While watching the Ronald Cheng - Charlene Choi controversy unfurl late last month, it was hard not to think of the great speech by the Hyman Roth character in THE GODFATHER, PART II.  Lamenting the death of his partner in organized crime, Moe Green, Roth said:

Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows who gave the order. When I heard it, I wasn’t angry. I knew Moe, I knew he was headstrong, talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead, I let it go.

And I said to myself, this is the business we’ve chosen. I didn’t ask who gave the order.

The matters of a marriage, for the most part, should be dealt with privately by the couple.  If some sort of abuse is taking place, then the authorities, quite rightly, should intervene. But, for the most part, what goes on between two people in a marriage should stay between the two people involved.  It’s a part of common human decency to respect the privacy of a married couple.  After all, some form of the Golden Rule (”do onto others as you would have done onto you”) exists in most of the World’s cultures.  Among the circle of Chinese people that I know, uncharitable things are often said of people who gossip about the marriages of the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker.  We’ve all seen those types of characters in TVB dramas.  They’re never played by the beautiful TVB fa daans. They’re invariably played by lower profile supporting actresses.  Why, then, was the secret marriage of Ronald Cheng and Charlene Choi such a hot topic?

Simple, because of the business they’ve chosen.  The business, according to multiple Chinese media reports, that made Charlene Choi millions last year in accumulated fees, royalties and endorsements, provided her with enough money to buy three properties that generate rental income and will allow her and Cheng to avoid a nasty dispute over alimony.  “I can afford my own lifestyle and he can afford his,” Choi declared on March 29th at an event promoting her Twins reunion concerts.

While wealth and prosperity does certainly soften the blow of having your private life dragged through the mud, the public intrusion into the marriage of Charlene Choi and Ronald Cheng feels worse than the public intrusion on Sexy Photos Gate protagonists Gillian Chung and Edison Chen.  At first blush, it seems an insane notion.  After all, Ah Gil and EDC had their most private of parts laid bare.  The difference, however, is that in one case a private secret was revealed while in the other a lie was exposed.

Consider it this way: Ah Bing has a drug problem.  He’s still able to function but he’s addicted to drugs and it’s affecting his life.  He’s trying to shed his addiction but, because he wants to keep his job, he keeps his problem a secret.  Some people suspect that he’s an addict and have started to question him.  He denies the speculation because he wants to keep making a living.

Ah Mou also has a drug problem.  He’s still able to function but he’s addicted to drugs and it’s affecting his life.  He’s trying to shed his addiction but, because he wants to keep his job, he keeps his problem a secret.  Only thing is, he’s an anti-drug advocate who makes his living decrying drugs.  One day, a photo of him doing a line of cocaine is published in the newspaper and his career is ruined.

It’s a fine distinction but it’s why it’s easier to feel sorry for Charlene Choi than it is for Gillian Chung.  Ah Sa didn’t exploit her marital status for professional gain.  Her denials were about keeping her private life private.  She didn’t do it to sell more tickets and albums.  She didn’t do it to get more endorsement deals.  For at least two years, it had been an open secret that she and Ronald Cheng were together in some form.  It probably wasn’t a shock to most fans when Apple Daily revealed their marriage certificate.

On the other hand, in the face of the Easy Finder scandal, Ah Gil protested too much about how the pictures of her bare shoulder shattered her fragile, virginal, clean-cut sensibilities.  The peephole pictures were indeed despicable but, considering what they showed, it was not a proportional response.  As a result, when the Sexy Photos Gate images surfaced, most of her fans felt betrayed because it showed that she exploited the Easy Finder scandal for professional gain.

In Charlene Choi’s case, she was trying to keep the door closed on her private life.  Gillian Chung opened the door to hers by overplaying her reaction to Easy Finder.  The situations that the two Twins members found themselves in were caused by gross invasions of privacy but the fine line between a secret and a lie is why Choi will likely just keep moving on with her career while Chung had to spend the last two years in exile.

Public intrusion into the private lives of celebrities is the natural byproduct of fame.  Celebrities get paid because they have created an interest in themselves so they have to live with it when that interest manifests itself in distasteful ways.  Vicki Zhao probably isn’t enjoying the speculation about her baby and her Baby Daddy but the interest in her and her private life is part of why she’s in projects like MULAN and 14 BLADES.  The interest is why she’s able to do endorsements for clothing lines, shampoos and cell phones.

