Twenty-seven years after the kung fu film that introduced Jet Li to the cinema world, the camera rolls again at the legendary Shaolin Temple in Henan, China. Over the years, countless filmmakers have been eager to tell stories surrounding the mecca of Chinese martial arts, but the Temple has been prudent about lending out its trademark. The latest to get the greenlight to film there is an RMB200 million-budget movie tentatively titled Shaolin. The China Film Group, Huayi Bros. Media Group, and Emperor Motion Pictures co-production is handled by Hong Kong blockbuster director Benny Chan (Connected, New Police Story), who stressed that the new film is not a remake of the Jet Li classic.

The project has attracted an all-star lineup of actors. The main plot revolves around Nicholas Tse who plays an arrogant rich kid in the turbulent times of early Republican era China. His family is persecuted by warlords, pushing him to seek refuge in the Shaolin Temple. In key supporting parts are superstars Jackie Chan and Andy Lau (his first announced film after his marriage controversy). Chan plays a monk who teaches Tse kung fu, and Lau is the son of a warlord who starts off as a villain. The cast also includes popular Mainland actress Fan Bingbing, Forever Enthralled actor Yu Shaoqun, and action star Wu Jing, and behind the scenes there are scriptwriter Alan Yuen and revered action choreographer Corey Yuen. Principal photography is set to begin at the end of the year for a late 2010 release.

Text / dian

Nominations for the 46th Daejong Awards were recently announced. As expected, disaster blockbuster Haeundae, only the fifth Korea film to reach the ten million admissions benchmark, leads the pack with nine nominations including Best Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. It's who didn't get nominated that's been raising the most attention in Korea, however, as controversy broils over Haeundae and Closer to Heaven leading lady Ha Ji Won's omission from the shortlist. The Daejong Awards committee has been under heat for nominating the Jang Na Ra-starring drama Sky and Sea in four categories including Best Actress and Best Film despite the fact that it hasn't played in Korea yet. (The film opens on October 29.) The remaining three Best Film picks are Bong Joon Ho's suspense thriller Mother, period epic The Divine Weapon, and sports blockbuster Take Off, which also made it into Korea's all-time top ten with over five million admissions.

Jang Na Ra is joined by Kim Hye Ja (Mother), Kim Min Sun (Portrait of a Beauty), Soo Ae (Sunny), and Choi Kang Hee (Aeja) in the contentious Best Actress category. Best Actor is a free-for-all with five acclaimed actors in the running: Sol Kyung Gu (Haeundae), Kim Myung Min (Closer To Heaven), Ha Jung Woo (Take Off), Jung Jae Young (The Divine Weapon), and last year's winner, Kim Yoon Seok (Running Turtle). Meanwhile, Best Director is down to Kim Yong Hwa (Take Off), Yoon Ye Kyun (Haeundae), Jeon Yun Soo (Portrait of a Beauty), Jung Gi Hoon (Aeja), and Bong Joon Ho (Mother).

Five up-and-coming actors - Kim In Kwon (Haeundae), Jin Gu (Mother), Jung Kyung Ho (Running Turtle), Jang Geun Suk (The Case of Itaewon Homicide), and Kim Nam Gil (Modern Boy) - were selected for the Best Supporting Actor shortlist. In contrast, the Best Supporting Actress competition is led by veterans Kim Hae Suk (Thirst), Kim Bo Yeon (Possessed), Nam Neung Mi (Closer To Heaven), and Kim Young Ae (Goodbye Mom), along with Choo Ja Hyun (Portrait of a Beauty) and Uhm Jung Hwa (Haeundae). Another tight category to watch is Best New Director, whose contenders include Kim Ki Duk protege Jang Hoon (Rough Cut), festival darling Yang Ik Joon (Breathless), as well as Park Geon Yong (The Bronze Medalist), Lee Ho Jae (The Scam), and Kim Eun Joo (Summer Whispers).

As an indicator of how fierce the competition is this year, high-profile hits The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Thirst, Scandal Makers, and A Frozen Flower were shut out of the top categories though they did receive technical nods.

The 46th Daejong Awards will be held on November 6 in Seoul.

