April 6th, 2007 by dd
Hugh Hefner is someone all men admire on some level whether they openly admit it or not (and that usually has more to do with how near their girlfriends or wives are standing next to them). Dream job, lots of moolah, huge Beverly Hills mansion teeming with some of the most beautiful women in the world shedding their clothes for you just because of who you are… *sigh* shangri-la.
Unless you’re the editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia who acquitted Thursday of charges that he violated the Muslim nation’s indecency laws by publishing pictures of scantily clothed women.
Erwin Arnada had faced a maximum punishment of nearly three years in prison in a case closely watched by strict Muslims, who have loudly protested since the toned-down version of the American magazine hit Indonesian newsstands a year ago.
Efran Basyuning, presiding judge of the South Jakarta District Court, said pictures of scantily dressed women, some in underwear with their breasts partially exposed, could not be categorized as pornography under the country’s criminal law.
Arnada called the ruling was a victory for free speech.
Amazing how one person’s dream is another person’s nightmare. Read on after the jump to find out more about the outcome and the reaction of this acquittal!
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March 21st, 2007 by dd
South Korean horror film “The Host” picked up four awards, including best picture, at Hong Kong’s inaugural Asian film awards on Tuesday night in a glitzy ceremony aimed at recognizing the region’s nascent film talent.
Stars from across Asia, including Iran, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and China arrived by limo to tread the red carpet in tuxedos and dazzling gowns for a ceremony, partly inspired by Hollywood, at Hong Kong’s harbour-side convention centre.
French director Luc Besson, actress Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau, South Korean star Rain and director Park Chan-wook were among those who attended.
“The Host”, a dark, thriller-cum-horror movie about a mutant squid-like monster and suffused with an undercurrent of anti-Americanism picked up awards for best picture, best actor, best cinematographer and best visual effects.
“(The film is) not only about anti-Americanism but about problems in Korea, for example asking for help from the police who don’t return any help,” said executive producer Choi Yong-bae, who received the white marble and twisted metal statuette for best film.
The film’s Song Kang-ho picked up the best actor prize.
Check to see who the other winners were at tonight’s AFA Awards show after the jump!
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Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Film, India, Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Rain, Park Chan-wook, Michelle Yeoh, Indonesia, Song Kang-he, Jian Zhangke, Miki Nakatani, Josephine Siao | No Comments »
March 16th, 2007 by dd
The editor of Playboy magazine in Indonesia was found guilty and faces a two-year jail term for violating moral norms by publishing pornographic images and stories, while protesters called for him to be hanged.
The Indonesian edition of the magazine, however, did not feature nudity and was not as risque as other magazines on sale in Indonesia.
Two years in the slammer? Hanged?! Wonder what DD would get in Indonesia for his ‘subversive’ dumpling.
Read the rest of the article after the jump….
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Posted in Models, Indonesia | No Comments »
March 9th, 2007 by dd
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!
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Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Asia, Indonesia | 1 Comment »
February 25th, 2007 by dd
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:
Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, China, Film, India, Asia, Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Indonesia, Ken Watanabe, Johnnie To | No Comments »
January 19th, 2007 by dd
I’m sure he’s a great tennis player, the great Asian hope, super personality, yadda yadda yadda…
All I’m saying is that sometimes 1 + 1 doesn’t always equal 2. What am I talking about?
Thai tennis star Paradorn “Ball” Srichaphan, the first Asian to make it into the Top Ten world rankings, is dating Russian-Canadian former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova!
Now I don’t admit to really knowing who either of them are but check out the pics and you tell me that this boy ain’t got some moves on AND off the court.
According to reports, Paradorn, 27, met the 2005 beauty queen, who now works for a Thai brewery, in September at an international tennis tournament in Bangkok which her firm was sponsoring. Glebova, 25, who moved to Canada with her parents from a small coastal town in Russia when she was 12, was crowned Miss Universe in Bangkok in May 2005.
One of his previous flames also included Thai pop sensation, Tata Young. Tata and “Ball”… heh heh, sorry, couldn’t resist saying that.
Damn, I knew I should have studied less and played more sports growing up!
Posted in Thailand, Models, Music, Sports, Indonesia, Tata Young, Paradorn Srichaphan | No Comments »
November 20th, 2006 by dd
Thai-American female pop tart star, Tata Young, aged 25, is one of the biggest stars in the Asian music scene today. Millions of her albums have been sold from Japan to Pakistan, she has received many awards and accolades, made the cover of TIME Magazine, and was named one of the world’s sexiest women by the FHM magazine.
To what does she owe a large part of her success? Unbeknownst to Tata, her 2004 breakthrough hit, “I Believe”, was written by Swedish singer, Carola, who had similar success years earlier on the Swedish charts. Tata, according to ScandAsia.com finds all this “just great!”. To further the affiliation, Tata has a Swedish producer, records her material in Sweden and travels there for promotional purposes. Wonder if she does her furniture shopping at IKEA too? With her current success… doubt it. [ScandAsia]
Posted in Asian American, Music, Indonesia, Tata Young | No Comments »
November 16th, 2006 by dd
The Korean comic action film “My Wife is a Gangster 3” has garnered much attention from Asian buyers at the recently-held American Film Market. Showbox, the film’s distributor, said Tuesday that the film had been sold for a total of 660,000 dollars (620 million won) to eight Asian nations — Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. “The price is the highest ever paid for a Korean movie at the market by Asian nations except Japan,” it added.
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Posted in Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Film, Malaysia, Vietnam, Shu Qi, Hsu Chi, Indonesia | No Comments »
