Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull schooled the competition last weekend as the fourth appearance of Harrison Ford in the role of the adventuring archaeologist raked in nearly US$127 million at the North American box office, contributing to an estimated US$312 million worldwide. But the film, which takes place in Peru, has many Peruvians angry after seeing the movie’s many clumsy — and often insulting — mistakes about their country. Peruvians are also angry at seeing Maya warriors from Central America speaking Quechua in the Peruvian jungle, where hundreds of native languages, but not Quechua, are spoken. The movie also shows quicksand, man-eating ants and enormous Hawaiian waterfalls, all of which do not exist in the Peruvian Amazonia.
In what is perhaps the biggest insult, director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas place the Maya pyramid of Chichen Itza, located in Mexico, in the Peruvian jungle.
Historian Manuel Burga, the former head of the University of San Marcos, said that Spielberg and Lucas were given bad advice.
PHOTO : AP
“Even if it is fiction there are many incorrect facts,” Burga said. “This is going to be damaging to many people who do not know our country, because it shows a Peruvian landscape that is not real.
Historian Teodoro Hampe is scathing in his view of they way Americans view the geography of Latin America: “For them Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia or Peru are all the same.”
French fashion house Christian Dior said yesterday it has dropped Sharon Stone from its Chinese advertisements and released a statement from the actress apologizing for saying the earthquake that struck China may have been the result of bad “karma” over its treatment of Tibet. The 50-year-old actress said she was “deeply sorry” for causing anguish and anger among Chinese people with her remarks in an interview last week. Stone models for Christian Dior, and the company’s Shanghai office issued the statement. A public relations manager for Dior in Shanghai said Stone would no longer appear in the company’s advertisements in China.
“Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people,” Stone said in the statement. “I am willing to take part in the relief work of China’s earthquake, and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people.”
On TV, the fate of brutal North Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano may have been unclear when hit TV series The Sopranos ended last year, but his wardrobe is headed for a certain ending: it’s being auctioned for charity.
James Gandolfini, who played Soprano for six seasons over eight-and-a-half years, is selling his personal costume wardrobe in a Christie’s pop culture auction in New York on June 25, with all proceeds going to a charity that helps wounded US troops.
The 24 lots include a bloody outfit worn when Soprano was shot at the beginning of season six by Uncle Junior in a fit of dementia, which is estimated to fetch up to US$3,000, and his signature white tank top, light blue striped boxer shorts, striped short robe and leather scuffs that could make US$1,500.
Also up for grabs are a selection of costumes worn by other Sopranos characters, including Junior Soprano, Paulie Walnuts and A.J. Soprano.
As for the movie Sex and the City, which will be released in Taiwan May 20, the big question is: Do Carrie and Mr. Big marry or don’t they? Despite the success of the TV series, Sarah Jessica Parker said it was still a struggle to get the movie made.
“To make a movie about four women over 40 is really not the way Hollywood likes to spend their money,” she said, adding that the studio was swayed by the devotion of the show’s fans.
But there was also the problem of signing up all the stars, especially Kim Cattrall, who plays Samantha and was initially unwilling to make a film — but not because of a supposed rift with Parker, which both women laughed off.
“What a difference four years makes,” said Cattrall, who blamed exhaustion, a divorce, the end of the series, and her father’s diagnosis with dementia for her initial reluctance.
Kristin Davis, who plays Charlotte, and Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda, both said the movie was a dream come true. “We thought we were dead and we were resurrected,” Nixon said.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50