China Showbiz 2013/02/28

“Agent X”: China’s First Espionage Idol Drama

Highly anticipated mainland Chinese action drama, Agent X < X女特工>, recently released an exciting preview. Amid the beautifully filmed scenes and the thrilling plot details, what captured the attention of viewers most were the numerous action scenes, in which Luo Jin (羅晉) showed off his prowess by performing extremely difficult stunts.
In Agent X, Luo Jin plays He Junfeng, a stern but experienced secret service agent. Seen as the quintessential spy, he naturally excels in his assigned missions. In order to make the action scenes more realistic, Luo Jin performed the stunts himself, rather than opting for a stunt double. He successfully pulled off many difficult actions, such as taking an opponent down with a flying tackle and jumping out of a moving car. Luo Jin performed his action scenes so well that the drama’s producer and director praised him, saying he had the potential to become an action star.
Although the action scenes drew the most attention, the romantic storyline is also a highlight that many viewers are excited to see. In the past, Junfeng missed a chance at love and thus sealed off his heart so it could never be touched again. However, one of the new female spy recruits changes his plans. Zhong Li (Tiffany Tang (唐嫣) is naïve and impetuous, and she and Junfeng initially butt heads again and again. As they grow together, Junfeng cannot help but allow his heart to be opened again.
Because of the action scenes and the romantic storyline, many viewers are calling Agent X mainland China’s first action and espionage idol drama. The exciting explosions, gripping plot twists, and touching love story are bound to create a unique visual feast that will turn this show into the most anticipated drama of the New Year.Agent X will begin airing on March 26.
“Agent X” Trailer

Jay Chou's 'The Rooftop' reveals new trailer

A new trailer of Jay Chou's second directorial work "The Rooftop" was released today on Mtime.com. Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang was seen in the video. The movie is set to be released at this summer. [Video courtesy of Mtime.com]

A new trailer of Jay Chou's second directorial work "The Rooftop" was released today on Mtime.com. Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang was seen in the video. The movie is set to be released at this summer. [Photo: Mtime.com]
Jiang Yiyan Spring photoshoot

Always elegant, actress Jiang Yiyan did a photoshoot to welcome the spring. She recently finished her return to TV, drama Like Butterfly, Like Fireworks, and is now starring in a play. Listen to her song from the play here. Her singing voice is just like her person – artsy and airy.

Liu Ye promotes new film 'Redemption'

Liu Ye and Ni Ni promoted "Redemption" in Beijing. [Photo: Mtime.com]

A press conference for the movie "Redemption" was held yesterday in Beijing attended by director Zhu Qing and lead actors Liu Ye, Ni Ni and Wang Xun, Mtime.com reports.

This is the second movie of new Mou Girl Ni Ni. The actress shot to stardom after her role in Zhang Yimou's epic war blockbuster "The Flowers of War."

This time, Ni Ni has teamed up with actor Liu Ye in the suspense romance.

"Redemption" is set to hit national screens on May 18.

A new poster and trailer were also revealed at the event.

"Les Miserables" to debut in China

"Les Miserables" will debut in China on Thursday.
The film will be shown in Chinese theaters without being dubbed in Chinese, according to the China Film Group Corporation.
The film starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway is expected to attract a large number of moviegoers.
The delicate film is an adaptation of the enduring musical based on the French historical novel by Victor Hugo. The musical was created in the early 1980s and has been performed over 10,000 times across 42 countries.
During the 85th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Hathaway was given an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in "Les Miserables." The film also took awards for sound mixing and make up.

“Road to AFA” Special Series to Make Grand Debut

in Anticipation of the 7^th Asian Film Awards

Also announcing 13 nominated films’ show times, 6 films released for the first time in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, 27 The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) has announced that the “Road to AFA” series of short videos will make its grand debut during the 7^th Asian Film Awards (AFA)and the screening schedule of thirteen nominated films.

“Road to AFA” Series

To get film enthusiasts better acquainted with the Asian Film Awards, the “Road to AFA” explores different genres through a series of short videos. The special series touches upon ways in which joint productions can further enrich the Asian region’s exchange of ideas and delves deeply into theperspectives of filmmakers.

