Donnie Yen At The 24th Shanghai International Film Festival

 

Donnie Yen vs. Wu Jing At CNY

First time watched Donnie Yen and Wu Jung (Jacky Wu) in their epic battle was in the movie SPL (2005) also known as Kill Zone. Both were in their prime and put on quite an extreme fight with fast moving and hard hitting moves.

15 years later, the duo once again collide, this time in a performance for the Chinese New Year Eve celebration.

Although there is none of the violence that we see in the movie, their performance were equally entertaining with speed, intensity and poetic moves.

第一次看到甄子丹和吴京（Jacky Wu）决斗是在电影［杀破狼］（2005）中。当时年他们俩都处于巅峰状态，并以快速的武打招数和激烈的动作来一场生死之战。

15年后，两人再次有机会切磋，但这次是在中国除夕庆祝活动中。

两人表演无论在速度，强度和诗意的移动方面同样令人着迷。果然宝刀未老！

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

Bruce Lee - Idol or Villain

Nearly 50 years 

after his death

, Bruce Lee remains not only Hong Kong but Asian cinema’s biggest icon. That’s quite a feat given the subsequent rise of other martial arts stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Japanese and Korean idols like Takuya Kimura and Jun Ji-hyun, and award-winning directors like 

Wong Kar-wai

, 

Ang Lee

 and Bong Joon-ho.

Even today people are 

intensely passionate about preserving Lee’s legacy

. Just last year a storm erupted when Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, featured a portrayal of Lee that showed him as arrogant and which exploited his legend to put over what a tough guy Cliff Booth, Brad Pitt’s character, is.

Earlier this year Shannon Lee, Bruce’s daughter, talked to the South China Morning Post about the film and discussed the pain that Tarantino’s characterisation of her father caused.

“My feeling is the same. I was very disappointed,” Lee said. “I’m not going to say I wasn’t angry at all, but certainly sitting in the movie theatre and having that experience with an audience was not a fun experience for me.

“I was very disappointed to see Quentin Tarantino’s response, which was to continue to say, ‘Oh, Bruce Lee was arrogant, he was an asshole’, and to incorrectly cite my mother’s book as a defence. I really thought it was irresponsible of him to do what he did and have that portrayal.”

Tarantino received widespread criticism for his depiction of Lee – not just from family members like Shannon Lee, but fans across the world. It’s not hard to understand why. For decades Lee has been heralded as an icon. He did untold good in breaking down barriers for Asians in America.

When Lee started working in Hollywood in the 60s, it was normal for Caucasians to play Asian characters – this was the same decade, remember, when Mickey Rooney played the racist caricature that was Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Lee came along and changed that. Suddenly, an Asian character like Kato, in The Green Hornet, could actually be played by an Asian actor. In an era where white folk were always the hero and people of colour were often the first to die in Hollywood films, Bruce Lee stood tall, not only surviving but saving the day along the way. When Lee defeats Chuck Norris in the Coliseum at the climax of The Way of the Dragon, he represented all people of colour still fighting wars against Western imperialism.

Given the hagiographic nature of much of the coverage surrounding Lee, I was surprised to come across a work that suggested there might be negatives to Lee’s legend. The work in question was Paul Bowman’s scholarly text Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy.

“What is Bruce Lee?” the author asked. “One answer might be: a trivial and trivialising, violent, masculinist, Orientalist stereotype; a mythologized commodification of alterity packaged for a fetishistic Western gaze; the mythological reduction of ethnicity into posters, T-shirts, nerds’ film collections; one which provided bullies, show-offs, fighters and fantasists the world over with an entire new lexicon of moves and stances for posturing, parading and pugilism … The sort of thing you might want to keep very far away from kids.”

Viewed this way, Lee – or at least the cult surrounding him – could be summed up as: “Trivial, nerdy, fetishistic, violent, Orientalist, exploitative, and typifying the Western impetus to appropriation.”

As a member of the dominant Western, white, male culture that has done much to package Lee’s legacy for its own ends, I wouldn’t want to pass judgment on Lee or these accusations that not even Bowman suggests he actually believes.

Nonetheless, it’s worth considering these points. Was Lee too successful as an icon of martial arts and a modern day Confucius? Could that be one reason why it has taken Asian actors so many years to be seen as anything except masters of kung fu or mystic sages? Could something like Last Christmas, where 

Asian actor Henry Golding was the romantic interest

 for Emilia Clarke, have come along sooner if Lee, through his brilliance, had not set a particular image of Asian males in the minds of Western directors?

I highly doubt Lee did more bad than good – and much of his legacy was fixed after his passing anyway. Whatever the reasons, here’s hoping that the West continues to reappraise its use and portrayal of Asians in cinema, as it has only recently and belatedly begun to do.

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

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

Donnie Yen Pays Tribute To Director Benny Chan

Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan paid tribute to Hong Kong director Benny Chan Muk-Sing, who died over the weekend from cancer at the age of 58.

“I will miss your smile, our creative exchanges and fatherhood stories. You will be greatly missed my friend. RIP,” he wrote on Facebook and Instagram.

“Benny and I first worked on the TV series Kung Fu Master and Fist Of Fury, back in 1995-1997. Benny was the producer and director. I was fortunate to work with him again on our latest film: Raging Fire. 25 years later, he’s still the same positive, strong, happy, inspiring director and friend.” 

Kung Fu Master

Fist of Fury

Chan is best known for directing Jackie Chan movies such as New Police Story and Who Am I? Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2019 after falling ill while filming his last film, Raging Fire, which stars Yen and Nicholas Tse.

Source: South China Morning Post