Well, Darius25 sent Father Geek one of his longest Asia-AICN columns yet this week. This marks the 6 month Birthday for the regular Thursday morning report from Darius and his hard working crew of reporters. They've been combing the world's largest continent for cinema news to pass on to you readers, translating the information from alot of very complex and varied languages, and they haven't miss a Thursday yet so drop Darius25 a Note and thank the Asia-AICN staff for all their efforts on your behalf, or tell'um about it in the talkback below. Alot of work goes into each and every one of these reports. Let them feel a little love from you film fans around the world.

Asia-AICN #24

Hey all. I hope you've all had a good week. We have lots of new info today, plus we are proud to introduce a new Indian reporter who'll hopefully become a regular. Also, "Pigmon" and"AznFob55" are back with lots of goodies. Now here's the latest from Asia.

INDIA

- Hrithik Roshan has been signed as the main lead of director Tarsem Singh ("The Cell")'s next film. According to Hrithik's secretary, the actor has not yet officially committed to the but it's pretty much a done deal. Personally, I loved The Cell so I'm eagerly looking forward to Tarsem's next film, but there are many people who despised that film so this could be a rocky start to Hrithik's Hollywood career.

- Actress Madhuri Dixit has been signed to host a TV show titled Sawal Dus Crore Ka (A Question of 100 Million Rupees - roughly $2.3 million USD). This is Zee TV's answer to the official Indian millionaire show - Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a 10 Millionaire ?) which is hosted by superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

- Speaking of the big B, there are talks that he may end up leaving KBC sometime next year. His original contract covered 130 episodes and roughly 60 something episodes have already been aired. The question remains of the real reason behind the show's popularity. Is it because of Bachchan or the questions ?

- Columbia Pictures has gotten the international distribution rights for Mission Kashmir. Since Bollywood films are usually released globally on the same day, I don't know how this could affect the North American release other than perhaps opening in more theatres. Also Columbia has also gotten the DVD rights for the film. To fight the evergrowing problem of video piracy, Mission Kashmir will not be released in Nepal, Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia on the original release date - October 27. Also, expect the DVD to have some pretty good extras regardless of the film's box-office status.

- Akshay Kumar's latest film in the Khiladi (Player) series, Khiladi 420 (Player 420) has been renamed Khiladi No. 1 (Player No. 1). The action comedy will also star Mahima Choudhary and Sudhanshu Pandey. It will be directed by Neeraj Vohra. And for those wondering, the Khiladi films have nothing to do with sports (nor are they real sequels). The word "Khiladi" literally means player or athlete, but in the context of this series, the word means a professional or an elite.

- Actresses Manisha Koirala and Suman Ranganathan have been signed for director Afzal Khan's Mehbooba (Girlfriend). The film stars Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan as the main heroes who fall in love with the same girl (Koirala). It will be released in December.

- Details on Aishwarya Rai's role in the upcoming Mohabbatein (Love Affairs) have finally been revealed. She plays the role of Amitabh Bachchan's free-spirited daughter in the film, who eventually marries Shahrukh Khan and then tragically dies due to unknown reasons. Her death plays a pivotal point in the film as it further escalates the hostilities between Amitabh and SRK, and provides that main motivation for Shahrukh to rebel against Amitabh's stern values. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Amrish Puri, and six newcomers (including the producer's son, Uday Chopra). It was directed by Aditya Chopra and will be released worldwide on October 27.

Now here's some tidbits from a new reporter named "Dilwale":

- The music directors of Mission Kashmir - Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan and Loy - have been signed to compose the music for actor Kamal Haasan's latest film. (Could this be Thenali? - D25)

- Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel have both been signed for one of director Vikram Bhatt's projects. The film does not yet have a title.

- Also, both Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan have been signed to star in one of director David Dhawan's upcoming films. The film hasn't been titled yet.

Ok, I'm back. There was no new release last week so here is this week's recommendation.

- This week's recommendation is a very good action film titled Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (The Player of All Players), directed by Umesh Mehra. It's probably the closest HK style chop-socky film India has made so far. Akshay Kumar stars as an Indian soldier who travels to Toronto (the film was almost entirely shot here) in search of his younger brother, who had come to Canada in search of fame and fortune. He finds out that his brother was involved in an underground fighting organization, led by the voluptuous Maya (Rekha), and has now been abducted by Maya's cohorts. Akshay joins the organization and becomes Maya's best fighter in order to find out about his brother's whereabouts. Admittedly, the story and the acting in this film's not very good. It gets the job done and there are no major annoyances. But the great thing about this flick is the outstanding fight scenes. There are no two-fisted gun battles or clever editing techniques or apparent wire-work here. It's just a bunch of long takes and actual fights. You'll see enough jump kicks, round houses, drop kicks and whatnot to easily satisfy you. The direction is very good and the choreography of the fights is excellent. The songs sometime do get in the way, but you can easily fast forward them. Overall, this is not as good as Drunken Master 2, but if you're in the mood for good action, you won't be disappointed with Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. If you're interested in buying this film on DVD, Just Click Here and you'll find it.

