Actress Vicki Zhao gave birth to a baby girl

XIN MSN has reported that the "Mulan" actress Vicki Zhao has given birth to a baby girl at Singapore’s Gleneagles Hospital. She was reportedly gave birth via caesarean at 11pm on Sunday night. Both mother and daughter are in good health Vicki's manager confirmed.

A BIG congrats to Vicki and her partner and their families.

Source: XIN MSN

Chinese actress Vicki Zhao has given birth to a baby last Sunday at Singapore's Gleneagles Hospital and is now a blissful mother of a baby girl.

The actress-singer recently made headlines when she was spotted heavily-pregnant by the paparazzi while grocery shopping trip in Singapore last month. News of her pregnancy was first leaked out by the press in November last year. Zhao's subsequent absence in the movie promotions of 14 Blades set tongues wagging and confirmed her pregnancy rumours.

According to a netizen who was at Gleneagles Hospital undergoing a body checkup, Zhao reportedly underwent a caesarean operation on Sunday night at 11pm and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The 34-year-old was accompanied by her Chinese property tycoon husband, Huang Youlong, all night.

Vicki's tight-lipped manager, Chen Rong, broke the news yesterday and announced, "Everything is well, blissful and happy! Zhao Wei (Vicki's Chinese name) and her family members thank everyone for their blessings."

Chen confirmed that both mother and daughter are safe and healthy.

According to reports, a 20-something Miss Sun, who is believed to be Zhao's friend, was seen leaving her private 'Tanglin Suite', which costs an estimated S$4,300 per night. When members of the press approached Miss Sun, the young woman vehemently refused to comment or confirm on Zhao's presence in the suite and firmly said, "I will not say anything at all."

Both Zhao and her husband, Huang, are believed to be Singapore permanent residents and registered their marriage in 2008.

Zhao will be making a showbiz comeback for a Stephen Chow movie, Hail The Judge, in June.

Spotted: Leehom and woman behaving intimately in public

First-time movie director Leehom was caught behaving intimately with a woman in full public view at an event last month to celebrate the completion of his movie Love Announcement's shoot.

After the wrap party at Shanghai's Muse nightspot ended at around 6am, a tipsy-looking Leehom was seen throwing his arms around a fair-skinned woman, who looked to be around 30 years old. The two behaved as if they were unwilling to leave and clung onto each other for a while. He whispered into her ears and she returned the favour by holding his neck, before embracing him by the waist.

The good-looking singer-songwriter, one of the most coveted bachelors in the Mandopop scene, has previously been linked with singer A-mei, actress Shu Qi and his Lust, Caution co-star Tang Wei.

Leehom's agent responded on Monday that the woman in question is a film editor for Love Announcement who is married. She argued, "It wasn't intimate at all. Leehom says everyone is like comrades and possesses a special bond."

Love Announcement will be the 33-year-old Leehom's directorial debut. He stars in the NT$160 million (S$7 million) production opposite Chinese starlet Liu Yifei and Joan Chen, another Lust, Caution co-star.

XIN MSN

"East Wind, Rain" Premieres Tonight in Beijing

Director Liu Yunlong's Chinese espionage film "East Wind, Rain" will premiere tonight in Beijing, April 13, 2010, Ent.sina.com reports.

A portrait of star Fan Bingbing, wearing a huge red dress, has just been released in advance of the premiere. According to the costume designer, this extreme colour aims to emphasize the pain of Fan's character in the film. With a length of 5 metres, the dress was too large to transport by elevator. The cast and crew had to carry it down the stairs to get it outside.

In the film, Fan Bingbing plays a spy during WWII. In order to fulfill her mission and keep the organization's information secret, she sacrifices herself.

Director Liu set the film, which takes place in Shanghai, before and after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The Shanghai of 1941, as presented in the movie, is filled with spies working for different countries and organizations. An Ming, a Chinese agent, works undercover as a pianist in a local pub. He decodes the "East Wind, Rain" message and tries to pass on the information. Director Liu plays An Ming.

The film will hit cinemas on April 21 this year.

