Father Geek here with Asia-AICN #12, three months old... Coool! And to celebrate we've added a regular reporter for Korean film. Lots of interesting news today and some nice pictures to boot, but before we get into the column itself I have a bit of news for those of you that have been following the stories on that phantastic new film experience LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE. This came in just as we were going to press...

I just want to let you know that the FANTASIA International Film Festival in Montreal (13-31st JULY) will be playing the movie LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE. For more information please consult our website at fantasiafest.com .

I enjoy very much looking at your site on a daily basis.

Pierre Corbeil,Director,Fantasia film festival

Remember if you love Asian film you can cruise thru our archives of past Asia related stories by simply clicking on the "More AICN" box over on the left, select Asia-AICN and an index/link page will present itself, Then just scroll to the stories that interest you and enjoy yourself.

Asia-AICN #12

Hey all. Hope you all had a good week. This week we're proud to introduce Matrix1966, who will be bringing us news from Korea!! We will now be covering 4 industries in Asia, and hopefully that number will grow in the near future. Anyway, here's this week's happenings from Asia.

INDIA

- Actor Abhishek Bachchan has joined the cast of producer Shristi Behl's film, Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai (This is My Only Dream). He'll star along Jackie Shroff and Sushmita Sen.

- Director Tanuja Chandra's next film will star Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Rai will play a nightclub singer who "strips a shy guy of his inhibitions." Man, I hope this isn't a remake of Showgirls!! The film has yet to be titled.

- Actor Anil Kapoor's latest movie, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (You Have My Heart) will be released on August 11. The film, directed by Satish Kaushik, will also co-star Aishwarya Rai and Sonali Bendre.

- One of Sunil Shetty's upcoming films will be Aaghaz - The Beginning, to be directed by Yogesh Ishwar. The movie, which co-stars Sushmita Sen, Suman Ranganathan, and Namrita Shirodkar, is a four-way romance in which every character is in love with someone else.

- It seems that Karisma Kapoor will not be in Ashoka the Great. She was supposed to join the Dreamz Unlimited production but supposedly director Santosh Sivan didn't want her in the movie. This is strange because Kapoor's younger sister, Kareena, is the main actress in the film. The films stars Shahrukh Khan as the title character and looks likely to be big-budget medieval war film, the type of movies that are rare in Bollywood.

- One of director Mahesh Manjrekar's upcoming films will be Tera Mera Saath Rahe (We Will Be Together) and it will star Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen and Namrata Shirodkar.

- Directors and siblings Dharmesh and Suneel Darshan are going to team up after they complete their respective films, Dhadkhan (Heartbeat) and Rishta (The word means Relationship but this title is being changed). The Darshans are hoping to get a big cast for this new film. Their dream cast, which has yet to be finalised, is Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Karishma Kapoor. If they do get their wish, expect this movie to be a pretty big hit.

- Actor Govinda will star in an upcoming remake of a South Indian film, Sollamallae (I don't know what it means). The usually loud actor will play a mute character in the film (Thank God!!).

- For you South Indian fans, actress Meghna Reddy's younger sister, Sameera, will make her big-screen debut in Citizen, which will also star Ajit. The film has Ajit playing seven characters.

- South Indian actress Suman will star as a CBI officer in the film February 14, Necklace Road. The film is about a true life gang-rape that occurred on Valentine's Day on Necklace Road in the city of Hyderabad.

Now here's some more news from "Runciter99":

- Mahesh Manjrekar, the brilliant director of the award winning film Vaastav (The Reality) and Astitva (which has released in some areas but will get an all India release soon) is currently doing a number of films. First he's writing and directing a dark underworld saga called Kurukshetra starring Sanjay Dutt, Mahima Chaudhary and Mohnish Behl. This film is nearly complete and will release later this year or early next year. Then there is another Sanjay Dutt film called Pitah (Father) where he plays a blind man opposite Kareena Kapoor, who also plays a blind person. He calls it a sensitive love story between the two. Then there's the huge comedy flick called Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehti Hai (The Land Where Ganga (a very famous river) Flows) starring Govinda, Sonali Bendre and Rinke Khanna. The film is being produced by actor Jackie Shroff who is surprisingly not starring in it. Other films that will soon begin shooting are still in the pipeline. One stars Ajay Devgun and another was just signed this passed week with Bobby Deol as the lead man. With his hit Vaastav, Mahesh Manjrekar is definitely going places. He's also assisting Sanjay Gupta in writing, editing, and directing the mega budget film, Kaante (Thorns). Mahesh is going to actually act in the film with a major role.

