[CHINA] China’s film censors are upset with “Rush Hour 3″ film

Chinese film censors are upset with the anti-Chinese depiction in “Rush Hour 3″ starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

According to the article, “Variety magazine said on its Asia Web site that Chinese officials believe “Rush Hour 3,” which features Chan and Chris Tucker combating Chinese gangsters in Paris, is “fundamentally anti-Chinese.”

“The “Rush Hour” series revolves around the racial humor derived from the pairing of a Chinese (Chan) and black American (Tucker) police officer.”

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[TAIWAN] Japanese punk band Ging Nang Boyz singer busted in Taiwan

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Mainichi Shimbun reports that Ging Nang Boyz singer Mineta has gotten himself in trouble for stripping his clothes off in concert.

According to the article, “Kazunobu Mineta, leading singer of the Japanese rock band Ging Nang Boyz, was questioned by police for dropping his shorts when performing at a Taipei concert, an official said Sunday.”

“After the concert, we took him to the police bureau,” police officer Tang Se-huai said. “He appeared scared and nervous, saying he did not know he was not supposed to do this in Taiwan.”

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[PR] WASTED ORIENT – Chinese Punk Rock Documentary – DVD Out 9/25!

WASTED ORIENT
a film about JOYSIDE by KEVIN FRITZ

COMING TO DVD SEPTEMBER 25th!

“Joyside are the alcoholic, poverty-stricken frontrunners in China’s just-sprouting punk scene.” – City Pages

“Wasted Orient debunks the perception that most of the country is looking toward a hopeful and prosperous future.” – The Patriot News

“A hearty, greasy helping of Chinese subculture…one that is best consumed with a few beers.” – China Daily

WASTED ORIENT is the story of Beijing punk rock band JOYSIDE and their first tour in a country not exactly ready for rock n’ roll. Obsessed with Johnny Thunders and the philosophies of American punk, Joyside decide to spread their beer-soaked message of apathy across the countryside, filming every minute of it. The boys share their views of a bleak modern China through interviews in public toilets, countless binge drinking sessions, and in their songs (“I Don’t Care About Society!” “I Wanna Piss Around You!”). Director Kevin Fritz captures an equally hilarious and uncompromising view inside a Chinese subculture through a group of silly, sloppy and hopeless punks, outsiders in their own country.

Born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Kevin Fritz got his start editing tractor maintainance videos and applied for an overseas scholarship as a joke, ending up at China’s prestigious Peking University to study Chinese. He met Joyside in 2003 and began filming their tour that same year.

DVD EXTRAS: Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, Vomit, Lo Mein, and more.

CREDITS: DIRECTOR/DP/CO-EDITOR Kevin Fritz EDITOR Renny McCauley MUSIC SCORE Mario Russo & Andy Zubko PRODUCER Zhang Yang ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Karla Norgaard PRINT ART Mike Miles & Jon Yankowy SOFTWARE/TECH Li Bin, Xu Feng & Zheng Tao THANKS Tian Yi Fu MANAGER Lao Xu

Joyside is Bian Yuan, Liu Hao, Fan Bo, Xin Shuang & Yang Yang

An Uncle Crabby & CookieWise Production

CHINA, 2007, 92 minutes, Color, Video, 1.33:1 (original ratio), Chinese (w/ English subtitles) Catalog # PLX-030 UPC: 082354004125 Price: $19.98

http://www.plexifilm.com/wasted.html

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[VIDEO GAMES] BRAVE STORY: NEW TRAVELER coming out on July 31st for the PSP

BRAVE STORY: NEW TRAVELER (for PSP system)

An original title created specifically for the PSP system and developed by Game Republic (Genji series), BRAVE STORY: NEW TRAVELER features beautifully rendered 3D graphics, an epic tale with a host of colorful supporting characters, and a traditional turn-based battle system easy for beginners to pickup and play but with enough depth and innovative features for seasoned gamers.

The Story

On a day that starts out like any other, an 11-year-old boy’s life is changed forever. As the main character and his friend Miki pass a leisurely afternoon, Miki suddenly collapses from an unknown illness. When the girl shows no sign of waking, the main character grows distraught over not being a better friend and not having the means to save her.

Suddenly, a strange voice offers him a second chance: “Beyond the door you can change your destiny!” He soon leaves the real world and journeys to the world of Vision, where, as a novice “Traveler,” he will surmount myriad ordeals in hopes of ultimately meeting with the Goddess of Fortune to have a single wish granted.

