'Avatar' opens new dimension for profits with $745m box office record

Director James Cameron on course to break the $1bn barrier for the second time

At first glance it appears to have the makings more of a low-budget sci-fi flick than of a box-office blockbuster. But Avatar, a film about a mythical planet inhabited by huge blue aliens, is set to become one of the the most successful movies of all time.

In less than two weeks, the ground-breaking 3D film has grossed $745m (£460m) and is already expected to be the most successful movie of 2009-10, overtaking even the latest Harry Potter film. And on New Year's Eve it was given the presidential seal of approval when the Obama family ventured into a shopping mall in Hawaii to watch the movie.

Should it continue its money-making progress at its current rate, the film could become just the fifth in history to gross more than $1bn. The biggest money-spinning movie of all time is Titanic, which made $1.8bn.

Breaking the $1bn barrier would be a particularly remarkable achievement for James Cameron, Avatar's director, seeing as he also directed Titanic. He would be the first film director to gross $1bn twice.

The film's success is, according to industry experts, a payout on a substantial gamble taken by 20th Century Fox. Despite a budget of $237m, the majority did not go on paying the wage bill – the most recognisable film star is Sigourney Weaver and others are relative unknowns. Instead, much of the money was spent developing the technology which would allow the film to be shot in 3D.

Charles Gant, the film editor of Heat magazine, explained: "This film really was a huge risk by 20th Century Fox. They took a movie that has no real stars and one with an ostensibly limited appeal. Sci-fi is typically a geeky genre so for them to make such a success out of a film that is about big blue aliens is very impressive."

The film is set on the fictional planet of Pandora, a mineral-rich world which is being plundered by humans. It tells the story of Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who decides to take his brother's place on a mission to the distant planet, 4.4 light years from Earth. But Sully becomes engaged in battle when he learns of a plan to eliminate the planet's natives in order to mine for the precious minerals.

In its opening weekend just before Christmas, the film grossed $77m in the USA and Canada, £8.5m in the UK and an estimated $232m worldwide. Here it grossed £18m in its first 10 days and when the final figures for last year are calculated, it could very well top Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which took a total of £50m, as the top-grossing movie released in 2009. As well as its box-office appeal, the film has also won praise from a host of celebrities.

Before its release Ben Stiller, who currently has no films of his own to promote, went on the Tonight Show in the US apparently with the sole intention of sharing his excitement about Avatar. He told host Conan O'Brien: "I'm really excited about it. It's just going to be an amazing movie". And after seeing it, Simon Pegg wrote on his Twitter site: "The movie is a game changer. Still buzzing."

Despite only a handful of films ever achieving it, the suggestion that Avatar could break $1bn is not necessarily a fanciful one. It needs to gross another $250m but it has a number of factors on its side.

Mr Gant added: "It has been released at a particularly clever time. Going into January and February is what is known as the awards corridor. If it wins any of the big Oscars in March, it will create the possibility that a lot of people will go to see it who otherwise would not have.

"Also with it being in 3D, a lot of people are finding it sold out and, rather than watching it in traditional D, they are coming back to see it in 3D. It means that the film's longevity automatically increases.

"I don't think it will beat Titanic, but I'd expect it to break the magical $1bn barrier."

The biggest films of all-time

1 Titanic (1997) $1.84bn

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.13bn

3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $1.06bn

4 The Dark Knight (2008) $1bn

5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) $969m

Adam Lambert Rings, Rocks in the New Year

He was one of the most successful, memorable celebrities of 2009.


Therefore, it was only appropriate that Adam Lambert put on a show to close out his first year in the spotlight.

The American Idol runner-up did just that in Hollywood last night, rocking out at Paramount Studios and ringing in 2010 with fans (and Pamela Anderson, apparently).

Don't worry: no crotches were grabbed, oral sex simulated or animals harmed during the performance.





On the East Coast, Jennifer Lopez actually did her best Lambert impression, donning an unusual outfit and thrusting her privates into the face of a back-up dancer. Watch her concert, and comment on her clothing, now.

Ten Technologies That Will Rock 2010

Now that the aughts are behind us, we can start the new decade with a bang. So many new technologies are ready to make a big impact this year. Some of them will be brand new, but many have been gestating and are now ready to hatch. If there is any theme here it is the mobile Web. As I think through the top ten technologies that will rock 2010, more than half of them are mobile. But those technologies are tied to advances in the overall Web as well.

