Father Geek returning with another installment of Darius25's Asia-AICN column, but first this hot news concerning "the Big Guy" GODZILA that just appeared on my viewscreen minutes ago...

After reading the story about the new Godzilla movie, I remembered something I had heard. I went looking for it, and this is what I found. Hope you enjoy it.

This is an AP release:

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's best-known monster, Godzilla, is coming to stores soon - canned. ``Godzilla Meat,'' actually 3.5 ounces of corned beef from Tokyo toy maker Takara Co., is packaged with pictures of the stomping, fire-breathing, irradiated dinosaur made famous by Toho movies that started coming out in the 1950s.

``People can eat Godzilla and become energetic and powerful. It's got dreams mixed in with fun,'' Takara spokeswoman Yoko Watanabe said Tuesday. ``It's like Popeye and his can of spinach.''

The cans, slated to appear in Japanese stores in October, will sell for $4.75, Takara said.

There are no plans so far to export Godzilla Meat, according to Takara, the maker of the Transformers toys.

Also planned for sale in Japan this fall are Godzilla Eggs, a can of about 15 quail eggs, and RODAN Meat, canned barbecued chicken named after the winged monster.

Takara also plans to sell "King Ghidora" Meat, but buyers will find the taste of the three-headed dragonlike creature suspiciously like Godzilla Meat - it's the same corned beef inside.

Just thought I'd share,

Grail42

Father Geek back... yummmmmmy! Now that was some mouth-watering geek news if ever there was any... GODZILLA EGGS... can't wait... I'm serious... I've been using Quail eggs in my Tuna Salad and Potato Salad for years, I'm ready to switch now! How coooooool! Our backyard film parties here at Geek Headquarters will now feature Chopped Bar-B-Qued RODAN sandwiches and Potato Salad made with "Real" GODZILLA EGGS as well as our regular Texas fare of Venison Sausage, Beef Brisket, and smoked Alligator Legs. "Takara" and Yoko Watanabe, or somebody take note... Ship me a case of each of these products, Right NOW!!!

That would be to:

• Father Geek
• PO Box 180011
• Austin, Texas 78718-0011

Tomaranai mirai o mezashite yuzurenai negai o dakishimete!

Now here's Darius25, AccSpy and crew...

Asia-AICN

Hi all. The past week was rather slow for Asian film news but we still managed to put together a few bits and pieces.

This week, we have news on director Ravi Dewan's "Annarth (Disaster)", director Rajkumar Kohli's "Jaani Dushmani (Old Hostility)", Zhang Yimou's period epic, "Hero", Tsui Hark's "Death Duel" remake, and some details regarding a Korean film fest to be held in New York City at the end of the summer. We also have some new stills from "Abhay", "Jaani Dushmani (Old Hostility)", "Shaolin Soccer", and Jingle Ma's "Para Para Sakura".

Now here's the latest from Asia.

INDIA

- Director Ravi Dewan has signed Sunil Shetty to appear as the lead for "Annarth (Disaster)". Anand Raaj Anand has been signed to compose the music for the film, while the rest of the cast has yet to be finalized.

- South Indian superstar Mohanlal will appear in "The Sea" with veteran actress Jaya Bachchan. The film, about life in the state of Rajasthan before the partition, will be directed by Shaji Karun. The production will commence very shortly.

- Some new stills have appeared from actor Kamal Haasan's new film, "Abhay". The psychological thriller, based on a novel written by Haasan, is being directed by Suresh Krishna. The film, which also stars Raveena Tandon and Manisha Koirala, is expected to release later on in the summer.

Here's a pic of Kamal Haasan (who has a dual role) from the film: Click Here

Here's a pic of Raveena Tandon: Go Here

Finally, here's a pic of Manisha Koirala and Kamal Haasan (as the serial killer Abhay): Click

- Director Rajkumar Kohli's upcoming film has finally received a name - "Jaani Dushmani (Old Hostility)". The big budget mega-starrer is currently shooting in Bombay and is expected to wrap up before September. The film stars Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Sonu Nigam, Aaftab Shivdasani, Arshaad Warsi, Aditya Pancholi and more. Some on-set pics were released online and here's a few of them.

