kdrama and kpop

Popular actor and singer Edison Chen has apologised after images appearing to show the Hong Kong star partially nude in the company of several starlets leaked onto the internet.


In a video statement Chen, 27, called the postings of the photographs "intentionally hurtful and malicious".

"I hereby use this opportunity to apologise to anyone who has been affected by this strange, strange ordeal," Chen said.

Police believe the images were copied from Chen's computer when it was serviced last year.

"If you ever downloaded any of these images, please do not forward them to anyone ... If you are still in possession of these images, I urge you to please destroy them immediately," a subdued-looking Chen added in the video.

The photographs, which appear to show Chen in bed with singer Gillian Chung, along with suggestive images of actress Cecilia Cheung, were recently posted online, sparking a media frenzy in the celebrity-mad former British colony.

Hong Kong police said some 1300 private shots of celebrities had been stolen from a faulty personal computer.

"A person had taken his computer to be fixed, but during the maintenance period, someone used dishonest means to take some information from the computer and distributed this information indiscriminately to others," assistant police commissioner Wong Fook-chuen told reporters.

While the police gave no specific names, Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper reported the photographs belonged to Chen.

"A person in the shop found hidden inside (Chen's) computer, confidential nude pictures of naked female stars, which were then secretly copied," Ming Pao reported, quoting an anonymous source.

The computer shop was subsequently raided by police officers in a widening investigation across the territory, which has led to eight arrests for infringement of obscene material laws, and the seizure of more than 1000 explicit images, including four women whom were public figures, the police said.

Hong Kong's police commissioner, Tang King-shing, said the case was being treated seriously and warned the possession and distribution of such images might be illegal.

Source:http://www.stuff.co.nz/4388381a1860.html

Acclaimed director HONG Sangsoo will return to the Berlin International Film Festival with his eighth film Night and Day, which screens in the festival's competition section. This will be the first time that a film by HONG competes at Berlin, after his previous works Woman is the Future of Man (2004) and Tale of Cinema (2005) competed at Cannes.

The film, recipient of 2005 KOFIC Production Support for Art Films, which was 90% shot in Paris, stars KIM Young-ho as an artist who runs off to France and leaves behind his wife played by HWANG Su-jung. PARK Eun-hye and LEE Seon-gyun are cast as art students in Paris.

HONG’s film is one of four Korean films that have been invited to various sections of the Berlinale. Beautiful by debut director JUHN Jai-hong tells the story of a woman who is persecuted because of her beauty. The film is based on a screenplay by well-known director KIM Ki-duk, who also served as executive producer of the film. JUHN is recognized as an up and coming filmmaker whose short film Fish screened in the short film competition at Venice last year.

In addition, the documentary Grandmother's Flower by MUN Jeong-hyun will screen in the Forum section. The film is one of the most acclaimed local documentaries of 2007, and it won the Woonpa prize for best documentary at the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival. Finally the 28-minute short film Light My Fire by LEE J.P. has been invited to the Generation section. The film centers around a young North Korean defector who wants to become a rock singer.

Members of KOFIC will be attending the festival as usual, and will hold a party together with the Pusan International Film Festival on February 11th at the Movenpick Hotel Bar.

KOFIC is also sponsoring a joint sales booth at Berlin's European Film Market for those companies that don't wish to run a separate stand, or that require more space. Participating companies include STUDIO 2.0, SHOW EAST, Activers Entertainment, CJ Entertainment, iHQ, INDIESTORY, MIROVISION, and bom Film Productions.

Particularly notable is the participation of INDIESTORY in the European Film Market for the first time. The company is Korea's leading distributor of independent film, and its participation in one of the world's biggest film markets is hoped to give added publicity to Korean independent films. The company will be selling Life Track, a Chinese-Korean co-production which won the top prize at the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival, and the omnibus film Fantastic Parasuicides, which screened in Pusan and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Darcy Paquet and Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)

Source:http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?task=kofic.user.eng.b_filmnews.command.NewsView1Cmd&searchPage=1&Gesipan_SCD=1&Gesimul_SNO=905

The famous actress Kim Ha Neul (30 years old) is challenging her new image in the upcoming drama On Air. Her character Oh Seung Ah is a famous actress who is such an arrogant, self-conceited, and highly ambitous person.

In the recent interview while filming outside scenes in Taiwan, Kim Ha Neul says "Oh Seung Ah is the role that has more personalities than any other characters that I have done. That's why I have a little nervous about it. The role is not only a “hateful” character but also an attractive person. I think this will be a unique chance for me to show my acting skill; so I couldn't let it go."

She is continuing to say "When I read an article which stated that four main actors wanted to put their names on the top, it made me feel sad. I knew it when Yun Ah gave the article to me to read. I have never requested anything from the producer because I don't care much about those things. In the past few years, I just cooperated with the young casts in some dramas. And in On Air, I don't have to worry about anything because there are sister Yun Ah and brother Bum Soo who help me a lot. I am also the youngest and the least experience among four main casts in On Air."

When answering about the marriage, Kim Ha Neul says "I don't have many best friends in the entertainment industry. My friends are all normal people, and most of them were married. They live very happy, and I admire them about that. When I have time, I usually drive by myself to visit them, have a meal, and sit together to talk about each other. This is the best way to release my pressure. I don't want my career which will block my way into marriage. I will marry if I meet the right person."

Finally, Kim Ha Neul said that she wished the drama On Air would be successful, and it would make the best shot in her career.