Sunday, December 26, 2010

Edison Chen new album "CONFUSION"

Edison Chen is officially back to the showbiz and his new album "CONFUSION" is releasing in December 30. Yesterday the singer attended to an opening ceremony event as guest and promoted his new album. He rapped 2 songs but the audience was not too ethusiastic; only Edison's good friends cheered for him.

There are 15 songs in the singer's new album and they are about his experiences from the past 2 years. The only Cantonese song "Reboot" talks about starting over again and "Salute" is inspired by the aftermath of his explicit photos scandal. He said he wants to salute to people who support and did not support him over these 2 years because they gave him strength to do well.

Edison admits he is nervous about his official comeback: "I'm afraid I can't rap anymore. I'm not that worried facing several thousands people in Shanghai. But it's Hong Kong here, but after today I have nothing to worry about."

Ayumi Hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2010-2011

Pop star Ayumi Hamasaki has her New Year's countdown concert "ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2010-2011 ~do it again~" scheduled for December 31 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. It was announced today that she will be making the concert available through video service Ustream the next day, though it will not be free.

News outlets are reporting that this will be Ustream's first-ever pay-per-view music offering. The concert will be shown uncut, but it will not include the encore. The general "ticket" price has been set at 3,150 yen, but members of Hamasaki's fan club Team Ayu will get a discount at 2,625 yen.

The video stream will begin after the concert is over, starting around 3:00am on January 1. Before that, music videos will play between 1:00am and 3:00am. For those that are unable to stream the concert at the given time, Ustream plans to have rebroadcasts on January 2 and 3 (available only to ticket holders).

Fan club members will get their first shot at tickets starting at 0:00 on December 25 until 6:00pm on December 27. General ticket sales will open on the Ustream site at 6:00 on December 27 and run until 4:00am on January 1 (after the concert has started).

Based on this structure, it appears that tickets will be limited in quantity. Previous Ustream pay-per-view events have also been limited.

The broadcast is also planned to be free for the first two songs.

Huang Ying first MV "Big Sun”

Huang Ying shows off her signature style, a blend of Chinese folk and rock, in the title song of her first EP Little Huang Ying, Big Sun” (小黄英大太阳). Poised to be eeMedia’s first foray into the folk pop genre, the Sichuan native is already beloved. She won hearts in Super Girls 2009 with her innocent, bubbly personality and a powerful voice that captured the attention of everyone despite having no professional training, unlike most of the other contestants.

She is a unique because she was able to spark an unprecedented surge of interest in the folk genre amongst the younger generation in China, bringing to it a modern youthful spin. In under a week, this single was listened to 3.7 million times, showing how wide her appeal is and how great her potential is in the landscape of Chinese pop. The gorgeous MV for ‘Big Sun’ captures her down to earth appeal perfectly, by pairing off the catchy song with beautiful shots of nature. Huang Ying not only designed the red dress for her MV “Big Sun,” she also braved below zero temperature in that dress while filming.

ANDY LAU UNFORGETTABLE CONCERT 2010

In the past, the two big Pop Kings Andy Lau and Leon Lai would fight bitterly 'You Die, I Live' in the music scene. At the RTHK awards presentation held in HK Coliseum, Leon fans threw glow sticks at Andy when he was on stage. However, the night before, Andy held his concert in HK Coliseum and invited Leon to sing Star together. There were no 'boos' heard in the venue at all, just applause and whistles shook the whole HK Coliseum. The two did their embrace of the century on stage as well. When Andy sang the last line "Please remember me in your heart", Leon deeply answered: "I will", leading to the highest point of the concert.

The first of 20 shows "ANDY LAU UNFORGETTABLE CONCERT 2010" kicked off the night before at HK Coliseum. Andy appeared in his classic styles over the 30 years he's been in the industry, among them were Lau Kin Ming from Infernal Affairs, Wah Dee from A Moment of Romance and there were also many other gentlemen appearances. Then he performed the Tic Tac dance that he's best at. Andy also played with fire, fireworks and lasers to accompany his dances. Throughout the entire night, Andy did not do any safety precautions, looks like audience were very frightened for him. Within HK Coliseum, there was an approximately 40 feet tall Andy Lau Figure on the side of the stage.

Feeling very high, Andy had a full house at his concert. When he allowed fans to hug and shake his hand, fans entered the crazy mood screaming and shouting loudly, even Andy really had put in a lot of effort to make his speech, Andy laughed: "I just wanted to thank you all for letting me go through a 30 year Fairytale. It's that hard, I can't even speak?" Audience were very obedient and controlled their emotions, then quiet down.

Andy continued: "But, afterall fairytale is just a fairytale, if one day I changed to a family man, you all will still love me like this? If one day you encounter me on the streets, hope you'll give me an excited embrace. However, if you happen to take photos of something that shouldn't be taken, please don't put it online. Like if I'm eating fish balls, having a feast with two big thighs, etc!" Followed by his speech, Andy performed Mama I Love You with Deanie Ip, who he always viewed as a mother. Then Andy suddenly turned emotional, letting out a man's tear.

After Andy performed Star with his guest Leon Lai, he expressed he's very happy to see fans welcoming Leon. Appearing nervous, Leon laughed: "Hello everyone, Sometimes I know how to speak, sometimes I don't really know how to. First off, I am very happy that Andy invited me this evening to share his joy with me. Below the stage, I relied on headphones to listen, and this is luck that I normally don't encounter. The experience this time is very heartwarming, I am happy." Then Leon performed Forget Emotions for Andy fans to enjoy.

During the encore, Andy was dressed in a fresh yellow colored suit with shades to do an MJ dance. Soon after, he revealed his 6 pack, giving a feast to fans' eyes. To end, Andy appeared in pajamas, and said: "I'm taking my 30 year most precious time and handing it over to you. Youthfulness, who accompanied you to grow? Senior, who help you teach your sons and daughters? I become old, you try leaving me, I take your life!"

Vincy Chan releasing compilation album

Vincy Chan will soon be releasing her compilation album Vin's Selections which will include 26 songs she recorded before and 3 new recorded songs. Vincy especially divided the songs into 4 different themes - Sweet, Sour, Bitter and Spicy. And she tailored 6 different styles for the album covers, with both exaggerated and cutie looks.

As she changes her style several times, Vincy was shooting for a total of 12 hours, a strong health investment for her. She said: "To give everyone a surprise, even if it's difficult work, it's all worth it." To accommodate the Christmas holidays, her record company made a special 3D box packaging for her new album, every side will have one of Vincy's 6 different covers, looking just like a Christmas gift, hoping fans can have an enjoyable Christmas.

New series "Thunder of Forbidden City"

Steven Ma and Selena Li were in Kowloon City shooting outdoor scenes for TVB new series Thunder of Forbidden City. In the series, the two have quite a bit of love scenes. As the series has already started shooting for over a month, Steven frankly said that he has to fight and speak his lines at the same time, so it has been difficult, he said: "This time for this series, filming has been difficult. Tomorrow on Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Year's Eve, I have to work in the studio, no choice! Sacrifice the little me, let othe colleagues make some money. I hope married people can spend the holidays with family, this year's holidays I'll take it, next year I won't!"

Steven was asked if he'll be getting married next year? He said: "I don't know! This year there's me here to handle it all! (Getting married next year?) Not yet! Leave it to fate!" He frankly said that he can work through any holiday, but Lunar New Year he must get a break because there is special atmosphere for the Lunar New Year.

News : "Twilight Investigation"

Because of "Twilight Investigation", Wong He and Linda Chung became good friends. Although Linda has to film her series, and thus has been unable to make money with He as a couple partnership, He specifically returned to TV City and gave Linda an aroma diffuser as a Christmas present. Linda, who has been throwing up from a stomach flu, was stunned; however, after receiving her present, she immediately gave him a hug. She said, "When I had insomnia, I was planning on getting this--never thought He and I would think the same. He is really attentive; he is my most compatible partner!" When asked what she would getting He, He immediately interrupted, "Free your schedule. Mainland is asking for us to do some stage performances!" With excitement, Linda said that she will have time in the beginning of January--laughingly requesting to "reconcile" with He.

New comedy movie "Big Deal"

Director Ma Liwen's new comedy movie, "Big Deal" featuring Lan Zhenglong, Chapman To, and South Korean Actress Han Chae Young commenced shooting in Beijing on December 21, according to Sina.com reports.

The movie recounts a magnificent and crazy adventure of three young men, who pursue new directions in life. "The story themes on daily life and characters in the film are as normal as anyone you can see in real life. I believe the black humor in the film would delight the audience", said Ma Liwen.

Additionally, the film will be shot in Dubai and Jeju Island.

Ma directed, "I'm Liu Yuejin" and "Wo Men Lia", which are low budget films featuring reality. She tries to win laughter from audiences and the applause of investors in her new commercial film this time.

The film will be released in June, 2011.

New series "Men and Women Chooses Residence"

Linda Chung is currently shooting for new series Men and Women Chooses Residence and has not had the time to partner up with Wong He to earn extra income during the golden period. For this reason, Wong He 'fired' her and although Linda has to work, she is still happy: "Doesn't matter, but I'll be even happier if don't have to work. Actually several years in the industry, I had to work every year. I haven't celebrated with my parents and sister for over 6 years. (Next Christmas, bring a boyfriend to visit your family in Canada?) Of course! But, first I need to find one."

Speaking of the new year resolutions, Linda hopes to release her new album as soon as possible and to get agreement by viewers on all her roles. Of course she also hopes for good health, last year she had average health and this taught her to treasure the people around her, treasure life.

On the other side, Wong He although 'angry fired' Linda, he's still a good friend. When he saw her often having sleepless nights, he got her an aroma diffuser (for aromatherapy) as a 'dismissal fee' and he hopes she can get back to sleep. As for Christmas, Wong He has another 'new interest': "I will be having many stage performances in Guangzhou Province bars and will be spending it together with the 'yan jai'("little people" - meaning Chinese yuan)! It is (yan jai), not someone's wife (yan chai)!"

In the past year, regardless if it's Wong He or his friends, there has been great ups and downs. He has also learned a lot from his friends' serious consequences. As for himself, his career only got better in the last half year, he hopes to find a powerful extraordinary manager to help him break new grounds on his work outside of TV.

Andy Lau "Unforgettable" concert

Hong Kong megastar Andy Lau launched his "Unforgettable" concert series on Monday, December 20, 2010 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, where thousands of the singer's fans gathered to celebrate his 30th anniversary in show business.

Lau's series of concerts, which go on for 20 consecutive nights, are one of the most anticipated events of this year.

