Ten from the 59th Berlinale
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APA Top Ten: Leslie Cheung's Heartbreaker Roles
In remembrance of Leslie Cheung on the sixth anniversary of his passing, APA recounts the top ten works that capture the irresistable heartbreaker persona that audiences came to love him for.
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Exile + J Soul Brothers, together as one.
March 20, 2009: News from Abroad
EXILE expands, Dragon Ball evolves, and John Woo steams up the Pacific. All this and more in the latest edition of News from Abroad.
Exile Wins Gold Disc Awards; J Soul Brothers emerges
For the second year in a row, group EXILE picked up the award for Artist of the Year at Japan's Golden Disc Awards on March 2nd. With their sales totaling 19.8 billion yen, the group sold 870,000 copies of their singles, more than 4.2 million copies of their albums and an additional 9.9 million digital downloads. The day before the awards were announced, the group annouced they would be merging into a 14-member group, joining with the group J Soul Brothers. EXILE was originally known as J Soul Brothers, but took on their current name in 2001. J Soul Brothers was revived in 2007 with seven new members, with EXILE leader Hiro producing. The newly merged group's release will be on April 15, a single titled "THE MONSTER ~Someday~", with a nationwide tour to follow in May. --Kanara Ty
John Woo's new project
Chinese film conglomerate China Film Group confirms that John Woo will direct upcoming project tentatively titled Pacific Steamer. It is being described as a "Titanic of the East" as the story takes place on a sinking steamboat on its way to Taiwan after the civil war ends in mainland China in 1949. Woo is internationally renowned for action films such as A Better Tomorrow, Hard-Boiled, Face-Off, and Mission Impossible II. China Film has not released any further details about Pacific Steamer. --Christine Chiao
Korean World Premiere of Dragon Ball: Evolution
Dragon Ball: Evolution was released for its world premiere on March 12th in Korea. The film quickly topped the Korean box office. The film is directed by James Wong and produced by famous Hong Kong star Stephen Chow. The target audience of the film spans generations, appealing both to the youth of today as well as the young adults internationally who grew up with the original comics and television series. The plotline follows Goku, an alien who, after the destruction of his home planet, grows up on Earth, unaware of his origins. The comic, spanning multiple generations of characters and an incredibly long storyline, remained popular for many years. The film Dragon Ball: Evolution deals with the opening of the story, in which Goku's foster family is killed, and Goku (Justin Chatwin)is sent to seek the help of Master Roshi (International star Chow Yun-Fat) to defeat the evil alien, Piccolo (James Marsters). G.O.D. rapper Park Joon-hyung also stars. --Frederick Stiehl
Shingo Katori to star in final Zatoichi film from Toho
Japanese film studio Toho announced Shingo Katori (of SMAP fame) will take on the role of Zatoichi, the legendary blind swordsman. Director Junji Sakamoto will take charge of the film and filming began recently in Yamagata. This will be the final Zatoichi film. Toho expects the film to open next year, just in time for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, and is also looking for international distribution. The Zatoichi series was originally a set of 26 films starring Shintaro Katsu. It was also adapted as a television series, followed by multiple remakes and adaptations. –-Kanara Ty
German Film Awards honors John Rabe
John Rabe, a historical biopic about the German businessman who saved 200,000 Chinese civilians from the Nanking massacre, is the front-runner for this year's German Film Awards. The film leads with a total of seven nominations. The film is nominated for best film, best director for Florian Gallenberger and a best actor Ulrich Tukur. Steve Buscemi also picked up a nomination as best supporting actor for his role. Other nominations and winter include Uli Edel's Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated terrorist drama The Baader Meinhof Complex, which picked up four Lola nominations, including best film and best actress. Gangster movie Chiko, received a best film nominationsalong with ones for Yildirim's screenplay, lead actor Denis Moschitto and editor Sebastian Thumler. The winners of the 2009 Lolas will be announced on April 24th in Berlin. --Kristie Hang
'Thirst' squelcher