Below is my list of the ten technologies that will leave the biggest marks on 2010:

  1. The Tablet: It’s the most anticipated product of the year. The mythical tablet computer (which everyone seems to be working on). There are beautiful Android tablets, concept tablets, and, of course, the one tablet which could define the category, the Apple Tablet. Or iSlate or whatever it’s called. If Steve Jobs is not working on a tablet, he’d better come up with one because anything else will be a huge disappointment.Why do we need yet another computer in between a laptop and an iPhone? We won’t really know until we have it. But the answer lies in the fact that increasingly the Web is all you need. As all of our apps and data and social lives move to the Web, the Tablet is the incarnation of the Web in device form, stripped down to its essentials. It will also be a superior e-reader for digital books, newspapers, and magazines, and a portable Web TV.
  2. Geo: The combination of GPS chips in mobile phones, social networks, and increasingly innovative mobile apps means that geolocation is increasingly becoming a necessary feature for any killer app. I’m not just talking about social broadcasting apps like Foursquare and Gowalla. The advent of Geo APIs from Twitter , SimpleGeo, and hopefully Facebook will change the game by adding rich layers of geo-related data to all sorts of apps. Twitter just recently launched its own Geo API for Twitter apps and acquired Mixer Labs, which created the GeoAPI.
  3. Realtime Search: After licensing realtime data streams from Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and others, Google and Bing are quickly ramping up their realtime search. But realtime search is still treated as a silo, and is not regularly surfaced in the main search results page. In 2010, I expect that to change as the search engines learn for what types of searches it makes sense to show Tweets and other realtime updates. In the meantime, a gaggle of realtime search startups such as Collecta, OneRiot, and Topsy will continue to push the ball forward on the realtime search experience. Realtime search will also become a form of navigation, especially on Twitter and Facebook. The key will be to combine realtime search with realtime filters so that people are delivered not only the most recent information but the most relevant and authoritative as well.
  4. Chrome OS: In November, Google gave the world a sneak peek at its Chrome operating system, which is expected to be released later this year. The Chrome OS is Google’s most direct attack on Windows with an OS built from the ground up to run Web apps fast and furious. Already a Google is rumored to be working on a Chrome Netbook which will show the world what is possible with it a “Web OS.” It sounds like it would be perfect for Tablet computers also (see above). Chrome is a risky bet for Google, but it is also potentially disruptive.
  5. HTML5: The Web is built on HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and the next version which has been taking form for a while is HTML5. Already browsers such as Firefox and Google’s Chrome (the browser, not the OS) are HTML5-friendly. Once HTML5 becomes more widespread across the Web, it will reduce the need for Flash or Silverlight plug-ins to view videos, animations, or other rich applications. They will all just be Web-native. HTML5 also supports offline data storage, drag-and-drop, and other features which can make Web apps act more like desktop apps. A lot of Websites will be putting HTML5 under the hood in 2010.
  6. Mobile Video: With video cameras integrated into the latest iPhone 3GS and other Web phones, live video streaming apps are becoming more commonplace—both streaming from phones and to them. As mobile data networks beef up their 3G bandwidth and even start to tiptoe into true broadband with 4G (which Verizon is heading towards with its next-gen LTE network), mobile video usage will take off.
  7. Augmented Reality: One of the coolest ways to use the camera lens on a mobile phone is with the increasing array of augmented reality apps. They add a layer of data to reality by placing everything from photos to Tweets to business listings directly on top of the live live image captured by the camera. Tonchidot’s Sekai Camera, Layar, GraffitiGeo and even Yelp are examples of augmented reality apps.
  8. Mobile Transactions: As mobile phones become full-fledged computers, they can be used for mobile commerce also. One area poised to take off in 2010 are mobile payments and transactions. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s latest startup Square turns the iPhone into a credit card reader. Verifone has its competing product, as does Mophie. The idea is that any mobile phone can become a point of sale, and those mobile transactions can tie into back-end accounting, CRM, and other enterprise systems.
  9. Android: Last year saw the launch of nearly two dozen Android-powered phones, including the Verizon Droid. In a few days, Google’s Nexus One will launch as the first Android phone which can be unlocked from any given carrier (it is launching with T-Mobile). Android is Google’s answer to the iPhone, and as it reaches critical mass across multiple carriers and handsets it is becoming increasingly attractive to developers. There are already more than 10,000 apps on Android, next year there will be even more. And other devices running on the mobile OS are launching as well.
  10. Social CRM: We’ve seen the rise of Twitter and Facebook as social communication tools. This year, those modes of realtime communication will find their way deeper into the enterprise. Salesforce.com is set to launch Chatter, it’s realtime stream of enterprise data which interfaces with Twitter and Facebook and turn them into business tools. Startups like Yammer and Bantam Live are also making business more social.

Six New Years Resolutions For Apple And The iPhone In 2010

Last night, as we waited for Carson Daily to tell us that it was time to make a lot of noise, I found myself laying on my buddy’s lawn with glass number one-too-many of something toxic in my hand. As I stared up at the stars, I pondered something I’d imagine most of the country was pondering as well:

Does Steve Jobs make New Years Resolutions?

