What's new

Chow's new Journey planned

Hong Kong director/comedian Stephen Chow announced that his next film will be based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Chow, who has not directed a film in four years, works with Huayi Brothers, a leading media group in China on the film, with a tentative title of Journey to the West: Conquering the Devils. The 50-year-old comedian will not act in the film, but rather will cast young stars like Wen Zhang and Shu Qi. In 1994 Chow made a two-part film also adapted from Journey to the West, which was a smash hit. The new film, he says, would be a different story, featuring stunning special visual effects. The film will premiere in February 2013.

About face with Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, gave a lecture for young students at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. The program How I Started My Brand focused on Brown's early career path. After she gained a degree in theatrical makeup at Emerson College in Boston, she discovered that there were no light and natural cosmetic products on the market, so she started her own label, "filling the blank". Brown says she wishes that more young Chinese students would get involved in beauty industry.

TV salutes role models

A new program produced by Hebei Television Station will feature grassroots moral models widely spotlighted in this year's media around China. The program, literally named "warm hearts of China", aims to promote the theme of humane love and celebrate the good acts undertaken by these role models and what the future held for them. The six-episode program will be broadcast on Hebei TV each day from Dec 24-29.

Hit film due for sequel?

Cold War, which has grossed 230 million yuan ($35 million) since its premiere on Nov 8, has become the highest-grossing Hong Kong film on the Chinese mainland. The cop thriller was directed by two first-timers Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, starring A-listers such as Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Andy Lau. The film, about the hijacking of a van carrying five policemen, stirred discussions among netizens, some of whom contributed ideas of a sequel. Such a sequel is very likely to happen, said executives of production companies Sil-Metropole Organization Ltd and Edko Film Limited at a celebration party on Nov 26 in Beijing.

European films online

The fifth European Union Film Festival will end its tour in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Chengdu on Nov 30, but filmgoers can enjoy some of the films online. Letv.com, a leading video website in China, will screen 17 films of the festival for three months beginning Nov 29. Stellar line-ups include Pina, the acclaimed documentary about legendary dancer Pina Bausch by director Wim Wenders; Rust and Bone, a romance film with Marion Cotillard; and Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/29/2012 page20)