"Kingdom" rules in so-so Korean B.O

Chinese-U.S. co-production "The Forbidden Kingdom" brought some fresh air to the struggling Korean box office last weekend.

The Jet Li-Jackie Chan starrer opened Thursday on 313 screens and topped the chart, grossing $2.6 million on 402,613 admissions.

The numbers are fair, but Chinese-themed, pan-Asian blockbusters have struggled to define a much-needed new paradigm. So far this year, four have been released in South Korea.

"Three Kingdoms," which counts Korean production coin from Taewon Entertainment, has cumed a satisfactory, but not stellar, $6.38 million from nearly 1 million admissions after four weeks. Opened on April 9 and ranked at No. 6 in its first weekend, "An Empress and the Warriors" has grossed only $1.2 million to date for distributor CJ Entertainment.

"The Warlords" in January and "Assembly" in March ended with 380,000 and 700,000 admissions, respectively.

This trend may be worth noting for distributor Showbox, which has invested a substantial sum in John Woo's upcoming "Red Cliff." The mega-budget pic will be released across Asia in two parts, in late summer and in December.

Top financial daily Maeil Business said local critics blamed the sluggish perfs of Chinese blockbusters on similar casts and Sino nationalist themes that don't resonate with Korean audiences.

After topping for two consecutive weeks, Liam Neeson starrer "Taken" slipped to No. 2 over the weekend, leaving the surprise hit with a $8.1 million cume for distributor Studio 2.0. Pic has showed consistently high advance ticket sales since its release and has surpassed 1.25 million admissions.

Keanu Reeves starrer "Street Kings" ranked at No. 3 in its second weekend with a disappointing $1.4 million gross. The star came to Seoul to promote the film, but at a tense press conference, he struggled to explain the pic's negative portrayal of Korean gangsters in L.A. in the film's opening scenes.

Released on 171 screens by a new distributor, M-Plus, helmer Gregory Hoblit's "Untraceable" ranked at No. 4 in its second weekend, grossing $1.07 million, while Rob Reiner's "The Bucket List" at No. 5 continued to do steady business with $1.24 million to date.

Without any strong domestic title to chase them off screens, Korean-made pics "GP506" and "The Chaser" held on to seventh and eighth places, respectively. Released on the same day as "Three Kingdoms," "GP506" has now cumed $5.9 million. Still playing on 101 screens two months after release, "The Chaser" has run off with $32.2 million to date.

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Kingdom-rules-in-so-so-Korean-BO-talk533345.html

Singer Jang Nara Carries Olympic Flame

Jang's management agency said although it had been informed of Jang's selection earlier, it refrained from publicizing the affair to allow the singer to carry the torch without any unnecessary complications. Jang carried the torch from the Jongno area on the afternoon of April 27.

Some 80 citizens, including celebrities, took turns carrying the Olympic flame through 80 districts in Seoul before it arrived at Seoul City Plaza at 7:00 p.m. The torch left for the North Korean capital Pyeongyang at 11:00 p.m. Sunday.

Singers Rain and Bada were among the celebrities who carried the torch.

source:　http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Singer-Jang-Nara-Carries-Olympic-Flame-talk533302.html

Da S renewed contract as endorser for Tissot watches

Since the time Da S started endorsing Tissot watches for China, the company has seen 300% sales growth. Because of this success, Da S signed another 3 yr contract with Tissot worth 1,000,000 HK dollars. She said that her previous payment can only buy a small suite. Now, this pay can buy her a big house. She made a new batch of ads wearing a red gown. For her, the red gives out a sense of happiness in love.

Da S was also given 30 Tissot watches. When asked if she'll give one to Zai Zai, she said that he doesn't like wearing watches. Regarding an Online voting poll of which couple would fans like to see on screen again, netizens had chosen ZZ and Da S. Da S said "As long as the script is good, I'm willing to work with him again

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Da-S-renewed-contract-as-endorser-for-Tissot-watches-talk533298.html

Dr. Liza Wang will be an Olympic torchbearer for HK!

HK celebrity and politician, Dr. Liza Wang will be the 88th Olympic torchbearer for SAR Hong Kong. Liza will be running in the Tsim Tsa Tsui area. Liza mentioned that she is not worried about the demonstrations (referring to the Tibetan issue) affecting the torch relay and that she is extremely happy to be able to be a part of the relay.

Liza added that she exercises regularly and that she should be able to run the allocated journey fairly comfortably.

Other celebrity participants include: Stephen Chan, Eason Chan(Wanchai district), Leo Ku (Wanchai district), Jacky Cheung, Kelly Chan, Alex Fong, etc.

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Dr-Liza-Wang-will-be-an-Olympic-torchbearer-for-HK--talk533296.html

Enjoying the pleasure of being massage; Ariel Lin feels like flying

Zheng Yuan Chang, Lin Yi Chen and Jiro Wang had conduct 8 hours of marathon signing session in Japan. Lin Yi Chen sign until she was in dazed, the event organizer was very considerate too and has hired massager to give them massages to relieve their pain. In the end Jiro Wang was being revealed (by the massager) that his digesting system is not really good, he immediately stated that: [(I) have no problem with my kidney though.] making everyone in room laughing out loud.

Lin Yi Chen only had 10 minutes massage and already she was content with it and said: [(My) hand is light and floating, feels like flying], that day her massager was a man and the crew was afraid that she would reject. In the end, she reveals that while she was filming in Heng Dian, Mainland she had a male massager to massage her stomach, during that time she was on a diet too and massage helps her to loose majority of her weight.

While Zheng Yuan Chang was totally enjoying the pleasure of being massage, only being [massage] for just a while, (his) eyes have automatically closed and almost fall asleep. He describes that the Japanese massager had massage the exact right spot; if compare with the Taiwanese massager, [Over here (they) will put more pressure on the palm, making people feeling pain, arching and comfortable.]

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Enjoying-the-pleasure-of-being-massage-Ariel-Lin-feels-like-flying-talk533288.html

Kim Min Soo of Monday Kiz passes away in motorbike accident

Kim Min Soo from Korean group Monday Kiz lost his life early this morning in an motorbike accident. They just released their album a month ago on 31st March

The incident happened this morning at 6:20am where the motorbike that Kim Min Soo was riding on crashed into a tree along the road. According to his management, he was immediately whisked off to Boramae hospital after the accident but was pronounced dead at 6:50am by doctors. His pillion rider who goes by the name of Lee suffered serious injuries.

Kim Min Soo had met with an accident last September involving his motorbike and was warded for four months in hospital. But this time, he couldn’t escape death and makes one wonder what it might have been

Can Entertainment representing Monday Kiz expressed, “Kim Min Soo had said after his accident last year that he wouldn’t ride a bike again. I really can’t believe that this had happened. I really don’t know what else to say. We are awaiting the results from police investigations.”

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Kim-Min-Soo-of-Monday-Kiz-passes-away-in-motorbike-accident-talk533263.html

Lee Jae Jin’s real sister in On Air drama interests netizens

F.T Island member, Lee Jae Jin’s real sister acting in SBS “On Air” was made known recently, interesting many netizens.

Lee Jae Jin’s sister, Lee Chae Won plays the make-up artist for Oh Seung Ah (Kim Ha Neul) in “On Air” and appears practically in every episode. Lee Chae Won had debuted initally using her real name Lee Jae Gyung but changed it recently. She did not rely on the fame of her brother’s name nor F.T Island

According to the “On Air” production team, F.T Island theme song, “One Word” for “On Air” has been a great success.

source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Lee-Jae-Jins-real-sister-in-On-Air-drama-interests-netizens-talk533261.html