Donnie Yen At The 24th Shanghai International Film Festival

 

Ng Man Tat Is Part Of Our Collective Memory

Hong Kong entertainment legend in the 90s Ng Man Tat (吳孟達) has pass away from liver cancer 6 days ago. His performance together with his best partner in movie Stephen Chow (周星馳) is unmatched anywhere in the Hong Kong entertainment universe today. Almost a week has passed but I still can't believe this fantastic actor who has brought us tremendous joy during the peak of his career has finally left us. 

We will forever miss him!

Like most Hong Kong celebrities during his time, Ng started his career on TV shows at TVB. The Hong Kong Television giant recently released a video paying tribute to this movie legend.

吴孟达和周星驰的经典作品多到数不了。当年他们俩是香港影坛界的最强组合。达叔虽然已经离开我们差不多一个星期了但还是不敢相信从此再也没有机会看他表演了。吴孟达是我们的集体回忆啊！

为了纪念这位影坛巨人，香港无线电视更替他制作一个节目向他致敬！

Andy Lau's Social Media Presence Is A Hit

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau has broken record by getting over 50 million followers on Douyin (China’s video-sharing social networking service）in less than a week’s time after opening the account.

Prior to this, Lau had never been active on social media. Not too sure what made him changed his mind recently to open his first Douyin account.

Within 24 hours after setting up the account, Andy Lau was followed by more than 24 million followers! With the rate he is going, he could become one of the most followed individuals on Douyin ever. 

Andy Lau had posted five videos since 27^th January 2021 and has received a total of 87 million likes.

Andy Lau is one of the old-school superstar who previously said he won’t spend time on online communications. “Only using text creates no warmth, I don’t know how to communicate with others by that means,” he was previously quoted as saying.

So what makes him changes his mind? Just like traditional retails chose to have online shopping platform to survive, it looks like the show business is not spared from the devastation caused by Covid-19. It is not hard to understand that it is now more than before that celebrity needs to have online presence in order to stay relevant and not forgotten by their fans.

In his 40-year career in showbiz, Andy Lau has acted in more than 160 films, made nearly 80 music records and invested in about 30 film projects.

开户后不到一周的时间，香港巨星及四大天王之一的刘德华（Andy Lau）打破了纪录，在斗音（中国的视频共享社交网络平台）上吸引了超过5,000万名粉丝。

在此之前，Lau从未活跃于社交媒体上。开设帐户后的24小时内，刘德华的关注者超过2400万！以这个速度计算的话，他可能会成为有史以来最多追随者的人之一。

自2021年1月27日以来，刘德华（Andy Lau）发布了一共五个视频，总共吸引到了8,700万个赞。

刘德华（Andy Lau）是属于老派的超级巨星之一，他以前曾表示他不会浪费时间在网络交流。他曾说过：“我不知道该如何仅使用文字与他人交流，因为这种沟通方式缺乏亲切感。”

在娱乐圈40年的职业生涯中，刘德华（Andy Lau）演过160多部电影，制作了近80张音乐唱片，并投资了约30个电影项目。

Aliff Ali Khan Covid-19 Positive

Another celebrity down with Covid-19. This time is the Indonesia-based Malaysian-born actor Aliff Ali Khan who is reported to be in a critical condition.

Aliff has been receiving treatment at Wisma Atlet Hospital in Jakarta.

Aliff is the younger brother of Indonesia-based Miller Khan, who recently won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) 2020.

Aliff’s lawyer Asgar Sjarfi was quoted as saying that the artist has not shown any encouraging signs although he has been receiving treatment for the past three weeks.

Asgar also noted that Aliff is currently on a ventilator.

“His condition worsened after three weeks of isolation at Wisma Atlet Hospital.

“At the same time, Aliff faced pressure due to the divorce case process with his ex-wife Aska Ongi which is still ongoing,” he added.

Although Asgar was in touch with Aliff during the first week of his admission to the hospital, he said now that the actor no longer replies messages.

Visitors are not allowed at the hospital.

Aliff followed his brother’s footsteps and made the move to Indonesia to pursue his acting career.

Among the Indonesian-produced films that Aliff starred in is Heart 2 Heart as well as popular drama series Aisyah Putri The Series: Jilbab In Love .

Source: MSN

Stephen Chow Won Court Case

The Hong Kong court has thrown out a suit from the ex-girlfriend of comedian and director Stephen Chow, who accused him of failing to pay her commission totalling more than HK$70 million (RM37 million) from the sale of their luxury home.