I mean, really; outside of continuing to kick cancer’s ass and perhaps expanding his wardrobe, there’s probably not much that needs resolving in El Jobso’s personal life. His number one pet project (outside of that other one), however, could probably use a bit of work right now.

Now, now, Apple fans, cover those teeth back up. The iPhone is doing just fine by most counts, but it has its flaws — and, as Motorola’s “iDont” campaign proved, competitors will be more than happy to play on them. It’s been 6 months since the launch of iPhone OS 3.0, and things are just starting to get stale; with the mobile space heating up and Android finally finding its feet, that’s the last thing Apple wants.

And with that, we present: Six New Years Resolutions For Apple And The iPhone In 2010, a completely theoretical (and highly hopeful) to-do list for the folks in Cupertino going into the New Year.

1 - Stop hogging background processing:

Apple’s own apps can continue to run in the background after they’re closed, but the other 100,000 applications available for the platform can’t.

Apple cites battery efficiency as the primary reason why they’ve kept backgrounding to themselves. Jailbreakers have long had an application available to them called backgrounder, which lets them run any application in the background – and you know what? The battery does just fine.

It’s long past time to open this up. Certain apps will surely be more battery hungry than others – but, as with anything that uses a battery, it’s really up to the user to learn how to make the most of it.

2 - Stop going home so often:



This one goes hand-in-hand with number one. If Apple ever gets around to allowing background processing on a larger scale, they’ll need a quicker way to hop between running apps. The homescreen is great and all, but do we really need to see it every time we want to switch applications?

The jailbreak community recently launched an app called “Proswitcher”. With this, users can switch between any apps running behind the scenes, calling up the switcher using any one of 10 or so options from holding the home button to double tapping the top bar. It’s essentially a direct rip of the cards system found on Palm’s webOS, but it’s incredibly smooth and has entirely changed the way I use my iPhone.

3 - Stop with the crappy cameras:

The first two iPhones rocked a 2 megapixel camera, and the 3GS bumped it all the way up to.. 3. Really? 3 megapixels? The megapixel count isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to image quality, but 3 megapixels is down-right itty bitty by high-end smartphone standards these days.

As augmented reality, image processing, and video sharing become more commonplace, the quality of the camera is getting more and more important. Lets hope the next iPhone brings a bigger upgrade to the camera than another one megapixel bump.

4 - Embrace the stack:

The iPhone uses Qualcomm’s BlueMagic 3.0 for all of its Bluetooth needs, yet makes no use of a significant chunk of the features it supports. A number of these, such as OBEX (for wireless file transferring) and HID (for Bluetooth keyboard support) are profiles that are pretty much standard on other smartphones.

Oh, and hey Apple – feel free to add support for Wii remotes while you’re at it.

5 - Learn to sideload:


Apple seems to be loosening their death-grip, but there are still a million-and-one applications that they’ll never allow on the App Store – and that’s just fine. What’s not fine, however, is that there’s no other way — sans hacking — to get said apps onto the phone at all.

If only Apple allowed people to add whatever they wanted by way of sideloading, everyone would be happy. Power users get whatever apps they please, and Apple keeps the App Store clean to their specifications.

And why wouldn’t they do it? The only semi-decent argument against it is that it (potentially) makes piracy easier by opening another gateway to the device that Apple has to protect. Considering how easy it is to get pirated apps on the iPhone already (read: it’s really, really easy) — and how unlikely it is that Apple will ever be able to block it — I’d say the benefits outweigh the risks.

6 - Make Background Notifications suck less:

Whether or not Apple decides to support background processing, they’re going to need to fix the background notification system. Before changing their focus from web apps to native applications, Apple never really intended to have to deal with such things. As a result, the notification system is a bit tacked on – and it shows.

Notifications blast onto the screen, interrupting whatever you’re doing. Only one notification is supported at a time. If a second alert comes in, the first just disappears into the ether. It’s a nasty solution that just barely gets the job done, especially when compared to the notification systems of webOS or Android.

There are plenty of other things that we’d like to see Apple do with the iPhone in 2010 — breaking up with AT&T (or at least setting their status to “Open Relationship”), for example — but now we want to hear from you. If you could change one thing about the iPhone going into 2010, what would it be?

"Unknown Big Bang won Best Newcomer?" Jealous Japanese Netizens Attack

Korean idol group Big Bang, after winning Best Newcomer at Japan's annual Record Awards, has received harsh backlash from Japanese netizens. The netizens are protesting that Big Bang's record sales fall far behind other newcomers, and are asserting that there is a problem with the judging panel.

On the 31st, popular Japanese new blogs such as "Wild Yaeneung Show" and communities such as "2CH" were flooded with attacks against Big Bang.