Most of the time, the attention is harmless and does not amount to more than an annoyance.  Most of the time, people can tell the difference between a private secret and a lie so no real damage is done unless a celebrity is caught in a lie.  People can respect secrets.  No one held it against Leslie Cheung for not revealing his sexual orientation with a “Yep I’m Gay” cover on Ming Pao Weekly.  No one held it against Anita Mui for keeping her fight against cancer private until three months before her death.

People, however, do not tolerate lies. Jackie Chan’s popularity in Hong Kong has never recovered from the Dragon Seed scandal of 1999.  His “good guy, say your prayers, drink your milk, take your vitamins” image was dealt a serious blow by news of his affair with Elaine Ng.  Chan has five of the top 20 highest-grossing Hong Kong films of all-time yet, since making HK$27.5 million with GORGEOUS (his last pre-Dragon Seed release), he hasn’t broken the HK$25 million mark.  In fact, his latest film, LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, made a desultory HK$1.8 million.

In the end, because Charlene Choi and Ronald Cheng were just trying to keep their marriage private, it’s hard to imagine their careers being damaged in the long-term.  This is why this particular intrusion into the private lives of celebrities feels more repulsive than other instances.  It feels like Choi and Cheng were forced to hold a press event announcing the dissolution of their marriage for mere weekend entertainment.  Sadly, it seems most people didn’t recognize that a tragedy was playing out before their eyes.  Two people who used to be in love were breaking up.  Two people whose lives had to have been diminished because they felt like they had to hide that love.  Tragic novels and plays could be written from these circumstances.  Instead, it was consumed as fodder for the entertainment news cycle.

It’s a sad situation and you can point the finger at multiple culprits: the over-heated HK media, the celebrity-obsessed culture, the way EEG markets its talent and the general nature of the HK entertainment star-system.  Ultimately, though, Choi and Cheng have no one to blame but themselves.  This is, after all, the business they’ve chosen.

Image credits: Paramount Pictures (THE GODFATHER, PART II screen grab), Time Magazine (Ellen Degeneres cover), Sina.com (Twins, Ronald Cheng & Charlene Choi)

A little business to conduct before we get to the holiday festivities:  My 12-year “artistes” contract with the Kozo Entertainment Group obligates me to remind you that voting is underway for the “Top Hong Kong Films of the 1990s”.  Go here for details.

With Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day falling on the same day, it’s the perfect time to release the Kozo Entertainment Group’s first feature film.  It’s a holiday release called LOVE FOR HIRE.  I got the idea for the movie after reading news articles about demographically-challenged Mainland males “renting” girlfriends to bring back home for Lunar New Year gatherings.  Being a fan of LAW & ORDER for close to twenty years, ripping a story from the headlines came naturally.  After running it up the flagpole to my superiors at the KEG, we got some funding from The Feinstein Company and the China Pajama-Producers Co-operative.  Consider this our “red packet”/valentine to you …

* * * * *

LOVE FOR HIRE:

A romantic comedy/drama about the lives and loves of people who work at an agency that provides fake girlfriends to guys who need someone on their arm for a social occasion.  The movie has two main plots:

MAIN PLOT A:  Normal but shy guy hires a girl to practice social situations with (asking her out, going on dates, etc.) because he’s in love with a hot girl in his office.

Normal/shy Guy: Jaycee Chan (Fong Cho-Ming)
Girl For Hire: Charlene Choi Cheuk-Yin
Hot Office Girl: Chrissie Chau Sau-Na

Due to his shyness, Jaycee has never dated a girl before so he wants to work out all the kinks of dating with Charlene before asking Chrissie out.  Naturally, over the course of a few practice dates, Jaycee falls in love with Charlene but, because she’s only doing this to make a few dollars for a plane ticket to see her boyfriend who’s studying in Australia, he doesn’t want to admit his love — even though it’s clear she loves him back.  He ends up going through with asking Chrissie out.

On his date with Chrissie, Jaycee realizes that he has to profess his love for Charlene so he races to the airport to stop her from getting on the plane to see her boyfriend for the Lunar New Year holiday. (Thus satisfying the romantic movie commandment of always having a scene where one of the main characters is racing somewhere to declare their love for someone.)

