Who's in
Tuya's Marriage joins Banquet at movie feast
Golden Bear-winning director Wang Quan'an (right) and his leading actors Yu Nan (left) and Bater (center) showed up at the opening ceremony of the 14th Beijing Student Film Festival on Sunday. Their award-winning Tuya's Marriage was the opening film.
It will compete with another 34 films, including The Banquet and Crazy Stone, for 18 awards. The judges are made up of 30 university students and 11 experts in media and film.
A short film contest with the theme of anti piracy among university students will also be part of this year's festival. To mark the 10-year anniversary of Hong Kong's return, there will be a screening of Hong Kong films across the country.
All the competing films will screen in China Film Archive, China National Film Museum and Beijing Normal University's theater during the festival. The awarding ceremony will be held on April 22.
Initiated by teachers and students of Beijing Normal University 14 years ago, the festival is well known for its student judges and organizers.
Chinese-directed film to open Cannes
Chinese mainland actress Gong Li and Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai are on the star-heavy roster for the upcoming festivities to celebrate the Cannes Film Festival's 60th anniversary.
Shanghai Youth Daily confirmed the news on Monday, citing Gong Li expressing her excitement over the invitation.
Wong Kar-wai's latest work My Blueberry Nights, starring Grammy winner Norah Jones and Star Wars star Natalie Portman, has also been chosen to open the festival, running from May 16 to 27.
It will become the first Chinese-directed opener.
Also showing up for the festival are Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
The festival will round up a slew of films, including Ocean's Thirteen by Steven Soderbergh and Grindhouse by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.
Chinese filmmakers Jiang Wen and Wang Xiaoshuai are also hoping to earn a spot for their movies The Sun Also Rises and Left Right.
Songbird Crow turns green on tour
Singer Sheryl Crow began a bus tour of US colleges to raise awareness about global warming on Monday, one of several high-profile celebrities to take up the cause of climate change.
Crow, a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter, will speak about the issue and sing at the college stops.
"I am here because the more I learn about global warming the more I feel compelled to do something in my own way whatever that is," she told reporters at Southern Methodist University in Dallas as the tour began.
Accompanied by global warming activist Laurie David, Crow is traveling in a biodiesel-powered bus to university campuses with a final stop in Washington for Earth Day on April 22.
Texas was chosen as the starting point because it leads all US states in fossil fuel emissions, with its heavy industry and love affair with big pick-up trucks.
Other celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Redford and Daryl Hannah have joined the campaign to reduce fossil fuel emissions and curb climate change.
Lee-Hom Wang writes songs that cell
Taiwan pop singer Lee-Hom Wang will launch his new album next month. The star made the announcement yesterday in Beijing, during a promotion of Sony Ericsson's latest walkman cell phone.
Having spent over half a year acting in Ang Lee's new film Lust, Wang said the new album would be full of cinematic elements.
Known as a composer/singer, Wang said he often recorded melodies that could are suited for walkman cell phone use. He said he might write a song specially for the new cell phone soon.
China Daily-Agencies
(China Daily 04/11/2007 page18)
