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South Korean pop singer U-Nee commits suicide
South Korean actress and pop singer U-Nee was found hanging dead in her home in Seo-gu Incheon on Sunday.
U-Nee's grandmother found the 26-year-old singer hanging from a door frame after she returned from a church service.
Police investigating the case have announced it was an apparent suicide, though the singer left no note or will. U-Nee's mother has testified that U-Nee had been suffering from depression.
U-Nee's third album Honey is due for release on February 1. People have speculated that U-Nee was suffering from the huge pressure associated with the release of the new album and was upset by online criticisms and attacks.
U-Nee's debut album Go was released in 2003 and she gained even greater popularity with the 2005 release of her second album Call Call Call. Her sexy dance moves and revealing fashions made her the favorite of teenagers across Asia.
Cruise tops the wish list to play McLaren
A big-budget film is being planned about the life of McLaren Formula One founder Bruce McLaren with Hollywood star Tom Cruise at the head of the wish list to play the lead role.
McLaren, a New Zealand race driver and engineer, died in 1970 in a testing accident at the Goodwood circuit in England at the age of 33. He had by then laid the foundation for a dominant team in world motor sport.
"I was talking about who could play the part this morning with my daughter, Amanda, and I thought Tom Cruise would be a good choice," McLaren's widow Patty McLaren-Brickett said on Saturday after plans for the movie were announced.
"He looks very similar to Bruce he is dark, he is the same height and has a similar build. He is the only person I thought of at the moment but he would be too expensive."
The movie is being co-produced by New Zealander Michael Garlick, a life-long fan of McLaren, and American Barrie Osborne, producer of blockbusters such as Apocalypse Now, the Matrix series and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The project is in its early stages with the script being discussed.
Croc hunter's daughter hits NYC
The media-savvy 8-year-old daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin is doing her bit to promote her native Australia, adding music to her prowess with animals.
Bindi Irwin appeared on stage at the weekend as part of the annual Australia Week tourism promotion, singing about snakes and eagles while fellow cast members held live animals.
Bindi's father was killed by a stingray last fall while filming one of his popular television documentaries on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
At an appearance on Friday in Washington, Bindi said she is ready to continue her father's work spreading the wonder of wildlife.
"I'm going to become a wildlife warrior just like he was," she said at the National Press Club.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/24/2007 page18)
