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Wu Lei poses for fashion magazine
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Joe Chen poses for fashion magazine
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Cecilia Cheung poses for photo shoot
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Zhou Xun announced as Toms giving ambassador
(China Daily) The American footwear company Toms announced in early March actress and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Zhou Xun would become its Goodwill Giving Ambassador in Asia. Zhou and the company's founder Blake Mycoskie went on a trip to Yunnan province late last year to donate shoes to primary school students.
Zhou went to a primary school in Luquan county, Yunnan province where she measured shoe sizes for students and helped them try on shoes. She also joined the students for lunch and played games with them. The students, shy at first, later happily joined in.
"One for One is my favorite charity model. For every pair of shoes sold, one pair of shoes is given to a child in need," Zhou said. "My conversations with the children today are honest and direct. I am grateful for the day off so that I can experience this."
Mycoskie traveled with Zhou for the donation trip. He said Toms is giving the children not only a pair of new shoes, but memories of happiness, equality and love. He is delighted to have received Zhou's support.
Zhou also designed a collaborative Goodwill Capsule Collection for Toms, which hit shelves in early March at Toms storefronts and on its official website. This is the actress's first foray into combining charity and fashion. She hopes to encourage more people to join the One for One project and reach out to children in China's remote areas.
Through the One for One project, Toms and its global partners have given away over 75 million pairs of new shoes to children in need over the last 12 years.
Source: China Daily
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A ‘Triumph in the Skies’ remake featuring Diliraba and Angelababy?
(Toggle) Hong Kong broadcasting company TVB recently announced that they will be filming a remake of the popular drama series, Triumph in the Skies, which holds the record for the drama with the highest viewership ratings in TVB history.
Triumph in the Skies, which first aired in 2003, ignited a craze for aviation, and propelled its leading actors, Francis Ng, Julian Cheung, Kenneth Ma, Ron Ng, Flora Chan and Myolie Wu into super stardom.
Tentatively named Triumph in the Skies 2020, with Liu Caiyun, June Chan and Li Qianyi as copyeditors, the remake has a budget of RMB200 million (approximately S$40 million).
TVB will be pulling out all the stops for this production, and plans to use a top-notch filming crew, with filming set to take place across three countries. The crew is currently looking at European countries, as well as Canada, Australia and the US for potential filming locations, with filming scheduled to start in late 2018.
Fans of Triumph in the Skies have been beside themselves with excitement since the announcement of the remake, and have expressed their wish to see Francis Ng reprise his role as Samuel Tong. TVB has shared that they will take into account the wishes of the public, and that they are looking to invite celebrities like Diliraba, Huang Zitao, William Chan and Angelababy to take part in the drama as well.
Source: Toggle
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9th China Film Directors’ Guild Award held in Beijing
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Zhao Wei at the 9th China Film Directors’ Guild Award
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Jackson Yee poses for fashion magazine
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Actress Jing Tian releases fashion photos
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Rights holder won't give up 'Three-Body' series
The rights holder for "The Three-Body Problem" responded to rumors on Thursday that they would develop the films and TV series for the Hugo Award-winning Chinese science fiction trilogy with an open mind amidst reported Amazon interest.A Financial Times report on Wednesday suggested that Amazon is in talks that will probably "result in it earmarking US$1 billion to acquire the rights to produce three seasons of episodes" based on the trilogy by Liu Cixin, which created a huge buzz in the Chinese film industry and online.
YooZoo Pictures, a film branch under Youzu Interactive, released a statement on Thursday, saying YooZoo Pictures is the sole owner of the rights for film and TV series adaptations of the sci-fi saga, as well as for the rights to develop various related merchandise.
"We always have great passion and dedication for 'The Three-Body Problem' novels and will push forward the development of the film and TV adaptations of the series with a global vision and open mind," it stated, but remained vague as to whether Amazon had approached the company or they are in negotiations with the e-commerce giant for potential cooperation.
