May

13

2008

(4) Comments

Sorry Ladies, He’s Taken (And Has Kids Too!)

11:05PM by andrewlim

Asia’s King of Pop, Andy Lau, has remained “single” for as long as anyone can remember. Like Jackie Chan, he is worried (or in Jackie’s case, was worried) that revealing his relationship status will cost him the support of his female fans. Jackie Chan did not own up to having a wife (Joan Lin) and a 20-something year old son (Jaycee Chan) only until five or six years ago. Andy Lau, who is in his mid-40s now, is clearly following in Jackie Chan’s footsteps. There were countless rumors surrounding Andy’s sexuality. When I attended a wedding in Hong Kong a few years ago, I sat next to this chatterbox who told me that Andy Lau would often travel to Taiwan to hook up with younger men. She used to work for a gossip magazine so there could be an ounce of truth in what she said. Gay men usually buy the gay story if the person in question is attractive. 

May

11

2008

(9) Comments

No Thanks!

08:50AM by andrewlim

Due to its worldwide box office success, The Forbidden Kingdom is getting a sequel. This chop-suey of Chinese fable will reunite the two big Chinese martial arts stars, Jet Li and Jackie Chan, and will likely feature a romance between Jet Li and Li Bingbing‘s characters, according to the Beijing Times report. Wait, the romancing of the Monkey God and the Grey Haired Lady aka Moonlight Witch? Now that’s a first. A better storyline would be to have Jet Li play a mute guy. This is certainly fitting since he uttered no more than 10 sentences in the first movie, and most were incomprehensible. 

May

9

2008

(46) Comments

Sometimes, A Drought Will Do Us Good.

09:50AM by andrewlim

Korean R&B pop sensation, Rain, was on The Colbert Report earlier this week. The Michael Jackson of Asia was in LA for the promotion of his movie, ”Speed Racer” and decided to pay the funny man Stephen Colbert a visit for a dance off. The segment was pre-taped due to Rain’s limited English proficiency. This is how it started—In 2007, Time magazine conducted an online poll of the 100 most influential people of the year and Rain was number 1 while Stephen tailed him as the runner up. Ever since then, Rain had become Stephen’s arch nemesis and the comedian even joked about him and imitated a scene from his music video. (You can download high quality clips of their performance after the jump.)

May

8

2008

(19) Comments

A Little Girl With A Big Voice

07:00AM by andrewlim

Most Filipinos I know can sing very well, But none of them has a voice as big and a body frame as small as Charice Pempengco.  Apparently this 15-year old girl who found her stardom on youtube just taped a segment on Oprah’s show earlier this week. Charice also made an appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show late last year and performed two songs. I saw this clip of her singing “And I Tell You I’m Not Going” and her voice simply blew me away. She has the voice of Whitney but the body of Britney (when Britney was 15 that is. She is probably thrice the size of Charice now). 

May

7

2008

(3) Comments

Slurp… Slurp….Mmm… Yummy!

09:37AM by andrewlim

Things have been pretty slow in the Asian celeb world these two days so let’s talk about food (another subject I love dearly!). Ramen has been all the rage in the major U.S. cities as of late. I am not talking about the little ramen packets that you used to eat in college to save money for drinking. I am talking about a steamy bowl of noodles served in a delicious broth with some sliced pork, egg and seaweed (I am salivating as I am writing this) . There are four common types of ramen - shio (salt), tonkatsu (pork bone), shoyu (soy sauce) and miso ramen. My personal favorite is the tonkatsu ramen. I used to get my ramen fix at one of the many hole in the wall japanese noodles/yakitori places on St. Marks Place, where your entrance and exit are usually accompanied by a loud and zesty Japanese greeting by the restaurant staff.  Now I get them at newer establishments that specialize in serving ramen. These places seem to be popping up in the city like mushroom. Every month there is a new ramen place for New Yorkers to try out. 

May

4

2008

(5) Comments

Take The Offer, Please!!!

11:57PM by andrewlim

This is probably the most exciting news I have received in weeks! Apparently Live Nation, Madonna’s current recording label, is interested in expanding into Asia and has offered the ultimate Asian Diva Faye Wong a recording contract worth HKD100 Million (USD$13 Million). Ever since Faye released her last album “To Love” in 2001, she has retired into her domesticated life in Beijing. Her daily routine probably consists of screaming at her maid, singing karaoke and playing mahjong with her gal pals. “Fayenatics” around the world like me have been hoping that she would get tired of this lifestyle one day (but seriously, who would?) and come out to bedazzle us with another album. There is not a single female recording artist from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Mainland China that has proven worthy to replace Faye since her unofficial retirement seven years ago. 

May

3

2008

(9) Comments

Undeniably The Embarassment of Asians Worldwide!

11:57AM by andrewlim

There’s nothing in the world that is more embarassing to us Asians than to admit that this freak show (Bai Ling) is one of our people. From her imitation of Madonna on VH1’s ”But Can They Sing?” to her recent shoplifting at a LAX gift shop, she is nothing but a media whore who gives Asians a bad name. She shows up at every movie premiere (even though the movie has nothing to do with her) and wears really outlandish outfits that would put another Asian freak show Bobby Trendy to shame. The paparrazi in LA adore her because she helps fill up their time with her bizzare behaviors, strange outfits and often incomprehensible comments. 

Apr

30

2008

(3) Comments

Hollywood, Here They Come!

08:55PM by andrewlim

While it’s been a challenge for many Asian American actors and actresses to break into Hollywood, it’s a much easier road for their Asian counterparts to make a debut there. This month, Korean heartthrob Rain will make his debut in Hollywood with the famous 60s-anime-turned-movie ”Speed Racer”, playing an Asian racer that is forced to defend his family name. Another Asian heartthrob, Takuya Kimura, is also said to be coming to Hollywood this year. He is set to star opposite hottie Josh Harnett in a movie titled ”I Come With The Rain”, along with korean actor Lee Byung-hun. A veteran actress from Hong Kong, Charlie Yeung, is also making her debut in Hollywood this year. She will star opposite Nicolas Cage in ”Bangkok Dangerous” and will probably play a damsel in distress (how else will Hollywood portray a petite Asian girl?). 

Apr

29

2008

(13) Comments

Finally, They Are Getting Hitched.

08:30AM by andrewlim

After dating for what must have seemed like a million years, Tony Leung and Carina Lau are finally getting married this year. Both have repeatedly admitted to the possibility of a marriage when asked by the paparazzi at several public events this year. Rumor has it that these two love birds will officially announce their engagement at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in May. Why Cannes!? Why not at the recently held Hong Kong Film Awards? After all, won’t they find a broader audience at the latter event to congratulate them on their engagement, since they are more well known in Hong Kong than France? 

Apr

27

2008

(2) Comments

Is The Talent Well In Hong Kong Drying Up?

11:45PM by andrewlim

Hong Kong, once known as the Hollywood of Asia, is apparently running out of talented singers or actors. Prudence Law and Shirley Kwan, two Cantopop divas that were popular in the late 80s and early 90s, held a comeback concert separately in HK this month and they were a hit. Sammi Cheng, another Cantopop diva who went into hiatus in the last few years, also had her comeback concert recently (including one in Atlantic City for the Chinese gamblers and fans living in the U.S. Eastern seaboard). Their fans, mostly gay men and housewives, have all responded enthusiastically to these concerts.