June 23, 2005: News From Abroad

Red Flags and Red Carpets                                                                      

100 years have passed since the 1905 filming of the first Chinese movie, Ding Jun Shan, the black-and-white rendering of a Beijing opera. China celebrated the anniversary of the Chinese movie industry with the 8th annual Shanghai International Film Festival from June 11th-19th. Among the 300 movie stars present from China and abroad was a diverse representation of the Asian Pacific film industries' foremost personalities. Zhang Yimou, director of Chinese blockbusters Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers, and Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial arts film icon, received Outstanding Contribution Awards, the most prestigious honors of the ceremony.

Chinese Mata Hari                                                                              

Chen Kaige, director of box office hits like Together, will work with ICP films and Hollywood to produce a film about a prostitute. Pretty Woman II, China Edition? No, Chen's $12 million motion picture aims to surpass the heartwarming tale of true love in the red-light district. The film will explore the life of Sai Jinhua, a Beijingnese femme fatale who spied for the Qing Dynasty during the Boxer Rebellion. Acting icons like Chen Hong and Zhang Ziyi are in negotiations for the lead.   

Beauty from Beijing to Bollywood

Bollywood belle and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai is the ninth most beautiful woman in the world, says the July issue of U.K. magazine Harpers & Queen. Hero and 2046 star Zhang Ziyi ranks 15th most beautiful. Zhang enjoys this praise only two months after making the cover of Newsweek, where she was crowned, “The face of a new China.” Rai and Zhang are honored among 100 other attractive and accomplished personalities like American film industry moguls, Angelina Jolie, first, and Sophia Coppola, fourth.  

Make Films Not War

Islamabad will continue to bounce to the beats of bootleg Bollywood blockbusters. The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 resulted in a Pakistani ban on Bollywood films. Pakistan's PM Shaukat Aziz made a recent announcement refusing to lift the Indian film ban despite the advice of Pakistani film industry giants, who claim that homegrown films are not meeting the demands of the nation's audiences.           

Jackie Chan's Cross-Straight Mea Culpa

Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan composed a five-page apology to the Taiwanese media on June 11th apologizing for comments about the voting irregularities in President Chen Shui-bian's March 2004 reelection. The Shanghai Noon actor claimed that Taiwan's elections were “the biggest joke in the world.” Chan faces diminished popularity with the Taiwanese media and public as some call for a ban on his films.

Romeo and Juliet, India and Pakistan, Veer and Zaara

This June in Amsterdam one can sail the canals, eating Gouda with Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar, who are in the Netherlands with their Bollywood costars for the “Indian Oscars.” Winning Best Film and a total of six awards is Veer-Zaara, a love story about an Indian man, Veer, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara, that models Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, star of Asoka and Devdas, and Rani Mukherji, star of Hey Ram. Both Khan and Mukherji won awards for their performances.

1.3 billion people, 1.2 million copies sold and counting

Selling 1.2 million copies of her album in China, native South Korean singer Jang Na-ra is quickly ascending toward pop stardom. This June, Jang received the China Golden Disc Awards' Most Popular Singer Award. She was the first Korean singer to be nominated for the honor.