantime, please use the blog’s comment box to correspond with me.

Until next time …

IMAGE CREDITS: East Weekly Magazine (Paulyn Sun and her husband, Paulyn Sun and Louis Law), Toyota (Toyota ad bug)

Welcome to the new home of The House Where Words Gather. I’ll explain my four and a half month absence in a minute but, first things first, let’s start off properly by appeasing the Internet Gods and Computing Spirits with an opening blog ceremony — complete with burning joss sticks and roasted suckling pig.

Since it’s still just me and my staff of ten fingers, no celebrities are around for this shindig. However, if I were to have celebrities, I think I’d go for the 千金小姐 (chin kam siu je, Thousand Pieces of Gold Girls) or the “Briefcase Models” from the Hong Kong version of DEAL OR NO DEAL. I bet that you could get all the models to come to your opening festivities for the price of one Joey Yung Tso-Yi. While having the Briefcase Models is not as awe-inspiring as having a big Cantopop star, being surrounded by a sea of legs and cleavage still presents a formidable image:

Enough of the hijinks … When I last left you, I was having an angel versus devil debate over buying the LEGEND OF THE CONDOR HEROES 1983 DVD set. Well, the devil won and I ended up getting it. Little did I know that this was a gateway victory for my mind devil that led to a summer where it beat down my mind angel like the New England Patriots have been routing its competition this season in the NFL:

Me: Gee, it’s been two weeks since I’ve posted on the blog. Maybe I should put something together?

Mind Devil: Nah, you don’t want to that. It’s a nice evening, why don’t you enjoy the weather, take in the sunset and go out for a walk?

Me: Boy, it’s been a month since I’ve posted on the blog. I really should put something up.

Mind Devil: But didn’t you want to see KNOCKED UP? It’s 36°C today. Why sit and sweat next to a computer when you can enjoy the air-conditioned comforts of a movie theatre?

And so it went. In my defense, the Summer of 2006 wasn’t the most pleasant of times for me so it may have contributed to my going overboard in enjoying the Summer of 2007. Also, I had a surprising number of family and friends decide to spend part of their vacations visiting me so many days were filled with catching up and reminiscing over old times. Nevertheless, I should have been more disciplined. Looking at the comments that have accumulated on the blog in my absence, some of you were worried that my silence meant that I suffered a setback healthwise. I’m touched by the concern and feel doubly bad for my laziness and irresponsibility. Please accept my apologies.

Now that I’ve explained myself, I’m going to pull a “Britney Spears” by stumbling and bumbling my way through the rest of the post with some thoughts that are marginally-related to the entertainment circle. My Summer of Sloth means that the HK entertainment circle database in my brain is even more badly out of date than it was earlier this year so don’t expect any piercing insight. I am, however, studying up on burning issues like: Who is Fala Chen and why should I care what she’s up to? In short order, I expect to be able to crack bad jokes about notable, and not so notable, entertainment circle happenings. Until then, these thoughts will have to do:

- In spite of the lukewarm reviews, I went to see RUSH HOUR 3. Initially, I thought it was an OK time at the movies but then, during my walk from the movie theatre to the parking lot, I started feeling a bit sad as I remembered the way I felt during the same walk after RUSH HOUR 2 in August of 2001 and RUSH HOUR in September of 1998.

After RUSH HOUR, I felt incredibly proud of Jackie Chan for finally breaking through in Hollywood. After RUSH HOUR 2, I left exhilarated — excited by the action scene flurry during the finale at the Red Dragon Hotel and Casino. By stark contrast, after RUSH HOUR 3, my feelings of indifference were quickly replaced by a wave of melancholy as I realized that the RUSH HOUR franchise is getting old and tired, Jackie Chan is getting old and tired, Chris Tucker is getting old and tired and I am getting old and tired.