After the first edition of the series, Lau took time to talk about the preparations. "I am not an idol. I am not a singer with real strength. It's a concert about physical work. I hope you can see that I have done all I can do at this age. It's an attentive and intimate concert. Actually, that's not a real challenge to me."

To help with Lau's dancing skills, late pop star Michael Jackson's choreographers, Travis Payne and Stacy Walker, were invited to train him and choreograph the opening section of the show.

Japanese fashion icon Yohji Yamamoto, whose label Lau has been a loyal fan of for decades, is in charge of the costume design.

During the show on Monday, Leon Lai was invited up as guest performer.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Maxim's Group 38th anniversary

Maxim's Group is celebrating their 38th anniversary, and donated HK$150,000 to the "Kelly Chen Children Education Fund". Yesterday Kelly attended the event and accepted the charity money, she said: "Maxim's have always been very concerned with my fund." Is the funding adequate? She admitted that because she guest starred in the film The Monkey King (大鬧天宮) where she was paid HK$1 million a day, the money was pushed into the fund. Based on estimation, does she feel she got a bigger pay check than Cecilia Cheung? She felt that it's not and does not know what the current market price is. Asked if she stood firmly a day to earn that million dollar pay check? She said: "Not calculated like that, normally it's calculated per film, perhaps the filmmakers knew that she was doing this for charity, so increased my pay check to HK$1 million per day. I was shooting daily, doesn't matter if I'm just an extra."

As the Big 4 labels has hope to settle the royalty issues with TVB? Kelly said that she has been waiting for this day: "The more I wait the more impatient I am. I thought it would be settled within 2 months, but then it ended up taking more than a year to settle." In the future, singers could possibly appear on other TV stations? She felt that it's pretty good. Can she go on ATV or iCable programs? She said: "TVB and I don't have a contract, I can go on other TV stations." She agreed that there will only be improvement with more competition.

EEG and East Asia bailed out of RTHK's awards, Kelly was surprised and asked why? She said: "Then there won't be anyone there, then it's empty, completely empty! Perhaps the TV ratings will be even higher, very interesting." The awards lose its meaning? She admitted that the meaning is lost, but can't help it. She pointed out that each station has always 'played' by their own set of rules. "The music industry is at its lowest point right now, so there shouldn't be so much politics, instead, the industry should be united."

New Film "Let Bullets Fly"

EEG's film Let Bullets Fly was impressive in the Mainland box office. A few days after the film went on the big screen, the box office already surpassed 200 million yuan, leading to unlawful possession of the film. It's not until January 13, 2011 that the film will release in Hong Kong, but the film was already uploaded in parts on Youtube, such outrageous behavior.

Because Youtube can only play short clips, someone cut the film into 9 parts to upload it, making it widely available on the website. As the film's quality does not look bootlegged, the film company was puzzled on how that could be possible. The illegal behavior completely strangles the crew's creativity.

EEG is having a great headache on the illegal behavior, the spokesperson expressed that they already know about the issue: "Really outrageous, this action is a flat out violation. We have already transferred the issue to the legal affairs department and we do not rule out taking legal action. We also request the responsible website to delete the videos and stop the uploading."

EEG also admitted that it is hard to eliminate illegal uploading and can only notify all video-sharing webmasters to have better monitoring, hope everyone can obey the law. Asked if he is worried the box office will be affected? The spokesperson said: "I'm not too worried about this because after all this film is only fun to watch in the theaters."

Top 10 Chinese Gold Songs Awards

RTHK's Top 10 Chinese Gold Songs Awards will be held on January 7, 2011. [Oriental Daily] received news from a reliabe source that the two major record companies EEG and East Asia will cut their attendance with RTHK. All singers under EEG and East Asia will not only boycott the RTHK music awards presentation, but also be absent from the "10 Excellent Singer" nominations event held on the 31st of December. This is clearly not giving face to RTHK.

It was said that the royalty issues between TVB and the Big 4 exploded a bomb. In November, for the "4 Station Joint Music Awards", RTHK proposed to stop the 'Media Award' for this year. As RTHK did not consult with the other major labels about the decision, EEG and East Asia were angered and felt that RTHK was clearly bias, helping their good friend Big 4. Since then, EEG and East Asia announced together they will never take part in the '4 Station Joint Music Awards' again. Two weeks later, RTHK announced that they have cut the 'Media Choice Award', even MetroInfo did not dare to oppose and make excuses.

Korean group Choshinsung concert

Korean group Choshinsung (known in Japan as Choshinsei) held a press conference and fan event on Monday. They announced that their concert at the Yokohama Arena on Tuesday, December 21, will be screened in theaters next year as a 3D movie.

Specific details are currently unavailable, but the screenings are expected to be around the end of March.

The group also announced that they will release a best album titled "SUPERNOVA BEST" on January 26.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Boyz II Men's upcoming album "COVERED -Winter-"

Details have been released regarding Boyz II Men's upcoming album "COVERED -Winter-," which contains covers of 9 popular Japanese songs. The album was first listed on retailer websites a couple months ago, but the tracklist was not known at the time.

The songs being covered are:

* "Missing" - Toshinobu Kubota
* "First Love" - Hikaru Utada
* "Yuki no Hana" - Mika Nakashima
* "Itoshi no Ellie" - Southern All Stars
* "Saigo no Ame" - Yasushi Nakanishi
* "EVERYTHING" - MISIA
* "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" - Man Arai
* "WINTER SONG" - DREAMS COME TRUE
* "Heavenly White" - EXILE

The album is being released on December 22, 2010. Boyz II Men also has plans for an original album commemorating their 20th anniversary, tentatively set for release in summer or fall 2011. They will also perform a 4-concert tour in Japan in November 2011.

New Drama Release Soon "My Heart remake, Fall in Love 一不小心爱上你"

The new Autumn in My Heart remake, Fall in Love 一不小心爱上你, recently released its first MV, giving the audience a sneak preview of the show. Starring Meteor Shower star Zhang Han, fellow Central Drama Academy shimei and newcomer Jiang Kaitong, Korean-American actor Dennis Oh and Beijing Film Academy’s Pan Zhilin, Fall in Love will begin airing on January the 7th on Hunan TV. The drama is the first of a series self-productions by Hunan TV to be aired in January, including Palace 宫, starring Yang Mi, and 8090, March forward 8090向前冲, starring Yu Haoming.

TVB new series Jiujiang's Wine (九江意醲)

Bowie Lam, Nancy Sit, Linda Chung, Sunny Chan, Evergreen Mak, Pierre Ngo and Elena Kong attended the costume fitting for TVB new series Jiujiang's Wine (九江意醲). Once Nancy saw the fresh baked 'Asia TV King' Bowie Lam, she immediately went over to congratulate him. When she learned TVB had no expression, Nancy did the Nobody dance in front of Bowie on the spot. Bowie started laughing hard at Nancy's sillyness and was so happy he danced with her. When Nancy was introducing all the characters, she introduced Bowie as the Asia TV King, and said: "Let the TV King do some talking too, I'm afraid TVB neglected you." Then she teased Sunny Chan as the "Shower TV King".

Initially the male cast had to shave their heads for the costume fitting, but Bowie didn't, he explained: "Initially today I was going to go shave my head like a professional, but this morning I found out that I got the 'Most Popular Male Artist Award' on a Mainland website, and will be going to Beijing to get the award later this month. (What did TVB had to express?) I bumped into an executive earlier, [he/she] asked me if I was upset with TVB, I said I'm not. I have collaborated with TVB for so long, and will definitely continue in the future. Perhaps they just have too much to do, but told me next month there will be a celebration. (The executive was Virgina Lok?) Hehehe!" As to how he will reward himself? Bowie said although he has the title, but he won't be carried away with the victory and be too proud.

News : "Twilight Investigation"

Actors from TVB series "Twilight Investigation" attended to a second promotion event yesterday. They asked people to put on a 囧 "gwing" look (囧 nowadays means frustrated, helpless, embarrassed, upset) and attracted many people to participate.

Leads Linda Chung and Wong He expressed they are satisfied with the ratings. Since no one writes about them, invites them to pair as a couple, and follows them, Wong He announced "breaking up" with Linda: "I announce we've part our ways. I fired her. I can only continue my career on my own."

Reporters joked perhaps the reason is because Linda and Raymond Lam is already a well-known couple pair, and Wong He said: "It proves TVB really knows how to support its artistes, using many money, ways, angles, and levels!"

Linda expressed this is the happiest drama she ever films and it is quite challenging. Netizens criticized her acting is too exaggerated, the actress explained it is necessary for her character. As for her character is obsessed with Raymond, who is her rumored boyfriend in real life, she said: "It's necessary according to the script. Well, Raymond Lam is very popular, it's right for him to be anyone's idol."

Upcoming "Sazae-san" drama special

Korean girl group SNSD will have a guest appearance in the upcoming "Sazae-san" drama special, airing at the start of next year. This will be the group's first time in a Japanese television drama.

Details about the special were first announced last month. It is the third one to star Alisa Mizuki (34) as Sazae-san, and the returning cast includes Tsurutaro Kataoka (55) as Sazae-san's father Namihei. In the episode, SNSD will appear as cute golf caddies in Namihei's first dream of the new year.

Fuji TV will broadcast the episode on January 2nd at 6:30pm.

"The Monkey King" <大鬧天宮> 3D

Filmko's 3D action film "The Monkey King" <大鬧天宮> (previously translated as "Havoc in Heaven") held a press conference yesterday and some of its starry leads like Chow Yun-fat, Donnie Yen, Aaron Kwok, Kelly Chen, Gigi Leung, Peter Ho, and Joe Chen all attended.

A-list actor Chow joked at the interview that he is the CEO of heaven because he plays the Jade Emperor in the film: "I rule the heaven. I'm a very important CEO." He does not really mind about money but hopes for a shorter time in applying make-up.

Playing the Monkey King in the film, Yen expressed he only gets 2-3 hours of sleep everyday, but he would try hard to provide the best to everyone. The "Ip Man" star will have romantic scenes with newcomer Xia Zi Tong (plays the Nine-tailed Fox) in the film.

Praised as the most handsome Buffalo Demon King, Kwok hopes to change people's view on this character who appears frightening and ugly usually. But it takes 3 hours to get his make-up done and the actor's skin is complaining already.

Playing his wife Princess Iron Fan in the film, Joe Chen is fortunate that she does not need to film action scenes like other people because her character is pregnant. The Taiwanese idol drama queen admires Kwok a lot and she praises him the most handsome Buffalo Demon King in the history.