Text / Sanwei

The 27th Golden Rooster Awards held its award ceremony in Nanchang, Jiangxi on October 17, and Feng Xiaogang's Assembly completed the treble victory, winning top honors in the three biggest film awards of Mainland China. Regarded as the most prestigious film award in the Mainland, the Golden Rooster is organized by industry insiders from the China Film Association, and it takes place every other year, alternating with its sister awards, the Hundred Flowers. After winning last year's Hundred Flowers Best Picture and Best Director, and Excellent Drama Film and Excellent Director at the Huabiao Awards two months ago, Assembly was once again the award magnet, sweeping Best Drama Film (shared with Chen Kaige's Forever Enthralled), Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Score.

Zhang Hanyu, who has won a Golden Horse, a Hundred Flowers, and a Huabiao for his lead role in Assembly, surprisingly lost out to Wu Gang of Iron Man. Similar snubs were experienced by acclaimed actresses Vicki Zhao (Painted Skin) and Zhang Ziyi (Forever Enthralled), who were defeated by dual Best Actress winners Jiang Wenli (And the Spring Comes) and Zhou Xun (The Equation of Love & Death). Having won Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actresses previously, Zhou became the first actress to collect Best Actress trophies from all three major Chinese film awards. Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress were Wang Xueqi (Forever Enthralled) and Yue Hong (A Tale of Two Donkeys), respectively. Best Screenplay went to the exam-themed drama Gao Kao 1977.

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Buddy cop thriller Black & White swept five awards at Taiwan's 44th Golden Bell Awards, which were held on October 17. Entering the race with 11 nominations, the PTS drama picked up Best Drama, Best Art Direction, Best Marketing, and a third Best Director trophy for Tsai Yueh Hsun, who had previously won for The Hospital and Meteor Garden. Tsai himself presented the Best Drama award to his wife and co-producer Yu Xiao Hui. Black & White star Mark Chao pulled off the biggest upset of the night by winning Best Actor over his more experienced co-star Vic Chou. The rookie actor broke into tears when he thanked Chou on stage.

The Hakka TV drama Marriage For Three Women also made a strong showing at the Golden Bell, winning Best Screenplay and Best Actress for Liu Rui Qi. Best Supporting Actor and Actress went to You're My One and Only's Chen Bo Zheng and Story of Time's Phoebe Huang. Fourteenth time's the charm for veteran funnyman Hu Gua, who finally won Best Variety Program Host after years of also-rans. Popular political comedy show Quan Min Zui Da Dang triumphed in the Best Variety Program category. The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded posthumously to veteran actress Wen Ying who passed away in early August.

Text / Sanwei

The nominations for the 46th Golden Horse Awards were announced on October 7. Unlike the previous year, when the phenomenal Cape No. 7 was the undisputed frontrunner, the jury this time did not favor blockbusters or big budget productions, but spread their attention towards several smaller but celebrated films.

Hong Kong director Clara Law's romance musical Like A Dream came out on top with 9 nominations, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. The Mainland-Hong Kong-Taiwan co-production is up against Taiwan actor/director Leon Dai's drama No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti, Tsai Ming Liang's Louvre-set Face, and two Mainland black comedies, Ning Hao's Crazy Racer and Guan Hu's Cow, for Best Feature Film honor.

Taiwan's Oscar hopeful No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti ranks second with 8 nominations, and Leon Dai is easily the busiest nominee this year, as he is in contention for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, as well as Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year. Tsai Ming Liang's Face showed up in 5 categories, including Best Director, Best Art Direction, and a curious nomination in the Best Action Choreography category for its dance sequences. From across the strait, Cow seems to be the black horse of the Golden Horse with 7 nominations, among which are Best Director and Best Screenplay Adaptation nods for Guan Hu.

Hong Kong films may be under-represented this year, but actors Nick Cheung (The Beast Stalker) and Daniel Wu (Like A Dream) are favorites for the Best Actor crown, although they have to fend off competitions from Mainland's Huang Bo (Cow) and Taiwan's Chen Wen Pin (No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti). The latter is also in the running for the Best New Performer and Best Original Screenplay categories. The equally highly contested Best Actress award will see Mainland actresses Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing (both for The Message) and singer Yolanda Yuan (Like A Dream) against up-and-coming Taiwan actress Sandrine Pinna (Yang Yang). Winners will be revealed in the ceremony held on November 28 in Taipei.