Chris Tucker seemed, to me, like he was just going through the motions. Jackie Chan has clearly lost a step. In the opening sequence where Chan chases Hiroyuki Sanada’s character into an alleyway, it’s obvious that a stuntman leaped over the dumpster not Big Brother Jackie. I’m not trying to slight Jackie Chan here. The guy is in his 50s and you can only push your body so far. It’s the inexorable course of nature. I’m just saying that it was little things like this that made me feel like the whole RUSH HOUR milieu is old and tired.

What did you guys think?

One last thing about RUSH HOUR 3. In one scene, Jackie Chan’s character is looking at a photograph while pining for his ex-girlfriend Isabella. The first thing that came to my mind was: “When I get home, I got to see if there’s rumours between Jackie Chan and Isabella Leong Lok-Si.”

Then I realized that “Isabella” was Roselyn Sanchez’s character from RUSH HOUR 2. Funny how my mind went straight to rumour and innuendo even though I haven’t been doing a HK entertainment news site for a year and a half.

- I was pleasantly surprised by Maggie Q’s performance in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. She was impressively “bad ass” in the movie. It almost — almost — makes me want to rent MI:3 and check out her work in that film. Sadly, when I see Tom Cruise these days, all I can think of is him jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch and him lecturing Matt Lauer about psychology. As an admirer of Vulcan philosophy, I should be able to overcome such feelings. Alas, I am human so I cannot.

Anyone out there seen MI:3? Is it worth a rental? Does Maggie Q have more than three lines in the movie?

- When I read that Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung and Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi named their baby boy Lucas, my first thought wasn’t “I wonder if they named him after Geroge Lucas.” Nope, my first thought was: “When Lucas is sixteen years-old and ready to sign a multi-million dollar contract with EEG, his half-brother Nathan is going to suddenly show up and stir up trouble.”

My second thought was: “I used to watch too much bad TV.”

My third thought was: “I can’t believe it took me a season and a half to dump ONE TREE HILL from my TV viewing schedule.”

- Speaking of bad TV, three Sundays ago, I was flipping between three football games when I stumbled across some sort of dating show starring an Asian-looking woman. Not only was she choosing between guys, she appeared to be choosing among women as well. At first glance, I thought this woman was Bai Ling. It turned out to be a woman of Vietnamese-descent who calls herself Tila Tequila. Prior to the dating show (A SHOT A LOVE WITH TILA TEQUILA), her claim to fame was having a lot of friends on her Myspace page. Not to sound like an old fart but it’s amazing how little you have to do to be famous these days. Once you get beyond the initial titillation of the bisexual factor, Tila Tequila and the contestants don’t have enough charisma to hold your attention. I’d definitely be watching the show if crazy, nutty Bai Ling was the one looking for love amongst a pool of male and female prospects. Tila Tequila? I’d rather waste my time watching something else … like MY SUPER SWEET 16.

LOOKIN’ GOOD: Sonija Kwok Sin-Lei turned some heads on Halloween Night at the Intercontinental Hotel as she did a little song, a little dance and put a little seltzer in some pants during a 43-table fundraising banquet for the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild. Kwok, Miss Hong Kong 1999, is currently under contract with TVB and was associated, earlier this year, with rumours that she was the “third party” behind the marriage breakup of fellow TVB actor Michael Tao Dai-Yu and his wife.

Related images: 1, 2 (courtesy The Sun); 3 (courtesy Xinhua)

LOOKIN’ GOOD, PART II: As you can probably tell, I didn’t follow the HK scene too much this summer but, every two weeks or so, I would catch a glimpse of Michelle Yeoh during Formula 1 race telecasts. Yeoh is currently involved with Ferrari head man Jean Todt. I’ve got to rent SUNSHINE one day and check out Michelle Yeoh’s work. Any one seen it? Is it any good?

IMAGE CREDITS: Apple Daily (Michael Hui and DEAL OR NO DEAL briefcase girls), Associated Press (Britney Spears), 20th Century Fox (Maggie Q), Asiance Magazine (Bai Ling), Tila Tequila (Tila Tequila), Wen Wei Po (Sonija Kwok and Eric Tsang), The Sun (Sonija Kwok and Carlo Ng), Formula One Administration/TSN (Michelle Yeoh and Jean Todt)