In one of the more dramatic scenes from Infernal Affairs, Tony Leung (梁朝偉) and Andy Lau (劉德華) face off on the roof of a Hong Kong skyscraper trading barbs on their respective treasonous ways. But in an on-line Taiwanese-dubbed version of the scene being sent around in mass e-mails, Lau is an audiophile gearhead lamenting his inability to find products with CD-Pro2 technology. In the clip, Lau wants to buy a stereo with the new sound module and Leung taunts him by saying he's already got two, and even knows someone who has 20 CD-Pro2 systems. Then Leung says he'll sell one system for an exorbitant $200,000, to which Lau responds that he's a "real bastard."
A second clip features the two in a stereo store enjoying the perfect response of CD-Pro2 stereos. What is in the original version another tense encounter between the two stars is transformed through the new overdub into a pair of tech geeks having knee-tremblers over superior sound quality. The voices and dubbing are uncannily well done. Check the clips at: http://myweb.hinet.net/home6/shoda/cdpro2.wmv, http:// myweb.hinet.net/home6/shoda/cdpro2-2.wmv and myweb.hinet.net/home6/shoda/cdpro2-mtv.wmv.
Lau is also starring in Magic Kitchen (魔幻廚房), which is currently playing in Taiwan, but if you blink it may already have left the theaters. The movie co-stars Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文), Maggie Q and Jerry Yen (言承旭) of the boy band F4, but even that much star power hasn't been enough to help the flick break the NT$1-million mark in ticket sales over two weeks. Nevertheless, its take at the box office is considered a fairly good result for Chinese-language movies these days, sad as that may sound.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Competition is just as fierce on the little screen these days and the past week has seen a raft of new TV shows take to the air.
Momoko Tao (陶晶瑩) is back on Azio TV, Monday through Wednesday, at 10pm, with a fashion commentary show after her racy talk show was discontinued late last year for offending the community standard through its blunt treatment of, well, mostly just sex. This time the topic up for discussion, with a long list of celebrity guests already lined up, will be fashion -- which should be easy enough to lead into the jucier subject of sex.
Formosa TV (民視) and SET-TV (三立台) have squared off this week in a head-to-head prime-time battle with two new shows in the hotly contested 8pm time slot. On Monday, Formosa TV's Life of Desire (慾望人生) pulled ahead of SET-TV's Taiwan Tornado (龍捲風) with a modestly higher rating, according to an AC Nielsen poll. The following day Life of Desire's producer Cheng Chao-cheng (鄭朝城) gloated over the superior rating, telling reporters he had already bought a one-way ticket for Taiwan Tornado's script writer Cheng Wen-hua (鄭文華) to go back to Hong Kong. Reports in several local papers had the two men going for the jugular in the week leading up to their shows' face-off, calling each other's scripts garbage and "daring" the loser to retire from the business.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Chinese-language movies didn't appear on the Oscar radar screen on Sunday, but at least Wong Kar Wai (王家衛) got a shout out from Sophia Coppola, who credited the director with providing inspiration for the script for Lost in Translation, which won best screenplay. Hong Kong's Apple Daily (蘋果日報) reported on Wednesday that Wong hadn't watched the ceremony nor Coppola's movie, because he's too busy filming his sci-fi drama 2046, but said he'd get around to it "soon," which might suggest that the filming of the movie is finally nearing completion after innumerable delays.
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
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