POP STOP

Many celebrities think they can do anything and with the constant ass-kissing they get from "friends" and fans who can blame them for believing this. Jay Chou (周杰倫) is one of those unfortunate souls and the singer and actor has now decided to cross over to the production side of entertainment by directing new music videos for his Alfa Music label-mates Nanquan Ma-ma (南拳媽媽).

Like his acting skills in Initial D his performance as a director is has been panned by the critics. Needless to say his fans have been supportive so our big- headed hot shot is saying he's good but is still not satisfied with his success and his "small bank account."

To make up for his "small bank account" Chou and his business partner MV director Kuang Sheng (鄺盛) have invested over NT$1 million to transform their old antique store in Taipei, into a new shop selling footwear and clothing and Chou's personal belongings.

The actress/singer Vicki Zhao (趙薇) is stuck in a downward spiral of trouble these days. Zhao showed her inability to handle alcohol after reportedly getting so drunk at a pub in Beijing that she irritated gangsters from Taiwan's Bamboo Union Gang (竹聯幫). Luckily for Zhao the gangsters weren't believers in hitting women so they smacked Zhao's unlucky boyfriend/escort around like a rag doll instead, according to Next Magazine (壹週刊). Zhao refused to respond to press enquiries about the alleged events.

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai (王家衛) and Taiwanese director Wu Nien-jen (吳念真) have teamed up to produce a highly anticipated TV drama series A Detective's Tale (偵探物語). While the program is set to air on public television on Aug. 21, the Apple Daily (蘋果日報) has dug up some dirt about the cast's behavior.

Considered by many to be the successor to Tony Leung (梁朝偉), one would have expected Wing Fan (范植偉) was too famous for a TV production, and he thought so too. The crew complained that the arrogant actor often didn't prepare for the shootings, forgot his lines and rarely acted (pun intended) like a professional. Momoko Tao (陶子), on the other hand, was late for work because her new album and TV shows took priority. Both stars naturally denied the rumors and said they "learned" a lot from the valuable experience.

Leon Lai (黎明) and Charlie Yeung (楊采妮) are two stars who seem to think they're too cool for school. Both are starring in Tsui Hark's (徐克) Seven Swords, and both gave bad performances, according to veteran filmmaker/actor Derek Yee (爾冬陞). "The movie itself is good, but the acting skills of the Hong Kong actors didn't match the quality of the film. They just didn't do their homework, and weren't focused on acting," Yee was quoted as saying in the Apple Daily.

Things haven't been going smoothly for director Tsui Hark. He recently announced his next film would be an adaptation of Brigitte Lin's (林青霞) autobiography. Annoyed by Tsui's hasty move, Lin -- who is settled in domestic bliss -- decided to put the project on hold because she didn't want to become the center of attention once more. Tsui responded by deciding his next project will be about the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West (西遊記).