Asian Entertainment News & Celebrity Gossip

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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Peek-a-boo, right behind you…

Fans of Hong Kong actor Tony Leung won’t be able to see him in the upcoming Battle of Red Cliffs or Chi Bi as the star has decided to step back from the lead in the film.

Chinese web portal Sina.com says the film’s director John Woo confirmed the Cannes Best Actor winner gave up playing Zhu-Ge Liang, a legendary military strategist in the ancient Three Kingdoms period, in the film.

Tony Leung has reportedly said the plot was attractive, but the six-month-long shoot was longer than he expected.

Rumors say the star may take the break to concentrate on his relationship with fellow actress Carina Lau. Some suspect he wants to take a rest after finishing shooting Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution.

No comments were available from Tony Leung’s agent.

In the wake of the star’s withdrawal, heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro has been confirmed to take on the role and join the star-heavy cast, including Chow Yun-Fat, Taiwan supermodel Chiling Lin, and mainland actress Vicki Zhao. Battle of Red Cliffs will begin shooting later this month, and is slated to premiere next year. [Cri]

Tony Leung and Carina Lau have been dating for 17 years. Earlier, rumors spread that Carina was involved with wealthy Taiwanese merchant, Guo Taiming.

Holding hands, Carina attended a charity ball and family wedding with Mr. Guo. Afterwards, she flew back to Hong Kong on Mr. Guo’s private jet and accompanied him on a tour of Hainan Island as well.

Allegedly, Tony was dissatisfied with Carina’s high profile exposure with Mr. Guo. To pacify Tony, Carina booked an early skiing trip with him to Hokkaido earlier.

Appearing at the Hong Kong Film Expo yesterday, Tony was in good spirits and responded to Carina and Mr. Guo’s rumors, “Carina has already responded accordingly to the press’s questions. But I can tell you with complete confidence that I trust Carina entirely.”

Carina had explained earlier, “Mr. Guo is my friend. The press printed photos of Mr. Guo’s hand on my thigh, but the effect was a result of the camera angle. There is no need to complicate matters further.”

“Each time I am spotted with a male friend, everyone thinks there is romantic involvement. But they are just normal networking and social events. There is no need to hide anything. I don’t consider them to be anything more. Tony never questioned me about them either.” [AsianFanatics]

American film companies are negotiating the rights to remake “Confession of Pain” by Hong Kong directing duo Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, after the success of the US version of “Infernal Affairs”. 　　

Andrew Lau revealed that several American companies have offered to buy the rights for a remake and invited him to direct their version. 　　

The director said the offer is still under negotiation, but he won’t accept a bid under US$1.75 million, the price he charged for the “Infernal Affairs” remake. 　　

American director Martin Scorsese received critical acclaim for his remake of “Infernal Affairs”, which was called “The Departed”. But Lau was not entirely satisfied with the script for the American adaptation, saying “It loses the spirit of my original movie.”

Lau also revealed he will direct a Hollywood action flick with an English language script and American cast in June. 　　　

Xu Jinglei

Shu Qi

Carina Lau and Tony Leung

Takeshi Kaneshiro

Ayumi Hamasaki

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Shu Qi

Shu Qi

Tony Leung and Xu Jinglei

Ayumi Hamasaki wrote and sang the theme song, Secret, in English for the film

Check out the larger versions of these pics after the jump!

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Director John Woo says his new film depicting an ancient Chinese battle has been frustrated by his inability to shoot at China’s largest river, the Yangtze, having instead to rely on special effects to create a similar backdrop.

Woo’s upcoming movie, “Battle of Red Cliff“, is based on a war of the same name in 208 A.D. that determined the geography of the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three separate rulers.

He also recently announced that Andy Lau would not star in the film because of the star’s compact schedule but that Andy is an excellent actor who he hopes to cooperate with next time.

The Hollywood director confirmed that the five leading roles would go to Chow Yun-Fat, Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung, Chang Chen and Taiwan supermodel Lin Chi-Ling. Taiwan actor Collin Chou will replace Andy Lau to play the famous general Zhao Zilong.

“Battle of Red Cliff'’ marks Hong Kong native Woo’s return to Chinese-language cinema after moving to Hollywood, where his credits include “Broken Arrow‘’, “Face/Off‘’ and “Mission: Impossible II‘’.

No, it’s not the release date for ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’. It’s more likely the night this movie will be going home with Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Epic, Shakespearean undertones, China, Gong Li, Chow Yun Fat, Zhang Yimou, visually spectacular… it’s got all the elements. Check out the final trailers on Sony Pictures Classics:

Quicktime Trailer

Windows Media Trailer

Also looking forward to a slate of other great films including ‘Confessions of Pain’ with Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, ‘Protege’ with Andy Lau, Ang Lee’s ‘Lust, Caution’, and Stephen Chow’s ‘Long River 7′… can’t wait!!!

The story: When his wealthy father-in-law is brutally murdered, veteran cop Hei (Tony Leung) calls upon his old pal, private detective Bong (Takeshi Kaneshiro), to help investigate the case.

Shockingly, all leads point to Hei’s wife (Xu Jinglei).

But when another murder takes place, Bong suspects that the killer is not who she or he seems to be.

The juice: Since the film was announced in July, the HK$80 million ($16m) Confession Of Pain has commanded media attention for its oh-so-gorgeous A-list cast, especially the elusive Takeshi.

Initially, talk was rife that Takeshi was given preferential treatment and paid more, which was rumoured to have upset Tony.

But all has turned out well.

The two leading men play protagonists who are scarred by painful memories - which explains the title.

Takeshi’s alcoholic character is a departure from his usual suave hero roles.

He drinks himself silly to forget the day he found his pregnant girlfriend lying dead in a pool of blood from her slashed wrists.

Tony’s character’s pain, however, is bottled up and he hides it well.

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The stars of Confession Of Pain got the royal treatment, especially when it came to their wardrobes.

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung got to don dozens of designer outfits designed by Giorgio Armani.

The estimated cost of the outfits is said to be HK$1m.

This is the first time Armani is sponsoring an Asian film.

He has designed for Hollywood films such as The Italian Job and Miami Vice earlier.

While Tony got classic suits for his high-ranking police officer’s role, Takeshi got mostly jeans and leather jackets.

Takeshi’s outfits were seasoned to make them appear more rugged. [Source]