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Asia Pacific Screen Nominations 2010

October 18, 2010 — Leave a comment

Never have followed the Asian Pacific nominations… mainly because it’s hard to, you know~~~ watch films from that part of the world for me. However, distribution is getting better – dvds are being launched so much faster, and many of them come with subtitles in English (when needed), and there’s a lot more people willing to fansub when needed.

And YAY! Aftershocks has landed 6 nominations – including Best Film, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay PLUS! Best Actor and Best Actress. Now, I’m trying not to be biased, I don’t think actor Chen Daoming was THAT good in Aftershocks, but actress Xu Fan completely deserves it.

The other big nominee of the night is South Korea’s Poetry (Shi) – crap! I’m really that good at film recommendations for distributors, someone hire me ASAP! – which received 4 nominations for Best Film, Best Directing, Best Screenplay and Best Actress. While Taiwan’s Monga – see, I’m good – was nominated for 3 awards for Best Film, Best Directing and Best Cinematography.

The APSA(wards) will be handed out December 2nd on a live webcast at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards site.

All nominations below the break~

In Chinese, English, Films, Japanese, Korean, Sharing aftershocks (tangshan dadizheng), awards, china, distributors, japan, korea, news, nominations

Distribution: Chinese Films to Open on Same Day in North America as in China

October 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

Film Business Asia is reporting that China Lion Film Distribution has made a deal with AMC to release Chinese films in the cities with most Chinese demographics in the United States and Canada the same day as the films open in China.

Now, that’s how you do distribution.

Sure, Hollywood’s kinda getting good in World Premiere business, but only the big-studio stuff. We actually have to wait a ton for a theater release, or the release of the DVD to catch a film that’s not mainstream. The Chinese film industry lacks distribution — only films that get distributed in the US, get distributed in Latin America. The last Chinese film I saw at the cinema was Curse of the Golden Flower~~~

So with this deal, China expands that ever-expanding Chinese film market with hopefully more than just Martial Arts Films and/or Arthouse Films. And HOPEFULLY, this will mean more Chinese films down here as well.

So guys! Get ready for Aftershocks (aka. After Shock) kicking off this new deal on October 29th in the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Houston, Boston, Seattle, Toronto and Ottawa.

In Chinese, English, Films, Sharing, Spanish china, distributors, industry talk, musings, news

The 65 Foreign Submissions are in + Documentary shorts

October 14, 2010 — Leave a comment

I can feel it in the air. Award season is approaching. I think Indie Spirit Awards are also done with submissions, and their nominations should arrive come early December.

In the meantime, the Academy Awards has released the list of the 65 countries (or not-countries… Greenland?) that will be competing for 5 spots as “Best Foreign” nominees, as well as their 8 short documentaries.

Here are some of the reviews of the ones I’ve seen.

Argentina – Carancho [tambien en Espanol]
China – Aftershocks
Colombia – Crab Trap [tambien en Espanol]
Peru – Undertow [tambien en Espanol]
Nicaragua – La Yuma [tambien en Espanol]

Let’s talk wild guess predictions in here. Which countries will be the 5 chosen ones?

Mexico’s Biutiful seems like an easy assumption.

China’s Aftershocks seems to be a good candidate for several reasons besides “film”. Whatever your thoughts on melodrama are, I mean… you really need to be a sour grape not to feel something for the family in that film. Either that, or you’ve never been in a natural disaster. Having said that, it is because it’s a melodrama that it’s perfect for Oscar. Moving family drama that deals with catastrophe with a really powerful and magnificently handled Earthquake scene that was a box office hit in China. It’s just good business.

Also, China being nominated is controversial. Anything to do with China since 2008 is controversial. Controversial always brings ratings. Also nominating China is just plain good business. If China gets nominated – I dunno, what are the chances of some state channel broadcasting the Oscar? Just imaging 2/3 of China’s internet population watches the Oscar that night. That’s 200 million viewers. Anything in China is big.

If there’s no China, it must be another cheese movie… like South Korea’s A Barefoot Dream. An underdog story of a kiddie football team and a coach. It shall make you feel happy xD

Canada’s Incendies?

and… I dunno what else. Peru’s chances? From what I have seen, and what I’ve heard. It could very well get into the nine before they select the final five. I’ll have a better grasp once the 9 are out xD

Faye Wong for Harper’s Bazaar

Oh, Faye Wong – you look the same in all the photos, but you still look so cool xD

My friend Ada who was in town told me she was missing Faye Wong’s concerts by a hair, and then she said “but good for me. You would have killed me if I were going” – I almost died with jealousy.

You know, before there was Gaga – there was also Faye Wong. I mean, she did wear a shoe on her head during her Faye Live Tour Concert DVD. She wore A SHOE ON HER HEAD. O_o

More photos via Aiya They Didn’t.

Posted on October 14, 2010 In Celebrity, Chinese, English, Photoshoots, Sharing china, faye wong, magazine shoot

4 Comments

Peruvians are so very Chinese

October 9, 2010 — 15 Comments

Ahh… Peruvians and Chinese, Peru and China – countries so far away, but with so many links. Almost a year ago I read a book called 1434 by some guy Menzies. He also wrote 1421 where he says China arrived to America first. It’s an interesting thought considering how similar our cultures can be.

