The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| Posted: 14 Oct 2011 02:25 AM PDT Some China models linked to well-known stars are cashing in on the publicity to increase their fees. FOR models seeking instant name and face recognition, nothing seems to work as well as dating a star. Just ask Hannah Quinlivan (the new girl in Mandopop king Jay Chou's life), Vivian Dawson (who is basically Mr Jolin Tsai) or even Mavis Pan (the notorious ex-girlfriend of TVB prince Raymond Lam). They all have a long way to go, however, before they can rise to the heights of Lynn Hung, the girlfriend of Heavenly King Aaron Kwok who has become a top model in Hong Kong and a television star in Taiwan. Here's a look at models with better-known halves. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Who: Taiwanese model Hannah Quinlivan, 18. A photo was published in August of her and singer Jay Chou, 32, with his arm around her, in France – proof of their romance after six months of rumours circulating – and suddenly, she was hot. Pre-Jay Chou: Quinlivan, who has an Australian dad and a Korean-Taiwanese mum, was discovered on the Jacky Wu variety show Guess when she was 14 and had chubby cheeks. Although she then joined the cast of the Blackie Chen variety show Blackie's Teenage Club, her career was lacklustre. Career development: She was given star treatment in Taipei last month at an event for the jewellery house, Qeelin. She earned NT$150,000 (RM15,000) for the event, NT$30,000 (RM3,000) more than her usual fee, reported China Times. Last month, she confirmed a report that she had dated Lee Chuan, a Z-list regular from Lollipop, the sister show of Blackie's Teenage Club, when she was 16 and he, 18. But they broke up because her agent disapproved, she said. Reading between the lines, China Times noted: "In other words, the agency has no objection to her relationship with Jay." But she may be more interested in being Mrs Jay Chou than becoming a supermodel. At the Qeelin event last month, she was asked when she would be ready for marriage and she answered: "Now is OK." Who: Chinese model Lynn Hung, 30. She moved to Hong Kong in 2006, the year she was linked to Heavenly King Aaron Kwok, now 45, after they made an advertisement together. Pre-Aaron Kwok: The Nanjing native was a struggling model in Shanghai. Career development: Her fee soared 10 times after reports of her relationship with Kwok surfaced, reported Apple Daily. Although he has never officially acknowledged the romance, she seems to have made the most of her heightened media visibility. In 2008, she made her acting debut in the film Ip Man, opposite Donnie Yen. This year, she starred in her first television show, Material Queen, opposite Vanness Wu. Who: Chinese model Mavis Pan, 24, former girlfriend of actor Raymond Lam, 31. Bedroom photos of the couple were splashed in Next Magazine in March, after their break-up: a scandal that left him in tears. Pre-Raymond Lam: The native of Taizhou, Zhejiang province, was known as "Taizhou's Little Shu Qi" in China but not well-known in Hong Kong and beyond. Career development: She became famous as well as notorious because of the scandal as she was suspected of leaking the photos to the press. Not that it has hurt her acting career. This year, she was in the Nick Cheung movie Treasure Inn and will be in the Simon Yam film Five-Star General. Who: New Zealand-born, Taiwan-based model Vivian Dawson, 27. He made his tabloid debut last year as the alleged beau of singer Jolin Tsai, 31. Pre-Jolin Tsai: His mother is Singaporean. He won Cleo Singapore magazine's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors contest in 2009. Career development: He has increased his profile – and price – for an appearance since his romance with Tsai, according to China Times. His fee is now a reported NT$100,000 (RM10,000). Who: China-born, Hong Kong-based model Jenny Xu, 23. She has been lumped with the other Chinese model girlfriends, after reports linked her last year to Hong Kong actor Kevin Cheng. However, he said she was just a friend. Tabloid talk has it that he suspected she was just using him and soon split up with her. Who: Chinese model Zhang Xinyu, 24, girlfriend of Hong Kong actor Ron Ng, 32. She has been tagged as an ambitious attention-seeker after she was seen holding his hand last month in Beijing, in full view of the press. But she is still based in China, although they have been dating for a year. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 14 Oct 2011 02:18 AM PDT South Korean leading actress Ha Ji-won is adapting well to her new status as action star. STARRING in creature feature Sector 7, billed as South Korea's first 3D actioner (not available in 3D here, though), Ha Ji-won impressed the director so much that he felt that the movie could not be made without an actress like her. Known as South Korea's Angelina Jolie, Ha's intense performance in Sector 7 (released in August in South Korea) has won her rave reviews from moviegoers in the country who have compared her performance to Sigourney Weaver's in Hollywood science fiction blockbuster Aliens (1986). Directed by Kim Ji-hoon, Sector 7 also stars Oh Ji-ho, Ahn Sung-ki and Park Cheol-min. The movie depicts how the crew of an oil rig battles a sea monster that has mutated due to a virus. In Sector 7, Ha plays Cha Hae-jun, a harbour equipment administrator. "The character interested me but I think the movie itself interested me more. When I was reading the script, I wondered if my country could produce this kind (3D) of movie too. Since I like challenges, I'd give priority to action movies." Born Jeon Hae-rim in Seoul, the 33-year-old, started off her acting career in romantic comedies and is well-known as an actress who puts in a lot of effort doing research in preparation for her roles. But lately, she has been bitten by the action bug and raised the bar by challenging herself further in her latest movie Sector 7. "I lived on the oil drilling ship in the middle of the ocean. Because it's also about discovery in the sea, I got myself a skin-scuba licence. "Then, I was so surprised when I heard that there would be a bike riding scene in the movie. But I thought that it would be cool to see an actress riding a motorcycle in the movie, so I got myself a motorcycling license in a week too. Yet, I still thought that it would not be enough, so I watched a lot of bike-tours with my co-actors. I've put a lot of effort into narrowing the gap between myself and the motorcycle. "There were also many action scenes that used wires. The director had even mistaken me as a stunt-man once, and he shouted at me, saying, 'Ask the stunt-man to get out fast!'" Apart from getting qualifications in skin-scuba and bike riding, she also underwent an intensive training regime that helped a lot in the interpretation of her character in the movie. "I swam and did weight training for eight hours every day, to improve and train my stamina. I got a lot of help from the other actors to act rough and tough." "I faced many difficulties at the beginning of the production, such as the emotions and the direction where my eyes should look, especially in scenes with the creature, as it is all up to imagination. "The other actors felt like I did; the hardest part of the movie was having to fight an imaginary monster, one that we can't see. Although I'd acted in Tsunami At Haeundae (2009), Sector 7 was really tiring. The dialogue recording process was smooth because the director, seniors and crew were all there with us." Ha felt that her character was very ambitious. "I've heard many people say that a Hollywood actor would be more suited to this sort of character compared to a delicate Asian actress. I hope that people will change their perception after they watch this movie." With so many action scenes, it is inevitable that Ha sustained her fair share of injuries during production. "I always worry about safety because of many dangerous scenes in the movie. Even with all the preparation and security taken, my body still ached and required chiropractic treatment the day after filming the action scenes. I fell from the motorcycle once, and my hands and legs were injured and I'm still undergoing treatment for that." But the actress is no stranger to challenging action roles. Her reputation for physically demanding roles grew as she took on difficult movies and trained herself to do advanced aerobics (Sex Is Zero, 2002), Korean martial art Sunmudo (Duelist, 2005), boxing (Miracle On 1st Street, 2007) and all sorts of stunt work for her stuntwoman role in TV series Secret Garden (2010). – Seto Kit Yan > Sector 7 opens in local cinemas on Oct 20. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 14 Oct 2011 02:04 AM PDT The Raven FROM the trailer, it looks like this film, which features John Cusack in the lead role, is not unlike the popular series Castle, starring Nathan Fillion. Except the series is light and this film looks to be enveloped in bleakness – from the subject matter to the time period and the main character. The Raven is, of course, in reference to Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem. Hence, the film is a fictionalised account of the author's life whereby a killer copies gruesome murders in Poe's books in real life. Poe (Cusack) is called to help in the investigation when Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans, currently in The Three Musketeers) recognises the pattern of the murders as those in Poe's books. Director James McTeigue can sell the film easily just on the casting, although Cusack's English accent is non-existent. Apparently, Ewan McGregor was supposed to play Poe ... but, hmmm, Cusack is a better choice, no? The trailer shows that this might have been a straightforward murder mystery if it weren't for the "Poe" factor. Count us in as nevermore intrigued. The Raven is scheduled to fly into our cinemas on March 9, 2012. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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