Free Chinese Lesson - French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant in hospital

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant in hospital

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-06-06 18:52



MONTPELLIER, France - French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is in hospital
recovering from a leg injury following a motorcycle accident in
southwestern France, police said Wednesday.

The 76-year-old actor who starred opposite Brigitte Bardot in Roger
Vadim's 1956 film "And God Created Woman" is suffering from a fractured
shinbone and bruises.

Police said he lost control of his motorcycle on Tuesday while riding in
a forest area near the town of Pont Saint Esprit and was taken to a
nearby hospital by a passing motorist who stopped to assist him.

Trintignant, who ranks among France's most gifted actors, has been living
in the southwestern Gard region for the past 30 years.












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Chinese Studies - 'Pirates' sinks but stays on top

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






'Pirates' sinks but stays on top

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-04 08:45


LOS ANGELES - "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" hit an ebb tide
in its second weekend but still had enough buoyancy to hold the No. 1
spot at the box office.


With a $43.2 million weekend, Disney's blockbuster sequel sank a steep
62.4 percent from its $114.7 million opening a week earlier, according to
studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's romantic comedy "Knocked Up," starring Katherine Heigl as a
career woman who gets pregnant from a one-night stand with a slacker
(Seth Rogen), debuted a strong No. 2 with $29.3 million. The movie's
weekend gross equaled its entire production budget.

"It looks like a lot of people wanted to get knocked up this weekend,"
said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

MGM's thriller "Mr. Brooks," with Kevin Costner as a mild-mannered
businessman who moonlights as a serial killer, premiered in fourth place
with $10 million.

Picturehouse's sports tale "Gracie," featuring Elisabeth Shue in a film
inspired by tragic events in her own life and her teenage days as the
only girl on a boys soccer team, opened at No. 7 with $1.4 million.

The big drop for "Pirates of the Caribbean" was typical of summer flicks
that open to colossal numbers. In the second weekend, Sony's "Spider-Man
3" tumbled 62 percent from its record $151.1 million debut, while
DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek the Third" fell 57 percent from its $121.6
million opening.

While big films once had longer shelf life, most blockbusters today aim
to pack in the crowds the first weekend before audiences move on to the
next hit. By the second weekend, most people who wanted to catch a big
movie already have seen it.

"It's exactly where I expected it," said Chuck Viane, head of
distribution for Disney. "Once you get everybody who is that avid, crazy
fan that's going to see it the first week, then you rely on people who
never go out the first week and the people who just come back and back
and back."

With its mix of serious themes and bawdy humor, director Judd Apatow's
"Knocked Up" became a rare R-rated comedy to click with a mainstream
audience, much as his "The 40-Year-old Virgin" did two years ago. Most
Hollywood comedies have a softer tone to land a PG-13 rating.

"This could not be reduced to PG-13 just to get a broader audience. It
would have lost the beauty of the whole film," said Nikki Rocco, head of
distribution for Universal. "It's amazing how Judd hits the exact buttons
of what average people go through in their lives."

Overseas, "At World's End" did an additional $105.4 million over the
weekend to bring its worldwide total to $625.3 million.

Domestically, the movie has grossed $216.5 million, trailing last
summer's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which had a $135.6
million opening and had taken in $258.4 million after its second weekend.

"Shrek the Third" took in $26.7 million domestically to lift its total to
$254.6 million. It is rolling out gradually overseas.

With $7.5 million, "Spider-Man 3" padded its domestic haul to $318.3
million. Worldwide, "Spider-Man 3" has taken in $844 million, surpassing
2002's "Spider-Man" ($821 million) to become the biggest hit in Sony's
history.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian
theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be
released Monday.

1. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," $43.2 million.

2. "Knocked Up," $29.3 million.

3. "Shrek the Third," $26.7 million.

4. "Mr. Brooks," $10 million.

5. "Spider-Man 3," $7.5 million.

6. "Waitress," $2 million.

7. "Gracie," $1.4 million.

8. "Bug," $1.22 million.

9. "28 Weeks Later," $1.2 million.

10. "Disturbia," $1.1 million.












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Learning Mandarin - Justin Timberlake launches record label

ENTERTAINMENT / Music






Justin Timberlake launches record label

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-31 08:35





Singer Justin Timberlake poses on the press line at the Los Angeles
premiere of 'Shrek The Third' in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, Calif.
in a Sunday, May 6, 2007 photo. [AP]

LOS ANGELES - Justin Timberlake, music star and movie star, is aiming to
add another glittering line to his resume �� star maker.

The pop singer will sign artists and release their music through a new
record label he's heading that's a joint venture with Universal Music
Group's Interscope Geffen A&M label group.

"We are all excited about the talent we have to offer already on our
roster, and I cannot wait to introduce the world to my new discoveries,"
Timberlake said in a statement issued Monday.