Returning to the film industry after giving birth, Kelly Chen discloses she likes her role as Guan Yin in the film. Plus the filming time is not too long and she does not have to be separate away from her son for a long period.

Several costume photos of the cast were released earlier but yesterday director of the film disclosed they are not the final version. The film plans to be released in 2012.

AKB48's 19th single

AKB48's 19th single, "Chance no Junban," is #1 on the sales charts this week, moving just under 597,000 copies. Although this is a drop from the 827,000 copies sold in the first week by their previous single "Beginner," the song is still their fourth consecutive single to exceed half a million in first-week sales.

AKB48 now has five #1 singles for the year, a feat that has not been accomplished by a female artist since Pink Lady in 1978. The group also has achieved a streak of six consecutive chart-toppers. Among female groups, this ties for the record with Onyanko Club, who had six number-ones between February 1986 and May 1987.

Two singles by the anime band Girls Dead Monster ranked #2 and #3, followed by Kaela Kimura's latest song at #4. Choshinsung, TUBE, and Sata Andagi entered the charts in the #7 to #9 spots.

On the album charts, Mr.Children's "SENSE" held on to the #1 seat for the second straight week, selling an additional 95,000 copies. This brings its current sales total to 597,000.

A few new albums made the top ten, coming from Dragon Ash (#7), Yuna Ito (#8), INFINITY16 (#9), and GARNET CROW (#10).

The overall DVD charts were led by SMAP's "We are SMAP! 2010 CONCERT DVD" at a pace of 164,000 copies in its first week. This is SMAP's 2nd consecutive DVD (and 5th in total) to reach #1 in the overall DVD rankings. In just the music DVD category, this is their 6th consecutive #1.

New movie release on May 2011

Yutaka Takenouchi (39) and Asami Mizukawa (27) will co-star in a new movie by director Ryuichi Honda ("GS Wonderland"). Titled "Ogiya no Tanoshii Ryokou: Shinkon Jigoku-hen," the film is an adaptation of a novel by writer and actor Shiro Maeda.

In this comedy, Takenouchi and Mizukawa play the newlywed couple Nobu and Saki, who are already tired of married life. The two embark on a "trip through hell," but their experiences and encounters along the way renews their love for each other.

The cast is rounded out by Kirin Kiki, Hairi Katagiri, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Ai Hashimoto, Denden, Ryota Yamasato (Yama-chan), and Akira Emoto.

Maeda, who wrote the original novel, has won several awards as an author and playwright. He has been described as an emerging talent in the same vein as established comedy writers Koki Mitani and Kankuro Kudo. "Ogiya no Tanoshii Ryokou" is his first work to get a movie adaptation.

The movie is planned for release in theaters in May 2011.

TVB new series Links To Temptation

Steven Ma, Fala Chen, Yoyo Mung and Johnson Lee attended the promotional event to TVB new series Links To Temptation. Fala said: "This is the first series I have the most screen time, hope there will be high ratings." During the Christmas holidays, she will be going back to the U.S to visit her family and also may go on a trip together. Asked if her boyfriend will give a marriage certificate to her as a Christmas gift? She said that marriage and Christmas are not related. What she really wants to get is a creative and practical Christmas gift.

Links To Temptation will be broadcasting through the Christmas holidays, during the long break, TV ratings will be affected. Steven said that his series has always been airing during the long vacation breaks. About the TVB promotions, it will go as usual. Steven will have to put in more effort in tweeting on Weibo as a source of promotion. Steven said that last year A Watchdog's Tale broadcast during Christmas time too, fortunately they were able to maintain in the top 5 rated series. Steven's other series Seven Day Love Separation will also be broadcasting during the Lunar New Year. He forced a smile: "Fortunately the World Cup only happens once every 4 years, otherwise the series I'm in will be accompanying everyone to watch sports every year."

TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship 2010

Yesterday G.E.M was a guest performer for the TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship 2010. The MCs were Sammy Leung and King Kong; Pal Sinn and Calvin Choi were the judges. There were 15 contestants from different areas, "The Voice" second place winner Hubert Wu represented Hong Kong in the competition. G.E.M saw the contestants' song list and joked: "How come no one picked my songs? (Your songs are hard to sing!) My songs are good to develop with, pick them quickly! Like Mag Lam won for performing my songs." Asked if there were any contestants asking to take photos with her? She expressed: "No, perhaps I am born too short, can't see me. I am going all out now, didn't wear any heels, don't have to be tall to sing and I am not a model."

As one of the MCs, King Kong was asked if he's speaking in bilingual? He said: "My Cantonese has improved, I speak very well, but I still have to put captions. (More jobs lately, making more money?) A little, still eating all 5 meals, basically won't die in hunger nor will I be too full that I vomit." Earlier he broke up with his Taiwanese girlfriend, he said: "Next month I am turning 30, now I'm only thinking about work first."

4minute first album "DIAMOND"

Girl group 4minute will be preparing for full-scale promotions in Japan for their first real album.

4minute's first album, entitled "DIAMOND," will be released on the 15th as part of the Korean girl group wave currently sweeping Japan. After releasing 3 singles this year in Japan, the girls will start major promotions throughout the country for the monumental event of their first album release. This is the first album the girls have put out in any country.

Hit songs like "Hot Issue," "HuH," and "Muzik" will be included in the 13-track album. "Muzik" and "I My Me Mine" will be in Japanese, increasing the specialness of the album.

On the 10th, a representative from Cube entertainment said, "Starting with 4minute's first album release, we will begin aggressive promotional activities. We have plans for domestic activities for the first half of the year as well."

4minute's concerts in Osaka and Tokyo recently attracted 4,000 attendees, with tickets sold out in record time.

The girls are currently working with in-house producer Shinsadong Tiger as part of their Korean/overseas simultaneous promotions to begin next year.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

News : "Gun Metal Grey"

TVB anniversary drama "Gun Metal Grey" aired its two hour finale last night. However, it was unlike "Can't Buy Me Love" and "No Regrets" which both received a large scale finale promotions. Since TVB did not do such a thing for "Gun Metal Grey", the cast decided to take money out of their pockets to hold a dinner in hopes to boost the rating. Felix Wong calmly said, "Since the company isn't doing it, we'll celebrate ourselves!"

Last night the cast and staff of "Gun Metal Grey" gathered at a hot pot restaurant in Jordan to watch Gun Metal Grey's 28th episode. Felix Wong and his wife, Michael Miu, Jessica Hsuan and her foreigner boyfriend, Nancy Wu, Vincent Wong, Grace Wong, Oscar Leung, producer Terry Tong, and others all attended the dinner. Felix Wong, who was enraged earlier at TVB for giving Gun Metal Grey the cold shoulder, was asked if the finale was also treated the same. He said calmly, "I had already asked executive Tommy Leung. He said the Gun Metal Grey finale is not aired on Saturday or Sunday. The company doesn't have a rule that says there will be any additional events for finales aired on Fridays. I accept this answer; If the company doesn't want to celebrate, then we'll celebrate ourselves!" Michael Miu said, "Gun Metal Grey is cool enough so we invited everyone for dinner. I am not unhappy."

"Will Definitely Accept if Tim Gor Calls"

Felix Wong was asked whether he will continue to film series, he said, "I will consider if there is a good script, but it will definitely not be ancient series. (What if Li Tim Shing asks for you?) I will definitely accept of Tim Gor asks. There are four producers who I will definitely accept. Tim Gor had me film "The Lonely Hunter", which helped me greatly with my career. The other producers are Wong Tin Lam, Sang Siu, Wai Ka Fai."

"Adopts two dogs, netizens highly praise"

Felix Wong, who plays "evil police" Stone Sir, is actually very compassionate in reality. He recently adopted two dogs; an Old English Sheepdog and a pug. Netizens greatly praised Felix for doing so.

"Boyfriend doesn't mind Jessica Hsuan's kiss scenes"

Jessica Hsuan and her foreigner boyfriend showed up at the dinner holding hands. She said last time Felix paid the bill so this time everyone will contribute. She joked that she doesn't have cash and will have to use her credit card. When asked if she thinks TVB is biased, she said, "I'm not going to answer. (Did you predict that there will be no promotions?) This relies on you guys!" She and Michael Miu filmed kiss scenes for the series, but Jessica said her boyfriend did not watch as he was not home. Fortunately, he does not mind as it is solely for filming.

AKB48 latest single "Beginner "

AKB48 held a handshake event and mini-concert at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday to celebrate their latest single, "Beginner." During the event, member Tomomi Itano (19) announced that she is going to make her solo debut next year.

Although AKB48 has several sub-units, Itano will be the first of its current members to have a solo release. Her debut single is titled "Dear J" and will be released on January 26, 2011. It is described as an up-tempo dance song with a club music feel.

Valentine's song by AKB48 release on 2011

The AKB48 sub-unit Watarirouka Hashiritai has added two more members for its next single: Team B's Mika Komori (16) and Team A's Misaki Iwasa (15). It is not yet clear whether this is a permanent change, but for the time being, the group has changed its name to Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 to reflect the size of the new lineup. They will release a single under that name in February, though the title is unannounced.

Watarirouka Hashiritai was originally formed in 2008 as a four-member group with Mayu Watanabe, Aika Ohta, Haruka Nakagawa, and Natsumi Hirajima. Ayaka Kikuchi joined earlier this year as their fifth member.

This past June, Komori and Iwasa joined the other five members to launch a new radio show called "Watarirouka Hashiritai 7." Their participation was originally limited to radio activities, but this single will mark their first release together as a unit.

The new single is described as a Valentine's song created by AKB48's producer Yasushi Akimoto. It is scheduled for release on February 2, 2011.

Show Luo's release seventh album

Show Luo's seventh album, Rashomon sold his personal best of 155,000 copies (154,218 to be exact) to claim top spot on the album sales chart of 2010. Jay Chou was runner-up with 110,000 copies, followed by S.H.E with 68,000 copies, Jolin Tsai with 65,000 copies and tied in fifth place Hebe Tien and Rainie Yang with 50,000 copies each.

In the last three years, Show has steadily risen higher and higher on the annual chart, claiming ninth spot three years ago with his fifth album, Show Your Dance and climbing to second place last year with Trendy Man. Although he tops the album sales chart for 2010, Show still loses to Jay in terms of earnings this year, with Jay pocketing 850 million NTD from concerts, endorsements and his work on The Green Hornet.

