From: NO TOP TEN CENTRAL Newsgroups: alt.asian-movies,soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment Subject: [TAKE OVER] HKSAR Film No Top 10 Box Office (January 17 2008) Organization: Chaffing Heart Club (TM) The following publication contains material that might be objectionable to some readers. Parental guidance and reader discretion are advised. [FLUFF OF THE WEEK] Courtesy of Ming Pao, Sing Tao Daily, Apple Daily, Oriental Daily, and Ta Kung Pao 1. THIS TOP 10 IS DEDICATED TO A. Gillian Chung Yun Tung who celebrates her birthday on the 21st * (1/22/2008) The Hong Kong Film Critic Society's 2007 Critic Society Award yesterday announced its winners. Tony Leung Ka Fai defeated Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit), Lau Ching Wan, Anthony Wong Chau Sun, Simon Yam Tat Wa and Eason Chan Yik Shun to win Best Actor with EYE IN THE SKY (GUNG JUNG); Siqin Gaowa with THE POST MODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT won Best Actress as the favorite. Ann Hui On Wa with AUNT won Best Director and Best Picture. Best Screenplay went to MAD DETECTIVE (SUN TAM)'s Wai Ka Fai and Au Kin Yi. This time the society came to the conclusions after nine hours of fierce discussion and three rounds of passionate voting for five awards. The eight recommended films were EYE IN THE SKY (GUNG JUNG), THE WARLORDS (TAU MING JONG), WHISPERS AND MOANS (SING GUNG JOK JEH SUP YUT TAM), HOOKED ON YOU (MUI DONG BIN WAN SI), MAD DETECTIVE (SUN TAM), TRIANGLE (TEET SAM GOK), PROTEGE (MOON TOH), and THE DETECTIVE (C+ JING TAM). The award ceremony would take place on February 27 at the Hong Kong Film Archive. This year only had 51 Hong Kong film theatrical releases, finally the discussion revolved around 9 to 10 films. For Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director, THE POST MODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT, THE WARLORDS, and MAD DETECTIVE's competition was the fiercest. Best Actress winner Siqin Gaowa has won her second Best Actress in 1995's THE DAY THE SUN TURNED COLD. This time Siqin Gaowa's competition was not too strong with only Candice Yu On On, Kate Tsui Tsz Shan, Miriam Yeung Chin Wa, Teresa Mo Shun Kwan, Charlene Choi Cheuk Yin. With Siqin Gaowa's experience and acting ability, victory absolutely was not too hard for her. Instead, Best Actor competition was fierce. With opponents Lee Nin Kit, Lau Ching Wan, Chow Yun Fat, Wong Chau Sun, Chan Yik Shun and Yam Tat Wa, Leung Ka Fai has won the Best Actor award again since EVERLASTING REGRET (CHEUNG HUNG GOR). Hui On Wa was very pleased to learn about the Best Director award and later would notify Siqin Gaowa. She expressed that any celebration would depend on whether Siqin Gaowa would come to Hong Kong since both were very busy. Leung Ka Fai was very happy about the victory and thanked director Yau Nai Hoi because after working with him twice before he was able to win awards. * (1/22/2008) The Elanne Kong Yeuk Lam, Janice Man Wing San and Maggie starred, Pang Shun directed film SEE YOU IN YOU TUBE (OI DAU DAI) made 2 million in four days in release. Boss Daneil Lam Siu Ming honestly said that 2 million was not a great performance. He even joked, "In addition this barrel of....." The host saw what the boss said and interjected, "noise makers." Director Pang Shun pointed out that working with a group of new comers indeed was worrying because in four days they could only have made 20,000. Kong Yeuk Lam's first lead had decent box office performance. She honestly said that she was very pleased and thus could not sleep. She said that she was already very nervous on opening day as she kept asking the company about the box office. The director joked that if this time the box office was good, next time they would make OI DAU WAI (LOVE BAD COMPETITION). Kong Yeuk Lam felt that this time was a good start. She also had other screenplays in negotiation. She wanted to play a tragic lead the most and would not mind passing away due to illness because she was a Korean series fan. She frequently watched until she cried. Kong Yeuk Lam expressed plans to take time off for a family vacation and hoped to be able to take a week off and time to see a Chinese medicine practicioner. Perhaps because she has lost excessive weight now "karma" started to come back. Man Wing San was also in new film negotiations but she still liked to model. She also wanted to play a patient or an ugly woman in hopes of challenging herself. In addition, Maggie in the film had to seduce an uncle. The scene was recently placed on YouTube. She honestly said that she did not mind. When she made movies she naturally wanted others to watch. She would not lock it away at home but she did not know whether the company has uploaded it online. * (1/22/2008) The film SHAMO (GWUN GAI)'s actors Annie Liu (Lau Sum Yau), Leung Siu Lung and director Soi Cheang Po-Shui yesterday appeared on Shawn YueMan Lok's Roadshow program to promote the film's early March release. This film would be released simultaneously in Japan and Hong Kong. This was Ah Lok's first time as a host. He was afraid that it would be too dull and did not follow the script exactly. He would rather improvise. He felt that hosting was harder than acting, before he was able to ask Lau Sum Yau about love life he was already cut. Later Ah Lok would promote in Japan, earlier he has promoted INITIAL D (TAU MAN JI D) in Japan. He also had a Japanese fan club and this time he would like to make time to meet with fans. He pointed out that last time he kept promoting INITIAL, on one day he shot fifty covers. Everyday he was in his hotel room and did not have any time. The film had sodomy and rape scenes. Ah Lok pointed out that the film at first aimed for category II rating. If due to the scenes it became category III he would not mind either. Lau Sum Yau said that due to her poor ability to speak she was not suitable to host. She said that when she first met Ah Lok she thought he would be very mean, but actually he was not. During the shoot he often got hurt, so when she got hurt she did not dare to say anything out of fear that everyone would think she was not tough and like a princess. She pointed out that during the shoot she was bruised all over. In one scene Ah Lok had to throw her hard and later Ah Lok had to slap her. She told him to treat her like a man, but Ah Lok still watched his strength. * (1/21/2008) Chinese American Faith earlier came to Shanghai to promote her China U.S. co-production MILK & FASHION and performed one of its songs. Faith is different from the average American Born Chinese. She was born in Shanghai and raised in New York. Her father is a descendant of Qing Dynasty royalty. She studied finance and economy at New York University. In 2001 due to September 11 she felt that finding a job in the U.S. was not easy and thought of trying her luck in Hong Kong, but she accidentally entered show business. So far she has worked on ad campaigns for many top brands and appeared in music videos and movies like PROTEGE DE LA ROSE with Alan Tam Wing Lun, Jacky Cheung Hok Yau, Dior Cheng Yi Kin, Twins and Donnie Yen Chi Tan. Faith's goal is to stride into Hollywood as a Chinese. This new film MILK & FASHION is a movie about different cultures, ballet, fashion and dreams. Faith took advantage of her Chinese and English abilities. In past films, Faith mostly played pretty and arrogant bad girls. In the interview, her happy and direct personality is infectious. In real life she is a Chinese and Western mixed beauty with many sides. MILK & FASHION will open nationally in March then in other Asian nations and the U.S. * (1/21/2008) Fala Chen recently worked on a Wong Jing new film and played a tough female cop. Yesterday the film shot a gun fight scene at Central. Although Fala did not have to charge in, she had to command her team. She honestly said that for her first movie at first she was not used to it as the production was different from television. The scenes were shot separately. She could only learn continuation. Simon Yam Tat Wa would be a part of her team, a veteran cop who was able but did not like to take credit. She was a newly assigned team leader who valued this veteran. Working with a Best Actor in her first movie, Fala did not have too much pressure. She pointed out that earlier Yam Tat Wa has worked with television artists like Kate Tsui Tsz Shan. This time he has taught her acting as well but bad takes were beyond her control. She could only apologize. Did she accept this type of role in order to change her "whiny" image? She said, "I didn't choose the role, the film company chose me. It's a lot of fun. I have never played a cop, it's my first different image." She hoped that the film would finish before the Lunar New year because after that she would have to return to TVB for a series. * (1/20/2008) This year's final music report card, Radio Hong Kong's 30th Top Ten Chinese Gold Song Awards took place last night at the Hong Kong Coliseum. With his excellent performance this year, Eason Chan Yik Shun was a starting lead include the Four Station Alliance Media Award won 20 awards this year and became the true big winner. Joey Yung Cho Yi followed with 15 awards. Last night singers arrived around 7PM on the red carpet for this year's final music award. Earlier already stated their absence Denise Ho Wan Si and Andy Lau Tak Wa did not appear. When the show started, the ten excellent singers accepted their awards. They included Yung Cho Yi, Chan Yik Shun, Hacken Lee Hak Kun, Hins Cheung King Hin, Miriam Yeung Chin Wa, Twins, Leo Ku Kui Ke, Janice Vidal (Wai Lan) and Justin Lo (Juk Tin). Only Lau Tak Wa did not attend. Eason won several major awards including the Highest Selling Male Singer of the Year, Excellent Popular Singer, Most Excellent Male Singer, and National Best Male Singer; at the same time with UNDER MOUNT FUJI (FU SI SAN HA) he won National Best Chinese Song, Top Ten Gold Song, Global Chinese Best Gold Song and Four Station Alliance Media Award. Cho Yi also became the big winner among female singers with the Highest Selling Female Singer of the Year, National Best Female Singer, Excellent Popular Singer, Most Excellent Female Singer and Top Ten Gold Song with LOVE ONE LEARN A LESSON (OI YUT GOR SEUNG YUT FOR). Winning Gold Song award with LIGHT BULB (DIN DUNG