CHINA / HK

The following was reported by "The Accidental Spy":

- Director Tsui Hark is now in HK promoting "Time & Tide", starring Nicolas Tse, Candy Lo, Wu Bai and Cathy Tsui. He said he was very impressed by the cast's performance, especially Wu Bai and Candy Lo who made their acting debut in the film (they play a couple). Tsui says that he would like to develop another movie for Wu Bai sometime next year. Here's a look of the movie poster:

Also, here's a still from behind the scenes, with Nicolas Tse(left) and director Tsui Hark:

The film is scheduled to release during mid-October in HK. You can visit the official site at This Location

- Tsui Hark also mentioned "Journey to the West", a classical literature adaptation which will likely star Leslie Cheung as Tong Monk (not the Monkey King). Although Leslie Cheung hasn't confirmed to be in this project, he and Tsui agreed to do another film next year, a romance in which they would like Maggie Cheung to be the female lead. About "Black Mask 2", Blackie Ko Shou-Liang (what a match!) has joined the cast. Tsui said that besides Ko, Kelly Lin and the still-mysterious leading man, the remaining cast would likely be comprised of non-Chinese actors.

- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is about to wrap up "Healing Hearts" and preparing for his film festival tour during the next two months. He is going to attend the film festivals of New York, Paris and Italy to promote his "In the Mood for Love". After that, Tony Leung will join the re-shooting of Wong Kar-Wai's sci-fi epic "2046" (finally!!!) in December. "2046" also stars Faye Wong ("Chungking Express", "Okinawa Rendezvous") and Zhang Zhun ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Happy Together")

- Ekin Cheng will attend the Tokyo Film Festival next month. The festival is going to show three of Ekin's movies: "The Legend of Speed", The Duel" and "Tokyo Raiders". He told the press that the filming of his next film "Blue Shadow of War (lit. title)" is now delayed till next year, because the director, Jingle Ma ("Tokyo Raiders") is about to shoot an extra version for foreign audiences. The film also stars Sammi Cheng ("Needing You").

- Jackie Chan has signed a $15 million USD contract with EEG (Emporium Entertainment Group) to shoot the $40 million USD-budget "The Highbinder" next September. Also, "Rush Hour 2" will start shooting in November. Here's a pic from the press conference:

- Hollywood producer Mario Kassar visited HK last week to meet director Clarence Fok for directing "Basic Instinct 2". Kassar also met HK actors Chilam Cheung ("Option Zero") and Anita Mui ("Dranken Master 2") to discuss potential roles in the film.

- "Hollow Man" still dominated the HKBO for the third week in a row. Clint Eastwood's great "Space Cowboys" landed at the second place. Local dark comedy "Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone"(see below for description) debuted at a so-so no.3, followed by the tanking-everywhere "Battlefield: Earth" and "The Iron Ladies", respectively. The Thail comedy has grossed $15 millions HKD up-to-date.

- This week's new HK movie, "Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone", is directed by award-winning director Danto Lam Chiu-Yin ("Beast Cops") and stars an impressive cast including Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Sandra Ng, Eason Chan, Roy Cheung, with special appearances from HK film awards winners like Eric Tsang, Anthony Wong and Helena Law Lan. The film is about a soon-to-be retired triad boss (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) who realizes that someone is going to kill him. A young Inspector named Wilson Yip(get it J ) is also informed of the same rumor. In order to find out this ultimate enemy, these two decide to team up and use a classical theory from a book ("Your best ally is your worst enemy") to find out the person behind the whole thing. Therefore, the boss starts to suspect everybody, including the other leaders from his own triad society, his wife (Sandra Ng), his secret lover (Lee San-San), and his friends (Roy Cheung and Chan Fai-hung). The film has already created some awards buzz. The critics all rave about the brilliant screenplay and Tony Leung Ka-Fai's performance. Some critics even suggest that this is Tony Leung's best performance! The film also defines a new hilarious relationship between the triad boss and his followers: the followers always respect and be loyal to their triad boss because they're gay J

JAPAN

The following was reported by "Pigmon":

- Hideo Nakata ("Ring","Ring2" and "Chaos")'s new film will be "Last Scene". A Korean company, Digital Nega, financed the film but all actors and crews are Japanese. "Last Scene" is filmed using a Sony HD Cam1080/24p, the same kind of camera that was used to shoot SWEP 2.

- 1998's popular TV anime series "Initial D" will move to the big screen sometime next year. The title for the film version will be "Initial D Third Stage". The racing film will be fully computer generated.

- Japan's hottest director, Miike's fourth film of this year (already!) is "Dead or Alive 2", a hyper gang movie. The sequel to one of the best films of 1999 is in production now. The film will start shooting as soon as Miike finishes "The Hazard City" (to be shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival). "Dead or Alive 2" will be shown throughout Japan in December.

