Golden Bauhinia Awards Handed out in Hong Kong
Lau Ching Wan - Best Actor for My Name is Fame
Johnnie To - Best Director for Exiled
Best Picture - Exiled, My Name is Fame AND Battle of Wits
Best Actress - Gong Li AND Charelene Choi (article is incorrect)
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/09/01/63@268810.htm

Andy Lau Starts Mainland Tour
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/09/02/1261@269017.htm

Zhou Xun returns in Li Mi’s Encounters
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies

Spies, lies, and enough sex to frighten the reindeer - Lust, Caution and Far North (Michelle Yeoh and Michelle Krusiec)
http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0 ... 01,00.html
"Far North" offers chilling lessons
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsAr ... ived=False
Far North - Variety review
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934 ... id=31&cs=1

Michelle marries Julian
Michelle Reis has admitted to marrying her businessman boyfriend Julian Hui.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies

Ramesh Sippy on Made in China
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fo ... ions&sid=1

Wasted Orient: A Film About Joyside - DVD review
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review.php?ID=30203

Have camera, will rescue
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.a ... =lifefocus
The Weld Quay George Town Squatters
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.a ... =lifefocus

China Needs Imagination: Says Shrek Creator
http://english.cri.cn/3100/2007/09/02/902@268918.htm

14-year-old med student wants media reprieve
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... r=20070901

Phone wolf harasses TV anchor girls
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... r=20070901

13 good things about hongkong
http://hk.bcmagazine.net/hk.bcmagazine. ... 03-13.html
Cathay Pacific's 100 reasons we <3 Hong Kong winners (mostly in Chinese)
http://www.welovehongkong.hk/index.php?action=Result
#56 HK people having an egg tart's filling
http://www.welovehongkong.hk/index.php? ... =3&id=5080

At 40 You blossom
At 50 You wilt

In his own words, Hong Kong Heavenly King Aaron Kwok is now, erm, a flower.

Citing the Chinese phrase 'nan ren si shi yi zhi hua', which means a man blossoms like a flower at age 40, the Cantopop icon said it is the 'golden time' for him to move to acting.

He turns 42 next month, but looks a decade younger with his flawless skin and lean, tanned body.

Until the crow's feet around his eyes crinkle up with every laugh, that is.

'When I was younger, I focused on singing, rehearsing different kinds of dance and trying new things. But life has changed as I grow older,' he said at a press conference on Thursday.

'A man blossoms like a flower at age 40 and wilts at 50. In between, you exude an aura of maturity and stability, which is good for the big screen.'

LOYAL

But if you ask his die-hard female fans, they still prefer Aaron the dancing king to Aaron the actor.

They've remained loyal to him since his early days of crooning pop tunes like Dui Ni Ai Bu Wan (Love You Endlessly) and Ai De Hu Huan (Love Beckons) in the early 1990s.

One fan, administrative executive Kimberly Kim, 32, calls him 'Asia's Michael Jackson'.

Added advertising executive Wendy Choo, 30: 'He belongs to the stage.'

She has 'waited for so long' for him to perform in Singapore and hopes he will not give up singing as he takes on more acting projects.

Aaron's last concert here was in 2002, and he returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium tonight to stage the last gig of his Dancing Nation world tour.

Student care teacher Jenny Chua, 22, said it will be a 'big pity' if Aaron leaves the stage. 'I like his movies but I prefer him singing. He's even more appealing now as he's more mature and suave. His voice is mesmerising and sexy.'

Up close, Aaron has his impish moments. Posing for photographers, he asked if he should give five different facial expressions in five seconds.

And he did just that, cracking them up.

At an autograph session at Plaza Singapura on Thursday evening, he joked about going shopping if nobody gives him a pen for signing.

A stark contrast to the moody, unconventional roles he tends to pick these day, like a broken-hearted cop in Divergence and a good-for-nothing father in After This, Our Exile.

Both are far from the Mr Cool characters he used to play in earlier films like The Storm Riders, China Strike Force and Para Para Sakura.

Fans do understand that he has to break out of his 'pop idol' shell and take on new challenges.

They have seen how he withstood media flak for his lousy Mandarin, squeaky voice and raw acting, and emerged a stronger person.

Holistic therapist Eve Phua, 29, was initially drawn to his good looks, but now admires his fighting spirit. 'He never cowers, despite difficulties. That's the Aaron Kwok spirit,' she said.

'The lower he sinks, the faster he rebounds. He believes in himself and his enthusiasm makes him a good role model, more than just a mere idol.'

As an actor, Aaron has proven his 'substance' by winning Golden Horse Best Actor Awards for his last two films, Divergence and After This, Our Exile.

Fans marvel at his drastic transformation from suave to 'disgusting'.

Citing Aaron's incompetent gambler character who instigates his son to steal in After This, Our Exile, Ms Phua said: 'It's touching how he manages to play such a disgusting character.

'You can't see Aaron Kwok the idol at all, he cast aside his image to be this really detestable character.'

Fans agreed that his acting has allowed them to see a different side of their idol, and they look forward to his new projects because they know how much effort he puts into his work.

But Aaron still has his detractors who scoff at his acting and label him a mere pretty face. To them fashion designer Ellie Ngan, 29, appealed: 'Forget his face and stop thinking of him as an idol. Give him a chance, get to know him again as an actor.'

Added medical technologist Veon Ng, 30: 'People are prejudiced against him because he's just too handsome.'

IDOL WITH SUBSTANCE

Aaron has certainly come a long way from his teenybopper days.

On his biggest change to date, he said with a laugh: 'I've gone from mere idol to idol with substance.'

Also, he is now an old hand at deflecting questions about his love life.

He is said to be dating Chinese model Lynn Xiong, 26.

But the closest he got to saying anything at all is that he has never played the saxophone for his girlfriend.

He had learnt it from scratch and practised long and hard for this concert tour - to the point of bursting a blood vessel in his eye, and taking a week to recover.

'I'll only do it on stage, for my fans. For girlfriend, no need for saxophone, just chatting is good enough.'

And he won't say if he's seeing anyone, except that 'a lot of people love me'.

Fans would certainly agree.

Ms Choo, went as far as naming her 3-year-old son Aaron, after her 'one and only idol'. She even got married on 26 Oct - Aaron's birthday.

On her hubby's reaction to her chasing Aaron, she said nonchalantly: 'I liked Aaron first, before I met him, so he has to give me freedom.'

She hopes Aaron will soon 'find a good girl to marry'. He begs to differ.

'It's still too early for me to settle down, start a family and have kids, although I'm not getting any younger.

'I still have a lot of work and dreams... I don't want it to end so quickly.'

Well, he has eight more years before he 'wilts' at 50.


http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story ... 31,00.html?