Jay’s previous album, Capricorn sold 150,000 copies two years ago, and earned him the top spot in 2008, but his sales of 110,000 copies this year is still an impressive result, considering the fact that he does not release more than one version of his album (in comparison to Show who released four versions of Rashomon). Album sales for Jolin plummeted by 50% in comparison to last year, where her ninth album, Butterfly topped the 2009 chart with 130,000 copies. S.H.E’s SHERO landed in third place, and Hebe’s debut solo album took fifth place, once again cementing the fact that S.H.E is still Taiwan’s dominant girl band after ten years. 2010’s new Golden Bell Queen, Rainie Yang shares fifth place with Hebe, proving she’s a force to be reckoned with in both the drama and music industries.

In comparison to the sales achieved by the top 5 in 2009, there was a small increase in number this year, and in 2010, artists selling over 300,000 copies were able to squeeze into the top 10. The other five places in the top ten were taken by Leehom Wang, Fahrenheit, Elva Hsiao, Chang Yun Jing and LaLa Hsu.

In other related news, we take a look at other stars that shone the brightest this year in the music industry. While Show claims this year’s title of “King of Album Sales”, Taiwanese dialect songstress Jody Chiang takes the title of 2010’s “King of Concerts”, performing to over 90,000 people in 8 concerts, including five in Taipei Arena. Although Jay’s concerts will number 31 performances by the end of the year, Jody wins in terms of concerts in Taiwan alone. S.H.E, even with Selina out of action for the last few months of 2010, wins the title of “King of Endorsements”, having accepted 19 endorsements, the majority of which were in China. Jay and Leehom share the title of this year’s “King of Crossing Worlds”, with both artists once again successfully expanding their artistic wings beyond the music industry.

Joey Yung new advertisement

Joey Yung was shooting a new set of Ads for an electronic chain store endorsement. Being able to take part in the production and creation, she frankly said that she is feeling very nervous. In the Ad, Joey encounters her childhood crush and will personally choose her crush that she has most feel with. Among a group of foreign male models, she chose a Spanish male model with blonde hair. She laughed: "His eyes are so attractive, like the lead actor Robert Pattinson in the film Twilight."

During the shoot, Joey saw the Spanish model's attractive eyes and could not stop laughing, just thinking back she laughs: "He is a very funny guy, we have to look deeply into one another eyes, seeing him chok a pair of electrifying eyes, I couldn't hold in my laughter. There was one part, I NGed over 10 times, even the photographer and all the staff were laughing before the cameras rolled. It took 15 minutes before the director could get us to stop laughing so we can continue with the shoot. His eyes are like a 'step nail'. Next time choosing a partner, need to be careful."

In another Ad, Joey was dressed as a Rock Band lead vocalist in her favorite blonde hair leather jacket look. She felt that it stands out enough. During filming, when Joey was preparing the song, she said: "We used 72 hours to complete 4 Ads, we even filmed a MV and a 'making of' clip too. We changed the set 4 times and 3 different costumes. Absolutely a whole creation of its own."

Akanishi album's release soon

Back in October, former KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi indicated his plans for a CD debut in the United States. On Thursday, those plans became much more tangible with Warner Music Group and Warner Music Japan's announcement that Akanishi has signed a recording deal with the label and is expected to unleash his first U.S. release in spring 2011.

During a press conference held at a Tokyo hotel on December 9, Warner's recently appointed CEO Lachie Rutherford said that Akanishi plans to release a single and then an album during the spring, under the name JIN AKANISHI. Warner will be handling not just the U.S. release; the company will be working with Akanishi on a global basis for both his English and Japanese works.

Last month, Akanishi successfully completed a 5-concert tour in the U.S. Now back in Japan, he will be preparing for three concerts at Saitama Super Arena on January 14-16 and three more concerts at Osaka-jo Hall on January 21-23. Those six shows are expected to bring in approximately 105,000 fans combined.

Akanishi is also planning for another U.S. tour after his album's release, though nothing definite has been announced yet.

TVB Most Improved Actor : Raymond Wong Ho-Yin

Raymond Wong Ho-Yin attended to a car magazine awards ceremony yesterday. The winner of this year's "TVB Most Improved Actor" expressed he received more job opportunities after winning the award. But the happiest thing is that he is becoming a dad: "Many of my friends already agree to sponsor me infant formulas and diapers. I estimate I can save at least 6-digits!"

He expressed his wife is more than 4-months pregnant. Although he he does not want to disclose the baby's gender, but when he talks about the baby's English name, he exposed it will be a boy's name: "We thought of several Englih names. One of them is Kaydon." Reporters immediately congratulate him for having a baby boy. He said: "You can use this name with both genders!" He wants to have a son and daughter in general. He also hopes to see his wife's belly grows so he will not go to abroad for work at the moment.

Ariel new film 'Lovesick'

Good news for Ariel Lin's fans. 700 days since her last acting project, Ariel returns with a new film 'Lovesick', which began filming earlier this week. However, the Golden Bell Queen says she is very nervous and worried that her acting skills have turned rusty. Thus, on the first day of filming, she took a deep breath and hugged her mother and brother before leaving the house, to give herself some moral support. Ariel also expressed firmly that she does not believe in the Golden Bell curse.

The day before yesterday, Ariel took a break from filming and attended a Japanese tourism function, as one of the ambassadors. She revealed that her favourite rose is pink; and not red, because she feels that red is too strong and forceful. She also revealed her idea of romantic love; and that she hopes her other half will appear 'around the corner'.

"Norwegian Wood" official release

Two days until its official release, the film Norwegian Wood held a private screening on the 8th at the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo's Minami Azabu for foreign fans. It was also announced at the screening that the movie will be distributed to 50 countries worldwide.

Opening on the 16th in countries like Ukraine and Russia, the film will eventually make its way around the world, including theaters in England, home of the Beatles, who provided the theme song for the movie, as well as Norway. According to the distributor Toho, it is almost unheard of for a movie to secure distribution rights before its official release. In Japan alone the novel has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into 36 languages. With so many people familiar with the original work, it's no wonder the film has attracted such great attention.

Lead actor Matsuyama Kenichi (25) attended the special screening. "Everything came together by chance. The movie is really a miracle. No matter where we're from, the themes of love and living will resonate with people. Everyone has their own concepts of love and everyone will respond differently to this piece. For me as well, I believe it will leave a lasting impression."

Gigi concert in Beijing this Christmas

Gigi Leung was spotted dating new boyfriend Matthew earlier. Yesterday he attended to an event and did not deny the relationship. She sweetly replied they are still at a stage of knowing each other. She hopes to handle it in low profile so she does not want to talk too much about it. She said Matthew is not used to being followed by reporters but knows she is an artiste.

Gigi is holding a concert in Beijing this Christmas. It is rumored her boyfriend to bring his mom to the concert? She said: "Many of my friends will come to Beijing to support me. We haven't meet each other's parents yet. It's still too early to say." Not a lonely Christmas this year? She said every year she is accompanied by friends so she is not lonely. She is busy rehearsing for the concert and has not prepared a gift for Matthew. It is said Matthew is acccpeted by Gigi's mom because he knows Mandarin? She avoided the topic and only said it is a necessity for work.

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Mr.Children's latest album "SENSE"

Mr.Children's latest album, "SENSE," sold nearly 502,000 copies in its first week to take the #1 spot on the charts. This is the band's 8th consecutive #1 album and 13th overall, though their last album was released almost two years ago. Mr.Children's last five original albums have become million-sellers, and "SENSE" is well on its way to becoming the sixth.

DREAMS COME TRUE entered the charts at #2. An album for the anime series "Bleach" debuted at #7, followed by new released from fripSide, YUKI, and Black Eyed Peas.

On the singles chart, it was no surprise that KinKi Kids were #1 with their new song, "Family ~ Hitotsu ni Naru Koto," which sold more than 165,000 copies. They now have reached a milestone of 30 number-one singles. Ever since their 11th single in 2001, they have been certified by Guinness as the world record holder of "most consecutive #1 singles beginning with a debut single."

Several other new singles made the top ten: Yuzu was #2, followed in order by J Soul Brothers, T.M.Revolution, SID, °C-ute, and D☆DATE (with their first single). Becky was two spots behind them at #9.

The DVD charts this week went to EXILE, whose "EXILE LIVE TOUR 2010 FANTASY" sold over 274,000 copies. This is their new personal record for first-week DVD sales, surpassing the 223,000 copies sold by their 2009 release "EXILE LIVE TOUR 2009 THE MONSTER."

New romantic movie "Eternal Moment"

A collection of photo stills were released by the production company of romantic movie "Eternal Moment" ("Jiang Ai") on Wednesday, Dec. 8 featuring leading actress Xu Jinglei, Mtime.com reports.

The movie sequel will follow Xu Jinglei's character, Wenhui, and the development of her life over the past 12 years. Xu describes her appearance in the movie as very "comfortable" for she did not need to spend much time on her makeup, instead showing off her natural look.

Twelve years ago, Xu Jinglei and Li Yapeng, who just graduated from university, starred in the trendy TV drama "Cherish Our Love Forever" ("Jiang Aiqing Jinxing Daodi"), which won them fame and popularity. Zhang Yibai, director of the TV drama, assembled the original cast to make the movie sequel.

It is due out in cinemas on Valentine's Day 2011.

New action film "My Kingdom"

Newlywed actress Barbie Hsu has chosen her acting job over honeymoon and joined the set of the action film "My Kingdom" ("Da Wu Sheng") in Shanghai, Web site 163.com reports.

Hsu registered to marry wealthy restaurateur Wang Xiaofei on November 16 in Beijing, surprising celebrity gossip watchers as she only met Wang two months earlier.

In "My Kingdom", Hsu joins Wu Chun ("14 Blades") and Han Geng for a 1920s tale of two brothers' quest for fame, love and revenge.

The film will be the screen debut for pop star Han Geng, the former backbone of the boy band Super Junior.

Musician-turned-filmmaker Gao Xiaosong is directing the film, with kung-fu veteran Sammo Hung choreographing the action scenes.

The story was penned by Zou Jingzhi, who also did Zhang Yimou's "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" ("Qian Li Zou Dan Ji").

Hollywood veteran Andre Morgan, who is producing the film, told "The Hollywood Reporter" that the project had come together after four years of preparation.

"We are excited to finally bring this very fresh story to Chinese audiences," Morgan was quoted as saying.

The film is slated for release in the summer of 2011.

News : Drama series "Secret Garden"

During the last episode, 8, of SBS weekend drama 'Secret Garden, Ra Im in the body of Joo Won (Hyun Bin) was caught in a steamy touchy environment with Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun) in front of the police station. The kiss between 2 males has become a hot topic online after the scene was scene during the last episode.

