Saturday, October 31, 2009

Jay Chow releasing new album soon

Every October Jay Chou releases his new album, it's now nearly November, besides news about him being in "The Green Hornet", there's no news about his new album at all. But reporters have found out, the songs for Jay Chou's new album have already been written, in next few days his recorder Gary Yang will fly to Las Angeles to help Jay Chou record his new album. But because of the busy schedule of filming and opening a new restaurant, Jay Chou's new album will be delayed for the first time.

Yesterday reporters found out, the release date for Jay Chou's new album still has not been set, fans will have to wait patiently. "The songs are actually already written, he is working with Vincent Fang and persisting with his past style. But recently he has been busy with filming, there's no concrete timeframe of when it will be recorded, the company will not rush him." The JVR Music staff told the reporters this. Reporters have found out that in the next few days, Jay Chou's recorder Gary Yang will be flying to Las Angeles to produce the album.

This is the first time Jay Chou's new album has been delayed indefinitely, it is indeed surprising. According to reports, besides being busy with filming, he has placed a lot of his efforts into his own restaurant. After opening dessert house "Mr. Qute" in July, his fourth restaurant is in preparation. Even though he is in Hollywood filming "The Green Hornet", Jay Chou is remote controlling the preparations for the restaurant everyday from America. According to reports, he intends to make the store in American style "D Topic Restaurant".

Top 10 albums

1. Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) and 'Diamond Candy' (鑽石糖) with 24.62% sales
2. Ding Dang (丁噹) and ‘Night Cat’ (夜貓) with 6.3% sales
3. Yao Yao (瑤瑤) and ‘Free Love’ (愛的抱抱) with 5.08% sales
4. Joe Cheng (鄭元暢) and 'Chang One Song' (暢一首歌) with 4.77% sales
5. Joi Chua (蔡淳佳) and 'Back To The Start' (回到最初) with 4.3% sales
6. Peter Pan Yu Wen (潘裕文) and 'Dreamer' ( 夢‧想‧家) with 3.96% sales
7. Khalil Fong (方大同) and 'Timeless' (Timeless:可啦思刻) with 3.24% sales
8. Evan Yo (蔡旻佑) and 'Lonely' (寂寞好了) with 3.19% sales
9. Abin Fang (方炯鑌) and 'Regrets' (壞人情歌:遺憾) with 2.72% sales
10. Faye Wong (王菲) and 'Story Of Faye' (阿菲正傳) with 1.82% sales

Friday, October 30, 2009

2pm comback new album release

Following the chain of speculations and discussions after the date 10th November was stated as PM’s comeback new album release date on Cyworld on 28th October, the release date for the album was taken down from Cyworld on 30th October.

And on 28th October, fan union Underground handed over 6192 passbooks with 11,000 KRW in each to JYP headquarters in ChungDamDong, asking to return JaeBum to the group with the money the fans will be using to buy 2PM’s upcoming album.

The album release date and also new song preview release date on Cyworld and Melon respectively was posted up 2 days back.

But on 29th and 30th October, the dates were taken down from the sites.

And at the same time, on 28th October, 2PM fan union Underground return 6192 passbooks with 11,ooo KRW deposited in each one to JYP Entertainment. In each passbook is written, “We wish to use the money meant to buy 2PM’s new album for JaeBum to return” and “I ♡ 재범” at the back of the passbook.

UnderGround members revealed that this is one of their boycott measures to demand for JaeBum to return to 2PM.

And for this boycott exercise, fans from middle and high school, college, working adults in their 20s and 40s, parents and also overseas fans were mobilized.

Yoga Lin's singing and acting

Yoga Lin's first good in singing and then followed by acting. Besides having his own unique ideas when it comes to music, this time round, Yoga will be stepping into the movie industry. "Angel on a Pinhead", a short movie clip, will be his debut performance on the big screen and he'll be the male lead.

For Yoga's previous album "Mystery", HIM invited director Yi Zhi Yan from "Blue Gate Crossing" to use his movie style of filming to direct the "Bo Le" MV. During that period, director Yi Zhi Yan already praised Yoga for having talent in acting. This time round, Yoga will be working with well-known up and rising director Wu Mi Sen who filmed "Fluffy Rhapsody" and "Amour-LEGENDE". Yoga has never acted in any drama before and thus, this chance of filming a movie is a great surprise to him.

During his first trial attempt, he couldn't correctly gauge the expression and might he should exert and the director guided him by saying "Just think about how you'll react when you're pricked by a needle. Act out that kind of feeling." Yoga followed this advice and during the actual filming, his natural and sincere acting was approved by director Wu who even praised Yoga for being very talented. The short movie film 'Angel on a Pinhead" completed filming in 70 hours.

"Ip Man 2" coming soon

The cast and crew is currently filming "Ip Man 2" in Shanghai, Sohu.com reports.

Helmed by director Wilson Yip, the film has gathered actor Sammo Hung and Lynn Hung from the original with the addition of popular star Huang Xiaoming.

The continuation focuses on the life of the protagonist, differeing from the serious theme of 'fighting for survival' in the original. Family relations are highlighted in the action-packed flick, according to the director Wilson Yip.

"Ip Man 2" is slated for release in summer 2010.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tohoshinki singing theme song for "BREAK OUT!"

It was revealed on the 28th that Korea's popular 5-member group, Tohoshinki, will be singing the theme song "BREAK OUT!" (on sale this winter) for NHK's new drama 「とめはねっ!鈴里高校書道部」 (starting next year 7th January, Thursday, 8pm).

Having sung the drama theme song "A Thousand Year Love Song" for NHK's period drama "The Legend" (2007~2008), this is their first Japanese production with the same agency. After attending last year's Kouhaku Uta Gassen for the first time, and holding a successful 2-day Tokyo Dome tour, they are "a group with the most power" (agency), and were selected among other artists.

The OST is a lively pop song. It's a story about struggling through competitions and love, and takes place in a high school's calligraphy club, ♪つかみとれ未来 運命なんて きっとMake yourself 君次第 (T/N: Seizing the future, you have to make your own fate, it's up to you); the song relays the message of pushing forward for your dreams. The leader, Yunho (23), commented, "It's a song that supports the feelings of any youth who is doing his best."

"Saru Lock" drama series to movie edition

It has been known for some time that the NTV drama series "Saru Lock" is getting a movie version. The film now has an official release date: February 27, 2010. An announcement on Thursday also revealed some of the new cast members, including actress Manami Higa (23).

Adapted from Naoki Serizawa's action-comedy manga of the same name, the drama stars actor Hayato Ichihara (22) as the girl-obsessed Saru, who happens to be a brilliant locksmith. The show just finished its broadcast run on October 15.

The drama's main cast is returning, including Sei Ashina (25), Gota Watabe (23), and Sousuke Takaoka (27). The new cast members will be led by Higa, playing a beautiful but deceitful woman named Mayumi. She requests Saru's help in opening a bank safe, resulting in a chase by the police.

Other cast additions include Manami Konishi (31) as a high-ranking police officer who graduated from Tokyo University, Ken Mitsuishi (48) as a gang leader, and Masahiko Nishimura (48) and Jun Kunimura (53) as members of the National Police Agency.

Filming started on September 30 and is scheduled to continue until mid-November.

New Taiga drama 'Ryoma den' airing next year

Airing next year on NHK, the new Taiga drama 'Ryoma den' has already begun filming. As the lead actor in the drama, Fukuyama Masaharu expressed some nervousness taking on the title character. Visiting the set of 'Ryoma den' was this year's Taiga drama lead actor, Tsumabuki Satoshi. He specially bought high class beef to share with the cast and crew of the drama.

Tsumabuki's 'Tenchijin' is already near the end of broadcast. While filming had ended already, Tsumabuki found himself once again at NHK's Tokyo Shibuya studio. Tsumabuki and Fukuyama both exchanged gifts to formally announce the 'handing over' of the drama. Gifts included yonezawa beef from the Yamagata Prefecture where 'Tenchijin' is set, and niitaka pear, a specialty of the Kochi Prefecture where 'Ryoma den' is set. The two actors shook hands to signify the exchange. Fukuyama expressed that, "now it really feels like filming has begun."

For someone who's had a year of experience filming, Tsumabuki shared his techniques with everyone. "Every Friday, Saturday night, everyone will go out for drinks. Sunday is a day to rest and recharge. By Monday it's back to filming as usual. If you keep with that kind of schedule, then the year will pass by very quickly.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Upcoming movie " Ong Bak 3 "

Thai action star Tony Jaa says his Hollywood debut is a "matter of time" after his latest movie, "Ong Bak 2," was released in the United States last week.

Thailand's answer to Jackie Chan and Jet Li has built up a solid boxoffice record in the U.S.

His last two movies, "Ong Bak" and "The Protector," earned $4.6 million and $12 million there.

"Ong Bak 2" marks the 33-year old's debut as director. The Thai-language movie, with English subtitles, opened Friday in 10 theaters and made nearly $26,600 in its first weekend, according to figures from the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.

"I'm happy to know that there are people in the States who like my movies. Hollywood is the capital for the movie industry. It would be interesting to go there. It's a matter of time," Jaa said in response to written questions from The Associated Press.

Praising Jaa as "the most well-rounded of all action stars," Chan said in 2006 that he pitched for Jaa to take a role in "Rush Hour 3" but the Thai actor had a scheduling conflict.

"Ong Bak" was the story of a young villager who ventures to Bangkok to retrieve a stolen Buddha head — a no-frills production centered on a righteous character who hesitates to kill.

The sequel takes a different track. An orphaned son from a well-to-do family tries to avenge their deaths after receiving martial arts training from a group of guerrilla fighters. Set in centuries-ago Thailand, the movie features lavish sets and costumes. Jaa plays a more brutal character than in "Ong Bak," which features a variety of martial arts besides "muay Thai," or Thai-style kickboxing.

Jaa alarmed studio executives by taking a break from shooting "Ong Bak 2" last year. He said he needed time to rethink the movie.

"I took a break to do more training for the stunt scenes and also to clear my mind. It is important to take more time to make a movie than just rushing it and at the end the movie is not the way you want it to be," he said.

Jaa said he is already shooting "Ong Bak 3."

'Autumn's Concerto' easily goes up first rank position

Ratings for 'Autumn's Concerto' have reached a new high of 4.02, easily claiming the first place position. Vanness Wu happily said: "Earlier, I received a text message from Jolin and she said that she & her girlfriends are all discussing about this drama." On the other hand, Ady An has been busy promoting in mainland China and didn't have time to watch the Sunday broadcast, but when she turned on her cellphone once she was back in Taiwan, it was flooded with congratulation texts. She laughed saying: "Me & Vanness' bed scene will air this week. ah I feel so shy!" But Director Chen teased her: "It's okay, just drink wine before you watch."

SETTV idol drama 'Autumn's Concerto' is becoming red-hot popular with the audience & netizens starting heated discussions & debates. Episode 4 aired on Sunday the 25th and the ratings gained a very good result of 4.02. Everyone was very happy with the completed scenes and on the 27th, when the drama crew was filming at the Ilan train station, they specially took some time out to celebrate. The village leader specially provided Ilan's famous peanut candies for everyone, and all the actors hoped that the ratings will get better & better!