MAIN PLOT B:  Widower needs to hire a fake girlfriend because his parents are flying in from Canada to visit him and his cute kid for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Widower: Andy Lau Tak-Wah
Agency Owner: Michelle Reis

As Andy’s wife has been dead for four years, his parents have been on his back to get a new woman in his life and the life of their grandchild.  He wants to get them off of his back so he goes to the agency to hire a woman for a Lunar New Year “performance”.  He has a specific type of woman in mind so he asks to meet directly with the agency owner to pick out the right girl to play the part.

Andy and the agency owner end up meeting several times because they can’t agree on the right girl for the job.  During these meetings, Andy begins to admire Michelle for her work ethic and professionalism while Michelle begins to admire Andy for his dedication to his kid, his parents and, most touchingly, his late wife (ie. I’m still in love with her, I’m not ready to find another woman).

Since Michelle knows exactly what Andy is looking for, she decides to take the job herself and, during their “show” for Andy’s parents, Andy and Michelle end up falling in love.

Besides the two main plots, the film also has three mini-plots that fill out the movie:

MINI-PLOT A:  The Assistants

Agency Owner’s Assistant: Stephy Tang Lai-Yan
Tycoon’s Assistant: Ronald Cheng Chung-Gei
Obnoxious Tycoon: Jim Chim Sui-Man

Stephy has been working with Ronald because Ronald’s boss (Jim Chim) is an obnoxious jerk of a tycoon who has been hiring arm candy to get photographed with in the tabloids.  As the tycoon has been doing this for months, Stephy and Ronald have been talking to each other over the phone for a while.  Through casual bits of conversation between making arrangements for the tycoon, Ronald starts to wonder what it’d be like to date Stephy while Stephy begins to imagine what it would be like to have Ronald as a boyfriend.  Obviously, there’s mutual interest but, since they just have a professional phone relationship, neither has acted on it.  One day, they happen to be in the same Starbucks and when they hear each other order, they realize who the other is and it’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

MINI-PLOT B: Husbands and Wives

Husband: Eric Kot Man-Fai
Wife: Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah
Businessman: Donnie Yen (looking to show his skillz in a non-action role)
Businessman’s wife: Lynn Xiong (because she’s Mrs. Ip Man)

A businessman (Donnie Yen) needs to hire a companion to sit in with him for business meetings.  He wants to avoid all-night negotiation sessions that are actually just excuses for the other business guys to do heavy drinking.  So, he hires a “wife” (Miriam Yeung) as an excuse to get business done quickly or to bail out of booze-soaked all-nighters.  Sometimes Miriam goes with Donnie to the meetings, sometimes she calls on the phone to interrupt, sometimes she shows up to interrupt.

Donnie has been working with Miriam for months and everything is strictly platonic.  However, Miriam’s husband (Eric Kot) is jealous that she’s spending all this time with Donnie.  Things come to a head when Donnie invites Miriam over to his flat for Lunar New Year dinner.  Eric is blind with jealousy and goes to the dinner with a chip on his shoulder.  When they arrive at Donnie’s place, both Miriam and Eric are surprised to find that Donnie has a wife and two young daughters.  When Donnie’s wife (Lynn Xiong), thanks Miriam for helping Donnie come home at night to be with his kids, Eric realizes the foolishness of his jealousy.

MINI-PLOT C: The Ex-Con

The Ex-Con: Nick Cheung Ka-Fai
The “Mainland” Girl: Vicki Zhao Wei

A guy (Nick Cheung) hires a “Mainland” girlfriend to bring home to his parents for Lunar New Year.  He’s been telling his parents that he’s been away “on business” in the Mainland for the past three years but, in actually, he’s been rotting in jail after being framed by a former friend for a crime he did not commit.

Vicki Zhao misses her own family back in China so she feels kind of sad to see this sham of a Lunar New Year gathering.  Nick Cheung feels the emptiness as well.  After the dinner, Vicki Zhao tells Nick Cheung to be straight with his parents, she points out that they may be more understanding than Nick Cheung thinks.  This story ends with Nick Cheung coming clean and truly reconciling with his family.

* * * * *

I think that’s enough plot for a 90 to 120 minute movie.  What do you think?  Even with stiff competition from 72 TENANTS OF PROSPERITY and ALL’S WELL THAT END’S WELL 2010,  this makes HK$10 million - no?