A press conference of the fantasy drama was held on the 8th of December with the media and fans of the show to discuss about their thoughts. Hyun Bin then revealed during 1 of the questions about the kiss scene explaining how lucky he was as the kiss with Yoon Sang Hyun wasn't the type of kiss which shows affection and emotion

Hyun Bin later added, 'I was very comfortable with this kiss scene as there was no pressure to complete the scene.'

In the story, it reveals that Ra Im (in the body of Joo Won) and Oska accidentally pushed each other into locking lips setting a different atmosphere between 2 characters. While Oska felt great when he left the station, he then suddenly went angry after the kiss scene whereas Ra Im felt shy, making the audience feel interested.

In addition, 'Secret Garden' is a romance story where 2 of the main characters suddenly swapped their souls. The drama airs on Satuday and Sunday on channel SBS.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

"Black Angels" release on May 2011

Shinji Hiramatsu's manga series "Black Angels" is getting a straight-to-DVD live-action adaptation, starring actor Motoki Ochiai (20) and °C-ute member Maimi Yajima (18).

Originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump between 1981 and 1985, "Black Angels" was an action manga about a group of vigilantes delivering justice to evil-doers who had escaped the law. Ochiai will play the primary role as Yukito, the leader of the group. Yajima has been cast as Reira, the captivating heroine of the story. Other cast members include Hideo Sakaki, Shoichi Honda, and Jiro Sato.

Filming is already in progress. Geneon Universal Entertainment will release the work on DVD in May 2011.

HIROKO's first release "GIRLZ UP ~ stand up yourself"

In October, mihimaru GT member miyake announced his plans to debut as a solo artist under the name miCKun. Now, his partner hiroko has announced her own solo debut, using the capitalized name HIROKO.

HIROKO's first release will be a single called "GIRLZ UP ~ stand up yourself," scheduled to go on sale on January 19, 2011. It will be available in a limited CD+DVD edition and a regular CD-only edition.

Meanwhile, miyake's solo activities are already in progress. His first single, a collaboration with singer Maika "Kyoka Suigetsu," goes on sale this week. However, he has just revealed more information about his first solo album, titled "D.N.A." Scheduled for release on January 12, 2011, the album contains 10 tracks which are all collaborations with other artists, including Thelma Aoyama, SEAMO, and ghostnote.

News : TVB Anniversary Awards 2010

At the TVB Anniversary Awards 2010 the night before, Raymond Lam won two awards including the "tvb.com Popularity Award" and the "My Favorite TV Male Character Award".

After the ceremony ended, Raymond was met by 500 fans outside of TVB City to celebrate the success and his birthday on December 8th with him. Fans gave him several different gifts, including a paper made trophy. The responsible fans who gave him the award expressed: "Number 1 chok look!" The scene was quite humorous. Raymond expressed that his birthday wish is for a smooth career and that he can have more time next year to spend with his family: "I know my grandma is getting old, I hope to spend more time with her. (Give great grandchildren for your grandma?) Let my younger brother and sister to do it! (You can't?) I have no time!" Also, towards the public questioning his two awards and that the people in TVB are making fun of his chok look, Raymond expressed through a phone interview: "As far as I know, the two awards are based on votes, thank you fans and audience for voting and supporting me for so long. (Get teased by own people?) I don't mind, just playing. We are all just joking."

One of the Fuk Luk Sau, Wong Cho Lam is part of all the chok look teasing, finally apologized to Raymond's fans on Weibo. He accepted a phone interview and said: "Us three are separated, how did I know it's like stabbing Raymond 3 times, Senior Raymond and I are good friends, this time I hope to appease him and his fans on Weibo." He also reveals that the night before, Raymond attended the Fuk Luk Sau concert celebration, there was no embarrassment when they all met.

"Liza and Gods" Producer (Ho Siu Wai) expressed: "It's over after everyone plays. In fact, it's not just playing on the show, also played at the awards ceremony! I understand how Raymond's fans feels, we all love him. (TVB allowed it?) Using the word 'allow' is too serious, if people outside can't talk, and people within the company can't talk, then the room for creativity is really small!"

News : TVB Anniversary Awards

Yesterday's TVB Anniversary Awards caught the whole city's attention, Netizens are on the internet commenting and discussing. Many fans supported 'Fei Fan Gor' Evergreen Mak (Mak Bao) for winning Best Supporting Actor: "Really feel that many people truly congratulated him." Netizens also suggested that Mak Bao start a new film called Fei Fan Gor Unofficial Biography. There are also people are unsatisfied with the award presenter Dik Lung advising Mak Bao to not be arrogant and felt that the other award presenter guests were trying to ruin the show, 'every word got into the bones'.

Edison Chen come back !

As an ambassador for the Asia Game Show 2010, Edison Chen entered the opening ceremony in a snazzy sports car. His music video for 'Man in the Mirror', the theme song for the event, was also aired after his arrival. The singer expressed that he had put his heart and soul into singing and wished his fans would listen to it.

Will he return as an actor any time soon? Edison said that he had always enjoyed acting. All he is waiting for now is a chance. He hoped for space from the public and that he would be able to resume acting in 2011. However, he does not plan to ask for a movie opportunity from his boss. He would rather look for a role in the market himself.

Edison also added that while he has had many invitations to appear movies recently, he had rejected all of them because they were romance stories.

"Once someone offered me a movie role, in which I have over 10 girlfriends. However, I have done roles like that before. So I want a more challenging role," said Edison.

The 30-year-old expressed that he would not oppose to being in a movie with Gillian Chung and Cecilia Cheung.

"One collaborates with different actors on a movie set, even if they were not friends," he said.

The singer was also honestly worried that audiences might dislike him. He stated that he would give up if there were no movie offers ultimately. However he would continue to improve his acting skills and feel that his experiences in these recent years would be helpful to him.

U-Kiss fourth mini-album "BREAK TIME"

Korean pop idols U-Kiss held their first-ever solo concert in Japan yesterday, according to their agency NH Media on Tuesday.

NH announced in a press release that some 3,000 fans attended the boys first concert held at the Zepp Osaka on December 6 as well celebrating the launch of their official fan club in the country the same day.

They opened their concert with their latest hits "Before Yesterday" and "Shut Up" from their fourth mini-album "BREAK TIME" followed by a number of other songs including "Round and Round," "What" and "Manmanhani."

All seven of the group's members also gave individual performances including Alexander and Kevin singing "Finally" and Soohyun giving his rendition of a song from popular Japanese band Exile.

"It felt great to know that so many fans showed up for our first concert in Japan. It was great to see our fans sing along with us and we hope to do our best for our other shows," the members of U-Kiss were quoted as saying.

They will continue with their activities in the country with a hand shaking session today, appearances on several local television shows and holding their second concert in Tokyo on Friday.

Composed of other members Ki-bum, Ki-seop, Eli, Dongho, U-Kiss (Ubiquitous Korean International Super Star) made their debut with single album "New Generation" in September 2008.

They have been promoting their title track "Shut up" from their fourth mini-album "BREAK TIME" since its release early last month.

New drama “Dream High”

KBS 2TV’s new Mon-Tue Drama “Dream High”, a drama where Bae Yong Joon and Park Jin Young work hand in hand, draws attention due to their upcoming super special guest stars.

On the 7th, someone associated with “Dream High” said, “Recently, Prima Donna Jo Sumi and ‘Boys over Flower’ Kim Hyun Joon decided to appear as guest stars. Suprising guest stars are continuously on call.”

Jo Sumi participated in the drama OST of KBS 2TV’s The Last Empress (明聖王后), but it is the first time she will appear in a drama. She is going to appear in the first episode and will meet Ko Hyemi (Suzy) who dreams to become “the second Jo Sumi”. It is an important scene where Hyemi meets her mentor.

Someone associated with the drama said, “We had a hard time casting Jo Sumi. We expect that she will be able to shoot sometime next week. You can expect to watch the dramatic and beatiful scenes.” “The boys over flowers” Kim Hyun Joong (24) will appear attracting audiences in the beginning of the drama. The same source said, “There isn’t any detailed information of the role he plays in the show yet. He will appear as a guest star to make the drama more interesting.”

“Dream High” will air starting January 3rd of next year. The Idol star training school, Kirin Art School, will be used as its background. Taecyeon of 2PM, Woo Young, Suzy of Miss A, and Ji Yeon of Tiara will appear in the drama.

TV King and Queen award

After Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang were crowned TV King and Queen, they stayed at TVB City until after midnight to celebrate with fans. Sheren was also dressed in T-shirt with a cartoon version of "Miss Nine" on it, while fans were holding "Outstanding, Well Deserved, TVB Award, Miss Nine Is The Best" banners, gave her a portrait of Miss Nine and created their own "Forever TV Queen" trophy for their idol. The trophy also had a creative and attractive Miss Nine doll. Sheren was so happy she laughed out loud and said: "My fans are not just star chasing, they have good talent too!"

Fans also celebrated Sheren's 25th Anniversary in the industry with her, Sheren could not help but say: "You all are smarter than me, this award gave me the influence that the middle-aged or just entered the industry people, it is not important during a down time, most important is hard work!" Sheren celebrated with her fans until after 1am, Sheren then left in her 7-seater van.

On the other side, Wayne Lai, his wife Julia and son (Lai Jing Kiu) were also celebrating with 20-30 fans. Wayne's fans pulled out a "TV King Brilliant Wayne, acting king, once No Regrets appears, follows by brilliant lights" banner, a perfect match with Sheren's group. Wayne's fans were also very enthusiastic, after a group photo, they didn't even let Julia go, and wanted Wayne's hug.

Asked Wayne if after winning TV King, there is a pay increase? He laughed: "No, last year already had luck, this year went so smoothly, I am already very satisfied."

“friends Mononoke-jima no Naki” release on 2011

SMAP’s Shingo Katori (33) will voice the lead character in Japan’s first feature length 3D animation movie, “friends もののけ島のナキ (Mononoke-jima no Naki, Naki from Mononoke Island)”, reports Sports Hochi, Sankei Sports, and Mainichi Shinbum Digital.

The film is based on the Japanese fairytale “泣いた赤おに (Naita Aka-oni, The Red Ogre who Cried)”, where two ogres (or demons) – red ogre Naki and blue ogre Gunjo – find a human child, which starts off their adventure.

It has been reported Katori was feeling positive about the film.

“When I read the script, I couldn’t help but laugh at the characters on Mononoke, but at the end I was crying so much.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how my red ogre characters turns out. Because it’s 3D animation, I can’t wait to see Naki, the red ogre, jump out in front of everyone,” he said.

