I’m REALLY sorry for neglecting this site once more. Truth is, school is taking it’s toll on me and I just can’t steal some time to sit down and update my sites. That’s why I’m putting this site on a short hiatus. Don’t worry, it’s not for too long. In early July everything’s over and I can add all those goodies I have saved for you guys. See you in July! :)

The love saga of China’s fave screen darling has taken another turn. Rumours surfaced last month that Zhang Ziyi’s fiancé, Vivi Nevo, is a hardcore online gaming fanatic and even dabbles in web dating. Now, it seems something got brewing between him and an unknown girl online to the extent he has broken off his engagement with actress Ziyi. Several netizens have claimed that the Israeli multi-millionaire is in love with a fellow forum user. Vivi and Ziyi, who were first spotted as an item in Jan 2007, confirmed their engagement in July the following year, but have repeatedly delayed their wedding multiple times last year. The low-profile Vivi is a venture capitalist by occupation and a major shareholder in media giant Time Warner, while Ziyi is known for her international appeal, having acted in Chinese, Hong Kong, Korean, Japanese and Hollywood movies. Source: Msn.com

Movie star Jackie Chan has topped this year’s Forbes Chinese celebrity list. Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou and Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau were second and third, respectively, behind Chan, who earned 206 million yuan in the entertainment industry last year, according to the Chinese version of Forbes magazine. Basketball superstar Yao Ming, who topped the list for the past six years, slipped to fourth, followed by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. The Forbes Chinese celebrity list is released in March or April every year and ranks 100 Chinese celebrities based on their personal income, public influence, estimated commercial value and the amount of media coverage and web traffic they generated during the previous year. “It’s the first time we’ve had Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities on the list,” said Echo Yang, the producer of the list and features editor with the magazine. “We added them since most them make the majority of their income from the mainland market.” She said one-third of China’s commercial performance income was generated in Beijing last year, and predicted the capital will soon be the center of the country’s entertainment and cultural industries. Celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan are also now demanding much higher fees for working in the capital, said several industry insiders. “A company with a 10-million-yuan annual advertising budget can no longer sign these superstars,” said Tao Lei, president of Ogilvy China, an advertising company.Source: AsiaOne.com

Zhang Ziyi and Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok will play a couple suffering from AIDS in director Gu Changwei’s first-ever feature film tackling the issue, entitled The Era of Magic. Aaron Kwok was spotted on the set in Beijing with a bearded and weary look, the Beijing News reports. The film, adapted from a novel, tells a tragic love story between two AIDS-afflicted lovers. Kwok plays a primary school teacher who is sent from the city to teach in the countryside, but contracts AIDS and develops a crush on Zhang Ziyi’s character, also an AIDS patient. Director Gu Changwei insists Zhang Ziyi as the right actress for the lead, despite her recent embroilment in a slew of scandals about her personal life and alleged donation fraud. Gu thinks the internationally famous Zhang will ensure a box office cache for the upcoming film. Reportedly, award-winning actress Jiang Wenli, wife of director Gu, was cast in a supporting role. Other big names joining the cast for very little pay include Pu Cunxin, Cai Guoqing, Li Xuejian and Li Danyang – all ambassadors of an anti-AIDS public campaign, the paper says, citing unnamed sources.

Director Ronnie Yu will bring together top Asian actresses Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, Tang Wei and Michelle Yeoh for his upcoming film The Lady Generals of the Yang Family. The movie tells of how the women from the Yang family of Song dynasty stepped onto the battlefield to avenge the deaths of their warriors husbands, who died while fighting the invading Xia army after being sold out by a traitorous Song official. The story will reportedly depart significantly from the series of novels it is based on and does not focus too much on the themes of loyalty. Instead, it will focus on the heroism of the titular Lady Generals.

As you can see, I’m busy getting up a new layout. So, you’re warned if the site looks rather weird here and there… EDIT: I just finished customizing the layout. I’m off to work on the content (pages). Stay tuned! ;)

Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi, always a lightning rod for criticism in her home country, is under fire again over questions about donations she pledged for survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Chinese web users have attacked the star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for allegedly failing to honour her pledges, a spat that media reports said was a symptom of the nation’s love-hate relationship with Zhang. Donationgate, as China’s state media dubbed the row, surfaced last month when the popular website Tianya reported that Zhang had given only 840,000 yuan (124,000 dollars) of the one million yuan she promised for earthquake relief. The 8.0 magnitude quake in May 2008 devastated parts of Sichuan province in southwest China, leaving at least 87,000 people dead or missing. Zhang’s agent issued a public apology on Monday, blaming the issue on careless financial management. Charities said the final donations had been made. Zhang has not made any public statements. (more…)