CRI

Pop Queen Faye Wong to Start Concert Tour In Oct

Former pop queen Faye Wong made her official comeback performance at the 2010 Spring Festival Gala. [Video: Sina.com]

After former pop queen Faye Wong made her official comeback performance at the 2010 Spring Festival Gala, she is to start her concert tour this October in Beijing, China Mobile" s 12530, the sponsor and music supplier under China?s largest mobile operator, has announced.

According to China Mobile's 12530, Faye Wong has made a preliminary plan for the concerts. Kicking off from Beijing and Shanghai, her concerts will take in various cities across the country. Wang's first concert is to be held for five successive days at Beijing's Wukesong Stadium in October.

More details on her concerts will be released in mid-April.

CRI

Jimmy Lin’s first China modern series lands on Hunan TV

My Lucky Star got very high ratings when it debuted in China in 07. It has since been on reruns numerous times in the last 3 years. Fans of MLS still talk about the series to these days. There were even rumors that there’ll be a sequel with the original cast. Jimmy Lin’s manager said, “They are only rumors. He had to turn down more than 10 series because of the concert tour. The scripts he’s looking at now have nothing to do with MLS.” Jimmy’s new series is 单身公主相亲记, a 30 eps modern comedy: the collaboration between Hunan TV and Shanghai 展杰文化艺术有限公司. This is his first modern series filmed in China.

Jimmy’s attitude towards accepting jobs is quality over quantity. His original plan is to do a movie, the concert tour and a new album. But 单身公主相亲记 is directed by 陈铭章, the director of My Lucky Star. Jimmy said, “I missed the opportunity to work with Director Chen because of the last concert. I have very high regards for him and we work well together. We talked about this series several times and I’ve confidence that this will be a unique comedy.”

Hunan TV usually uses newbies in its original series. This is the first time they hire Jimmy Lin as the male lead with a six-figure fee per episode. The producer 周琳 also has high regards for Jimmy. She will showcase not just his good looks but also his innate comedic charm.

Besides the series Jimmy’s original plan is to hold concerts in Beijing and Chengdu in May. But the visual design team has a time conflict with Director Zhang Yimou’s musical Turandot and the concert has to be postponed. Jimmy’s manager Grace said, “There will be filming of the series and commercials and other commercial activities in the first half of the year. The rest of the time will be devoted to preparing for the concert and the new album.

translation by l_coco @ asianfanatics
source : Sina

Sa Dingding to give showcase in Korea next week

Cover of Sa Dingding's latest album "Harmony" [Universal Music Group]

Chinese folk singer Sa Dingding will be visiting Korea for a showcase next week, according a press release by record label Universal Music Korea.

The singer and songwriter will be promoting her latest album "Harmony" at the showcase, which will take place at Seoul's art venue Sangsangmadang on April 7.

She collaborated with world-renowned producers for the new record such as Marius De Vries, who has worked with rock band U2 and Icelandic singer Bjork, and Paul Oakenfold, a famous U.K. deejay and producer who has made music with Madonna.

Born to parents of Han Chinese and Mongolian ancestry, Sa was known have been influenced by traditional Mongolian music while growing up in the region.

In 2001, at the age of 18, she released her first album "Dong Ba La" which was well-received in China but the singer claimed it not the kind of music she wanted to make.

The multi-lingual artist -- who sings in Mandarin, Sanskrit, Tibetan and self-created language -- released her official debut album "Alive" in 2007, which contained sounds of western electronica pop music based on Asian culture.

The following year, she won BBC's World Music Award for the Asia-Pacific region and performed at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London. Sa Dingding is also a two time Grammy nominee.

"Harmony" was released in January of this year.

Asiae

Check out her audio of Harmony below

Barbie Hsu Says Her Wax Figure 'Too Fat'

Barbie Hsu poses next to her newly unveiled wax figure at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong on March 24, 2010. [Photo: Tungstar/ent.sina.com.cn]

Madame Tussauds Hong Kong unveiled actress Barbie Hsu's wax figure on Wednesday.

The look was adapted from her character in her new film, "Future X-Cops ", but Hsu said she wasn't happy with the result.

"I think the wax figure is too fat. I hope Madame Tussauds will do something to make the figure lose weight."

Hsu said she was dieting when Madame Tussauds took her measurements and has since lost two kilograms.