Now, as the late-Michael Jackson said repeatedly in THIS IS IT, I wrote this story out of “love” for the readers who have been reading my nonsense over the years.  As I said earlier, it was my “red packet”/valentine to the readers.  It’ll be upsetting if some knock off, possibly called LOVE FOR RENT, pops up in the Lunar New Year 2011 movie slate.  It’ll be especially upsetting if the knock off includes stories about a shy guy, a widower, a jealous husband, an obnoxious tycoon, assistants and an ex-con.  Not only will it upset me, it’ll upset the mighty KEG, the Feinstein Company and the China Pajama-Producers Co-operative.  Most people know better than to upset the CPC - especially in China.

To avoid all the nastiness, get in touch with me.  My demands may be as simple as a cameo role as one of the business guys at a Donnie Yen business meeting or the barista who hands Stephy Tang her latte at Starbucks.

All right … time for the traditional House Where Words Gather Lunar New Year greeting.  As you can tell from years past (Ox, Rat), my wishes for all of you are less grandiose than unimaginable wealth.  Sticking with that tradition, I’m going to channel Dan Rather and Al Pacino by wishing you:

I’m hoping that the Year of the Tiger gives you courage to make improvements in your life.  May you find the courage to inch your way towards greater happiness be it finding the guts to ask that cute girl out, the courage to find a better job or the cojones to change an unhappy circumstance in your life.

And, as always, 身體健康!  Happy Year of the Tiger!

Hi.  I’m Sanney Leung.  You may remember me from such blog posts as Yummy Mummy Without A Tummy, Out With The Old, Part II and Sympathy For Mr. Imprudence.  It’s the season of Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men so, with apologies to Kozo, I’m going to interrupt the voting for Best Of The Decade and wish everyone a Happy

Holiday.

As this is a HK entertainment website, here are my wishes to you for 2010:

May your life be as rich and full as Ekin Cheng’s hair.

May your future be as bright as Zhang Jingchu’s smiling eyes.

And may your secrets stay secret longer than Andy Lau’s relationship with Carol Chu.

With that, I’m off to observe my holiday tradition of watching my favourite Christmas movie DIE HARD.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Christmas just isn’t Christmas until I see John McClane decorating Karl’s brother Tony with a holiday motif.

* * * * *

P.S.: I was going to go a different way with this post so, this morning, I spent some time scouring the Internet looking for holiday-themed pictures of HK starlets.  I came across this one of Twins back in December 2007 (who could predict the turmoil that loomed for the girls just one short month into the future).  You’d think that this photo was for some holiday-related EEG project but, this is HK we’re talking about here, so it should come as no surprise that it was from an ad promoting

Hong Kong tourism and the “winter shopping festival”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sitting atop

Sanctimony Peak, proclaiming that people in HK are godless heathens who worship the Almighty Dollar.  This was basically just an excuse to post a photo of two lovely women in short skirts.

Back soon with my HK$0.15 on the Best of The Decade.  Until then, have a safe and merry holiday.

Image credits: Tungstar (Ekin Cheng, Zhang Jingchu), Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (DIE HARD screen grab), Discover Hong Kong (Twins)

Before we begin, a little reader interaction.  I’m going to try to respond to past comments and questions in a future post but I want to get at this one today while it’s fresh in my mind …

From the comments on News Links: Ching Ming Festival 2009

Glenn writes: I saw those Rainie shots the other day and thought they were pretty offensive; who dresses up like an American Indian anymore like that? I’m old enough to remember how dumb it was when Cher did it for her “Half Breed” song.

Again, it’s probably because I’ve watched way too much LAW & ORDER over the years but I find it hard to get worked up about the photos because there is no mens rea (guilty mind) behind it.  They are more stupid than they are offensive.  It’s more a reflection of ignorance than it is a reflection of racism.  The people behind those photos just aren’t aware enough of the cultural significance of an image of that sort.  It’s probably just someone’s misguided idea of something that looks “cool”.  It’s happened before — Vicki Zhao modeling that Rising Sun dress and Shawn Yue posing in Nazi-themed clothing — and it’ll happen again.

Plain and simple, some people are just ignorant.  It’s a worldwide phenomenon that isn’t just limited to the East.  People in the West have had their boneheaded moments too.  Take, for instance, the recent “Asian eyes” controversies involving the Spanish Olympic basketball team and Miley Cyrus.  Ignorance and stupidity are just as much a part of the human condition as racism.  So, in all of the above cases, I pity the stupidity rather than abhor the prejudice.