Timberlake will serve as chairman and chief executive of the new label,
dubbed Tennman Records, which will be based in Los Angeles and
distributed globally by Interscope.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Day-to-day operations will be handled by Ken Komisar, a former vice
president at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, who was named president at
Tennman.

Timberlake's first two solo albums �� 2002's "Justified" and last year's
"FutureSex/LoveSounds" �� have sold more than 13 million copies combined.

He's currently on the big screen, at least his voice is, in the mega-hit
"Shrek the Third."










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Chinese Mandarin - Mischa Barton rushed to hospital

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Mischa Barton rushed to hospital

(WENN)
Updated: 2007-05-28 17:02





Mischa Barton

Actress Mischa Barton was rushed to hospital last night, after suffering
a bad reaction to medication.

The former The O.C. star had been enjoying herself at a friend's Memorial
Day barbecue in Los Angeles, but began feeling ill after having a few
cocktails, reports TMZ.com.

She was taken to a local hospital before doctors sent her home with
strict instructions to rest.

A representative for the 21-year-old said Barton was at home with family
and is "feeling much better".








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Chinese Mandarin - Allured by flamenco and two rich ladies

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






Allured by flamenco and two rich ladies

By Hu Xudong (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-05-25 14:00



If I had known it, I would have sellotaped my mouth, so that my
har-de-har wouldn't scare our kitten; I would have sat on another chair,
so that my computer chair wouldn't turn upside down as I burst out in
laughter.

As usual, I got myself a cup of tea after getting up and turned on the
computer to browse through the MSN. Suddenly, a friend shook my screen:
"It's said you are patronized by two rich ladies!"

I thought he was joking and paid no heed. But he persisted. I had to tell
him, although I might have fancied such an ideal occasionally, I never
put it into practice.

But the friend concluded all those involved in such events would only
deny it. He declared: The news is spread far and wide - there is no use
denying.

My wife and I giggled our way to work. Soon we ran into another friend
who sniggered at me with joy and jealousy: "Is it true that two rich
ladies support you?"

Good heavens! My MSN friend was right. I have been tagged as a protg of
two certain matrons. My mouth ran dry as I tried in vain to pull my
friend out of the misunderstanding.

As I asked for my way from another acquaintance, he who never snickers
sneered: "You are keeping a low profile - you still take a bus when two
rich madams back you up?"

I collapsed.

I have participated in the spread of numerous rumors and know fully well
even the wildest innuendo stems from certain distorted facts. Yet I
racked my brains and couldn't figure out the source of my disreputation.

My better half offered help: "If I were one of the two rich ladies, who
could the other be? Why must there be two? Is there a misunderstanding
about our trip with my girlfriend? If I were a rich lady, how easy it is
to become a rich lady! Do I really look like a rich lady? Are they saying
I'm fat?"

Thanks to my wife's amazing analysis, before we fell asleep, she cracked
this puzzle. A few days ago, we watched a show by Vicente Amigo, flamenco
guitar master from Spain. As my wife interviewed the virtuoso, I stayed
outside waiting.

A Spanish young man who had sung in the show slipped out. Two women,
apparently attracted by his voice and muscle, engaged him for a chat
beside their BMW. Yet the man couldn't speak English, nor could the
ladies speak Spanish.

I always pride myself with a spirit of Lei Feng, so I offered help with a
mixture of Spanish and Portuguese. Finally, the young man jumped in and
the BMW dashed into the night.

My wife related this overture happily on MSN. Little would either of us
predict the dramatic turn of events.

I used to love a game: An American asks a German to translate an English
poem, then a French goes on to translate it. After going through dozens
of lingual twists, the poem is back in English, but in completely
different words and meaning.

But my experience proves, even in my mother tongue, transfiguration could
lead the message to backfire.


(China Daily 05/25/2007 page20)










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Chinese Class - John Wayne celebrated on 100th birthday

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






John Wayne celebrated on 100th birthday

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-23 22:29


NEW YORK - On the 100th anniversary of John Wayne's birth, the Duke still
swaggers through the American psyche as not just an actor, but a patriot
- his centennial spawning fond remembrance, and perhaps a few small
protests on the side.

Wayne's legacy is unique because of the dual perspectives that pervade
his memory. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Garry Wills, who
wrote "John Wayne's America" in 1997, described Wayne as "the most
popular movie star ever, but also the most polarizing."

It could be argued that no other film actor has ever come to symbolize so
many things: rugged masculinity, the frontier, even America itself. The
Duke has remained, in the truest sense, an icon.

For many, an entire way of life is epitomized in the tired, unblinking
eyes that peered knowingly from his cocksure pose ("walks around like a
big cat," said Howard Hawks). His voice, too, seems etched in the
collective memory: With a simple "pilgrim," a whole lost world is
summoned.

Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison, would have turned 100 on Saturday. He
died at 72 of stomach cancer in June 1979 after a career that spanned
more than 170 films. He didn't win an Academy Award until 1970 for his
performance in "True Grit." (He was nominated twice earlier �� for best
actor in 1949's "Sands of Iwo Jima" and best picture for 1960's "The
Alamo," which he directed and produced.)

