November 28, 2008: News from Abroad

Battle of Red Cliff resumes in January 09
 
I still remember the gasps of disbelief and disconcerted "WTH?" I heard in the theater when Red Cliff Part One ended -- right before the actual battle was about to begin. All you Romance of the Three Kingdoms fanatics or starry-eyed Tony Leung/Takeshi Kaneshiro worshipers, wait no longer! The battle is confirmed to resume on January 15 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and in other parts of Asia within the following weeks. Part One of Red Cliff grossed $62.7 million upon its first release in Asia, and it has just made $26 million in Japan to date within the first month. Showcasing a cross-national star-studded cast and helmed by the internationally-acclaimed John Woo, Red Cliff tells one of the most important stories in Chinese history. --Winghei Kwok


Korean government says "Rainism" too dirty for teenagers

While it's been a more than a month since Korean pop star Rain has released his latest album Rainism, the Family Health and Welfare Association of the Korean government has deemed his title track to be a source of inappropriate media for South Korean teenagers. By making this announcement, Rain was forced to remove the original version with the sexually indecent lyrics from all music sites and charts, because the song allegedly promoted sexual behavior which is prohibited amongst the youth. Instead, Rain is now asked to perform a clean version of his song for all future televised performances, even though nothing was said about untelevised public performances. –-Kanara Ty

Blue Dragon Awards in Seoul

South Korea's 29th Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony was held on November 20, 2008. The Good, the Bad, the Weird won four awards: Best Cinematography, Best  Art Direction, Best Director, and Maximum Audience Awards. Directed by Kim Ji-Yoon, the film is a Korean western set in 1930s Manchuria. Best Picture went to Forever the Moment, and Best Actor went to Kim Yoon-suk for The Chaser. An honorary award was given to late actress Choi Jin-Sil, who is also known as The Nation's Actress. --Christie Liu

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Produced by UTV Motion Pictures, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! tells the story of a middle-class kleptomaniac who becomes one of the most-wanted thieves in India. The film stars Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, and Paresh Rawal (in triple roles). Director Dibakar Banerjee calls the film an entertaining satire about our society's rush to have a life of riches and glamour. Although it has already opened in the US, early for the Thanksgiving holidays, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! has an all-India release scheduled for Friday, November 28th. In light of recent events, the government of Maharashtra ordered the closing of all Mumbai theaters on Thursday, the 27th, and Friday, the 28th. The other two films scheduled for release this weekend, Rohan Sippy's The President is Coming and Onir's Sorry Bhai, have been delayed indefinitely. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! will be released in Mumbai on Saturday instead of Friday. --Ada Tseng


China Unhappy About New Gun N' Roses Album

China's ruling Communist Party is unhappy with the new Gun N' Roses album titled Chinese Democracy. According to the Global Times, Chinese internet users called the album part of a plot by some in the West to "grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn." Though the album is unlikely to be sold legally in China because of strict censorship codes, with internet sites such as YouTube and Myspace, the songs can still be found. Those that wanted to bypass the blocking of sites tried to combine English and Chinese characters in efforts to scurry through filters that block certain words from appearing, such as "democracy." --Kristie Hang

Project Runway comes to Korea

Project Runway: Korea was announced earlier this year by Korean cable channel OnStyle after they bought the rights from the International producers, Fremantle Media. The show will follow the same format as the American predecessor, featuring 14 aspiring fashion designers who'll compete for the show's coveted cash prize and a magazine cover spread. The show's finalists will also be featured during Korean Fashion Week. Former model turned singer Lee Sora has been chosen as the show's host and will air its first episode in February 2009. –-Kanara Ty

Himala Wins CNN APSA Viewers Choice Award

Bermal's 1982 film Himala has been awarded the CNN APSA Viewers Choice Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of all Time. Voters voted on CNN's The Screening Room, and the award was presetned before 700 film industry figures on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai came in second and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon took third place. Bernal's film is a tale of a young woman (Nora Aunor), who goes on a crusade after seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary. --Christie Liu


Jay Chou time travels again
 
This time without Secret's magical piano scores and time-shifting music room, Jay Chou is time-traveling again in his new movie Ci Ling. Helmed by Kung Fu Dunk's Chu Yen-ping and starring the gorgeous Kim Tae Hee from Korea, Ci Ling follows a young couple traveling back in time to Ghenghis Khan's Mongolia, where they battle a mysterious tomb raider and find themselves in a love triangle at the same time. In place of a piano, we can expect kung fu fighting action and outrageous costumes. The movie is scheduled to begin production in March next year and released on Chinese New Year 2010. --Winghei Kwok
 

To Ready For Vengeance
 
Acclaimed Hong Kong film director and producer Johnnie To has asked French rocker Johnny Hallyday and French actress Sylvie Testud to star in his new Hong Kong crime thriller Vengeance. The film is about a French assassin-turned-chef who journeys to Hong Kong in order to avenge a murder. According to Media Asia, Vengeance has begun filming and is scheduled to finish its 60-day shoot in Hong Kong. The film also stars Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Lam Suet and Lam Ka Tung, all of whom are regulars in To's work. The $11.5 million film is taking primary focus of To's work. His other projects have been halted as he shifts his focus solely on Vengeance. --Kristie Hang


Live-action Bubblegum Crisis

Based on a proposal from Singapore's production studio Cubix International, Japanese production company Anime International Company came to a basic agreement to work on a live action version of the classic anime, Bubblegum Crisis. Bubblegum Crisis follows four female heroes who calls themselves "The Knight Sabers," as they try to fight off biomechanical creatures threatening to destroy a cybernetic futuristic Tokyo. The companies made a deal to set aside a budget of several billion yen and to prepare for a 2011 release in the United States (as well as some other locations). AIC is also in the works of new animated Bubblegum Crisis. -–Kanara Ty

No nore lip synching in China after Olympics incident

The Chinese Ministry of Culture has cracked down on performers who fake their singing. They have proclaimed on their website that any performer who uses pre-recorded music or singing to replace their live singing or other performances will be identified and shamed. And they will lose their license to perform. Nine-year-old Lin Miao-Ke performed the Ode to the Motherland at the Olympics Opening Ceremony, but it was later revealed that seven-year old Yang Pei-Yi was the actual voice the audience heard. This measure to present a "flawless image" at the ceremony has been internationally criticized. The ministry strikes back hard to prevent "cheating the public." --Christie Liu

Robot Human Theatre

Osaka University recently premiered Hataraku Watashi (I, Worker), a play where robots were programmed to "act" alongside its human stars. Not only were the robots given lines to speak, but they moved around the stage according to the script. According to BBC News, the play is about a young couple who own two housekeeping robots. One of the robots loses its motivation to work, which spurns a discussion about how humans use machinery for demeaning purposes. The play is only 20 minutes long, but they are hoping to have a full-length production by 2010. --Ada Tseng