Here's a pic with Sunny Deol (middle), Rajat Bedi (left) and some other guy: Click Now

Here's another pic of Sunny, this time with Manisha Koirala: Just Click Here

Now here's a pic of the major cast (from left, Arshaad Warsi, Sonu Nigam, Aditya Pancholi, Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar, Aaftab Shivdasani, and Sharad Kapoor): Check this Out

- Last week's new release was director Joy Augustine's "Paagalpan (Craziness)", which makes the debuts of actors Karan Naath and Aarti Agarwal. The film is just another attempt to cash in on the success of films like "Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai (I Have Something to Say)" and "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (Tell me there is Love)". All three teenybopper films feature newcomers, provide a light story, and try to appeal to the millions of teens in India. However, Joy Augustine has attempted to add more drama and emotions to his story (along with a lot of extra violence) and ultimately screwed it up. The film starts off well enough, focusing on Pooja (Aarti Agarwal), a girl very heavily guarded by her 5 brothers. She meets the new guy in town, Karan Naath (who's rich of course), and he manages to woo her and the brothers. All of a sudden, the rich guy's father turns into a villain and makes life hell for the brothers and the poor neighbourhood that they live in. This causes the brothers (all newcomers) to turn hostile towards Karan and things turn really, really violent. The couple reunite at the end but only after many deaths have occurred and much blood has flown. Doesn't really sound appealing, eh? The director's main problem is that he doesn't really know what type of film to make - a love story or an action film - and instead throws everything into the mix causing a muddled mess and much headache for the audience. It doesn't help that the acting is not really good either - Karan is just way too wooden to attempt such serious acting for his first film while Aarti just pouts her way through the entire movie. The rest of the actors are equally inept (especially the brothers). The songs are decent but are placed at very awkward times, disrupting the flow of the story. Overall, this film doesn't feature enough cool action for a good action film nor does it have the romance for a light love story.

The title is rather fitting word for the film so I would advise that you take a pass on this one.

CHINA/HK

Here is the latest report from AccSpy:

- Some more pics from Stephen Chao's "Shaolin Soccer" were released and here's a bunch of them.

Here's a pic with Ng Man Tat (from left), Vikky Zhao (Stephen's love Interest in the film) and Stephen: Go Here Now

Here's another pic with Stephen Chow: Click Here

Newcommer Chan Kwok Kwun play the team's goalkeeper, and a Bruce Lee wanna-be: Go Here

- Aaron Kwok, Cecilia Cheung and director Jingle Ma are currently shooting the musical "Para Para Sakura" in Shanghai, China. Here are two pics from the film.

Aaron on the set with Jingle Ma: Click Here

Aaron during one of the many musical numbers of the movie: Just Click

Aaron and Cecilia: Click

- In a recent interview, Tony Leung Chiu-wai talked about one of his coming films, director Zhang Yimou's period epic, "Hero". He said that right now only Jiang Wan is confirmed to play Emperor Qin. Tony was offered the role of one of two different warriors and he has yet to make a decision. He is unsure if Jet Li was attached to the project or not, at this moment. Tony also clarified that Yuen Wo-ping will not be the fight choreographer for this film and the job will go to Stephen Tung Wai ("The Accidental Spy", "Purple Storm", and the director of Jet Li's "Hitman").

- Yutaka Takenouchi has left Tsui Hark's next film, the "Death Duel" remake. Takeshi Kaneshiro is in talks to take the role opposite Leslie Cheung.

- Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Sammi Cheng took over the box office last weekend. Their screwball comedy, "Fighting for Love", opened on Saturday and collected an estimated $4 million in 2 days. "Visible Secret" fell one spot and grabbed another $3 million with total $7.5 million grossing so far. Another horror flick, the Canadian film "Ginger Snaps" debuted at no.3 with $0.6 million. "Someone like You", "See Spot Run" and "Save the last Dance' debuted at no.5, 6 and 7 respectively. Opening this week in theatres are "The Mummy Returns" and Ringo Lam's latest Hollywood flick ,"The Replicant", with Jean Claude Van Damme.

KOREA

NineLife's back with the latest info from Korea. Here it is:

WHEN KOREAN CINEMA ATTACKS!

For the first time, an unprecedented collection of some of Korea's biggest and best recent films will hit the big screen in New York City this summer. Subway Cinema and The Korean Film Forum are teaming up to present "When Korean Cinema Attacks! New Films From Korea" at Manhattan's Anthology Film Archives from August 17th - August 26th.

The slated festival lineup of 11+ films includes Jang Yun-Hyun's thriller "Tell Me Something", Park Chan-Wuk's blockbuster "Joint Security Area", the Kim Jin-Wun wrestling comedy "The Foul King", Bong Jun-Ho's "Barking Dogs Never Bite", Kim Gi-Deok's "The Isle", and the Kim Tae-Yong/Min Gyu-Dong collaboration "Memento Mori". This event is great news for Korean cinema fans -- it isn't often that we get to see the big flicks on the big screen outside of their home country. In addition to the listed films, the program for "When Korean Cinema Attacks!" will include more surprise screenings and appearances by Korean directors.

For those who don't know, Subway Cinema is a New York-based film programming collective and one of the biggest champions of Asian film in the city. When those cool movie theaters like The Music Palace in Chinatown began to close down one by one, all us mourning fans figured we were doomed to reading those tiny subtitles on the little screens of our TV's. Subway Cinema is consistently and skillfully helping to fill the void left by the ghosts of the Chinatown houses -- festivals like their Old School Kung Fu series and the recent Tsui Hark retrospective give us the chance to see the flicks will love the way they were meant to be viewed.

The Korean Film Forum is a local film curation and study group who aims to introduce contemporary Korean cinema to a wider audience; the collaboration with Subway Cinema for "When Korean Cinema Attacks" is their first event. Here's hoping this festival becomes an annual undertaking!

For more info, check out the Subway Cinema website at www.subwaycinema.com.

PUSAN: KOREA'S SECOND HOLLYWOOD?

Seoul has long been THE power spot for Korean cinema, but Pusan is putting in a strong bid to become the country's second film home. Already ground-zero for the Pusan International Film Festival, the bustling up-and-coming metropolis is pulling out all the stops in an effort to lure both local and international productions to its port shores.

Spearheading the campaign is the relatively new Pusan Film Commission. Founded in 1999, the commission is offering "one stop shopping" for productions that includes everything from location scouting assistance and acting as the liaison between local businesses and government offices to providing an "express lane" for acquiring the permits needed to get a shoot off the ground. The PFC seems to be aiming at making shooting in Pusan as utterly painless as possible, and anyone who has ever worked on a film knows that can be a BIG selling point when it comes to choosing a location. Filmmaking can be an ongoing attempt to defeat Murphy's Law, and one less headache is ALWAYS welcome!

If recent events are any indication, Pusan's film future looks bright. Between the success of Pusan-based films like the firefighter hit "Libera Me" and Kwak Kyung-Taek's "Friend" to the significant number of other major films currently in production (Jang Sun-Woo's "The Resurrection of The Little Match Seller" is one), the second-largest city in the Land of The Morning Calm is well on its way to becoming Korea's second Hollywood.

We have now reached the end of this week's column. Remember, if you have information regarding any film industry in Asia, please contact our Asia-AICN offices at atshrivas@home.com. See you all next week.

Darius25

Father Geek back with this bit of news I just this second received:

BATTLE ROYALE (DVD)

Catalog Number: DSTD-2017 Price: Yen-5,460 , US$(46.04)

Release Date: 21-09-2001

Hope that helps some of you out...