The day before, at 6pm on the 51st Japanese Record Awards broadcast by TBS, Big Bang won the Best New Artist award.

The Japanese Record Awards are given out annually by the Japanese Composers Association. The Best Newcomer award is given to one group of out those nominated. Big Bang beat out Hilchryme, Maya Sakura, SCANDAL, among others to win the Best Newcomer award.

On the 20st, Big Bang appeared on TBS's Japan Cable Broadcasting Awards (Nihon Yusen Taisho) and won the Best Newcomer award. There, Big Bang went to the final nominations with Maya Sakura and Hilchryme. However, when Big Bang surpassed the Japanese groups and won the award, the Japanese netizens didn't hide their discomfort.

They used the 2009 record sales to attack Big Bang. Hill Crime sold 108,000 copies, easily overwhelming the 41,000 copies sold by Big Bang, so why did Big Bang win the award?

The netizens were quoted saying, "Some Korean boygroup I've never heard of or seen won the Best Newcomer award through shady judging" and "Record sales are an important criteria so what exactly is the criteria they used?"

Big Bang debuted in the Japanese music stage last June with "My Heaven." The reason for the low record sales is because the single was released later in the year.

Chik Chak Music Awards 2009 Winner List

Best Male Singer:
Gold: Eason Chan
Silver: Hins Cheung
Bronze: Khalil Fong

Best Female Singer:
Gold: Joey Yung
Silver: Kay Tse
Bronze: Fiona Sit

Best Group

Gold: Rubberband
Silver: Mr.
Bronze: AT17

Composer Award: Mark Lui
Lyricist Award: Albert Leung
Arranger Award: Khalil Fong
Producer Award: Mark Lui

Best Singer/Songwriter Award
Gold: Ivana Wong
Silver: Justin Lo
Bronze: Jan Lamb

Best Female Newcomer
Gold: Chita
Silver: Kate Tsui
Bronze: Cilla Lok

Best Male Newcomer
Gold: Aarif Lee
Silver: Jonathon Wong
Bronze: Hung Kit

Supreme Album Award: Eason Chan (H3M)

My Favourite Male Singer: Eason Chan

My Favourite Female Singer: Miriam Yeung

My Favourite Group: Mr.

My Favourite Song: Mr. (If I were Eason Chan)

Chik Chak Supreme Top 10 Songs

1. Eason Chan - 700 Years Later
2. Rubberband - Apollo
3. Jason Chan - You Hide I Hide
4. Hins Cheung - Yes & No
5. Leo Ku - The Earth is Dangerous
6. Miriam Yeung - Actually I Am Very Happy
7. Sherman Chung - A Letter To Myself
8. Kay Tse - Song of the Year
9. Juno Mak - Weak Water Three Thousand
10. Denise Ho - Nicole

4 Stations Album Award: Eason Chan (H3M)

Wang Lee Hom has many females by his side...his cousin of course

Yesterday, Wang Lee Hom had a busy New Year in Taiwan. He went from Taichung to Taoyuan and then to Taipei to accompany the major for the countdown and fireworks. This time, he had a female counterpart who accompanied him. However, she is not a rumoured girlfriend. Instead, she is jus the cousin whom he grew up with. WLH said that his relationship with his cousin is good. This time, she flew from New York to Taiwan. Her companionship during his New Year Events was a fresh kind of feeling.

Wang Lee Hom did not complain of fatigue during his schedule. Instead, he only worried that the cold temperatures would affect his performances. In order to protect WLH’s vocals, his company specially prepared hot ginger soup and energy bar chocolates for him. They even put hot packs inside his stage costumes. Wang Lee Hom also took his old scarf with him. He said that this scarf was most important. After he opened up his vocals backstage, he would then put it around his neck to keep warm. During filming in the winter, he would also drink ginger soup.

Busy with recording music and filming movies, Wang Lee Hom thus has less time to spend with his family. He exclaimed: “My whole family is on Skype!” Everyday, he relies on the internet webcam to contact his family in America. This Christmas, he specially picked out gifts to send to his nephews and nieces. Then he went on Skype to watch their joyous unwrapping of the presents. He was quite satisfied with their reactions.

When talking about children, WLH assumed a fatherly position: “Children are really special. Even though they’re still young, the things they like differ quite a lot. Boys like trains and then girls like princess costumes and dancing ballet.” Due to this way of thinking, he picked out a Lego gift for his nephew.

With the new year here, Wang Lee Hom still has many schedules to accomplish. Soon, he must rush back to mainland China to film a movie. In February, he then has to promote his movie [Little Big Soldier]. Thus he has no vacation to reunite with his family. Instead, his family plans to come to Taiwan to celebrate his grandma’s 90th birthday. At the same time, they will also accompany WLH through a warm spring season.

