Besides making his Hollywood debut this year in an action comedy with Jack Black and Anne Hathaway, Hong Kong's comedy king Stephen Chow is also going to work with China Film Group to produce an animated film based on his 2008 blockbuster CJ7 for a possible release next year. When he began shooting CJ7 three years ago, Chow had already planned to make an animated version with the same setting but a different storyline. The film will combine 2-D and 3-D animation, and the cast of the live-action original is expected to come back to voice the characters. On the creative side, Chow will hand the reins to acclaimed director Dante Lam (The Beast Stalker), whose resume also includes the animated films Storm Rider: Clash of Evils and Sparkling Red Star, and to screenwriter Erica Li (King of Comedy).

CJ7 tells of the friendship between poor schoolboy Dicky and the extraterrestrial being that he names "CJ7". Doubling as director, writer, and producer, Stephen Chow plays second fiddle on screen to child actress Xu Jiao, whose turn as Dicky won her Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The sci-fi comedy was a gigantic hit at the box office across Asia, and an online game based on the movie is also in the works.

Text / dian

The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan announced their annual picks for 2008's Best 10 Albums and Singles on May 11. Hong Kong singer Eason Chan and Taiwan hip-hop artist MC Hog Dog were the industry favorites with an album and two singles each on the winner's shortlist.

The Association awarded their Best 10 Albums to Eason Chan's Don't Want to Let Go, MC Hot Dog's Mr. Almost, perennial winner Jay Chou's Capricorn, Hong Kong singer-songwriter Khalil Fong's Orange Moon, indie queen Sandee Chen's If There Is One Thing That Is Important, breakthrough singer-songwriter Crowd Lu's 100 Ways For Living, rock band Chairman's Spend All Of His Money!, 13 Band's Ma Lian Shui Shou De Xia Tian ("Summer of the Horse-Faced Sailor"), and two debut releases, Joanna Wang's Start From Here and Xiao Yu's Xiao Yu Tong Xue Jiu Shi Wo ("Classmate Xiao Yu Is Me").

In singles, Eason Chan's "Don't Speak" and "Rewind Life" and MC Hot Dog's "Mr. Almost" and "Ocean" are joined by Jay Chou's "Mr. Magic", Mayday's "You Are Not Truly Happy", Cheer Chen's "Wings of a Loser", Crowd Lu's "I Love You", Aska Yang's "Onion", and fellow One Million Star newcomer Yoga Lin's "Eye Color". The Association of Music Workers in Taiwan's Best 10 picks are often viewed as a precursor to the Golden Melody Award nominations which will be announced on May 15 this year.

Text / Sanwei

Considering the blockbuster success of TV-drama spin-offs Suspect X and Hana Yori Dango: Final last year, it comes as no surprise that there are many more Japanese small-screen hits trying their luck on the big screen in 2009.

Opening on May 30, Rookies -Sotsugyo- is the silver-screen finale to the 2008 TBS spring drama Rookies. Based on Morita Masanori's best-selling manga, Rookies revolves around a do-good high school teacher and baseball coach and his adventures reforming his team of delinquent students. After continuing the mini-series' storyline in a TV special in October 2008, the Rookies will finally graduate in May. The entire cast, including coach Sato Ryuta and players Ichihara Hayato, Koide Keisuke, Shirota You, and Sato Takeru, return for the movie along with new additions like Yamamoto Yusuke, Ishida Takuya, and Takeda Kohei. Over 180,000 advance tickets have been sold for Rookies -Sotsugyo- already, more than double the advance ticket sales of Hana Yori Dango: Final.

The similarly themed and even more popular Gokusen arrives in movie theaters on July 11. Based on Morimoto Kozueko's manga, NTV's Gokusen revolves around a cluelessly earnest teacher with a yakuza background, and her hilarious efforts reforming her delinquent Class 3D students. After headlining three hit seasons, leading actress Nakama Yukie will take her famed character "Yankumi" to the big screen, along with Takaki Yuya, Miura Haruma, and other young stars from the 2008 season and 2009 TV special. Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN will also make his silver-screen debut in the movie. He reprises his role from the 2005 season of Gokusen, now returning four years later as a rookie teacher.

The 2007 Fuji TV thriller Liar Game starring Matsuda Shota and Toda Erika is getting both a second season and a movie in a simultaneous release setup similar to Akai Ito. Another 2007 Fuji TV hit, the police drama S.P. starring Okada Junichi and Tsutsumi Shinichi, also has a movie spin-off in the works with hit-making Bayside Shakedown director Motohiro Katsuyuki remaining at the helm. Finally, the 2006 Fuji TV favorite Nodame Cantabile is lined up for not one but two movies, both due in 2010.

