Ok, I know this has nothing to do with Asian Entertainment News or Asian Celebrity Gossip but DaDump has to mix it up a bit. Yes, I watch American Idol. Luckily, I also ride a Harley, drink cheap whiskey, and mingle with loose women on a frequent basis so don’t go judging me yet, bucko.
In any event, I thought I’d include a clip from the AI finale of Jordin Sparks singing This Is My Now. DaDump teared up a bit at the end but that probably has more to do with the fact that I was traveling across the Sahara in a severe sand storm watching the show on a wireless handheld satellite TV.
Congrats, Jordin! You’re an impressive performer and the fact that you’re only 17 floors me… I was still playing Dungeons & Dragons at that age.
… but seriously DaDump is still waiting for his invitations. Now I’m going to have to TiVo the damn thing.
In any event, there were plenty of real winners at the Los Angeles AZN Asian Excellence Awards bash Wednesday which honored Asian and Asian-Americans’ contributions to the world of arts and entertainment.
Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim, a winner last year, and Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park served double duty as the evening’s hosts and nominees. Kim went up against his Lost costar Naveen Andrews, though both island dwellers were passed over for the Outstanding TV Actor prize in favor of Heroes‘ Masi Oka.
Park, too, had to take solace in simply being nominated, losing out in her Outstanding Supporting TV Actress bid to The Office’s resident airhead, Mindy Kaling.
Malakar was also among the nominees present at the awards bash, though as expected he lost out in his category, the Viewer’s Choice Award for Favorite Reality Star. Taking home the prize instead was Survivor: Cook Islands champ Yul Kwon.
For a full list of all the night’s winners and more pics, continue reading…!!
Some pics of Masi Oka, Sendhil Ramamurthy and some of the other Heroes gang at the NBC Upfronts and later reaping the benefits of stardom by getting lots of free stuff from Lucky brand. Lindsay Price, one of the stars of Lipstick Jungle, posing for the photogs.
Mark my words, Dumplings, this mega Korean hit will land on US Soil in some slick Hollywood re-make courtesy of Roy Lee. No, DaDump can’t read the future; he just knows the game and the rules dictate that this Asian box office feel good story will be too good to pass up.
What’s it about? Here’s the synopsis: Hanna is a famous Korean pop singer who suffers from extremely poor self-esteem basically because she’s obese. After making the decision to have full-body plastic surgery, things turn around.
And what’s more, the actress who plays the main role, Kim Ah-joong, is also set to become the next big star out of Asia. She’s already receiving the star treatment around Asia, most recently in Hong Kong for her portrayal of the 200 Pound Beauty.
An official at her management agency quoted local media as predicting Kim would surpass the fame of Jeon Ji-Hyeon, the heroine of Sassy Girl, which topped box office records in Hong Kong.
Kim has held numerous interviews with some 150 media outlets and met with Hong Kong film officials on possible roles in a Chinese film or a joint Korean-Chinese production.
Remember DaDump when this film hits your local cineplex with some hottie starlet who can sing. Til then, check out the trailer below…
Lucy Liu looking every bit the celebrity diva in this fitted Zac Posen creation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute Gala on Monday night in NYC
Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne said that Mandarin was the toughest to master while recording her new single “Girlfriend” in album “The Best Damn Thing” in eight languages including French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese.
The punk star met thousands of reporters and fans from all over Asia at a press conference in Hong Kong promoting her album, “The Best Damn Thing.”
“The hardest one was actually Mandarin. Japanese was easy, sort of. French was easy, but German was difficult. But it was cool to record it in different languages because I have so many fans worldwide that speak all these languages. So I’m glad I did it,” the 22-year-old singer said.
After the press conference, the star also staged a mini concert for her Hong Kong fans, singing five songs.
Sony BMG revealed that Lavigne is planning to hold concerts in Shanghai and Hong Kong this August. [Cri]
The hurry-up-and-wait aspect of making movies is a big turnoff for Maggie Cheung.
“I don’t take on that many movies these days because I don’t miss the set. I enjoy the moment when I’m acting, how to immerse in character, figuring out how to portray something with my colleagues … but sometimes waiting on the set for six hours is very common,” the actress said Thursday. “Sometimes I think, `Six hours! How much I could have done. How many friends I could have seen. How many movies I could have watched.’”
Cheung, who won the best actress award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in “Clean,” said she’s in talks about several movie projects but hasn’t committed to anything.
“Clean” and another 2004 movie, Wong Kar-wai’s “2046,” are the last movies she appeared in.
She said she wants to stay away from heavy roles, adding she enjoys the break from tragic characters. “Because I haven’t made any movies recently, I don’t have to think, `I need to cry in this scene. I need to be emotionally immersed.’ [Y!]
“Charlie’s Angels” and “Kill Bill” star Lucy Liu returns to the big screen this week in the romantic comedy “Watching the Detectives,” but she reportedly tells the NY Post’s Nancy Adams that her personal life is not all that romantic. Liu reportedly says that her life is dedicated solely to work these days: “I just press on and keep focused. A picket fence is not in the picture right now. For now, I live on both coasts or wherever the work is. I don’t even have a wardrobe — I live in shirts and jeans. All my fancy clothes are on loan. I take them off, and very soon somebody takes them away. My life today? It’s carrying my bag and putting it down on some set.” Liu appeared recently on an episode of “Ugly Betty.”
Get ready for the next K-pop star courtesy of the internet. MSN Japan is going full throttle on its coverage of the debut of Son Dam-bi a full six months ahead of her official debut.
Word has it that her looks and her fancy dance moves alongside ‘Poppin Hyun-Joon’ in a recent commercial of Samsung Electronic’s MP3 Yepp impressed the execs enough to run a special ‘video news’ of her debut process, including her dance practices and scenes from her ordinary life.
The Japanese portal has carried content on Korean stars, films and dramas but it’s the first time it will cover a completely unknown singer.
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty blamed India’s “lunatic fringe” for an uproar over enthusiastic kisses bestowed on her by Richard Gere at an AIDS charity event.
An Indian court last week issued a warrant of arrest for Gere on charges of “obscene” behavior after the televised embrace in which the star bent Shetty backward on stage and kissed her repeatedly.
The incident triggered a public storm in India, known for its chaste public behavior despite Bollywood’s sexually suggestive song-and-dance routines.
But Shetty, 31, who is in Australia to promote her latest film, said the kisses have been “blown out of all proportion” and Gere “was just being very sweet.”
“The media tends to get slightly irresponsible at times but that’s the price one has to pay for celebrity,” Shetty said, “The majority of Indians don’t feel that way. It was the lunatic fringe that took over.
In Sydney to promote her film Life in A … Metro, Shetty said the scandal has been good for her new movie. “It’s great timing,” she said. “Hopefully, people will now be interested to see what I actually do.” [Standard]
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