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Two live-action adaptations of Oku Hiroyu's ongoing violent sci-fi action manga GANTZ have been announced for 2011. Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Detroit Metal City star Matsuyama Kenichi have been cast in the leading roles, and Sato Shinsuke (The Princess Blade) is directing. Other names involved in the project include 20th Century Boys' producer Sato Takahiro and screenwriter Watanabe Yusuke, and Digital Frontier (Appleseed) which will handle the CG effects.

Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2000, the original manga, which previously spawned a GONZO-produced anime in 2004, begins with two teens, Kurono Kei, and Kato Masaru, dying in a subway accident, only to be revived for a new posthumous existence by a mysterious sphere called GANTZ. Outfitted with custom suits and weapons, Kei, Masaru, and under "game" participants get sent out by GANTZ on violent missions to eliminate designated alien targets. Ninomiya and Matsuyama's characters will be made older for the film.

GANTZ will start shooting in November. The two films are slated for release in the spring and winter of 2011.

Text / Sanwei

Boasting a gigantic ensemble cast with over a hundred Chinese showbiz personalities, The Founding of a Republic is as expected doing phenomenal business at the Mainland box office during the lucrative National Day frame. Since opening on September 16, the film made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China has taken in over RMB300 million, and now it is reported that a prequel is already in pre-production, which promises to be even grander in scope and more star-studded.

Before Republic, only two Chinese-language films - Red Cliff and If You Are the One - managed to cross the RMB300 million benchmark. Now the RMB30 million-budget epic is on course to overtake them and set a new record for Chinese Cinema. The tremendous commercial success has given director/producer and China Film Group honcho Han Sanping the confidence to make a film, tentatively titled The Founding of a Party, based on another crucial chapter in the history of modern China. Scheduled to start shooting in the first half of 2010, the film's script is being finalized, and is set for a 2011 release to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Chinese Communist Party.

Whereas Republic recounts the events between 1945 and 1949 that led to the establishment of the PRC, Party goes further back to the period from 1917 to 1921, when the Chinese Communist Party came into being. Historical figures like Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai Shek, Soong Ching Ling, and Soong Mei Ling, who are all featured in Republic, will also appear in the new film at younger ages. Therefore, while "star power" will remain the keyword in Party, the emphasis is placed on younger actors. The only casting choice revealed thus far is veteran thespian Tang Guoqiang (Mao Zedong in Republic), who has been asked to portray warlord Yuan Shikai in the new film, but Republic actors Aloys Chen, Huang Xiaoming, Guo Xiaodong, Zhang Ziyi, and Vicki Zhao are also tapped to return for bigger parts.

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The program lineup of the 6th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (HKAFF) was unveiled at a press conference on September 24. A group of Hong Kong actors and directors were in attendance to introduce their movies selected for the festival. Kung fu actress Kara Hui exercises her acting muscles in the closing film At the End of Daybreak, playing the mother of a son (Tsui Tin Yau) accused of raping his underage girlfriend. She revealed how the filming of this dark and disturbing drama was more physically demanding than any action film she had made as the fight scenes between her and her son were very emotionally charged.

The other closing film, Danny Pang's thriller-comedy Seven 2 One, made a big entrance as the horror master marched in with his headline-making ensemble cast to support the event. Capturing all eyes, actresses Elanne Kong, Chrissie Chau, Wylie Chiu, Stephanie Cheng and actors James Ho, Gary Chiu, Izz Xu, and DJ Leo Chim seemed to have sweet memories of their mock hold-up at a convenience store that spirals out of control into murder and nightmare. Perhaps less fortunate was young singer Percy Fan, who had to devour an egg tart the size of a pineapple bun as required by her role in Risky Liu's Pastry.

The film festival itself will feature more heavyweight Asian filmmakers. Confirmed guests for the event include: Fifth Generation Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang and Japanese actor Odagiri Joe of opening film The Warrior and the Wolf; renowned Korean director Park Chan Wook, bringing with him the other opening film Thirst; and Mainland director Du Haibin, whose 1428 was recently awarded Best Documentary at the Venice Film Festival. Malaysian director Ho Yuhang returns with his new film At the End of Daybreak after winning the New Talent Award with Rain Dogs at the 2006 HKAFF, while controversial Japanese filmmaker Sono Sion is this year's "Director in Focus", with seven of his films showing in the festival.

The 6th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival runs from October 15 to 30, 2009. Seventy-five features, shorts, documentaries, and animated films from all over the region will be screened at the festival.

