Hong Kong Entertainment News In Review


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Welcome to Hong Kong Entertainment News In Review the website where some things cost too much even when they're free.

Daily Briefing
What's new? updated Monday, August 29th  2:42 pm HKT

Weekend Box Office Report: French comedy takes top spot at HK box office
2005 Movies Page:
MOMENTS OF LOVE, WAIT 'TIL YOU'RE OLDER (web listing)
Reader Poll:
Aaron Kwok, Joey Yung, SEVEN SWORDS, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Interview:
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai: "I feel like the President"
Review:
2046: It Doesn't Taste At All Like Chicken

NAVIGATION: Reports and Features | Weekend Box Office Report | 2005 Movies Page | Past Briefings | Performances at HKVP Radio

August 26th, 2005: An oddity in 2005, the 2005 Movies Page has been updated twice in seven days as producers have finally released HK films in consecutive weeks. Following on the heels of last week's DRINK, DRANK, DRUNK, the youth romance MOMENTS OF LOVE hit HK theatres yesterday. Starring an array of today's "newcomers" -- Ron Ng, Race Wong, Deep Ng, Don Li, Yan Ng, Macy Chan, Vivian Yeo, Wilred Lau, Hins Cheung and Steven Cheung from Boy'z -- the Billy Chung release focuses on love among the "young'uns". Given its limited appeal and the limited of number screens it has been given, don't expect the film to make too much of a splash.

An official website listing for the new Andy Lau film WAIT 'TIL YOU'RE OLDER has also been added. Directed by Teddy Chan Tak-Sum and co-starring Karen Mok Man-Wai, Felix Wong Yat-Wah, Cherrie Ying Choi-Yi and Gordon Lam Ka-Tong among others, the film's big drawing point is that it has Wah-Jai age into a senior citizen. Please hold the "but isn't Andy Lau already a senior citizen?" e-mails.

Thanks once again to Tim Youngs for his help with this week's Movies Page update.

Some release dates for upcoming Hong Kong films:

September 29th:

EVERLASTING REGRET (Sammi Cheng, Tony Leung Ka-Fai)
WAIT 'TIL YOU'RE OLDER (Andy Lau, Karen Mok, Felix Wong, Cherrie Ying, Gordon Lam)

October 20th: ALL ABOUT LOVE (Andy Lau, Charlie Yeung)
December 22nd: A CHINESE TALL STORY (Nic Tse, Charlene Choi)


August 8th, 2005: Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 opened in North America this weekend on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. It took in US$113,000 for a per screen average of US$28,250. For comparison, when IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE opened in North America on the first weekend of February 2001, it earned US$113,280 from six screens (an average of US$18,000 per screen). By the way, earlier this year, KUNG FU HUSTLE opened with US$269,225 from seven screens in the same two markets. Its per screen average stood at a robust US$38,460.

There are unconfirmed reports that director Roger Spottiswoode (TOMORROW NEVER DIES) has cast Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh for his new film THE BITTER SEA. Written by Paul Haggis (CRASH, MILLION DOLLAR BABY), the drama stars Brendan Fraser and tells the story of a British journalist, George Hogg, who saved a group of orphans during the Sino-Japanese war. According to the reports, Chow will play an army commander who helps Hogg while Yeoh will play a villager. Shooting is slated to start in November on location in the Mainland.


June 30th, 2005: A news note today: 

Cherrie Ying Choi-Yi was cleared of drug charges in HK court on Tuesday. Last November, Ying, 21, was arrested after it appeared she threw out a bag containing cocaine as a car she was in with three others approached a police roadblock. In dismissing the charges, Magistrate Abu Bakar bin Wahab found testimony from the supervising officer at the roadblock to be inconsistent and noted that drug tests that Ying took after her arrest were clear.


May 5th, 2005: While capitalism can rightly be blamed for many of society's ills, it does, undeniably, often spur progress. Case in point: YesAsia has posted a survey about TVB dramas. Do you want to see TVB dramas on DVD with English subtitles? Do you want the DVDs to be complete and uncut? Fill out the survey and make yourself heard. Money talks so once the powers-that-be realize there's money to be made, they will produce these DVDs faster than Wong Jing produced RAPED BY AN ANGEL films in the 1990s.