- David Dhawan is going to start directing his new venture being produced by Ketan Desai, the team that brought the hit Deewana Mastana (Crazy Lovers). The film stars Salman Khan and Amisha Patel. The writing team is the same team that wrote the awful Chal Mere Bhai (Let's go Brother). However, let's just hope this film will be a lot better than that critically panned, box office dud.

- Santosh Sivan is nearly done shooting for the film Fiza (Crazy). He's the cinematographer of the film. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Karishma Kapoor, and Neha with Shahrukh Khan making a special guest appearance. The film is being written and directed by one of India's best film critics, Khalid Mohammed.

I am back again with this week's new release and recommendation.

- Last Friday's new release was director J.P. Dutta's latest movie, Refugee. Now if you have been reading the Asia-AICN columns, you would know that this is the year's most anticipated movie because it features the debuts of Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. Abhishek is the son of India's most famous star Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena is the sister of popular actress Karishma and is also the granddaughter of the late Raj Kapoor, another VERY famous actor. After J.P. Dutta hit it big time with his last release, Border (see Asia-AICN #8), many were expecting him to make another classic multi-starrer war or drama film. I believe he surprised a lot of people with this film, which is set on a much smaller scale. I am sorry to say this, but I was quite disappointed with Refugee. I think Dutta is a magnificient director but this film is missing the main element of all his other films - a story.

The film starts off as a romance between characters from different countries but eventually falters in the middle. The problem is that there isn't any real conflict involving the main characters. The movie is about a man named Refugee (DUMB NAME!!!) who smuggles things between two villages on opposite sides of the Indian-Pakistani border. In order to do so, he has to make a journey through a barren white desert (the scenery looks amazing!) named the Rann of Kutch. He falls in love with a girl from Pakistan named Naaz (played by Kareena Kapoor). The forces against their love is a Pakistani Ranger (played by Sunil Shetty) and an Indian BSF officer (played by Jackie Shroff). We know that there's no real conflict because these two officers are nice guys. You know and I know that they're not going to shoot Refugee in the head. After the initial set up, the movie just goes on and on with Refugee crossing the border back and forth. After the interval, the pace picks up when the film (unnecessarily) introduces a terrorist. Refugee then joins forces with the two officers to capture the terrorist and then the movie ends. That's it. All of this takes nearly 3 and a half hours but seems like a good 5 hours or more. The only thing I loved about this movie is its gorgeous cinematography. There are many shots of this sea-like Rann in which we see the flat white sands across such a vast landscape that it seems to blend in with the sky. With the exception of Laurence of Arabia (of course ? ), I have never seen such beautiful desert scenery. This is the main reason to see the film in theatres. The effect of the scenery will be pretty much destroyed on the small screen. The music is also very good with the songs being the classic, melodious type.

The acting in the movie is awkward at best. The supporting cast are very good. Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty do their best with the little roles they have. The main characters are though awkwardly mixed. Kareena Kapoor really shines in her role, bringing a sense of innocence in her character. We actually do believe that she is an honest, smart yet innocent girl that just wants to be with her boyfriend. Abhishek Bachchan has the most complex role. He is supposed to be serious throughout the movie yet he doesn't really deliver the goods. He's not as horrible as I thought he would be, but I really didn't get his character. There's no reason shown of why he's a smuggler. Nothing is explained in order for us to sympathize with him. Some of his facial expressions are bizarre. When he smiles, he kinda looks like a little kid waiting for ice-cream but yet it looks forced at the same time. During the action scenes, his face looks expressionless. Finally in the dramatic scenes, he sorts of looks confused as if he doesn't know what to do. Granted, he's a newcomer but still, actors SHOULD have the basic skills required for acting. For now, I'll just give him the benefit of the doubt, but when the audience laughs at you during the entire movie, it's not a very good sign. In a nutshell, the movie will probably bore most of the audience with its extremely slow plot. Despite some gorgeous scenery and pretty good songs, this latest movie from J.P. Dutta is a complete disappointment. Here's a picture/promo from Refugee showcasing the stars from the film. Sunil Shetty's the guy at the left while Jackie Shroff is the guy at the right with a mustache. The couple in the middle are Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor.