Quoting a judgement released by the city state's High Court yesterday, Singapore portal The Straits Times reported that the presiding judge had instead ordered Alice Yu to pay cost.

Yu, 49, who split up with Chow in 2010, had testified in court in November that she and Chow had reached a verbal agreement on the commission on Christmas Eve in 2002.

He was reported to have had suggested giving her a bicycle as a gift. But she then proposed a 10 per cent commission on their investments, including three luxury units with five parking spaces and projects under his investment fund.

Taking the stand during the trial, the 58-year-old Chow admitted in court to making the promise, but he said they were merely “sweet words” during their 13-year courtship.

Yu had insisted that Chow was then both her boyfriend and business partner, with the verbal agreement hence a business contract and legally enforceable, or Chow would not have shared some investments profits with her after their break-up.

Chow, who directed hits like Kung Fu Hustle (2004), CJ7 (2008) and The Mermaid (2016), however, said the money was a gift to her with no other motives.

While it was unclear how much Yu had to pay for costs, the judge ruled yesterday that Yu did not act as an agent for the properties and did not facilitate Chow's investments.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily reported Chow's lawyer Anthony Siu saying the actor hoped the matter would end with the judgement.

He also wished Hongkongers Merry Christmas on behalf of Chow.

Source: MSN

Eason Chan Is The Most Streamed Artist on Spotify

Canto-pop singer Eason Chan Yik-shun was the most-streamed artist in Hong Kong for the fifth consecutive year, streaming service Spotify revealed this week.

Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou was second, K-pop giants 

BTS

 were third, US singer-songwriter 

Taylor Swift

 was fourth and in fifth place was Hong Kong singer-songwriter Hins Cheung. Cheung’s album Zhang Jingxuan, It’s Time was the most-streamed album in the city this year.

Jin Shares Sadness Through New Song

Ahead of his 28th birthday on Friday, BTS member Jin shared a surprise with the world on Thursday night when he released the song Abyss, a meaningful tune about his relationship with his art.

Jin wrote Abyss alongside Bumzu – a producer who frequently works with boy band Seventeen – as well as with fellow BTS member RM and long-time collaborator Pdogg.

When he shared the song on the BTS’ Twitter page, he linked to both SoundCloud and a blog post in which he shares his thoughts on the sweet, reflective ballad.

In a letter to 

BTS’ fandom, known as Army

, Jin recalled how he recently told a press conference that he felt he could share his feelings of sadness with fans through music, and how this song grew out of him questioning whether he was worthy of congratulations after 

BTS hit No 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with

 

Dynamite

 

over the summer

.

“To be honest, I recently felt really burnt out. I think it was because I had a lot of thoughts about myself,” he wrote, according to a translation by South Korean portal Soompi. “I was congratulated by many people after reaching No 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but I wondered if it’s really OK for me to receive something like that.

“There are honestly a lot of people who love music more than me and are better at music than me, so is it OK for me to be feeling this happiness and being congratulated like this? That’s what I thought about, and going further into that made me feel troubled, so I wanted to lay everything down.”

Source: SCMP

Harshvardhan Kapoor Wants To Be On Tinder

Blessed with good looks and a notable family pedigree, Harshvardhan Kapoor seems destined to be a huge Bollywood star. But unlike other young up-and-comers – including his sister Sonam.

 and cousin Arjun – the youngest son of Slumdog Millionaire star Anil Kapoor and wife Sunita appears to prefer approaching his career with patience and strategy. While his peers typically work through a multitude of roles at the beginning of their careers, Harshvardhan has only made two films since he made his acting debut in 2016. 

Harshvardhan earned his bachelor’s degree in screenwriting from Chapman University in California and initially opted to become an assistant director in Bombay Velvet (2015). “I think being an actor is the most insecure thing,” he told Indian newspaper Deccan Chronicle. “The worst thing in the world is to become an actor and not find consistency in the work.”

The Kapoor family is one of the oldest celebrity clans in India; in other words, Harshvardhan is the third generation of a long line of thespians

. His grandfather, Surinder, was a famed Bollywood producer and the cousin of renowned silent actor Prithviraj. His father Anil, meanwhile, has been one of India’s top actors since the 80s while his sister Sonam has been dubbed “the fashionista of Bollywood”.