Text / Sanwei

International star Jackie Chan held his "Descendants of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and Friends" charity concert at the Beijing National Stadium on May 1. He was joined by over 100 performers including well-known Asian artists Alan Tam, Eric Tsang, Emil Chau, Sun Nan, Joey Yung, Khalil Fong, Charlene Choi, Yumiko Cheng, Super Junior, Zhang Liyin, Leehom Wang, Jane Zhang, Hacken Lee, Jonathan Lee, Angela Chang, Li Bingbing, Chris Lee, and Rain.

Jackie opened the performance with a drum performance and the song "Descendants of the Dragon". He also sang other Olympic songs and teamed up with Jonathan Lee and Emil Chau for "True Hero". The highlight of the show was perhaps Korean group Super Junior who have not appeared in Mainland China for some time. They sang the songs Sorry Sorry and "The Reason Why I Like You" amid thunderous applause. As for Rain, not only did he perform his hits Rainism and It's Raining, but he also sang the duet "Who Can Judge Love's Right or Wrong" with Jackie Chan. The tour closed with an ensemble song by all performers called "Singing Homeland".

Jackie's concert attracted over 70,000 people, amounting to around 95% of the Beijing National Stadium's seating capacity. Jackie also especially invited poor and disabled children who received aid from his charity fund to attend the concert.

Text / Snoopy

Having proposed for umpteen times throughout the years, 62-year-old Hong Kong actor Law Kar Ying finally got an affirmative answer from his longtime girlfriend, 61-year-old veteran TV personality Liza Wang. TVB General Manager Stephen Chan broke the news that the popular couple got hitched on May 2 in Las Vegas. This is Wang's second marriage and Law's first. The two began dating after collaborating on a Cantonese opera in 1988, and in recent years Law has publicly asked Wang to marry him on many occasions, despite her constant refusal. This made their decision to tie the knot after a 20-year relationship a pleasant surprise.

As an actress, singer, and TV host, Liza Wang has enjoyed a spectacular career spanning over four decades, and is a symbol of TVB. She is also influential as a politician and a leader of Hong Kong's Cantonese opera circle. Law, a famous Cantonese opera actor, rose to fame in the 90s with his comedic performances in several Stephen Chow movies. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards for the 1995 film Summer Snow.

The marriage could be a boost for their careers. Wang is set to start shooting the TVB drama "The Queen's Office" when she comes back to Hong Kong, and Law appears in two high-profile 2009 Chinese sci-fi films, Wong Jing's Future Cop and Jeff Lau's Kung Fu Cyborg.

Text / dian

Martial arts biopic Ip Man was no doubt the 2008 Chinese movie juggernaut, being one of the year's biggest box-office successes and winner of Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Two sequels are being planned, and Part II will start shooting this August with a target release date of summer 2010. Director Wilson Yip recently revealed some details concerning the first sequel.

Donnie Yen and Lynn Xiong are locked to reprise their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Ip Man, who will have arrived in Hong Kong following the story in Part I. At the time, many martial arts clubs in Hong Kong are controlled by the triad, prompting the upstanding Ip Man to set up a martial arts school to teach Wing Chun himself. Action director Sammo Hung will step in front of the camera this time to play the leader of the rival "Hung Fist" school, and the film will stage plenty of fights between different schools of Chinese kung fu. Most of the first film's main cast members will return, including Lam Ka Tung and Fan Siu Wong.

It is known that the sequel involves a young Bruce Lee as one of Ip Man's disciples. Wilson Yip said that Lee will be a teenager and just a minor role in this film, so they will cast a newcomer with similar looks and temperament to play him, squashing rumors that Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou or Shaolin Soccer actor Chan Kwok Kwan are being courted for the role.

Text / dian

EXILE continues to sell big after doubling their member size with members from J-Soul Brothers. Their new double A-sided single THE MONSTER-Someday- released on April 15 recorded initial weekly sales of 172,000 copies, giving the 14-member EXILE a welcome new start with an Oricon #1 hit. This marks the third consecutive #1 single for the band after last year's The Birthday - Ti Amo - and Last Christmas. Including THE MONSTER-Someday-, EXILE now has seven #1 singles under their belt.

