A formidable prelude to an epic battle with resplendent effects and action spectacles
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... fdf9?imw=Y
'Red Cliff' has rock-solid opening in Asia
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 68e3d68773
John Woo: Quake affected me
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation
The casting of Red Cliff
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 44/1/.html
Stung by 'flower vase' criticisms
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2008-07-10/12532095672.shtml
Lin Chiling makes movie acting debut in John Woo's Red Cliff
She's 'a bit shocked' by criticism
NO, she did not cry, she insisted.
Lin Chiling plays Tony Leung's beautiful and gentle wife in the movie epic Red Cliff.
Though she admitted the pictures published showed her eyes to be, in her own words, 'shui wang wang (dewy)'.
Shaking her head, Lin Chiling, 34, told The New Paper: 'I didn't cry, no. Maybe it was my make-up that made my eyes look like that.'
The Taiwanese supermodel-turned-actress was in town yesterday as part of Red Cliff's Asia tour.
In the two-part John Woo epic based on the classic novel Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, Chiling plays Xiao Qiao - the beautiful and gentle wife of the great general Zhou Yu (Tony Leung).
The movie also stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Vicki Zhao.
On Tuesday, Chiling was back home in Taipei to promote the film when a reporter asked her about the Taiwanese media criticising her debut role as being no more than a 'hua ping' (Mandarin for vase, or eye candy).
According to several media reports, tears then welled up in her eyes as she gave her reply - as the photos apparently showed.
While Chiling denied that she was in tears, she admitted she was 'a bit shocked' that the Taiwanese media would get the impression that Xiao Qiao is just a vase in the movie, when she's not.
'When the director created this role, he didn't mean for it to be a small accessory. Xiao Qiao may not be a big part of the movie, but she acts as a go-between...
'She represents love, peace and carries an anti-war message.'
So, is she especially sensitive to the word 'vase'?
'I hear it too often,' she said with a self-deprecating laugh.
'I don't resent (the word), but I hope (the Taiwanese media) will hear my views and rethink the issue.'
As a first-time actress, Chiling, who shot to fame in 2004, would only give her performance in the movie 60 out of 100 marks.
She felt she's 'totally new' and she only 'just passed'.
Critics had earlier voiced concerns that her fashionista image did not gel with a period film and that her voice was too doll-like for her character.
As if to show her determination in delivering a good movie debut, Chiling underwent intensive training for months to learn how to speak and behave like a lady of ancient times.
DID HER OWN STUNT
She also valiantly rejected a body double and did her own stunt, getting suspended by wires in one scene.
But that will only be shown in the second part of Red Cliff, which will be released later this year.
The first part opens here today.
Chiling admitted she felt immense pressure when she got the role, but said she soon learnt how to 'convert the pressure into motivation' to propel herself forward during filming.
'If you work hard enough, you will improve... I carried a lot of expectations on my shoulders in doing this (movie), and now that it's out, I hope people will like it,' she said.
Eight months of filming last year had 'enriched' her life 'profoundly', and Chiling now hopes to focus on doing movies and is looking at new scripts.
She has not decided what to do next, but hopes she will not be typecast as the gentle woman she is known to be.
'I can be tough. I don't want to be stereotyped and I think I can overcome that in time,' she said.
Contrary to popular opinion, she does not think she's the perfect woman.
Her biggest imperfection?
She broods too much, she said.
'I used to be a simple and happy person. But now that I've been given such responsibility and a sense of mission (as a public figure), I tend to think too much.
'I'm slowly losing my simple and happy self, and I want to get it back.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story ... 11,00.html
Johnnie To on "Mad Detective"
http://www.ifc.com/film/film-news/2008/ ... ective.php
Film Reviews
Ann Hui's The Way We Are
http://www.hk-magazine.com/feature/way-we-are
The Sparrow
http://www.hk-magazine.com/feature/sparrow
City Without Baseball
http://www.hk-magazine.com/feature/city ... t-baseball
Blind Mountain
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 11NANR.DTL
The Photograph (Singapore)
Touching tale of a dying photographer and his unlikely apprentice.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/awa ... &rid=11418
'Kung Fu Panda' Hits A Sore Spot in China
Why a Quintessentially Chinese Movie Was Made in Hollywood
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03281.html
Time for the great action hero to finally slow down - Jackie Chan
http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leis ... -21326337/
Maggie Cheung graces Vogue
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- ... 130618.jpg
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- ... 780519.jpg
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- ... 533845.htm
Nic Tse in animated "Storm Rider: Clash of the Evils"
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/07/12/1221s379924.htm
Law Lan with singer Jade Kwan at recent charity event in Hong Kong
http://ent.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/sho ... 374&ct=pic
Michelle Yeoh's Wax Figure
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/07/12/1821s380055.htm
Happy couples
Tony Leung and Carina Lau
Vive Nevo and Zhang Ziyi
http://ent.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/sho ... 365&ct=pic
http://ent.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/sho ... 364&ct=pic
The Forbidden Kingdom Japanese press conference
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/5AnCwEIw ... Conference
Interview - MC Jin
http://www.hk-magazine.com/feature/mc-jin
New England Patriots Cheerleaders Teach Their Moves In China
With Chinese characteristics
http://wbztv.com/slideshows/patriots.ch ... html?rid=0
South Korean tourist shot dead in North
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7501126.stm
Man Held over Death of Canadian Model in Shanghai - update
http://english.cri.cn/3100/2008/07/12/1301s379991.htm
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