Hong Kong Film Award nominations

Three of the five nominees for Best Director for the Hong Kong Film Awards are women--Ann Hui for "Our Time Will Come", Karean Pang for "29+1 and Sylvia Chang for "Love Education".

Zhou Xun--also nominated for best actress--aims a pistol in "Our Time Will Come", a drama concerning World War II resistance to the Japanese occupation.

Hui is on familiar ground--this is her 13th nomination as best director. She has won five times.

Follow the links for full list of nominees.

China Entertainment News
SCMP

Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi featured in fashion mags

Three of our favorites were on the cover and in the lead editorial inside of three different magazines last month.

Marie Claire had Zhou Xun in feathers,sequins and leather topped with an angular bob:

Flaunt lined up Zhang Ziyi for some edgy shots in leather underwear:

Zhao Wei was seductive and mysterious in Figaro:

May Daily: Flaunt; Chinese Films; Chinese Films

Bodyguards and crowd pushers for Zhou Xun.

These pictures are from, I believe, immediately after the recent Vogue magazine bash in Beijing and show contrasting styles of the semi-official types charged with getting a featured guest through the not very rowdy looking crowd and into her car.

The guy with the large mobile phone and I.T. credentials is taking his responsibilities very seriously, looking frantic enough to be announcing that the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force had just landed on the Diaoyu Islands.

His comrade is much more laid back, a hipster type of bodyguard who goes with the flow and looks as if nothing could surprise him--or wake him up.

Zhou Xun is imperturbable with a big smile for everyone even as the I.T. guy finally spots her car through the crowd.

Mission accomplished.

Yahoo China

Put on your red tresses, baby...

Hu Jintao unwaveringly brought the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party to order, allowing U.S. journalists to stop asking the question "who's on first?". Zhou Xun celebrated with red hair styled in a retro combination of Prince Valiant and early Beatles mop-top. No word on whether she agreed with Hu's "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

Sina; Yahoo China; People's Daily

Maggie Cheung, Zhou Xun, Angelababy, many others at non-events in Beijing

The U.S. edition of Vogue celebrated the 120th anniversary of its first publication by having a big bash in Beijing. Since the date they were commemorating was pretty meaningless (begging the question regarding Vogue itself) the gang didn't have much to do other than stand around looking good and pretending to talk to one another while holding wineglasses.

Since we aren't opposed to that kind of thing, here area a few images.

Maggie Cheung in fur and couture:

The couture is from the Vogue party, fur from the next evening at something with photog Mario Testino's name on it.

Carina Lau and Angelababy from different parts if not opposite poles of the artistic spectrum went with black and white:

The cool girls cliques--Zhou Xun with Sun Li and Li Bingbing with Ni Ni, each making a point of not making a point of ignoring each other, or so the dreadful machine translations of the dreadful Chinese entertainment press seemed to say:

Sun Li in a super-fitted slacks and blazer and killer Christian Louboutin heels:

Ni Ni was in a fussy but somehow elegant mess of tulle, satin and applique:

Li Bingbing:

Zhou Xun:

Lin Peng broke the run of black, white and navy blue with a splashy embroidered D&G mini-dress:

Jason Wu's glamorous +1 was Carolyn Murphy:

Sina; Sina; Yahoo China, 2; Jason Wu Twitter

The Half-naked Actresses in Bath Scenes

Who could resist such a headline? Well, probably a lot of people but I am not one of them. This feature has been on the front page of Chinese Films as the "Editor's Weekly Pick" for about a month and I wanted to capture it for the diva-starved masses before it disappeared. They rounded up the usual suspects including Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong from "Green Snake" (above) and the recently released "Painted Skin 2" with Zhao Wei and Zhou Xun.

.

Several others made the editors' list. Huang Yi from "Happy Hotel".

Newcomer Zhang Zilin from "He Man".

Many more at Chinese Films

Painted Skin 2 press conference plus incidental sightings at Cannes

The Painted Skin 2 publicity Juggernaut clanked onward at Cannes although without Vicki Zhao Wei.Director Wuershan led a contingent with Zhou Xun, Yang Mi and Chen Tingjia.

Then the three actresses stood around on the beachfront for the photographers. Zhou Xun is rumored to be ill and just soldiering on in support of Painted Skin 2.

Earlier Zhuo Xun had a well publicized but from the looks of things not particularly enjoyable night on the town.

Chinese stars are used to traveling without an entourage but she looks almost abandoned here in the middle of the street.

Yang Mi caused a bit of controversy back home when, according to Xinhua, she hogged the limelight on the red carpet for the premiere of "Rust and Bone", had to be told (three time!) by security to step away and responded with what was termed in the googlespeak translation a "vertical finger counter-attack". Xinhua thought the offending digit needed highlighting.

Yang Mi shrugged it off (if anything happened at all) and spent some quality time being photographed with Liu Kaiwei walking hand and hand around the harborfront.

Sina; Xinhua; Xinhua

Vicky Zhao Wei and Zhou Xun in "Painted Skin II"

Well, this should be a lot of fun. Painted Skin II/ Painted Skin: the Resurrection opens in China on next month. Call it what you will, from these stills there should be lines around the block. I thought that Painted Skin was a glorious mess; it made no sense and looked great. Much of the gang is back for the sequel including Vicky Zhao Wei and Zhou Xun, here shown bathing together.

Things won't stay all splish-splash and lovey-dovey though since Zhou Xun as Xiao Wei is a fox spirit and must be true to her nature--or at least undergo a transformation into a scary demon.

Xinhua; Chinese Films