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Last October I reported about Yu-chan returning to the leading-lady gig with Daigo Matsui’s AZUMI HARUKO wa Yukuefumei (アズミ・ハルコは行方不明). Twitter has just shown me a first still. There’s also a music video by Ishizaki Huwie (石崎ひゅーい) titled Flower Vase (花瓶の花, Kabin no Hana) attached to the press release on natalie.mu, but it’s geo-blocked :*(

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Did I tell you? I’m going to Japan next week! It’ll be less than 2 weeks, but I’m going! I’m mad excited and totally nervous. I feel there’s so much to do and so little time, all I’m hoping is that I don’t get lost. xD Anyway~

This just popped up in my searches~ Yu Aoi is doing another rendition of John Ford’s 1600s incest tragedy ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, under the Japanese name Aware Kanojo ha Shofu (あわれ彼女は娼婦), which had already been presented back in 2006 with Eri Fukatsu, Shosuke Tanihara and Mikami Hiroshi [1][2]. The brother half of this story will be played by stage/voice actor Kenji Urai (浦井健治).

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The play was translated by Odajima Yushi (小田島雄志), and is being directed by Kuriyama Tamiya (栗山民也).

The play will begin on June 8th 2016 until the 26th.

You can check the varying schedules available at the New National Theatre Tokyo website.Prices ranges from 8,640円; 5,400円; 3,240円 and 1,620円.

You can check two interviews with both of them over at Spice [1][2].

The first episode/short film, The Road Trip, for Ankur Tewari’s Y-Films web series, Love Shots, has finally been released. And it’s awesome. It’s kinda sad that YRF has to put so much great talent on the web and not on the big screen, but it’s great that they put together such a great list of talent. The first episode has Nimrat Kaur, so we all can get our fix there, alongside Tahir Raj Bhasin who crept everyone out in Rani’s Mardaani. Their chemistry sizzles here. They’re both great.

Promising start for the series~

A new episode will be released every Tuesday until all six shorts are out.

I ran into this video on YouTube from the Off the Great Wall channel, and they got a bit of flack over the fact that a vast majority of their picks (3 picks for each of the four speakers) were East Asians xD — only one South Asian pick, because Aishwarya has to be everywhere xD, and then there were the Asian-American (Lucy Liu, I don’t think she’s mixed… is she? And she makes it twice~), the Euro-Asian (but basically) Asian-Americans (Maggie Q + Olivia Munn), and (off the official list) the Euro-Asian (Thai-Swede Praya Lundberg).

The thing is beauty is such a subjective element- whatever floats your boat depends on who you are, cultural background, upbringing, etc. But I do agree with Dan (though he doesn’t apply his own rule when it comes to Munn) — especially when making lists — Staying Power is important.

So I do agree 100% that Gong Li deserves that spot. She’s fabulous and continues to be even more fabulous… In Bollywood talk, Gong Li basically started her career doing de-glam roles in banned Zhang Yimou movies. She was a villager so often, wife of gangsters; and in her 40s, she became an Empress. That’s the complete opposite of the typical Bollywood heroine. She hasn’t been acting much, but a couple of years ago she romanced Andy Lau in a sick powersuit, and just a year or two ago broke everyone’s heart as the wife of a writer during the Cultural Revolution. This year? She’s the baddie in one of the blockbusters on this season- The Monkey King 2. And yeah~ she still looks as fabulous as ever at 50 years old.

Besides staying power? Talent, especially when it comes to celebrities, you know? Someone that can do their job like no other? Interview (variety show appearace) perception is a big plus, but CV is important.

But sometimes, so it happens, I also break my own rules~ lol

Also~ my Pakistan, South East Asian, Middle East and Russian games are not strong. Neither is my Asian-Latino game. So forgive the lack of names there, and I do take suggestions (especially if they come with great movie recommendations~~~).

All below listed by seniority~

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I can’t believe it’s been ten years since~ To celebrate, Studio 4C is publishing a Tekkonkinkreet Artbook. 100 copies (which are already gone) signed by director Michael Arias. Another 292 copies that will come with a hand-drawn slip in between the book. Both priced at Y2980 JPY (at around $26 USD at current exchange rate). The shipping to South America is more expensive than that xD

Anyway~ for those interested; here’s the LINK.

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Kuro, when the sky turns black why do I feel so blue?

*update*

Also in 日本語!