YooZoo Pictures added in its statement that writer Liu Cixin will continue his involvement in the film and TV adaptations as a creative advisor.
Liu was also asked about the current situation by a reporter from film website Mtime.com yesterday after the news broke, but he said he didn't and will not contact Amazon directly because he had sold the rights to YooZoo.
The writer believed it will be a good thing to adapt his novels into movie or TV epics, but he noted the translation from texts to visuals will not be easy and will require not just money, but deep thinking and creative inputs.
YooZoo Pictures had been developing a separate film based on the novel since 2015, on a budget of 200 million yuan (US$31.64 million). Although the director, Zhang Fanfan, has made several critically panned horror B-movies he has never had experience in directing sci-fi epics, so he was not popular among fans.
The film will star acclaimed actors Feng Shaofeng and Zhang Jingchu and was originally scheduled to be released in 2017 in 3D but was postponed indefinitely due to the company's internal shuffling and the rumored "bad quality" of the film's first cut.
However, YooZoo Pictures yesterday perhaps dropped somewhat of a hint at the end, "please wait and reserve your anticipation for a good work."
The sci-fi book series, which depicts the human race's contact and conflict with an alien civilization, has sold more than 7 million copies in Chinese and about 700,000 copies in English as of the end of 2017. The first volume won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015, the highest honor in the sci-fi world.
Source: china.org
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Natalie Portman’s ‘Annihilation’ Gets Theatrical Release in China
(Variety) Skydance Media has reached an agreement with Vision Film Entertainment to distribute Natalie Portman’s science-fiction thriller “Annihilation” in China in April.
Skydance Media controls the China distribution rights for the film. Paramount is handling distribution in North American, where grosses have hit $30 million in four weeks. It sold streaming service Netflix most international markets earlier this year.
Alex Garland directed “Annihilation” from his own script, based from the “Southern Reach Trilogy” novels by Jeff VanderMeer.
Portman portrays a biologist and former soldier who joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X – a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. The film also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.
Scott Rudin, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, and Eli Bush are the producers for the film with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, and Jo Burn serving as executive producers.
Source: Variety By Dave McNary
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‘Black Panther’ Hits $100 Million at Chinese Box Office
(Variety) Disney-Marvel’s blockbuster “Black Panther” has crossed the $100 million milestone in China after two weeks of release.
The studio reported Friday that it has reached $614.2 million in domestic grosses and $593 million internationally. China is the top overseas market, followed by the U.K. with $60.6 million, South Korea with $47.2 million and Brazil with $33.5 million.
“Black Panther” is now the 14th biggest worldwide grosser with $1.21 billion and trails “Iron Man 3” by $7 million for the 13th spot. It’s expected to gross about $16 million in North America in its sixth weekend of release and finish second to “Pacific Rim Uprising” after leading the box office for five straight sessions.
Of the 14 films that have topped $1.2 billion in worldwide grosses, “Black Panther” is the only title with a domestic total that’s higher than its international total. The tentpole stars Chadwick Boseman and is directed by Ryan Coogler.
Source: Variety By Dave McNary
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Young star Wang Yuan poses for fashion magazine
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Jin Chen poses for photo shoot
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Zhang Xueying poses for fashion magazine
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China’s poetry-themed TV show makes a comeback
(CGTN) China’s highly anticipated variety show, “The Chinese Poetry Conference” is expected to make a comeback on Friday.
The show's producer, China Central Television (CCTV), revealed, at a press conference on Wednesday, that some of the widely loved sections, including a solitaire poems segment, were upgraded with higher requirements.
The competition show will again be hosted by Dong Qing, one of China’s most renowned hostess, while the guests will include professors from the country’s top-level universities such as Wang Liqun, Kang Zhen, Meng Man and Li Bo.
The third season will maintain the same theme from the previous two seasons, which is the rediscovery of “the poetic life”, but the database for the questions will be expanded to include poems from the earliest poetry collections of “The Book of Songs”, as well as poems by China's late leader, Chairman Mao Zedong.