Towards this, Ady said: "I was due to film that night, and I was planning on having some fun with all the staff members, but I realized I was too late, and they already had their own party during the day." Vanness also said that he had received a text message from good friend Jolin, saying: "Me & my girlfriends are all discussing your drama, it's really good! Jia you!" And he happily expressed: "Thanks to everyone's support, all the hard work during filming has been worth it."

Episode 5 will air this Sunday and the storyline will break new ground. Ady said: "Me & Vanness' bed scene will air this week. ah.. I feel so shy!" But Director Chen teased her: "It's okay, just drink wine before you watch."

Omega's first boutique from Zhang Ziyi

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is in Singapore to open Omega's first boutique in the city-state, at the ION Orchard shopping mall.

During a media conference with the company's president, Stephen Urquhart, she revealed a secret to potential suitors hoping to win her heart.

"I say next time, you prepare a ring and a watch with diamonds. Then I will say yes, definitely," Zhang said.

She declined to say if she is currently working on another movie project, but said she will be returning to China to fulfil a busy schedule.

The international actress is the Omega's newest spokesperson, and she said that the partnership was fated as the first watch she ever bought was an Omega.

"I spent pretty much all the money I had earned then. I still haven't worn that watch till now. I can't bear to as I'm scared I'll lose it," Zhang said.

"I did not get a discount at the time. But I asked my boss, and he said that I can get a discount now," she quipped.

Novel "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" going to live

It has been confirmed that Yasutaka Tsutsui's popular sci-fi novel "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" is getting another live-action movie adaptation. The cast will be led by young actress Riisa Naka (20).

"Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" has already inspired several adaptations in film and television. The first live-action movie was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi in 1983, starring Tomoyo Harada. Haruki Kadokawa did a second film in 1997 with Nana Nakamoto as the lead. Most recently, in 2006, Madhouse produced an award-winning animated film based on the story, directed by Mamoru Hosoda.

Naka provided the voice for the protagonist in the animated film. She will play a different character in the new live-action movie, which is an entirely new story.

Naka takes on the role of Akari, the daughter of Kazuko Yoshiyama (played by Narumi Yasuda), who was the heroine in the original novel and the first two films. Akari is going on to university, but after Kazuko falls unconscious due to a car accident, she leaps back in time to the 1970s and begins searching for her mother's first love.

The film is the feature-length debut of director Masaaki Taniguchi. Theatrical release has been scheduled for March 2010.

New drama "Divorce March" from SETTV

SETTV's new drama "Divorce March" starring Tammy Chen just announced last week that "King of Adventure" host Wang You Sheng will be replacing Wallace Huo who resigned from the role. However, yestreday, China production team for "The Lost Temple (失蹤的上清寺)" jumped out to mention that Tammy has already signed a contract with them and was suppose to report for filming yesterday. "Divorce" producer Wang Pei Hua expressed that Tammy has long signed an agreement to star in "Divorce" and will be booked by them till December. She has already accepted their down payment too. Tammy Chen is now put in a situation where she has conflicting contracts and might even face lawsuits!

"Divorce March" has been having delays in starting filming due to the various issues such as the change in director and resigning of Wallace Huo. The manager in charge of Tammy's China contracts, Ye Ke Tang thus accepted "The Lost Templer" for her instead, causing this conflicting contract issues now. Yesterday, Tammy's Taiwan manager Jia Hui stepped out and clarified that they originally agreed with the "Divorce" crew to wait till September 15. However, due to the constant postponing, they then decided to give Tammy's October 25 - January 15 schedule slot to the China production team.

Jia Hui is now arranging with the "Divorce" team to let Tammy film "Lost" first to avoid clashes but "Divorce" production team refuses to let her film 2 dramas at one time. Ye Ke Tang angrily expressed yesterday that "There isn't any contract signed but they refuse to let her go! Nobody respect the meaning behind a contract anymore?"

Tammy also expressed regretfully yesterday that though she didn't win the Golden Bell Award through "Story of Time", she really want to thank Wang Pei Hua for her support. "I promised Pei Hua Sister to wait for her!" and she said that she has orally told the company before to not accept "Lost" and she's feeling very troubled now.

Drama "Letter 1949" release soon

CTS 8pm drama "Letter 1949" is airing soon but two days ago, Lin Yo Wei's manager Pan Chong Wei angrily withdrew him from all promotion activities as it was rumored that there were pictures of Lin Yo Wei's nude bed scene that were leaked. He angrily criticized the production team "That day, Yo Wei only filmed the nude scene that was suddenly added in by the director due to his professionalism as an actor. Yet the production crew did not keep to strict rules and allowed for the pictures to get leaked. From now onwards, we refuse to participate in any promotion activity for this drama."

The bed scene where the nude pictures leaked were taken, consisted of male and female actor Lin Yo Wei and Yin Xin. When the scene was filmed in Shanghai that time, director Chen Ming Zhang found the atmosphere and feelings to be very appropriate and thus made a sudden request for Lin Yo Wei to go nude while Yin Xin appears in a sexy nightgown. Besides having an exciting bed activity, Lin Yo Wei even walked down from the bed and allowed the director to film his back view. His buttocks were captured. It is understood that the nudity photos that were leaked were of that scene.

Pan Chong Wei angrily declared yesterday that when the assistant present at the film site called to inform him that Yo Wei agreed to full nudity, he felt that it was not appropriate already. After discussion with the production team, they promised to delete the scene. He said "There isn't a need for such nudity for a television drama. If its really for the drama, then so be it. Why are there photos then? Who took the photos? Wasn't the film site was cleared already?"

Two days ago, when the leaked photos came out, "Letter 1949" production team Dong Ying and CTS were all very flustered. Dong Ying pushed the blame onto a staff that quit and expressed yesterday that they're trying their best to find out where the leaked photos have went to and will prevent them from being published. CTS on the other hand is busy trying to rearrange all the promotion events that Yo Wei has withdrew from. Pan Chong Wei also regretfully expressed that Yo Wei was acting two kinds of character in this drama. He was so deeply involved that he even seemed to have autism at some point during filming. Yet the outcome was such treatment. They will not work with Dong Ying again in the future.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Naohito Fujiki and Ryoko Hirosue won Best Formalist awards

The Japan Formal Wear Association presented its 10th annual Best Formalist awards on Tuesday. This year's winners were actor Naohito Fujiki (37) and actress Ryoko Hirosue (29).

Fujiki attended the event in a black tuxedo with bow tie, while Hirosue showed up wearing an indigo blue dress.

The awards have been given every year since 2000. Last year's winners were Yo Oizumi (36) and Yumiko Shaku (31).

Jay Chou ongoing with a film "The Green Hornet"

Jay Chou has been busy filming "The Green Hornet" in Hollywood, recently in order to fully support his junior female apprentice Cindy Yen, he took time out of his busy schedule to fly back to Taipei to film the MV for the two's duet "Sand Painting", the director Kuang Sheng built a massive sand shore on the set, he hired the only spray paint teacher in Taiwan to spray on the wall ever changing clouds. Jay Chou especially played the cello for Cindy in the MV, on the other hand Cindy Yen showed off her piano skills and violin skills, the two "harmonize the two instruments to perform the beautiful dialogue between the piano and cello."

Jay Chou sang the r&b song "Sand Painting" with Cindy, it's an exception to his usual practice of only singing songs he has written himself with girls. According to reports, Cindy went through a lot during the writing of "Sand Painting", when she wrote the first version she didn't dare to give it directly to Jay Chou, she hid outside the recording studio watching Jay's reaction, after "judging" it Jay Chou said: "This song's not bad, but it's more suitable for you to sing it yourself." After being rejected all Cindy could do was go back and try harder, she kept on thinking about what song would be suitable for her to sing with her senior male apprentice, she gave him a second song, after hearing it, he said: "Yea, keep trying!" She knew it wasn't ok, after suffering rejection twice in a row, Cindy persisted in doing her best, she kept thinking about music that suits both their domains and feel, she even especially designed a rap in the song for Jay Chou, she worked on it all night, and at last got Jay Chou's approval.

When filming the MV, Cindy's piano and violin were against Jay Chou's cello, the set was filled with smoke. After their battle, Jay Chou praised her musical ability: "Cindy's piano playing skills are really amazing! She is as good as Yuhao, but for a girl to be able to play at this pace and crazy power, it's really cool and surprising! She was completely different when I was singing with her, you see she is very quiet when singing, but once she starts playing the piano she is completely different! The important point is she can write songs, you have your own style by writing your own songs!"

Cindy was very grateful to Jay Chou, what made her even more touched was that Jay Chou rushed to the set to join the filming as soon as he returned to Taiwan, it was her first time filming an MV, Cindy said: "I was so nervous I couldn't sleep! I had not idea whatsoever what I had to prepare, my senior apprentice told me I had to relax, he looked after me like a sister, I'm so lucky to be able to sing with my senior apprentice!"

After receiving guidance from Jay Chou, Cindy quickly learned how to get into the state, in order to set the scene for the song, they built a sand setting on the set, with the wind blowing the sand after the filming Cindy had sand all over her, she didn't mind and said it was all worth it! In the MV Jay Chou had a mixed style look, a black jacket, white trainers, he had on a hip hop cap and leather gloves, he matched the mix of classical and r&b of this song, when he was playing the cello he put out a cool pose, with a speed so fast that your ears can't catch up, he played out the melody from the cello at lightning speed, the director was stunned! He laughed saying he really knows how to show off!

Jay Chou didn't forget to teach the newcomer Cindy, firstly he laughed saying she had to be careful of the paparazzi! He also told her: "Don't mind too much about discussions online, because writers don't take attacks! There's lots online, a majority of them are jealous, envious." He said directly: "I think you have to know how to re-adjust yourself."

Ongoing drama "Hi My Sweetheart"

Show Luo (Xiao Zhu) and Rainie Yang filmed the CTS idol drama and slapped for real. When the director gave the signal, Rainie did not utter a word and “papapa” gave nine slaps on Show’s face. Show was astonished and almost became infuriated. He immediately looked into a mirror and sourly said, “Is my face red? No one has slapped my face before, Rainie Yang, you’re in big trouble!”

Actually, once Rainie finished slapping him, she was astonished as well because Show’s face wasn’t only red like a pig’s liver, but it was also swollen. It looked like he was a poor little boy who experience family abuse. Though, this is due to Show’s own physique; his skin and blood veins are rather weak. A little soft hit may cause a contusion, but on top of that he cares a lot about his appearance; his face is more important than his life. He even said it himself that when he was young and fought with classmates, he threatened them saying, “You want to fight, let’s fight, but try to touch my face if you dare.”

is scheduled to premiere on November 1st, and it’s still filming in Kaohsiung right now. This slapping scene is about the “violent girl” Rainie who was mad at Show for lying to her, and immediately slapped him. The script said that it is three continuous slaps, and plus the director has to film the long, short, and close shots, so it became nine slaps. Since Show started filming dramas, he had never been slapped before. When he saw the script, he thought the slap will just be an angled effect, so when Rainie slapped for real, Show’s whole expression was stunned. Though, because everyone was staring at them, and they are from the same company, he can only hold it all in.