Lady Gaga Draws Young Hollywood to New Year's Gig

At Lady Gaga's New Year's Eve poolside performance at Miami Beach's Fontainebleau Hotel, the outlandish performer wasn't the only star on display: A gathering of single, Young Hollywood types were in attendance – with some as mesmerized with each other as they were with the singer.

According to an eyewitness, Hayden Panettiere, 20, "was dancing, front and center" with Kevin Connolly, 35. The two were "chatting in the VIP lounge at the pool during the concert, and at the afterparty at LIV [nightclub at the Fontainebleau], they were sitting together. They were chatting all night, and they were very close to each other all evening."

The pair even shared a classic date food: Domino's New Pizza slices together poolside, says the eyewitness.

Lady Gaga performed four songs, including "Bad Romance" from her current album, Fame Monster. Others in the audience included Chace Crawford ("He was singing to Gaga's songs," says a source), blogger Perez Hilton (sporting a head-to-toe floral ensemble), former Desperate Housewives actor Shawn Pyfrom, The Hills' Frankie Delgado, former boybander J.C. Chasez and actress Stacy Keibler.

The Afterparty

After her set, Gaga "and over 20 of her dancers and production crew ate Domino's New Pizza. She spent over three hours backstage after the concert with her dancers. She thanked everyone individually for everything they had done in 2009," a source tells PEOPLE

The performer then headed to her 3,000-sq.-ft. penthouse where, a partygoer says, "the afterparty raged on until the wee hours of the morning."

As for the setting, the $35 million penthouse rents for $15,000 a night. "Lady Gaga has four bedrooms, a kitchen, whirlpool and amazing balcony overlooking the ocean," a source tells PEOPLE.

At the afterparty at LIV nightclub, in addition to Panettiere and Connolly, celebrating stars also included rappers Chris Brown, Bow Wow and Akon, who showed up via Diddy's private dinner party on the tony residential community of Star Island. A source says, "Chris was in great spirits, but once he was inside, he stuck to drinking bottled water. He pretty much kept to himself, hanging out with Akon."

Firefox Mobile RC 1 now available for Nokia N900

If you have a Nokia N900 or Nokia N810, you should know that Mozilla Firefox RC1 (Release Candidate 1) for Maemo is now available for download.

Also known as Mozilla Fennec, Firefox for Maemo promises to make you “forget about the clunky, stripped-down mobile Web you’re used to”.

The Firefox mobile browser has many nice features, like the Awesome Bar, Password Manager, tabbed browsing, location-aware browsing, one-touch bookmarking, desktop syncing and add-ons (for personalization).

The RC1 version of Firefox for Maemo comes with several improvements, including enhanced text rendering and N900-specific bug fixes.

Mozilla Firefox RC1 for Maemo can be downloaded via Mozilla’s official website. If you already have a previous beta version installed, you should receive a software upgrade soon. The browser is available in more than 30 languages, including Arabic, French, German, Russian, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Words like “sexting”, “tweeting” and “app” should be banned, says U.S. University

The Lake Superior State University has recently announced its 35th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

Comprised of terms and words that “deserve to be banned”, the list is made by the university’s wordsmiths, based on nominations coming from people all over the States.

This year’s list includes several terms related to mobile phones.

The fits one is app – which is, obviously, an abbreviation for (mobile) application, popularized since the iPhone was launched. “Is there an ‘app’ for making this annoying word go away? Why can’t we just call them ‘programs’ again?”, asks someone who nominated the word for the to-be-banned list. Well, I actually find abbreviations useful and I don’t think “app” is that annoying

Tweet, twittering, retweet and so on should also be banned, says the LSSU. Of course, they’re only referring to the tweets and twittering related to Twitter, and not to the original meaning of the words. “I’m tired of hearing about celebrity X’s new tweet, and how great of a tweeter he or she is,” points out some who’s definitely not at all into Twitter.

Sexting (meaning to send a sexy text message) is also on the list, as well as friend used as a verb – i.e. “I’ve friended / unfriended someone on Facebook”.

Other words and terms that were deemed useless: chillaxin (combination between relaxing and chilling), in these economic times (“overused and redundant. Aren’t ALL times ‘these economic times’?”), and Obama-related words (Obamacare, Obamanation, Obamafication etc).

Da S's request to change wax figure proportions is denied

Taiwan star Da S (Barbie) arrived in Hong Kong yesterday with the purpose to attend the unveiling ceremony from Madame Tussaud's Hong Kong (a wax museum). The wax figurine was created based on her character in the movie "Police Cops", which will be released in theatres on February 25th, 2010. Actually, the figurine is still in the last stages of creation and will be relased on the same day as the movie.