At least 140 competitors were involved in this year's competition, and they were divided into four groups based on their age or occupations.
Some other cultural elements, such as the intangible cultural heritage items like paper-cutting and wood carving were also involved.
The show has also created interactive sections this year. Audience can participate in the same tests through their official accounts on Weibo and WeChat, the interactive quotes would be displayed in time on TV.
A documentary based on the production of the variety show will start airing on Friday, presenting the “poetic life” of several competitors.
“The Chinese Poetry Conference” is a dark horse in China’s market of variety shows last year, which roused unprecedented attention from the public towards the ancient poems and the traditional Chinese culture.
The first and second season were respectively given 8.3 and 8.6 points on douban.com, a Rotten Tomato-resembled website aggregating reviews for books, music, film and TV shows.
Source: CGTN
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Bands on the run: musicians urged to look outside Hong Kong for a bigger audience
“But performing in Guangzhou was such an eye-opening experience. If you only play music in Hong Kong, you’d never know how big the world is out there,” Jonathan Synn, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, says.
The Sulis Club isn’t the only Hong Kong band that has had such prominent exposure outside the city. They are one of six budding acts selected to take part in an initiative called Ear Up Music Global.
Organisers the Renaissance Foundation – a charity co-founded by a number of leading cultural figures in Hong Kong, including musician Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and lyricist Chow Yiu-fai – aimed to groom local young musicians by giving them training on music, production and distribution as well as opportunities to perform outside Hong Kong. The ultimate goal was to help them build a bigger, more global audience.
Wallace Kwok, a well-known figure in Hong Kong’s music scene and currently manager of Canto-pop star Sammi Cheng Sau-man, observes that the local industry, once glamorous and glorified, has gone through tremendous changes, and the old system dominated by major record labels and broadcast media no longer works.
“Hong Kong’s music industry has changed so much over the past two decades. Established musicians such as Anthony Wong, Denise Ho and Rubber Band have left the old system and found their new ways of making and promoting music,” Kwok, also a board member of the Renaissance Foundation, says.
“We cannot just put together another singing contest and get record labels to sign on the singers and musicians and build a career for them that way. We need to teach young musicians how they can work independently, so they can survive such a tough, competitive environment. Some might succeed; some might fail. But at least they will have a chance to have their music heard by a much wider audience.”
Hong Kong’s music industry is in dire straits, as reflected by sales figures. In fact, the industry association, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Hong Kong Group), had to lower its benchmark album sales to reflect diminishing sales. In 2008, it slashed the sales volumes albums needed to qualify for its awards; from 25,000 for a gold award and 50,000 for platinum down to 15,000 and 30,000 respectively.
Hong Kong has been searching for the next Beyond or Tat Ming Pair for years, but the future doesn’t look promising for local bands and independent music groups. While their album sales – on CDs or in digital format – can never match those of mainstream pop stars, their chances of performing in Hong Kong are not all that hopeful either.
A shortage of performance venues, the city’s exorbitant rents and stringent venue regulations have forced many privately run live music clubs to close.
One of the better-known recent casualties is indie music venue Hidden Agenda, shut down in late 2017. Closures like this compound the problem and deter aspiring musicians from bringing their music to the world. Many in the industry believe if these musicians don’t expand out of Hong Kong, they will have no future because the local market is simply too small to support many musical careers.
Samuel Chai, director general of the Renaissance Foundation, says the only way out is to go global.
Under Ear Up Music Global, six musical acts – Linda Chow, Adrian Lo, Empty, Siu Yuen, SoundTube and The Sulis Club – were paired with four mentors – Supper Moment, GDJYB, Jing Wong and tfvsjs. Under the mentors’ supervision, the musicians received guidance and tips for live performances.
From September 2017 to February this year, each mentor led their mentees to perform in different music festivals: Zandari Festa in South Korea, Sound of Munich Now in Germany, Noise Pop in the US and Guangzhou’s Live Wild Music Week. The programme is funded by CreateHK, a government agency that champions the development of the creative economy in Hong Kong.