"I suggested they make my face slimmer when they measured it, because I would be on a diet. But they didn't accept that and said they would follow the real measurements."

Hsu stars as a time-traveling police officer who warps time to rescue her partner, played by Andy Lau, in "Future X-Cops".

The actress is known for her roles in "Connected" and "Hot Summer Days" as well as the TV drama "Meteor Garden".

By Chen Zhe

It must be very upsetting for her to have her wax made not to her liking. Now everyone will remember her as a 'fat' Barbie Hsu.


CriEnglish

Lust, Caution actor premieres new film

Chinese actress Tang Wei returned to the red carpet on Sunday, promoting her first movie since the 2007 Ang Lee spy thriller Lust, Caution, a politically sensitive production that reportedly prompted officials to ban her in her home country.

Lee catapulted the then-unknown Tang to stardom by casting her as a student activist who seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence chief in World War II-era Shanghai to pave way for his assassination, only to fall in love with the traitor.

With many Chinese still incensed by Japanese atrocities during the war, government censors asked Lee to edit the film to be more politically acceptable. The Oscar-winning Taiwanese filmmaker changed a line of dialogue at the end of the movie so it was more ambiguous if Tang's character gave away the assassination plot. He also toned down explicit sex scenes.

But even though the edited version of the movie was cleared for release, Chinese officials still wanted to punish Tang, ordering TV stations to pull ads featuring the actress and to stop covering her, according to news reports.

The actress did not act again until Crossing Hennessy, a Hong Kong-set romance that held its world premiere on Sunday, kicking off the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival. The Ivy Ho movie has been cleared for release in China.

"Coming to Hong Kong for this premiere, I can see (director) Ivy and (co-star) Andy On again. I've been very happy. Now I'm just excited to see the movie," Tang told reporters.

"I will be happy if everyone can see my work," she said.

Another co-star, veteran Hong Kong actress Paw Hee-ching, said she was delighted to see Tang's comeback.

"Everyone knows that Tang Wei is an actress of international stature, but she hasn't been able to make any movies in the past few years. For her to see the light of day again with this movie, I'm really happy for her," Paw said.

In Crossing Hennessy, Tang plays a shopkeeper who's set up with the owner of an electric appliance store, played by Hong Kong pop legend Jacky Cheung.

The Chinese actress has also been shooting Late Autumn, an English-language remake of the 1966 South Korean film by the same name, directed by Kim Tae-yong and co-starring Hyun Bin.

The Hong Kong festival, which runs until April 6, will screen 298 movies from more than 50 countries, including 24 world premieres.

ninemsn

Vicki Zhao breaks her silence after pregnancy photos exposed

After she was rumoured to have married real estate property magnate Huang You Long last year, Chinese actress Vicki Zhao was photographed with a round tummy during a grocery shopping trip in Singapore last week. The tight-lipped 34-year-old finally broke her silence of many months and spoke to a Chinese publication on her birthday last Friday.

Previously, a Hong Kong publication reported that her husband cheated on her with another Chinese actress, Zhang Ziyi.

This marks the first time Vicki took the initiative to approach a publication after her exposed pregnant photos. She said, “Actually there is nothing to be shameful about. Everything I have done is to give my family have a peaceful living environment. I originally believed that it is solely my personal life and there is nothing that needs to be said to the public.

“Some things can’t be helped when you are in the industry. And now, my personal life is being linked to another female star, that’s bad enough.”

She thanked friends for their concern and explained that she is not used to putting her private life under public scrutiny.

“Maybe I have been too low-profiled and got involved in unnecessary rumours, suspicions and conjectures. I would like for the people concerned of me to stop worrying. My life is now very peaceful, ordinary, and happy! After working for so many years, I have not given myself sufficient time to rest and recuperate.

“To be honest, I am in the midst of picking from a few good movie scripts. I have also completed talks for a few advertorials earlier in the year and I plan to carry out these work plans soon. I hope to prep myself with a positive attitude to eagerly live my life and face the future. Thank you for your concern and love.”

MediaCorp

Zhang Ziyi Denies Charity Fraud

Zhang Ziyi has vehemently denied accusations that she committed fraud in the name of charity, but admitted to inexperience when organizing a donation drive for the relief of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake victims.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily, the internationally-celebrated Chinese actress - for the first time - answered some 100 questions, most of which involve details about the money she gave to charity or collected for her own foundation.