Album "Super Girl" and "Moving On" revealed in beijing

On October 26, 2009, Korean group Super Junior-M and powerful R&B young diva Zhang Liyin revealed their new releases in Beijing for a Sohu showcase. Together, SJM revealed their mini-album "Super Girl" and Zhang Liyin revealed her second single, "Moving On". On the press day, SJM was decked in suave black suits, looking exceptionally handsome and making many fans in the audience scream excitedly. Meanwhile, their junior Zhang Liyin wore a petite pink dress, accessorized with a chain of small pearls.

Zhang Liyin's single, "Moving On"; SJM's Donghae became an intimate partner on-set

Through the lyrics, "standing at boundary of a sunny day and a rainy day", the title track, "Moving On" is a romantic R&B song that speaks of a couple who breaks up, creating an aesthetic imagery of that feeling. Also, the MV invited SJM's Donghae to guest star. Not long is the song stunning to listen to, watching the two people's intimate relationship in the MV is visually appealing. Altogether, this unsettled many of the fans. After the broadcast of the song, the fans in the audience couldn't help but exclaim: Zhang Liyin is too well-liked!

In today's fun and games, since they weren't in the MV this time around, Han Geng and Siwon pretended to be the couple on-stage, re-enacting intimate scenes in "Moving On". The host then said: So this is "brotherly love," humouring many audience members. Not to be outdone, other SJM members also followed suit, making the nearby Liyin silent in embarrassment.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Upcoming new music album "Seven Days"

During filming for a music video in his upcoming new music album, Seven Days, Taiwanese indie singer, Crowd Lu, was nearly involved in an accident while driving towards one of the gardens in Taipei. His car tires were punctured when he bumped into one of the pot-holes on the road surface and started to spin out of control.

As the car was heading towards the 20m protective railing near the beach, the driver started to reduce the speed of the car and prevented the situation from turning into a disastrous car accident.

Unfazed by his near-accident encounter, Crowd continued with his optimistic performance for his title track, "Oh Yeah". The 24-year-old singer also invited his juniors, room mates and fellow classmates from Tamkang University to star in his latest music video.

Crowd appeared visibly pleased with his popularity amongst friends and schoolmates. His attempt to revisit his varsity memories were aptly shown in the music video which was shot at various corners in the school for example, the library, a bus and the hostel.

An ex-roommate of Crowd exclaimed that the biggest advantage from knowing the singer would be the free singing sessions they get to listen to at his place.

It is not easy for singers to juggle between their studies and work as Crowd grimaced, "As there are too many things, I am unable to attend classes as there are too many things There are some consequences but I really do not have a choice."

Taiwanese singer Wang Lee Hom at Singapore

Taiwanese singer Wang Lee Hom was in town over the weekend as a special guest for the grand opening ceremony of ION Orchard. With his nifty dance moves and smooth velvety vocals, Lee Hom danced and sang his ways into hearts of the audience present.

Casually dressed in jeans, 33-year-old Lee Hom made his grand appearance at 8pm that night. With an exuberant smile on his face, Lee Hom constantly interacted with his fans, waving and greeting them with bouts of "Hi, Hello!"

He also greeted President S. R. Nathan, who was amongst the distinguish guests present for the event and revealed that he is in the same alumni as Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong.

"Senior Minister Goh and I used to study at William's College. I have seen him around in the school campus many years ago."

A constant visitor to our sunny shores, Lee Hom's last visit to Singapore was in 2008 for his Music Man World Tour.

"I have been visiting Singapore every year since 1995," said Lee Hom who shared that his three-day stay here is "the longest thus far" and commented that it "feels like a holiday!"

That night, Lee Hom performed a repertoire of three songs including a swoon-worthy English track performed on the piano, "I hope you don't mind". He strummed along on his electric guitar and bowled fans over with his rendition of "What's wrong with me" and the upbeat, "Heroes of Earth".

As his performance came to a close, Lee Hom started to countdown to the fireworks performance with the host. An array of fireworks filled the skies with its magnificent display.

After the end of the fireworks display, Lee Hom left the outdoor stage venue and entered the shopping center under the company of three to four bodyguards. The amiable singer was welcomed with high-pitched screams upon his entry into ION Orchard and shook hands with a few lucky fans.

"Bodyguards and Assassins" hit screens in December

Leon Lai's costume stills in upcoming film "Bodyguards and Assassins" are released on the internet.

The veteran actor plays one of the bodyguards who were united in a mission to protect Sun Yat-Sen against a series of assassinations when he was in Hong Kong in 1905.

The 150-million-yuan project, produced by Peter Chan, gathered a lineup of A-list stars, including Donnie Yen, Fan Bingbing, Nicholas Tse, Wang Xueqi, and mainland talent show sensation Li Yuchun.

The film will hit screens in December 2009.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

'You're Beautiful / You're Handsome' became more well known

It seems like SBS weekly drama 'You're Beautiful / You're Handsome' is becoming more popular as the series' OST album is on the music market, causing a scene.

The OST album, having been released on October 14 2009, has already produced over 20,000 copies due to the amount of praise it has been getting in the public.

Not only that, the publisher of the album believes that album sales can reach over 15,000 since more orders are steadily coming in.

'You're Handsome' OST album is currently recieving good response ever since album sales were release on Hanteo charts. Not only that the song has been rising on popular charts such as Bugs and Mnet. No wonder the album is getting a good response from the audience.

Though the OST is currently gaining popularity due to their strong album sales, it seems that the series is not getting praise due to its low tv ratings. However with its solid audience and its musical background series, more audience will soon be captivated.

The album consists of 11 tracks including songs from FT Island, Lee Hong Ki, A.N.JELL and other various artistes.

'You're Handsome / You're Beautiful' is currently airing on channel SBS on Wednesdays and Thursdays till end of November.

New Pop-rock band flumpool

Pop-rock band flumpool have set the release of their very first full album, called What's flumpool!?, for December 23rd.

What's flumpool!? will have a total of 16 songs, with a total length of almost 80 minutes. The singles Natsu Dive, Hoshi ni negai wo and MW ~Dear Mr. & Ms. Picaresque~ are all included on the disc, as well as the digital releases Frame and Mitsumeteitai, which were used as CM songs for "LISMO" and "Mynavi" respectively .

A long nationwide tour is also being planned to start in March next year, called What's flumpool!?~Love&Piiiiss Kids Show!!~. Spanning 46 dates in 40 cities around Japan, it will start at Misato Bunka Hall on March 5th and finish at Naha Shimin Kaikan on June 5th.

New Drama (美麗密令)

Charlene Choi (Ah Sa) and William Chan have recently been very busy with new film (美麗密令). When speaking of the heated kissing on bed scene, William exposed that when there were chest-chest interactions with Ah Sa, he felt that she was experienced. The two even did a re-enactment of the intense kiss scene at the event, what a funny joke!

Ah Sa, William, Sherman Chung and Vincy Chan attended the "Metro Charitable Karaoke Singing Tour" kick off event. The group of EEG singers sang fast songs from the 90's generation with fans, it was a very lively scene.

Ah Sa and William both revealed that the new film they are working on has got them sleepless. Speaking of the bed scene that they just completed, much experienced Ah Sa said: "I filmed so many scenes, but I had never been this awkward. I was touching his face and did not know how to kiss him. (Good aftertaste?) Perhaps we are just too familiar with each other, I just felt that it was really funny." William laughed and said that the director Wong Jing "added" a bed scene and can be considered a category III film. He said: "It's quite intense this time, kissing from the front to end of the bed. (Did you guys touch any sensitive areas?) My chest felt that Ah Sa is an experienced person, so I need to help her rehabilitate!"

Also speaking of the rumors that Gillian Chung accepted a 10 million HKD reward for breast augmentation surgery, Ah Sa said: "Crazy! She won't do it, if that's the case, it would be me first! There has always been some people who offered a high salary for me to be their spokesperson, but I am just too satisfied with my body figure, so I will not accept these kinds of endorsements for money!" Earlier Vincy went to Nanjing with some friends and played with a palm reading machine that she felt was quite accurate. Vincy said: "The machine said I'll find my 'peach blossom' (other half) with people who are rabbits or tigers. Next year is the year of the tiger, I hope to find my happiness then. (Do you have a partner?) I have one in mind, still stabilizing the relationship!"

Fahrenheit having concert in taipei arena

Fahrenheit from today will have concerts at the Taipei arena in the next 2 days, Jiro Wang who has been busy with dance practice, strained a muscle in his right wrist just 3 days ago, aching if he doesn't move his wrist. Once again he takes his injuries to stage, as last year in the concert in Hong Kong he had hurt his right knee and even had to sit in a wheel chair, alas unable to breakaway from the curse of being injured on the opening concert. With a bitter laugh he said "I will try my best".

Jiro in order to practice his own dance routines sprained his right wrist, he was rushed to hospital where the doctor advised him to rest his right hand, but because the concert is so close he had no choice but to continue with dance practice. He also took out $40 000 NT to buy 5000 crystals sticking them one by one with his own hands onto his electric guitar. When seeing his guitar becoming super bling he forgot about the pain in his hand. As with his shiny electric guitar no one is allowed to touch it, if he sees staff members trying to help put it away he will stop them and tell them "I'll do it!"

Wu Chun, Calvin Chen and Arron Yan with fear and trepidation welcomed their 1st ticketed concert in Taiwan, at present 80% of tickets have been sold in their 1st concert while 70% has been sold in their second concert.

Amuro Namie ninth original album on December 16th

Popular singer Amuro Namie has announced the release of her long-awaited ninth original album for December 16th.

It has been over two years since namie's latest album PLAY came out. This new album, though currently untitled, is being hyped by the media and her fans due to the release of her explosive best-of album BEST FICTION in July 2008, which has sold over 1,700,000 copies since its release date.

The album is expected to come with a total of 12 tracks, including all four songs used in "Vidal Saasson" commercials: WILD, Dr., COPY THAT and MY LOVE. It will go on sale in both CD and CD+DVD editions, with the latter including the music videos of WILD, Dr. and four other brand-new tracks.

Actors were at New Shaolin Temple

Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and other actors were at Shaolin Temple for the press conference of New Shaolin Temple, the abbot entertained them in the abbot room with blessings and recitation.

In addition, the abbot also prepared 5 precious swords as present for Emperor Group’s boss Albert Yeung Sau-Shing and other cast, they were also asked to autograph on the register as memoir.

Andy whom had been cast as a swordsman several times, draw out the sword when he received the sword, all his actions stunned Fan Bingbing and even Nicholas Tse and Wu Jing was attracted by Andy’s skill.

Andy said: “When I received the sword from the abbot, he told me not to treat this sword as a weapon, look it as a peaceful thing, this way you will know to cherish it, the abbot’s words are meaningful, it seems as a message to asking all to learn to let go, don’t be too persistent, this present is really meaningful.”

