Ayumi Hamasaki Shakes It in Taipei
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/25/1261@208865.htm
Zhang Ziyi Visits Mentally Retarded Children in Beijing
(and saves on airfare to Kenya)
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/24/60@208721.htm
Survey: HK best platform in Asia for marketing films
The survey described the Chinese mainland as Hong Kong's "promised land" for market growth.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007- ... 888338.htm
Seven projects split prizes at HAF
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1034/1/
Wong Jing has been appointed as magaging director of Hong Kong's See Corp.
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1043/1/
Two gems from the silent era get makeovers
"The Curse of Quon Gwon," from 1917, is the first known feature made by Chinese Americans.
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-c ... =cl-movies
Where Were All the South Asian Films at the SFIAAFF?
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/arch ... e_all.html
Review: Journey from the Fall
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/23/r ... -the-fall/
The departure from Vietnam, reexperienced
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-c ... =cl-movies
Vietnam family's tale will break your heart
http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_5497381
Just follow Neo - Just Follow Law
Singaporean director Jack Neo’s latest movie is not just a comedy – it’s a reflection of the common folk’s frustrations with bureaucracy.
JACK Neo has done it again. In 2002, with the hit movie I Not Stupid, the Singaporean actor-director made people laugh and think about the republic’s ruthless education system. Now, he’s poking at its civil service.
“I’m worried that civil servants will be offended. If I have to go to a hospital in the future, I’m worried that they won’t entertain me,” he says, then bursts out laughing.
Jack Neo, flanked by Gurmit Singh and Fann Wong, were in Kuala Lumpur last week to plug their new movie. – SAM THAM / The Star
Neo, together with compatriots Fann Wong and Gurmit Singh, was at a press conference at Golden Screen Cinemas in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, last Wednesday to promote their latest movie, Just Follow Law.
In the film, by-the-book civil servant Tanya Chew (Fann) gets to experience life as a blue-collar worker and a man when she trades bodies with handyman Lim Teng Zui (Gurmit). Lim, often frustrated by the bureaucrats’ need to approve everything and thus slowing down his job, realises that life on the other side isn’t rosy either. (Though he rather enjoys being a female!)
This movie came about from Neo’s personal experience as a government servant.
“I was in the military for eight years. I went through a lot of ‘funny’ things then. You have to get approval for the simplest things. I find that very stupid. Things cannot move forward just because you have to follow rules,” says the 47-year-old.
The movie has grossed over S$2.7mil (about RM6mil) in Singapore since it opened in February. And, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), the Singaporean parliament brought up the “just follow law” issue right after the movie premiered. However, Neo says that Singaporeans have been discussing this issue for years. (He also diplomatically adds that despite these shortcomings, Singapore’s civil service has improved tremendously.)
“Singapore is very famous for ‘follow law’. This can make things more effective and efficient, but at the same time the situation can become so stiff that there’s a ‘no U-turn’ mentality,” Neo later says at a restaurant in Mid Valley Megamall after the press conference.
This attitude is not just found in the public service but in the private sector as well, he adds.
“Everything black and white, e-mail here, e-mail there ?” he laments.
“A lot of people say (in response to the criticism against the civil service), ‘You don’t understand because you’re not in my shoes!’ So, I thought let’s exchange shoes then!”
The soul-swapping plot device is a useful way to show that the grass is not always greener on the other side. However, it’s not easy to make it realistic, the auteur admits.
“We didn’t shoot the scenes in order, so we had to be very clear on who was who in what scene,” he says.
Neo, one of the city-state’s best-known filmmakers whose credits include the quintessentially Singaporean and no less enjoyable hit comedies Money No Enough (1998), I Not Stupid and its sequel I Not Stupid Too (2006), has been described by Time magazine in a 2002 article as Singapore’s “megaphone on the issues of daily life”. The man himself, however, says he makes movies just for the laughs.
“Some people say I’m a social commentator, but I do this because it’s fun. To me this is one way I can contribute to society,” says Neo.
However, there are some topics the maverick filmmaker would rather not touch – sensitive topics such as religion or race.
“If you’re not sure about it, and it’s not good to society, you better not do it. No point,” he shrugs.
“My purpose of making a movie is to make you happy. I mean, don’t you feel sick when after watching a movie you come out and think, ‘What, ah?’
“I don’t want people to feel that way after watching my movie. I want people to talk about it.”
Neo says that people are already asking him to do a sequel – there’s a scene after the ending credits which seems to suggest so, but Neo isn’t sure if there will be one, though he says that he has shot three alternate endings which he plans to include in the Just Follow Law DVD that will be released at a later date.
There are other titbits. In the movie, one of the characters – an old lady – created a blog: laozhabor blogspot.com. The blog actually exists. The production team created it because they suspected that people would log on to it out of curiosity, and boy did they visit!
“About 400 to 500 people visit it every day. My blog not so popular anymore (sic),” he says with a laugh.
Neo’s next big project is to direct another version of I Not Stupid, which is set in China. It’s a movie that will not be lost in translation, he says.
“The way the Chinese or Asians love their children – how they treat them or what they want them to be ? the mentality is almost the same, not like the ang mor,” he says.
