FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

Before we get to today’s links, I want to clear a few items off of the little notebook I keep to remind me of things that I want to mention on this blog.

Item #1: About this article: Stephen Chow target of criticisms once again

In the words of MAN MEN’s Bert Cooper, “who cares?”  So Stephen Chow can be a bastard in the workplace … who cares?  Isn’t this par for the course for some successful people?  The notion that some successful people are high strung and very demanding shouldn’t be a shocking revelation.  It’s not like Stephen Chow puts out this image that he’s a great, easy-going guy who’s kind and benevolent to his workers. If he did that and then this talk came out then it’s a different story but this is just “well, he can be hard to work for”.

Moreover, it’s not like he goes out of his way to destroy the careers of those who have crossed him.  My memory may be faulty but didn’t he let Cecilia Cheung out of her contract early so she could make millions while the fire was hot after her debut in KING OF COMEDY?  If he was the vindictive type, Eva Huang Shengyi would have had her career crushed.  She wouldn’t be getting more face time in the new RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (a reported 45 seconds) than ol’ EDC in THE DARK KNIGHT?

Besides, it’s impossible for anyone to be 100% nice, 100% of the time.  I’m sure that somewhere out there, someone has something bad to say about even the most pious of men like Pope Benedict or the Dalai Lama.  This reminds me of an e-mail that I got a few years back when I ran my old site.  I think it was around 2003 or 2004.  Someone claiming to be a Cathay Pacific flight attendant e-mailed me to complain about Gigi Leung Wing-Kei.

Apparently, she and one of her co-workers were working a flight on which Gigi Leung was a passenger.   Her co-worker was a Gigi Leung fan so she asked Leung for an autograph and a picture.   Gigi Leung happily posed for a photo then gave her address to the flight attendant because she wanted a copy of the photo.   About a month later, Cathay fired the flight attendant because, allegedly, Gigi Leung complained to the airline that she was bothered during the flight and offered the photo as evidence.   The e-mailer thought that this was a stone cold move by Gigi Leung so she wanted me to run the story on my site and expose Gigi Leung’s hard-hearted nature.   As I didn’t have the time or the inclination to chase down other sources for confirmation, I didn’t publish the story.

Manny Kok, my manager here at the Kozo Entertainment Group, is screaming at me right now.  He’s yelling: “DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! YOU HAVE TO PUT IN A STRONG DISCLAIMER!” So, let me be perfectly clear, the above story is unsubstantiated hearsay.   I only told it to illustrate my point that every celebrity, every person of note probably has a negative story about them floating around somewhere.  I am, in no fashion, trying to impugn the character of Gigi Leung Wing-Kei.  She is, after all, a member of the Leung clan — a clan to which I myself belong.

You know, I wish the story was different. I wish I could have said: “This one time, I got an e-mail from a Cathay Pacific flight attendant and she said she was a fan of my site. She said she and one of her co-workers wanted to get together and take some colourful photos that I can store on my hard drive.”

Item #2: Edison Chen: Paragon of Filial Piety

Earlier this week, 52 year-old Chen Chak-Man (陳澤民)– the father of disgraced HK celebrity Edison Chen — filed for bankruptcy.  The economic downturn has left him with a rumoured HK$1 billion in debt.  Chen, however, insists that it is only HK$20 million.

What does this have to do with the entertainment circle?  Well, Ming Pao reported that Edison Chen has been helping his father out financially even though his income was greatly reduced due to Sexy Photos Gate.  Also, this quote from Chen the Elder appeared on Apple Action News.com: “If my son is able, he will be looking after my expenses in the future.”

Now, a cynical person would say that this is just another attempt to rehabilitate Edison Chen’s public image but … OK, I’m a cynical person, I think this belongs in the same file as the “Edison is now a Christian who prays every day” stories that were floating around last year.

More EDC foolishness:  A report surfaced on Tuesday night alleging that, upon hearing news of his father’s bankruptcy, Edison Chen committed suicide by flinging himself off a building in Beijing. Obviously, the report was false.

Still more Edison Chen news, SNIPER had its gala premiere in Hong Kong this week without EDC in attendance.  Also, the film is apparently going to be banned in Mainland China.

Item #3: Gillian Chung in W.

Oliver Stone was in Hong Kong this week for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.  During an event for his latest film W., he talked about how he financed it mostly through Hong Kong sources.  He also praised Gillian Chung as a “capable actress” but lamented that her scene (a belly dancing scene for Saddam Hussein) had to go because of time.

The regular DVD edition of W. does not have deleted scenes but the Blu-Ray DVD version contains six deleted scenes.  Fans of Ah Gil may want to check that out if they want to see her “Hollywood breakthrough”.  Previously on this blog, I shared some thoughts on the film.

Item #4: About this article: Joey Yung has no love for Edison Chen; only resentments

Thanks to my battle with the Big C, there’s an 18-month long gap in my entertainment circle database.  As a result, I missed Joey Yung’s ascension to the “Queen of Pop” title.  Is it my imagination or is Joey Yung feeling her oats?  She seems more assertive and opinionated these days.  I don’t recall her being this outspoken in the past.

