Hrithik and Aishwarya find success, Chinese film trusts in love, and Kung Fu dunks. All this and more in the latest edition of News from Abroad.
Lydia Shum, legend of Cantonese comedy, dies at 62
Chinese film actress, comedienne and variety star Lydia Shum passed away recently from liver cancer. Known as Fei Fei and Happy Fruit, Shum's signature look was her comical bouffant hairdo and funky retro glasses. She appeared in over seventy films (including the 1973 classic House of 72 Tenants) and her career spanned forty years, debuting on Enjoy Yourself Tonight as a teenager. Shum played a wide variety of roles and shined as a television hostess because of her personal charm and comedic skills. She also was popular on the 2001-2005 Singapore sitcom Living with Lydia, for which she won the Asian Television Award for best actress. Shum was briefly married to fellow actor Adam Cheng Siu-chow, and their daughter Joyce Cheng Yan-yee is also in the entertainment business as a singer. Shum was widely popular and a loveable, familiar face to all her fans. --Lisa Leong
Chinese film In Love We Trust wins Silver Bear at Berlinale
Wang Xiaoshuai's film, In Love We Trust, won a Silver Bear for best screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival. The film was the only one from mainland China that was screened and will be the second Silver Bear for Wang, who won in 2001 with his film Beijing Bicycle. In Love We Trust is about a divorced couple that has both remarried separately trying to save the life of their daughter who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The two decide to have another child together to produce the bone marrow they need. Centered on the Chinese middle class, this film promises a story about love and loyalty. Wang believes this honor will motivate all the people like himself trying to make independent films in China. In Love We Trust will be out in Chinese theaters in the spring. --My Thanh Mac
Japanese film director Kon Ichikawa Dies at 92
One of Japan's most celebrated artistic directors has laid to rest at the age of 92. Director Kon Ichikawa died from pneumonia on February 13, after being hospitalized since late January this year. Ichikawa's film career spanned over seven decades, with Oscar-nominated films such as The Burmese Harp, and his documentary on the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Tokyo Olympiad. His films depicted crushing humanistic yearnings. His adaptations of novels (often collaborations with screenwriter and co-wife Natto Wada) are the stuff of legend and inspire audiences to this day. --LiAnn Ishizuka
Aishwarya and Hrithik headline record release
The numbers are still coming in, but it looks like the opening weekend box office for Jodhaa Akbar, Bollywood's latest big-budget spectacle, hit about $10 million worldwide, with $6.3 million coming from India, $1.6 million from the U.S., and $700,000 from the U.K. The magnitude of its success is shocking, but its attractiveness isn't. Starring Bollywood heavyweights Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker of Lagaan fame, and featuring one of the most lavish production values in industry history, Jodhaa Akbar was designed to achieve. In the U.S., its $16,400 per-screen gross was one of the highest ever for an Indian movie -- second only to last year's blockbuster Om Shanti Om. --Brian Hu
Japan Academy hands out honors
As usual, the Japan Academy Prizes have been awarded to the select few. Tokyo Tower, by far the most honored at the ceremony, garnered 5 awards, including Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, and Screenplay. In for a close second place was Bizan, with three awards for Best Music, Cinematography, and Light direction. Only two films won just one award; Letters from Iwo Jima for Best Foreign Language Film, and Tekkon Kinkreet for Best Animated Picture. Tekkon Kinkreet, interestingly, is also an American-directed and written film, but based on a Japanese manga. The Japan Academy's Popularity prize went to Aragaki Yui and Kisagari. --Ian Shaikh
Khan's Red Chillies get hot
Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan is helping to produce India's most expensive film venture yet. With a 25 million dollar budget set for Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment production company, the untitled picture will enlist the world's best technicians and visual effects specialists like Charles Darby (The Matrix, Minority Report) to make it one of the most technologically intricate films out of India today. Distribution giant, Eros Entertainment, is also participating. The apparent storyline involves kids who face the realities of wishing for bad things. Khan states that he hopes this film will be "madcap, over the top. I want it to be as beautiful as Spider-Man in terms of effects." Khan's success in the recent Om Shanti Om, also produced under the Red Chillies Entertainment group, has become the highest grossing Indian film of all time. --LiAnn Ishizuka
Queer cinema shines at Thai Film Awards
The Love of Siam and Muay Thai Chaiya took home the most prizes at Thailand's Subhanahongsa Awards, but the biggest winner of the night was queer cinema. Best film and best director went to The Love of Siam. Chukiat Sakweerakul's teen romance takes an unconventional turn on the two-guys-and-two-girls formula when the two guys (Mario Maurer and Witwisit Hirunwongkul) kiss. Audiences were surprised because the film's promotion did not play up its homosexual romance. Nonetheless, most critics have given extremely positive reviews. Chermarn Boonyasak won best supporting actress for her part in the love quadrangle. Another film with gay themes, Bangkok Love Story, was awarded best screenplay and best cinematography. The crime drama introduces a romance between the hitman and his target, and also sympathetically addresses AIDS in Thailand. Boxing drama Muay Thai Chaiya won the most awards, including art direction, editing, best actor for Akara Amarttayakul, and best supporting actor for Sonthaya Chitmanee. --Lisa Leong