Here’s hoping that with increasing globalization, more and more people become enlightened about racial and cultural issues.  It might take a while to get there because it seems to me that, running opposite of increasing globalization, there is an increase in niche communities where people who have similar interests form insular communities.  More and more, it’s possible to live your life in a bubble and not be aware of anything outside of your little niche.  I am not talking just of nerds on the Internet, I’m also talking about CEOs who take private jets to Washington to ask for bailout money.

OK, I’ll shut up now, you’ve come here for HK entertainment circle news not a discussion of modern society from a Tocquevillean perspective.

Just one more thing, back to the Rainie Yang photos, I honestly believe there’s no malice behind it because parts of the Chinese community (the parts that have limited contact outside of the Chinese community) have yet to evolve to the point where they are aware that these issues even exist.   The notion that they may be offending some people probably hasn’t even crossed their minds.  Walk into the health care section of a Chinese grocery store and you’ll probably find bottles of Hak Gwai Yau (Black Man Oil) for sale on the shelf.  The pain relief/massage oil has been around for decades and the reason behind the name is likely due to the fact that some Chinese people associate black men with physical prowess.  They simply aren’t aware of issues like slavery or the civil rights struggle.  To them, it’s “if black guys use this to relieve muscle aches and pains, then it must be good”.  Again, here’s hoping time and increasing global awareness will rid society of these ills.

Speaking of stupidity …

EDISON CHEN LINKS:

SNIPER reviews: Hollywood Reporter, bc Magazine

Electric New Paper report of Edison Chen’s SNIPER press conference

Edison Chen: “If I made a mistake …”

Edison Chen: Stayin’ alive

Yahoo! Singapore reports: Edison Chen raises voice at reporter, Edison’s PR: Hand over that tape!, Asia’s “most secured” entertainment event?, Richie Ren prepared to be neglected

Straits Times: Drill and grill for Edison

Sina.com photo gallery of press event

Edison Chen braves death threat to promote movie in Singapore

SEXY PHOTOS GATE:

Edison driver tells of 3-hour laptop lapse

Court hears of Edison Chen sex photos

HK Techie Denies He Stole Edison Chen’s Pics

Call me “Naïve Gil”!

Charlene Choi releases solo album

On Monday, EEG held a press event celebrating the release of Charlene Choi Cheuk-Yin’s solo album 二缺一 (Two Missing One). Fellow EEG labelmates Kenny Kwan Chi-Ban and William Chan Wai-Ting were at the event to support Ah Sa.   Gillian Chung Yan-Tung was not present because she did not want to draw attention away from her Twins bandmate.  She did, however, make a phone call to show her support.

Talking about her new album, Choi said that the title “Two Missing One” represents her feelings as it felt strange to perform and shoot music videos without Ah Gil.   Asked if the solo release means Twins has now disbanded, Choi answered: “Twins hasn’t disbanded. Twins is the brand I share with Ah Sa.  There will come a day when we perform together again.” 

IN PRODUCTION:

Jackie Chan Goes Big on ‘Soldier’ 

GENERAL NEWS:

Happy Birthday, Jackie Chan!

Andy Lau wedding rumours: No signs of wedding at Carol Chu’s 

Gigi Leung: Charity Is like a Present 

Karen Mok: Mok run for soul singer in Shanghai

Coco Lee: What an April Fools’ joke!

TVB revives dead cop

Jill Vidal: Pop idol had heroin in her belongings

Taiwan Singer A Sun Dies of Breast Cancer

MOVIE REVIEWS:

bc Magazine reviews SHINJUKU INCIDENT

FEATURES:

SNIPER director Dante Lam: Sniping at The Snipers

SHINJUKU INCIDENT cast: Survival Tactics

Daniel Wu, the outsider

bc Magazine reveals its annual Golden Durian awards

PHOTO GALLERYS:

Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Li Bingbing: Acting Stars Honored 

To the delight of shoe fetishists everywhere, Lin Chi-Ling shoots ads for a shoe company

“Shinjuku Incident” Fan Bingbing Covers HK Magazine

Happy Vivian Chow on ‘Cosmopolitan’

Leehom Wang, Jolin Tsai Play Snooker in TV Ad

Fan Bingbing attends ForeverMark event

OTHER NEWS:

Film critic fired for reviewing illegally downloaded movie

Image credits: China Post (Rainie Yang), Koong Yick Medical Factory (Hak Kwai oil) 

Happy April Fool’s Day!  Alas, there won’t be an April Fool’s Day joke from me today.  I was thinking of doing a fake story on EEG and Sexy Photos Gate.  Something like this …

EEG announces co-operation with Japanese porn studio.  First releases to be:

EEG-001: Former Teen Idol’s Scandalous AV Debut starring Gillian Chung

EEG-002: Sexy Accidental Public Exposure Tsimshatsui Edition starring Yumiko Cheng

… but you’re probably all tired of Sexy Photos Gate so I figured that I should devote my time and energy elsewhere.

