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Cartoons becoming a serious business

The Fourth China International Cartoon and Animation Festival (CICAF), the biggest of its kind in Asia, will be held in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, from April 28 to May 3.

Among the attractions for the six-day festival are an exhibition of domestic and international animated productions, a forum focusing on the future of the Chinese animation industry, a cartoon design contest.

"The animation market is growing fast in China and Hangzhou wants to play a key role in promoting the industry," says Ye Ming, vice-secretary of CPC Hangzhou Municipal Committee.

Since 2006, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Zhejiang provincial government have joined forced to bring the CICAF to Hangzhou.

Search for Chan's chosen one

The Disciple, a TV talent show initiated by Jackie Chan and Beijing TV, is approaching its final stage. In a newly-built training base in suburban Beijing, the 16 contestants who survived the massive selection process involving more than 100,000 action enthusiasts will learn what makes a kungfu star. The training process will be aired on Beijing TV every Saturday night from April 5. Chan's own stunt team will send two coaches to help the young stars-to-be.

The training base will be open to public soon. Visitors can experience what it's like to be an action star, flying with wires or trying to "escape" from a fake car explosion.

The final winners of the show will act in a Chan-produced film, which will premiere early next year.

Big box office battle for 'Hong Kong's Tom Cruise'

In a recent Beijing press conference for Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (Jian Long Xie Jia), model-turned-actress Maggie Q described lead actor Andy Lau as the "Tom Cruise of Hong Kong," to which Lau jokingly replied that would rather see Tom Cruise called the "Andy Lau of America."

In the film, based on the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi), Lau plays a famous general. However, his favorite character in the book is the villain, Cao Cao, a figure that Lau says is flawed just like any ordinary man.

The film premiered yesterday, the same day as The Children of Huangshi (Huangshi de Haizi), a blockbuster starring Chow Yun-fat. But Lau didn't want to be compared with Chow, adding that he will not be too disappointed if he loses the box office battle.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/04/2008 page18)