For his debut film Mirzya (2016), Harshvardhan played the starring role of a stable boy. He underwent intense horse riding training for the role, taking a year and half to prepare. But the 29-year-old actor went even further: he spent months in a horse stable in Seattle in the US, tending to the horses every day on top of training, to commit deeper to the role.

Harshvardhan will be starring opposite his father in an upcoming biopic about Abhinav Bindra, retired sport shooter and first Indian Olympic individual gold medallist. In order to portray Bindra, Harshvardhan spent five months practising daily at a shooting range.

The Manchester United fan also believes that he should be living a normal life in spite of his background. He was even on the dating app Tinder for a while before deactivating his account as the price of fame. “I really want to be on Tinder,” he told Man’s World India. “I am dying to be on Tinder. I am going to take a trip abroad just so that I can download Tinder and be on it.” He further stated that he dreads “the misinterpretation and the judgment” that comes with being a movie star.

Source: SCMP

K-pop Song For The Covid-19 Pandemic

Our lives may have been turned upside down this year because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, but K-pop stars have kept releasing new material, including songs that touch on living in the coronavirus era.

Tomorrow X Together: We Lost the Summer

In this sprightly tune from TXT's latest EP, "Minisode1: Blue Hour", out this week, the members sing about the lost summer of 2020, bemoaning the state of the world that kept them from enjoying the season and the missed opportunities for summer love.

"The cafe that I went to has now closed (and how) / I hide my sigh behind this stuffy mask (remaining here) / I hate my face without expression (you know)," members Taehyun and Soobin sing on the track.

Source: SCMP

McRefugee Movie by Aaron Kwok

The plight of Hong Kong's McRefugees receives unabashedly melodramatic treatment in this humane yet relentlessly bleak movie. Ironically, in a year that has seen the film's theatrical release repeatedly postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, the lives of those homeless people who are used to sleeping at night in 24-hour McDonald's joints have become even more of a nightmare.

Produced by Soi Cheang Pou-soi, I'm Livin' It premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2019, before going on to win a Hong Kong Film Award in May for the veteran comedian Cheung Tat-ming, in the best supporting actor category.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

The feature-film debut of long-time assistant director Wong Hing-fan is clearly pitched as another showcase for the acting of Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, the Canto-pop star playing a former investment expert who has fallen on hard times. But it is the ensemble cast who are memorable and who will win audiences' hearts.

Kwok plays Bowen, the de facto spiritual leader of a small group who spend their nights in a fast-food restaurant. Too ashamed to reunite with his mother (Nina Paw Hee-ching) and sister (Kathy Wu Jiaxing) since the prison spell that preceded his homelessness, Bowen appears content with life as a vagabond.

It must feel a little like redemption, then, that he also gets to use his street smarts to help out his fellow McRefugees: from a runaway teenager (Zeno Koo Ting-hin) to a talkative caricature artist (Cheung Tat-ming), a single mother in heavy debt (Cya Liu Yase), and an elderly widower who keeps denying his wife's passing (Alex Man Chi-leung).

A story of broken dreams and unfulfilled promises, the screenplay by Ja Poon ( A Beautiful Moment ) rarely misses an opportunity to pile on the misery. A would-be romance between Bowen and Jane (Miriam Yeung Chin-wah), a lounge singer who has carried a torch for him for years, never materialises, reflecting the film's austerity.

While Cheung took the limelight with his win at the Hong Kong Film Awards, I'm Livin' It is a true team effort; under Wong's measured direction, almost every actors leaves an impression. Sentimental, yet realistic for the most part, this film casts a rare spotlight on the Hong Kong underclass, one that hopefully will inspire positive action in their favour.

Source: MSN

Andy Lau Concert After Covid-19 Pandemic

Fans of Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau can rejoice as he has announced a concert and a new record.

The good news was announced during Lau’s 59th birthday celebration that was broadcast live 27th September.

Apart from treating his fans to several songs from his previous albums during the one hour telecast, Lau also sang his upcoming release of Jixu Meili (Continue to be Beautiful), reported Hong Kong portal Ming Pao.

“This is my first time singing this song, I think I sang a bit too fast! I am very excited, sweating!” he said.

Lau said for his birthday wish, he hoped that the pandemic would be over soon and for everyone to be happy and healthy.

“After the pandemic, we can meet more often.”

Responding to queries from fans, Lau assured that he would not cancel any physical performances.

“We just temporarily postponed it. Once the pandemic is over, we will arrange (new dates),” he said, adding that he missed taking photos with all his fans.