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Japanese comic artist Usui Yoshito, best known for the manga series Crayon Shin-chan, has passed away at the age of 51. Usui was reported missing by his family when he did not return from a hiking trip on September 11. His body was later found on September 19 at the bottom of Mt. Arafune. It is believed that Usui fell to his death from a 120-meter high cliff.

Usui entered the manga circle in 1987 and gained enormous fame in the 90s with the Crayon Shin-chan series, which revolves around the everyday life of mischievous 5-year-old Nohara Shinnosuke. The anime version of the manga began broadcast in 1992, and enjoys continuous popularity to this day.

According to Usui's publishing company, there are still unpublished Usui manuscripts, but that it remains to be seen how the Crayon Shin-chan series will be handled in the future.

Text / Snoopy

Nominations for the 44th Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan's answer to the Emmys, were recently announced. PTS's highly rated buddy cop thriller Black & White leads the race with 11 nominations including Best Drama, Best Director for Tsai Yueh Hsun, Best Supporting Actor for Kingone Wang, and Best Actor for both Vic Chou and newcomer Mark Chao. The two heartthrobs will be competing against idol Show Luo (Hot Shot) and veterans You An Shun (Zou Guo Hou Wei Dao) and Chang Chih (Justice for Love). Also making strong showings in the nominations, PTS law drama Justice for Love, SETTV police drama Police et vous, and SETTV's ratings-winning romance My Queen are all vying for Best Drama and Best Director along with Black & White and the Hakka TV drama Marriage For Three Women.

Like with last year's Destiny Love, Ethan Ruan again didn't make the cut for Best Actor, but his My Queen co-star Cheryl Yang is on the Best Actress shortlist with Lee Kang Yee (Justice for Love), Tammy Chen (The Story of Time), Fion Fu (You're My One and Only), and Liu Rui Qi (Marriage For Three Women). Newcomer singer-actor Wen Sheng Hao also got a Best Supporting Actor nod for My Queen.

In the highly competitive Best Variety Program category, the final five are Quan Min Zui Da Dang, Challenge 101, Guess Guess Guess, One Million Star, and Let's Dance. Meanwhile, Best Variety Program Host nominations went to Jacky Wu and Aya Liu (Guess Guess Guess), Hu Gua (Challenge 101), Matilda Tao (One Million Star), Harlem Yu (The Million Star), and Quan Min Zui Da Dang's political comedy team.

The 44th Golden Bell Awards will be held on October 20, 2009 in Taipei.

Text / Sanwei

J-pop diva Kuraki Mai topped the Oricon weekly charts with her tenth-anniversary best-of compilation All My Best, which was released September 9. Selling 137,000 copies in its first week, All My Best is Kuraki's second consecutive Oricon #1 album this year following her album touch Me! that reached the top in January.

Kuraki Mai promoted her 10th anniversary compilation with a free concert simply titled Mai Kuraki 10th Anniversary Event (All My Best) held at the Lazona Kawasaki Plaza on September 8. Some 12,000 fans came to see the singer, breaking the venue's capacity record. Kuraki is currently busy with her nationwide 10th Anniversary Mai Kuraki Tour 2009 which will continue until the end of the year.

Text / Snoopy

Japanese maverick Kitano Takeshi is writing, directing, and starring in a new yakuza film which just started shooting in Kobe in late August. After completing his idiosyncratic trilogy of self-referential films - Takeshis' (2005), Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007), Achilles and the Tortoise (2008) - Kitano is finally returning to the modern gangster genre he first made his name on with films like Violent Cop and Hanabi. Anticipation for the film is extremely high as this is Kitano's first yakuza movie since 2001's Brother.

Slated for a 2010 release, the as yet unnamed film revolves around a group of yakuza trying to make their way in the underworld amid violent politics and power struggle. Other than Kitano, the other three main yakuza players are portrayed by Miura Tomokazu (Adrift in Tokyo), Shiina Kippei (Shinobi), and Kase Ryo (I Just Didn't Do It). The supporting cast includes Kitamura Soichiro, Kohinata Fumiyo, Ishibashi Renji, Kunimura Jun, Sugimoto Tetta, and Tsukamoto Takashi.