The figurine is a 1:1 proportion with Da S's real body size, and the fitting process took 2 hours. Da S felt that even in the early stages, it was a strikingly similar copy, but having to keep a smile for 2 hours was very difficult, and her smile soon became forced.

"I wanted some changes, such as minimizing the size of my face, lengthening my legs, and somewhat increasing my assets, but I was rejected. The workers are very serious about their work, and strive to make it exactly the same." Da S wishes that she will be able to come visit her "young look" with her kids and grandkids when she is 80years old.

Wants a boyfriend
A clip of Andy Lau and Da S from their upcoming movie was projected on a screen, including parts of them kissing; she revealed that those scenes were very awkward and nerve-wracking, because Andy is actually one of her idols.

She said that last year on December 31st and January 1st she was rushing to film the movie with him, this year, she will also be promoting the movie together. Da S has already gotten used to welcoming the new year while at work, yesterday she celebrated the new year with Taiwanese workers who had accompanied her to Hong Kong. Entering the new year, does she want a boyfriend? "You can't push destiny, although I do want a boyfriend, the luck is just not there."

After School denies that any one member made them successful

Members of the girl group After School do not believe that their success is due to any one member.


Cable channel tvN ran a story on their entertainment program SCOOP, looking into the secret of the group's success. While "honey thighs" member Uee has been receiving a lot of attention, it would seem that their recent achievements come from a group effort. "The whole group receives love equally. The success of the group comes from teamwork and intense training. Good choreography and live singing ability are very important." The group is currently riding a wave of popularity into the new year with their hit single Because of You.

So what do you guys think? Dedication and teamwork? Or Uee's sweet ol' drumsticks?

Mike He's fortune change for the better, infernal lovers will be finally screened

Breaking away from a whole year of bad luck, Mike He will start 2010 with a change of good fortune. The drama "Infernal lovers" that was filmed last year, will finally be screened. For the drama he had to experience a change in female leads, new director and even while the filming process he had gastroenteritis, hurt his toes and was in so much pain words could not express. But it has been confirmed that it will be broadcasted on STV on the 8th January, so all his hard work will not of been in vain.

"Infernal lovers" is being called China's version of "Infernal affairs", Mike He will be starring as the role played by Tony Leung in "Infernal affairs", the internal spy. Having to act with repressed emotions made him scream out in frustration, which resulted in quite a few re-takes, he admitted "am still more skilled at idol dramas." When he displays his idol charms, it has been known during shooting he will electrify many China actresses and quite commonly after shooting they would be very bold and express their love to him asking him to go out to karaokes and for drinks.

Since the filming coincided with summer the temperature reached 40C, during filming if Mike was not weaking military uniform, then he would be wearing a leather shirt with layers upon layer of clothes underneath. Within the script there is a lot of fighting scenes, there has been countless times where he has filmed until heat stroke, Mike He said "In period dramas you have to wear a lot of clothes, I will be roasting hot from head to toe, the leather shirt on me gets really hot, so hot you can fry an egg!"

J. Lo Shows Curves In New Year's Nude Bodysuit

Jennifer Lopez made Ryan Seacrest's night - or so he said - and probably a lot of other people's too in a skin tight shimmering body suit that she wore for her appearance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.


The 41-year-old Bronx-born beauty regaled the masses who were huddled in Times Square to ring in 2010 with her new single "Louboutins," from her first album since giving birth to twins Max and Emme in 2008. The disc, "Love?", is due out in April 2010.

You'd never know she'd had two kids based on her appearance last night. She showed off an apparently flawless physique in a unitard that clung to every curve, bedecked with sparkles that could have been little drops of icy rain from the evening's freezing drizzle.

For her first number, she covered up in a shaggy black jacket that looked like a cast-off from "Planet of the Apes."



Lopez went through some moves with a cadre of backup dancers, wearing a towering pair of the red-soled heels named in the song's title - glittering booties to match her catsuit, natch - and managed not to slip as she famously did while performing the same tune at the American Music Awards in November.

To the delight of many, including host Seacrest, who quipped that her outfit "made my year," she then removed the jacket to perform two more songs, including "Waiting for Tonight."

She began that song by straddling the shoulder of a dancer who hoisted her in the air and spun her around in a sensual embrace.



But hubby Marc Anthony needn't worry about the hoofer or Seacrest. He was right by his wife's side as the ball dropped to usher in 2010, and by then she was well covered up in a glamorous, and warm-looking, fur coat.

The bodysuit is far from the first time Lopez has gotten tongues wagging with her fashion choices (remember the Versace neckline that plunged to her navel at the Grammy Awards in 2000?). But this outfit, in which the singer looks almost too perfect, may get fans talking for another reason: Has chasing toddlers casued a downsizing of her famous derriere?

Was it worth getting dressed, Lady GaGa?