The “Road to AFA” consists of interviews with filmmakers and talent who share their views on the development of the movie industry in different areas throughout Asia. Other than Hong Kong, the production crew visited Mainland China (Beijing), Taiwan (Taipei), Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), Indonesia (Jakarta), the Philippines (Manila) and Thailand (Bangkok) in order to create this insightful work. The results are eight exhilarating shorts ranging from 10 to 20 minutes each. Interviewees include directors YAMADA Yôji, HOU Hsiao-Hsien and LEE Chang-dong; actors LIU Ye, CHEN Kun, Chapman TO and Donny DAMARA; actresses GWEI Lun-Mei, Gigi LEUNG and Eugene DOMINGO; screenwriterChris MARTINEZ; cinematographer CHIN Ting-Chang; and editor Lee CHATAMETIKOOL, among other talented professionals.

“Road to AFA” will be uploaded to the AFA website (www.asianfilmawards.asia) and screened by many Asian major television stations such as NOW TV 102 and online media outlets, including Yahoo! and Commercial Radio Interactive. “Road to AFA” will serve as a forerunner to the 7^th Asian Film Awards, which will be held on 18 March.

Witness the charm of Asian cinema through 13 nominated films

To provide a chance for Hong Kong audiences to enjoy some of the 7^th AFA’s nominated films, thirteen selected movies will be screened from 5 – 16 March at The Grand Cinema, UA Megabox and UA Cityplaza. Six of these films have never been released in Hong Kong, giving film enthusiasts the perfect chance to appreciate these great works before the AFA ceremony.

Audiences can purchase of tickets from now online or at the screening cinemas. The 13 nominated films include: GF*BF, THE LAST TYCOON, NAMELESS GANGSTER: RULES OF THE TIME, THE LAST SUPPER, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR PART 1 & PART 2, THE FLOATING CASTLE, SOAR INTO THE SUN, BARFI!, SHIP OF THESEUS, WHEN A WOLF FALLS IN LOVE WITH A SHEEP, PIETA, DIVAand RHINO SEASON.

The Grand Cinema Phone Ticketing: +852 3983 0033	UA Megabox & UA Cityplaza Phone Ticketing: +852 2317 6666
Online Ticketing: www.thegrandcinema.com.hk	Online Ticketing: www.uacinemas.com.hk

Ballistic Kiss - Sha sha ren, tiao tiao wu (1998)
Donnie Yen Ji-Dan (殺殺人、跳跳舞) thank you to www.wrongsideoftheart.com
Tired from Work, Vicki Zhao Eager to Return to Family

The hardships of a director’s work is taking its toll on Vicki Zhao (赵薇) who is ready to call it a day and go back to her husband, Huang You Long (黄有龙) and 3-year-old daughter in Singapore.
Directing is Hard Work
Not long after Vicki gave birth to her daughter in 2010, she returned promptly to work, incurring criticisms of her priorities. Currently busy with her directorial debut for So Young <致我们终将逝去的青春>, Vicki finally had her dream fulfilled. However, what she did not bargain for was the tribulations that come with the work of a director.
Since filming started March last year, Vicki had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and stay up past midnight in preparation for next day’s work. A year of long hours without her family by her side, it is both physically and emotionally draining for Vicki, who now pines for the simple life of a family.
In her Weibo message, Vicki lamented, “I wish to go back to my own little world,” which many readers interpreted as Vicki’s longing for her family. There were even rumors that Vicki may want to take a long break from work to fulfill HuangYou Long’s wish of having another child.
Work Caused Conflict in Marriage
It was reported that husband, You Long had asked Vicki to retire from the entertainment industry when they first got married. However, the workaholic Vicki felt that You Long did not understand her and as a result, she insisted on continuing to work.
A close friend revealed, “When You Long asked Vicki to retire, it was because he loves her and was afraid that she would be too tired. Vicki did not like the idea and there was conflict in their marriage. But now that Vicki has experienced how tiring work can be, she realized You Long’s care and cannot wait to go back to her daughter after filming concludes.”
Vicki’s Directorial Debut
Fortunately for Vicki, work has slightly eased now. So Young is scheduled to be released in mid-April this year. The movie is about the coming-of-age story of a young girl, Zheng Wei, who must make choices in love. Infatuated with her neighbor at a young age, she was disappointed when he left for abroad without letting her know. However, the happy-go-lucky girl soon got over her love and falls in love with her university schoolmate, Chen Xiaozheng.
Like her first love, Xiao Zheng also goes abroad after graduation. Eventually, when her two lovers come back to her, Zheng Wei has to choose which one she loves most.
Source: QQ.com
Life Gamble - Sheng si dou (1979)
Chang Cheh (生死鬥) than you to www.wrongsideoftheart.com
The Many Faces of Censorship in China

