By APA Staff

Lim Jeong Hee meets Big Boi in New York, Jeon Ji-hyun returns to Korea cinema, and Jay Chou makes big plans. All this and more in the latest edition of News from Abroad.

Dharm director files complaint over Oscar submission

Controversy surrounds India's official entry to the Academy Awards' best foreign-language film category. India nominated Eklavya: The Royal Guard to represent the country at the Oscars over Bhavna Talwar's Dharm. Talwar filed a complaint in the Bombay High Court alleging bias in favor of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the director and producer of Eklavya, among members of the film selection committee. The Film Federation of India, which appoints the selection committee, said that the committee's chairman will reply to the court by Oct. 10. The court will decide then whether to admit Talwar's petition. Dharm, which tells the story of a staunch Hindu priest who adopts an abandoned child and later discovers the child had Muslim parents, has met critical acclaim and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Amitabh Bachchan stars as the title character in Eklyavya, which is the tale of a guard who protects the royal Indian family and its dark secrets.  --Juliana Kiyan

K-pop star hopefully Outkast no longer

Korean pop star Lim Jeong Hee's new music video features an appearance by US hip-hop duo Outkast's Big Boi. The music video, featuring a song from Lim's soon to be released third album, was filmed in New York as part of JYP/Big Hit Entertainment's preparations for her US debut. Lim's agency said that Big Boi's participation in the music video shows the great interest that Outkast has taken in Lim, especially since Big Boi volunteered to do the cameo upon hearing that the video would be shot in New York. Hopefully Outkast will help ease the young singer onto the US charts. The music video will premiere on October 4 concurrently with the release of her third album.  --JoJo Yang

Jeon Ji-hyun back to Korea

Korean actress Jeon Ji-hyun is set to star in He Once Was Superman directed by Chung Yun-chul. The film follows the story of an eccentric man who believes he is a superhero. Jeon will portray a ruthless documentary producer who plans to exploit the man (played by Hwang Jung-min) for a television program that will melt the hearts of viewers everywhere. Slated for a Winter or Spring 2008 release, the film is being produced and distributed by CJ Entertainment, which recently released Kim Ji-hoon's May 18 in July to impressive box office figures. Jeon shot to stardom with 2001's highly successful My Sassy Girl, in which she played the title character. Her last Korean film was Daisy (2006), which was directed by Andrew Lau Wai-kung of Hong Kong. Jeon recently wrapped shooting Blood: The Last Vampire, a fantasy action film about a vampire who hunts demons in post-war Japan for a covert government agency. Blood is scheduled for a 2008 release.  --Juliana Kiyan

A diverse showing at Taiwan's cultural festivals

Taiwan's recent cultural festivals -- including the Migration Music Festival, Ninth Taipei Arts Festival, International Ethnographic Film Festival, and International Animation Festival -- provide a colorful palette of entertainment experiences across various media. The Migration Music festival sponsored by local indie record label Trees Music and Art and the Taipei City Government's Department of Cultural Affairs spotlights foreign and Taiwanese musicians around a theme of "Land and Freedom," focusing on the modern-day experience of indigenous peoples: Taiwan's Aborigines and Northern Europe's Sami. The Taipei Arts Festival has a selection of local and international performance art intertwining modern and traditional art, Western and Asian forms, with outdoor high-wire acrobatic acts opening the festivities. The Taiwan International Ehtnographic Film Festival, a more academic examination of Taiwan's ethnographic filmmakers around the theme of "Indigenous Voices," showcases the advancements Aboriginal peoples have made in representing their own cultural experience. Finally, the Taiwan International Animation Festival promises monsters, animation history, stop-motion, and claymation to help industry professionals, animation artists, and the general public understand the diverse art of animation.  --JoJo Yang
 

Jay Chou to write novel

A month after his film Secret struck gold at the box office, Mando-pop king Jay Chou announced that he will publish a short novel based on the film. Chou, after trying his hand in acting (Initial D and Curse of the Golden Flower), moved to directing the romantic film about two high school-aged lovers with a relationship built around piano music, and now makes an attempt at writing. Quite the ambitious young entrepreneur: Asian pop idol, actor, director, author -- what next for Jay Chou? Readers be warned though, the novel promises the same sappy puppy love as the movie.  --JoJo Yang

Published: Friday, October 5, 2007