Organized for the second year as a large promotional event at the Cannes International Film Festival, Hong Kong night in Cannes this year was seemed to be making a nod toward Wong Kar-wai (
As Cheung and Leung are best remembered for their turns in Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love (花樣年華), the Hong Kong promotional program this year was titled "In the Mood for Hong Kong."
Carlton Beach on Saturday was specked with stars, champagne and fine food. Giant balloons with "Hong Kong" written in both Chinese and English hung high above the sea. And again, there were performances of dragon and lion shows, kung fu demonstrations and Chinese acrobatics. But of course most of the spotlights fell on Maggie Cheung.
Cheung just finished shooting Chinese director Zhang Yi-mou's (
It was also rumored that Cheung came to Cannes for another reason. Her ex-husband, French director Olivier Assayas, has had his new work Demonlover selected in Cannes' official competition. Cheung's agent announced two weeks ago that Cheung and Assayas had divorced.
"I'm glad that Hong Kong films are getting widely recognized. I'm proud to be a part of it," Cheung said in front of a crowd of journalists. She said it's always good for her to expand her acting career beyond Hong Kong. "Because I am new to the international audience, but in Hong Kong, I'm an old actress already," she said. "I appreciate having worked with Wong Kar-wai. He taught me to be an actress, instead of teaching me how to act," Cheung said.
Both Cheung and Tony Chiu-wai Leung are are slated to star in Wong's futuristic film 2046. The film began shooting two years ago, which is considered a normal schedule for Wong, who almost always takes more than a year to finish a film. As for the film's story, Leung only has a vague answer.
"When we began shooting, I was playing a cop in the year 2046, working in Japan with Wong Faye (
Leung was named Best Actor at Cannes two years ago for In the Mood For Love. He said he had been involved more in kung fu films. Apart from Hero, his next project is playing a Bruce Lee-like kung fu hero. "It's based on a true story and takes place at a martial arts parlor. And the character of Bruce Lee will show up at the end," he said.
Another Tony Leung, Tony Ka-fai Leung came to Cannes for the suspense thriller Double Vision (
The number of scandals and setbacks hitting the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in such quick and daily succession in the last few weeks is unprecedented, at least in the countries whose politics I am familiar with. The local media is covering this train wreck on an almost hourly basis, which in the latest news saw party chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) detained by prosecutors on Friday and released without bail yesterday. The number of links collected to produce these detailed columns may reach 400 by the time this hits the streets. To get up to speed, two columns have been written: “Donovan’s
President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision for Taiwan to become an “AI island” has three conditions: constructing advanced data centers, ensuring a stable and green energy supply, and cultivating AI talent. However, the energy issue supply is the greatest challenge. To clarify, let’s reframe the problem in terms of the Olympics. Given Taiwan’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer) roles in the technology sector, Taiwan is not an athlete in the AI Olympics, or even a trainer, but rather a training ground for global AI athletes (AI companies). In other words, Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem provides world-class training facilities and equipment that have already attracted
Nothing like the spectacular, dramatic unraveling of a political party in Taiwan has unfolded before as has hit the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over recent weeks. The meltdown of the New Power Party (NPP) and the self-implosion of the New Party (NP) were nothing compared to the drama playing out now involving the TPP. This ongoing saga is so interesting, this is the fifth straight column on the subject. To catch up on this train wreck of a story up to Aug. 20, search for “Donovan’s Deep Dives Ko Wen-je” in a search engine. ANN KAO SENTENCED TO PRISON YET AGAIN,
Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing didn’t hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure. The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country. “I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.” Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom or better financial prospects at a
RSS