Ever since an advertisement featuring her was defaced with paint in December, Zhang has been embroiled in a series of allegations.

The most serious of the accusations - mostly from Internet users - are about discrepancies in the sums that surfaced in various reports. Shortly after a major earthquake struck Sichuan on May 12, 2008, she decided to donate 1 million yuan (US$147,000) to the China Red Cross.

As she was in the United States at the time, she asked her representative in China to transfer the money. But due to what she claimed to be a "communication glitch", only 840,000 yuan was sent. She said she took "primary responsibility" for it and had already made up for the shortfall.

The other contentious figure was $1 million, which she said she had "hoped" to raise, but had never claimed to have "already" raised. The actual amount pledged for the Zhang Ziyi Foundation is slightly less than $500,000, most of which has not been paid.

The event in the eye of the storm was a fund-raising drive on May 21, 2008, at the Cannes Film Festival. During the one-hour "hastily arranged" initiative, only $1,392 in cash was collected, far less than the previously reported $50,000. The rest were informal pledges.

The total adds up to about $500,000, which is the amount she said she had always referred to when answering the media.

Since then, she said she had been making efforts to pressure the donors to honor their pledges, but her efforts have not been very successful. So far, only $15,050 has been collected.

Zhang said she would personally make up for the shortfall but would not reveal the people's names against their will.

Zhang also mentioned her foundation was registered in California two days before her fund-raising effort in Cannes. The foundation, a non-profit organization, is of good standing and there have been no financial irregularities, she said.

Tears welled in her eyes when she talked about the incident's impact on her and her family, and again when she recounted the solace and support she got from friends.

She said she wants to give back to society because she had got so much from it, using her heavily-subsidized tuition in the drama academy and the dance school as an example.

CriEnglish

A pregnant Vicki Zhao spotted in Singapore

It was the award-winning actress's 34th birthday a few days ago when a certain Hong Kong publication spun tales of Vicki Zhao's property magnate husband, Huang You Long, cheating on her with fellow Chinese actress, Zhang Ziyi.

Vicki personally phoned said publication's editor and expressed her hopes for them to "spare people who do not belong to showbiz." It is unknown if Vicki is referring to herself or her husband.

In her final trimester, the actress made headlines when she was recently spotted walking around with a protruding tummy while going about her errands. To avoid the media glare and paparazzi in her hometown, she is currently awaiting delivery in Singapore, and is expecting a baby boy.

Vicki's manager, Chen Rong, spoke up on her behalf in a couple of text messages, "She's doing great, thanks for the concern. As usual, she has no habit of turning her personal matters into a talking point.

"There are many untrue and irresponsible reports which twist the facts and truths, especially this particular publication. It gave her lot of unnecessary troubles."

According to reports, Vicki and her husband, Chen, have been in love for the past two years. The real estate tycoon impressed her family with his generous ways and was spotted at various after-parties of Vicki's 2008 Chinese movie, Painted Skin. The couple reportedly tied the knot in Singapore in August last year.


Yahoo!

Kim Hee-sun will star in Chinese war epic

South Korean actress Kim Hee-sun will star in Warring States (tentative title), a war epic set in China more than 2,000 years ago. It will also have mainland actor Sun Honglei.

Kim has not played in any film since 2007, the year she gave birth to her daughter.

While Chinese audiences know Kim from the South Korean TV dramas of the late 1990s, it was the 2005 film The Myth, starring her and Jackie Chan, that catapulted her to fame.

Recently, another South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo was dropped by mainland director Chen Kaige from one of his projects, for being "fussy."

Sun Jie, producer of Warring States, however, says Kim liked the script and made a quick decision to join.

The filming will start later this month.



CRIEnglish

Fan Bingbing to Replace S. Korean Song Hye-kyo in Chen Kaige Film

Chinese actress Fan BingBing

South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is confirmed to replace South Korean star Song Hye-kyo for the leading role in Director Chen Kaige's upcoming historical drama, "Zhao's Orphan".

The replacement came a month after the film's production team announced that Song Hye-kyo was in talks for the role of female lead.