DAM), Stephy Tang Lai Yun looked rather nervous and still sang off key. The host made a special request for the audience to applaud in encouragement. The event this year invited Albert Au Sau Keung and Kitman Mak to perform past classic radio drama theme songs and invited a group of singers classic songs of the six IMMORTAL LEGEND leads Roman Tam (Law Man), Teresa Tang Lai Kwan, Anita Mui Yim Fong, Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, Danny Chan Pak Keung, and Wong Ka Kui. Lee Hak Kun and Ku Kui Ke performed Heavenly Queens' hits while Chan Yik Shun performed Heavenly Kings' hits. After winning the Media Awards, Eason even performed a hot routine as he performed hits of the Four Great Heavenly Kings, Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing and Alan Tam Wing Lun and won the applause of the entire venue to bring the atmosphere to its climax. Radio Hong Kong DJ Leung Kai Cheung, Leong Si Ho and Kwai Fa Tin two nights ago took jabs at TVB, Metro Radio and Ho Wan Si. Leung Si Ho claimed that a radio station had the poorest relationship because a record company boycotted its event, but Radio Hog Kong had the best relationship because only Ho Wan Si did not attend. Later Leung Si Ho also claimed that they had to be careful with the announcements, especially with Ivana Wong Yuen Chi and Hins Cheung King Hin's names because they tended to stick together. Leung Kai Cheung also took a jab at Golden Needle winner Teresa Caprio (To Lai Si). Because she was too sloppy normally she had to change to be able to accept the award. Then Radio Hong Kong DJ Law Kai Sun kept jabbing at Ho Wan Si, pointing out that curiously a singer has expressed that by not attending an award show she could save on wardrobe cost. He felt that if she had a great voice and good songs she definitely would have people who appreciate her. THE 30TH TOP TEN CHINESE GOLD SONG WINNERS TOP TEN GOLD SONG UNDER MOUNT FUJI (HA SI SAN HA) Eason Chan Yik Shun COOL LOVE (HO OI) Hins Cheung King Hin TOO CLOSE (BIK DUT TAI GUNG) Kary Ng Yu Fei LIGHT BULB (DIN DUNG DAM) Stephy Tang Lai Yun LOVE ON LEARN A LESSON (OI YUT GOR SEUNG YUT FOR) Joey Yung Cho Yi LOVE GOES HOME (OI WUI GA) Leo Ku Kui Ke MAN KTV (NAM YUN KTV) Justin Lo (Juk Tin) (FA) Miriam Yeung Chin Wa THINK FIRST LOVE LATER (SI CHIN LUEN HAU) Eric Suen Yiu Wai FLOWER FALLS FOR WHO (FA LOK SEUNG GA) Hacken Lee Hak Kun MOST POTENTIAL NEW COMERS GOLD: Chan Pak Yu SILVER: Chow Pak Ho BRONZE: Ken Hung Cheuk Lap EXCELLENCE: Sherman Chung Shu Man, Elanne Kong Yeuk Lam, Chubby (Siu Fei) EXCELLENT POPULAR MANDARIN SONG UNSPEAKABLE SECRET (BUT NUNG SHUET DIK BEI MUK) Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun) EXCELLENT POPULAR SINGERS Eason Chan Yik Shun, Joey Yung Cho Yi, Twins, Hins Cheung King Hin, Justin Lo (Juk Tin), Janice Vidal (Wai Lan), Miriam Yeung Chin Wa, Leo Ku Kui Ke, Hacken Lee Hak Kun, Andy Lau Tak Wa MOST EXCELLENT FEMALE SINGER Joey Yung Cho Yi MOST EXCELLENT MALE SINGER Eason Chan Yik Shun CASH BEST CREATIVE SINGER Ivana Wong Yuen Chi MOST IMPROVED OF THE YEAR Stephanie Cheng Yung NATIONAL BEST SINGERS MALE: Andy Lau Tak Wa FEMALE: Joey Yung Cho Yi GROUP: Twins NATIONAL BEST CHINESE SONG UNDER MOUNT FUJI (FU SI SAN HA) Eason Chan Yik Shun GLOBAL CHINESE BEST GOLD SONG UNDER MOUNT FUJI (FU SI SAN HA) Eason Chan Yik Shun HIGHEST SELLING SINGER OF THE YEAR MALE: Eason Chan Yik Shun FEMALE: Joey Yung Cho Yi GROUP: Twins FOUR STATION ALLIANCE MEDIA AWARD UNDER MOUNT FUJI (FU SI SAN HA) Eason Chan Yik Shun GOLDEN NOODLE: Teresa Caprio (To Lai Sa) * (1/19/2008) Pang Shun, Maggie Lee Man Kwun, Fung Ho Si and others attended two nights ago the film SEE YOU ON YOU TUBE (OI DAU DAI)'s special screening. After the screening, ghost film expert Pang Shun also became the target of student questions. Pang Shun directly said that the film had many cemetery scenes but he has not applied with the authorities before. The team could only shoot in secret. For peace, the production not only kept presenting incense and even loudly announced that they were there just for work. Even though, Pang Shun claimed that he had stomache the next day. Directing with six directors, Pang Shun was rather satisfied. "Among us four were student directors who performed decently. This time seven people were responsible for one. The team result was considered complete; this is the first handheld high definition movie, the opening day box office was several hundred thousand. It's considered good." In one scene Janice Man spoke Korean. When asked about the meaning, Pang Shun joked, "It was made up, I saw her watching so many Korean series so I asked Janice to improvise on the spot." After completing the promotion Pang Shun would first return to Thailand then meet up with girlfriend Angelica Lee Sinjie in Malaysia for the Lunar New Year. * (1/19/2008) Edison Chen Koon Hei yesterday appeared on a Commercial Radio interview and revealed that when he worked on INFERNAL AFFAIRS (MO GAN DOH) due to poor professionalism like being sleepy during the shoot, Andrew Lau Wai Keung slapped him awake. He expressed that during the shoot, the director told him to talk with him and asked whether he was awake. Then he slapped him and he woke up right away. Edison after the slap said to the director, "One more and we are through!" After Lau Wai Keung's powerful slap, Edison honestly said that his reaction was not anger but surprise. Actually he was used to the director's scolding, but no one has ever physically abused him. Edison understood that the director did not want to hurt him and only wanted to wake him. He admitted that his professionalism was poor then, in addition he had another job the night before and did not sleep. The next day at work he was in no condition. This film was very important to Lau Wai Keung, who wanted the full effort from him. Yet he was in poor condition and even after instruction he did not improve, so he slapped him awake. Did Edison feel the director's action was effective? He honestly said that it did as he was really slapped awake! Edison honestly said, if the person who slapped him was not Lau Wai Keung he would have hit back. Because he has always admired Lau Wai Keung he gave him a lot of respect. At work it was his first slap and he hoped it was his last. * (1/19/2008) Michelle Ye (Yip Shuen) yesterday attended an ATV taping. She expressed that most recently she has been busy with the film CHA JI NUI (WOMAN OF INVESTIGATION) in Hong Kong. In it she plays Eason Chan Yik Shun's wife and has a seven year old child. She also has scenes with Sammi Cheng Sau Man. She expressed that Cheng Sau Man was in great condition and they had a pleasant time working together. She and Chan Yik Shun had many crying scenes. She also praised the child star as very smart and not hard to deal with at all. She is also in negotiation for more movies later. Yip Shuen expressed that lately she actually has been very busy because she had a lot of preparation to do for the movie. Yet she was very happy to have eight hours of sleep daily. * (1/18/2008) This year's second annual Asian Film Award 2008 will take place on March 17. As in the previous year the award show would tightly follow the Hong Kong Entertainment expo 2008 opening. THE WARLORDS (TAU MING JONG) and LUST, CAUTION (SIK, GAI) received six nominations. Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit) with THE WARLODS would compete for Best Actor against LUST, CAUTION's Tony Leung Chiu Wai and last year's winner Korean star Song Kang-Ho. Tang Wei and Joan Chen would clash again for Best Actress after the Golden Horse award. At yesterday's press conference, the Hong Kong International Film Festival chair Wong Ying Wai announced the 64 nominations this year. 33 film qualified and this year the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories were added. The 12 award results would come from 13 nations' 18 jurors. This year's award show received over 6 million from the Hong Kong Film Development Council. In the Best Actor category, Leung Chiu Wai (LUST, CAUTION), Lee Nin Kit (THE WARLORDS), and Song Kang-Ho (SECRET SUNSHINE) all had potential. Among them Song Kang-Ho last year has already won with THE HOST. Other nominees included Jack Kao (Go Jit) GOD MAN DOG (LAU LONG SUN GAU YUN), Ryo Kase (Ga Lai Leung0 (I JUST DIDN'T DO IT) and Joe Odagiri (Siu Tin Chit Yeung) (TOKYO TOWER: MOM AND ME AND SOMETIMES DAD). For Best Actress, aside from HOME SONG STORIES' Golden Horse Best Actress Joan Chen LUST, CAUTION's Tang Wei was also nominated. Yet SECRET SUNSHINE's Cannes Best Actress Jeon Do-Yeon is a favorite as well. The competition is rather intense. Other nominees included Korean star Kim Yunjin (SEVEN DAYS) and Indian star Deepika Padukone (OM SHANTI OM); Joan Chen was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress with THE SUN ALSO RISES. Ang Lee with LUST, CAUTION, Peter Chan Ho Sun (THE WARLORDS), Jiang Wen (THE SUN ALSO RISES), Lee Chang-Dong (SECRET SUNSHINE) were among the Bes Director nominees. Best Picture nominees included LUST, CAUTION, THE WARLORDS, SECRET SUNSHINE, THE SUN ALSO RISES, I JUST DIDN'T DO IT, and Iranian film BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME. Lee Nin Kit was very hapy to hear about his Best Actor nomination because it came from Asia. It was truly a great pleasant surprise. Looking back the production was truly very difficult but the cast had a lot of fun working together. He felt that Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo) and Andy Lau Tak Wa's performance were great. He felt their lack of nomination was regrettable. Kit Jai felt that this nomination should belong to the three of them. Chan Ho Sun said that he has already heard about the nominations a few days before and was very happy. Chan Ho Sun felt that Wa Jai and Gum Sing Mo actually performed grat but he understood that only one nomination could be made because this was an all Asian award. One nomination was already OK. He looked forward to more Hong Kong Film Award nominations, of course the more the better. * (1/17/2008) Fala Chen yesterday attended the opening of a skincare store. She has just returned from a vacation and jumped right into her first film DUT JUNG GAING CHAT (SPECIAL POLICE) with Simon Yam Tat Wa. In the film she played a female police officer, later she would have gun fight scenes. She