Besides being known for her on screen roles, her beauty pageant past, and her marriage to the CEO of Ferrari, Michelle Yeoh is also a strong advocate for the protection of wild animals and their endangered habitats. According to WildAid, an estimated $10-$20 billion a year is made off of poaching. In the following video, Yeoh voices her support for saving Asian elephants threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunts. Other stars who have dedicated their time include Jackie Chan, Ang Lee, Ralph Fiennes, Minnie Driver and others. [Ecorazzi]
That’s the only thing DaDump can surmise from the recent trailer for the completely unnecessary continuation of the Rambo series, aptly titled, John Rambo. Clearly, Sylvester Stallone has some pent up anger issues and takes it out in extremely violent and graphic ways on Asians.
Nice to support a progressive story line, Sly. DaDump doesn’t support the Burmese junta but decapitating and gutting soldiers isn’t my cup of tea either especially when you have people like Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, living under house arrest for years fighting for the cause of democracy. Someone please tell this septuagenarian geriatric that bashing Asians in films for profit was so 80s…
On a separate note, Stallone was fined more than $10,000 in fines for bringing steroids into Australia.
You’ve waited all this time and now your patience is finally paying off. Get ready to catch that that perfect wave once more…
In a ‘let’s milk this baby for all its worth Hollywood moment’, Patriot Games scripter Peter Iliff is to write and direct “Point Break 2,” a 20 years later sequel to the surfing crime thriller that he co-wrote in 1987 and was a hit for Largo Entertainment in 1991.
New pic will be set in Southeast Asia and uncover the fate of the surfers’ leader Bodhi who was supposedly killed by a giant wave. Action follows a surfer-turned-SEAL on the trail of a criminal gang. Locations being scouted include Indonesia and Singapore.
Casting will include English-language and Asian male leads and Asian female love interest and be set for a 2008 release. DaDump is picturing Edison Chen and Daniel Wu alongside Hyori in a variety of bikini shots.
“It is really important that this film stands on its own two feet and we will be looking for a young male action star at the same stage in his career as Keanu (Reeves) was,” RGM’s CEO Devesh Chetty said.
Another Dumpalicious pic of Maggie Q from this year’s Hong Kong Asia Film Awards. Decked out in Versace, Maggie is going to be a break out star this year both in the US and overseas. With blockbuster Mission: Impossible 3 with Tom Cruise already under her belt, the Q decided to do something a bit smaller so this summer get ready to see her in the Die Hard sequel, Live Free or Die Harder with aging action hero, Bruce Willis. CLICK HERE to see the trailer!
Going a different direction, you’ll also see her in Balls of Fury, a comedy on ping-pong diplomacy followed by The Tourist. You’ll like this synopsis:
An accountant, Ewan McGregor, is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend, Hugh Jackman. But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.
Maggie will then return to Asia to film Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon with Andy Lau, Sammo Hung and Leon Lai.
So it’s pretty obvious Maggie will be blowing up the next few years to become a ‘playah’. Though not a hometown girl, she put her dues in Asia and is representing Asia hard. Big Ups, Q. You’ll soon have many Q&A converts soon enough!
The world’s richest are getting younger and richer with more Russians and Indians cropping up among the 946 people on Forbes magazine’s 2007 billionaires list unveiled Thursday.
The number of billionaires is 19 percent higher than last year when there were 793, and their total net worth grew 35 percent to $3.5 trillion, the magazine said.
In China, Yan Cheung, chairwoman of Nine Dragons Paper , made history as China’s richest person and was one of three self-made women born in the communist country to debut this year. She is worth $2.4 billion and is 390th on the list.
In Asia, India had the highest number of billionaires, overtaking Japan, which for two decades had held the region’s top spot.
India had 36 billionaires worth a total $191 billion while Japan’s 24 billionaires were worth $64 billion, the magazine said. [Forbes]
To see a complete list of the Asia Billionaire’s Club by nation, click after the jump!