Couple dance ‘My Ear’s Candy’ from 4Minute

4Minute HyunA and Super Junior EunHyuk revealed their couple dance of ‘My Ear’s Candy’.

4Minute recently appeared at the filming of KBS NDrama ‘Super Junior’s Miracle’. The show is about giving mentor to strayed students. And for this latest filming, 4Minute has appeared on the show as Hope Messengers, and was greatly welcomed by Super Junior.

After introducing 4Minute as the group which “shows off all their charms in 4Minute“, they suggested a ‘happy virus dance party” and 4Minute member HyunA did a dance with EunHyuk on Baek Ji Young’s dance hit ‘My Ear’s Candy’.

Eun Hyuk also revealed the ‘boobiboobi dance’ during 2PM TaecYeon’s rap part of the song.

The show will be aired on 24th October at 8pm.

Ella Koon with Window 7 demonstation

Ella Koon attended the promotion press conference for window 7 the other day. She also demonstrated the various functions of the computer. Reporter asked whether she had asked her boyfriend for help when she has problem with the computer? Ella replied that she didn't want to talk about her boyfriend.

Ella revealed that she has lost her voice recently and she is worried about her health. She said "The doctor said I need to rest my voice for at least 3 moths. If I continue to sing too much, it would damage my vocal cord. Nowadays, apart from singing, I hardly talk." Ella went on to say she has never worried about her health before and now she has to rearranged her workload. She may have to decline some of the invitations. This is because she doesn't want to push herself too much. Ella disclosed that she likes to talk, but now she has to be quiet." Ella added "I don't talk to people I don't know very well on the phone, instead I use the text."

Happy birthday Aaron Kwok

Aaron Kwok will be 44 today, and he has a day off from the producer. He had made it clear earlier that he will not be celebrating his birthday with rumored girlfriend Lynn. In fact, Aaron already knew Lynn is not in Hong Kong.

Aaron was wearing a suit yesterday when he attended "Longines" new shop opening ceremony. Aaron is the spokesperson for Longines and he was there to celebrate their 120th anniversary. Aaron also wore the watch Retrograde worth 80,000 HKD given to him as a gift from the company. He revealed that he is interested to collect all limited brand watches, and the watch he is wearing has only got 120 in the world. Aaron told reporter he hasn't planned how to celebrate his birthday yet.

Aaron disclosed that he was invited as special guest in a tennis activity. He was than supposed to fly to Thailand to work on a new film "The detective" directed by Oxide Pang. However, the director knew it's his birthday, he gave him a day off work. Aaron said "If the lyric of "The Storm Warriors II" is ready, I will come back first to do the recording. It may record till the early hours, than we can have dinner with my colleagues." Reporter asked if he would celebrate his birthday with Lynn? Aaron said "No, I hear she is not in hong Kong. (You know where she is?) I only found out from the newspaper. (It's Mango Wong's birthday next month. Are you going to celebrate her birthday with her?) I have no comment."

Jin Akanishi release a single album " BANDAGE "

Jin Akanishi, a member of the popular boyband KAT-TUN, will release a single called BANDAGE along with musician and producer Takeshi Kobayashi, in their newly-formed group LANDS.

LANDS is a fictional group formed for the movie "BANDAGE". Akanishi plays the character Natsu, responsible for the main vocals of the title song, and Takeshi Kobayashi, known for his works as Mr.Children's producer, will be the group's general sound supervisor.

BANDAGE, which will serve as the theme song for the movie, is described as a danceable rock tune. It will go on sale on November 25th in two limited versions, one of these including its instrumental counterpart and the other including its music video and making-of in a separate DVD.

With scripts and production by Iwai Shunji, the movie also has performances by Kaneko Nobuaki (from rock group RIZE), Kitano Kie, Kengo Kora and Miki Shibamoto. It is set to debut in theaters in Japan in January 2010.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Jay Chou and Cindy new release 'Sand Painting'

During the recent FETnet advertisement, a young girl has captured the hearts of the audience. With her beautiful appearance & bright smile, Cindy Yen has sparked many netizen's discussions & debates. But this girl doesn't just have a pretty face; the music in the advertisement is composed by her, the lyrics are written by her & she even produced it! She also specially wrote english lyrics to fulfil the requirements of the ad. And Jay Chou has just signed her under his company JVR Music. She is the first female junior that Asia King Jay Chou has signed, and her arrival & the music that she has brought has already attracted everyone's eyes & ears! But even more, Jay will duet with her in her new title track 'Sand Painting' which Cindy has composed and the lyrics are written by Vincent Fang. This is the first time that Jay Chou has ever sung a song that is not composed by himself, and this song will be released globally today on Hit FM, and everyone will be able to see & hear her amazing talent!

Jay Chou hasn't sung many duets in the past. The ones he has sung: 'Rooftops' with Landy Wen & 'Coral Seas' with Lara has left a big impression on the public, and is one of the most popular sung songs at KTV! Hence, his new duet with Cindy 'Sand Painting' is receiving alot of attention & anticipation! Although Jay singing a duet isn't too surprising, but the surprising thing is that this song is composed by Cindy & this will be the first time ever that Jay sings a song that isn't composed by himself. This shows his full confidence in Cindy's ability & talent in music. And to Jay's fans, their idol has been extremely busy throughout this year, and for the first time, he won't be releasing an album this year. Hence, perhaps the release of this song 'Sand Painting' can partly make up for that, and at the same time, allow everyone to meet this very talented newcomer.

Cindy actually has alot in common with Jay as the 2 both come from a classical music background, and their conversations are always about music. Cindy began learning the piano at 5 years old & the violin at 10 years old. She was born in Texas, America but was often bullied by her classmates due to her Asian face & when she was 12, she also had to face her parent's divorce. Hence, music gradually became her best friend & the most important thing in her life that accompanied her throughout her childhood. When she was 17, she headed to Taiwan, aiming to achieve her dream of becoming a singer. She sent many DEMOs of her music to various big music companies. At first her mother was very opposed to the idea and wanted her to concentrate on her studies, however gradually, she began to see how important this was to her daughter.

Eventually, Cindy met JVR & they used a different angle to view her music. They gave her alot of space to create her own music, and let her do whatever she wanted with it. Her debut album will be released on the 30th of October. Cindy expressed: "Right now, I still can't believe it! It's like a dream! Very excited but also very nervous! To me, not only has this achieved my dream, but in the future, I hope to be able to help my mother to share her responsibility and burdens, and I want to be her source of pride!"

2pm relase new album mid-November

Although it's been a month since Jaebeom traded 2PM for Seattle, the fan feud has only heated up between supporters of 6-member 2PM and advocates for a seven-member 2PM only. However, despite Korean & international Hottests' protests, JYP Entertainment is officially ready to move on.

A representative from the agency has confirmed that 2PM will release a new album mid-November.

The album was originally planned for an October release; however, with Jaebeom's sudden withdrawal, JYPE was forced to push the date back. Furthermore, JYPE has been faced with significant pressure from boycotters, fans and public opinion alike. Many Hottests have threatened to boycott any six-member 2PM products, and are expected to follow through with their words.

It looks like JYPE & Jaebeom are finally on the move again; as we reported earlier, Jaebeom will reveal his state after the September scandal on the new KBS 2TV show Into Sunday Night on October 25.

Wu Ming new drama "Butterfly And Sword (流星蝴蝶劍)"

Wu Ming is filming the television drama version of "Butterfly And Sword (流星蝴蝶劍)" but the original female lead Alyssa Chia dropped the drama at the very last minute. Ivy Chen has now been selected to replace her. Ivy has great fate with the "big brothers" in the industry. She first worked with Vic Zhou and Eddie Peng in "Black and White" and "Heard" respectively, having romances, and now, she'll be collaborating with Baron Chen, Victor Huang, Liu De Kai. Although she failed to get nominated for the Golden Bell and Golden Horse, with such a group of people to work with, she's probably going to be able to laugh even when she's sleeping.

"Butterfly And Sword" will start filming in China's Hengdian World Studios starting early November. Wu Ming once filmed the movie version of "Butterfly Sword" years back and this time Ivy will be acting as Joey Wong's "Xiao Die" character while Baron will be starring as "Meng Xing Hun" which was acted then by Tony Leung.

The original female lead Alyssa Chia announced in Shanghai days before filming was starting that she wanted to try fighting for the chance to see her daughter Wu Tong Mei and hence will no longer be acting in "Butterfly and Sword". Wu Ming was shocked but he had no reasons to destroy a possible mother-daughter reunion.

Ivy is of course delighted to have been moved to the role of female lead but many of her friends are reminding her to not let reel love turn into real love with Baron Chen who's good at electrifying ladies.

GDragon performing his first solo album for 3rd time.

In 9 years of friendship, TaeYang and GDragon will have their first ’showdown’ for their solo stage for the first time on music program.

The 2 Big Bang members have known each other since elementary grade 6 and trained under YG Entertainment since 2000. But coming 25th October, the 2 will have a showdown of their solo stages on SBS Inkigayo.

Even though the 2 of them have performed their solo stages on music shows, but this is first time they perform together on one show.


TaeYang will be performing his new solo song ‘Where u at’ for the one and only time. Coming mid November, he will releasing a digital single ‘Wedding Dress’ and also his 2nd full length solo album. This performance was brought up by requests from fans.

GDragon will performing the song ‘A Boy’ from his first solo album for the 3rd time on the show that day.

Much anticipation is in for the 2’s solo stages on the show that day. Definitely a must lookout for.

Singer or Actor attended the Jade Solid Gold ceremony

Julian Cheung (Chilam), Myolie Wu, Charlene Choi (Ah Sa), Hins Cheung, Ivana Wong, Jason Chan and so on attended the Jade Solid Gold (JSG) ceremony yesterday. Chilam is making a comeback into the music industry. He has been busy promoting his new song recently and working intensively; even wife Anita Yuen is complaining that he is too busy with work almost drained when he gets home. Also revealed that their plans of having a baby has been interrupted.

Chilam jokingly said that he is a tough and strong man and is still very energetic. He revealed that wife Anita Yuen is also very busy. He needs to make an appointment to meet up with her. And regarding Anita performance in would it be able to compete with Kenix Kwok's performance, Chilam said, "Doesn't matter getting an award or not. As long as the audience like and praise it, is more than enough."

Myolie Wu attended this event as a singer. She appeared wearing the see through, sexy bareback dress. And in regards to the rumor that she self-nominated herself to film the movie her rumor boyfriend Bosco Wong, she said all her jobs is being organized by her company.

Super Junior Kim HeeChul acting ‘Love You A Thousand Times’ drama

Super Junior Kim HeeChul will reveal his first solo song, which is also the OST song for the drama ‘Love You A Thousand Times’ he is acting in.

He will be singing for his own theme song ‘초별 (First Star)’ in the drama. The song is written by Song JoonHo and composed by Choi MyungHoon, and is a medium tempo rock disco song, singing about one’s first love. This theme song is to express the love of Lee Chul (played by Kim HeeChul) towards NanJung (played by Park SooJin).