expressed that she was nervous and looking forward to it. Fala also said, "I feel that the pace of film and television series are very different. The movie pace is slower. Wa Gor is very nice, he konws it is my first movie and tells me to take my time." [ BLAH OF THE WEEK ] Columns, Reviews, Interviews 1. MING PAO DAILY, JANUARY 23 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS HOW TO EFFECTIVELY PREVENT VIOLENCE Angela Tong Ying Ying is slapped on the streets, which of course had the entire show business concerned. Even if she was not an artist but an ordinary person, for no apparent reason if she was slapped on the street, a lawful society would not be able to accept that. Luckily Tong Ying Ying's male assistant was brave and overcome the assailant, which assisted in the police investigation. Hong Kong is considered safe. Each day many celebrities appear in the public. Some even attends announced public events. If someone wants to harm an artist, it would not be hard at all. In recent years show business violence is few. Show business has a lot of trouble and rumors. Everyday has ambiguous reports. Some viewers even mix up reality and the characters that the artist plays. Luckily the society overall is sensible. In some backwater places, viewers have confused drama and reality. When an artist plays villain too well, his or her life is at stake. Yet whenever something happens, someone would urge increasing security. Yet violence truly is not preventable. Even with G4 protection, if something happens, it may not necessarily be able to be stopped. Artists would be best served with someone with the ability to protect him, whether they be assistants or drivers. Even without violence, sometimes with too many "vermicellis" scenes turn chaotic and pushes turn into shoves, fragile female assistants cannot avoid injury and taken advantage of in protecting artists. Hong Kong is already a little better. Mainland is the most chaotic. With many people and large venues, remote areas where some local artists rarely go have the most difficult crowds to control. When hiring security locally, the security may be "vermicellis" who not only have not reached the safety goal but also make the matter worse. The most effective way against violence is not security increase but justice, with which is the only way to create any threatening effect and let violators know the price that they would have to pay. In a safe and lawful security, everyone can be closer and friendlier with the artists who they like. - KWOK HIN CHING 2. MING PAO DAILY, JANUARY 20 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS NEW TALENT CULTIVATION HAS TO RELY ON NEW MEDIA On screen new comers are hard to cultivate because television stations (especially TVB) have not extended this function. Television stations once were the entertainment circle's "Shaolin Temple". Almost all people who have already succeeded in show business now seem to have worked with television station work. Television's advantage is the ability to provide massive exposure opportunity without any need to accept outside cruel reality (like film box office, record sale). New comers can slowly improve. Without this electronic media's support, new comers can only rely on talent. Managers cannot be blamed for their practicality, a movie or a record production requires a lot of money. If the reaction is poor, another chance is very slim. During the Shaw's and Golden Harvest era, new comer support is long term. Looking back today the movie tycoons had great eyes. Actually they made intricate planning that took a lot of time and effort. Which few of the top few singers have never suffered? Male singers who have not weathered the storm could not possibly succeed for more than two to three years. Those who have even had to watch their steps. This circle now does not permit slow heat cultivation, resulting in lucky new comers who succeed for awhile then sink again. Like the lottery they are gambling with luck. The audience accepts female new comers more than male, it has always been that way. Thus supporting female is more advantageous than supporting male as the "fast, beautiful, right" results can be easily achieved. Film, record and television are all that way. To explain, one can say that female artists only need attractive exterior to win half the battle. Whether they are talented or not it is secondary. The more handsome male artists are, the audience is more demanding. Male viewers accept those with only looks the least. Female viewers are divided in half. For example the Taiwan "exchange" idols have the same few 3,000 people who are crazy for them. Earlier they are in the papers everyday, but no film company from the three lands on two shores have approached them with offers. On top for years ago, how is F4 doing now? Male artists sell talent, at least we know Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun) has succeeded for longer than F4. Hong Kong does not have any platform that can cultivate artists long term. As new media arrive, the situation can be changed. - KWOK HIN CHING 3. TA KUNG PAO, JANUARY 20 2008, LIGHT SHADOW PATH SCREEN WRITERS NEED LIFE EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE IMAGINATION Hollywood's screen writer strike has dimmed the Golden Globe Awards. The entire cause and effect have been covered in the entertainment pages. Now industry workers urge screen writers to return to work as soon as possible so colleagues of other positions can work and avoid unemployment. This writer strike fully demonstrates their weight in the film and television industries and also led to columnists' different angle discussions about the profession of screen writers. Some feel that screen writers depend on "talent" that cannot be learned; some also say that learning screen writing is learning to "live". Which one is right? One of the screenplay creation is "within reason, outside expectation". The reason part has to rely on experience. To young people who on average do not have enough life experience this is the most difficult part because the lack of experience has to depend on information research to make up for. Also people who cannot write "within reason" are the ones who have lost contact with the audience and have lost touch with the society. Thus romantic novel that are the same every time appears. These stories are beyond the mortal world. Actually, life experience does not only assist creativity but also is very important to performance. Once when an acting student performs poorly and the instructor urges him to date as soon as possible (obviously he lacks experience in this area). Life honing is the most important lesson in life, this is the so-called learning to "live". As for "outside expectation" it is more technical so it absolutely can be learned and taught. Most recently the writer has discussed screenplay creation with a group of young people and realized that some things that they have learned from lessons could not avoid some flaw but their performance was pleasing and proved that screen writing can be learned and taught. A screen writing student recently brought some plant seeds from Southeast Asia that can be placed in food for a very fragrant and heavy flavor. Thus she thought of a story in which the lead imports some seeds to put in drinks so customers would become "addicted". This is a story that is created from experience from life plus imagination. Creativity and life are inseparable, and imagination is the most basic way. However, this story also has its unreasonable places. The beverage is so popular that it attracts police attention. The problem of this part is when no crime (or commercial crime) has occurred, the police would not take the initiative to investigate. This type of reason error of judgement commonly happens to new screen writers, this is also the problem of life experience and not a very severe flaw. Thus, learning screen writing (creativity) is learning to "live", but also learning screen writing technique. Neither one can be missed. - TIN LIK 4. MING PAO DAILY, JANUARY 19 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS FILM BOX OFICE IS CHILLER THAN THE WEATHER January 16's Hong Kong box office chills to the bone more than the cold temperature. That day no one movie made over than 100,000, the same went for both Chinese and foreign films. Wednesday box office was always lower, but such a low was somewhat ridiculous. Why? After the Christmas and New Year holidays, theoretically the box office would be lighter. With the upcoming Lunar New year, new film releases during this empty slot would not be too strong because the New year strong films have not left the cinemas and the Lunar New Year films have not been released yet. Chilly weather and more alternative new films have harmed the box office but instead have helped television rating. You can compare the numbers for yourself. Wong Kar Wai's MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS in an extremely light market became that day's box office champion with 51,450 on 14 screens, which was considered decently. Wong Kar Wai film's Hong Kong box office has never been high. Even with top stars from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan they still only made 7 to 8 million. With this foreign film the anticipation was not too high. After two weeks in release it made 2.41 million, which actually was also very reasonable. ALIENS VS. PREDATOR on Wednesday only made 88,142. After 3 weeks it was only on 36 screens, with much lower admission rate the MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS' 14 screens. Hong Kong did not have too many viewers who appreciate Wong Kar Wai films but he indeed is a top international director. His film style has influenced many film professionals. Hong Kong should be proud of him. MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS is not hard to understand at all. Music and visuals are rather romantic, a good film that is worthy of appreciation recently. Another romance LINGER (WU DIP FEI) has another director who is full of personal style Johnnie To Kei Fung at the helm. LINGER after a week only had 887,000. On Wednesday on 22 screens it made 73,900, which truly was not considered good. This time To Kei Fung used the China Taiwan pairing of "Jai Jai" Vic Chou Yu Man and Mainland