News : Jay Chou

Singer-songwriter turned director Jay Chou released his second self-directed movie, Rooftop last Thursday. On the fourth day into its premiere, the musical-drama film faced minor setbacks with low box-office sales and poor ratings by netizens. According to Taiwanese media reports, Rooftop has so far raked in TW$3.53 million (approximately S$150,000) from Taipei city alone; the film brought in a total of TW$10.1 million (approximately S$420,000) in Taiwan '“ a far cry from his estimated projection of TW$100 million (approximately S$4.23 million) aim. Besides the slow ticket sales, viewers criticised the movie for being used as an outlet to showcase Jay's multiple talents. As the director of the film as well as the male lead, Jay had to sing, dance, act and direct. Wearing one too many hats, some viewers are questioning the star's capabilities of doing a good job at directing the movie. Some viewers even mocked Rooftop for its unprofessional dubbing, weak supporting cast, and called it a 'lengthy' extension of a music video with an old fashioned storyline. However, there were also several positive reviews from supportive fans that commended the 34-year-old for his bravery in attempting a different movie genre in Taiwan.