This will be HeeChul’s first official solo song, even though he has performed various special solo stages on Super Junior’s concerts.

The song will be revealed on 6th November on various music sites.

Popular group Arashi collaborate with Nihon TV

Popular group Arashi will be doing a collaboration with Nihon TV, from the 25th to Nov 1st, it will extend over 8 days, with Arashi appearing in various tv shows, called 『嵐CHALLENGE★week』. To bring it to a finish, on the 1st, they will broadcast a live special titled "Congrats on 10 years!! Tonight, Arashi will create a sensation... Odoroki no Arashi era's big experiment!! Scholars also predict impossible SP & it's called a miracle experiment life!!(7pm) On the 22nd from the same bureau it was announced an unprecedented "Flying through the air stage" live will commence. This live experiment was commented on with a touch of uneasiness by Sakurai Sho who is said to have a fear of heights. "Honestly, I don't really want to do it. Is that...safe? Won't it fly to somewhere else...? Right now I'm thinking it'll end in failure instead of success."

The experiment will have a helium gas balloon that is 9.6m in length, and a 13.6m width, and Arashi will ride on top, and as the song starts, they will float up, and from about 13 meters above ground they will perform.

In previous concerts, they have used wire, and performing from the air was their own special thing, but this time the "Sky Stage" is a first for them. Matsumoto Jun said, "Lately, we've flown a lot (laughs), but a stage flying in the air is a first. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of stage it will be, but I'm looking forward to it!" Ohno Satoshi also said, "We haven't sung on something like the "Sky Stage", so I'm simply happy! Please watch us sing and float in the air!" so look forward to the date the experiment will be aired.

The "Sky Stage"'s height is no less than 13 meters, so they don't fly off, a rope will be tied to it to ensure their safety but even then the fear is immeasurable. Ninomiya had this to say with a smile to his fans, "We also don't know how it will go, but at this point we will go on with it. (laugh) Everyone in front of the TV, please pray that we can sing safely.

Furthermore, Arashi is challenging this special program to have a 3D broadcast where the figures pop out. When the audience puts on 3D glasses, they will be able to see the members performance in 3D, and show a strong performance. Aiba had this to say with his confidence brimming, "The "Sky Stage", and performing in 3D is a dream project, so we will do our best to show you a fairy tale world. Floating on the sky stage, I think we will be able to show everyone right before your eyes from the TV us flying out in 3D."

Butterfly music video had released

G-Dragon has released the music video for Butterfly. This song has some story behind it. Not only was the song hand picked by G-Dragon himself as his favorite song on the album, it's also been accused of plagiarism.

We were informed of this music video's October 23rd release yesterday and now it's here!

Originally, it was announced that A Boy would be the third music video to be released but I guess he went with the song he felt was the best. The song itself is different from his other tracks. It has an acoustic guitar introduction and features Jin Jung. It's not even a dance song but more of an alternative rap song where G-Dragon almost sounds like he's singing for the most part.

The song is very romantic and the music video portrays it very well through purposeful animation. This video ends the series of singles for his mini album, it brings together the art direction for the album and its very "Alice in wonderland" like. Although fans were surprised that he chose Butterfly, we all know you ladies love anything G-Dragon. His previous music videos include "Heartbreaker" and "Breathe".

Since G-Dragon is currently promoting A Boy on stage, people were confused. To that YG Entertainment said, "He will promote A Boy on music shows and promote Butterfly with the music video at the same time."

Thursday, October 22, 2009

'Talk in space concert' last Friday

David Tao held 3 concerts starting last Friday for his . After being too energetic in the first two concerts, during his third at Hsinchu, fans reported that he sounded tired in his voice, and expressed their disappointment.

David Tao gave up on holding a grand and prestigious concert, and chose to hold his concert at a small venue to be nearer to fans. From last Friday to Sunday, he held three concerts at Kaohsiung, Taichong, and Hsinchu. This Friday and Saturday, he will hold two more concerts at Taipei International Convention Center.

Singing three concerts back to back is a big challenge, and David Tao really did tired himself. Some fans expressed on the web that David Tao’s voice sounded odd right at the start of the concert, and said that he had obviously "exhausted his voice." And because David Tao cared too much about controlling his voice, it led to other mistakes. Nonetheless, David Tao tried hard to elevate the audience. However, fans indicated that they would rather hear David Tao cancel the concert like what Jacky Cheung did in due to a flu. This way, he would not damage his voice.

In regards to this, Gold Typhoon expressed, "David Tao was too tired. What happened at that concert was an unexpected situation. In addition, he was not familiar with the venue at Hsinchu. He didn’t prepare his voice well in the beginning, but he warmed up and had a great time singing later."

Jackie Chan demonstrate his kung-fu

Jackie Chan has found an ideal place to demonstrate his kung-fu skills - the Shaolin Temple.

The temple, a martial-arts hotbed in central China's Henan Province, held a ceremony on Thursday to welcome Chan, as well as other film stars including Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse and Fan Bingbing. The stars were there to kick off the filming of "New Shaolin Temple".

The film is the first to be allowed on location since the 1982 smash-hit movie "The Shaolin Temple", which turned Jet Li into a star. Besides the star-studded cast, the new film will feature Shaolin monks demonstrating martial arts that have rarely been seen elsewhere.

"New Shaolin Temple" revolves around a Shaolin monk, played by Nicholas Tse, who grows to be a hero during war time. Jackie Chan plays the monk's kung-fu master.

The film will be directed by Benny Chan with a release scheduled for late 2010.

The thousand-year-old Shaolin Temple is widely regarded as the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts, which have inspired a bevy of film and TV productions, including the award-winning 1970s American TV series "Kung Fu", starring David Carradine as a Shaolin monk.

"Saka no Ue no Kumo" start airing next week

Broadcaster NHK has announced that Sarah Brightman will be in charge of the main theme song for the historical drama series "Saka no Ue no Kumo." The song's lyrics are entirely in Japanese, which will be a first for the world-renowned soprano.

Titled "Stand Alone," the song was composed by Joe Hisaishi and written by Kundo Koyama. It will be included on the drama's soundtrack album, scheduled for release on November 18.

The first part of "Saka no Ue no Kumo" will start airing on November 29. The remaining two parts are planned for 2010 and 2011.

"Yukizuri no Machi" turn to be drama again

The Tatsuo Shimizu novel "Yukizuri no Machi" is being adapted again, this time as a movie under director Junji Sakamoto. The story was previously turned into a 2-hour television drama in 2000.

Toru Nakamura plays the lead as a former teacher at a prestigious girls high school. He married a student named Masako (Manami Konishi) right after her graduation, but the situation was treated as a scandal and he was forced to leave his job. The two divorced, but 12 years later they meet again.

The movie is scheduled for a fall 2010 release.

"Stay the Decade Alive" release on January 1

Gackt has already provided two theme songs for the "Kamen Rider" franchise, and now he is doing another one for the next movie. His new song "Stay the Decade Alive" will be used in "Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Double & Decade Movie Taisen 2010," which opens in theaters on December 12.

Gackt's "Journey through the Decade," released in March, was his first "Kamen Rider" tie-in as the theme song to the television series "Kamen Rider Decade." He followed that up in August with "The Next Decade," used in the movie "Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker." He also appeared in that film as a character named Riderman.

"Stay the Decade Alive" is his third tie-in single, set for release on January 1, 2010. It will be sold in the typical CD and CD+DVD editions, plus a limited memorial edition that contains two DVDs and a special booklet with words from Gackt on the "Kamen Rider Decade" series.

Wonder Girls is at China Mobile Festival performing

Having being so sucessful in the states, Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” will take step into China’s market this time.

Wonder Girls will be attending China Mobile Festival held on the 28th this month in Beijing, and will be performing hit song “Nobody”.

The festival is one of the biggest event that the mobile company & the department of culture & arts jointly organised. International top star including Jackie Chan & Zhang Ziyi will also be attending the event.

Wonder Girls will be representing korea’s artiste for this event & will be performing “Nobody”. Also, the Wonder Girls will also be attending the closing red carpet ceremony.

Since June 2009, Wonder Girls had digitally released their hit single “Nobody” in the United States, taking up the challenge by entering the US market. However, this time round the girls will also be releasing it in mandarin version, to venture out for the chinese market, as reported earlier by Wonder Girls & producer JYP himself when they were at the press conference during their visit in China in June.

The soaring popularity of Wonder Girls is tremendously increasing, the request for the girls to perform on big events are extremely high.

Previously, Wonder Girls did not participate actively with promotions in China. However, their company JYP Entertainment expressed that they are ready & prepared to take on the china market. Also expressed that, the first solo concert in China will take place in Shanghai, on December 2 2009. This would be the time for the Wonder Girls to showcase their title deemed as “Asia Sisters” in china once again, hopefully they would receive much attention.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Kelly Chen's son 100 days old

Kelly Chen's son Liu Sheng (Nickname : Little Shrimp Dumpling)1 turned 100 days old yesterday. And Kelly posted a picture of her son on her blog to share with her fans. The 3 months old Little Shrimp Dumpling weight 16.5pounds (approx. 7.5kgs), with chubby cheeks - very very cute and adorable. In the blog post, besides this photo (the one above), there were also photos of Kelly and the son. Those photographs were very "warmed".

Kelly wrote on her blog : Little Shrimp Dumpling is finally 100 days old! Very happy to see him grew bigger and bigger each day. He now weights 16.5pounds (approx. 7.5kgs). A lot of people have been asking me whether do I have a photograph of Little Shrimp Dumpling, now I am showing him to all the brothers and sisters.

Since it is Little Shrimp Dumpling's 100 days old, she decided to take a recent photograph of him and upload it on her blog. In the photograph, we could see Little Shrimp Dumpling's round and energetic eyes and thick hair. Although Little Shrimp Dumpling's 100 days has passed, but they did not hold any grand celebration fearing that Little Shrimp Dumpling might get infected by the recent diseases (swine flu)2.

Workload increases. Stop breast feeding.

With the recent increase in workload, Kelly has to stop breast feeing Little Shrimp Dumpling. He has been drinking milk powder now. He needs approximately 6 meals a day leading to a drastic increase in his weight. Every 2 weeks, his clothes becomes too small for him. He loves to play with water during bath, laughing non stop, making his parents happy and amused at the same time.

"Beethoven Virus" received a special award for foreign programs

"Beethoven Virus," a popular South Korean TV drama that aired last year, received a special award for foreign programs at the International Drama Festival in Tokyo, according to the event's Web site Tuesday.

The South Korean series will be screened Tuesday with China's "Ma Wen's War," India's "Balika Vadhu - Child Bride" and "The Unbreakable Bond," which also received the award for foreign dramas.

"Beethoven Virus" was praised at home for successfully dramatizing an unusual subject, classical music, casting it in the eyes of an internationally famed conductor who attempts to salvage a local orchestra.

Established in 2007, the third Tokyo drama fest awarded its Grand Prize to Nippon Television Network's "AISHITERU - KAIYO" starring Izumi Inamori and Yuka Itaya.