Best known for his role as F4's Mimasaka Akira in the TBS drama Hana Yori Dango, Chinese-Japanese actor Abe Tsuyoshi announced his marriage with Chinese actress Shi Ke on April 27. The 27 year-old actor met his Shi during the shooting of the film Stand In Love.

Text / Snoopy

The lineup for the 62nd Cannes Film Festival was announced on April 23. This year's Cannes, which will be held from May 13 to May 24, features a virtual who's who of world auteurs, with films from Ken Loach, Quentin Tarantino, Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodovar, Michel Gondry, and Jane Campion as well as Asia's own Ang Lee, Johnnie To, Park Chan Wook, Tsai Ming Liang, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Bong Joon Ho, and Pen-ek Ratanaruang.

Twenty films are up for the Palme d'Or, six of which are from Asian filmmakers. Mainland Chinese director Lou Ye returns to Cannes three years after his Summer Palace caused a wave of controversy, and earned him a ban at home for screening at the festival without Beijing approval. His new feature Spring Fever, a Chinese- French co-production, was filmed secretly in Nanjing in defiance of the ban. Taiwan filmmaker Tsai Ming Liang sticks with his arthouse aesthetics and perennial muse Lee Kang Sheng in Face, which follows a Taiwan director who travels to the Louvre to shoot a film exploring the Salome myth. Hong Kong director Johnnie To also stays to the genre he knows best with crime thriller Vengeance starring French rocker Johnny Hallyday.

Ang Lee goes back to Hollywood to direct Taking Woodstock, an adaptation of Elliot Tiber's memoir set during the iconic summer of 1969. Korean maverick Park Chan Wook, whose Old Boy won the Grand Prix in 2004, brings the vampire tale Thirst starring Song Kang Ho as a priest-turned-bloodsucker. Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza competes for the second consecutive year with his new kidnap thriller Kinatay. Also in competition for top honors is Spanish director Isabel Coixet's Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, which is set in Japan and stars Babel's Kikuchi Rinko.

Kore-eda Hirokazu's Air Doll, Bong Joon Ho's Mother, Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Nymph, and Raya Martin's Independence are screening in the Un Certain Regard category. Raya Martin's twin bill with Adolfo Alix Jr., Manila, will also be shown in special screenings, making it the first time a Filipino filmmaker has had two films at Cannes. Mainland director Zhao Liang's Petition is also being screened out of competition.

This year's Cannes jury is chaired by French actress Isabella Huppert, and the jury includes Korean director Lee Chang Dong, and Taiwan actress Shu Qi. Pixar's Up will be the first ever animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival, while French director Jan Kounen's Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky will do the closing honors.

Text / Sanwei

Lam Seung Yee, the iconic Hong Kong soccer commentator and comic actor better known as "Ah Suk" (Uncle in Cantonese), was found dead in his home on April 23. He was 74.

A former soccer player and coach, Ah Suk was perhaps the most revered soccer commentator in Hong Kong in the last couple of decades. His trademark voice and witty commentary style have endeared him to generations of soccer fans. His career as a comic actor also owed much to his deadpan delivery of often-improvised dialogs. Between the Stephen Chow blockbuster Fight Back to School II in 1992 and the Herman Yau romantic comedy Herbal Tea in 2004, Ah Suk scored almost a hundred movie and TV drama acting gigs, his most popular role being the priest in the Young and Dangerous series. Retired in 2006 after hosting the World Cup live broadcasting program for TVB, Ah Suk's sudden death came as a blow to soccer and movie fans alike.

Text / dian

The 28th Hong Kong Film Awards were held on April 19. Wilson Yip's martial arts biopic Ip Man beat out Red Cliff, CJ7, Painted Skin, and The Way We Are for Best Film honors. The film also picked up Best Action Choreography for Leung Siu Hung and Sammo Hung, who also happened to be the award's presenter along with the other members of the Seven Little Fortunes. Ip Man leading man Donnie Yen, however, lost out in the highly contested Best Actor race to Nick Cheung for The Beast Stalker, which also won Best Supporting Actor for Liu Kai Chi. Ann Hui's low-budget critic's favorite The Way We Are, the only solely Hong Kong-invested production in the Best Film race, won Best Director and Best Screenplay, as well as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for veterans Paw Hee Ching and Chan Lai Wun, respectively.