The director of the movie, Takashi Yamazaki, who has recently worked with SMAP’s Takuya Kimura on sci-fi movie “Yamato”, had said he had been working on the film since January last year.

“This story had a huge impact on me when I was a kid and I had always wanted to make it into a film.

“(Katori has) an amazing ability to make his character believable. You can see his kindness in the shades of his red ogre wildness,” he said.

The director also said he hopes the movie will be put in a new category of anime films, different from Studio Ghibli or PIXAR movies, and also hopes it will be released internationally.

The original “泣いた赤おに (Naita Aka-oni, The Red Ogre who Cried)” fairytale tells the story of a red ogre who has a dream of becoming friends with the humans in a nearby village. To make this dream come true, the red ogre’s best friend, the blue ogre, deliberately attacks the village to make himself the enemy and makes sure he gets beaten up by the red ogre so his friend can earn the villagers’ trust. Afterwards, to make sure the villagers don’t find out the truth, the blue ogre sneaks out and never returns. The story ends with the red ogre crying as he finds out the sacrifice his friend had made for him.

“friends Mononoke-jima no Naki” will be released in cinemas in December 2011.

Cheryl Yang spokesperson for lingerie brand

Actress Cheryl Yang recently renewed her contract as spokesperson for lingerie brand, Mode Marie, earning a reported annual sum of TWD$5 million (approximately S$210,000).

The company, Mode Marie, claimed that ever since Cheryl took on the spokesperson's role for the Greater China region in 2008, lingerie the actress wore were sold out as soon as they hit the market.

On the set of the recent commercial shoot for the lingerie brand's newest line of bras, Cheryl exuded sexiness. In an attempt to break away from her usual image, the actress specially spent five days on the shoot. It took one day just to settle on her hairstyle for the shoot.

After the shoot, Cheryl quickly returned to her usual hair colour as she was still currently filming the drama, Zhong Wu Yen. The actress had no qualms about sacrificing her hair, quipping, "I really like having straight hair. I especially treasure this chance where I get to lengthen my hair."

Apart from Cheryl, other Taiwanese female celebrities who are spokespersons for lingerie brands include Joe Chen, Tammy Chen and Sonia Sui. However, none of them are as experienced as the actress. In a span of three years, she had shot about 10 lingerie commercials.

Cheryl's professionalism could be a reason for her being in high demand. She would personally model the lingerie no matter how cold the weather was. She also did not demand for crew to clear the set prior to the shoot. She expressed, "I did everything in lingerie commercials. It's a breakthrough."

Monday, December 06, 2010

Liza & Gods Universe's Longest Concert

The Liza & Gods Universe's Longest Concert kicked off last night and made lots of laugher in the venue. Liza Wang, Wong Cho Lam, Johnson Lee and Louis Yuen first appeared in silver colored outfits to sing the theme song, then Liza was dress in 'flashy queen' to perform Attractive Pink Lady.

Both Wong Cho Lam's girlfriend (Leanne Li) and Johnson Lee's girlfriend (Bobo Wong) attended to the concert too. Leanne was like the female host, helping to welcome friends, and took photos with her boyfriend's fans. Last night the guest performers were Sammi Cheng, Felix Wong and Mag Lam. Sammi reveals that she will sing 2 songs, first group sing Believer Has Love and then a duet with Liza on Attractive Pink Lady. She said that she can definitely can get into the concert with everyone else and is not afraid of getting played by the Fuk Luk Sau. She can avoid them teasing her about her confessing her love relationship, but she can see the light, so nothing to worry about.

Wong Cho Lam expressed he feels like he's dreaming, he invited his guests through SMS and he was the one who had to invite Sammi. Yesterday it was the first time they met after she accepted his invitation, he felt like he was dreaming.

Also, the other guest Felix Wong was able to avoid the Fuk Luk Sau teasing him. Also, they made everyone vote Felix for TV King live at the scene. Cho Lam reveals that he will imitate William Chan's Taxi dance and ridicules Johnson Lee's imitation that he loves already married women. However, William generously sent them a flower basket in support, signed as "Taxi William" expressing that he does not mind.

F4 Reunion

After The Little Tiger's reunion on CCTV's annual Spring Festival Celebration program for their twentieth year, there were rumors and speculation that perhaps F4 would also reunite on the show for their tenth anniversary. While that plan to bring together Jerry Yan, Vic Chou, Van Ness Wu, and Ken Chu didn't fall into place, CCTV gave it one more shot by mailing out formal invitations in hopes that the four would attend the New Year's Eve celebration in Shenzhen on the 21st this year. Alas, Vic thought that the New Year's Eve celebration would actually, you know, be on New Year's Eve (the 31st), and so he had already made vacation plans for the 21st.

Unlike in Taiwan, Mainland's CCTV holds their New Year's Eve party earlier. On the night of the 20th, they hold the red carpet event, a press conference, and the dress rehearsal. Then on the 21st, they officially film the show. Had the reunion of F4 been successful, they would have been Taiwan's sole representatives.

The "mother of F4", Angie Chai, has deemed it "Mission Impossible" to bring the four together due to their different management companies. And since Vic will be doing promotions in Tokyo for "Black and White" near the Spring Festival date next year, chances are slim that the four will be able to reunite for the occasion. However, it can't be completely written off yet. Perhaps Hunan TV, who has offered to provide them with planes for transfers for Hunan TV's Spring Festival show, will be able to finally bring them back together again. Even Jerry's manager has stated that the four have a consensus on reuniting, but it will all depend on their schedules.

In the meantime, we can look forward to other big names coming to the CCTV New Year's Eve party, such as the Four Heavenly Kings consisting of Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, and Aaron Kwok.

TVB Anniversary Awards 2010

Charmaine Sheh came back to HK early to attend the "TVB Anniversary" Awards held tonight and beat Sheren Tang last night (Sunday) at the "MY AOD My Favorite TVB Series Awards Ceremony 2010". Yesterday it was widely rumored that she's making a secret move, causing a change in the TV Queen race. During an exclusive interview, Charmaine helplessly said: "Aiya! I came back early, no secret move! (Heard Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang might win, not disappointed?) I have always thought that it was 50-50, the best result is that either of the two pairs gets it, like either Wayne and Sheren or Moses Chan and I. If it's really Wayne and Sheren, then I am truly happy for them, they have done very well. (Rumored that your fighting for the award?) Don't say that, will make me nervous, but tonight I will definitely be able to sleep because I've been having too much work lately and am exhausted." Charmaine believes that she will be nervous at the last moment during the awards ceremony, no matter if she loses or wins, she will truthfully reveal her happiness or unhappiness and will not try to hide it.

T-ara's second mini-album

T-ara's second mini-album, Temptastic has topped real-time and daily charts. Their tracks 'YaYaYa' and 'Why Are You Like This?' are also topping various music charts online.

Netizens have been making comments about 'YaYaYa's' unique lyrics. As well as the nice retro feel that their track 'Why Are You Like This?' features the girls in.

On the 3rd as well, the girls made their comeback on KBS2's Music Bank and became hot topics through the issue of their overlapping stockings (refer to MB Regulations Failed article posted earlier today). Some netizens have made comments such as 'Why don't you just wear pants' or 'Wearing that many layers of stockings is like being in a sauna'.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

MY AOD MY FAVORITE TVB SERIES AWARDS CEREMONY 2010

At the "MY AOD MY FAVORITE TVB SERIES AWARDS CEREMONY 2010", Can't Buy Me Love were the big winners of the night. Besides Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh winning My Favorite TV Leading Actor and Actress, they also won My Favorite TV Series awards. As for No Regrets, only Pierre Ngo and Fala Chen won My Favorite Supporting Actor and Actress!

When Charmaine went on stage to accept her award, she expressed that winning this award is not easy and that she has to thank TVB executive Catherine Tsang because she was the one who asked Charmaine to participate in her very first series. Charmaine also said that Catherine often says that she is ugly to impact her and also taught her that she cannot be proud. About the TVB Anniversary Awards held the evening after tomorrow, Charmaine expressed: "The results will be known the evening after tomorrow, I will face it like normal."

Sheren Tang lost to Charmaine and only won "Top 10 My Favorite TV Characters" for her role in No Regrets. She expressed that she is not unhappy about losing and expressed that only the first 10 episodes of No Regrets was counted in Malaysia. To be able to win an award with Wayne Lai, she feels happy.

As for Tavia Yeung, this year she part of the top 5 for Best Actress award, but she frankly said that she personally gives her vote to Charmaine Sheh and for TV King she supports Moses Chan, not her partner Raymond Lam. Tavia was asked if she has confidence for winning herself? She said that this year everyone is evenly matched. Asked why she's not voting for her partner Raymond Lam? She said she hopes that Raymond can wait for her to get TV Queen, so they can get the award together.

News : TVB's 2010 Anniversary Awards

TVB's 2010 Anniversary Awards is this Sunday and everyone has been discussing who will be this year's TV King and Queen. Audience voting ended on November 28 and all the votes have been calculated. The "professionals"---heads of 6 TVB department including Virginia Lok, Ho Lai Chun, Tommy Leung, and Catherine Tsang---finally voted yesterday and their votes count as 50% of the voting (20% producers, 30% audience).

According to reliable sources, most of these 6 people voted last year's TV King and Queen Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang. As for audience voting, the top 5 nominations for TV King are (random order): Raymond Lam, Steven Ma, Wayne Lai, Felix Wong, and Moses Chan; top 5 nominations for TV Queen are (random order): Charmaine Sheh, Sheren Tang, Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, and Jessica Hsuan.

However, there could be still changes. Although Wayne's series "No Regrets" just ended last week with high ratings, but Moses' biggest advantage is that he is TVB's "biological son." His only disadvantage is that his "Can't Buy Me Love" ended a while ago and audience might have forgotten his performance.

TVB Anniversary Awards 2010

TVB Anniversary Awards 2010 is held this Sunday (12/5). Yesterday it was reported that hot favorite Sheren Tang wanted to be TV Queen, so she signed a new contract with TVB, joining the biological sons and daughters.

TVB Production Resources Director (Virgina Lok) attended an event yesterday and denied that Sheren signed a contract with TVB. She said: "Sheren and I have never talked about a contract because she already has a manager. Her manage and I are also friends from Church, so I know her manager is helping her, and did not talk to her about a contract."

Popular drama No Regrets's finale had 3 million viewers, it was said that Shaw Brothers' production I Love HK Live Long Happily also has the character "Miss Nine", but it's not Sheren in the role, instead Maggie Cheung takes over. Producer Eric Tsang expressed that the "Miss Nine" role really suits Maggie because she's already a TV Queen, a super star and will have scenes with Wayne Lai.