Text / Sanwei

Wedding bells have been ringing all over the Asian entertainment world lately. The Hong Kong media broke the news on three big marriages in a clean sweep in August. Diva Miriam Yeung secretly wed her boyfriend of two years, businessman and former VRF member Real Ting, in early August in Las Vegas. As the two married spontaneously, no special preparations were made and they simply signed their marriage certificate witnessed by Ting's elder cousin. Miriam later commented that she had no intentions to deceive the public, but simply wanted to complete the work on hand before making her wedding news known.

Andy Lau raised a media storm by admitting that he registered his marriage to longtime Malaysian girlfriend Carol Chu in June 2008, finally acknowledging a relationship that had been under wraps for many years. Faced with complaints that he had deceived fans, Andy apologized about keeping his marriage a secret. Fellow pop king Leon Lai was also revealed to be married to model Gaile Lok since March 2008. Though Lai has been characteristically averse to giving a straight answer, Lok confirmed the news.

In Korea, top actress Lee Young Ae tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend on August 24. Lee and groom Jung, a Korean-American IT entrepreneur, held a low-profile wedding in the United States. The news of Lee's marriage came as a surprise to the entertainment industry as the 38-year-old actress had kept her wedding plans secret. Lee plans to settle in the U.S., but will consider continuing her work as an actress in Korea. Tablo of Epik High and Old Boy actress Kang Hye Jung also recently announced they're expecting and planning to wed in October.

Text / Snoopy

After a string of Hollywood movies, Jet Li finally returns to China for an unprecedented move in his 27-year career. For the first time, Jet Li will star in a film that doesn't require the martial arts king to tap into his action skills!

The film, poetically named Ocean Paradise, was announced at a press conference held recently in Beijing. According to the writer-director Xue Xiaolu, she sees in Li a tender quality that was rarely explored in his previous films, and she believes he has the acting muscles to pull off a fully dramatic role. The Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor plays the loving dad of an autistic boy portrayed by young actor Wen Zhang (from TV drama Struggle). Their relationship forms the backbone of the touching story, and Li admits to being moved to tears while reading the script.

The father-son duo has a charming co-star in Taiwan actress Guey Lun Mei (Secret), who plays a circus clown. Talents behind the scenes include world-famous cinematographer Christopher Doyle and Academy Award-nominated production designer Hai Chung Man. The film is currently being shot in Qingdao, China, and should be out in cinemas next spring.

In recent years Li has devoted a great deal of time to his One Foundation, and he even took a one-year hiatus from acting in order to concentrate on his charity work. Now he is coming back to filmmaking in full force. Fans can see him on the big screen again soon in the historical epic The Founding of a Republic, in which he has a cameo role. He is also rumored to appear alongside Andy Lau in a remake of his debut film The Shaolin Temple (1982).

Text / dian

Korean actress Jang Jin Young passed away of stomach cancer on September 1, 2009 at the age of 35. One of Korea's most well-known stars, she succumbed to the disease after a one-year battle, and less than two months after getting married. Jang was laid to rest on September 4.

Starting her entertainment career as a model and Miss Korea contestant, Jang Jin Young appeared in several TV dramas in the mid-90s before making her film debut in Ghost in Love in 1998. After eye-catching turns in The Foul King and Siren, she took on her first starring role as a battered wife in Sorum, which won her Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Awards. She went on to star in varied films like Over the Rainbow (2002), Blue Swallow (2005), and Between Love and Hate (2006), and picked up a second Blue Dragon Best Actress award for Singles in 2003. Jang Jin Young's last work was the 2007 SBS drama Lobbyist.

Text / Sanwei

Organized by China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, the biennial Huabiao Awards is considered one of the top events in Chinese Cinema. The 13th edition took place in Beijing on August 29, dishing out dozens of awards in a star-studded ceremony.

Coming out on top was the Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang biopic Forever Enthralled directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Chen Kaige. It swept five major awards: Excellent Drama Film, Director, Actress (for Zhang Ziyi), Male New Actor (for Yu Shaoqun), and Technical Excellence, narrowly outshining fellow Mainland Cinema big shot Feng Xiaogang's war epic The Assembly, which won Excellent Drama Film, Director, Actor (for Zhang Hanyu), and Film Score.

This year, new categories were created for Chinese filmmakers based outside Mainland China. Excellent Director went to John Woo (Red Cliff), Excellent Actor was Donnie Yen (Ip Man), and Excellent Actress Shu Qi (If You are the One).