- Here's a list of the films in official competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2000:

Shadow Magic, 2000 / Director: Ann Hu

Run For Money, 1999 / Director: Reha Erdem

Off Balance, 2000 / Director: Shin Togashi

Janice Beard 45WPM, 1999 / Director: Clare Kilner

The King is Alive, 2000 / Director: Kristian Levring

Two Thousand And None, 1999 / Director: Arto Paragamian

Love's A Bitch, 1999 / Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Tour Abroad, 1999 / Director: Ayse Polat

Ritual, 2000 / Director: $B#H (Jideaki Anno

One More Day, 2000 / Director: Babak Payami

Princesses, 2000 / Director: Sylvie Verheyde

Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, 2000 / Director: Hong Sang-soo

Back Door, 2000 / Director: Yorgos Tsemberopoulos

Nobody Knows Anybody, 1999 / Director: Mateo Gil

Mondialito, 2000 / Director: Nicolas Wadimoff

Keeping the Faith, 2000 / Director: Edward Norton

KOREA

The following was reported by "Matrix1966":

- 'Chunhyang', the legendary story of forbidden love during Korea's feudal age, will open in North America during winter holiday season. The first Korean movie included in this year's Cannes Film Festival competition will open in New York before Christmas and in Los Angeles next January. Lot 47 Films will be the North American distribution company for this film directed by Im Kwon-taek.

- Yoon-Jin Kim, the heroine of Korean blockbuster 'Shiri', has taken a starring role in a Japanese film titled 'Switch'. Kim will play the role of a Korean female who falls in love with a Japanese man in the middle of a Yakuza war. 'Switch' will start shooting late September and will open next spring. It is being directed by Takahisa Zeze and stars Sho Aikawa ('The Eel') and Toshiro Yanagiba ('Bayside Breakdown').

PHILIPPINES

The following was reported by "AznFob55":

- Asia's songbird, Regine Velasquez, has teamed up with Robin Padilla in a Notting Hill-esque movie called "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw" (What I Need Is You). Robin Padilla also teamed up with Regine, Asia's Mariah Carrey, in a duet which is the title track for the movie. In the movie, Robin is a well-known star (Regine's character) and tries every single stunt to make her notice him. The movie will open soon and also co-stars John Lapus and Ruffa Mae Quinto. Here's a picture of Regine and Robin:

- I just saw a movie titled "Hiling" (Wish) starring Camille Pratts, Serena Dalrymple, Shaina Magdayao and an all-star cast. The film turned out to be a pretty fun ride. The concept of a kid granting wishes to every single citizen of an odd-ball town is hilarious. We see a gay man turn into a real woman and getting pregnant in a 24-hour span after he wishes to be a mother. We see a bitch woman loose all her money only to win the lottery after her husband wishes that they become rich again. We see a tiny waterhole turn into a huge swimming pool. The movie was funny and had a lot of sentimental value.

- I also saw "Daddy-O! Baby-O", the long awaited movie by the undisputed-comedy king, Dolphy. The movie works as a family-film but not a COMEDY. The jokes were cliched and forced. Dolphy does not work well alone. He is a great comedian with someone who also carries the same talent. Without someone to aid him in his antics, he's not that funny.Serena Dalrymple, who co-stars in this flick, proves that she has the acting chops to become a great actress. I still think Dolphy's funniest movie ever was "Home Sic Home". He had Panchito and Babalu by his side in this movie filmed in California and Las Vegas. That movie was hilarious and this new film does not even come close. Its a good family film though.

- Here are the nominations for this year's Star Awards by the Philippine Movie Press Club:

Best Drama Actress:

- Amy Austria

- Rio Locsin

- Gladys Reyes

Best Drama Actor

- Daniel Fernando

- Jericho Rosales

- Raymond Bagatsing

- Dominic Ochoa

Best Single Performance by an Actress

- Gina Alajar -- Pira-Pirasong Pangarap, "Nanay Julia"

- Laurice Guillen -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Tala sa Lahar"

- Judy Ann Santos -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Karnabal"

- Lorna Tolentino -- Pira-Pirasong Pangarap, "Tinig ng Kawalan"

- Eula Valdez - Pira-Pirasong Pangarap, "Hiram"

- Nova Villa -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Palabas"

Best Single Performance by an Actor

- Patrick Garcia -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Mall"

- Rustom Padilla -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Wedding Cake"

- Janus del Prado -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Pasa"

- Spencer Reyes -- Pira-Pirasong Pangarap, "Puting Tupa"

- Ray Ventura -- Kasangga, "Istudyante"

- Jericho Rosales -- Maalaala Mo Kaya, "Pasa"

Now I think it's time to end this week's column. Remember, if you have information regarding any movie industry in Asia, please contact our Asia-AICN offices by E-Mailing Here . See you all next week.

- Darius25