Park Chan-wook's (Old Boy, I'm a Cyborg But That's Ok) latest film Thirst is already attracting considerable controversy... and it's not even out yet. The film's poster, featuring a priest and a woman seductively hanging onto him upside down like a bat, has been publicly banned for being too provocative and disturbing. Due out in April, Thirst is a horror drama film about a young priest who slowly becomes a vampire after a failed medical experiment goes awry. To compound matters, he begins an affair with his friend's wife, who is intensely attracted to his burgeoning bloodlust. Yep, another twisted, macabre romance with a side of violence. Given Park's record, expect to leave the theater disturbed, disgusted, and delightfully entertained. --William Hong
More Acclaim for Yang Ik-joon
Independent film actor and director Yang Ik-joon carried away three more awards for his film Breathless this past week. The first award, given this past Monday at the 11th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France, was the Lotus Award for Best Film, honoring his work Breathless. The piece also won the award for Best Actor at the Las Palmas International Film Festival in Spain for Yang Ik-joon's lead role as Sang-hoon, as well as Best Actress for co-star Kim Kkot-bi. The film centers on the relationship between these two. Sang-hoon, played by Yang, is a young man resentful of his father whom he blames for the death of his mother and sister, and Yeon-hee, played by Kim, is the female adolescent with whom he develops a deep, understanding relationship. Yang is himself a rising star in the international film community, winning the VPRO Tiger Award at the Rotterdam international Film Festival for this debut film. The film has been invited to many other film festivals and will premiere in general theatres in Korea on April 16th. --Frederick Stiehl
GLAY Rocks for Blood
Japanese rock band GLAY has penned the theme song to the live-action remake of the animated film, Blood: The Last Vampire. Titled "I am xxx," the song will be used in all the Asian releases of the film starting on May 29, which includes 11 countries such as Japan, China, and Taiwan. It is not yet announced whether or not it will be used in the American or European releases. Glay' s Takuro commented that the sound is more heavy and dark, in attempt to tell the emotions of the heroine of the film. The single will be released on May 25. –-Kanara Ty
Fembot fashionista makes her debut
Lonely otakus rejoice! Looks like we won't have to wait till the year 3000 to have our fembot fantasies come to life, like Phillip J. Fry did with his beloved Lucy Liu-bot. Japan's latest walking, talking small wonder is a petite 5'2", weighing in at only 95 pounds. Her job? Runway model. But she's not the first Japanese robot to assume a human job. A few weeks earlier, the first Japanese robot teacher made her debut. You can have your very own fembot fashionista when they go on sale for about $200,000. What it a joyful day it'll be when they are available and affordable for the masses. On this momentous occasion, I'd like to relive all my favorite Chobit moments. Oh the possibilities. --William Hong
Korean Music Awards Forges Ahead
The 6th Annual Korea Music Awards were held last week Thursday at Hakchon Green Theater in Seoul. The music awards ceremony faced many financial troubles this year as, in conjunction with the economic crisis, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism withheld 30 million won in sponsorship this year. This came as a shock, as the KMA committee was not notified until only a week before the event. As a result, the festival had to move to the smaller theater in Seoul's Daehakro. The KMA also has received criticism for displaying many independent groups, rather than further popular mainstream artists such as DBSK or Big Bang. However, Tae Yang of Big Bang did receive individually an award, as well as smaller groups such as W&Whale. My Sister's Barbershop's Jang Ki-ha received three awards; Best Rock of the Year; Best Song of the Year ("Funky Coffeeshop"); and Netizen's choice of Best Male Musician of the Year. The group as a whole also picked up three awards for their fifth album, including Year's Best Album, Best Rock Album, and Best Song Titles. The ceremony was hosted by rocker Yoon Do-hyun and actress Lee Ha-na. --Frederick Stiehl
Jang Ja Yeon Passes Away
Twenty-six year-old Korean actress Jang Ja-yeon committed suicide on Saturday, March 7. She is most recently known for her role as Sunny in the KBS television drama series Boys Over Flowers. According to both the Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Times, the police have concluded her death as a suicide. Prior to her passing, she had completed work on two films, They Are Coming and Penthouse Elephant.
Date Posted: 3/20/2009