Singer poses nearly nude on hotel balcony... and then strips off for stage show Lady GaGa has spent the last year flaunting an extraordinary range of outrageous clothes. But for the final day of 2009, the avant garde star opted for something a little more au naturelle.

The singer's nearly nude show began at the Penthouse at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach where she spent some time talking on her mobile phone. Unlike most people, Lady Gaga decided to do it almost naked.

First she appeared in a towel and nothing else. Then she pulled on some underwear but posed in such a way she made sure everyone knew it.


Each time she was accompanied by a male friend, who on one occasion spotted a photographer, prompting GaGa, who was wearing a yellow wig, to made an obscene hand gesture.

She was staying at the plush hotel ahead of her performance there to welcome in 2010.

And just for her devoted fans she decided she would actually put some clothes albeit it in keeping with her usual outrageous style.



She kept the yellow wig but teamed it with a dark purple PVC-style dress with fishnet tights.

She performed on the grand pool deck of the resort as revellers gathered to hear her best hits of 2009.

But her exhibitionism got the better of her and before the end of her show she had stripped down to her underwear.


Stripped down: Gaga can't resist being the exhibitionist and performs on stage in nothing more than her underwear

It is unclear whether the unveiling of her bra and knickers was planned as the two items didn't quite match.

Her undies looked like they were made from PVC and her lilac bra from satin.

Earlier this week Lady Gaga was spotted dining out with celebrity blogger Perez Hiton.

GaGa, 23, maintained her penchant for ridiculous ensembles, teaming a black PVC jacket that appeared to have been put through a shredder, with a rubber skirt, fishnet stockings and black PVC boots.

Perez looked equally silly wearing what seemed to be a pair of banana-print boxer shorts with a black dinner jacket, a t-shirt emblazoned with a cover of People magazine featuring Madonna and gold shoes with black socks.

Google Nexus Offers Little Competition to Apple iPhone

Why Google's New Smartphone Won't Knock Apple Off Its iPhone Throne

Whether the marketplace is ready or not, the Big Guns in consumer electronics are about to make their move at the dawn of the New Year.

Next Tuesday, Google is expected to announce its long-rumored Nexus One smartphone. It is undoubtedly designed to run the Google Android operating system for cellphones, which the search giant introduced more than a year ago. Android was envisioned as a major breakthrough in cellphones because it offered an "open" operating system – i.e., one that other companies could use and design applications for. At the time, this strategy was compared to that of Microsoft Windows, which broke the market hegemony of Apple's decidedly non-open OS in the mid-1980s and within a decade, turned Apple into a niche company. This time around, the new Android phones were supposed to break the hegemony of the Apple iPhone.

So far, it hasn't quite worked out that way with Android. A number of cell phone companies – notably Motorola, HTC, and Samsung – have adopted Android and seen impressive sales. However, this time around Apple, though still exhibiting much of its old "closed" and proprietary ways, has learned some important lessons over the last 20 years.

For one thing, Apple understands, better perhaps than any company on the planet, the importance of being not only perpetually innovative – but with a vast and loyal army of Apple fanatics behind it – to regularly take category-busting risks. Thus, the amazing run, beginning a decade ago, of the iMac, MacBook, iPod and iPhone. These landmark (and in the case of the iPod, historic) products not only were ambitious in their goals and beautifully designed, but they also exhibited multiple features that were so innovative that they forced the competition to spend years catching up – and by then, Apple had already moved on to the next breakthrough.

Military theorists like to say that the goal of combat is to get inside your opponent's "decision horizon" – that is, to move so quickly that the enemy can't respond in time before you have moved on to the next victory. That's exactly what Apple, at its best, has done to the consumer electronics world … and in the process has left competitors reeling, loyal customers thrilled, and not least, Apple regaining its lost market share and making its shareholders wealthy.

The Apple iPhone is a classic example of that. It has taken nearly two years for Apple's competitors to field products that are even close to the iPhone; to identify weaknesses in the device (such as the lack of a real keyboard for texters, its commitment to AT&T as service provider) and respond. Apple, meanwhile, has used that time to continuously improve the iPhone – the result being that the company now dominates the smartphone world to a degree Apple hasn't enjoyed since the early years of the Macintosh.

If that was the sum of Apple's advantage, the door might be wide open for Google and the rest to pull a Windows Redux strategy. Apple, after all, is still all about controlling the operating system and suing anyone who tries to copy it. This would seem to open the door for yet another Open Systems assault, pulling together the entire intellectual capital of the entire rest of the phone industry to simply overwhelm Apple's defenses.

