Aaron Kwok talks turkey and his new film

Aaron Kwok claims he has not been in a lame film for 10 years, in response to claims his last two films didn't do well at the box office. Kwok, promoting his new film, Silent Witness, in Beijing, on June 12, says box office is not the only measure of a film. Kwok's last two films, Christmas Rose and Conspirators, he insists, were quality films, though they did not make much money. Starting his career as a dancer, Kwok has won many acting awards, including best actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards. In Silent Witness, Kwok will play the role of a mainland prosecutor. The film will hit theaters on Sept 17.

Fan Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi go head-to-head

Fan Bingbing will compete with Zhang Ziyi, her co-actress and "love rival" in the smash hit Sophie's Revenge in 2009, for the summer holiday season. The two A-listers will both lead romantic comedies. Fan's One Night Surprise, according to director Eva Jin, is a sex comedy in which Fan's character has three men in her life. Zhang's My Lucky Star co-stars pop singer Wong Lee-hom. One Night Surprise will premiere on Aug 13.

Andy Lau's initiative sees further fruit

Singing When We Are Young, the latest beneficiary of Hong Kong star Andy Lau's Focus: First Cuts project to help young filmmakers, will premiere on July 4. Set in 1997, the year Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the film follows a girl preparing for her college entrance examination while pursuing her dream to be a singer. The film features many Hong Kong pop songs from the 1990s, including those of Anita Mui, a close friend of Lau who passed away in 2003. Lau invests in and produces the film. Lau initiated Focus: First Cuts in 2005. The best-known director to have benefited from the project is Ning Hao, who with Lau's support made the smash comedy Crazy Stone in 2006 and rapidly rose to fame.

Romantic microfilm takes the prize

Trilateral New Wave: University Student Short Video/ Multimedia Presentation Contest concluded its China section recently at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Started by Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, the contest is open to undergraduate or postgraduate students in Beijing and Shanghai, with the theme of trilateral cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea. In each team, there should be Chinese, Japanese, and Korean participants. Among the 13 teams from nine universities in both cities, the team from Fudan University and Waseda University won with a romantic microfilm. They get tickets and accommodation for the final contest in Seoul in July and will compete for the $3,000 scholarship with winners from the Japan and South Korea sections.

Red songs celebrated with new show

The 2013 China Red Song Show kicked off in Beijing recently. Started by Jiangxi Satellite TV station in 2006, the reality TV show is known for selecting singers who are good at singing red songs. According to Li Jianguo, vice-director of Jiangxi Satellite TV station, unlike the other singing competition TV shows in China, such as the Voice of China, China Red Song Show focuses on Chinese folk music. Backed by Evergrande Music, which has two Chinese veteran music producers, Song He and Gao Xiaosong, this year, China Red Song Show will invite international musicians to join in and compete in the show.

China Daily

(China Daily USA 06/20/2013 page9)