On to the links:

TOP STORIES:

Variety reviews SHINJUKU INCIDENT

Q&A: Tsui Hark

IN PRODUCTION:

Sequels in the works for PAINTED SKIN and IP MAN

Raintree, Wayne Wang prepare Singapore historical thriller

Juliette Binoche plans film with Chinese director

Door opens for Tibet film from Dai Wei

GENERAL NEWS:

Faye Wong makes return with S$4million advertisement

China takes on Hollywood in box office battle

HAF lauds Charlie Yeung for financial acumen

Tony Blair and Jet Li sign cooperation plan on climate

Taipei Times Pop Stop: Zhang Ziyi, more

False pregnancy? Andy Lau cancels wedding

Sonija Kwok Sin-Lei: She saves maid’s life but ends up bitten

“China’s Oprah” signs for Hollywood representation

MC HotDog: No hard feelings between Jolin & me

MOVIE REVIEWS:

Variety review of DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION

Malaysia Star review of Oxide Pang’s LOVE TRIANGLE

FEATURES:

Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi’s ‘Paper Handcuff Fame’

- RELATED: Zhang Ziyi and Leon Lai promote FOREVER ENTHRALLED in South Korea

Q&A with Lu Chuan the director of NANKING! NANKING!

Eileen Chang: A great 20th century writer, as depicted in movies spanning 60 years

PHOTO GALLERYS:

‘Ashes of Time Redux’ Premieres in Beijing

Hong Kong International Film Festival kicks off

Kelly Chen at the Hong Kong premiere of MONSTERS AND ALIENS

Gigi Leung celebrates her birthday by promoting her new album (Fans from HK, China and Korea gathered at an event where Leung celebrated her birthday and promoted her new album.  Asked what her birthday wish was, Leung replied: “Good health and strong record sales.”)

Irene Wan Bik-Ha at a promotional event for a spa

Lin Chi-Ling promotes Armani in Shanghai

Tang Wei promotes Armani in Changsha

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Rest in peace, Dan Seals.  It’d been more than twenty years since I heard “Bop” but, upon the news of Dan Seals’ passing yesterday, I heard the song on the radio twice.  It immediately made me flashback to the ol’ school gym and boppin’ like mad to the song with Tracy Vogel.  For a moment, it was a night like it used to be, when our hearts were young and our souls were free.

Image credits: AMC (Bert Cooper), Sina.com (Gigi Leung)

An amuse-bouche of a post today before the start of a series of posts previewing the upcoming Hong Kong Film Awards.

Rumours of a relationship between HK starlet Isabella Leong Lok-Si, 19, and 39 year-old Richard Li Tzar-Kai (李澤楷; official site), the son of legendary business magnate Li Ka-Shing has put the dead horse of “Sexy Photos Gate” squarely in the rear view mirror of Hong Kong’s entertainment media. Earlier this month, reports surfaced alleging that Leong and Li have been involved for months and that Li has nobly declared that he will take care of Leong and her family for as long as he lives. Reportedly, Michelle Yeoh — Leong’s co-star in the Summer 2008 release THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR — introduced the pair.

Neither Li nor Leong have responded publicly to the rumours but flames have been fanned by news of a contract dispute between Leong and her management company EEG (Emperor Entertainment Group). According to numerous reports, Leong has hired lawyers to help her extricate herself from the long-term contract she signed with EEG. As EEG typically holds all the cards when it comes to contract situations with their talent, observers of the HK entertainment circle speculate that Leong must be emboldened because she has the powerful backing of Li. Indeed, there are rumours that Li is ready to offer EEG HK$10 million for Leong’s contract but Leong’s lawyers believe that the contract can be voided because Leong signed it when she was younger than sixteen — the legal age in Hong Kong for entering into contracts.

To be continued …

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Long-term contracts between entertainment companies and their talent is quite common in the HK entertainment circle. Creating an “idol” takes a serious investment so companies protect themselves with long-term contracts in case one of their “idols” becomes unwieldy and wants to leave for greener pastures. For the talent, the trade-off for this modern-day equivalent of indentured servitude is having the benefit of the tremendous star-making resources of a company like EEG on their side. Joey Yung Tso-Yi, for instance, is reportedly in year nine of a fifteen-year contract she signed with EEG in 1999. She won’t become a free agent until she is 34 years-old in 2014.

If a prospect does not turn out to be profitable like Joey Yung, the company can simply terminate the contract and release the talent. Worse yet, a prospect can end up in a situation like Grace Ip (葉佩雯 aka Yip Pui-Man). Between 1998 and 2000, EEG heavily promoted Ip — giving her roles in high profile projects like GEN-X COPS. Then, the company reportedly discovered that she was dating Eric Kwok Wai-Leung of the band Swing. According to speculation, EEG felt that a relationship would hinder Ip’s ascension to superstardom so the company asked Ip to break things off with Kwok. When Ip refused, she was “frozen”. To add insult to injury, EEG supposedly refused to release Ip from a seven-year contract she signed in 1998. As a result, she was forced to wait until late-2005 before she could sign with another record label. Ip was finally able to release an album, ON MY OWN, in August 2006.

Mommas don’t let your babies grow up to be entertainment circle celebrities, make ‘em doctors and lawyers and such …

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And so it begins …

EEG is apparently taking the first steps at rehabilitating the humiliated Gillian Chung Yan-Tung. This weekend, Ming Pao Weekly reported that Chung had a meeting recently with “Hollywood producer” Elliot J. Brown. Supposedly, EEG and Brown are helping Chung plan a career in Hollywood. The news would be somewhat impressive if it was not for the fact that Brown’s accomplishments in Hollywood are less than impressive. As was the case with the “naive and foolish” press event, this “news” has probably done more harm to Chung’s career than good. Reaction on discussion boards is comprised mostly of jokes that Chung is going to star in Western “remakes” of Hong Kong movies with titles like ERECTION and THE MISSION-ARY POSITION.

IMAGE CREDITS: Sina.com (Isabella Leong), RichardLi.com (Richard Li), File Photo (Grace Ip)