Despite claims of a normal cast shuffle, the incident led to a row over the recent statement by Song Hye-kyo's agent company denying that the star had ever received any invitation from the film's production crew or even met Director Chen in person. The statement also warned South Korea's domestic media to be cautious with the publicity stunt tactics of China's showbiz.

"Director Chen wouldn't have met with Miss Song if she hadn't had shown her interest in the film time after time," explained Qin Hong, the chairman of Stellar Pictures, the distributor of "Zhao's Orphan."

"Miss Song and the producers failed to come to terms on some details with the contract.... Did we meet a cloned Song Hye-kyo?" Qin said in defense, adding that the deed of their South Korean counterpart was a tremendous disrespect to the film crew.

According to media reports, Song Hye-kyo's agent company issued the statement out of possible concern that Song's miss-out on the role is a stigma to her star power, since South Korean media had reported that the star visited Beijing a few times in an effort to obtain the part.

Besides Fan Bingbing, the stellar lineup of "Zhao's Orphan" will also include veteran actor Ge You, newly crowned "Best Actor" Wang Xueqi and Zhang Fengyi who starred in Chen Kaige's 1993 Oscar-nominated film "Farewell, My Concubine."

Cri.english

Zhang Ziyi accused of pocketing donations

There has been claims that the "Memoir of a Geisha" actress Zhang Ziyi has pocketed part of the donations that was raised for the Sichuan earthquake relief. It is an absurd claim in my opinion. Why on earth would she take the money and for what purpose? She is arguably the most famous Chinese actress in the world and probably making millions from her movies not to mention she is a movie producer who has rake in tonnes of cash from "Sophie's Revenge".

Read full story below....

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi exaggerated the amount of money she raised for Sichuan earthquake relief.

Instead of the US$1mil (S$1.34mil) announced in 2008, the star actually managed to raise US$400,000.

But Zhang did not pocket the money she raised from a donation drive at Cannes Film Festival, her manager Ji Lingling said at an exclusive interview with China's Guangzhou Daily on Sunday.

The clarification came after the media in China reported that there were no signs of the US$1mil donation in the records of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF) and Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).

A check with CRCF and RCSC, the official bodies appointed by China government to collect funds for Sichuan earthquake relief, also found that the 1mil yuan (S$208,000) Zhang pledged to donate turned out to be only 840,000 yuan.

The news triggered a huge controversy with many people demanding Zhang to reveal the whereabouts of the rest of the money.

Ji said Zhang had launched the donation driveday after the May 12, earthquake in 2008 while he was at the film festival in France.

"Immediately, we engaged a lawyer and set up a foundation (Ziyi Zhang Foundation) for the purpose.

"Zhang hoped to raise US$1mil but she only managed to collect US$500,000," she said, adding all the cheques and cash collected were handled by a website appointed by them.

"We (Ji and Zhang) never touched the money. The figure was calculated by the website," said Ji.
Ji said Zhang's friend Wendi Deng, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, had promised to donate US$100,000.

"But she wanted to help the victims so much that she could not wait for us to return to the United States. She gave the money to another foundation," she said, adding the final amount raised was US$400,000.

Asked why Ziyi Foundation's account only had US$45,471 instead of US$400,000, Ji said most of the donors only made verbal commitments to Zhang.

"They will only give the money when we complete the Care for Children's Training and Resource Centre and show it to them," she said.

On the 1mil yuan donated by Zhang, Ji said she was investigating why the donation was recorded at only 840,000 yuan.

Ji also denied a media report that Zhang had collected US$2mil (RM6.89mil). The report quoted an anonymous person, who claimed to be a friend of Zhang's boyfriend Vivi Nevo.

She also provided a copy of the statement issued by Care for Children, an organisation set up to help orphans and abandoned children in China, as evidence.

The statement, titled Ziyi Zhang Foundation Supports Care for Children’s Sichuan Aftermath Aid, said Zhang had promised to channel the entire US$400,000 fund under the foundation for the project.

Divaasia

Chinese actress Li Bingbing in South Korea

Chinese actress Li Bingbing shoots magazine photos in South Korea. Li was in South Korea to promote the spy thriller "The Message".

