Argh I waited too long to post this…massive pileup of news. This was such a headache to all get in here.
BOBO was kept busy recently with the release of their show, NONSTOP, and celebrated their two year anniversary with the release of a new photo diary that I’ve already added to my list of goodies to buy. They also wrote loving speeches to each other.
Music
This summer’s been rather disappointing in the amount of releases, and way too many artists I love have disappointed me by saying they would release this summer, when there’s still no date in sight. This week, the amount of releases is slim, but quality over quanity: Jam Hsiao‘s second album Princess came out.
Anson Hu releases new song and MV – Entrance of the ink and brush. This is a typical Anson Hu zhongguofeng song with little surprises, but anything sung with his voices, especially when its zhongguofeng, sounds gorgeous. His album is due in September.
Laure Shang releases a new song/MV, starring Annie Yi Nengjing contemplating the whole time. I think Huayi is trying to use her to stir up controversy, but they’re not very good at it. The song’s not bad, though.
Mayday goes very commercial with Pepsi. Yes, they’re with Pepsi too. Watch their Fang Si MV.
Khalil's Timeless concert poster...he actually went underwater for this.
Khalil Fong‘s Red Bean MV is out. It’s a cover of Faye Wong’s famous song, as part of a his upcoming Reprise album, a tribute to classics he loves. His album is expected to be out in August 14. On August 27,28 he will be holding a two-day concert in HK: Timeless sponsored by Nokia. Click the link to see how cute he looks by the pool.
At Alan‘s release party for Heart of the Orient where she looked pretty in blue, Wei Chen rushed over from (see below) and gave her a stuffed dog because he knows she misses her real one when she’s out doing activities.
The eeMedia family launched their Shining Red Stars album at a press conference, and the Supergirls 2009 Top 10 do a photoshoot wearing the poorly-designed “red” shirts. They look much better here than they did in their Elle photoshoot with the fancy Italian photographers.
Joanna Wang is leaving the music circle temporarily to go to school in America. That kind of sucks, but she seemed to be still forming her views towards music, and she pissed people off in the industry by saying she felt doing pop music was shameful so I guess this is good?
Television:
After Yang Mi starred in Chinese Paladin 3, her popularity has soared and her blog hits are increasing rapidly, because she updates it often and she posts lots of pictures, like the one above with her newfound BFF from Chinese Paladin 3, Liu Shishi, and favorite person to pose with in a faux kiss. I’m glad that she’s gotten fame, finally, because she’s so adorable and a great actress but I hope she doesn’t overwork herself; she always takes on roles she feels like she can’t turn down.
The preview for The Myth TV series starring Hu Ge in Jackie Chan’s role is out. Looks nice, like most series in China with buzz, and thankfully Bai Bing looks better in motion than she does in photos. This is getting to be a habit with Chinese series.
Eva Huang Shengyi-produced A Tribute to Stephen Chow starring Jing Boran is becoming a dark horse in the tv world – it’s recording high ratings on Harbin and Helongjiang TV, and 12 other stations have said they would like to air it as well, including big ones like Jiangsu TV.
Movies
Sandrine Pinna in Yang Yang
The Taipei Film Festival,meant to encourage local film-makers, came to a close, and indeed has brought to light some great Taiwanese films. No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti by Leon Dai took home four prizes, including best film and best actor. Yang Yang, by Chen Yu-chieh took home three prizes, including best actress for Sandrine Pinna. If the prettiness of the above still doesn’t make you want to see it, here’s another reason: Bryant Chang is in it.
Taiwan filmmakers are pressing their government to take up the deal that China has been offering, “If Taiwan opens its market, China will open her doors”. Taiwan’s entertainment industry has always benefited from China’s free market with its music and its tv dramas, allowing it to flourish in those areas, but since films require so much more effort production-wise, China’s been strict in its quotas, and as a consequence the Taiwan film industry has been largely indie. If this happens, Taiwan cinema could completely change.
Chengtian Entertainment (aka Orange Sky) completed its takeover of Golden Harvest, the company that launched the careers of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
One Night in Supermarket, which has Chengtian star Qiao Renliang, is getting rave reviews. The low-budget film by first-time director is predicted to be this summer’s dark horse.
Wang Leehom says that he was injured many times while filming Big Soldier Small General, but praised Jackie Chan. I’m putting this news here just so I can post this picture. Leehom + talking + formal wear = hotness!
