Chinese director Zhang Yimou's (張藝謀) highly anticipated film Memoirs of a Geisha (藝妓回憶錄) had a grand preview screening last Saturday in New York City. Judging from the less than enthusiastic response from the press after the screening, the film is probably not going to do too well at next year's Oscars.
Attention mainly focused on the performances given by Zhang Ziyi (
Most critics seem to agree that Gong's supporting role as a crazy villain stole the show, leaving leading lady Zhang in the shadows.
Zhang struck back with her improved language skills at an interview session with the international press, held after the screening .
Zhang's marketablilty has been rated in an online poll that used various indexes such as remuneration, endorsement fees and advertisement to assess female stars on both sides of the strait.
Zhang took first place, worth a cool NT$480 million, followed closely by Maggie Cheung (
Mando-pop singer Elva Hsiao (
After Hsiao spent NT$2 million making a pilgrimage to Los Angeles to learn fresh dance moves for her new album originally planned for release next month, Warner Music suddenly decided to pull the plug on the project.
The reason is said to be that Singaporean Stefanie Sun's (
Sun's lackluster record sales have made music giants and pop stars quiver in their boots, with even smash-hitter David Tao (
Dubbed as the new teen boy killer, Yang put on her trademark sweet-doll smile to fend off the criticism, saying she didn't believe Tao would say something so bitter and the comments were a paparazzi ruse.
Spoiled rich girl Paris Hilton may come to Taiwan for New Year. Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視) has been working its ass off to invite the star to promote her TV series The Simple Life which currently airs on CTS. Her agent is said to be satisfied with CTS' plan and the possibility of her coming is high. If the Hollywood social butterfly decides to come, then local high society dames and stars will surely have a hell of a time searching for high-end luxu-ries to vie with the heiress.
Newly endorsed movie queen Shu Qi (舒淇) was spotted at a temple in Keelung thanking the Goddess of Mercy for helping her wish to become the best leading actress come true. Shu said she had gone through a period of mild depression after Three Times (最好的時光). The shrink didn't work so the star turned to Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity for spiritual comfort. It looks like the piety paid off and even won her a secular reward.
June 9 to June 15 A photo of two men riding trendy high-wheel Penny-Farthing bicycles past a Qing Dynasty gate aptly captures the essence of Taipei in 1897 — a newly colonized city on the cusp of great change. The Japanese began making significant modifications to the cityscape in 1899, tearing down Qing-era structures, widening boulevards and installing Western-style infrastructure and buildings. The photographer, Minosuke Imamura, only spent a year in Taiwan as a cartographer for the governor-general’s office, but he left behind a treasure trove of 130 images showing life at the onset of Japanese rule, spanning July 1897 to
One of the most important gripes that Taiwanese have about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is that it has failed to deliver concretely on higher wages, housing prices and other bread-and-butter issues. The parallel complaint is that the DPP cares only about glamor issues, such as removing markers of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) colonialism by renaming them, or what the KMT codes as “de-Sinification.” Once again, as a critical election looms, the DPP is presenting evidence for that charge. The KMT was quick to jump on the recent proposal of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to rename roads that symbolize
On the evening of June 1, Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) apologized and resigned in disgrace. His crime was instructing his driver to use a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon. The Control Yuan is the government branch that investigates, audits and impeaches government officials for, among other things, misuse of government funds, so his misuse of a government vehicle was highly inappropriate. If this story were told to anyone living in the golden era of swaggering gangsters, flashy nouveau riche businessmen, and corrupt “black gold” politics of the 1980s and 1990s, they would have laughed.
In an interview posted online by United Daily News (UDN) on May 26, current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) replacing him as party chair. Though not yet officially running, by the customs of Taiwan politics, Lu has been signalling she is both running for party chair and to be the party’s 2028 presidential candidate. She told an international media outlet that she was considering a run. She also gave a speech in Keelung on national priorities and foreign affairs. For details, see the May 23 edition of this column,
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