star Li Bingbing, which obviously was not made for Hong Kong as its primary market. Its success or failure should depend on China and Taiwan. To Kei Fung who abandoned masculinity, dark and strange style this time was anti romantic under a romantic banner, a very daring attempt and a very strong contrast to Wong Kar Wai's MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS. - KWOK HIN CHING 5. MING PAO DAILY, JANUARY 18 2008, PETER CHAN HO SUN WOULD NOT WASTE A LIFETIME FOR FILM Peter Chan Ho Sun knows the most about holding down stars, truly directing them to act and achieve infective emotions. With each viewing of ALAN AND ERIC: BETWEEN HELLO AND GOODBYE (SEUNG SING GOO SI), each time Eric Tsang Chi Wai passed away in his sleep the wound always acts up; seeing again COMRADES ALMOST A LOVE STORY (TIM MUT MUT)'s New York reunion also is repairing our wounds. The world has no perfect director. Chan Ho Sun can be more touching and more heart warming, but he knows that his production rate is lacking. After over 20 years in the business and 16 years as a director, THE WARLORDS (TAU MING JONG) is only his 11th film, but he is the most apt with quality over quantity! Once people worry that he would get lost with big productions. Luckily money has not blinded him and he has not forgotten about love and honor. He understands that even with cast and crew of thousands more, characters and stories are the true emotional nuclei. Chan Ho Sun says, today's market is the worst in history. He is very concerned, more so than over a decade ago when he only had HK$2000 monthly to live on! As everyone is looking for survival in the bad market, he has already learned that if he wants something done he has to do it himself. On the millennium year he founded Applause Pictures and united Asian power in a series of shots that had shocking efficiency! He is too certain that hot blood and persistence are behind success, only then would movies touch people. Thus whether directing or producing he spends just as much effort and loses just as much sleep and appetite. He thinks that he would serve film for a lifetime, but perhaps due to age or his daughter he gradually realizes that film is not all of life. After the 300 million big production THE WARLORDS his distance with film instead has grown so far apart! Peter Chan's Directions 1991 ALAN AND ERIC BETWEEN HELLO AND GOODBYE (SEUNG SING GOO SI) 1993 HE AIN'T HEAVY HE'S MY FATHER (SUN LAN HING LAN DAI), TOM DICK AND HAIRY (FUNG CHUN SAM HUP) 1994 HE IS A WOMAN SHE IS A MAN (GUM JI YUK YIP) 1996 COMRADES ALMOST A LOVE STORY (TIM MUT MUT), WHO'S A MAN WHO'S A WOMAN (GUM JI YUK YIP 2) THE AGE OF MIRACLE (MA MA FAN FAN) 1999 LOVE LETTER (US) 2002 THREE: GOING HOME (SAM GAN ji WU GA) 2005 PERHAPS LOVE (YU GOR OI) 2007 THE WARLORDS (TAU MING JONG) Hong Kong's Final Asset J: JET P: Peter Chan J: Hong Kong's famous directors more and more only accepts Mainland media interviews. Has the Hong Kong market started to be completely discriminated against? P: It's not discrimination. You only need to pay attention to Mainland magazines to know that they truly have quality. Yesterday at a Hong Kong event I just accepted a very cute little girl's interviews. Very obviously she has no interest in the entire matter. When she asks questions she seems to be daydreaming. Everyone is only providing the usual stuff to promote. She doesn't understand the film content and wouldn't study deeper, purely because her superior orders her to do the task. This interview then becomes something that is no fun at al. Thus the lack of interview in Hong Kong is not because of Mainland's large market. When I do interviews I want to be happy too. J: What final asset does Hong Kong film still have? P: Talent, and not just technical but to film theory. Hong Kong people's film knowledge is deeper than Thailand and Korea's. This must be accumulated over ages and ages. Hong Kong film professionals are the most talents in "cutting corners". Sometimes cutting corners is a great way for another way, to complete something in the most economically beneficial way. This is what we have successfully trained after 20 or 30 years. Film ultimately is a cost effective industry. Even though today's market is unhealthy it is still a very valuable advantage. On the other hand, Hong Kong has always thought that because of how developed its film industry is it is not looking to improve. In other words the richer it gets the lazier it gets. Thailand's industry is not considered thriving but it puts a lot of effort into making the process well. For example their sound effect actually is not cheaper than Hong Kong's but the effects are much more outstanding than Hong Kong's and has world class quality. Japan, Australia's quality would be even higher than Thailand, but in comparison they are cheaper than Thailand. So today Thailand is not only in film, they are also producing many ads. The entire world is their clientele. J: Over these five years Korean films continue to thrive, which revelation does that have for Hong Kong film? P: Back then Korea in order to protect its nationals film restricted each screen to at least show 146 days of local films, even when the box office is zero it still has to continue to show them. This ratio before the Korean film take off made most cinemas empty. Each time a Korean film was released it had no viewer. In recent years Korean film's national revenue has long ago exceeded foreign films. That 146 days quota actually only existed in name. From a cinema business stance, they would rather show more Korean films. Korean films' annual release days have already surpassed 200. The most dramatic is earlier Korean government in order to exchange benefits with the U.S. deliberately gives in and lowers the quota to 70 some days. Actually it is purely a gesture. Finally it still leads to Korean film industry protests against the authority's drastic reduction in the quota system. Today they obviously do not need this quota system but they are not looking at right now. Their eyes are on 20 years later, they have to protect the business 20 years later. This type of foresight at peace we Hong Kong people would never have in a lifetime! Yet these have not made Korean film take off, really making Korean film take off was the 80s open policy change. As the military government exited and Kim Dae-Jung came to power, the people had a resurrection emotion. This situation was very similar to our 80s new wave. After the riot, 70s economy took off. Everyone was full of hope in Hong Kong. Culture, Advertising, magazine and film, almost every industry was good. Yet I can tell you, Korea in recent days seems to have lost that air and has shown some signs of decline. Hates Special Privilege Life J: Chan Ho Sun almost is the last Hong Kong director to enter Mainland, then he seems to follow the general direction and made a several hundred thousand production. How do you feel? P: I am very conflicting with Mainland, I have never been willing to make movies in Mainland. I am almost the last director to head north. Today's I am truly working in Mainland. Many are buying property in Mainland. My movies have to shoot in Mainland but I can't adjust to live in Mainland. Ultimately the social pace is different, people's mentality and civic knowledge differ. It is not a difference between good or bad, it is just different. I am already several decades old, learning a new format anew is very hard. I don't like special privilege, yet with life in Mainland civic order doesn't matter. As long as you have special privilege you can abuse others; without it you can only be abused. I have a lot of love-hate like this for Mainland. Mainland magazines put an effort into film reporting and director interviews, newspapers have full page commentary and article that truly discuss films. Ordinary people would read them too. In Hong Kong no one would write anything like that because no one would read them. No one would like to interview directors and talk about movies, basically no one cares. Filmmaking has never been a smooth process, especially with the ever changing and improvising work format that I am used to. A completed screenplay would incessantly be changed, and I wouldn't stop until the final second. I am always finishing movies under an uneasy and intense atmosphere. Now the bigger the production is naturally the greater the pressure is. With 2,000 to 3,000 people on the set, a two second decision delay would make everyone very tense because every second is money. Actually the stress is enormous and the process is very healthy. Mainland productions are used to a lot of people. Because of cheap labor cost each job would be very specifically assigned. For example a job is called life producer, the person is responsible for our daily meals, soup and beverages, desserts; which is impossible in Hong Kong. In Mainland PERHAPS LOVE had 200 to 300 people, in Hong Kong at most it would have only 50 to 60 people. This time THE WARLORDS had over 800 people at most, of 1,500 extras. Everyday over 2,000 people worked, even meal time took awhile. Beastly Era J: From BLOOD BROTHERS (CHI MA) to THE WARLORDS, what happened? P: THE WARLORDS comes from one of the four famous Qing Dynasty cases that Director Chang Cheh has made before. It also has been made into a television series and is a household story. The story itself is somewhat flimsy, mainly about the relationships between brothers. Yet I did a little research and discovered the story had a strong historical background, the rise of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. The 14 year long Heavenly Kingdom of Great peace war killed over 70 million, this figure tied the entire world's death toll in the Second World War and an extremely painful tragedy in China's history. In such a painful war, the story had a lot of room for development. Finally I wrote the story anew and only kept the story's basic structure. The characters' names and later even the title were changed. The Chinese title came from THE WATER MARGIN (SHUI FU JUEN). When 108 good people went to the mountain and became highway robbers, each had to conduct a ceremony that resembled a gang initiation. They had to hand in an application, to kill an outsider in a show of loyalty, express that each person had blood on his or her hands, can join