CJ7 child actress Xu Jiao, who lit the firecrackers that kicked off the award ceremony's opening lion-dance performance, was named Best New Performer, while Derek Kwok picked up Best New Director for The Moss. John Woo's epic war film Red Cliff, which led in nominations, took home the most awards, though all in technical categories: Best Art Direction, Best Costume & Makeup Design, Best Sound Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Film Score. Gordon Chan's Painted Skin won in Best Cinematography and Best Original Film Song. Best Asian Film was given to Feng Xiaogang's Assembly.

Sixties movie icon and two-time HKFA Best Actress winner Josephine Siao was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Director Wong Kar Wai presented the award, and Stephen Chow, who did not attend the ceremony, narrated her tribute clip. As 2009 also marks the 100th anniversary of Hong Kong Cinema, Infernal Affairs, The Eye, Days of Being Wild, and A Better Tomorrow version parody clips of Hong Kong's first film "Steal Roasted Duck" were shown at the ceremony. The ceremony was hosted by Eric Tsang and a round robin of co-hosts including Teresa Mok, Vincent Kok, Wong Cho Lam, Lam Tze Chung, Tenky Tin, Michelle Lo, Chin Kar Lok, Fan Siu Wong, Denise Ho, Kay Tse, and Sandra Ng.

Text / Sanwei

Popular Korean duo Fly to the Sky gave their final Korea performance on April 12, concluding 10 years of K-pop success. Formed by Brian Joo and Fany (a.k.a. Hwan Hee), Fly to the Sky made their debut in 1999 under powerhouse talent agency SM Entertainment, with whom the group remained until 2004 when they switched to PFull Entertainment. The duo celebrated their tenth anniversary this year, making them one of K-pop's longest-running idol groups. With the release of their eighth album Decennium in February, however, Fly to the Sky also announced that they would not renew their management contract, and that Decennium would be their last official album.

Though Fly to the Sky are not officially disbanded, Brian and Fany, now signed to different agencies, have expressed they are parting ways to focus on solo careers. Wrapping up activities for their album, the duo gave a series of farewell performances in early April, bowing out on April 12 with a final appearance on music program SBS Inkigayo, where they sang their debut single Day by Day and their last single Restriction.

Brian and Fany will continue to stay active in the entertainment industry as solo artists. Fany is planning to release a solo album later this year, while Brian is returning to his native United States in May to begin shooting for a Hollywood action comedy.

Text / Sanwei

The 2008 Hong Kong IFPI Gold Disc Awards, which distributes awards based on album sales, were presented on April 11. Superstar Andy Lau walked away with six awards, including Best Selling Hong Kong Male Artist and Best Selling Cantonese Album for his Wonderful World Concert Tour Hong Kong 2007 live album. His 2007 release Everyone Is No. 1 and Mandarin live album Wonderful World Concert Tour Shanghai also made it into the Top 10 Best Selling Cantonese and Mandarin Albums shortlists. Joey Yung was named the Best Selling Hong Kong Female Artist, with two of her albums in the Top 10.

The remaining eight top-selling artists were Aaron Kwok, Leo Ku, Stephy Tang, Kary Ng, Denise Ho, Ivana Wong, Vincy Chan, and Raymond Lam, whose 2007 and 2008 albums both made it into the Top 10 sellers. Fellow TVB crossover singers Myolie Wu and Linda Chung received Best Selling Newcomer awards along with G.E.M., William Chan, RubberBand, and Square. Best Selling Mandarin Album went to Taiwan boy band Fahrenheit's 2 Face. The other Top 10 Mandarin releases belonged to S.H.E., Show Luo, Lollipop, Yoga Lin, Andy Lau, and Twins. Japanese boy band w-inds.' Seventh Ave and Single Collection Best Eleven were the Best Selling Japanese/Korean Albums.

There are some glaring omissions from this year's Hong Kong IFPI Gold Disc Awards recipients as four major music labels - Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, and EMI - pulled out of the IFPI last year so their records and artists, including big sellers like Jay Chou and Eason Chan, are not accounted for in the calculations.

Text / Sanwei

Pop diva Koda Kumi and her younger sister misono joined forces for the single It's All Love!. Their efforts have paid off as their single released on March 31 shot to Oricon's #1 position. It's All Love! is the first Oricon #1 hit by a sibling group since Dancing Sister/I'm in the Mood for Dancing by Irish band The Nolans in July 1980. Koda Kumi and misono are also the first sibling group to reach Oricon's #1 spot in the initial week.

It's All Love! reached first-week sales of 74,000 copies and follows Koda Kumi's #1 hit single stay with me released on December 24, 2008. misono previously only scored #2 hits with her former band day after tomorrow, so It's All Love! is her very first #1 hit.