The importance of the Huabiao Awards is reflected in the line-up of VIPs attending the ceremony. Besides the aforementioned winners, other notable names like Zhang Yimou, Chow Yun Fat, Stephen Chow, Wong Kar Wai, Jackie Chan, Jiang Wen, Peter Chan, Vicki Zhao, Zhou Xun, Xu Jinglei, Ge You, Vivian Hsu, Carina Lau, and Raymond Wong were there to pick up or present prizes.

Text / dian

K-pop's 2009 battle of the rookies has belonged to the girls with the debuts of 2NE1, 4Minute, and T-ara in quick succession over the summer, and the fight is far from over. Though embroiled in a much-publicized legal dispute with three members of Dong Bang Shin Ki, idol-making juggernaut SM Entertainment has some good news to offer as they're debuting their latest creation in September, girl group f(x).

Described as "Asia's Pop Dance Group", f(x) is formed by five members: 22-year-old Chinese talent Victoria who starred in the music videos of SHINee's "Noona Is So Pretty" and Super Junior M's U; 16-year-old Luna; 16-year-old Chinese-American rapper Amber; 15-year-old Sulli, who appeared in Seo Dong Yo, Ba:Bo, and Punch Lady; and 14-year-old Krystal, who is the younger sister of Girls' Generation's Jessica and the leading lady in SHINee's Juliette music video. The use of a variable for the group's name alludes to the members' varied talents and ability to succeed in Korea and overseas. In addition, the "f " stands for "flower", and the "x" refers to the female chromosome. f(x) will hold a showcase debut on September 2, and unveil their debut single LACHATA.

Just so there are some Y chromosomes in the mix, Cube Entertainment is also unveiling their new boy band B2ST in September. B2ST, which stands for "Boys 2 Search the Top", features many familiar faces in its six-member lineup including AJ, who debuted as a solo artist earlier this year; SO-1 (Jang Hyun Seung), the eliminated sixth member from Big Bang's pre-debut reality program; Yoon Doo Joon, one of the eliminated JYP trainees from 2AM and 2PM's pre-debut reality program Mnet Hot Blood; and former Xing member Poppin' Dragon. B2ST currently has a reality documentary program airing on MTV Korea, and will reportedly debut with a new version of AJ's solo single Dancing Shoes in mid-September.

Text / Sanwei

Popular Hong Kong movie villain Shing Fui On, a.k.a. "Dai Sor", died of nasopharyngeal cancer on August 27. He was 54.

Shing had been battling with the disease since being diagnosed with it in 2004. The prolific character actor had more than 300 movies to his name since his debut in 1975, mostly playing gangsters and at times goofy thugs. He came to fame with his role "Dai Sor" (Big Silly) in Ringo Lam's Prison on Fire (1987), and the character's nickname stuck with him, establishing his comic villain image.

Shing was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards twice, first with The Law Enforcer in 1987, and then with Stars & Roses in 1990. His only leading man vehicle was The Blue Jean Monster (1991) in which he played an undead cop. Besides being an actor, "Dai Sor" also ran for public office in 2003, but he lost out in the election for a seat in the District Council. His last film was the Pang Brothers thriller The Detective (2007).

Text / dian

Blockbuster disaster movie Haeundae has become the fifth Korean film to cross the ten million admissions milestone. Joining The Host, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, King and The Clown, and Silmido in Korea's top five all-time domestic grossers, Haeundae opened in Korea on July 23 and took its tsunami straight to the box office, hitting the one million mark in only four days. The Hollywood-style big-budget disaster movie reached the ten million mark in its fifth week of release.

Helmed by Sex is Zero and My Boss, My Hero director Yoon Je Kyun, Haeundae is about Korea getting struck by a massive tsunami. The film's title refers to its ground zero, the popular Haeundae Beach located in southern port city Busan. An all-star ensemble cast that includes Sol Kyung Gu, Park Joong Hoon, Ha Ji Woon, Uhm Jung Hwa, and Lee Min Ki play the different people - from Park Joong Hoon's geologist to Lee Min Ki's lifeguard - who are swept into the film's human drama and thrilling battle for survival.

Having conquered the Korean box office, Haeundae is opening in China to high expectations on August 25. The film's distribution rights have been sold to many other regions including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, and Germany.

Text / Sanwei