Jing Wong, who took Chow to perform at Zandari Festa as part of the initiative, says while the local creative industries are very mature and get a lot of government support, going global has made South Korean acts very successful. “We must remind ourselves that we need such global vision instead of confining ourselves just to Hong Kong,” she says.
Five-piece Empty joined The Sulis Club in Guangzhou. The band said they were surprised by the audience’s enthusiasm and curiosity.
Mandy Lo, the band’s vocalist, says they had previously performed in small venues in Hong Kong such as shopping malls and even secondary schools, but being able to go onto a big stage in front of a crowd familiar with their music was a big change. He says he later found out some of the fans had already checked out their music through different digital music platforms before going to the concert.
But he laments that such a culture of curiosity doesn’t really exist in Hong Kong.
Empty’s guitarist Chow Tin-hang says the Guangzhou experience also highlighted arts and cultural education, or a lack thereof, in Hong Kong.
He says the band has performed some 50 shows at secondary schools around Hong Kong, and when they played upbeat music and encouraged the students to stand up and enjoy the music, they would be stopped and told by their teachers to remain seated and stay quiet.
“We lack curiosity. We lack the courage to express ourselves. We as musicians can only do our best to make great music, but we cannot tell our audiences how to feel and react to our music, such as to cheer when we play an upbeat song or feel emotional when listening to a sad one. It’s important for our audience to be curious and explore with us in order for us to continue to make music,” he says.
The Hong Kong indie band is among the most successful home-grown musical outfits of recent years. Not only do they have a solid following locally but they have been actively expanding globally.
Last November the four-piece female band played their live debut at Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavik, hometown of Icelandic icon Bjork, with support from the West Kowloon Cultural District. And in February they headed to the US to take part in Noise Pop, in San Francisco, as one of the four mentors of Ear Up Music Global.
GDJYB is short for Gai Dan Jing Yuk Beng, which in Cantonese means “steamed minced pork with egg”, a common local dish. The local indie sensations, best known for their “math-folk” style and “Kongish” singing, in the hybrid of Cantonese and English lyrics, are favourites among Hong Kong indie fans for their unorthodox and humorous approach to music.
But language has never appeared to be a barrier for the band with overseas audiences. The band’s drummer Hei Hei Ng recalled her recent experience in San Francisco.“The people there were very curious. They were keen to explore unknown territories. And I would really hope to bring that spirit back to Hong Kong,” she says.
Supper Moment
Hong Kong and Canto-pop followers around the world have been searching for the next Beyond, and Supper Moment could be the closest thing to that. Formed in 2006 as an indie band, the four-piece pop-rock outfit first made themselves known on the local scene in 2008 at the Soundbase band competition.
Their catchy songs, characterised by memorable lyrics, earned them a huge following among young people and students. In 2015, the band won the gold award for a local music group at Commercial Radio’s Ultimate Song Charts Award, sealing their status as the current top band of Hong Kong. Last year, they went on to win best original song at the Hong Kong Film Awards, for the theme song they wrote for local film Weeds on Fire.
ToNick
Another hot band beloved by young people. The four-piece pop-punk outfit won the gold prize at the UMC music festival competition in 2007 and caught the eye of famed music producer Chiu Tsang-hei. Despite Chiu taking them under his wing, ToNick managed to maintain their distinctive style without giving in to the mainstream market. They are among the most popular university band shows, where students enjoy their pop-punk style uncommon in Hong Kong. They wrote the theme song for local cult film Vampire Cleanup Department – co-directed by the band’s lead singer, Hang Chiu. The song also won favourite song last year at Commercial Radio’s Ultimate Song Chart Awards, and was nominated for best original song at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Source: South China Morning Post by Vivienne Chow
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Stills from Lost in Love
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Actor Liu Haoran poses for fashion magazine
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Cecilia Cheung on the runway
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