The first ever Asian Film Awards, honoring the best of Asian cinema over the past year, will take place March 20 during the opening night of the 31st annual Hong Kong International Film Festival.
China’s “Curse of the Golden Flower” and “Still Life” are among the nominees in the best picture category. Hong Kong’s “Exiled,” South Korea’s “The Host,” Japan’s “Love And Honor” and Indonesia’s “Opera Jawa” round out the list.
The awards will recognize films and filmmakers from all over Asia, including projects from Iran and India. Awards in 10 categories will be presented. The films were nominated by a jury of 17 film professionals from Asia and Europe. The group selected the list after screening 700 films produced in the region last year.
“With more than four billion people in Asia and 60% of the global population, a celebration of Asian cinema is long overdue,” said Wilfred Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. “We aim to make the AFA the most prominent and definitive awards in the region by highlighting excellence in Asian filmmaking and by bringing broader attention to the rich and diverse stories and storytellers from all over Asia today.”
Notable nominees in the best director category include China’s Jia Zhenke (”Still Life”) and Hong Kong’s Johnnie To (”Exiled”) in the best director category. Japan’s Ken Watanabe (”Memories of Tomorrow”), Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (”A Battle Of Wits”) and India’s Sharukh Khan (”Don”) are among the best actor nominees. China’s Gong Li (”Curse Of The Golden Flower”), Zhang ZiYi (”The Banquet”) and Japan’s Miyazawa Rie (”Hana”) are three of the six nominees in the actress category. [HollywoodReporter]
Dumpling Idea: Since Americans use a yellow golden statue as an award; Asians should use a bald white one for our greatest film acheivements. My suggested statue would look like the following:
Hong Kong Disneyland, a joint venture between the Walt Disney Co. and the Hong Kong government, is expanding by adding a Small World, Animation Academy and Mickey’s WaterWorks.
A Small World, for example, will be adapted to include an expanded Asia section with the Great Wall of China, the Temple of Heaven and Hong Kong’s skyline.
This got the Dumpling thinking… why stop there? To be truly authentic and appeal to local sensibilities, why not add attractions that truly reflect Hong Kong and China. Here are some top of the head ideas:
Mickey Mao should easily replace that high pitched Mickey Mouse
Space Mountain? How about scaling greater heights with Yao Mountain where visitors get to ride the venerable basketball player, Yao Ming. Wait, that didn’t sound right.
Pollution Park. Disney wouldn’t even have to do anything. Just build a park and let the natural conditions deteriorate with eye stinging pollution naturally.
Panda Porn Zoo. Watch as near extinct pandas are badgered every which way into procreating in front of families
Finding Nemo Banquet. For the right price, you and your family and friends can enjoy the fun of finding Nemo in a giant water tank and feasting on this delicacy. This is in response to Disney removing shark’s fin from its menus since that was culturally insensitive.
How can this ideas not boost attendance. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the Comments section.
Had dinner with some friends at the China Club in Hong Kong the other night and at the end of the meal we all received fortune cookies. This is what my friend’s cookie read:
“Although you’re romantic, your mate will leave you because of unfaithfulness”
The ironic thing was that she had just gotten back together with her boyfriend after a short break. Needless to say, she was none too pleased.
It’s that time of year, folks. Time to make gift lists, mail out those Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa cards, reflect on the year gone by and loosen those belt notches for the endless parade of holiday parties. It’s also a great time to do those end of the year errands you’ve been meaning to get to like voting for your favorite Asian blog (subtle transition, no?).
Your very own Daily Dumpling has made the finals of the ‘Best Asian Blog‘ category for the 2006 Weblogs Awards. So when you get a chance, vote here. Vote everyday until December 15th and tell your friends, your family, your mailman, your sworn enemies, your secret crushes… just spread the word and vote every day until polls close next week! It’ll only take less than 30 seconds.
I’ve always wanted to do that “you like me, you really really like me… ” acceptance speech that Sally Field made famous at the Oscars. So please do me proud and vote!
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