Speaking of time and energy …

From the comments on News Links: March 27th, 2009

Sara Lee writes: You said that you didn’t have the time or inclination to chase down other sources for confirmation about the Gigi Leung story. I’m curious, what would you have done if you had the time and the inclination? Do you have connections of some sort?

First, I would have asked to speak to the fired flight attendant directly to ascertain the facts (date, names, flight number, etc.).  I would also ask for a copy of the photo.  Then, I would have put together a story then contacted Cathay Pacific and Gigi Leung’s management for a reaction.  After that, I would write a final version of the story and publish it.

MANI SPEAKS:

Xinhua ran an interview today with EEG’s Mani Fok Man-Hei. Known as the “Mother of Emperor”, she has managed the likes of Nic Tse, Joey Yung, Isabella Leong, Twins and Yumiko Cheng over the course of her 16 years with EEG. Excerpts from the interview:

On the inspiration for Twins:

“I have a twin sister. Our company signed Ah Gil first then we signed Ah Sa. I thought to myself: ‘why don’t we pair the two young girls together?’

In the beginning, we dressed them the same then we slowly began to dress them differently. The only thing that didn’t quite work was that their personalities were completely different. Ah Sa is a lively extrovert while Ah Gil in an introvert.”

On Gillian Chung:

“I treat my artistes like they were my own family. When they have problems, I treat them like my own. At the beginning, I told her that ‘he (Edison Chen) is not a person you should be involved with’. However, when a young person is in love, they don’t listen to anyone.”

“Ah Gil’s mistake was that she didn’t think of her bottom line. She should have remembered that she was a public figure. In the end, though, the person who made the biggest mistake was Edison Chen.”

On Gillian Chung’s comeback:

“In the past year, I’ve had Ah Gil study dancing, acting and gymnastics to prepare her for her comeback. The only thing we didn’t plan on was that Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi would do her interview first. But, it doesn’t matter who was first and who was second.”

“Work is very hard for Ah Gil now because she’s been out for so long. She didn’t sleep much in the days before her comeback. I’ve been with her the whole time. It was very gratifying to see all the support she received at her events in the Mainland. Her attitude is to come back slowly. Besides, restoring her confidence she’s winning back her respect.”

On Isabella Leong:

“I’ve worked with more than 30 artistes and the only who’s walked away is Isabella Leong. Although she left, I feel that I’ve done right by her. When I was working as her manager, I feel that I did the job to the best of my ability.”

RETIRED ACTRESSES NEWS:

The latest edition of East Weekly suggests that retired actress Cherie Chung Chor-Hung is experiencing some financial difficulty and that a comeback to the entertainment circle is imminent.

Yammie Nam seen panhandling

Former TVB leading lady Yammie Nam Kit-Ying was spotted outside of a Shau Kei Wan Circle K convenience store on Monday morning. She was smoking and asking passersby for money. Nam, a popular actress for TVB in the 1980s and early-1990s, has a history of mental illness. 

SHINJUKU INCIDENT:

Derek Yee Tung-Sing: In the yakuza’s grip

Saving the world is still on Jackie Chan’s agenda

Not just any Hollywood role for Daniel Wu & Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan pitches his ‘different’ side in new movie

REPRINT: The Mirror’s (UK) review of SHINJUKU INCIDENT

IN PRODUCTION:

Hong Kong-Mainland producers announce “5510 Big Movie Plan”

Related Photo Gallery: Lee Lik-Chi, Li Bingbing, Zhou Xun among those who attended event

Photos from the IP MAN 2 press conference in Shanghai

A press conference was held yesterday in Shanghai formally announcing the production of IP MAN 2. Wilson Yip Wai-Shun returns as director while Sammo Hung Kam-Bo will, once again, handle the action. Donnie Yen, Xiong Dai-Lin, Fan Siu-Wong and Gordon Lam Ka-Tong will all reprise their characters. The sequel is set in late-1940s Hong Kong so the Bruce Lee character will not be appearing. 