Past Briefing: Closing the show on the 2004 Movies Page

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REPORTS AND FEATURES
REPORTS FEATURES

Results from the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards

11th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics' Society Awards

Fluff from July 13th to July 15th

Fluff from July 10th to July 12th

Fluff from July 7th to July 9th

Fluff from July 7th to July 9th Extra

Fluff from July 4th to July 6th

Fluff from July 1st to July 3rd

Alice Wu: Flying in the Face of Conventional Wisdom

Movie Review: SAVING FACE

'Face' Facts: The Leading Ladies of SAVING FACE

Joan Chen: The "Elizabeth Taylor of China" Plays It For Laughs

Bai Ling: "The body is not dirty -- the mind is dirty."

KUNG FU HUSTLE: Hollywood Premiere

Interview with Stephen Chow: A Tale of Two Press Conferences

HOUSE OF FURY / HKIFF press conference

SEVEN SWORDS press release and casting announcement

2003 Personality of the Year

Links to the 1:99 Short Films

Wallpapers from Sing Tao Daily's "Rich and Famous" Magazine



WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT

August 29th, 2005: The dog days of summer hit the HK box office as total sales dropped almost 50% Sunday compared to the week previous. With a take of HK$690,000 and a Cantonese-dubbed version featuring Eric Kot Man-Fai, the French comedy MEAN SPIRIT led the way. For the record, the movie tells the story of an obnoxious couple who get their comeuppance when their first-born son is imbued with the vindictive spirit of a man that was killed in a car accident. Last week's champion, DRINK DRANK DRUNK, was second with earnings of HK$660,000. After 11 days, Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah's latest is on the cusp of the HK$10 million mark with a total take of HK$9.19 million. Hollywood efforts CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and RED EYE were third and fourth respectively while Tony Jaa's TOM YUM GOONG was fifth. The Thai action film broke the HK$10 million barrier last week and currently sits at HK$11.06 million. The numbers:

1. MEAN SPIRIT; HK$690,000; 24 screens; 4 days; HK$2.62 million total.

2. DRINK DRANK DRUNK; HK$660,000; 42 screens; 11 days; HK$9.19 million total.

3. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY; HK$510,000; 38 screens; 18 days; HK$13.17 million total.

4. RED EYE; HK$490,000; 30 screens; 4 days; HK$1.91 million total.

5. TOM YUM GOONG; HK$240,000; 27 screens; 18 days; HK$11.06 million total.

Relegated to a handful of theatres, the youth-oriented romance MOMENTS OF LOVE failed to break into the top ten.



PERFORMANCES AT HKVP RADIO
Here are the top five most voted artists of the week as selected by the listeners of HKVP Radio:

Click to check your local broadcast schedule


PAST BRIEFINGS

January 3rd, 2005: Entries for four B-movies close out the 2004 Movies Page. They are:

  • A DECISIVE MOVE (Kathy Chow Hoi-Mei, Ken Wong Hap-Hei) -- a SLIDING DOORS (Gynweth Paltrow) "what if ..." type drama.

  • HARDROCK AFFAIRS (Chin Kar-Lok, Hui Siu-Hung, Kristy Yang) -- a comedy set in the diamond trade.

  • THE MARKSMAN -- a drama about a target-shooting prodigy. Timmy Hung Tin-Ming and Jade Leung Jing star.

  • TRANSFIGURATION OF LIFE -- a "meaning of life" drama starring Tats Lau Yi-Tat as the "Holy General" (a Chinese version of "Death"). Gordon Lam Ka-Tong and Anita Chan Wing-Yin co-star.

More Past Briefings ...


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TOP LINKS

Top News Links: Under its influence: Elizabeth Ng reviews DRINK DRANK DRUNK

ALSO: Maggie Cheung, Venice Film Festival, Leslie Cheung, more

More News Links
Updated: Monday, August 29th; 2:40 pm HKT

Sites of Interest:


SHE SHOOTS STRAIGHT, a 1990 action film starring Joyce Godenzi (Mrs. Sammo Hung), Carina Lau Ka-Ling and "ma da" Tang Pik-Wan is reviewed in the latest edition of Hong Kong Digital.

More Sites of Interest


NEWS LINKS

August 29th: Under its influence: Elizabeth Ng reviews DRINK DRANK DRUNK

Tribute to a star: The Montreal World Film Festival honours Maggie Cheung (Thanks Dennis); RELATED: China's "Thieves" kicks off Montreal's festival battle

More Maggie Cheung: Maggie Cheung's Olay ad turns her into a Roman Goddess

The changing musical tastes of China (Thanks Dennis)

May Leslie’s spirit be at peace (Thanks G.I.)