Also here's another picture with the main leads but it shows some of the beautiful scenery I was talking about.

- Ok, I sort of got carried away there in my description of Refugee, but as you can tell, I was extremely disappointed with the film. For this week's recommendation, my pick is Hathyar (Weapon) which I believe is J.P. Dutta's best film and stars Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh, and Dharmendra. This film is an opposite direction for J.P. Dutta who usually sets his movies against sweeping epic-like landscapes. However, this is a gangster film set in the city of Bombay. I know that gangster films are common everywhere, but this one is my favourite. The main reason is Sanjay Dutt. Even though he commits many crimes, we actually feel sympathy for his character. We know why he became a criminal, and we know the reasons behind his every action. Dharmendra delivers a very good performance in a small role as a don who takes Dutt under his wing. The rest of the cast is ok, although I believe Rishi Kapoor was wasted. His character was really unnecessary to the story and is only there to provide morality into the film. In summary, just watch it for the acting alone, it's entertaining yet thought-provoking at the same time, even though we've all seen the story a million times.

CHINA / HK

The following is from "Crashpoet":

- Marlon Brando will be starring in Chinese Director Feng Xiaogang's newest film, Dayuan's Funeral, alongside Chinese film star Ge You. Feng directed such films as Be There or Be Square; Party A, Party B; and Sorry Baby. Ge You was in Farewell, My Concubine; and To Live and The Emperor's Shadow!

- For those of you who are Andy Lau fans, he is coming to New York for the 23rd Asian American International Film Festival [AAIFF] on July 21. Some of the films screened will be: As Tears Go By, Boat People, Days of Being Wild, Running out of time, etc. Also his 100th film is titled THE FIGHTER'S BLUES (KAU SAU DIK YAU WUT) and Takako Tokiwa (Seung Poon Gwai Ji) has been confirmed as the lead actress. The film will shoot in Thailand and Hong Kong. In the film, Lau will play a lightweight fighter and needs to be around 140 pounds.

The following is from "The Accidental Spy":

- The official website of Jackie Chan's "Accidental Spy" has recently opened. Even though the teaser is not coming yet, from the opening page poster to the revealed plot to the pics, it looks like a plot-driven action movie which reminds me of 1993's "Crime Story", and Jackie Chan looks damn serious and cool! The movie is scheduled to release in next Feb. in HK, the typical Chinese New Year slot to release a Jackie Chan starrer and I don't see the reason that this one won't be released in US market. Here's the link: Just Click Here .

- For the last two weeks, MI-2 is leading the HK box office effortlessly, but there is still room for two HK movies to kick up this summer and are doing very well at the box office. Coincidentally, both movies are the screwball romantic comedies, even with a loosely similar plot:

- "Needing You...", released by Chinastar Studio and starring Andy Lau ("Running out of Time") and Sammi Cheng ("Feel 100%") and co-directed and co-produced by Johnny To and Wai Ka-Fai, the masterminds behind Milkyway Productions. The story is about a romance between a supervisor named Wah (Andy Lau) and a secretary named Kinki (Sammi Cheng) from the same department of a computer company. Both of them don't get along initially, but a friendship develops when they get to know each other after a while. When Wah starts to realize his emergent fondness for Kinki, his ex-girlfriend reappears and plans to gain back his affection. Things start getting worse when Wah notices that his ex-girlfriend arranges a guy to pair up with Kinki. Critics do find that the comedy is worse than any recent Johnny To's action films but the audience seems to disagree: After ten days, the comedy has already out-grossed Jackie Chan's "Shanghai Noon" in its sixth week.