I mean, sure – Peru has the biggest Chinese colony in Latin America. Many of us may not speak Mandarin or Cantonese, but it sure has caught on everyday life. I mean, not only do we have a dish called Lomo Saltado (Sautee Sirloin?) that’s made with soy sauce, and that’s now a landmark dish.

Obviously, we don’t call soy sauce “soy sauce,” Peruvians call it “sillao” [si yau in Cantonese]. Everyone in Latin America doesn’t — just saw some Colombian “chef” doing some ceviche with lime and “soy sauce” and “ginger”. As well as an Argentinean doing “Chinese noodles” with “soy sauce”.

In Chinese, English, Photographs, Sharing, Spanish china, chocolate, food, linguistic, musings, peru

Aiya! So many comments about the Cpop Scene

LOL it reached over 70 comments in just a few hours. It was crazy coming back home and seeing my inbox filled with LiveJournal replies. And here it is, the old article on YAM008 “Where is the CPop Scene Going?”

Check out the LJ discussion here.

Posted on October 6, 2010 In Chinese, English, Music, Screencaps, Sharing bibi chow (zhou bichang), china, chris lee (li yuchun), crowd lu (lu guang zhong), ding wei, faye wong, han hong, jay chou (zhou jielun), lala xu jia ying, lee hom wang, mayday (taiwanese band), milk@coffee, sa dingding, sodagreen, taiwan, wang feng, yam, yuguo

5 Comments

What Are Good Lyrics?

October 5, 2010 — 4 Comments

Ah… English, such a direct language. I often have discussions with people about the nuances of the different languages. Friends tell me that French and Italian are great for flirting, and my mom keeps telling me that different dialects in Chinese have so many words to describe food flavors, impossible to describe in Spanish or English.

However, what about songs?

My favorite songs, my favorite artists in English — 99% of the time, I try not to find the lyrics any longer. Whenever I have enjoyed the songs, looked for the lyrics, 90% of the time I’ve ended up disappointed.

My first language is Spanish, however, I often find myself thinking in English – so, whenever I listen to music in Spanish, my brain begins translating lyrics into English. The repertoire of songs that I actually like in Spanish tend to be songs that are hard to translate literally into English.

In Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Lyrics, Music, Photographs, Sharing, Spanish, Swedish by amy wong, china, gianmarco, japan, korea, linguistic, peru, shakira, translation

Foreign Submissions Update

September 29, 2010 — Leave a comment

Some very exciting news – First, it seems I’ve seen more than TWO of the Foreign submissions this year LOL. Of course that’s without considering the 9 films that will go through the other stage, and the 5 that will be chosen. I’ll probably get a 1/5 ratio at the most.

Second of all… China chose Xiaogang Feng’s earthquake drama Aftershocks to represent them. *jumpy claps* Now, this is my weakness. I love tear-jerking dramas. Anyone who’s lived through an earthquake should and will be affected by the story, anyone who’s lived through a hurricane, typhoon, any catastrophic natural disaster. Aftershocks is for you. But this is not to say that Aftershocks is exploitative of the tragedy, because this “earthquake” film is little about the earthquake and all about the people affected by it.

Considering the technical achievement this is, and how human and audience-friendly this drama is, I think this might have high chances of passing to the “chosen 9”. *crosses fingers*

Here are some of the submissions I’ve seen and reviewed:

China – Tangshan Dadizhen (Aftershocks)
Colombia – El Vuelco del Cangrejo (Crab Trap)
Nicaragua – La Yuma
Peru – Contracorriente (Undertow)

The updated titles via Indie Wire!

In Chinese, English, Films, Japanese, Korean, Reviews, Sharing, Spanish academy awards, aftershocks (tangshan dadizheng), china, japan, kokuhaku, korea, news, peru, sweden, taiwan, tetsuya nakashima

The Ultimate Product Battle! Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, Latin America, America – Standard and Limited Editions!

September 14, 2010 — 3 Comments

I think that’s pretty much my 2010 album collection. And I’ve kept it 2010 to be fair. Today I bought a bunch of albums from Latin American artists that I found cheap and wanted to add to my collection – one was even released in 2000 LOL – and then I thought “Well, this is a poor CD insert.”

From left to right, top to bottom – the contestants are:

Bibi on MTV Live

Aww, Bibi~

You really should use a stool [1][2]… or a chair. And a nice old school microphone – instead of just standing there in front of your teleprompter. You remind me of school and how we did awkward presentations moving up and down. xD We didin’t have teleprompters, so we had a piece of paper that we rolled in our sweaty palms. xD

Having said that, I’m glad the audio was fixed after your first song. You sounded so much better afterwards, and I’m glad you sang some songs from Time. Especially Season. I’m also glad that I get to have an opinion on how you sounded because that means you don’t sound exactly the same as in the album, and that you’re singing live. I’m also glad you don’t sound like a robot.

Hugs xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbM9-Qo19qs

Posted on September 12, 2010 In Celebrity, Chinese, Clips, English, Music, Sharing bibi chow (zhou bichang), china, fandom, mtv, performance

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