John Woo’s Titanic runs aground

Production Stills: TREASURE HUNTER

Taiwanese stars Jay Chou and Lin Chi-Ling began work last week on their new film TREASURE HUNTER.  The time travel romantic/action/comedy is being directed by Chu Yen-Peng (KUNG FU DUNK) and co-stars Eric Tsang Chi-Wai.  Producers hope to have the film ready for the Christmas 2009 holiday movie season.

Confirmed: Chow Yun-fat plays Confucius

Related Photos: Chow Yun-Fat, Zhou Xun attend opening lens ceremony for their Confucius biopic at a Confucian temple in Beijing

Stranglehold Movie Apparently Won’t Star Chow Yun-Fat

‘Karate Kid’ redo retitled ‘Kung Fu Kid’

GENERAL NEWS:

Fans Pay Tribute to Leslie Cheung on Sixth Death Anniversary

Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow named Asia’s best selling actors & directors

Jackie Chan to sing in bird nest

Jet Li, Zhang Yimou Named “Chinese of World Influence”

Daniel Wu willing to sacrifice privacy for movies

Miriam Yeung: Miriam’s girl-next-door charm

Tang Wei: “Lust Caution” is history

ASHES OF TIME REDUX: Lovers and Fighters

HK pop star Kelvin Kwan released from police custody

Stefanie Sun’s new boyfriend exposed!

Rain confident of winning appeal 

SEXY PHOTOS GATE:

Eason Chan: Edison Chen missing Hong Kong badly

HKIFF: Edison Chen sex scandal sure to make Sniper a hit

Edison Chen ‘tests water’ with role as sex pervert

MOVIE REVIEWS:

Variety reviews Ann Hui’s latest NIGHT AND FOG (Simon Yam, Zhang Jingchu)

Variety review of Feng Xiaogang’s IF YOU ARE THE ONE (Ge You, Shu Qi)

California Chronicle reviews Oxide Pang’s BASIC LOVE

FEATURES:

Chow Yun-Fat Talks Dragonball Evolution

Chow Yun-Fat: DRAGONBALL’s Dirty Old Sifu

Jolin Tsai: Jolin talks about scandal and Mr Right

Super Band: ‘It’s really not about money’

PHOTO GALLERYS:

ASHES OF TIME REDUX event in Hong Kong

Director Alan Mak Siu-Fai marries

This past weekend, director Alan Mak Siu-Fai (INFERNAL AFFAIRS, LADY COP AND PAPA CROOK) married his longtime girlfriend Chung Wai-Tak. Reportedly, Mak met Chung, eleven years his junior, at an event five years ago. To celebrate the nuptials, a 20-table banquet was held at the Aberdeen Marina Club. Among the attendees were Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Shawn Yue Man-Lok, Michelle Ye and Jade Kwan Sum-Yin. 

Wong Jing and his latest “Jing Girl” Natalie Yao Meng

Following in a line that includes Chingmy Yau Suk-Ching and Kelly Lin, Natalie Yao Meng is Wong Jing’s latest “Jing Girl”.  Wong spotted Yao in Mainland director Huang Jianzhong’s SILVER ORNAMENTS and imported her to Hong Kong where she can now be admired in such films as THE VAMPIRE WHO ADMIRES ME and BEAUTY AND THE 7 BEASTS.  Yao can next be seen alongside Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, my other cousin Tony, Eason Chan, Alex Fong Lik-Sun, Kate Tsui and Wong Jing himself in I CORRUPT COPS.  The film opens in Hong Kong on April 23rd.

Shu Qi, Aloys Chen and Sylvia Chang shoot ad for Cartier

Related: Shu Qi, Syliva Chan promote Cartier

Cecilia Cheung shoots ad for a bedding company in Guangzhou

Michelle Reis Poses for Marie Claire

Tang Wei poses for Chinese edition of Vogue

Ada Choi Siu-Fan and hubby attend event promoting Moiselle

Promotional stills from the upcoming Mainland film WHEAT (Fan Bingbing, Wang Xueqi)

Jane Zhang debuts in Japan

A-Mei Chang performs in Taipei