- "And I Hate You So", released by UFO last week, directed by Yee Chung-man ("Anna Magdalena") and starring Aaron Kwok ("The Stormriders", "Anna Magdalena") as a loud-mouth radio DJ Zhang and Kelly Chen ("Lose and Found", "Anna Magdalena") as a bitchy newspaper columnist Wu. The film spins a tale of a love-war relationship between these two public figures. One day when Wu's ex-boyfriend comes back and asks her to marry him, Zhang comments and gossips on her love life over the radio as usual. Infuriated, Wu declares war in her column and begins to take revenge on Zhang by writing about his program. Zhang's programis cancelled under the pressure from the public, but friendship develops when they get to know each other much longer. The movie also stars Chilam Cheung ("The First Option"), Mark Lui ("Rave Fever"), Eric Tsang and Teresa Mo (the leading actress in John Woo's "Hard Boiled").

- Stanley Tong's "Thunder Cop" (temp. title) has held a press conference in Shanghai, China last week and is about to start shooting right away. The $80 million HKD budget action flick starring Aaron Kwok, Japanese actress Norika Fujiwara, Leehom Wang, Lin Sin-yu and Ken Lo ("Dranken Master II") . The movie is about a Chinese detective group (including Aaron Kwok and Leehom Wang) who team up with a female Japanese spy agent (Norika Fujiwara) going undercover to investigate an international drug organization. The movie is scheduled to release worldwide in 2001. Here's a picture of Norika Fujiwara from the first day shooting (HOT!)

Also, here's a pic in which Aaron Kwok is rehearsing with Ken Lo:

JAPAN

The following is from "Pigmon":

- Director Keita Amemiya 's new project will be 6 series of "Tekkouki Mikazuki". The story is about a battle between giant robots. The first episode will be shown in October. I heard that a giant watermelon appears from the sky on downtown Tokyo.

- The father of Astro Boy, late Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis, which is a feature-length anime, is in production. The film is scripted by Katsuhiro Ootomo (of Akira fame wow!) and is being directed by Rintarou. This is already its fourth year in production and Metropolis will be in theatres next June in Japan and winter in all over the world. I wonder what's happened to Sony's Astro Boy?

- Speaking about Osamu Tezuka (known as the Japanese Walt Disney), Tezuka World, an amusement park, will be built and opened in 2006 in Tokyo Bay. It will feature rides based on all of Tezuka's characters.

- Two junk horror films are opening on July 15, 2000 from Toei. They are "Kamen Gakuen (Masked High School)" and "Shisha No Gakuensai (Dead People'sFestival)". I went to see "Kamen Gakuen" at an advanced screening, and it was terrible. The movie is about high school students start who wearing masks and killing people. There was no plot and plenty of cheesy acting. No distributor will buy it for foreign market.

- Director Shue Lee Cheang's "I.K.U.", a cyber porno film, is nearly complete. The movie's content and rating will be a problem in the US. It is definitely going to be rated NC-17.

KOREA

And now we're proud to introduce "Matrix1966" who will be bringing us news from Korea from now on.

- Sino-Korean Projects: Actress Min Kim, one of the rising stars in Korea, will play a role in Jackie Chan's next movie, "The Accidental Spy", and Top Actress Hye Jin Shim will be seen in Wong Kar-Wai's scientific epic "2046".

- Hollywood Stock Exchange in Korea?: On June 25th, Advertising Consultant Joo Sung Hwang announced that he will open 'Talentsdaq.com', where netizens can buy and sell the stocks of the corporations represented by each celebrity. This Celebrity Stock Exchange market will open in the middle of August.

- "Bulgasari", which will be the first commercial film made by North Korean to open throughout South Korean movie theaters, was made by director Simon S. Sheen ("3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain" and "3 Ninjas Kick Back") while he was forced to work for North Korea as a movie producer.

- "Gladiator" and "M-I:2" are making big bucks while competing neck to neck in South Korea. Since opening on June 3rd, 1.3 million Koreans saw Gladiator in 20 days. CJ Entertainment, the distributor in Seoul, expects more than 2 million moviegoers will come to see "Gladiator". On the other hand, "M-I:2" broke every record in Korea since it opened two weeks later than "Gladiator". It attracted more than 800 thousand Koreans in just 6 days and this pace is much faster than "Titanic", "The Mummy" and "Shiri", a Korean blockbuster from last year.

Well, it's time to say goodbye for another week. Remember, if you have information on any of the film industries in Asia, please contact us at our headquarters . Until next week, take care.

- Darius25