Aaron Kwok "Murderer" to hit chinese screens

Hong Kong's latest suspense thriller "Murderer" will hit Chinese mainland cinemas on November 1, according to the Sina.com.cn.

Helmed by first-time director Roy Chow, the film stars awarding-winning Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok and up-and-coming Taiwanese actress Chun-Ning Chang.

The story evolves around a police officer played by Kwok. As he is about to be promoted, a gruesome series of chain murders occur, and all the evidence indicates he is the criminal.

Called "Saat Yan Faan" in Cantonese, which sounds a bit bloody, the film's Chinese name has been renamed as "Zui Yu Fa," which literally means "Crime and Penalty", to fit the mainland market.

credit: cri

Vicki Zhao's mystery man revealed

HONG KONG: Chinese actress Vicki Zhao who was reportedly engaged in August, has not just snagged herself a new hubby, but also a son.

However, contrary to reports that she was set to marry a Singaporean businessman, the "Red Cliff" actress' new man is actually Chinese property magnate Huang You Long who has an eight-year-old son.

30-year-old Huang who is known for his Casanova ways, was engaged to former Hong Kong beauty queen Tracy Ip when he was introduced to Zhao - ironically - by his then fiancé.

According to Hong Kong's Next magazine, the Miss Hong Kong 2005 winner was engaged to marry Huang just months after meeting him but postponed the nuptials to focus on her hosting preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In her absence, Zhao and Huang clicked immediately and the 33-year-old actress was impressed with his generosity and a willingness to start a family.

Last September, Zhao was photographed having dinner with Huang after a publicity event for her movie "Painted Skin". The pair left the restaurant a couple of hours later but Zhao was apparently drunk by then and was seen holding on to Huang for support.

Chinese websites reported that the pair then headed for a late night karaoke session and stayed there till the next morning.

Of late, Huang has been spending a considerable amount of time in France and Zhao reportedly flew over to accompany him after attending the Cannes Film Festival this May.

Eventually, the calling of love proved too strong for Zhao as she became the third party between Ip and Huang’s relationship. The couple reportedly travelled to Singapore in August this year to register their marriage.

Meanwhile, apart from losing her fiancé, Ip is facing the possibility of losing her money.

After their breakup, Huang told Ip to return all the profits she earned - more than 10 million yuan (S$2 million) - from her investments using capital from him.

Ip who was heartbroken after the split, has suffered drastic weight loss and had to seek refuge in Britain for a month to fully recuperate before heading back to Hong Kong.

When the Hong Kong media informed her about Zhao and Huang's marriage, she appeared surprised and told the press to "convey her congratulations to them".

When asked if she is angry with Zhao, Ip replied, "I'm very happy right now."

- CNA/fa

"The Warrior and the Wolf" trailer

Zhang Ziyi gets snubbed in Singapore

SINGAPORE : Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi was reportedly turned away by a high-end boutique along Orchard Road when she went on a shopping spree with good friend and celebrity hairstylist David Gan.

In an entry dated September 23 on Gan’s blog, he mentioned that both of them had gone shopping at the various stores at Hilton Hotel when they were denied access into one of the boutiques at around 6pm.

The store’s staff had told them it was closing time and hence they were unable to gain entry. This prompted Gan to comment on Singapore’s service industry on his blog saying, "They rejected an international celebrity because of a technicality?”

Without naming the boutique, Gan went on to explain that the store did not have to let them in because Zhang was a celebrity but by being inflexible, the store had given the brand and Singapore’s service industry a bad reputation. Adding that Zhang was full of praise for the service staff in Singapore, Gan said that the incident did not deter her from returning and they went back to same store the next day where Zhang eventually bought something.

The 30-year-old actress was in Singapore for three days after a photo shoot in Borneo and spent her time mostly shopping and sampling the local hawker food.

- CNA/nc

Zhang Ziyi dogging bad luck

TALK about being dogged by bad luck.

Of late, nothing seems to be going well for Zhang Ziyi, be it her career, or her much-talked about relationship with Israeli billionaire Vivi Nevo.

The 30-year old Chinese actress, who shot to international fame nine years ago after starring in director Lee Ang's epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, appeared poised for success in her new film Sophie's Revenge.