in the dirty deeds and at the same time end all alternative for anyone who joined. Actually this is very excessive and cruel. I turned it into a beastly world, they killed people like lions and tigers feeding on other animals -- rules of nature. Under such a time, people would become beasts as morality would turn upside down. They could treat their own people very well, but they would go to other villages to rob, rape and kill; like in THE GODFATHER, Marlon Brando at home is a great old man, but on the street he becomes a mob leader who kills without even a blink of an eye. Using this era that made 70 million people lose their lives to tell the story of several brothers in a mob film like package, I felt it would be interesting. J: In recent years hundred million big productions were all criticized to all scars and bruises. When you made THE WARLORDS did you have demonstration in mind? In it could Chan Ho Sun still be found? P: Don't say demonstration, first I don't feel that those big films are hard to watch. The criticism is a little much. I still feel THE WARLORDS has Chan Ho Sun's stuff in it, but many people feel otherwise. I believe people who are familiar with me would recognize it. I originally would worry that the film would not resemble mine, I constantly ask people. Yet from another angle, when a 40 something person suddenly made a movie that didn't resemble himself, something like a new start would be decent too. In the past I have made many romantic films. I feel in love no one is bad, villain wouldn't exist. Even the dumper only falls out of love earlier. This time you dump someone, next year someone may dump you. Even when the experience is tragic no one is necessarily bad. This time is my first non romance, everyone is a little bad, everyone has an extra layer of darkness and would truly stab in the back. In the film Andy Lau Tak Wa and Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo) are beasts, but they are naive; Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit) himself is an intellectual who hopes to instruct them into human, but when they start to understand human nature he realize that Lee Nin Kit is the real beast. The film couldn't avoid many very vicious and bloody scenes, but the production process was very pleasant. Perhaps I used this film to enter middle age. Most people are very angry when they are young and turn more gentle in their middle age, but when I was young I was not angry at all. From childhood to adulthood I never hit anyone and no one has hit me. Yet perhaps secretly I have accumulated 20 years of repressed emotions. With THE WARLORDS I expressed my view on the dangerous side of human nature. Only when the film was made would I understand even more. Male Honor, So Fake! J: Do you believe in the so-called honor between men? P: So fake, since I was little I have already watched A BETTER TOMORROW (YING HUNG BOON SIK) many times. Their honor actually just romanticized human nature. I don't drink. Some friends who drink after a few would call each other brothers and say "you are my best friends". If you are sitting next to them without drinking, you actually get goosebumps. These friends are Mark Gor Ho Gor. Yet when they are not drinking are they still Mark Gor Ho Gor? Thus THE WARLORDS took the past hero film's honor, though further. Since today they had to kill outsiders to become brothers, in the end they definitely would have to kill their own! It could be said as using hero film as an irony. In their world when they wore honor around their mouths, all the stabbing back and forth were between brothers around them! (Don't you even believe in friendship?) Friendship is another matter, it doesn't need to be spoken and doesn't need to be armed. I started with friendship movies, ALAN AND ERIC and CURRY AND PEPPER are all about male good friends, but I actually don't have any good friend. Maybe I am too busy, since I got into the business I have been busy for 20 years. In this half a year I only spent half the time in Hong Kong, maybe today I fly to finish the job and leave the next day. A late flight would be even better. Now I have a daughter at home, while in Hong Kong I would try as much time to be with her as possible. I really don't have time for friends. J: After completing such a large production, does everything comes easier to you? P: I feel very conflicted. In certain areas I am confident, and in some areas I feel uneasy. I have never liked to make big productions. I also have never liked to communicate with people too much. The most comfortable is after explaining to a few actors and the cinematographer then start shooting. The problem is everyone is used to watching DVD. If a movie is not attractive enough to bring viewers into the cinema, breaking even is very hard. Now even DVD is dropping because it can be rented. The government doesn't have any regulation, which makes DVD revenue drastically decline. Perhaps for the price of GOLDEN CHICKEN (GUM GAI)'s DVD rights then today I could buy a movie on the production level of THE WARLORDS! This made the movies and distribution had to be even greater, or perhaps rely on gimmick. LUST, CAUTION (SIK, GAI) had to sell gimmick too. When other companies were all making movies in Mainland, I spent five times, grind my teeth and made Hong Kong films, but even if we wanted to make a Hong Kong inspirational film I still had to choose the prostitute gimmick to make GOLDEN CHICKEN. Finally it only had the Hong Kong market revenue and at most broke even. This environment was very different from the movies that I liked in the 80s. I liked stories that were told slowly, that didn't need to be very special but I would be very touched when I watched it. When I made COMRADES ALMOST A LOVE STORY I used this method. Everyone had a lot of fun making it. Unfortunately this type of movies couldn't survive today. Even if I make another COMRADES ALMOST A LOVE STORY, everyone definitely would wait to watch DVD. I want to make small movies, but the market doesn't permit me. When I spent 15 million to make a movie, I have 90% chance of losing money; but when I made 150 million movie, I have 80% chance of making money! Big movie production to me is a necessity, in economic benefits, career strategy and development direction have practical needs. Making big movies doesn't necessarily have to abandon the maker's own unique quality, most importantly the maker couldn't go overboard. Some directors would obsess with the thousands of soldiers and horses in the background and forget about the story's center figure drama. Yet my personality is the complete opposite, even with several thousand soldiers and horses in the background, I would focus on the story of the three people in front of me. The rest would be left to assistant director and action director, so to me it has no difference. I am still making small movies. J: The Hong Kong economy in recent years has truly thrived, but why does Hong Kong film's recovery pace seem to be completely out of proportion? P: Hong Kong film's worst is now! In 97 I went to the U.S., 97 and 98 were the worst two years. 99 was a little better, 00 and 01 had technology internet with more financing for movies. Everyone was working but the box office was still bad. 02 with INFERNAL AFFAIRS (MO GAN DOH) was decent, but starting with 03 the numbers have dropped straight past the point when I could no long do what I did in 01 and 02. My Asian collaboration five to six years ago actually were rather successful. THE EYE (GEIN GWAI) was very successful, JAN DARA and THREE (SAM GAN) were decent. At least they received cinema scheduling. Now they might even get that because cinemas have already started to show signs of monopoly. Later alternative films would not easily have a schedule. From Son To Father J: Fully knowing that you can't possibly stop working, why did you finally decide to have a child? P: I knew I was busy, I never planned to have a child. Later we reached a step when we both wanted one, I wouldn't be busy for a lifetime! In addition I started to want to be not busy, I never had that thought before. (Sandra Ng) Kwan Yu knew me very well and said to me, "You can try to do nothing and sit down for a month, you definitely would be antsy!" Not busy doesn't mean retirement but all new adjustment, putting life's priority in a different place. I don't know yet what kind of father I would be, I believe I would be a good father. I would provide a lot of ideas but wouldn't ask her to agree with them. Most important is to teach her to be open-minded, to be objective and know others as well as herself. I would give her absolute freedom, let her do whatever she wants to do and to see. I believe that as long as parents teach well, there is no need for inspection. The world has film censors because parents are irresponsible or don't have even qualification to teach. J: You have watched movies with your father since a very young age, he could be considered your inspirational mentor? P: When I was little I would watch movies with Pa because he probably didn't have any place to put me so he forced me to watch. Not just in movies, he has been very important to everything in my life. Our relationship has even great. Since childhood he has had an enormous influence on me, which was also the reason that I didn't want a child before. I was afraid that I could be like this role example. Due to Papa's education, my life has been very balanced. Then in movies everything was good, unless other young directors' darkness and pain. This perhaps lowered my film's art value but at least I am a healthy person. Middle Age Director Crisis J: So far, which film do you consider as the most satisfying? P: I am not sure, but COMRADES ALMOST A LOVE STORY should be my most satisfying work now! J: Which was the first movie that you liked from the heart? P: My first favorite film was the Lau Ka Cheung directed OI DIK TIN DEI. I was a Yung Sin Yuk fan, at the time I was around 11 and constantly calculated how old she would be when I grew up. I even clipped all the newspaper ads. This film imitated THE SOUND OF MUSIC a little, about a girl who went to a country village to teach children and finally died due to terminal illness. It was very touching, hitting exactly where we liked older girls. J: As a director, when was your lowest point? P: My life has been considerably smooth. I haven't been rich but I am not poor either. The lowest point should be when TOM DICK HAIRY (FUNG CHUN SAM HUP) was just completed and not yet released, UFO had a lot of crises because it made too few movies. This was a problem that has lingered for ten years. My movies were considered successful, made money, their box office hit rate might have been higher than anyone else's, but due to the company's overall cost fewer released naturally were not economical. Originally UFO planned to make five movies in a year, finally it only made DAYS OF BEING DUMB (AH FEI YU AH GEI). The next year it decided to make TOM DICK AND HAIRY and almost used up all of its ammunition. All paid had to be stopped including mine. At the time I wasn't considered too poor, but I started to have to calculate expenses. Aside from frequent costs, each month I only had 2,000 to live on. Of course as soon as the film was release, it was already another matter. Everything that I have right now started with TOM DICK AND HAIRY. J: Have you thought that I would make movies until this age? P: When I made TOM DICK AND HAIRY at 30, I worried too much. I constantly mentioned pre mid life crisis with friends and finally I haven't run into mid life crisis. In the past I always thought that old age was very far from me, time passed very slowly and seemed abundant. In the 60s the Beatles started to rule the world in 64 and disbanded in 70. In between they played GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, in the end John Lennon died at the age of 40. He was only truly famous for 16 or 17 years, which felt like a century of experience. Recently newspapers all talked about Golden Harvest's 30 years of glory. I grew up watching Golden Harvest, which felt like a 60 or 70 year empire but actually it only lasted 20 to 30 years. Then came the second half of life, seemingly it was nothing but time passed very quickly and couldn't be faster. Earlier I always treated myself as a new director, but after returning from the U.S. suddenly a group of young actors like Nicholas Tse Ting Fung and Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi and new directors rose and everyone started to call me a veteran. In the blink of an eye I was already life's final 20 years. Commercial film director might be able to survive until 55, of course there were exceptions. Ridley Scott worked until 70. Yet I believe most famous directors definitely would not be happy late in life. Most recently Ingmar Bergman and Antonioni died, Akira Kurosawa has attempted suicide. They have once made such great movies. Although they still worked until they were old, they would see that their work late in life would not return to form of the past, how could they be happy! I don't want to walk the same road as them. Previously film in my life was extremely important, so important that everything else became unimportant. Yet now I feel I can't, now I hope to be able to reduce my workload in half, that film in my life becomes less and less important. I want to spend more time to absorb the world, experience my daughter's growth, I don't want to in the end live for film for the entire life and waste it! Long Hair Round Glasses Ng Kwan Yu on the radio calls me Long Hair, at home of course she wouldn't call me that. Around 89 I started to grow my hair long, only in 94 before HE IS A WOMAN SHE IS A MAN (GUM JI YUK YIP)'s release I cut it short once and only once. I was turning 30 soon at that time, I always felt that 30 was very old. From then on I couldn't grow my hair long anymore. I long for the 60s. I feel in the 60s the entire world was the best, Beatles, Flower Child, student movements, this was where my heart laid. I regret very much that I was born ten years late. When I grew up I hated John Travolta's SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER era. I would like myself to be Tsui Hark's generation the most, so many friends are older than me. I really want to go back to that era that doesn't belong to me so I keep trying life that I haven't experienced, long hair, round glasses, in the end I kept everything until today. Now they have already become habits. Everyone thought that having long hair would be very troublesome. Actually it was very simple, I go out after washing my hair. I don't need to blow dry or comb, and only need to cut every three months. Round glasses of course have to do with John Lennon. Sometimes I would change them, but after all I ultimately still liked round glasses the most. Yet in recent years round glasses were hard to get. As soon as I found a good pair I would get several. Now the more basic something is the harder it is to buy. - Ben, Sing 6. MING PAO DAILY, JANUARY 18 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS HONG KONG FILM STANDARDS BEHIND THE TIMES Hollywood screenwriter striker has made the Golden Global award into a press conference. The Oscar perhaps may be affected. The U.S. screenwriter has such power, proving that screenplay whether in movies or television programs is very important and can gain even greater benefits. In comparison to Hong Kong, U.S. screen writers now enjoys benefits that are already great. If their current benefits are obtained, local screen writers may already be extremely satisfied. Why would they ask for even higher video and internet download profit sharing? This is exactly one of the problem when Hong Kong film creativity is weak. When screenwriters do not have good benefits, no talent can be attracted to join the business. Still some film investors feel good screenplays should come first before the overall screen writers' benefits should be elevated. Instead they are not stingy with money that is spent on stars and other productions. this is also the reason that viewers in certain movies are able to see big stars, elegant costumes, grand scenes but pale screenplays. Any movie's budget can tell how pitifully little the investment is made on screenplay. Screenplay cost is not only low but lacks other benefits as well. Hollywood screenwriters have profit sharing as well as creative rights outside film, but on average Hong Kong screen writers have nothing at all. When they are paid for the screenplay in full they are already very lucky. Hong Kong does not just have its film industry now. In the 80s it already has had a glorious period, but its copyright standards are still very behind the times. Now film bosses are still curious about why after paying for the screenplay not all of its rights would belong to the film company. No matter how you explain to them they still do not understand that this screenplay cost is only for the use of one movie and is entitled to overseas video release profit sharing. Not only screen writers, Hong Kong stars also rarely have profit sharing. Few with profit sharing reduce salary before hand as investment in the film. It is not a real profit sharing standard. Hollywood film professionals have real unions, Hong Kong only have social organizations that do not have any real power. A strike like Hollywood's for not is impossible. - KWOK HIN CHING [ In Production Now/Soon ] Can : Ngor Dik Jui Oi Lit : My Most Beloved d. Yip Lim Sum Alex Fong Lik Sun, Stephy Tang Lai Yun, Miki Yeung Oi Kun, Hu Qingnan (Wu Ching Nam), Alice Tsang Hoi Won Can : Bo Chi Tung Wa Lit : Keep In Touch d. Benny Chan Muk Sing Louis Koo Tin Lok, Barbie Shui (Tsui Hei Woon), Liu Ye Can : Ngor Lo Por Hai Doh Sing Lit : My Old Lady Is Gambling Saint Nick Cheung Ka Fai, Meng Yao Can : Ching Tai Lit : Moss d. Kwok Chi Kin Shawn Yue Man Lok, Terry Fan Siu Wong, Shaun Tam Chun Yin Can : Oi Ching Man Shui Lit : Love Hail Yumiko Cheng Hei Yi, Ken Hung Cheuk Lap, Yan Ng Yat Yin, Chow Pak Ho, Sherman Chung Shu Man Can : Cha Ji Nui Lit : Woman of Investigation d. Alan Mak Siu Fai Sammi Cheng Sau Man, Eason Chan Yik Shun Can : Si Lim Lit : Reminisce d. Wai Ka Fai Lau Ching Wan, Kelly Lin (Lam Hei LUi), Yan Qing, Jo Kuk Cho Lam RUN PAPA RUN Can : Hak Ba Ba Lit : Black Papa d. Sylvia Chang (Cheung Ngai Ga) Louis Koo Tin Lok, Rene Liu (Lau Yeuk Ying) Official Site : www.emp.hk [ OFFICIAL SITE ] Raised by a single mother in a crime-ridden neighborhood, Lee has risen from street punk to successful syndicate crime boss. Fast money and women have always come easily to Lee, but Lee unexpectedly falls in love with a lawyer named Mabel. When Mabel becomes pregnant, Lee panics. Determined to make the relationship the work, Mabel moves into his apartment uninvited. Mabel's persistence pays off when their child Heiyi is born - Lee's paternal instincts are awakened and he is transformed into a doting father. Desperate to protect his new family, Lee conceals the true nature of his business. His gang members undergo an image makeover and to all outward appearances Lee is now legitimate businessman. Lee is selected to be the next kingpin of the underworld, and he is torn between family and brotherhood. His relationship with the three women in his life: his mom, his wife and his daughter, changes his life perspective, and he is determined to make things right once and for all. Can : Giu, Won Lit : Call, Soul Grace Ip Pui Man, Carl Ng Ka Lung, Jolie Chan Yuen Kei, Raymond Wong Ho Yin, Chucky Wood Gei Lan, Kwok Hoi San Can : Duet Shui d. Law Sau Yiu Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Danny Lee Sau Yin, Simon Yam Tat Wa, Maggie Siu Mei Kei, Pinky Cheung Man Chi, Jason Wu Jing, Ken Low Wai Kwong, Heung Jor, Tian Niu, Yen Wing San Can : Ang Hong Lit : Tough Guy Anthony Wong Chau Sun, Ellen Chan Nga Lun, Liu Ye, Sun Honglei THE J AND J PROJECT Can : Gong Fu ji Wong Lit : King of Gong Fu Jackie Chan, Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit), Crystal Liu Yifei, Li Bingbing FANTASTIC WATER BABES Can : Chook Shui Fu Yung Lit : Out of Water Hibiscus d. Jeff Lau Chun Wai Gillian Chung Yun Tung, Alex Fong Lik Sun, Stephen Fung Tak Lun, Tian Liang, Eva Huang Shengyi, Official Site : www.emp.hk [ OFFICIAL SITE ] A beautiful and cocky swimmer Jill and her teammates kidnaps Alex, Hong Kong's champion swimmer, in order that he can train her to win a duel against her rival in swimming and in love. All hell breaks loose when hate at first sight inadvertently becomes something else... Can : Kit Ji Lit : Scorpion d. Joe Ma Wai Ho Sam Lee Chan Sam, Emme Wong Yee Man, Leung