News Links - 8/22/07

[dleedlee]

"Warlords" Opens in Theatres Earlier for Oscars
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/22/63@264534.htm

Stills of "The Forbidden Kingdom" Released
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/21/1221@264390.htm
Jet Li says keep expectations low for fight scenes with Jackie Chan
http://www.pr-inside.com/ap-interview-j ... 204636.htm

The people's filmmaker
Feng Xiaogang is one of China's most popular film directors
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007 ... 036403.htm

Busan film festival names late director Edward Yang Asian filmmaker of year
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/ ... -Award.php
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1932/1/

Raintree Pictures' latest project stars Joan Chen in S'pore-Australia film
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 65/1/.html

Wong Jing to remake Lucky Seven, Tina Ti Na's role kept a mystery

(8/13/2007) The Wong Jing and Eric Tsang Chi Wai produced new film CHUT
KUM CHUT JUNG CHUT SIK LONG (7 CAPTURE 7 FOLLOW 7 SEX MANIAC) earlier held
its final costume fitting. The film mainly used the 70's Dik Na starred
classic as the blueprint, so the film's dialogue, art, costumes all had a
70s feels. Even the crew from the writer, director to props, set,
costume, make up and hair were all the responsibilities of film
professionals who were familiar with 70s and 80s.
The cast was rather strong as well, with actors like Tsang Chi
Wai, Nat Chan Pak Cheung, Lam Ka Tung, Wong Cho Lam, Eddie Cheung Siu
Fai and Lam Chi Sin. Jo Kuk Cho Lam would also have many scenes with
Chi Wai. They would appear in 70s costumes. Chi Wai would even wear a
wig. When the actors saw their costumes they could not help but crack up.
Lek Gor in the film would play a rare villain role and compete with his
on screen nemesis Chi Wai in battle of wits, power and acting. Wong Cho
Lam whose acting has been commended recently would perform on the big
screen for the first time with an image and acting breakthrough. The film
would also daringly cast a new comer in the lead, but she did not take
part in the costume fitting. Brother Jing saw her as the "secret weapon"
and would arrange for an official meeting with everyone later.
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/2038/070809.txt

Sun-Ma Tze Tsang's heirs commemorate 10th anniversary of his passing in style(?)
http://ent.xicn.net/item/2007/08/21/442499.html

Anthony Wong and Joan Chen in Jiang Wen's The Sun Also Rises


http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/p/2007-08-21 ... 2930.shtml

Blood Brothers" Premieres in Hong Kong

C is for Cool
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/22/63@264632.htm

Blood Brothers


http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/p/2007-08-22 ... 4401.shtml

Zhou Xun to play taxi driver in new movie
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/00 ... 220342.htm

Eurasia fest to open with "Lust, Caution"
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1926/1/

Warner boards its first Indian movie - action comedy "Made in China."
Made In China," stars Bollywood action hero Akshay Kumar as a lowly Mumbai cook who is mistaken for a martial arts hero.
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1923/1/

Chinese student and screenwriter win piracy competition
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1925/1/

Niki Chow Attends Children's Fashion Show
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/22/1221@264772.htm

A-Mei promotes new Star CD

http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2007-08-22/07011684439.shtml

Killer Jolin Tsai in MV

http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/22/1221@264738.htm

Lee-Hom Wang with Hot Dancer in New MV
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/21/1221@264387.htm

China's Biggest Mooncake Weights 13 Tons

http://english.cri.cn/3100/2007/08/21/272@264035.htm

[dleedlee]

"Infernal Affairs" Director Go for Fantasy Drama
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/08/22/1221@264802.htm

Hope and Squalor at Chungking Mansion
http://www.worldhum.com/dispatches/item ... :16:24:00Z

[Brian Thibodeau]

Reporter: "Edison! Edison! Mr. Chen! Over here. Could you give our audience some indication of how much talent you have?"

Chinese student and screenwriter win piracy competition
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1925/1/

And in related news:
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/248396
(not that this will make a dent; in fact I'd expect the customer base to grow yet again, now that the local media made this front page news. )

[dleedlee]

Reporter: "Edison! Edison! Mr. Chen! Over here. Could you give our audience some indication of how much talent you have?"

We had a 21-year-old kid bragging that he was making $15,000 a weekend," Peel Det. Sgt. John Mans said. "He had the potential to make $60,000 a month and we think he was in business for six months so he could have made over $300,000.".

The size and scope of the "business" is mind boggling. Time to call in Malaysia's Flo and Lucky:

Malaysia Awards Medals to DVD Sniffer Dogs
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293800,00.html
DVD Pirates Place Bounty on Bootleg-Sniffing Dogs' Heads
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,261182,00.html

[ewaffle]

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/248396

"We had a 21-year-old kid bragging that he was making $15,000 a weekend," Peel Det. Sgt. John Mans said. "He had the potential to make $60,000 a month and we think he was in business for six months so he could have made over $300,000.".

Well that should certainly impress any young entrepreneurilly minded criminal.

Sgt. Mans's math skills aren't very good--26 weekends in 6 months at $15,000 per would be $390,000, assuming no weekends off and who would at that kind of return--but he has an excellent grasp of the power of public relations in expanding any enterprise.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Well that should certainly impress any young entrepreneurilly minded criminal.

The weird thing is that the biggest busts—at least lately—always seem to take place in that end of the city (the west end, to be precise), and often seem to involve flea markets, while he busts in Chinatown and the tony Chinese malls here—which surely account for the vast majority of the bootlegs in this city, and the sellers of which might be more closely aligned with the source—are either never as big, or far less frequent. And yet the dealers much more obvious about it: several competing operations can be found operating jam-packed stores in even the most upscale Chinese malls here, even new ones that open, which means there's a few realtors here who don't mind looking the other way when the lessee state the nature of the business on the contract.

There're literally just a handful of plazas/malls (one just up the street from my office) that have yet to host a single bootleg outfit, so it's good to know some developers/retail managers have maintained standards. They're both primary sources for my Hong Kong DVDs and VCDs as I won't buy those from the pirates. Ironically, the pirates have forced the legit guys to lower their prices so drastically (especially on the old VCDs) that there's no real savings in buying the bootlegs anyways, and they certainly don't bootleg the kind of stuff I'm after. Mind you, I have given into temptation on rare occasions (who among us...hehe ), but not for my babies and far less than might be expected of someone living in a city as overrun with the stuff as this one is. It can be done...but it's not as easy as it was seven or eight years ago. But then, prices were four to five times higher in those days, so there's a trade-off I suppose!

Sgt. Mans's math skills aren't very good--but he has an excellent grasp of the power of public relations in expanding any enterprise.

If it wasn't for the cops and the media, there'd be a LOT less gweilos shopping in the Chinese malls! I actually used to feel special as a "visible minority" in those places...but not anymore.