The would-be hero quickly makes friends both strange and fascinating as he finds himself blossoming into a successful Traveler. His courage and resolve are tested time and again as he and his newfound companions travel the mysterious lands of Vision. The challenges he faces are daunting, but his growing sense of self and responsibility propel him ever forward.

Valuable friendships, unbounded courage, and his own personal growth will all prove indispensable as he seeks out his destiny: a life-changing adventure and the discovery of a hero inside an ordinary kid.

Key Features

• A role-playing game with an epic tale, introducing unique characters with distinct personalities and leading the player through the imaginative world of Vision as he learns to become a hero.

• Traditional turn-based battle system enhanced by innovative features based on the story’s themes of friendship, courage, and growth:

  • Friendship – Form bonds with party members to create new, cooperative skills.

  • Courage – Use “brave power” (BP) to unleash powerful special abilities, continually refilling the gauge as you devastate the enemy.

  • Growth – The hero’s main weapon will evolve as he collects the gemstones needed to meet with the Goddess of Fortune. New accessories can be forged by collecting and combining the right materials. Each character can also unlock a one-of-a-kind innate ability.

• Beautifully rendered 3D graphics with vibrant colors and a distinct visual style, highlighted by polished character and enemy movement, graphical representations of sound effects, and a unique animation for each special ability – all exceptionally well drawn and intricately textured.

• Collect special birds which you can use in mini-games or trade in for rare and precious weapons, armor, and items.

• Network with friends to trade your birds, or game-share a mini-game to have friends assist in capturing rare birds.

BRAVE STORY: NEW TRAVELER is scheduled for release in Q3 2007. The title was released in Japan on July 8, 2006 by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and developed by Game Republic. The ESRB rating and suggested retail price will be announced at a later date.

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[PR][VIDEO GAMES] DID YOU KNOW? DAILY PUZZLES GO WIRELESS WITH NINTENDO’S PICROSS DS

July 30, 2007 – Puzzle lovers, drop your newspapers. With today’s release of Picross DS™, Nintendo gives daily brain teasers a wireless jolt. Who needs inky fingers and eraser crumbs when players can use their hand-held Nintendo DS™ and stylus to solve a new type of challenging grid puzzle? Players can compete with others online or create their own puzzles to share.Picross DS is a remarkable mix of crossword and sudoku dynamics. Every Picross puzzle features an image hidden beneath a grid of numbered squares. Using simple logic, players reveal the hidden picture by decoding the number sequences in each column and row.  Everyday puzzle fanatics will love using the Nintendo DS stylus like a high-powered pencil to write, draw, select and solve.

In the game’s Daily Picross mode, players can track their progress over time, opening up new activities as their skills increase. Race the clock to solve puzzles quickly or deduce errors in a filled grid. Switch over to My Picross mode and design custom puzzles or convert hand-drawn pictures into challenging Picross DS grids.

Want to network with other puzzle lovers? Link up wirelessly with other local players to exchange puzzles and host multiplayer matches. Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection also enables players to download exciting new puzzle packs, upload their own Picross DS creations, or compete in head-to-head puzzle-solving races.

Picross DS is the latest addition to Nintendo’s growing Touch Generations series, which includes games such as Brain Age™: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day, Nintendogs™ and Planet Puzzle League™. With combined sales of 6.5 million in the United States alone, Touch Generations titles continue to make video games a more broadly inclusive medium, attracting players of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels.

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[PR][VIDEO GAMES] ONLINE SOCCER GOES SUPERNOVA WITH MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED FOR WII

New Controls and Wi-Fi Features Give Nintendo’s Soccer Smash a Wicked Boost

REDMOND, Wash., July 30, 2007 – It’s gonna take more than a good pair of shin guards to protect Mario™ and his turbo-kicking teammates in Mario Strikers Charged™, Nintendo’s blistering new soccer title for Wii™ that launches today. Earthquakes, firestorms and electric shockwaves are just a few of the otherworldly hazards in this ball-chasing battle royal. And with players from coast to coast competing online, this wildly unpredictable pitch is for neither the faint of heart nor the heavy of foot. It’s not just soccer, it’s soccer – Mario style.

Mario Strikers Charged introduces nine sensational new stadiums, plus a host of new characters with their own special abilities and power moves. Players create their own teams by mixing and matching captains and sidekicks, then use the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ to face opponents in single-player or multiplayer modes. Mastering Striker Challenges or the tournament-styled Road to the Striker Cup will unlock new elements and cheats.

The excitement extends beyond your living room as Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo’s wireless gaming service, enables players nationwide to meet and compete online. Participants are ranked using a positive structured points-based system, and rankings are reset to zero each week to keep the competition fresh and fierce.

