News Links - 7/20/08

[dleedlee]

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2008-07-20/00052107472.shtml

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2008-07-19/21252107231.shtml

http://i0.sinaimg.cn/ent/m/2008-07-20/U ... 011201.jpg
http://i0.sinaimg.cn/ent/m/2008-07-20/U ... 011846.jpg
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2008-07-20/01022107499.shtml
http://i3.sinaimg.cn/ent/m/2008-07-19/U ... 224946.jpg
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2008-07-19/22362107330.shtml
With Nora Miao
http://i1.sinaimg.cn/ent/m/2008-07-19/U ... 230543.jpg
http://i2.sinaimg.cn/ent/m/2008-07-19/U ... 230543.jpg


Bruce Lee Remembered 35 Years on
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/07/20/1261s383241.htm
Bruce Lee family looks for museum sites in Seattle
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/371 ... ource=mypi

Jackie Chan: Zhang Ziyi Should Get Married
http://www.batgwa.com/story.php?id=1069

Confirmed: HY Brothers ends their contract with Ruby Lin
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Confirme ... 62734.html

'Weird' opening better than good
North American debut in September at TIFF
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 585706fc23
Film Review: The Good, the Bad, the Weird
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 16bb5a1cfd

Wedding photos leaked before HK stars tie knot
Fake or real?

http://justwoman.asiaone.com/Just%2BWom ... 77683.html
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Wedding- ... 62802.html

Faye Wong and family airport photos


http://ent.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/sho ... 831&ct=pic

Hong Kong Actor Chun Wong Leaves Hospital
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/07/20/1821s383333.htm
Chun Wong Discharged From Hospital
http://www.batgwa.com/story.php?id=1067

And the New Miss Hong Kong Is...

Edelweiss Cheung
Judges Leon Lai and Mona Fong

http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/07/20/1261s383162.htm
Sir Run Run Shaw with two former Miss HKs

http://ent.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/sho ... 839&ct=pic
Miss Hong Kong 2008 Pageant Results
http://www.batgwa.com/story.php?id=1063
Miss Hong Kong emcees and contestants
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Informat ... 62791.html
Negative News Contestant Edelweiss Cheung Win's Miss Hong Kong 2008
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Negative ... 62788.html
http://ent.sina.com.cn/f/v/misshk2008/index.shtml

Public Security Bureau hates black people
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200807b.brief.htm#021
Um, really? Update on SCMP story
http://www.beijingboyce.com/2008/07/18/ ... cmp-story/

Big Brother arrives (with a little help from the US)
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/07/20/big_b ... ttle_h.php

[Brian Thibodeau]

'Weird' opening better than good
North American debut in September at TIFF
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 585706fc23

Well, this is certainly good news! The trick is gonna be getting tickets, of course, now that it's getting good buzz.

One thing that bugs me about that buzz, though, is that the film is repeatedly being positioned as the saviour of a moribund Korean film industry, as per:

"We hope that the film will jumpstart the Korean film industry and herald an exciting latter half of the year," said Mike Suh, CJ's head of international film financing and distribution.

. . . but I have to think this would require other "buzz-worthy" films to be in the pipeline, and so far, there doesn't seem to be anything generating the kind of interest that this film has. I'd love to be more hopeful . . .


.

[Fan]

Wedding photos leaked before HK stars tie knot
Fake or real?

This should be the first official one.

[Gaijin84]

Wedding photos leaked before HK stars tie knot
Fake or real?

That is a horrendous photoshop job!

[dleedlee]

Wedding photos leaked before HK stars tie knot
Fake or real?

That is a horrendous photoshop job!

Hacken Lee's Nov 2006 wedding photo

http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/h/p/2006-11-28 ... 47548.html

[dleedlee]

. . . but I have to think this would require other "buzz-worthy" films to be in the pipeline, and so far, there doesn't seem to be anything generating the kind of interest that this film has. I'd love to be more hopeful . . .

.

How about The Chaser, or Public Enemy Returns?

Maybe not buzz-worthy, but simply, of interest: The Guard Post/GP 506, Life is Cool - the rotoscoped animation film?

[Brian Thibodeau]

How about The Chaser, or Public Enemy Returns?

Maybe not buzz-worthy, but simply, of interest: The Guard Post/GP 506, Life is Cool - the rotoscoped animation film?

Heck, there's an abundance of Korean films each year that interest me. Too many, says my wallet. And quite a few even follow through on the promise, at least artistically if not always fiscally. It's just that when a movie such as this one is positioned by the media (naturally) as some sort of magic elixir that will increase the box-office takings of other pictures in its wake, my spider-sense starts tingling . They predicted the same thing would happen in the wake of THE HOST, and it didn't, nor should it have, realistically.

Some movies are blockbusters, some aren't. But I find in Korean cinema, annual blockbusters (like SHIRI, JSA, FRIEND, SASSY GIRL, TAEGUKGI, KING AND THE CLOWN, HOST, D-WAR , and now quite likely THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD) are often heralded as saviours of a moribund industry, yet have never really led to a lasting increase in overall ticket sales so much as a boost in the overall quality of film production, as each certainly sets a new benchmark for subsequent filmmakers to meet, which in turn might impact the box-office a bit but usually doesn't set it ablaze for months on end. It'll always be hit and miss, just as anywhere else, despite the wishful thinking of some media analysts. I guess my beef is more with them than anything, for making a one-shot influx of mega-cash seem like the turning around of an entire industry.

[dleedlee]

Where's your typical cynicsm? You don't believe everything you read do you? No one film should be burdened with the expectation of reviving an industry. If anything, if a film is successful, you can expect more (and more) of the same until it's beaten to death and irrelevancy (Japanese horror, Chinese period epics. Now ready for a round 2, thanks to Red Cliff).

Heck, what writer can not be tempted to squeeze 'kimchi Western' into their review? Better yet, any reviews that have not used the phrase? It's a phrase to hang an article on and try to appear clever. (On the other hand, a recent Mad Detective review managed to work in the hoary 'chopsocky' into it. )

Anyway, for the sake of my wallet, an industry downturn works to my advantage. Less films that I want to buy on DVD (e.g., I've only just caught up with Ooh Lala Sisters, Spark the Lighter, Public Enemy, Tazza - The High Rollers this year!)

[Brian Thibodeau]

Where's your typical cynicsm? You don't believe everything you read do you?

Only what I read at the HKMDB. The most trusted name in news®.

No one film should be burdened with the expectation of reviving an industry.

I absolutely agree, but I just wish fewer accredited writers would burden films with such statements, especially ones from countries where there isn't a lot of diversity in the film industry, or the culture, to begin with. And I'm looking forward to the reviews/articles that leave out "kimchi western" altogether. It was clever the first couple times.

Chopsocky's another one. I'm sure the first writer to coin the phrase came off pretty hip and original (he would've to me!), but then it became this sweeping catchall that came to signify "cheap" or "low-brow" in later years.