Censorship in China conjures the image of rigid, unsmiling authority, but that disapproving scowl can give way to a different expression — and not always a consistent one. A film, for example, might be banned for 20 years, while the novel on which it is based sells briskly throughout that same period.
This might seem puzzling, but the reason is simple. China has more than 500 publishing houses, each with its own editor in chief (and de facto censor); if a book is rejected by one publisher there’s still a chance another will take it. In contrast, films are not released until officials in the state cinema bureau in Beijing are satisfied, and once a film is banned it has no hope of being screened.
When it comes to censorship in China, the primary factors are often economic, not political. Publishing houses that were once government financed have operated as commercial enterprises for years now. Editors are under pressure to make the biggest profit they can. Even if a book carries some political risks, a daring editor will take the gamble if there’s a chance it will be a best seller.
To be sure, there are some limits in book publishing — the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 are taboo, for example — but fewer than in film. That’s because film censors, unlike book publishers, don’t have to worry about making profits. Each script is scrutinized, and only after it’s approved can filming commence. Review of the finished product is even more exacting. Even if they were to reject every project that comes their way, it wouldn’t affect their salaries, so they are not prepared to take on the least political risk. That’s why the Cultural Revolution and other sensitive topics are regularly discussed in print but remain off-limits on film. If you go to a cinema, all you’ll see, basically, are martial-arts films, palace dramas, love stories and comedies — and a few American movies.
Television censorship is a bit less strict. Programming directors decide what gets broadcast, but the propaganda ministry often demands changes. China Central Television, the state broadcaster, is the most carefully monitored; regional stations have more leeway. News programming undergoes the strictest censorship, while other programs — particularly sports — have more freedom.
Newspaper censorship is also relatively more relaxed than film censorship, but stricter than book censorship. Stricter because the Communist Party puts more stress on control of the press (“journalism is the Party’s mouthpiece,” the saying goes). More relaxed because the press has to make its way in the marketplace. Newspapers need circulation and advertising revenue, so they publish lots of stories about social problems and injustices, because that’s what readers want. When newspapers got government subsidies, they were politically and economically beholden. Now their subservience can’t be counted on. As the economic base crumbles, the superstructure threatens to collapse.
The newspaper Southern Weekend, based in Guangdong Province, for years published exposés on corruption and malfeasance, becoming one of China’s most popular news outlets. Shrewdly, it focused its muckraking on other provinces, with the result that local censors often cut it slack. Papers elsewhere began to take their lead from Southern Weekend, dispatching investigative reporters far afield while carrying upbeat news about the situation close to home.
The highly publicized demonstrations in January over censorship of Southern Weekend were a rarity: a “mass incident” (as China calls such protests) over the media. A propaganda chief who’d parachuted in from Beijing had meddled so crudely with a routine editorial that he triggered a revolt among editors and reporters. Other newspapers lent support to the protesters, while on the Internet the outrage was even stronger. Soon it was all hushed up. The paper has continued to publish. The authorities offered vague commitments of gentler censorship, but have quietly begun retaliating against those who took a stand. The government won in the end, but its censorship had encountered — for the first time in decades — head-on resistance from a press that has become far less docile.
On Weibo, a kind of Chinese Twitter, I recently made a joking comparison between media censorship and the pervasive threat of contaminated food, a constant source of worry:
“There’s no end to these food scares,” a friend sighed. “Is there any hope of a solution?”
“Oh, all we need is for food inspections to be as forceful as film censorship,” I told him breezily. “With all that faultfinding and nit-picking, food-safety issues will be resolved in no time.”
More than 12,000 readers reposted this. One wrote: I know what we should do. Let’s have those in charge of film, newspaper and book censorship take over food safety, and have those responsible for food safety censor films, papers and books. That way we’ll have food safety — and freedom of expression as well!