"Let Bullets Fly" release on 2010

Producer Ma Ke confirmed that Chow Yun-Fat has joined the cast of director Jiang Wen's upcoming gangster film "Let Bullets Fly", the sina.com reported.

The Hong-Kong-born Hollywood star will play a cruel and ruthless gangster boss with a kind face. Although a high-handed tyrant, he will also bring some funny comedy scenes, the report said.

Director Jiang Wen was very demanding with the screenplay, Ma Ke was quoted as saying.

"It took nine writers half a year to revise the script, which was only just finally settled recently," he said. "We can say Chow's role was tailor-made for him."

"For example, there were no less than ten options for the ending of the movie. The director and Chow came up with the final version when they were drinking and chatting.

Chow will star alongside the director-actor Jiang Wen and China's leading comedian Ge You. Also in the cast are actors Hu Jun, Chen Kun, Shao Bing, Liao Fan and Zhang Mo.

The 11 major male roles will go towards assembling a Chinese "Ocean's Eleven", according to earlier reports.
Investment in the movie has hit 150 million Hong Kong dollars, or about 20 million US dollars.

"Let Bullets Fly" started filming in suburban Beijing in early October with a release date set for the fall of 2010.

"The BEST of Aqua Timez " ranked #1

Pop-rock band Aqua Timez released their first best album, "The BEST of Aqua Timez," last week. The collection ranked #1 on the weekly sales chart at more than 83,000 copies.

The album is the band's first to top the charts since they signed with a major label. However, they already achieved it once during their indie days, with the album "Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori." It was released in August 2005, but it didn't reach #1 until February 2006, just a couple months before their major label debut.

the pillows and Kome Kome Club also made the top ten this week with new albums, ranking #7 and #8, respectively.

On the singles chart, rock duo B'z took #1 with "MY LONELY TOWN," which sold close to 181,000 copies. This is their 43rd consecutive chart-topper, extending their record. They are also now tied again with SMAP and Ayumi Hamasaki for the record of 44 top ten singles.

Sukima Switch's new song landed at #2, followed by the new male idol group Shinsengumi Lien. Also near the top were The Gospellers (#5), Shoko Nakagawa (#6), The Birthday (#9), and a "Macross" single (#10).

"Strong World" release on December 12

The popular band Mr.Children will be providing the theme song for the next "One Piece" movie, their first ever for an animated film.

Currently one of the most successful manga franchises, the comic is now in its 12th year of serialization. "One Piece Film: Strong World" is the franchise's 10th theatrical film. The manga's creator, Eiichiro Oda, supervised the movie's production, and he personally requested a song from Mr.Children.

The band accepted the offer this past February and finally finished the song at the end of September. Titled "fanfare," it will be released as a chaku-uta on November 16. No CD release date has been set yet.

"Strong World" opens in theaters on December 12.

Single Weekly Chart

1. B'z - My Lonely Town = 180723
2. Sukima Switch - Golden Time Lover = 20521
3. Shinsengumi Rian - Otoko Michi = 17972
4. YUI - It's all too much / Never say die = 17395
5. The Gospellers - Love Notes = 14382
6. Shoko Nakagawa - Arigato no Egao = 12407
7. Hilcrhyme - Shunkashuto = 12068
8. Kiyoshi Hikawa - Tokimeki Rumba = 9948
9. The Birthday - Ai de Nuritsubuse = 9476
10. Mari Iijima, FIRE BOMBER, May'n, Megumi Nakajima - Chojiku Anthem 2009: Iki wo Shiteru Kanjiteiru = 9128

Album rank Chart

1. Aqua Timez - The BEST of Aqua Timez = 83464
2. ayaka - ayaka's History 2006-2009 = 61329
3. Yuzu - FURUSATO = 36624
4. Backstreet Boys - This is Us = 27786
5. m-flo - M-F10 ~10th Anniversary Best~ = 19386
6. MADONNA - Celebration = 18225
7. the pillows - Ooparts = 15476
8. Kome kome Club - Sunrice = 14908
9. SEAMO - Best of SEAMO = 14782
10. YU-A - You Are My Love = 12667

Wonder Girls enter the rotation playlists in American radio stations

Idol group the Wonder Girls may be working its magic in the United States, becoming the first Korean group to enter the rotation playlists of some of the top 40 American radio stations, according to their agency on Tuesday.

"Of the 167 'Top40 Radio Stations' located throughout major U.S. cities, their U.S. debut single 'Nobody' has entered the rotation playlists of 18 stations," said JYP Entertainment. A song which goes on the rotation list will play at least once or twice a week for a month.

JYP also said that according to an airplay analysis chart by music website Mediabase, 'Nobody' was played over 65 times by radio stations between October 12 to 18 to increase the group's airplay ranking by 16 spots from the previous week to No. 107.

"From what we've seen so far, we expect to seem them enter more rotation playlists and their airplay ranking to increase," JYP explained.

The popular five-member group released their first U.S. digital single in late June and performed the opening acts for all 53 shows of the Jonas Brothers' U.S. tour. 'Nobody' is the English version of the song originally released in Korea which was a hit throughout several countries Asia.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

"True Legend" still in progress

Yuen Woo-Ping's new film about 19th-century hero Su Qi-Er will open in Chinese cinemas around mid-February in time for the Chinese Lunar New Year, the movie's producers announced on Monday.

They plan to announce the exact opening of the film "True Legend" at a later date.

The producers believe the film will be a commercial success because the New Year holiday is usually a major contributor to China's annual box-office revenue.

"True Legend" stars Chiu Man-Cheuk as martial-arts legend Su Qi-Er with supporting cast members Jay Chou, Zhou Xun and Michelle Yeoh.

Su Qi-Er, whose stories were passed down as folk tales, was originally a wealthy kung-fu amateur in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). After losing his fortune because of a conspiracy against him, he devoted himself to martial arts and eventually became a renowned master.

Director Yuen Woo-Ping, an influential martial-arts choreographer and filmmaker, made a film about Su Qi-Er in 1993. He says the latest film explores Su's personality with a more dramatic story.

Moviegoers will also be able to see a few scenes featuring the late Hollywood actor David Carradine, who was known for his role in the "Kill Bill" series. Director Yuen invited Carradine to work on his film after a pleasant collaboration in "Kill Bill" for which Yuen was the stunt advisor. Carradine died in Thailand earlier this year.

"The Founding of a Republic" become the box-office champion

The all-star film, "The Founding of a Republic", has become the box-office champion of China's domestically-made films after taking 406 million yuan (US$59.47 million) since its premiere on September 16.

"It has far exceeded our expectations," Weng Li, spokesman with the state-owned China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), said Monday.

"We initially expected the box office to hit 200 million," he said.

The movie recounts Chinese history from 1945 to 1949. About 200 established Chinese actors and directors, including Jet Li and Chen Kaige, participated in the film.

It was made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), said director Han Sanping, also the chairman of the CFGC.

"We are planning to bring the prints of the film to poor and mountainous areas to accommodate people there," Weng said. "And they will enjoy it free of charge."

The previous champion in the Chinese film box office is "If You Are the One" directed by Feng Xiaogang, released on December 18, 2008, which took in about 340 million yuan as of January 24.

Weng attributed the success of the epic film to the blend of mainstream political values and marketing.

"The gathering of stars played the historical roles vividly," he said.

Prof. Yin Hong, of the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University, said the film could be considered as an example of politically-themed movies attempting to reach a wider audience through marketing.

"More stars mean more attention, which will attract the public," he said.

Monday, October 19, 2009

'Autumn's Concert' and 'Momo Love'

Yesterday night, 'Autumn's Concert' broadcasted it’s 3rd episode. Although it met strong competitor 'Momo Love's premiere broadcast, the ratings were unaffected, and even rose by 0.34. Although it is still a little far off the rating of 4.54 in Vanness Wu's dream, but it still reached a very good result of 3.59.

Yesterday afternoon, 'Autumn's Concerto' main cast specially held a signing event at Bi Tan. To prepare for the exciting scene of 'Vanness Wu vs. Tiffany Hsu basketball PK’ that would air later that night, the organisers specially arranged a basketball shooting game for the cast and fans. Vanness Wu, Ady An & Chris Wu each chose 2 fans to come onstage to join them. Chris was definitely feeling it and he came out top with 22 goals in 1 minute. And as the winner, he won very expensive gifts for the fans in his team. Ady & Vanness followed, with 21 & 17 goals, respectively. Although the other 4 fans didn’t get to win a prize, they each won a 'love's hug' from Vanness & Ady as encouragement.

Earlier, there were rumours that Vanness had a dream about ratings. He expressed: “In my dream, I saw some numbers, but when I woke up, I couldn’t remember exactly what the numbers were. I think it was either 3.43 or 4.54!” And this made Ady, who was beside him joke: “3.43 is too easy! Last week we got 3.25, so it should be 4.54 right?” And Ady also promised: “If ratings break 5.66, then Chris Wu will jump off Bi Tan!” And earlier, the ratings were revealed, and it rose to 3.59, completely unaffected by the premiere broadcast of 'Momo Love'.

Director Winnie You’s new drama 'Momo Love' has a lot of handsome guys and girls in his cast, and hence attracted a lot of attention before broadcast, however the ratings for the first episode was only 1.95. Whether or not it can beat 'Autumn's Concerto', we shall have to wait and see.

"Jianyu Jianghu" 2010 release

Asian Bond Girl and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" lead Michelle Yeoh will soon star in a romantic kung fu thriller to start shooting in Shanghai on Oct. 30 with writer-director Su Chaopin ("Silk"), producer Terence Chang of Lion Rock Prods. told The Hollywood Reporter.

A $12 million co-production with Beijing Galloping Horse Prods., Media Asia of Hong Kong and two publicly traded Taiwan media companies, the tentatively titled "Jianyu Jianghu" can be described, Chang said, as " 'Face/Off' meets 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' set in the Ming Dynasty."

Chang will produce with his filmmaking partner, Hong Kong-based director John Woo. Hong Kong-based sales company Fortissimo will represent the film in the international marketplace.

"It's great to have the opportunity to work again with John and Terence, who as producers have once again assembled a fantastic team -- from the stellar cast, including Michelle Yeoh, to the director to the crew," Fortissimo co-chairman Michael Werner said.

Galloping Horse, perhaps best known for the hit Chinese TV series "Three Kingdoms," has put up half the financing for the film that is part of a first-look deal it has with Lion Rock for projects shooting in China.

In the film, whose tentative title loosely translates as "Rain of Swords in the Martial Arts World," Malaysian Chinese star Yeoh plays an assassin who falls in love with the son of a man whose father was killed by her gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, their love blossoms and then tensions rise as the past comes back to haunt them.

"Every actress in Asia wanted this lead role," Chang said, noting that his friendship with Yeoh stretches back 30 years.

The project also is set to star Korean actor Jung Woo-Song ("The Good, the Bad, the Weird") as the male lead, Chinese actor Wang Xueqi ("Forever Enthralled") and popular Taiwanese singer and television actress Barbie Hsu, among others.