Text / Snoopy

After a dip into darker territory in Derek Yee's yakuza drama film Shinjuku Incident, Jackie Chan returns to his favorite action comedy genre with his latest Chinese movie Big Soldier, bringing some fresher faces to the attention of the world. Shot in Yunnan, China with a modest price tag of US$25 million, the period actioner has wrapped principal photography, and should begin its theatrical run sometime in 2009.

Jackie introduced the main cast and crew members at the press conference held in Beijing last week. Director Ding Sheng only made his feature film debut last year with The Underdog Knight, but he had previously shot several commercials with Jackie, and the two clicked. Out of Jackie's new co-stars, the most well-known is sure to be Taiwan pop king Leehom Wang (Lust, Caution). Playing female lead is newcomer Lin Peng, who performed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last year. Other main cast includes Korean singer Yoo Seung Jun, and Jackie's disciples known as the "New Seven Little Fortunes".

The film is set in the Warring States Period of ancient China, and the plot involves an older soldier capturing a young general from a rival state, and then embarking on a fight-filled adventure. According to Jackie, the story idea has been brewing in his mind for 20 years. At first he saw himself in the "Small General" role, but when the story finally got made two decades later, he had to vacate that role and take the "Big Soldier" role instead. While he was undecided over the casting of his co-star, Mrs. Jackie Chan (Lin Feng Jiao) made her preference heard, and Leehom beat Jaycee Chan and Daniel Wu for the role.

Text / dian

Speed Racer, Dragonball: Evolution, and the forthcoming Blood: The Last Vampire are only the beginning of Hollywood's budding love affair with anime and manga as there are plenty more live-action adaptations to come. Mandalay Pictures just picked up rights for Gatoh Shoji's light novel series Full Metal Panic!, a high school action comedy that has been adapted into manga and anime. High School Musical heartthrob Zac Efron is reportedly in the talks to star as the hero, an anti-terrorist mercenary tasked to protect a schoolgirl with special powers.

Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way is planning on adapting two anime classics, Otomo Katsuhiro's post-apocalyptic cyberpunk masterpiece Akira and Kawajiri Yoshiaki's Ninja Scroll. A self-professed anime fan, DiCaprio recently expressed that he's interested in casting Japanese actors for the films, and pop superstars SMAP are among the names being considered for Ninja Scroll. Watchmen screenwriter Alex Tse is scripting the revenge actioner about a mercenary ninja in feudal Japan. The live-action Akira, meanwhile, has been in speculative limbo since remake rights were acquired, but it's tapped as a two-parter with Ruairi Robinson directing.

Keanu Reeves is reportedly playing the leading role of bounty hunter Spike Spiegal in the adaptation of futuristic sci-fi anime western Cowboy Bebop. Other live-action anime remakes in the Hollywood rumor mill include Warner Brothers' Robotech, last attached to Tobey Maguire and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, and Ghost in the Shell, which was licensed by DreamWorks.

Text / Sanwei

The highly anticipated big-budget Taiwan police drama Black & White starring F4's Vic Chou will begin broadcast on April 11 on PTS. Boasting a budget of over NT$80 million (US$2.4 million), PTS's tenth anniversary drama reunites Vic Chou with Meteor Garden and Mars director Tsai Yueh Hsun for an ambitious buddy cop action thriller. With its grand cast, tightly wrought storyline, and large-scale action scenes, the scope and style of Black & White mark a first not only for PTS, but also for Taiwan television.

Vic Chou plays against type as a danger-shirking playboy cop who cares more about scoring dates than catching criminals. After sleeping with his superior's daughter, he gets transferred to a different district, and paired with the craziest cop on the force played by newcomer Mark Chao, the son of renowned veteran actor Chao Shu Hai who also appears in the drama. One a crafty slacker and the other a reckless hero, the two young cops with completely different values and work methods end up unlikely partners on a huge case that involves the Taiwan mob and politics.

Black & White co-stars top actress Janine Chang as a forensics expert and I Want To Become A Hard Persimmon's Ivy Chen as a mob boss's daughter. Sammo Hung's son Jimmy Hung pulls double duty playing an underworld boss as well as serving as the drama's action director. The Black & White supporting cast also includes stars like idol Kingone Wang, model-turned-actresses Sonia Sui and Patina Lin, and Hong Kong veteran Paul Chun.

Text / Sanwei