The film, which also stars South Korean heart-throb So Ji-Sub, holds many firsts for her.

It marked her debut as a producer (she co-financed the movie to help first-time director Eva Jin). It was also her first romantic comedy.

Earlier last month, Ziyi had expressed confidence in Sophie's Revenge during an interview with Hong Kong-based broadcaster Phoenix Television.

'The film's quality will not disappoint you and audiences will not regret paying for a ticket to catch it in cinemas,' she confidently declared.

However, the film hit a hitch when it opened in Taiwan on 11 Sep.

Despite boasting two big name Taiwanese stars - doe-eyed actress Ruby Lin and the lanky Peter Ho in the lead role - it inexplicably opened in only three theatres in Taipei, skipping Taichung and Tainan counties.

There was no premiere in Taipei and promotional work was almost non-existent, driving Peter Ho's manager to complain to the Chinese press.

'We weren't informed of any promotional activities for the film at all, and the poster did not even have Peter on it. I'm not sure what the producers are doing,' said the manager.

After a week, box-office takings in Taiwan amounted to a measly NT$40,000 ($1,800).
The lack of screens and publicity is perplexing, considering that most of Ziyi's previous films, such as Hero (2002) and The Banquet (2006), were big-budget productions that opened nationwide.

Ironically, while some blame it on Ziyi's inexperience as a producer, it was her active involvement in the movie that first led to rumours of a split with Mr Nevo.
Mr Nevo, 44, who is believed to have built his fortune from a US$10 million ($14m) inheritance, owns venture capital firm NV Investments, which invests in technology companies worldwide.

The couple, who has been keeping a high-profile relationship since 2007 (they were engaged in March last year), had initially planned for a grand wedding last month, but postponed it indefinitely in July.

Wedding woes?

According to The New York Post, Mr Nevo, 44, who is a major shareholder in Time Warner and one of The Weinstein Company's earliest backers, had 'scoured islands off the coast of Italy for the event'.

However, due to the couple's busy schedules and especially Ziyi's preoccupation with the filming of Sophie's Revenge in China, they decided to 'postpone the wedding indefinitely'.

There are several reasons attributed to their soured relationship.

The Taiwanese press reported last month that the couple had already broken up for two months, claiming that Mr Nevo was 'so turned off by Ziyi pestering him to marry her that he dumped her'.

An upset Ziyi was said to have returned to Beijing alone.

The last time they were seen publicly together was back in May at the Tokyo premiere of Star Trek.

The New Paper carried the news of their alleged split on 8 Aug. Then, local celebrity hair stylist David Gan, a close friend of Ziyi's, defended her: 'I know Ziyi the best... she is not the kind who would pester a man to marry her.'
Other reports blame her for the break-up. Hong Kong's Ming Pao News cited her 'cold feet' as the main cause for the 'split'.

'I'm keen on marriage and family, but I'm now afraid. What if the marriage isn't happy?' Ziyi was quoted as allegedly saying.

In a move to squash speculation about their relationship, she conspicuously wore her engagement ring at the Beijing premiere of Sophie's Revenge last month.

But the media was not convinced, especially since the billionaire has been seen with another female companion.

Last month, he attended the New York premiere of the documentary The September Issue with Vogue magazine's fashion director, Miss Tabitha Simmons, a well-known socialite. They posed for photographs and Mr Nevo even had his arm 'wrapped around her', reported Xinhuanet.

The two were also spotted partying together till late at the opening of swanky new club The Boom Boom Room in New York. Ziyi has yet to comment on Mr Nevo's new female companion.

How things have changed in a span of eight months. Earlier in January, she made headlines of another nature when topless pictures of her - snapped by the paparazzi while she was sunbathing with Mr Nevo in the Caribbean - surfaced online.

Chinese netizens were outraged at the intrusion of the actress' privacy, and many called for the websites to take Ziyi's pictures down.

However, she can take solace from the fact that in mainland China, Sophie's Revenge recently crossed the 90 million yuan ($18m) mark in ticket sales, topping the nation's box-office for three consecutive weeks.

For workaholic Ziyi, who told Phoenix Television that she doesn't foresee herself 'giving up her film career for love', it's one silver lining that she can do with.

source: tnp