Director Su will begin shooting at the Shanghai Song Jiang Shen Qiang studio, move to the Hengdian World Studios outside the city, then over to Taiwan, where a quarter of the film will be made.

"Jianyu Jianghu" is set to be completed for a late-summer 2010 release.

Featuring "My Song, Your Sun"

Venturing to the music industry Zheng Yuan Chang has a new version for his EP. Specially featuring the song [My Song, Your Sun] the Japanese-sung version of [Chang Yi Shou Ge]. Has yet to started his oversea promotions yet the Korean male prostitution pub has already started to distribute their flyers using pictures of the handsome guys like Jun Matsumoto, Hyde, Okada Junichi etc, all were being highly promoted as male prostitutes.

When Xiao Zong heard about it, he immediately laughed out loud, he then realized that it was the picture taken when he just started off in the entertainment industry, he clarifies that he has never worked in a male prostitution pub before and calling out to the public to respect the portraiture right to avoid breaking the laws.

Yesterday he was having signing session for the new version of his EP, having fans especially coming from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong etc attending this event, Xiao Zong was overwhelmed by their gesture. He humbly said that his hasn’t really mastered the Japanese language yet and he can only communicate in Japanese with the kindergarten children; he has to hire a home tutor to have one-to-one lessons, working hard on using his own transcriptions to sing the Japanese song, hoping that the fans will notice his sincerity.

When Xiao Zong was performing his upbeat song, everyone is aware of the bandage of his right index finger, he revealed that he was being weigh down by a pillar when he was holding his bicycle, he didn’t really pay any attention to it at first, not until he realized that his index finger has swollen and painful, he then immediately rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night. The record company has especially arranged for a massage therapist to examine his health, in the end, he was being diagnosis of having mental tension which cause him to have tight muscle; then his eating habit is not normal, could easily get stomach inflation! Zheng Yuan Chang has a sudden enlightenment on this comment and says: [It’s true, no matter what I eat, it will be settle very quickly, no wonder my stomach and intestines is not good.]

Caption: Zheng Yuan Chang’s EP is now on sales; he was having signing session for the new version of his EP yesterday. Xiao Zong showing off his injured finger that he got it from moving to a new house.

Tokyo International Film Festival opened on Saturday

The 22nd edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival opened Saturday at the Roppongi Hills complex where both the TIFFCOM market and most of the screenings will take place.

Prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, and his wife Miyuki – a former actress – walked the green carpet which organizers had laid for the second year to underline the festival’s ecological message.

“And we get to have a new prime minister here every year,” joked one of the festival staff referring to the rapid changes of political leadership that have seen five premiers in five years.

After the suitably star-studded opening ceremony, with plenty of green bowties on display, Jacques Perrin’s visually-stunning documentary, “Oceans,” was the environmentally-themed curtain raiser.

“We still have time to save the world’s oceans,” Perrin told the audiences in the ceremony arena and projected across the theaters in the Roppongi Hills multiplex.

A screening of controversial documentary “The Cove” about dolphin fishing in Japan -- which was a late addition to the festival program -- has sold out already, for what may be a rare chance to see the film here.

TIFF runs through to October 25, while the TIFFCOM market opens for business from Oct. 20-22.

Mark Chao crowned Best Actor of the 2009

The newly crowned Best Actor of the 2009 edition of the Golden Bell Awards emerged yesterday as Mark Chao, but netizens have already started to question the fairness of the judging. They suspect that Mark won because the judges were judging him based on that of a newcomer, so therefore he bested Zaizai (Vic Chou).

The other opinion is that since Mark is signed under Director Tsai as an artiste, he would naturally cut portions of the drama whereby Mark acts better for the judges to see, and therefore he and Zaizai were never fairly judged to begin with.

Committee member Li You-ning explained yesterday: “Judges don’t base their results on the identities of the nominees, they only base the outcomes on the nominees’ performances.” He further said that the actors were based on the performances in two cuts of each show.

“Perhaps each judge has different opinions on acting and aesthetic quality, so we have this system whereby the highest score is 90 and the lowest 70 in case of a too-big difference in the scores. After the results are out, we then ask the judges to review and discuss the outcome, and everyone votes. For the Best Actor award, Mark Chao was leading Zaizai by a huge gap, so there is no doubt about the result.”

Lee You-ning commented that Mark handled all his scenes well, be they emotional or fighting scenes, and the judges really were “shocked” by his performance. He also said that Mark’s award is both an encouragement and a source of stress to him, so the newbie should focus on improving and delivering better works the next time.

However, netizen Sandy stands on Zaizai’s side: “No matter how you look at it, Zaizai’s role was the most challenging, and he also portrayed it so well. It’s unbelievable that Mark Chao got the award instead.”

Another netizen 1541108 also said: “I look down on the production unit, who used Zaizai’s fame as a form of promotion while secretly promoting the newbies. Everything, from lines to the development of character was focused so heavily on them, nobody can stand to be treated like this.”

But there are also others on Mark’s side, saying: “Like what the judges said, because it was Mark’s first time acting, therefore he had no fear and was able to fully express himself via his physical actions. After all, action scenes are more on physical movements and the such, so it’s no surprise that Mark impressed everyone.”

“Shanghai Sweetheart” premiere on November

Show Luo (Xiao Zhu) was stabbed twice during the Golden Bell Awards two nights ago. First is Zhao Zheng Ping, who made friends through webcam, calling him “brother,” pulling him into the water. The next stab is losing to newcomer Mark Zhao for Best Actor. That night, GTV hosted an after party banquet, and Show as asked, “Have you watched Mark Zhao’s drama?” Show actually replied with, “Yes, he’s the rebelling and spoiled one!” But the rebelling character should have been Vic Zhou.

Show demonstrated his good manners and demeanor; even though he did not win he still went over to GTV’s celebration banquet for half an hour. In response to Mark Zhao winning Best Actor for his first drama, Show said, “I do not care about the time of one’s debut; everyone put a lot effort into their work.”

Even though Show did not win, but he had much girl luck. During the celebration banquet there were more than 30 black and white ladies flying to him. They basically touched Show all over and even kissed his cheeks. He was kind of scared and said, “What’s happening?” When asked about the award, he said that he will let the motive of winning lay upon the new drama “Shanghai Sweetheart,” hoping that he can next year.

During the night of the Golden Bell awards ceremony, Zhao Zheng Ping called Show “class leader,” implying that both of them are victims of webcam-friend-making. When the camera was taking Show, he appeared a bit uneasy but still laughed. Last night his manager, Xiao Shuang, said, “When Show was filming at age 17, Zhao Ge was the one communicating with Show, so they are really close friends; therefore, they were able to joke about that.”

Yesterday morning, Show went to Kaohsiung to film Angie Chai’s new drama, “Shanghai Sweetheart.” This drama will premiere on November 1st on CTS. But because Show and Rainie Yang are just too busy, it’s extremely hard for them to have time to promote the drama. Tomorrow night at 10:10, CTS was originally planning to air Rainie Yang’s concert, but it suddenly changed to airing Michael Jackson’s concert instead. The only television promotional event is going to 100% Entertainment, hosted by Show. On the 20th, Rainie will be there to record a ‘movie gathering’ and air some trailers.

"Assembly" won at China's Golden Rooster Awards

Feng Xiaogang's war film "Assembly" was the big winner at China's Golden Rooster Awards, clinching best film, best director, best cinematography and best music.

In the every-two-year awards announced late Saturday in Nanchang, the capital of southeastern Jiangxi province, Feng's story about the heroics of a People's Liberation Army unit during the Chinese civil war in the 1940s shared the top prize with Chen Kaige's profile of late Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang, "Forever Enthralled."

Best actor went to Wu Gang, who played a legendary oil worker in "Iron Man."

One of China's top actresses, Zhou Xun, shared top female acting honors with Jiang Wenli. Zhou played a taxi driver looking for her missing boyfriend in "The Equation of Love and Death." Jiang was honored for her performance in "And the Spring Comes," a drama set against economic changes in China from 1988 to 1998.

Wang Xueqi won best supporting actor for "Forever Enthralled" and Yue Hong was named best supporting actress for the drama "A Tale of Two Donkeys."

Asia Pacific Screen Awards held on Australia’s Gold Coast

Japan’s chart-topping R&B star AI has been selected as the headline performer for the third annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) ceremony, to be held on Australia’s Gold Coast on Nov 26. The prestigious ceremony will host more than 500 film industry luminaries from around the globe as awards are presented across nine categories to leading film practitioners from the Asia-Pacific region.

After more than 4 million downloads of her hit song “Story,” AI recently completed a 40-venue tour of Japan, performing sellout shows to 100,000 people. With many top selling albums, and her new No. 1, “BEST A.I.”, she is one of the most dynamic artists in Asia. APSA is a unique collaboration between CNN International, UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producer’s Associations. The Ceremony will feature in The Screening Room Xtra, to be broadcast globally across CNN’s global network from Dec 3.

AI will perform the breathtaking feature track from the score of multi-award winning Japanese film, “Okuribito” (Departures) during the APSA ceremony. Japan is represented strongly in the 2009 APSAs with seven nominations – more than any other country competing in the Awards. “Okuribito” (Departures) has received two nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Performance by an actor (Masahiro Motoki).

In addition to “Okuribito,” AI will open the show with a performance of one of her own songs from her new album which debuted at No. 1 on the Japanese charts earlier this month. AI is the first major Japanese star ever to perform at an international awards ceremony outside of Asia.

Speaking from her home in Tokyo, AI said, “It is a tremendous honor to be invited to perform at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. I think film, like music, has the power to tell wonderful stories and transform our lives. And I am extremely glad and proud to perform at the ceremony in Asia-Pacific.”

APSA Chairman Des Power said, “The films and filmmakers of Japan are held in the highest regard. We have had many Japanese nominees in the APSAs since our inception and this year has seen an unprecedented number of nominees from Japan. AI’s performance will further strengthen our relationship with the creative community of Japan and we look forward to welcoming her to the Gold Coast in November.”

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Show Luo (Xiao Zhu) nominated for Golden Bell Best Actor

Show Luo (Xiao Zhu), who is nominated for Golden Bell Best Actor, brought with him a photo of his father, who has past away. He said, “I hope that the whole family’s energy can be together.” As for Cheryl Yang, who’s nominated for Best Actress, was the busiest nominee. Before the awards ceremony she was still in a hurry to grab some money; she attended the Swarovski event and earned 200 thousand dollars.

Show Luo, for his performance in “Hot Shot,” was nominated again for Golden Bell Best Actor. Last night, he brought with him the family photo that his fans created for him as a lucky charm. In the photo, to the left of Show should have been his grandmother, but his fans changed it to Show’s father, who has past away already. He said, “Whenever there are some events, I will bring my family photo. My father won’t miss out because the whole family’s power has to be together.”

As for Show’s competitor, Mark Zhao, who was nominated based on his performance in “Black&White,” was actually filming the movie “MONGA” yesterday until next morning. He woke up in the afternoon and then hurriedly went to trim his hair. His father, Allen Zhao, wrote him a note on the chair telling him to not look too heavily upon winning and losing. He said, “I’m not nervous at all because I just cannot be me.”