“Mario Strikers Charged incorporates unique Wii controls such as flicking the Wii Remote to tackle the ball from your opponent or using it to block shots on the goal,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “There’s no better way to keep a game challenging and fun than to invite more people to join the action. With Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, we’re creating a real community where players at any experience level can take part in the fun.”

Mario Strikers Charged is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older. For more information about the game, visit www.MarioStrikersCharged.com. Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

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[VIDEO GAMES] WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

The Virtual Console™ is like a box of chocolates: You never know which games have the tasty caramel filling and which ones have that pink-green crème inside. Whatever your preference, we’ve got you covered with this weeks release of Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy and Drop Off. Read on and savor the delicious centers of these classic treats.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Star Soldier (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): The standard for vertically scrolling shooters, Star Soldier is the original game that spawned all of the titles in the long-running Soldier series. Go inside a floating space station inhabited by a giant computer known as Starbrain. Your mission: to stop Starbrain’s galactic invasion by piloting Caesar, a new, compact space fighter through 16 deadly stages. Collect power capsules to increase three different attributes of your ship: firepower, movement speed and defensive shields. Blast wave after wave of approaching enemies or use the innovative Trap Zone feature to fly beneath a land mass and avoid incoming fire. Conquer each stage to make your way to the final confrontation with Starbrain.

Dynamite Headdy™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 800 Wii Points): Headdy, a toy with a detachable head, arrives in North Town to find that the evil puppet king Dark Demon is causing serious problems. Dark Demon is gathering up all the puppets in town and turning some into his own evil minions, while eliminating the rest of the puppets that aren’t good enough to join his legions. Headdy is captured and is targeted for the incinerator, but escapes in the nick of time. Now he’s got to save the town. To do so, Headdy has to take on all manner of bad guys and even has to contend with his lifelong nemesis, Trouble Bruin the bear. Can Headdy overcome all his foes and take down Dark Demon?

Drop Off (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Brave five rounds of haunting, nightmarish dreams in this take on the classic arcade puzzler. To save his dearly beloved from the malicious demon that controls her dreams and holds her captive, our brave hero plunges himself into the nightmare to vanquish this evil foe. Deftly use the arrow items and control the angle of the ball to shatter the blocks that descend from the top of the screen. Set your sights on the joints holding the blocks together and knock off multiple blocks in one exhilarating blow. As you drop more and more blocks, their shapes will change, allowing you to earn bonus points. You must use your concentration and reflexes to defeat the demon and save your beloved.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

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[CHINA] Pop stars take part in “We Are Ready” song to signal one year ’til 2008 Olympics

Pop stars Hacken Lee, Eason Chan, Joey Yung and many more are taking part in the song “We Are Ready” to signal the one year until the Beijing 2007 Olympics.

According to an article on CRIEnglish.com, “The Hong Kong singers are just a small part of the 133 top Chinese musicians, spanning pop and rock, who have joined passionately in producing the song.”

“The big team includes Taiwan singer Elva Hsiao, Hong Kong’s Joey Yung and Alan Tam, “Super Girl” Zhang Liangying and rock veteran Wang Feng from the Chinese mainland.”

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[CHINA] Zhang Jingchu says Jackie Chan is a good mentor

In a recent article from the AP, Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu gives a compliment to Jackie Chan.

According to the article, “Zhang said in an interview published in the August issue of the Hong Kong edition of Elle magazine that Chan helped her get through a day of crying scenes.”

“Jackie Chan helped me. He arranged a chair for me and let me sit down to build my mood. He said calmly, ‘When you’re ready, stand up from the chair.’ Then he told the crew, ‘We’ll start when Jingchu is ready,’” Zhang was quoted as saying.”

“Zhang, one of China’s rising stars, plays Soo Yung, the daughter of Chinese Ambassador Han, who is kidnapped in the first installment of the “Rush Hour” series, which stars Chan and Chris Tucker.”

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[JAPAN] Televiews / Drama thrive on nocturnal competition

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In the latest column by Wm. Penn, the latest is on Japanese dramas and perhaps the new prime time is after 11 p.m.

Penn writes, “In June, Gakken Publishing Co. inaugurated a magazine, TV Life Deep, the nation’s first magazine specializing in information about late-night TV shows.”

“Explaining the reason for the magazine’s launch, editor in chief Masamichi Ono said: “Many people’s lifestyles have become nocturnal, and prime time [7 p.m.-11 p.m.] isn’t the best time for them to watch TV shows anymore. Now I believe the hours after 11 p.m. are the real ‘prime time.’”

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