Toronto sees Chinese stars, directors

PERHAPS LOVE to close out Venice Film Festival (Thanks Dennis); RELATED: Going for Golden Lion -- rundown of the Venice Film Festival

GALLERY: Andy Lau on cover of Cosmopolitan for Man

Stars glitter at Huabiao awards

Chronicles of a geisha

Emperor Entertainment installs large TV screen in Macau hotel

HK celebrities to pledge support to chopping attack victim

Dream come true for Fish Leong

Sam Hui: Legend returns in style to Malaysia

REPRINT: After 2046, Ziyi Zhang has Hollywood's number

South Korean dramas: Exported TV dramas captivating huge audiences around Asia -- and beyond (Thanks Dennis)

More on South Korea: Entertainment sector needs to go beyond 'Korean Wave' for long-term success

Asian movie reviews: ALL ABOUT MY DOG; THE MAID; ONE MISSED CALL; BUNSHINSABA

Huang Yida: She Told Me... to die

Crystal Liu Yifei Joins Record Company (Thanks Dennis)

Xu Jinglei releases album "in Sri Lanka"

Li Yuchun voted Super Girl (Thanks Dennis)

Sex and the City (and China's media crackdown)

DV means 'Dramatic Vision' for Mainland digital video artists (Thanks Dennis)

Go-today.com Introduces Hong Kong Chinese New Year Vacation!

Ancient Chinese wisdom helps good parenting

Well grounded: Cave dwelling in Southern China

Dreams of a Korean Summer: School and a New Cell -- free registration required (Thanks G.I.)

Getting the message across: Casinos, ad agencies seek ‘culturally relevant' ways to entice Asian gamblers -- free registration required (Thanks Dennis)

August 26th: HK movies weave a new spell (Thanks Dennis)

Tony! Tony! Tony!: CityPages interview with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (Thanks G.I.); RELATED: For dynamic star of '2046,' it's never by the numbers

Cecilia Cheung: Finding a foreigner to love (Thanks Dennis)

Ziyi Zhang is China's gift to Hollywood

Life’s blessings for Teresa Carpio

Hong Kong's Andy Lau takes lead role in local comic book

SEVEN SWORDS: Hollywood Reporter review (Thanks Dennis)

2046 reviews: Endless Love: Review of 2046; '2046' an exquisite film thick with longing and loneliness; A cinematic elegy on love, made possible by a moustache (Thanks Dennis); Frustrated romantic trapped in the past, with hope for the future; A director shifts 'Mood'; Too Much in the Mood for Love

Taipei Times Pop Stop: Vicki Zhao, more

GALLERY: When stars not ready for camera

THE MYTH Premiere Set for Great Hall of the People

Zhang Ziyi eyes best actress Oscar (Thanks Dennis)

Twins working on funny & hilarious new MV (Thanks Dennis)

Vicki Zhao Wei arrives in Shenzhen with new album

Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei Eye Best Actress

Carina Lau & Hu Jun marry in "Eggplant" (Thanks Dennis)

GALLERY: Sexy Li Bingbing in FHM (Thanks Dennis)

Crystal Liu: actress & singer from now on

Malaysia: Remembering Leslie

Rain to be Pepsi's new ambassador

Kung fu turns artistic: Canada-China production kicks off North American tour in Hogtown

China connects through film (Thanks Dennis)

Chinese women: less than half of heaven

Stamp news: Hong Kong issues "4 great inventions" stamps; Hong Kong to issue special stamps to celebrate opening of Disneyland

FOOD: Art of the noodle; The sake sensation

Coming Soon: Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

Singapore locks up U.S. man for possessing porn

China hunts for 13 runaway crocodiles

South Korea: A Tourism Plan's Itsy-Bitsy, Teeny-Weeny Miscalculation -- free registration required (Thanks G.I.)

Gamer's Death Sparks Concern in S. Korea

more News Links ...


SITES OF INTEREST

  • Heroic Cinema: KUNG FU HUSTLE, THREE ... EXTREMES, THE WHITE DRAGON
  • HK Cinema: View from the Brooklyn Bridge: THREE ... EXTREMES, ONE NITE IN MONGKOK, more
  • LoveHKFilm: HIDDEN HEROES, A WEDDING OR A FUNERAL
  • CantonKid: NEW POLICE STORY
  • So Good ... Hong Kong DVD Movie Reviews: KOMA, BREAKING NEWS, BEYOND HYPOTHERMIA
  • Another Hong Kong Movies Page: OSAKA WRESTLING RESTAURANT, LOVE BATTLEFIELD