Cheryl Yang, who was nominated for Best Actress with her performance in “My Queen,” was extremely busy yesterday. 7:00 in the morning, she started working on her make-up and outfit. At noon she first had to take some photo shoots. Even just three hours before the Golden Bell Awards ceremony, she attended Austria’s crystal brand, Swarovski, Taipei 101 new store grand opening event. She really took advantage of time to earn money. She actually said, “I definitely won’t work that hard! I just always like this brand, that’s why I have to personally congratulate their new store grand opening even if I’m really busy.”

Afterward, at 4:00 in the afternoon, Cheryl immediately went to the hairstylist to prepare for the Golden Bell Awards ceremony. She nervously said, “I didn’t have much feelings before, but this morning I suddenly felt uneasy.”

She expressed that not matter if get wins Best Actress or not, she found out that she’s going to Malaysia with Ethan Ruan to promote “My Queen,” she’s already the most popular and busiest nominee.

2009 World Tour Concert in Hong Kong from S.H.E

With the anticipation of all their passionate fans, S.H.E finally launched their 2009 World Tour Concert with an explosive debut performance in Hong Kong. The trio lives up to their promise to their fans and filled their evening with a visual and audio extravaganza.

Under the glittering blue stage lights, a remix version of [Super Star] rocked the whole coliseum when the first note was played. The trio appeared dressed as Genies, in vivid colours of red, blue and white. At the sight of the trio, the crowd roared with cheers to welcome them. As the backdrop of the stage changed, the trio subsequently transformed into 3 sexily dressed ladies, and the already "HIGH" concert mood heightened further as the trio entertained the crowd with their songs and dances.

During the concert, S.H.E performed over 30 songs, with numbers from the time they entered the entertainment industry to recent new songs. Fans enjoyed the concert immensely and the whole coliseum was filled with an ocean of luminous lights. The trio reciprocated everyone's enthusiasm with their passion, and delivered their promise of a grand metamorphosis in their music journey, before the very eyes of the media and their fans.

Top 10 Album chart

1. Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) and 'Diamond Candy' (鑽石糖) with 29.45% sales (NEW!)
2. Yao Yao (瑤瑤) and ‘Free Love’ (愛的抱抱) with 10.62% sales
3. Ding Dang (丁噹) and ‘Night Cat’ (夜貓) with 7.43% sales
4. Khalil Fong (方大同) and 'Timeless' (Timeless:可啦思刻) with 4.22% sales
5. New Artist Family (新藝人家族) and ‘Faith Map’ (信心地圖) with 3.15% sales
6. Peter Pan Yu Wen (潘裕文) and 'Dreamer' ( 夢‧想‧家) with 3.53% sales
7. Zhou Bi Chang (周筆暢) and 'Time' (時間) with 2.47% sales
8. Evan Yo (蔡旻佑) and 'Loneliness' (寂寞好了) with 2.31% sales (NEW!)
9. Eason Chan (陳奕迅) and ‘5/F Blissful Cuts' (上五樓的快活) with 1.78% sales
10. Angela Zhang (張韶涵) and ‘The Fifth Season’ (第5季) with 1.63% sales

A list of 44th Golden Bell Award

Best Drama: Black And White (痞子英雄)
Best Director: Tsai Yue Xun (Black And White 痞子英雄)
Best Male Actor: Mark Chao You Ting (Black And White 痞子英雄)
Best Female Actress: Liu Rui Qi 劉瑞琪 (Marriage For Three Women 女仨的婚事)
Best Supporting Male Actor: Chen Bo Zheng 陳博正 (You're My One And Only 你是我的唯一)
Best Supporting Female Actress: Huang Jia Qian 黃嘉千 (The Story Of Time 光陰的故事)
Best Screenplay: Liu Rui Qi 劉瑞琪 (Marriage For Three Women (女仨的婚事))
Best Variety Show Host: Hu Gua 胡瓜 (Challenge 101 挑戰 101)
Best Variety Show: The Biggest Political Party (全民最大黨)
Best General TV Program: The China Experience (中國大體驗)
Best Commercial Series: My Queen Commercial Series (《败犬女王》印象版系列广告)
Best Marketing: Black And White (痞子英雄)

Mega-Idol drama serial "Down With Love"

After many months of hectic filming, finally the Mega-Idol drama serial [Down With Love] - a collaboration between Jin Xi TV, An Xi Wei Shi and Taiwan's GTV stations, wrapped up filming in Taiwan this month. During the post-filming celebrations, Ella appeared dressed in a little black dress, a complete constrast to her down-to-earth Cinderella's look in the serial. Ella's transformation into "Sexy Goddess" has got the child starlet, Xiao Xiao Bin, exclaiming aloud, "Ella-jie jie is very gorgeous, I don't dare to look at her."

Being a mega idol serial and a collaboration across the shores, [DWL] has a strong casting. The bubbly and carefree Ella took on the challenge to act as a "down and out" former little rich girl, juggling multiple jobs in order to return the debts her father owed. But while working for her employer, played by Jerry Yan, the couple ended up falling in love. Ella was excited about the storyline of the script and when asked to share on one of her most memorable experiences, it also revolved around experiences between them. "For instance, when we arrived in Hangzhou, the temperature was very hot. But yet, the whole production team all got together to watch the Solar Eclipse. He (Jerry) was constantly exclaiming - It's like a miracle and just like the end of the world. Another memorable and special experience is during the last day of filming when we were at Yang Ming Mountain, and we heard the sounds of the fireworks from the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games." [DWL] has filmed for 3 months and the cast endured filming under the scorching heat of 40 degree celsius and sacrificed many hours of sleep. Nonetheless, Ella is still very excited. For at one moment, she could be wearning a little yellow cap and a round-neck white blouse with a blue pinafore with a Chibi Maruko-chan look; and at the other moment, she is required to piggyback a 20kg prop refrigerator to run up and down. Every exaggerating image and styling she has to put on, and each romantic and funny scene has allowed her to satisfy her every acting craving she has had since 3 years back.

"Black & White" won a 5 major awards

received the most commendation on that night, winning 5 major awards - Best Drama, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Marketing and Best Art Direction. The last award for Best Drama was even presented by Director Tsai Yue Hsun himself to his wife Yu Xiao Hui; Yu Xiao Hui supported Zai Zai who didn't receive an award on the spot, saying, "Thank you Zhou Yu Min, you're forever the Best Male Lead in my heart."

The night's biggest upset was newcomer Mark Zhao You Ting who won over highly-expected winners Vic Zhou Yu Min and Show Luo Zhi Xiang by receiving the Best Male Lead award. Totally not expecting to win, Mark Zhao said in his acceptance speech that "Because I didn't expect to win, so I was not nervous at all, receiving this award now is such a surprise to me. I would like to thank the judges for recognizing me, and thank the cast." At the end of his acceptance speech, Mark specially thanked Vic Zhou; he says that he could not have won this award without the cultivation from his senior Zai Zai and without him (Vic), he could not have completed .

Three-time Golden Bell winner Tsai Yue Xun won Best Director again for ; he claims that he has a principle everytime he makes a drama/movie; he feels that there is a special situation in the Taiwan entertainment industry, one that is taking shape with Asia as its blueprint, and was just a possible trial, which has been proven to be a success.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Jiang Wenli's "Lan" won Audience Award

Chinese director Jiang Wenli's "Lan" won the Audience Award at the Pusan International Film Festival ( PIFF) on Friday, with prize money of 20 million won (17,300 U.S. dollars).

The prize is bestowed to one of the films participating in the New Currents Award that is given the most points by general audience.

"Lan," Jiang Wenli's debut film, is set in the era of Cultural Revolution, and shows a young girl whose parents were thrown in jail and had to be raised under her grandfather's care.

The story revolves around the girl as she gets introduced to the world of gymnastics while other kids were seeking labor work in cities.

"It might have been Jiang's novel filming style and perspective that appealed to the audience, considering Jiang has been a renowned actress herself," Kim Dong-ho, director of the festival, told the press.

The announcement that Jiang won the award came during the festival closing press conference, along with all the other winners of the PIFF awards, such as the New Currents and the Flash Forwards.

The nine-day PIFF closed on Friday.

Sanada Hiroyuki appear in TV drama series ‘LOST Season 6'

It was formally announced that actor Sanada Hiroyuki will appear in the hit US TV drama series ‘LOST Season 6'. Sanada has appeared in a number of Hollywood films such as ‘ラストサムライ / The Last Samurai', but it will be the first time for him to act in a foreign TV drama. After being widely praised by filmmakers and others around the world for his performance in ‘ラストサムライ / The Last Samurai', Sanada has since moved his base of operations to Los Angeles. Two years have passed, and now as a ‘representative of Japan' he will star in a popular drama series receiving high TV ratings worldwide.

‘Season 6' will be the latest and final season of the series. Sanada will become ‘Dogen (道厳)', who is an important character that plays a vital role in the story. The drama's producer Damon Lindelof talked about his choice for casting Sanada. “For a long time we've held in high regards Hiro's skills. We created ‘Dogen' especially with him in mind.” He also gave reporters a glimpse of the character's personality. “'Dogen' is a dignified yet delicate person. He is a crucial character that adds spice to the story.” Sanada has started participating in the filming from late August. The series is scheduled to air in the US from around the beginning of next year.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Summer season Drama Grand Prix

Nikkan Sports has revealed the results of its summer season Drama Grand Prix, which was almost completely swept by the Fuji TV series "Buzzer Beat." It lost only in the Best Supporting Actor category.

A total of 12,693 votes were counted in the poll. Except for Best Supporting Actor, "Buzzer Beat" received around 5,000 votes in each of the categories.

Best Drama:

1. Buzzer Beat - 4755
2. Orthros no Inu - 2731
3. Ninkyo Helper - 2436
4. Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji - 769
5. Tenchijin - 346

Best Actor:

1. Tomohisa Yamashita (Buzzer Beat) - 4991
2. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Ninkyo Helper) - 2530
3. Hideaki Takizawa (Orthros no Inu) - 2170
4. Yosuke Eguchi (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 734
5. Satoshi Tsumabuki (Tenchijin) - 468

Best Actress:

1. Keiko Kitagawa (Buzzer Beat) - 5028
2. Nanako Matsushima (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 3186
3. Mikako Tabe (Tsubasa) - 885
4. Yasuko Sawaguchi (Kasouken no Onna) - 787
5. Kyoko Fukada (Karei Naru Spy) - 691

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Ryo Nishikido (Orthros no Inu) - 2940
2. Junpei Mizobata (Buzzer Beat) - 2105
3. Seishiro Kato (Ninkyo Helper) - 1564
4. Hideaki Ito (Buzzer Beat) - 995
5. Yusuke Santamaria (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 516

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Shihori Kanjiya (Buzzer Beat) - 2501
2. Saki Aibu (Buzzer Beat) - 2174
3. Meisa Kuroki (Ninkyo Helper) - 1920
4. Asami Mizukawa (Orthros no Inu) - 1474
5. Yui Natsukawa (Ninkyo Helper) - 608