Siu Lung, Miki Mizuno (Shui Yeh Mei Gei), Nana Natsume (Ha Muk Noi Noi) Can : Hat Sei Nei Lit : Scare You To Death Sam Lee Chan Sam, Elanne Kong Yeuk Lam, Tommy Yuen Man On Can : Hok Hau Hak Sai Lik Lit : School Mob Power Jordan Chan Siu Chun, Lee Si Pui, Annie Man Chung Han, Lui Hoi Yun Ada Wong Chi Hom, Timmy Hung Tin Ming Can : Goo Mo Mui Ying Lit : Ancient Tomb Phantom d. Chan Kwoon Wai Chin Kar Lok, Yuen Wah, Candy Lo Hau Yam Can : SI GUONG DOI LAU DIK WA Lit : IF TIME FLOWS BACKWARD d. Mak Kai Kwong Fiona Sit Hoi Kei, Kenny Kwan Chi Bun, Yan Ng Yat Yin, Ken Wong Hap Hei, Karen Tong Bo Yu NEW PERFECT EDUCATION Can : Sun Gum Sut Pui Yuk ji Oi Dik Fu Lo Lit : New Chamber Cultivated Desire: Captive of Love d. Ng Man Lik Kaori Sakagami (Ban Seung Heung Jik) Tony Ho Wa Chiu, Vonnie Lui Hoi Yu Can : Jin Fu Lit : War Tiger Eric Tsang Chi Wai, Kristy Yang Kung Yu, Julian Cheung Chi Lam, Lam Ka Tung, Candy Yu On On, Guo Xinqi (Kwok Sam Kei), Jason Chu Wing Tong, Koey Leung Shuet Mei, Iris Wong Yat Tung, Pavarit Mongkolpisit Nahatai Lekbumrung, Yunee Can : Mo Yau 24 Siu Si Lit : Worry Free 24 Hours Chiu Chung Yu, Natalie Ng Man Yan, Simon Loui Yu Yeung, Siu Chuen Yung, Carl Ng Ka Lung, Libby Lao Kuai Ieng Can : Nui Kuen Wong Lit : Female Fist King Diana Pang Tan, Angie Cheong Wei Yee, Lai Yiu Cheung, Emi Tojo (Dung Sing Gong Mei) Mizuho Ishikawa (Shek Chuen Mei Jung Shui) --- [ NOW SHOWING ] Info from Mov3.com (http://www.mov3.com), Ryan's Hong Kong Movie DataBase (http://www.hkmdb.com), Korean Movie Database (http://www.krmdb.com), Cinema Thai (http://www.cinemathai.com), Hong Kong Entertainment News In Review (http://www.hkentreview.com), Internet Movie DataBase (http://www.imdb.com) [ COMING SOON ] THE SPARROW Can : Man Jeuk Lit : Cultured Bird d. Johnnie To Kei Fung Simon Yam Tat Wa, Kelly Lin (Lam Hei Lui), Lam Ka Tung, Lam Suet, Kate Tsui Tsz Shan [ GOLDEN SCREEN CINEMAS ONLINE ] They are known as the "sparrows", Hong Kong's street slang for "pickpockets". They work in groups, lifting wallets from unsuspecting tourists until one day an irresistible woman of unknown origin appears before them and requests the gang to steal a key for her. The set up begins to unravel itself when the mission completes. The pickpockets realize this exotic beauty has been slowly leading them onto a path of no return. BREATH d. Kim Ki-Duk Chang Chen, Zia, Ha Jung-Woo [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] On a cold winter day, after learning her husband has found a new woman, Yeon absent mindedly heads for the prison where Chen is confined. Although she does not know him personally, repeated news of his suicide attempts on TV has subconsciously grown in her mind and now is leading her to seek him. Jin has no visitors and normally would not agree to meet with a complete stranger, but hearing that it is a woman he accepts her meeting request out of curiosity. Their first meeting is as awkward as it can get. Yeon treats Jin like an old friend whereas Jin does not open up so easily. CJ7 AKA : SEVEN AKA : YANGTZE RIVER 7 Can : Cheung Gong 7 Ho d. Stephen Chow Sing Chi Stephen Chow Sing Chi, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Lam Tsz Chung Opening January 31 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] A down on his luck father takes his son to a broken down home as the entire family relies on his father's physical labor for a living. He also constantly picks up trash for home use. Papa has high hopes for his son to get into a star school and risks his life to pay the high tuition; the son due to his poor family background is often the subject of ridicule for teachers and students alike. Only the pretty and kind teacher Ms. Yuen never gives up on him and takes great care of him. Watching his classmates with the new technology toy dog CJ7, the envious son constantly asks Papa to get one for him. The empty pocked Papa can only bring up a plastic ball from the dump as a gift. Unexpectedly, this ball turns into a lovably alien with extraordinary abilities! The son names this new friend CJ7 and even brings it to school as his companion behind his father's back in hopes of teaching bullying classmates a lesson and resolve all difficult problems at school. KUNG FU DUNK Can : Guoon Lam Lit : Slam Dunk d. Kevin Chu Yin Ping Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun), Charlene Choi Cheuk Yin, Chen Bo-Lin (Chan Pak Lam), Eric Tsang Chi Wai, Opening February 7 2007 [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] Shi-Jie, grew up in a martial arts school and is well-trained in kung-fu. With his kung-fu skills and good reflexes, Shi-Jie excels in basketball by mastering the slam dunk technique. Wang-Li, who is trying to locate Shi-Jie's real family, invites him to join the university's basketball team in hope of making some money. Shi-Jie faces new challenges while trying to blend in with the basketball team members Ting-Wei and Xiao-Lan. With the upcoming basketball championship and the appearance of Li-Li, will the team members set aside their differences and personal feelings for the love of the game? L: CHANGE THE WORLD d. Hideo Nakata (Jung Tin Sau Fu) Kenichi Matsuyama (Chung San Yin Yat), Youki Kudoh (Gung Tung Jik Gwai) Opening February 9 2008 THE EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS Can : Gong San Mei Yun Lit : Kingdom Beauty d. Ching Siu Tung Kelly Chen Wai Lam, Donnie Yen Chi Tan, Leon Lai Ming, Guo Xiaodong, (Kau Jun Hoi) Opening March 1 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] Amid a war, Princess Feier whose father died in battle took over the duty of protecting her nation with General Xuefu. Later traitor Hu Ba assassinated and injured the princess, who luckily was saved by Duen Lanchuan. They fell for each other; but with trouble inside and outside how would Feier choose? PLAYBOY COPS Can : Fa Fa Ying Gaing Lit : Flowery Cop d. Jingle Ma Chor Sing Shawn Yue Man Lok, Linda Chung Ka Yun, Chen Kun, Wong Yau Nam, Carl Ng Ka Lung Opening March 6 2008 RULE NUMBER ONE Can : Dai Yut Gai Lit : First Sin d. Tong Wing Kin Dior Cheng Yi Kin, Shawn Yue Man Lok, Fiona Sit Hoi Kei, Stephanie Che Yuen Yuen Opening March 13 2008 in Malaysia [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] Rookie Sergeant Lee is assigned to the dubious-sounding Miscellaneous Affairs Department (MAD), where he is paired with Inspector Wong who explains that MAD's role is to answer to supernatural calls and its Rule #1 is that there are no ghosts; for every seemingly-inexplicable phenomenon, there is a scientific and rational explanation. MAD then begins investigating a string of bizarre teenage suicides. As Lee and Wong follow the clues, they realize that something sinister is heading their way. SHAMO Can : Kwun Gai Lit : Military Chicken d. Soi Cheang Po Shui Shawn Yue Man Lok, Francis Ng Chun Yu, Annie Liu (Lau Sum Yau), Dylan Kuo (Kwok Bun Chiu) Opening March 2008 SNIPER Can : Sun Cheung Sau Lit : Godly Gunslingers d. Dante Lam Chiu Yin Richie Jen (Yam Yin Chai), Edison Chen Koon Hei, Huang Xiaoming Opening March 27 2008 in Malaysia [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] Ming is renowned as the top shooter in the police force. However things get complicated after the release of his former teammate and superb marksman Ching from prison. With only vengeance on his mind, Ching wants to take on Ming and the police, believing that they are the ones who put him in jail. When a mysterious sniper sabotages a high-security prisoner transfer and a convict escapes, Ming and his team are dispatched to profile the suspect. THREE KINGDOMS : RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON Can : Sam Gok Gein Lung Seh Gap Lit : Three Kingdoms See Dragon Remove Armor d. Lee Yan Kong Andy Lau Tak Wa, Maggie Q, Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Vanness Wu (Ng Kin Ho), Ti Lung Opening April 2008 RED CLIFF PART I AKA : BATTLE OF RED CLIFF Can : Chet Bik Lit : Red Cliff d. John Woo (Ng Yu Sum) Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo), Janny Lin Chiling, Vicki Zhao Wei, Chang Chen, Zhang Fengyi, Hu Jun, You Yong Opening July 3 2008 [ CINEMA ONLINE ] In the early third century, the warlord Cao Cao and his soldiers invaded the land of Wu. The ruler of Wu, Sun Quan called on the rival warlord Liu Bei for help, but their two armies were still badly outnumbered. However, strategists Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang see that Cao Cao's army was not used to battling at sea. With 200,000 men, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang defeated Cao Cao's army at the Yangtze River. --- [ Entertainment URL ] EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES http://www.emp.hk GOLDEN SCENE http://www.goldenscene.com SING PAO http://www.singpao.com THE HONG KONG FILM ARCHIVE http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/hkfa/ CHANG CHUN CHINA FILM FESTIVAL http://www.cc-film.com GOLDEN HARVEST http://www.goldenharvest.com STAR EAST http://www.stareastnet.com CITY ENTERTAINMENT http://www.cityentertainment.com.hk Commercial Radio http://www.crhk.com.hk Television Broadcast Limited http://www.tvb.com.hk --- [ NORTH AMERICA AREA CONCERTS ] Courtesy of our neighbors at : High Level Entertainment's Concert & Event News Center http://www.levelhigh.com http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1721/hlecaen.htm * RAYMOND MIU PRODUCTIONS AND TRUMP TAJ MAHAL CASINO RESORT PRESENT LIZA WANG LIVE IN CONCERT 2008 DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, February 24 2008 @ 1AM Sunday, February 24 2008 @ 2PM VENUE LOCATION : Mark G. Etess Arena Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort TICKET PRICCES : $118, 78, 48 EXCLUSIVE BOX OFFICE LOCATION : Raymond Miu Productions 195 Canal Street, Suite 201 New York NY 10013 212.966.0800 www.rmpny.com * DANIEL CHAN HIU TUNG AND NIKI CHOW LAI KEI IN CONCERT 2008 DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, February 17 2008 @ 2AM VENUE LOCATION : Caesars Maximus Theater Caesars Atlantic City Atlantic City NJ TICKET INFORMATION: Caesars Atlantic City 877.284.8786 Harrahs Atlantic City 609.414.5948 Bally's Atlantic City 888.833.3269 Showboat 800.756.8752 * THREE STAR LUAR NEW YEAR CONCERT SAMUEL TAI JING SIU, ELIZA CHAN KIT LING AND CHU MING MING DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, February 