Maybe If You Are the One did not break Titanic’s record highest grossing film in China because the BO numbers are fuzzy and it was close. If it didn’t then the real record breaker is Transformers 2, where China became its biggest BO after the US. Oh well, I expect Feng Xiaogang’s Tangshan Earthquake to obliterate Transformers 2′s record next year. But still, this is just embarrassing. SARFT, please do something productive and keep Michael Bay crap out of China.
This article takes a look at the numbers for Harry Potter 6, vs HP 5, and it’s an interesting perspective on the size of movie markets around the world, as well as how fast they are growing. China’s box office for HP6 grew 110% from HP5.
Other
Zhou Xun was invited to Chanel’s Fall/Winter custom design 2009 in Paris, and exchanged gifts with Chanel’s fashion giant Karl Lagerfeld at the end of the show. She also went for a tour of Coco Chanel’s place.
Husband and Wife, Bao Lei and Lu Yi go to Switzerland and do cute couple things together, like making cheese. So adorable.
It seems like just yesterday that Kelly Lin was married. Now she’s just given birth to baby boy, Chace Lau. I feel weird about putting celebrity children pictures up, even if they’re approved by the parents, so instead view them here.
Sports
He Chong, the cutest Chinese diver imo on the Chinese team now that Tian Liang left (idarklight might disagree) won his first world championship title in Italy by doing an extremely difficult last dive (level 3.8). Poor Despatie.
People are talking about the resemblence between Ruby Lin and Lydia Bai, the daughter of Jenny Lang Ping. Jenny Lang Ping was a former Chinese volleyplayer who helped China’s team win Olympics gold in 1984, and who coached the US team to silver in Olympics. Her daughter is 1.9m.
Tags: A Tribute to Stephen Chow, Alan, Alexandre Despatie, Annie Yi Nengjing, Anson Hu, Bai Bing, Bao Lei, BOBO, Bryant Chang, Chen Yu-chieh, Chengtian Entertainment, Chinese Box Office, Golden Harvest, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, He Chong, Hu Ge, If You Are teh One, Jackie Chan, Jam Hsiao, Joanna Wang, Kelly Lin, Khalil Fong, Laure Shang, Leon Dai, Liu Shishi, Lu Yi, No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti, One Night in Supermarket, Orange Sky, Sandrine Pinna, Taipei Film Festival, The Myth, Titanic, Transformers 2, Vicky Zhao Wei, Wang Leehom, Yang Mi, Yang Yang, Zhou Xun
July 24, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I think He Chong is hotter than Tian Liang outside of the diving pool. So far, though, I like watching Tian Liang diving more simply because the 10m platform is more interesting than the 3m springfield. I think Huo Liang’s cuter than He Chong, though.
No Tang Yan? T_T
July 24, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I was actually thinking about Huo Liang when I wrote that you would disagree, not Tian Liang. I don’t think Tian Liang is cute anymore…he seems so less toned once he stopped working out. T_T
Huo Liang unfortunately is
jailbait(ok, nvm, I just looked it up and he’s not but he seems so young), which wouldn’t be so bad in itself, but it just seems wrong when he’s a diver and goes around half-naked all the time.I’m putting Tang Yan in the next post, with the commercial that I wanted you to upload. *coughs*
July 25, 2009 at 12:10 am
right… I totally forgot to look at that after my heart attack with Bao Xiaobo. The commercial’s pretty, if totally plotless.
I thought of Huo LIang first, too. but my computer/sister made me retype that comment twice, so I added in the comment about Tian Liang.
July 25, 2009 at 12:14 am
Well, re-reading your comment, I have to disagree. The 10-platform men are skinnier, whereas the 3-m guys have bigger…thighs.
July 25, 2009 at 12:18 am
But the beauty of diving is the sleek twists and turns in the air and into the water. 3m is so short…they do like three moves max and then go into the water.
July 25, 2009 at 12:21 am
Nonstop is a really funny sitcom, i really like it
July 25, 2009 at 12:23 am
True, but part of the fun of watching is the people themselves. For example, I loved Chen Ruolin and her awesomeness on the 10 m, but she has a long way to go before she reaches the fierceness and assurance of Guo Jingjing that makes the latter so fun to watch. It’s a combo…maybe you’re right. It’s been a while since I watched Tian Liang dive to compare fully.