He also plans to work on a triad movie and who knows, do a horror movie one day.
“A lot of people are waiting for me to make a ghost movie, but my ghost story will be very different,” he says.
“In what way?” I ask.
“It’ll still make you laugh!” he says with a booming guffaw.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies
Fann Wong - It’s tough being a man
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies
Gurmit Singh - Acting ladylike
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies
Singapore's InnoForm Media sets slate of four films for 2007
http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/ne ... s_for_2007
From hawker to actor in Tsai Ming-liang film
Kuih seller Norman Atun has not let his role in an international movie get to his head. He remains down to earth and gets on with his business.
Norman Atun is going places. He has been in Venice, Bangkok and Taipei, and will soon be heading off to France. Not bad for a man who sells assorted kuih at a roadside stall in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
For all intents, Norman is the average man-in-the-street, but his life took a massive turn when he was asked by internationally- acclaimed Taiwan-based Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang to appear in his movie I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone.
Business comes first: Norman has no intention of hanging up his wok to pursue a career in acting, which to him is just a part-time job.
The movie is about a homeless man who is beaten up and robbed in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Norman plays the part of Rawang, a Bangladeshi worker who takes pity on the man and takes him into his home. The movie, which was shot around Kuala Lumpur last year, was initially banned by the Malaysian censorship board, but has just been cleared for local screening, albeit with five cuts made.
So how does a roadside vendor – who has a basic education and speaks mostly in Bahasa Malaysia – find himself acting in an international movie?
“It was purely by accident,” Norman relates.
“I was spotted by Tsai at my stall when he was in the area. He then sent a representative over who informed me of Tsai’s interest, and invited me to meet with the director.
“To be frank, I had never heard of Tsai Ming-liang before, neither was I familiar with the movie scene, least of all a Chinese film director. In fact, the first thought I had was ‘who is this person?’
“Of course, I was sceptical. I was wondering if this was for real and if he was serious about using me as an actor. I went through all sorts of emotions – doubt, surprise, confusion and disbelief – and it took me about a week before I finally met up with him.”
Norman had no acting experience prior to landing the role, and in the meeting spoke at length with Tsai.
Celebrity status: Norman (second from left) with (from left) cast member Lee Kang-Sheng, artistic director Peter Sellars and Tsai at the Cinema Palace in Venice last year. — Reuters
“He did tell me there was another candidate, one who had acting experience, but Tsai told me that he was not right for the role while I suited the bill perfectly. He told me what I had to do, but I still do not know exactly why he chose me – you will have to ask him yourself,” he says with a smile.
Curiosity got the better of Norman, and he was intrigued by what the movie industry was really like. And so he thought there was no harm in trying. In no time, Norman found himself not only acting in a movie but also working under a famous director. The entire shoot took about 20 days.
“It was easy working with him, even though we spoke different languages. It wasn’t much of a barrier, as someone was there to translate,” Norman says.
“In terms of the acting itself, my role was easy because there wasn’t much dialogue to memorise. But acting had its own set of challenges.
“The challenge was understanding what Tsai wanted me to do. For example, he asked for a more natural feel to the acting, as if the scene we were portraying was actually happening to us,” says Norman, who admits that acting naturally in front of the camera was a bit awkward for him.
“It was also not easy reacting to direction instantly, especially since it had to go through an interpreter. I had to figure out what he wanted on the spot, and if I didn’t get it right, we had to shoot the scene again.”
Norman’s commitment to the movie did not end with the completion of the shoot, however. He soon discovered there was another aspect to movie making – publicity – and he was asked to be part of team representing the movie at the Venice International Film Festival.
But Norman took it all in his stride. “I’m not quite sure how significant my role was, but it was important enough for me to be there promoting the film.” Describing further how much of this was new to him, he says.
“Until I went to Venice, I had never travelled overseas – the furthest I had ever gone was to Borneo. All of a sudden I found myself in Taipei and Bangkok, although it was only in transit.” So does Norman intend to hang up his wok and pursue an acting career?
“No,” he says.
“I will continue with my business for a while yet, because I do not think acting is my full-time job. I will take on more acting jobs if the chance arises.” His life will never be quite the same again, and he is discovering what it is like to have some measure of celebrity.
“People look at me differently. Some actually recognise me, and ask if it is really me.
“Once, some people working in a nearby office bought kuih from me because they said they wanted to eat food prepared by a movie star!” Despite all that has happened to Norman, he remains down to earth and is reticent to give details about his personal life.
“I would rather not speak about my personal life, but sometimes I feel like I am split into two people – the actual person that I am and the one who has acted in a movie. I still want to be the same person. It is difficult, but I do what I can.
“When you enter the film industry, the real becomes fake and the fake becomes real. We have to measure ourselves and not do more than what we are capable of.
“We have to accept where our limits lie. We want to be the best, but we may not always achieve that. Life really is full of ups and downs.”
Norman still finds the events over the past year a surreal experience. “It is difficult to believe what has happened to me.
All I can say is that I am a very, very lucky person.”
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation
, so again, I'm probably being too harsh.