10 2008 @ 2AM Sunday, February 10 2008 @ 2PM VENUE LOCATION : Fox Theatre Foxwoods Resort Casino TICKET PRICES : $98, 78, 48 TICKET OUTLET LOCATIONS: CHINATOWN P & M Music 2 Elizabeth St. 212.732.3828 BROOKLYN 5516 8th Avenue 718.666.0740 QUEENS Jessica Holdings 135-27 40th Rd. Suite 301 Flushing 718.460.2628 BOSTON Trans-Pacific Travel 11 Tyler St. Boston MA 02111 617.451.3478 * INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING AND MOHEGAN SUN PRESENT EASON CHAN YIK SHUN EASON'S MOVING ON STAGE 3 DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, February 10 2008 @ 2AM Sunday, February 10 2008 @ 1PM VENUE LOCATION : Mohegan Sun Arena Mohegan Sun 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard Uncasville CT 06382 (860) 862-4002 TICKET PRICES : VIP$138, 108, 78, 58 TICKET OUTLET LOCATIONS : ONLINE : www.iemshowplace.com CHINATOWN 89 Bowery 212.925.1098 FLUSHING International Entertainment Marketing 135-05 40 Road 2/Fl 718.888.3113 BROOKLYN International Entertainment Marketing 5609 8th Avenue 718.437.777 EDISON 1681 Rt. 27 Suite 3 732.819.8883 BOSTON 12A Tyler Street 617.695.1989 * SUPER KEY PRODUCTIONS PRESENT SHARON CHAN MAN CHI AND RAYMOND LAM FUNG LIVE Special Guest: Ma Chin DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, February 10 2008 @ 1AM VENUE LOCATION : Grand Theatre Hilton Casino Resort Atlantic City NJ TICKET PRICES : $118, 78, 48 BOX OFFICE LOCATION : Chinatown SuperKey Production 16 Bowery 4/FL 212.619.2628 www.superkeypro.com 2 Elizabeth Street 212.732.3828 133 East Broadway 212.513.7898 Brooklyn 778 60th Street (8th Avenue) 718.238.1228 Flushing 135-17 40 Road, 3/FL 718.886.8294 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Box office info : What Box Office Info? The usual suspects : MOV3.COM, Internet Movie Database, Yahoo! Hong Kong Erors : ye olde chaffing editor For Tuesday January 22 2008 10 AUGUST RUSH d. Kirsten Sheridan Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Robin Williams 9 ATONEMENT d. Joe Wright James McAvoy, Keira Knightley 8 MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM d. Zach Helm Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman 7 MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS d. Wong Kar Wai Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman 6 RENDITION d. Gavin Hood Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon 5 ELIZABETH : THE GOLDEN AGE d. Shekhar Kapur Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush 4 ATASHIN'CHI THE MOVIE d. Tetsuo Yasumi (Bak Gok Jik Fu) Japanese Animation 3 27 DRESSES d. Anne Fletcher Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Edward Burns, 2 SEE YOU IN YOU TUBE Can : Oi Dau Dai Lit : Love Big Competition d. Chut Tiu Elanne Kong Yeuk Lam, Janice Man Wing San, Law Chung Him, Zoie Tam Hoi Kei, Maggie Lee Man Kwan, Siu Fei, Tommy Yuen Man On 1 CLOVERFIELD d. Matt Reeves Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan ------ Summaries for some of the films above. Some contain SPOILERS ATASHIN'CHI THE MOVIE Rating : I Length : 95 mins. Opening January 17 2008 SEE YOU IN YOU TUBE Opening January 17 2008 [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] Ling and Janice have been friends since childhood. Although they are close, they have a habit of competition to death in school, sports, astrology, botany and dreams. No matter how competitive they get they cannot harm their friendship. When they get to the university, they under different circumstances fall for Chung Him...... ------ GLOBAL CHINESE SONG CHART For Saturday, January 19 2008 15 WOW Bibi Zhou Bichang 14 HE IS IN THE HEART Can : Sum Lui Yau Gor Ta Yu Siyuan 13 WEDDING MARCH Can : Fun Lai Jun Hung Kuk Anson Hu (Wu Yin Bin) 12 HERE I GO Eric Suen Yiu Wai 11 CONCERT Can : Yin Cheung Wui Eason Chan Yik Shun 10 SEARCHING Can : Chum Jau (Chen Chor Sun) 9 HEART Can : Sum Wor Fahrenheit, S.H.E 8 MAN WOMAN Can : Nam Yun Nui Yun Valen Hsu (Hui Yu Wan) 7 RED CARPET Can : Hung Dei Jin Justin Lo (Juk Tin) 6 MY HEAVEN Can : Ngor Dik Tin Hins Cheung King Hin 5 ? Can : Tat Yi Man Tanya Chua (Choi Kin Nga) 4 LOSE TO YOU Can : Bai Cup Nei Alan Luo (Law Chi Cheung), Elva Hsiao (Siu Ah Hin) 3 C'EST LA VIE Jasmine Leong Jing Yu 2 LOVE SONG Fong Datong 1 SUPER SUNSHINE Gary Cao (Cho Gat) ------ [ Yakety Yak ] The views and opinions expressed here are purely those of the writer and in no way reflect those of Hong Kong Film Top 10 Box Office, its contributors and affiliated web sites. NOT SEEIN' THAT LOVIN' YOU IS WHAT I WAS TRYIN' TO DO, Your Chaffing Editor's mood swing has seen more turbulence than your network on bit torrent. Ending any relationship is hard on the heart and soul, but a lesson that the Old Chaffster has learned from this one is that a little love goes on a long way in the healing process. He may just deviate from the detour back to the New Year's Resolution. Spread more love, please. Obviously Your Chaffing Editor is heart broken, which originally is over Baby's departure but his first love (alcohol) numbs that pain. In a drunken stupor, Your Chaffing Editor stumbles into a Manhattan White Castle and discovers that it no longer serves Church's Fried Chicken. Alas, since Your Chaffing Editor has been addicted to BBQ Chicken Beer and Chicken's Korean fried chicken anyway the loss like Baby seems a loss of the idea more than an actual loss. Along the lines of loss, Your Chaffing Editor is somewhat distraught over the passing of Heath Ledger. First of all, he was in one of Old Chaffy's favorite movies 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. Secondly, anyone who played the Joker could not be all bad. Heck, the Chaffster even used BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN as a lesson to foreign visitors why calling someone a cowboy might be dangerous -- not that there is anything wrong with that. Your Chaffing Editor is a little freaked that he seemed to have had similar symptoms of insomnia and depression that he has shown as of late. Old Chaffy also threw himself in front of the bus (whether consciously or not the debate remains up in the air). The Lord always has an interesting way to teach people lessons. Perhaps there is one here that Ye Ole Chaffing Editor should pick up, but darn if he knows what exactly it would be. Anyway, is it wrong for Your Chaffing Editor to change his mind about CLOVERFIELD after all the hype? More specifically, is it wrong for him to want to see TEETH more than CLOVERFIELD even if he would have to pay an arm and a leg for it? Does this make his indie saavy or just plain pervy? (Ladies, go with the latter -- it's for your own good.) Speaking of the ladies, Your Chaffing Editor finally found a commentary that accurately answers any interest or question about his personal life. http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/women_are_way_out_of_my_league Your Chaffing Editor has received a friendly reply in regards to that article already. It goes more like than something out of SAY ANYTHING, "Bitches, man, bitches." Seriously, when one Hong Kong critic's review title was ROTTEN + ROTTEN = ROTTEN, referring to BLAIR WITCH PROJECT + GODZILLA = CLOVERFIELD, Your Chaffing Editor does not have a lot of confidence in the film. Your Chaffing Editor sympathized with the Hollywood writers until the strike hit television. With minimal new scripted shows, Your Chaffing Editor has been more interested in anime on television. Has anyone seen the DEATH NOTE episode in which the way to kill Shinigami is revealed? Perhaps due to Old Chaffy's nonexistent, imaginary situation he was more sympathetic to the Shinigami Jealous. Rem: Never repeat this to anyone. I learn the only way to kill a Shinigami is to make them fall in love with a human Misa: What a beautiful way to kill Rem: There was once a Shinigami named Jealous who spent all of his time watching over a certain human girl. Jealous wanted nothing more than to look at her as she went about her daily life. Rem: It's today, isn't it? Her last day alive? Jealous: She looks so full of life. I wonder why today? It's...it's just not fair Rem: I also wanted to find out how she was going to die, so I stayed and watched with him. It was night time and she was walking alone. No one else was around. And then it happened. A man suddenly appeared and blocked her path. He was clearly infatuated with the girl. Man : I love you more than anyone else in the world. I always wanted you, I want to protect you forever! She had never seen the man before, and of course turned him down Man : If I can't have you, I WILL KILL US BOTH! Rem: Wait, stop it, what are you doing? Without even thinking, Jealous did something that we Shinigami should never do. Jealous used his Death Note to kill the man instantly, and therefore saved the girl's life. It was the wrong thing to do. Shinigami exist only to shorten and take human lives. We aren't permitted to undo that which has been fated. At that moment Jealous became something which was neither sand nor rust and disappeared forever. He died. The only reminder of his existence was his Death Note, left behind. The rest of his life span was added to hers. So not only had he saved her life, he accidentally extended it well beyond its natural end. Misa: So if he had never fallen in love with this girl, he'd probably still be alive today wouldn't he? Rem: That's right Misa: Hmmm, I had no idea. All this time I thought it was luck, but it was a Shinigami who saved my life that day. Rem: Yes, Jealous loved you enough to die for you. So that Death Note is now yours to keep. http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-story-of-jealous/1956091343 Finally, following concerns over last week's West Coast Office hazing debacle, many of you have sent inquiries in regards to the employment status of ChiPpy. Fear not, ChiPpy is still among us; but for how long only time will tell as Top Ten Central has decided to send Alfred, a representative from the Home Office to "oversee" operations. http://www.lazoo.org/about/press/0108/011708harborseal.html In cards and flowers on your window Your friends all plead for you to stay Sometimes beginnings are so simple Sometimes goodbye's the only way Jer Jer Stinks, Your Chaffing Editor Top Ten Central ---------------------- HK Top Ten Central hktopten@hotmail.com | http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/2038