July 25, 2009 at 12:27 am
I don’t think Chen Ruolin will ever reach that fearlessness of Guo Jingjing and Tian Liang, but I think He Chong might. Chen Ruolin reminds me more of Huang Ying – hardworking, simple and talented, but neither has the personality or ambitions to make it big. He Chong has a raw fighting spirit that reminds me more of Tian Liang.
off-topic…If he were like Tian Liang, which Super Girl would He Chong marry?
July 25, 2009 at 12:11 pm
@idarklight
It’s not the same…the music industry is a cut-throat world where unless you’ve got a cushy company supporting you, you have to be on your toes to make it. Too many factors. Whereas in sports all they do is they time you, or mark you, and if you have the highest score then you go to the top easily. Very cut and dry. So Chen Ruolin needs mostly to concentrate on her skill, and I think by the time she’s Guo Jingjing’s age she’ll have more of that poise and hbic character.
Hard question…I still like He Chong with Chen Ruolin though.
Comments are quiet on this post…do we reall go OT too much?
July 25, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Oh my goodness for Khalil actually going underwater for the shoot. The poor guitar!! LOL. Reminds me of when Wang Leehom did his MV for that one song in which there was ain and he let it rain on his guitar [good thing he had like waterproof paint on his guitar] and after the shoot was over he was like, “Oh no! My baby” and goes to brush off the water from his guitar. LOL.
Visiting early in the morning because I’m on proctoring duty for my SAT tutoring class. Egaldfkjwoei. Yeah. Have to watch three kids for like five hours.
July 25, 2009 at 2:38 pm
AND trying to watch Super Girls except the video is LAGGING/BUFFERING FOR ME. SDLKJWEROIU THE FRUSTRATION.
July 25, 2009 at 3:52 pm
China actually isn’t doing so well in the FINA World Championships this year…
Well, I mean…currently they’re at the top of the tally, but lots of small mistakes have turned potential gold medals into silvers and bronzes. And now that all of the diving events are over (all of China’s gold medals in the last championships were in diving), China can only hope to score a couple more medals in the swimming, which historically, China is not strong in.
July 25, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Agh! It posted the comment before I’d finished typing! =[
I also meant to say that Wang Leehom looks quite handsome in that suit. *jealous*
And…the baby has no eyelashes or eyebrows…it’s kinda creepy. > _ <
July 25, 2009 at 7:18 pm
@A. Who’s your favorite in Supergirls so far?
@Benji I don’t follow FINA? Does China usually top or the US?
The baby is so young… it was born prematurely. It’s interesting there’s no eyebrows but so much hair.
July 25, 2009 at 10:25 pm
It’s mostly the US, by a lot. Russia second. But it depends, of course. It usually depends on whoever does the best at swimming, since there are more events to give out medals for. And just one good swimmer could win several medals in different events. (If Michael Phelps were a country, winning eight gold medals at the Olympics would have ranked him tenth on the medals tally, ahead of France).
In 2001, Australia came first mostly because of Ian Thorpe, who was the Michael Phelps before Michael Phelps.
But yeah, China probably won’t score too many more gold medals in the World Championships, since competitive swimming hasn’t really been big with China. In aquatics, Chinese do well with diving, and that’s mostly it. A Malaysian Chinese diver did get bronze in synchronised diving, though.
Oh, and totally unrelated, but is it just me, or…has Jane Zhang lost a lot of weight? . _ .
July 26, 2009 at 3:51 am
@benji
since when? All the Super Girls have lost tons of weight since the competition times (Jiang Yingrong has lost 10+ pounds in just a few weeks…terrible for her). Of the previous ones, I think Laure Shang and He Jie had to lose the most. But the others all lost a lot…except maybe Ji Minjia and Ye Yiqian, who had a baby since then.
July 26, 2009 at 7:21 am
Well, compared to…around the start of this year, and when she was on Oprah.
Just look at those legs. > _ <
And her face looks a lot thinner than a few months ago, too.
Or am I just imagining things?
July 26, 2009 at 11:14 pm
@ cfensi
Hm… My favorite is pretty much between Li Xiaoyun and Jiang Yingrong. Though it’s really difficult for me to pick favorites because I also like Pan Hongyue and Yu Kewei.
