Internet ventures into film and drama productions

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Zhou Xun plays a nail-clip eater in the first of four high-budget mini-movies released on sina

Internet series and movies are often synonymous with low-budget and poor-quality, but two new releases this month shows how Chinese internet companies are making big budget productions just for the computer screen.

This month, Tudou (China’s number one streaming site and the world’s most trafficked streaming site per day) released the first of three internet dramas it sponsored -  欢迎爱光临 That love comes starring Joe Cheng,  Li Fei’er and model Pei Bei. Though the plot is slow and cliched, the high budget is shown in the choice of the actors and the cinematography.  Meanwhile, Sina released the first of four short films by director Peng Haoxiang. The first film, titled 指甲刀人魔 nail clipper monster, stars Zhou Xun, and the second film, 假戏真作, stars Stanley Huang.

English trailers for 欢迎爱光临 That love comes:

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M.I.C’s Debut EP and MV ‘Rockstar’ Released

October 25, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China,Music, Tagged ,

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After a wait of nearly a year, boyband M.I.C’s fans, Dai Mai, were finally able to see them debut on October 20th at a fanmeet where they performed songs from their EP. The MV for Rockstar incorporated the ipad concept with sliding screens. The EP is below the cut.

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Top Combine’s Zhang Yuan Stars in iMe’s 3rd MV

October 25, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China, Tagged ,
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iMe in this month's Easy Magazine

New multinational girlgroup iMe‘s MV for “The Limit of Friendship”, the third single from their debut EP was recently released showing off the gorgeous beaches of Thailand. Also in the MV is their Shi Ge, Top Combine‘s Zhang Yuan, whose beautiful voice is featured in the song. The girls have had a full schedule flying back between various countries in the past few months. In China, they did photoshoots for Sohu website and Easy magazine, and went on shows including one with HIT-5. In Thailand, which they’ve visited twice now, not only did they film their MV, but they performed at True Fantasia, and went on a succession of shows. They will also be releasing a song in Thai.

Fu Xinbo Raises Awareness For Strays with Fashion

October 24, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China, Tagged , ,

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Fu Xinbo, of duo BOBO recently teamed up with a fashion brand to design a shirt to raise awareness of stray dogs and cats. In previous interviews,  BOBO previously spoke of their dismay at people who abandon pets. Through this collaboration, it’s hoped that both funds and awareness can be raised for stray animals. More pictures at the source. He also did a recent photoshoot with a dog here.

Source

Zhou Xun Rocks Out for i-D magazine’s 30th Anniversary Issue

October 19, 2010 | Posted in Indie/Rock,Mainland China,Music, Tagged ,

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Zhou Xun has landed on the 30th anniversary cover for renowned British magazine, i-D, the only Asian chosen.  In it she takes the magazine on a tour of her favorite rock and roll spots in China.  Go to i-D’s website for the making-of video.

More pictures and a guide to the best Beijing rock spots from i-D and Zhou Xun below the cut.

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The Cast of ‘Hawthorn Tree’ Sohu Photoshoots

October 19, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China, Tagged , , ,

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One of the ways Chinese entertainment websites are using to differentiate itself from the competition is through its own exclusive photoshoots. While Sina is arguably a stronger and more thorough for news, Sohu has a very youthful friendly air, with cute ‘New Face’ photoshoots highlighting new emerging stars. And it has also become expected now that, whenever a Chinese film is at an international film festival, to see Sohu cameras close behind follow capturing the stars in the natural scenery of the area.

Their latest photoshoot took advantage of the natural enthusiasm the cast of Zhang Yimou’s Under the Hawthorn Tree, consisting of Zhou Dongyu and Canadian-raised  Shawn Dou during their stay at Pusan Film Festival. Dou, straight out of Beijing Film Academy, and Zhou, a high school senior, both showed the unaffected excitement of newcomers, taking in everything with wide smiles, just happy to be there. They also were the playful subjects of Sohu’s lens for their new face series looking playful. More pictures below the cut.

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Happy Camp’s Happy Family Releases Album

October 19, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China,Music, Tagged , , , , ,

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When the ‘Happy Family’ produces an album, they spare no expense. With some of the best photographers and composers in the industry helping them, they released “Happiness. You understand it” a couple weeks ago.

Tracklist:

01.快乐你懂的
02.绽放的微笑
03.傻傻爱
04.以爱之名
05.白日梦
06.男人婆
07.思念的距离
08.为你歌唱
09.我的爱坏坏
10.啦啦歌

More gorgeous picture from the album below the cut.

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Kym Jin Sha releases new album “Legends”

October 15, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China,Music, Tagged , , , , ,
Jin Sha MV

Jin Sha filming her MV for her hit song 星月神话 Celestial Legend, the second title song composed by herself following 换季 Changing of Seasons for her last album.

Girl-meets-next-door meets talent  Kym Jin Sha returns to music after three years with her album 星月神话 Legends.  The new album makes use of her popularity gained from various dramas, most notably as the selfless Lv Su in 神话 The Myth .  The drama’s insert song, Jin Sha’s self-composed hit single 星月神话 Celestial Legend/ Xing Yue Shen Hua, is the title song of the new album, and is one of four beautiful ZGF ballads in the album, which also include Sichuan Conservatory student’s composition 画中仙 The fairy in the ainting, video game theme song  天边的眷恋 Love at the edge of the Earth and 相思垢 Longing by VAE. Other notable songs in the track include VAE’s composition 你的嘴 Your Mouth and a duet with Nathan Lee . Listen to the her album in HQ audio on baidu here.

Celestial Legend MV, thanks to fountainpark723@YouTube

Super Boy Chen Xiang Featured on Sohu

Chen Xiang

Looking ahead to his glorious future

He has 552,653 fans on his weibo — and counting. His song “Yan Huo” on the Super Boys 2010 compilation album, My Stage, has been listened to more than 13 billion times. And he seems to be loved by all, in a similar way to how people loved Khalil Fong two years ago. He may have placed fifth in Super Boys, but that hasn’t stopped Chen Xiang from becoming the biggest surprise of this year’s competition.

People say he’s like a little orange: clean, pure, quiet, emitting a fresh and clean fragrance. (His name on his weibo is “陈翔橙” — “Chen Xiang Orange.”) Under the lens of the camera, his quietness makes him seem like a little prince who somehow wandered out of a children’s fairy tale. He has an elegant face, an expression like Lee Jun-ki’s, and a naturally clean and warm voice.

Every year we wait for a newbie to suddenly emerge like Jay Chou did in 2001. But right now, this generation is not one conducive to making stars that the entire country idolizes. More and more people are starting to care less if a person came from a competition, and are starting to care more about a star’s potential in the future. And as far as the future is concerned, Chen Xiang’s starting point may be higher than the other Super Boys’: with his clean voice and elegant looks, singing and acting are both viable options for him.

See him in action with Super Girl Yu Kewei — acting in a short clip and then singing in a duet. Sohu photoshoot plus a bonus .gif behind the cut:

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Bibi Chow, Anson Hu, Kangta, K’naan, Elva Hsiao, etc. to form in Toronto

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From Seattle to LA to Las Vegas to Boston to NYC to Toronto, cpop artists have been all over the U.S. and Canada this year ... I'm going to cry if someone else pops up and I can't go stalk them.

Bibi Zhou Bichang, Anson Hu, Elva Hsiao, K’naan, Kangta, Phoenix Legend, Luo Dayou, Da Zhang Wei (former leader of the Flowers), Fu Xinbo (formerly of BoBo), and others will perform in Toronto on November 28th as a celebration of 40 years of diplomatic relationship between Canada and China. For more details and ticket information, visit the official site here.