No foreign cartoons for China
In an effort to encourage more local animators, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has extended the previous ban in 2006 of foreign cartoons from 5-8pm to 5-9pm. On top of this, TV stations will be required to observe a 7:3 ratio of Chinese cartoons versus foreign cartoons. The 2006 order has been said to have improved the overall quality of local content while increasing the content of Chinese-made cartoons by 23% in 2007. Just last week, China's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) also passed down an order that broadcasts be free from ghosts and monsters that only serve the function to terrorize. That way, when the 2008 Olympics roll around, tourists can expect to see holistic and authentic images on their TV screens. --My Thanh Mac
Jackie Chan rides again to promote Olympic event
It wasn't a scene from another Shanghai Noon film, but Jackie Chan found himself on the back of a horse once more, this time to promote the Beijing Olympics' equestrian competition. Chan, decked out in regal riding attire, encouraged audiences to attend the event in Hong Kong and introduced several of his hometown's tourist locales in a 30 second video. Photos of Chan looking positively stately on horseback can be seen on his official website. The video was recorded in both English and Mandarin Chinese and will be shown in mainland China and other foreign markets. The video is part of a concerted effort to promote several of the Olympics' traditionally low-key events. The event was moved from Beijing to Hong Kong due to concerns over a string of equine disease occurrences and China's lower standards for quarantine procedures. The competition is set to take place on August 9 till August 20. Chan also recorded "We Are Ready," the event's one-year countdown anthem. --William Hong
AAA expands in India
The Asian Art Archive, started up in Hong Kong due to a shortage of resources on contemporary Chinese art and exhibitions, is expanding their India chapter this year. After starting in 2000, the non-profit organization has since become amongst the most wide-spread public databases for art and artists. "All you need to know about these artists is now available at the click of a mouse -- PDF-formatted books on them will soon be available on request," said Nabodita Sarkar, AAA's researcher in India. The archive has already begun collecting material on such contemporary artists as Manisha Gera Basvani, Kanchan Chander, and Ram Rahman. Events and exhibitions hosting these artists and their artwork are documented at the AAA website under "world events." As if this weren't enough for art students everywhere, the archive gives out the AAA Martell Contemporary Asian Art Research Grant of $10,000 every two years. --Ian Shaikh
Kung Fu Dunk scores well in box office
Jay Chou strikes again. His latest, Kung Fu Dunk, is an action movie based on a Takehiko Inone manga. Everyone's favorite Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and part-time actor-director plays a martial arts university graduate who uses his skills to play basketball. Reviews compare the movie's action to Stephen Chow's blend of kung fu and sports in Shaolin Soccer and note that both Chow's CJ7 and Kung Fu Dunk hit theatres on the same weekend. However, both movies were box office hits and Kung Fu Dunk boasted many attractive features of its own (aside from Jay Chou's appearance). The $10 million budget film provides great eye candy, featuring not only Taiwan's Jay Chou, but also pan-Chinese stars Charlene Choi, Baron Chen, and Chen Bo-Lin. Ching Siu-tung's martial arts choreography has won great reviews and Golden Horse award winner Shirley Chan edited the movie's loads of special effects. --Christie Liu
Gucci features Asian star
The ad campaign of The United Colors of Benetton hinges on racial diversity. Lucy Liu and Ken Watanabe pose for Gap. However, how many of the most prominent luxury fashion brands feature Asian models in advertisements? Chinese actor and singer Huang Xiaoming will be among the first Asian faces to appear in a campaign ad for a European luxury brand. He is featured in Gucci's 2008 Limited Edition Sports Range. Photos were shot in Hong Kong by an Asian photographer. A popular figure in China, Huang is best known for his leading role in the CCTV drama The Return of the Condor Hearts and his supporting role in Feng Xiaogang's film The Banquet. --Christie Liu
The Dhol Foundation returns with Drums & Roses
Johnny Kalsi, founder and teacher of The Dhol Foundation, is back with a new album, Drums & Roses, featuring an impressive combination of instruments, cultures, and collaborations with other artists. "The Dhol Foundation" is both Kalsi's band name and the name of his dhol (type of drum) institute, through which his students can also become band members. His beats have been used by Hollywood in such films as Ang Lee's The Hulk or Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. The Dhol Foundation has a number of guest artists this time around, including Kulwant S Bhambrah, Sabiha Khan, Tina Chillaghova, and Gunjan Singh. Get a taste of The Dhol Foundation here and more information here. --Ian Shaikh