Zeng Yike… my goodness. When it comes to her, I am speechless. At least she got her deserved 10th place this week. Goodness. As for Pan Chen… I didn’t think her performance this week was THAT great as for her to get into top 4 and even ahead Liu Xijun. I hope Pan Chen leaves soon, because, er… I don’t like her that much at all. She strikes me as a little too self-feeling-important than she should. Liu Xijun can sing, is pretty and seems nice, but… her performances come off as boring to me. They’re like how judge Wu Qixian describes it, textbook-ish. There’s little excitement to it. But she’s super popular – you can tell from the votes she gets from the internet sites.
Huang Ying… she’s really cute and I feel like she needs a confidence booster – but I feel like when it comes to competition, it’s unfortunate that her choice of songs are so much more limited. Li Yuanxi… I feel bad for her because it seems like a mixture of bad luck that she’s also been in bottom 3 two weeks. Tan Lina… personally, her performances are not that great. And I want her to leave soon, but the judges are like entranced with her so unfortunately I don’t think that will happen.
Jiang Yingrong is awesome, though. LOL. Li Xiaoyun and her, in terms of song-wise for performances, are a little like two sides of a coin. And I like both sides of the coin, so it’ll be difficult for me to pick sides between the two when it comes down to it.
This week I had like a heart attack when Pan Hongyue had to go against Zeng Yike. I was so afraid that the judges would like condemn her to Zeng Yike’s 10th place when her Reflection was clearly 5023049732498x better than Zeng Yike’s song. Thank goodness – at least the “audience judges” were not, well, stupid, might I say.
July 27, 2009 at 11:27 am
Your favorites are mine. Jiang Yingrong is very awesome as is Li Xiaoyun, but I think I like Jiang Yingrong more for her infectious smile.
How’d Li Yuanxi get bottom three this time?
Yu Kewei I just realized has quite a few years on the other girls, and so in a sense I don’t really want her to win for that reason. She seems more polished, and thus has less farther to go before she plateaus in potential.
This is the youngest group of competitors yet, since I guess three years of Supergirls already took most of the older competitors. Besides Yu Kewei the youngest is a 87er. In a way, it’s fitting, because this year the question isn’t really: Who’s the best singer? It’s more, who’s the best suited for a career in our company?
July 27, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Li Yuanxi was originally in 6th place I think. But Li Xiaoyun’s first performance was lackluster and that put her in like 9th place – it was really sort of a “whoa how’d that happen” moment when Li Xiaoyun was in 9th. But then Li Xiaoyun challenged Li Yuanxi and Li Xiaoyun redeemed herself and they changed places.
Yeah, I too agree with the fact that even though I like Yu Kewei but I’d rather someone else win mentality. Some of the competitors this year though were in the one 3 years ago, like Yu Kewei and I think Li Yuanxi. But considering their ages now, esp. LYX, was she even old enough to participate in the contest? You need to be 18 to participate, right?
July 27, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Li Yuanxi has always been in the bottom 3… her first performance was pretty bad, too. Li Yuanxi competed in 2004, when she was 14. The age requirement wasn’t there until the mega-success of 2005. Huang Yali was only 16 when she competed in 2005, and Zhang Hanyun was 15 or 16 in 2004.
I can’t imagine Yu Kewei improving anymore…whereas most of the other girls are all young and has time and room for major improvement (especially Pan Hongyue).
@A.
Li Xiaoyun’s song choice was really, really bad. Add that to Bao Xiaobo’s endorsement and it’s a recipe for disaster. I mean, honestly, I know Bao Xiaobo wanted to make a point with his comment, but he should’ve known that anyone he compliments is automatically anti’ed by all the other judges.
July 27, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Li Xiaoyun’s first song was a really bad choice. As for Li Yuanxi, I feel bad for her always being in the bottom 3 – to be quite honest, I feel like she’s better than Tan Lina, at least. Well, at least I like her better than Tan Lina.
July 27, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Li Yuanxi is way better than Tan Lina. She’s one of those that I can see taking care of herself, like Jane Zhang, although it’s a pity she doesn’t have as much of Jane’s talent, nor is she terribly unique, but she is good and well-rounded.
If she joined at age 14 then she’s even more ambitious than I thought. She plans carefully, and she was unlucky that there was no Supergirls when she turned 18, bc of the Olympics. She probably spent all that time in between practicing singing and performance to supplement her singing.
I’d be interested to see her career path.
December 14, 2009 at 1:19 am
Out of curiosity … what happened to nonstop ? why did it stop (no pun intended) ?
May 28, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Liu ShiShi and Yang Mi Lesbians?
If not, then why are they posing in a kissing position with their
lips so close?