Park Jung Min wants to collaborate with Weibird Wei

As reported earlier, Park Jung Min has officially signed a contract with Sony Music Taiwan on September 30th. When asked which singer he would like to collaborate with, Park Jung Min shyly replied in Chinese, “Wei Li An (Weibird Wei)” which stunned the media; He then quickly added that he would also like to work with Jay Chou and Leehom Wang.

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Court rules in favor of Dee Hsu over lawsuit against Appledaily

Some might still remember Dee Hsu (Xiao S) and her husband Mike Hsu landed on the front page of Appledaily back in March. The newspaper reported that she had allegedly called the 113 helpline to report domestic violence. It claimed her case was forwarded to the Taipei Domestic Violence Prevention and Cure center. Following a visit from a social worker, the Hsu household was then deemed “high risk” by the center. Dee Hsu strongly denied the accusations and said she would sue Appledaily. The couple even met with reporters at the front of a police station (where Apple claimed she had filed a report) in an attempt to clear them name.

Over six months later, the Shihlin District Court determined that Appledaily failed to provide sufficient proof for the content it reported.  The paper was slapped with a 4 million NTD fine (~129,000 USD) and ordered to publish a full-page apology on its front page for one day. Dee Hsu and her husband responded on the ruling, “(We’re) very thankful that the judge did us justice, proving the report was false. 4 million can help a lot of people in need.” The two added, “It will be the first time in history (for Appledaily to print an apology on A1), (we’re) very thankful of the judge’s fair judgment.”

Appledaily won’t go down without a fight (of course!) Their editor in chief responded, “We have checked with the Taipei Domestic Violence Prevention and Cure center, Xiao S, Xiao S’s mom and other people prior to the report. We have verified as much as we possibly can, as well as (giving the issue) a balanced report. It fully presented statements from Xiao S and her family, and there was no malicious intention of defamation. (We) will appeal accordingly.”

Source: Appledaily, UDN

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A quick look at this year's Golden Horse nominations

The 47th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards announced its nominations earlier today. The big surprise was “When Love Comes (當愛來的時候)” which doesn’t go into wide release (in Taiwan) until the end of October. It garnered 14 nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Coming in second was the big-budget Hong Kong co-production “Bodyguards and Assassins (十月圍城)” with 9 nominations. Lead actor Wang Xue Qi (王学圻) will be the favorite to win Best Actor again for his critically acclaimed performance.

This year’s smash hit “Monga (艋舺)” only received one major nomination courtesy of Ethan Ruan. He will be facing off with Wang Xue Qi, Ni Da Hong (倪大红) and Qin Hao (秦昊) in the Best Actor category. Ethan Ruan’s buddy Mark Chao won’t be adding a Golden Horse to his collection -- He apparently missed out on a Best Newcomer nod by one vote. Meanwhile, director Dose Niu (鈕承澤) and producer Lee Lieh (李烈) were nominated for Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year.

Other surprises included snubs for “Au Revoir Taipei (一頁台北)”, as well as Donnie Yen and Jet Li in the acting categories. Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang should be very proud to hear that his son Derek Tsang (曾國祥) was nominated for Best New Director. He co-directed Lover’s Discourse (戀人絮語) with fellow nominee Jimmy Wan (尹志文). Leehom Wang wasn’t nominated in this category which didn’t come as a surprise. Nevertheless his song “All the Things You Never Knew (你不知道的事)” did receive a nod for Best Original Film Song.

Top nominees: Bodyguards and Assassins, When Love Comes

Here are highlights from the nominations:

Best Feature Film

Seven Days in Heaven 《父後七日》
Bodyguards and Assassins 《十月圍城》
When Love Comes 《當愛來的時候》
Judge 《透析》
The Fourth Portrait 《第四張畫》

Best Director

Teddy Chen (陳德森) for Bodyguards and Assassins 《十月圍城》
Chang Tso Chi (張作驥) for When Love Comes 《當愛來的時候》
Liu Jie (劉杰) for Judge 《透析》
Chung Mong Hong (鍾孟宏) for The Fourth Portrait 《第四張畫》

Best New Director

Ho Wi Ding (何蔚庭) for Pinoy Sunday 《台北星期天》
Li Wei Ran(李蔚然) for Welcome to Shama Town 《決戰刹馬鎮》
Hou Chi Jan (侯季然) for One Day 《有一天》
Jimmy Wan (尹志文) and Derek Tsang (曾國祥) for Lover’s Discourse 《戀人絮語》

Best Lead Actor

Ethan Ruan (阮經天) for Monga 《艋舺》
Wang Xue Qi (王學圻) for Bodyguards and Assassins 《十月圍城》
Ni Da Hong (倪大红) for Judge 《透析》
Hao Qin (秦昊) for Spring Fever 《春風沉醉的夜晚》

Best Lead Actress

Lv Li Ping(吕麗萍) for City Monkey 《玩酷青春》
Tang Wei (湯唯) for Crossing Hennessy 《月滿軒尼詩》
Xu Fan (徐帆) for Aftershock 《唐山大地震》
Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉) for Buddha Mountain 《觀音山》

Best Supporting Actor

Wu Peng Fon (吳朋奉) for Seven Days in Heaven 《父後七日》
Xu Cai Gen (徐才根) for Apart Together 《團圓》
Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) for Bodyguards and Assassins 《十月圍城》
Gao Meng Jie (高盟傑) for When Love Comes《當愛來的時候》

Best Supporting Actress

Cheung Si-Yin (張詩盈) for Seven Days in Heaven 《父後七日》
Lu Xue Feng (呂雪鳳) for When Love Comes 《當愛來的時候》
Zhang Jing Chu (張靜初) for Aftershock 《唐山大地震》
Lei Hao (郝蕾) for《第四張畫》

Best New Performer

Cheung Si Yin ( 張詩盈) Seven Days in Heaven 《父後七日》
Li Yi Jie (李亦捷) for When Love Comes 《當愛來的時候》
Lee Chien Na (李千娜) for Juliets 《茱麗葉》
Bi Xiao Hai (畢曉海) for The Fourth Portrait 《第四張畫》

For a full list of the nominees (in English), please visit the official Golden Horse website.

In case if anyone is curious about “When Love Comes”, here is the trailer:


The awards ceremony will take place on November 20th.

Source: Appledaily, UDN, www.goldenhorse.org.tw, Video from changchannel's Channel

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Park Jung Min shows off his absurd Chinese in Taiwan

Park Jung Min of the popular Korean boy group SS501 flew to Taiwan alone to officially sign with Sony Music Taiwan. New label mate “Little Fatty” Lin Yu-Chun was there to welcome him and presented him with a beautiful glass Eagle to signify success (“to fly high”).

Lin Yu-Chun then gave him his very own favorite hamburger as a treat, but Park Jung Min responded in Chinese, “I love you! Your tummy is so cute!” while poking Lin Yu-Chun’s stomach.  He then said that he would go anywhere with Lin Yu-Chun; Lin Yu-Chun was speechless.

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