Lau usually celebrates his birthday with his fans, including those from his official fan club, Andy World Club but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the physical celebration this year was replaced with an online gathering.

He has cancelled several scheduled concerts in Hong Kong and China this year due to the pandemic.

Nicholas Tse Turns 40

Known for his dramatic stunts on screen, actor Nicholas Tse, who has a net worth of US$139 million, loves to cook, likes straightforward people and might just be the world's next kung fu star.

Born to veteran actors Patrick Tse and Deborah Li, Nicholas spent most of his childhood in Vancouver and Phoenix, Arizona, where he was in the limelight because of his parents. Holiday photos of him and his sister were often published in magazines, and as a result, Tse would grow comfortable being in the public eye.

Following his parents' footsteps, Tse made his debut in the entertainment industry as a singer but found mainstream success in acting. He is the only actor to have won best new performer (1999), best supporting actor (2010), and best actor (2011) at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

He is a chef and an entrepreneur

Tse started cooking after he saw a TV show explaining how difficult it is to create a souffle or profiterole. "It immediately inspired me to try making them," he told CNN.

He then opened his own bakery, Chef Nic's Cookies, in 2015. Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn caused by anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, the store has since closed.

Aside from the bakery, he launched a TV show in 2014 called Chef Nic where he documents his culinary endeavours with famous personalities like Jackie Chan and Fan Bingbing.

He likes it when people keep things simple

Netizens and viewers of the Netflix series J-Style Trip were surprised when Tse said he likes uncomplicated people and cites co-actor Jay Chou and rumoured love Faye Wong as examples. "Among people I know, only Jay and Faye are equally simple-hearted," he said.

Tse owns two properties at Lyndhurst Terrace in Central, Hong Kong. According to Malay Mail, quoting a report from Apple Daily, he had to slash his rental rates. One of his lots is now offered for rent for HK$82,000 (US$10,500) a month; back in 2012 it was rented out for HK$225,000 (US$29,000).

He might be the next kung fu star

Actor and director Donnie Yen thinks Tse has the potential to be a massive kung fu star. This seems apt given Tse's credentials and background: he was trained by Philip Ng, Andy On and Sammo Hung and has two decades' worth of experience acting in action films.

In an episode of America's Next Top Model Season 18, model mentor Miss Jay Alexander and Tse facilitated an action-packed acting challenge to teach a fight sequence to the models. He showed how to do a left and right hook, uppercut, and pin down an opponent, showcasing why he's one of Hong Kong's most respected action stars.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Yoson An In Mulan

With a black belt in karate and skilled in kick boxing, ninjutsu, power lifting and Olympic weightlifting, Yoson An's martial arts background stands him in good stead playing the romantic interest of Hua Mulan in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Mulan.

An, who also does kayaking and rock climbing, says his sports background helps with his grasp of the fight choreography in the movie. "I actually did most of my stunts in this film, except for the really dangerous stuff which I leave to the professionals," he tells the South China Morning Post.

With most of the shooting done on New Zealand's South Island, where he lives, the 28-year-old says he was one of the first actors on the film to start training for it.

"The production was based 30 minutes away from my house. There was a lot of vigorous training involved. For (around five months), I had to train three to four hours a day with stuntmen and martial artists. For five days a week, I needed to do (extra) high-intensity interval training to maintain my physique throughout the shoot. I also did a lot of horse-riding and archery. I had never ridden a horse before this production."

Born in the city of Zhuhai, in southern China, An studied at an international school in Macau before moving to Auckland when he was seven years old. His movie career grew from pursuing musical theatre as a hobby when he was in high school.

"I didn't think (I would become an actor) when I was a kid. But that musical theatre hobby eventually turned into a passion," says An, who speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin and English "I did four years of acting classes with my coach, (American actor) Michael Saccente. I was lucky enough to have various exciting projects come my way leading up to Mulan."

After bit parts in films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), Mortal Engines and The Meg (both 2018), he secured his first breakout role in Australian police drama Dead Lucky. He played the male lead Charlie Fung in the four-part television series, a trainee detective who blames his partner, played by Rachel Griffiths, for the death of his best friend.

The biggest role so far in his career is unquestionably Mulan's Chen Honghui, a fierce warrior who joins the corps of Commander Tung (Donnie Yen Ji-dan). Tung is also the mentor of Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei), who disguises herself as a man to spare her elderly father from having to join the military. Chen then becomes Mulan's most important ally and, eventually, love interest.