Yu Hua, the author of “China in Ten Words,” is a guest columnist. This column was translated by Allan H. Barr from the Chinese.
The Five of Super Rider - Shan dian wu qi shi (1976)
Lin Chong-Guang (閃電五騎士)
Fall in Love - Ai shen (2013)
Hua Ming (愛神)
"Luxuriant Gens" releases trailers

Li Xinru gives the go for plenty of French kissing, but has to fake a simple peck?
Model drama Luxuriant Gens 华丽一族 stars Li Xinru as well as model-actors Godfrey Gao and Li Xuedong. A remake of Korean drama "Model," the series tells of the inner intrigues of the modeling industry. Produced by Nesound (Ugly Wudi), the series will air on Hunan TV on March 1st. Watch the trailer below and the long trailer here:
'The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel' to debut

(From left to right) Cast members Zhang Hanyu, Huang Bo and Liu Ye promote the new action-comedy film "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" in Beijing on Wednesday, February 27, 2013. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Handout]

Chinese action-comedy movie "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" ("Chuzi, Xizi, Pizi") held a promotional event on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 in Beijing.

Lead actors Liu Ye, Zhang Hanyu and Huang Bo, who previously have all won the Best Actor award at the Golden Horse Awards, attended the event. A trailer was also released.
Liu plays the chef, while Zhang portrays the actor and Huang plays the scoundrel.
The movie, directed by Guan Hu, is set in a blockaded Beijing due to plague. A Japanese man taking a cart crashes into an inn where he is confronted by the trio and all get unknowingly involved in big trouble.
The movie is set to hit Chinese mainland cinemas on March 29.

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Romantic Lover - Gong zi duo qing (1965)
Chan Wan (公子多情)
Charlie Yeung tackles rape in directorial debut
(From left) Charlie Yeung (second from left) had roped in A-listers (from left) Aaron Kwok, Xia Yu and Chang Chen for her directorial debut Christmas Rose. (image source: www.chinanews.com)

The film may be titled Christmas Rose, but don't be fooled. Hong Kong actress Charlie Yeung's directorial debut is far from a cheesy romantic flick.
Instead, it explores a subject matter so dark it nearly put off cast members Aaron Kwok, Chang Chen and Xia Yu: sex crime.
The film, with an A-list cast including award-winning actresses Gwei Lun-Mei and Qin Hailu, sees Charlie taking on the director's role for the first time, after starring in almost 30 movies in an acting career spanning two decades.
The film is produced by Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung and Tsui Hark, who called Charlie, 38, "daring" for taking on such "challenging" subject matter.
Chang, recently seen in Wong Kar Wai's Ip Man flick The Grandmasters, was hesitant to accept the role of a perverted doctor.
"Undeniably, many actors would shun movies like these," he admitted, echoing his co-stars.
Xia Yu and Aaron revealed that they were worried prior to taking on the roles: "It's a difficult topic to tackle, for either guys or girls, so we were worried how she (Charlie) was going to handle it."
All doubts were eventually cast aside, said the stars, who were impressed by the outcome.
"We made the right decision to accept the roles," said Aaron, 47.
Christmas Rose is slated to hit theatres in May.
Source: Sina.com
Published: 27th February 2013
Are the Bingbings at peace or trying to outdo each other?

Rival actresses Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing posed for a pic at an exclusive Oscar post-party. The Chinese A-list actresses, who have similar names, were all smiles. Fan, 31, wore a black and white dress by Oscar de la Renta, while Li, 40, donned a sexy Gucci blue gown.
Later, the two spoke like inseparable friends on Weibo, the Chinese social networking website. "Hello, Bingbing, I'm Bingbing. My camera was not in a good condition. Do you have more pictures?" wrote Fan.

Li replied. "Bingbing is so gorgeous no matter how the picture is shot." However, not all liked seeing the Bingbings so friendly.
There were fans who tried to get the two Bingbings into a quarrel. Some netizens claimed that the younger Bingbing deliberately photoshopped the picture to make herself appear fairer than her rival.
Li, who debuted around the same time as Fan, made her Hollywood debut in 2011 period film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, before taking on the role of Ada Wong, a femme fatale in Resident Evil: Retribution, last year.
Fan is apparently following her footsteps, as she is joining fellow Chinese star Wang Xueqi in Iron Man 3.
The actress, who had been attracting eyeballs for her oriental-themed red carpet attire at international film festivals over the past year, is also set to play a mermaid opposite Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan in a Hollywood fantasy film The Moon & The Sun.
Source: www.chinanews.com
Published: 27th February 2013
MORE ON FAN BINGBING AND LI BINGBING:
Fan Bingbing to make Hollywood debut
Li Bingbing denies taking a dig at Fan Bingbing
Li Bingbing wows at Cannes Film Festival
Fan Bingbing shows off dynasty dress at Cannes