Now that the Olympics have wrecked the Chinese film industry (movies aren't being approved, product sitting on shelves, nothing moving forward, political etiquette taking precedence over making money) what do famous actors in China have to say about the situation? After all, celebrities have a soap box from which they can speak out about the issues of the day and if their industry is sinking like the Titanic then surely they have something to say. Zhang Ziyi has no qualms about speaking out. Let's take a listen:

"Walking down the streets of Beijing late at night, I deeply realized why we are able to have peace and prosperity. In the United States, there has just been four cases of school campus shootings with many dead innocent children. I don't understand why certain western media would applaud the recent riots in Tibet. Why couldn't they see the innocent lost lives which came as a result of arson and physical battery? China is becoming strong and powerful, and they don't like the former 'Sick man of East Asia' to have the same standing as they do. On further thought, I thought that I should be content because this shows that China is going down the correct and peaceful path. We should continue to do so with determination ..." (translated from her blog and posted on EastSouthWestNorth)

And what about Jackie Chan? How does he feel about China and the Olympics, especially since he'll be carrying the torch for a leg of the relay? After vowing that he'll react "Jackie Chan style" to any demonstrators who approach him, he says:

"Demonstrators better not get anywhere near me. They are doing it for no reason. They just want to show off on the TV...They know, 'If I can get the torch, I can go on the TV for the world news'."

Demonstrators, thy name is vanity. But Jackie and Zhang will show you that it's really all about being a team player when they unite with Lee Hom Wang and Stefanie Sun to sing the theme song to the Olympics booster movie, THE ONE (not to be confused with the THE ONE).

Maybe their song will be as inspiring as this Chinese hip hop propaganda video denouncing the "terrorists" who have attacked the Olympic torch and clarifying the whole China/Tibet situation for everyone (short answer: Tibetans are naive and manipulated by evil ringmasters like the Dalai Lama and while we don't believe in violence, we'll kill you if you disagree with us.) Also weighing in on the important political issues of the day, here's Bai Ling on her nipples:

"I found the smallest dress still I am swimming in it, then my nipples suddenly see the opportunity to come out to see the sunlight and dance...I looked at my nipples and want to punish them, but they are Innocent, its just their nature to be free and proud...my body is beautiful and sexy, especially my well known big nipples, I am very proud of them. You have too, when you have the gift you have to be thankful and proud and celebrate, otherwise it is going to be taken away."

Besides worrying about her nipples being taken away, Bai Ling is in a new movie. With Faye Dunaway, which is awesome?

Maybe not.

Whatever else you can say about Jackie Chan, you can't say that he doesn't say exactly what's on his mind, and now his outspokenness seems to have infected Jet Li. You may have heard that the two fellers are in a little movie that's opening this weekend called THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. Below are lines from an interview they gave recently about the film, pasted together out of order. To read the full interview go to WuJing.org, but trust me, the tone ain't all that different:

Jackie: I would not shoot such a movie in China. The story is too bizarre, it is incongruent with Chinese culture. Though to me, it's extremely ludicrous, but the US audience can accept it...

Jet: This is a commercial film through and through.

Jackie: Before filming, I had talks with Jet Li, we were both in a quandary, should we shoot such a film? Eventually, we came to a decision - to shoot a film for the Western audience. So, we don't tell the Asian audience this would be a great film.

Jet: For FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, I did not contribute much...

Much, much more at the link, including Jet's feelings about Jackie's driving (not good) and an interview with Yuen Wo-ping about choreographing the film.

Andy Lau has finally gotten in trouble for touching knobs that people tell him not to touch.

"The pilot of the helicopter during the shooting exclaimed in the court room that he did told Andy not to touch the control knob of the helicopter but Andy still touched it during shooting..."

That's from a lawsuit brought by a Taiwanese company against Andy for bumping the control knob of a helicopter he was in during the shooting of ISLAND OF GREED back in 1997. Andy was in the helicopter and his knee knocked the control stick.

"The move unsteadied the aircraft, which was in the air at the time, causing its rotor blade to hit lighting equipment, said the official at the Shihlin District Court in Taipei."

Lighting equipment, and maybe some people, too. But life is cheap and helicopters are expensive and after many years the courts have found in favor of the plaintiff, awarding them HK$130,000. If you're going to see Andy this weekend tell him he has 20 days to appeal.

And in Japan, suicide is hot again, with the country racking up 27 suicides involving inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas since the beginning of the year. People are blaming the mainstream media but I blame Gwen Stefani. For Japanese people I would imagine her obsession with them is like finding out that someone really, really loves you but they're also really, really annoying.

In closing, check out Patrick Macias' blog for lots of behind-the-scenes photos of Godzilla just horsing around.

But to really go into the weekend with a smile so big it kills cats check out this new video for Denki Groove's "Shonen Young." How David Berkowitz felt about his neighbor's dog? That's how I feel about this video.