An says it took two years for him to land the role. "My first self-taped audition was (sent over to Disney) in 2016. I didn't hear anything back for three months, so I thought I didn't get the role and moved onto the next project. But a year later, my agent (told me) Disney wanted to see me again for the role. Within five days, I had to learn these new scenes to do a Skype audition.

"A week later I was flown to LA from New Zealand to meet with Niki (Caro, the film's director) for an in-person audition. I had a great time on that short trip as I saw it as a free vacation to LA. I didn't hear anything again from Disney for another nine months after that. So the casting process was close to two years."

A fan of traditional Chinese stories, An says his interest in ancient Chinese culture helped him master the role of Chen. "My mum recited the (original Ballad of Mulan) poem (composed around AD400) to me a few times (when I was growing up); Disney's live-action Mulan version closely aligns to the poem.

"Also, one of my favourite TV series was the 1996 Hong Kong (TVB) version of Journey to the West (based on a 16th-century Chinese novel), starring Dicky Cheung Wai-kin."

An has enjoyed working closely with Liu on Mulan. "I grew up watching The Forbidden Kingdom when I was 15 years old," he says of the 2008 Hollywood film starring Liu. "We had a lot of fun hanging out together as a group. She's probably one of the most humble and focused actors I know. That aspect of hers has inspired me to be even more diligent and dive deeper into my craft."

Besides Liu, working alongside superstars such as Yen, Gong Li (who plays a powerful witch in the film) and Jet Li Lianjie (playing the emperor of China) was a surreal experience for An.

"I grew up watching all their movies. I had a lot of respect for them. All three of them are incredibly nice people. Whilst we were shooting in the South Island, I lived with Donnie for over a month under the same roof. We had dinner every night and played pool together, so we got to know each other pretty well both on and off the set."

With a production budget of US$200 million, Mulan distinguishes itself from most other Hollywood productions with its all-Asian cast. An says the increasing representation of Asians following the success of Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and The Farewell (2019) in the United States is an important industry change.

"It distorts the perception of who the Asian community are," says An of Hollywood's past practice of typecasting Asian actors in nerdy academic roles. "It's very irresponsible for filmmakers to portray communities of any kind in a false light. It also creates an illusion of separation in the world.

"In this age, we need more love, acceptance and compassion. I believe authentic storytelling can be a medium to bring these values to (the audience)."

Mulan will be released on Disney+ on September 4 in select countries, before opening in Hong Kong cinemas on September 17.

Source: SCMP

[使徒行者3]爆seed林峯回歸大戰黑化馬明

由無綫與內地合拍的新劇《使徒行者3》是2020無綫節目巡禮14部劇集之一，亦屬重頭劇之作，演員陣容強勁，包括有苗僑偉、林峯、馬國明、袁偉豪、黃翠如、黃智雯、周柏豪、蔡思貝以及張振朗領銜主演。當中最矚目的當然是林峯的演出了，這是他自從2014年離開無綫往外闖之後，於2019年3月強勢回歸娘家首部拍攝的新劇。林峯昔日在無綫拍了不少經典劇集，讓一眾劇迷同網民留下了深刻的回憶，至今依然好懷念。這次林峯正式回巢，兼演出他的代表作之一的《使徙行者》系列，實在令人十分之期待。大家又可以再於TVB上睇到林峯的演出喇，是新作而唔係重播呀。

林峯於2019年3月強勢回歸無綫。(節目截圖)

林峯在《使徒行者3》入面繼續飾演爆Seed (薛家強) 一角，苗僑偉就繼續飾演爆卓Sir (卓凱) 的角色。而最驚喜的可算是馬國明，他飾演的魏二少一直混入黑警潛伏於警察之中，以向卓凱、徐天堂、鄭淑梅、覃歡喜為家族報仇，角色亦正亦邪。在最新一輯入面，馬明將會走上黑化之路，是他罕有演反派的角色，他會與林峯有一場世紀激戰，忠奸對立展開一場生死對決。近日在官方的多張劇照中，就可以率先睇到一幕幕的精彩片段以及他們的造型。

《使徒行者3》是2020無綫節目巡禮14部劇集之一，亦屬重頭劇之作。

點擊下圖率先睇精彩劇照：

林峯在《使徒行者3》入面繼續飾演爆Seed (薛家強) 一角。

馬國明飾演的魏二少

苗僑偉就繼續飾演爆卓Sir (卓凱) 的角色。