To this day, he still ranks atop polls rating the most adored actors; a
Harris Poll conducted just this year rated him as the third-most popular
movie star behind Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks.

Nostalgia for strong, silent heroes like those Wayne portrayed can
regularly be spotted in places like HBO's "The Sopranos." Of course, even
Tony Soprano sees a shrink, and Wayne's rugged masculinity is now often
viewed as the symbol of bygone era; feelings are now meant to be openly
expressed and analyzed. Those who keep their emotions locked up have even
been referred to as suffering from the "John Wayne syndrome."

He seldom deviated from heroic roles, often set in the West or on the
battlefield. Among his most beloved and acclaimed films are "Stagecoach"
(1939), "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), "The Searchers" (1956) and "The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962). His range was limited, but he mined a
narrow path of the reluctant but obligated hero �� a consistent approach
that furthered his iconic stature.

He knew it, too.

"When I started, I knew I was no actor, and I went to work on this Wayne
thing," he once said. "I figured I needed a gimmick, so I dreamed up the
drawl, the squint and a way of moving meant to suggest that I wasn't
looking for trouble but would just as soon throw a bottle at your head as
not. I practiced in front of a mirror."

It's a notably different �� and perhaps dated �� tactic in a profession
that values, above all, malleability. If you want to be an actor, study
Brando. But if you want to be a movie star, study Wayne.

"He never tricked the audience with the characters he played," says
Gretchen Wayne, who heads her late husband Michael Wayne's film company,
Batjac Production, which was formed in 1954 by her legendary
father-in-law. "His films started in the late '20s, early '30s, so
there's three generations of people who have grown up with him."

She will host an evening presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences in Los Angeles on Thursday, where a new restoration of "The
High and the Mighty" (1954) will be shown. (Wayne was married three times
and had seven children.)

Turner Classic Movies has been paying tribute throughout the week by
airing a 35-film festival of his movies. His birthplace, Winterset, Iowa,
will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday for a new John Wayne museum.
"Hondo" (1953), recently restored in digital 3-D, will screen at the
Cannes Film Festival.

Hollywood studios are also rolling out a small army of DVD releases,
including collector's sets from Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Home Video
and Paramount.

This all evidences an enduring love for Wayne that may surpass even his
esteemed contemporaries: Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Cary Grant and
Katharine Hepburn, whose centennial was earlier this month.

Unlike some of the stars of his day, Wayne never served in World War II,
ironic since Gen. Douglas MacArthur said he "represented the American
serviceman better than the American serviceman himself." He was awarded a
Congressional Gold Medal in 1979 shortly before his death.

Jim Olson, a Sam Houston State University history professor who co-wrote
the 1995 biography "John Wayne: American," believes Wayne's guilt over
not serving in the war propelled him to compensate by being a fervent
anti-communist and symbol of American ideals.

"Wayne was a confused young man," says Olson. "He sort of grew up
searching for the meaning of life and I think he found it in the values
he ended up portraying on screen. His screen image and his individual
persona kind of kept ricocheting off each other over time until the image
on screen became his alter ego."

Especially in his later years, Wayne came to symbolize political
conservatism and a dedication to country. His stand against communism
during the Cold War was so influential that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin
plotted to assassinate him, according to Michael Munn's 2005 biography
"John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth."

Wayne famously said, "I always thought I was a liberal. I came up
terribly surprised one time when I found out that I was a right-wing
conservative extremist."

He angered more people with his support of the Vietnam War, which he
expressed openly in 1968's "The Green Berets," a film he co-directed and
starred in.

"Wayne lived in a world of absolutes. He did not like ambiguity," says
Olson. "He lived in a world where, in his mind, right was right and wrong
was wrong. And evil was real and evil had to be crushed with violence if
necessary.

"There's a generation of Americans that kind of grew up with Wayne,
matured with Wayne and grew old with Wayne, through all the trials and
traumas of modern American history �� and in doing so, found in him a
voice they understood."

It's been not only 100 years since his birth, but nearly three decades
since his death. Yet Wayne still remains one of the most recognizable
faces in the world. He is, as New York Times film critic Vincent Camby
once wrote, "marvelously indestructible."










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Chinese Mandarin - Bug

ENTERTAINMENT / Coming Soon






Bug


Updated: 2007-05-21 15:41





A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes rooms in a run-down motel,
living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband. But when
Agnes begins a tentative romance with Peter, an eccentric, nervous
drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again--until the first bugs arrive.

Genres: Drama, Thriller and Adaptation

Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.

Release Date: May 25th, 2007 (wide)

MPAA Rating: R for some strong violence, sexuality, nudity, language and
drug use.

Distributors: Lionsgate

Starring: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Brian O'Byrne, Lynn Collins,
Brian O'Byrne Directed by: William Friedkin
Produced by: Jim Siebel, Michael C. Ohoven, Kimberly C. Anderson












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