News : A Pillow Case of Mystery II

his year Bobby Au Yeung spent 2/3 of his time in Mainland shooting series. Depending on his role in A Pillow Case of Mystery II, Bobby is competing for Best Actor award at the TVB Anniversary Awards. However, he is currently shooting Mainland series Female Constables with Charmaine Sheh in Jiangsu and cannot attend the awards ceremony. Bobby has a tight schedule on earning more money, this year he already filmed 3 series and is staying out of the awards. He said that he has no time to pull in votes for himself, and is losing out on the promotions, so he does not have high hopes for the award. To him, it is enough that the series gets good ratings and good word of mouth when it airs. As for the awards, Bobby recommends giving an award to all the artists in attendance, then everyone is happy.

Last year, Bobby's series Zhong Kui (鍾馗) had good feedback in Mainland, so this year a sequel Zhong Kui II (鍾馗II) was filmed. He said that when filming in Hengdian, he encountered a lot of HK artists Benny Chan, Roger Kwok and Sheren Tang were also working in Mainland. It was a lively atmosphere. Recently, he's been working on Female Constables with Charmaine and the series will broadcast next summer, so the clothing are light. During this time period, Jiangsu is very cold, Bobby has always been afraid of the cold, and filming for this series ends in January 2011, so he'll have to suffer in the cold for some time.

New movie from Jet Li.

Kungfu star Jet Li is preparing for his new movie project, a tai chi-themed film that may be directed by Feng Xiaogang, "Information Times" reports.

Li recently visited the old residence of renowned tai chi master Yang Luochan to learn more about the history of the ancient Chinese discipline of meditative movements.

After Li starred as legendary tai chi originator Zhang Sanfeng in the movie "Tai Chi Master" ("Taiji Zhang Sanfeng") 17 years ago, he became very interested in this form of exercise and hoped to spread its concept around the world.

Huayi Brothers, one of China's largest film production companies, will invest in the movie. Director Feng Xiaogang, who last month signed a new contract with Huayi Brothers for five new film projects, could possibly direct the movie with Li.

Filming of the movie will begin in April. The movie is expected to hit cinemas around the Chinese New Year in 2012.

New Year film I Love HK Long Live Happily

Shaw Brothers Lunar New Year film I Love HK Long Live Happily (我愛HK開心萬歲) held the blessing ceremony yesterday. The cast including Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Fala Chen, Aarif Lee, Fung Shui Fan, Joyce Cheng and many more attended. TVB Production Resource Director Virgina Lok attended and Shaw Brothers Exective Lawrence Wong Ka Hei attended. Earlier Lawrence criticized Virgina Lok's favorite Raymond Lam that he has not got a firm standing in the film scene yet that the film The Jade and The Pearl did so poorly in the box office. This time, Lawrence refused to talk about the "Raymond Lam issue", he said that he does not want to make the issue big. Asked if his position has changed? Lawrence appeared embarrassed and did not know how to respond. Besides him was TVB Foreign Affairs Director, Tsang Sing Ming answered for him.

I Love HK is a film with nearly 100 TVB artist guest stars on the list, except for Raymond Lam. Is it because Raymond's films didn't do well in box office that they are afraid this film may be affected? Producer and cast member Eric Tsang denied, he said could possibly have Raymond too because there are 12 days of filming, whoever has free time can come guest star. Towards Lawrence Wong's criticism on Raymond's standing in the film scene? Eric said: "Every one has a box office, he has a group of people watching him, could happen when the film suits him. I have full of confidence on him." Then what roles suit Raymond? He said: "A lot of super stars started off as a bad boy, low level roles, he should give up on the rich boy and infatuated man roles, start from the bottom and work up to the top."

Lawrence said: "Will definitely have Raymond Lam, he will guest star in one scene." Afraid Raymond's box office isn't good, so won't let him participate? He said no 3 times and expressed that he didn't say Raymond wasn't good. Then is he afraid Raymond will drag the film down? He said: "No, last year he participated in 72 Tenants of Prosperity, I don't want to talk about this issue, don't want to make the issue bigger." Has he seen Mona Fong and explained to her yet? Lawrence said: "I see her daily." Was Virgina Lok upset? He said: "She wasn't upset, we have been colleagues for years." Asked if his position has changed? He said it's been the same 40 years. And what is that? He was embarrassed and did not know how to respond. Tsang Sing Ming responded for him by saying he's the Shaw Brothers Production Director.

Also, Sandra Ng was asked if she has pressure going against the other Lunar New Year film All Well, Ends Well 2011 starring Carina Lau and Cecilia Cheung? Sandra said: "Can't compare, I am the prettiest and the one with best body figure."

Member for "If You Are the One 2"

Cast members of the romantic comedy, "If You Are the One 2" ("Fei Cheng Wu Rao 2"), including Shu Qi, Yao Chen, Sun Honglei and An Yixuan, gathered in Beijing on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 to warm up for the Dec. 22 release of the film.

The film is a sequel of the 2008 box-office smash hit, "If You Are the One", which tells of a middle-aged man's search for love as he sets his hope on blind dates. The sequel follows the development of the man's newly-established relationship with an attractive lady. Both films are directed by Feng Xiaogang.

Ge You, who plays the love-seeking man, was absent from the press conference. The actor is probably the busiest star this New Year's season, having to promote three films, all touted as potential box-office favorites, to which he is a lead actor. The other two films are Chen Kaige's "Sacrifice " ("Zhao Shi Gu'er"), and Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly " ("Rang Zidan Fei").

Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.2

Hikaru Utada's latest release, "Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.2," was #1 on the album sales charts this week, with close to 231,000 copies sold. She now has 7 consecutive #1 albums starting with her debut, surpassing KinKi Kids to become the first artist to achieve that streak.

Meanwhile, the simultaneously released English-language collection "Utada The Best" sold 11,000 copies to rank #12, and her 2004 compilation "Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1" jumped from #167 to #43.

At #2 on the album charts was KARA's "Girl's Talk," selling more than 107,000 copies. The last Asian (non-Japanese) girl group to break 100,000 in first week sales for an album was Twelve Girls Band in 2004.

Also in the top ten this week were new releases by Hilcrhyme (#5), "Macross Frontier" (#6), My Chemical Romance (#8), and Shunsuke Kiyokiba (#10).

On the singles chart, the top spot was taken by Tackey & Tsubasa's "Ai wa Takaramono," their first single since 2008. It sold 69,000 copies to become their 7th chart-topper, with their last one being "SAMURAI" in 2007.

YUI's new song was not far behind at #2, followed by SDN48, UVERworld, and Idoling!!! The only other new release in the top ten was at #9 from the group DEEP, previously known as COLOR.

TVB new series "The War of Heart "

The day before, Adam Cheng was shooting studio scenes for TVB series The War of Heart and encountered an accident. He lost his balance and fell into a 4 meter deep fake hole, injuring his right shoulder and sent to the hospital. His daugther Joyce Cheng learned of her father's accident and was frightened to tears. She even cried as she scold her father.

Yesterday the media contacted Adam, his wife (Koon Ching Wah) answered for him. She said Adam is currently resting, and after doctors examinations, there were no injuries on his shoulder or neck bones. The doctor prescribed him with painkillers and has to rest 6 days. However, Adam didn't want to interrupt the studio schedule, so went back to work today. At work, when his wife helped him put the medication on his shoulder, Adam could not help but shout out he was in pain. Adam said on the day of the accident, he had to look after the little girl who was shooting with him and be aware of his expressions, while saying his lines, so he completely forgot about his personal safety.

Joyce was frightened to tears when she heard about Adam's accident. She said after she heard about Adam being sent to the hospital, she lost contact with him and was very worried. Later, her father called her back and comforted her, telling her not to worry, he's fine. She thought about how her father had always had a lot of energy, and was afraid he's too hard working, thinking he's interrupting the filming schedule, so he'll force himself to get back to work, Joyce reminded her father: "You are not 20 years old anymore!"

Kamen Rider GIRLS new single

The "Kamen Rider" franchise is turning 40 years old next year, and one of the projects commemorating its anniversary is a new female idol group called Kamen Rider GIRLS. The five-member unit made their debut at a special music event on Monday.

Each of the members represents a different Rider, with their outfits designed to match the Riders' images. The group consists of Kaori Nagura (19) as Kiva, Erika Yoshizumi (18) as Den-O, Yurika Hirokawa (20) as Ryuki, Hitomi Isaka (18) as OOO, and Nao Yasuda (20) as Blade. However, more members are expected to be added in the future.

Kamen Rider GIRLS will release their first digital-only single "Koi no Rider Kick" on December 15.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards

The 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards were held in Macau on Sunday night. Although the annual event focuses on Korean pop music, guest artists from other countries attended, including the U.S.-based group Far East Movement. Japan was represented by CHEMISTRY and Perfume, who both received awards.

CHEMISTRY was named Best Asian Male Group, while Perfume was named Best Asia Pop Artist. For Perfume, the event was their first performance outside of Japan.

New film "Let The Bullets Fly"

Invested nearly a billion HK dollars into the new film Let The Bullets Fly with Best Actor winners Chow Yun Fat, Jiang Wen and Ge Yao, the film is scheduled to release January 2011. Yesterday Chow Yun Fat started the first promotion in HK, attracting nearly 50 reporters to the event. Chow Yun Fat's wife and EEG's CEO Albert Yeung both attended as well. The press conference invited Carol Cheng to be the MC.

It has been 7 years since Chow Yun Fat seen Carol, so when they met, they embraced one another. Chow also praised that Carol looked younger than before, making her extremely happy. As the MC, Carol talked about the film with Chow, asking various questions about the shooting process. Chow said that the other two lead actors performed very well, so he had to be well-prepared, putting lots of effort into it. Carol asked if it was difficult to play two characters? He smiled: "They found a 'Guangzhou Chow Yun Fat' as my stunt double, he looked very similar to me from the back. I have never done two characters before, and even with different personalities. It was fun."

Also, Chow had always loved to watch TV series, when asked if he watched the No Regrets finale? He said: "Really good! (Who do you support for TV King and Queen?) Kent Cheng, enough weight. (How do you feel about Raymond Lam?) He looks like Evergreen Mak! TV Queen is between Sheren Tang and Charmaine Sheh. (How about just pick one?) No choice, then I choose Carol Cheng!" Chow's humorous responses made everyone laugh.