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クロ、空の色が黒くなってくるとさ、なんだかシロは悲しい気持ちになるの、どして?

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You cannot kill me. You cannot kill China. Not even a million deaths could crush the soul of China, for the soul of China is eternal. When I die, a million will take my place, and nothing can stop them, neither hunger nor torture nor the firing squad.

We shall live on until the enemy is driven back over scorched land and the armies of decency and liberty are on the march. China’s destiny is victory. It will live because human freedom will not perish. Out of the ashes of ruin and old hatreds, the force of peace will prevail until the world is again sane and beautiful.

This quote is taken from Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry’s We’ll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II because the audio of Lady from Chungking isn’t very clear.

I don’t know what they’re waiting for to make an Anna May Wong biopic with Tang Wei, and Joan Chen as director.

I finally took the time to catch up with all seasons of Orphan Black, which I had trouble sitting through during its first season… even though I think I might have actually sat through those 10 episodes on reruns without knowing they were 10 episodes. there’s a slump there somewhere between the first 3-4 eps, but once you go through that threshold, it’s a breeze worth the binge-watch. Season 2 flowed better as a viewing experience because half the first part rides on its S1 high and it sets itself for Season 3, which doesn’t glide as smoothly.

But feelings have been had. In terms of Sarah dealing with Beth in a near-death dream sequence that totally reminded me of the Buffy episode, Restless… which interestingly fits into Season 4 of that show where they also deal with the military and conspiracies xD

Feelings were also had because of that messy relationship between Cosima and Delphine, sidetracked by Shay. I haven’t had the fandom feels in so long… and it’s Cosima’s relationships because Sarah-Paul is so impersonal, and Cal -as good as he may be- has been mostly off-screen history. It’s Cosima and Delphine because I’m a sucker for that “I’ll give you up for you” thing, and Cosima with Shay because- man, Shay’s gotta be bad for Cosima’s heart. She seems soooooooooo damn good and caring, it’s gotta be setting up a heartbreak even though it would be “Delphine is your monitor 2.0” and it’s only been freaking 19min. of them together through the whole season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKDbIlnr4s

And man is Ksenia Solo as Shay the type. Yup, there’s a type. Carly Pope meets Juno Temple. lol

*dies*

It really kills me that this movie is opening a few days after my birthday, and I can’t watch it. WHY DO YOU GUYS DO THIS TO ME?

Sidenote: The Fitoor promotions have brought some interesting interview bits with Tabu- like she wants to be part of Golmaal 4 (I haven’t seen Golmaal, but that’s a Rohit Shetty movie, so… xD), she’s fishing for a comedy, she likes David Dhawan’s type of comedies (which are so 90s comedy style type of not my thing), and wants to do a movie with Govinda… who, if I recall correctly, actually doesn’t like many of the 90s comedy movies he did xD

Comedy is such a particular genre, so difficult to please people.

My type of comedy, I’ve found out, is in the realm of Roxana Avalos, Rosalind Russell, and Sandra Ng. I laugh quite a bit with Hong Kong/Chinese comedies.

… you are supposed to be ready, man~ Get your sh!t together!

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But the Pfeffermans are such awful messed up bunch of people xD I’m so glad (kinda) that she’s out of that whirlwind. Here’s a spoilery interview with Kathryn Hahn about her character in Season 2, and she’s wonderful. I’ve been having a major girl crush there for a while.

Though Fitoor might get trapped by remaking Alfonso Cuaron’s version of Great Expectations… I’m still looking forward to Tabu as Begum. I’m also looking forward to see Haminasto (aka. also romanized as Haminastu) [YouTube] because it’s my favorite track in the whole soundtrack, even though I’ve been butchering some of the other songs out loud late at night. xD I like the song so much that I ended up looking for Zeb Bangash, found Pakistani duo Zeb and Haniya, discovered Coke Studio [1][2][3][4][5 non-Zeb related], and downloaded the compilations on iTunes [S2][S6].

It messed up my language library because there’s so much Punjabi, Urdu and Pashtu, and Turkish… I don’t know which is which xD

ANWYAY~ OCD frustrations aside~

Fitoor promotions are at full throttle~ and it includes the release of this micro clips of dialog, which I don’t understand at all… but Tabu’s just saying “Firdaus, Firdaus, Firdaus” gives me the chills.

More: Duur, Qubool.