Besides series, Chow also read about Felix Wong's outburst at TVB. He laughed: "I didn't see him scold at TVB, I just praise TVB, won't scold." Besides him, Carol asked him if he'll go back to film a TVB series? He said: "If you do it then I will too! But I don't know if they will tell me to sign a 1 series per year contract? If so, then I don't know what to do." As for having good friend Chow's support, Kent Cheng said: "Thank you! It's impossible, he's not the judge, what use is that? If he was the judge then we're talking!"

2010 China Fashion Awards

At the recent 2010 China Fashion Awards, Li Yapeng, Chinese actor and husband of Faye Wong, announced his decision to let his acting career take a backseat and plans to focus on working behind the scenes instead.

He discussed his recent movie with Chinese actress Xu Jinglei, a movie continuation of the drama series, Cherish our Love Forever, and says that it will be his "last movie production" as an actor.

"I will not be filming anymore movies. I have been filming a movie each year for the past decade and have strictly followed this regime. I have already treated this as something of the past and I now have a new goal ahead of me. This is going to be my motivation towards working hard in that direction," he revealed.

When asked if he plans to fully focus on the Smile Angel Foundation, which is a Beijing-based foundation founded by Faye and him to help children born with clefts, he politely refuted the suggestion and said, "Faye will be working in front of the cameras while I'll work from behind the scenes."

Li shared that they are still in the midst of ironing out the final details for Faye and their daughter Dou Jingtong's (otherwise known as Tong Tong) first collaboration as voiceovers for the Chinese version of Mamma Mia!. The 39-year-old commented that "Tong Tong is showing signs of musical capability lately"and said he first heard her perform when they were at inner Mongolia for some charity work.

"Going by her tender age of 14 years old now, her voice quality is considered superior. As a form of hobby, we hope that it helps to enrich her life. It's still too early to tell if it she makes a career out of it in future," Li added.

TVB Sales Presentation 2011

Yesterday Roger Kwok attended the TVB Sales Presentation 2011 expo along with the all new sitcom Show Me The Happy cast. Asked if he has confidence for the new sitcom? He said: "There are a few segments in the sitcom, will bring audience happiness. However, 80 episodes will take a months to broadcast, I do have some pressure. If the ratings aren't good, still have to keep on filming, so I have confidence in myself, feel that the TV ratings will do well." Roger also praises his partner Bernice Liu once again, clearly not afraid that his wife (Cindy Au) will get jealous or make Moses Chan unsatisfied. He said: "I'm just borrowing Moses girlfriend for a few months. (Girlfriend?) Rumored girlfriend, Moses does not mind, he is crazy for coffee, and will forget about everything when he has coffee."

When speaking of next year's Asian Emmy Awards, Roger strongly supported TVB's nominated series, that the chances are high. For example, No Regrets has the storyline, Can't Buy Me Love has the glamorous packaging. It is definitely a benefit for TVB to participate.

JJ Lin's latest album on Dec 8

Before the official Dec 8 release of JJ Lin's latest album, She Says, the Singaporean performer announced that sales of the album have hit the hundred-thousand mark.

Currently listed as one of the hottest-selling album, She Says consists of a compilation of 10 Mandopop hits by Chinese female singers such as Zhang Hui Mei's 'Ji De', Cyndi Wang's 'Dang Ni', and JJ's title track, 'She Says'.

The 29-year-old recently held a autograph session in Taiwan for the album promotions of She Says and announced the piece of joyous news that it has surpassed the 300,000 sales mark. According to the record company, a limited edition version of the CD with a different cover will be released and produced to meet the increasing market demand.

In other related news, JJ reportedly made NTD 7 million ($300,000) in losses as he had to turn down a couple of commercial performances when he was struck with the H1N1 virus. He has now recovered from the flu and is actively promoting his latest music album.

TVB new series "The Truth"

Yesterday Tavia Yeung and Natalie Tong were dressed as administrative staff to shoot TVB new series The Truth in Wan Chai. The scene was about the two chatting on the streets, when suddenly the encountered a psychotic man! The actor playing as the psychotic naked man opened his long jacket when he saw the two girls passed by and revealed his pink underwear. When the two girls saw it, they were so frightened, Tavia then chased after the psychotic naked man and threw her heels at him!

As it was only around 10 degrees C when they were filming, Tavia and Natalie both had on thick scarfs on off-cameras. Natalie's role has a coward personality and because she encountered the psychotic man, she appeared very scared. She said: "Just now when I saw the psychotic naked man I found him really funny. Actually I wasn't scared at all, thinking for a moment, I really haven't encountered such situation in real life!" She said that she has been filming The Truth for 3 months already, this is her very last scene before she's done filming the series.

"2010 JYP NATION CONCERT" at Olympic Stadium

This year, 2pm and Park Jaebeom will be having their own concerts on the same day.

On the 24th of December, the "2010 JYP NATION CONCERT" will take place at the Olympic Stadium and 2pm will be performing, Park Jaebeom will also be participating at the "2010 WHITE LOVE PARTY" concert at the Jangchung Gymnasium.

In the JYP Nation concert, 2pm, Wonder Girls, Miss A and San.E will be performing, fans are looking forward for the idol family members to show their closeness and relationship however they are saddened that former 2pm member Park Jaebeom will not be in it. JYP Nation hasnt held a concert with Park Jaebeom in stage, and it will leave a loneliness on stage without him. Supreme Team and Dok2 will also be performing at the WHITE LOVE PARTY.

The two concerts are getting hot responses however, there is an inevitable competition on which concert will be getting more love from the netizens. In addition, not only the number of audience will be the measure but also the quality of the performances.

However, 2am wont be able to participate at the JYP Nation concert due to their own solo concert tour all over Seoul.

Netizens reacted, "Unfortunately, i will be rushing on Christmas Eve to watch these", "There will be another clash from the two parties".

"Misaki No. 1!!" drama release next month

Following up on the recent cast announcements for the "Misaki No. 1!!" drama series, one more major cast member has been revealed. Up-and-coming actress Aya Omasa (19) will play the main female student.

The series stars Karina (26) as a hostess who temporarily becomes the teacher for a class of problem students. Omasa has been cast as a student named Yui Sakurai, the only girl in a group known as the "ochikobore 5-nin-gumi" (which can be loosely translated as the "Failure Five"). Her energetic character acts like an older sister to the boys in the group, which include the previously announced Kis-My-Ft2 members Taisuke Fujigaya (23) and Hiromitsu Kitayama (25).

Although Omasa has been acting since 2006, she achieved mainstream popularity with her role as the heroine of the drama series "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge" earlier this year. Since then, she was given starring roles in two upcoming films, "Usotsuki Mi-kun to Kowareta Ma-chan" (opening January 2) and "Keitai Deka: The Movie 3" (opening February 5). She also has a supporting role in the live-action "Paradise Kiss" movie, set to open in May.

The "Misaki No. 1!!" drama series premieres in January.

"Hankyu Densha" release in 2011

Child actress Mana Ashida (6) has been getting lots of attention since her outstanding performance in the drama series "Mother" this past spring. Since then, roles have been pouring in for the young star, and yet another one was announced on Saturday. She will play a supporting character in the movie "Hankyu Densha," which just started filming.

"Hankyu Densha" was first announced in August. Based on a bestselling novel by Hiro Arikawa ("Freeter, Ie wo Kau"), the film stars Miki Nakatani (34) at the center of several intertwined stories involving the people she encounters while riding the train. The movie's title comes from the Hankyu Railway, which serves as the main setting.

Ashida will share the screen with Nobuko Miyamoto (65), who plays Ashida's grandmother. One reason for Ashida's casting is that she is originally from the Hyogo prefecture, where the story takes place. As a result, she will also be speaking naturally in the local Kansai dialect.

Ashida's recent roles include the movies "Kokuhaku" and the "Ghost" remake. She has already been cast in NHK's 2011 taiga drama "Gou ~Himetachi no Sengoku~," as well as the movies "Usagi Drop" and "Inu to Anata no Monogatari: Inu no Eiga."

On the other hand, this will be Miyamoto's first movie role since "Bizan" in 2007.

The cast of "Hankyu Densha" also features Erika Toda (22). The movie is currently projected for release in April 2011.

20th TAMA Cinema Forum film festival

The 20th TAMA Cinema Forum film festival concluded on Sunday. The day before, the festival presented its 2nd TAMA Cinema Awards, honoring several directors and actors.

This year, the two Best Picture winners were Tetsuya Nakashima's "Kokuhaku" and Keisuke Yoshida's "Sankaku." Director Koji Wakamatsu was presented a special award for his "Caterpillar."

While receiving his prize, Wakamatsu declared that his next film will be based on author Yukio Mishima.

Best Actor went to Shinichi Tsutsumi ("Kokou no Mesu") and Best Actress went to Shinobu Terajima ("Caterpillar"). Best Rising Actor awards were given to Shima Onishi ("Caterpillar") and Satoshi Kanada ("Watashi no Yasashikunai Senpai"). The corresponding Best Rising Actress awards were presented to Sakura Ando ("Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni," "SR: Saitama Rappers 2") and Shiori Kutsuna ("Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora," "BECK").

There were also two Best Rising Director awards, given to Hirofumi Kawaguchi for "Torokko" and Yutaka Yamamoto for "Watashi no Yasashikunai Senpai."

"Taira no Kiyomori" release in 2012

Just a few days ago, it was confirmed that Kenichi Matsuyama (25) will be the star of NHK's 2012 taiga drama, "Taira no Kiyomori." It was then revealed yesterday that Hiroshi Tamaki (30) will be joining him, playing Matsuyama's rival.

Matsuyama will play the general Taira no Kiyomori, who led the Taira clan to power during the 12th century. Tamaki will play Minamoto no Yoshitomo, who became head of the Minamoto clan. Although the two were on the same side during the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, they later fought against each other during the Heiji Rebellion in 1159. Kiyomori's victory led to the downfall of the Minamoto clan and Yoshitomo's ultimate death.

Although Matsuyama has never appeared in a taiga drama before, Tamaki has previously appeared in two: "Komyo ga Tsuji" in 2006 and "Atsuhime" in 2008.

NHK will begin broadcasting "Taira no Kiyomori" in January 2012.

Rain closing ceremony of the Asian Games

Korean pop sensation Rain will sing and dance at the closing ceremony of the Asian Games as part of a promotion for the 2014 Incheon Asiad, organisers said Friday.

The pop star also known as Jung Ji-Hoon will sing three songs at Saturday's closing ceremony which will be televised throughout Asia, Lee Dong-Me, an official with the Incheon organising committee of the Asian Games said.

Rain has sold millions of records throughout Asia after bursting on to the pop scene early this decade. He has also performed at Madison Square Garden in New York and at Las Vegas.