But, as I said, even if Apple hasn't reformed its bad old ways, it has grown a whole lot wiser. And, in one of the most brilliant strategic moves in its history, the company opened the door more than a year ago to outside developers to create their own proprietary application programs for the iPhone (and iPod Touch) to be sold through the Apple Store. Here, too, serendipity has been Apple's friend: economic downturns are always times for a burst of entrepreneurial energy as the unemployed and underemployed use the downtime to start new enterprises and then give them a running start. But this crash has been unique in high tech history not only for its depth and duration, but also because, for the first, time, the venture capital industry (largely because of government regulation) is paralyzed and little investment money is available.

This entrepreneurial energy needs to go somewhere … and where much of it has headed is toward the design of iPhone apps. The sheer number of these apps that have been created in just 18 months is absolutely mind-boggling: more than 100,000 different programs, from guitar tuners to restaurant ratings to burp generators, and everything else you can imagine. It is one of the greatest outpourings of small, independent entrepreneurship in American business history, and all supported by the Apple Store. There have been more than 1 billion iPhone app downloads.

Some of these apps are superb, most are crap. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the sheer mass of all of these creations creates a gargantuan barrier to any competing smartphone initiative that wants to take it on. Apple, without surrendering much control, has nevertheless found an alternative way to harness the intellectual capital of thousands of its smartest and most ambitious supporters. So now, to compete with the iPhone you pretty much have to match the best of the iPhone App catalog – and even with a well-developed user community, that won't be easy to do. Android might be able to catch up – and I emphasize "might" – by building its own developer community. But it hasn't happened yet.

The only other ways to catch Apple right now is to either price bomb the iPhone with a super cheap, super powerful smart phone – easier said than done, especially since you're giving away all of your profits – or come out with your own, revolutionary, new design. But nobody's been able to end run Apple yet; revolutionary new design being what that company does better than anybody.

But if any could stun the phone world it would be Google. It, too, is full of smart, arrogant people, the company has lots of dough, and because phones are outside its core business, it can in theory take a big risk without worrying about legacy issues. For example, as many industry insiders have suggested, Google could stun the tech world – and hit Apple at its weakest point – by coming out with a "Webphone," a device that uses the Internet, a la Skype, as its transmission medium and thus escaping forever the tyranny of the phone companies. There's a lot of problems with that strategy, of course, but it would certainly shock the world and put Apple on the defensive.

Unfortunately, the early reports suggest that what Google will introduce next week, the Nexus One, will be a largely conventional smartphone. That's a pity because I suspect Google will never get this chance again. Meanwhile, strong on momentum and flush with cash, Apple isn't waiting around for the world to catch up with it. Two weeks from now, the company is expected to introduce yet another category-buster: this time it's rumored to be a tablet device – think of an oversized iPod Touch, but no doubt with much of the functionality of a personal computer (not to mention all of those iPhone apps). It will also no doubt, have one or two very cool and unexpected new features that will make it a gotta-have for Apple fanatics everywhere. Once again, Apple will have a new product that challenges convention, seemingly obsoletes an entire multibillion-dollar industry (in this case, handheld computers) while overwhelming a second, newer industry (netbooks, such as the Kindle) and yet is still stunning to look at. In other words, the Google phone will be a loser, even if it is a winner, because it will probably diminish Google's reputation as a tech juggernaut. Meanwhile, the Apple Tablet will be a winner, even if it is a loser, because (like those wacky iMac cubes and other designs of the last decade) it will continue to advance the company's reputation for risk-taking and cool.

Meanwhile, for the rest of us, at least after a miserable 2009 in tech, 2010 is starting out fun. It's as if the great consumer tech companies have been waiting to get last year over with and are now bouncing around at the starting line, waiting for the new year to begin so they can burst out of the gate. Despite everything else, the New Year in tech looks like fun.

TVXQ disbanding is false?

Only moments ago we reported on male sensation TVXQ, and their plans for disbanding in the new year. The source was from a Japanese article and SM Entertainment has yet to release a full legitimate statement, but things didn't look so good when Japan reported some unfortunate news.

A reporter said that tension within the group has become so high and bad that it's reached its limit, saying that Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu showed more passion to perform than the other two as they seem to have lost the will to go on. Even worse, the reporter stated that, "Currently the three have begun their activities with a new agency and the remaining SM members are forbidden from contacting the other three."

Plans for TVXQ was to apparently begin promotions for their last single BREAK OUT! on the 27th of January, and to release their last album on February 17th with one final goodbye concert in June.

However, SM Entertainment did not give a long detailed official statement but quickly replied to the situation by saying, "The reporter's statements are false. There are no plans of disbanding." But another source stated that, "Nothing has yet been officially decided."

There's much confusion going around and no doubt it's got fans very anxious. But could this be another foreign misinterpretation? Not too long ago, Chinese reporters said many false things about the the Hankyung lawsuit and this could be merely just another false rumor from a foreign country that didn't know any better.

More: TVXQ trio denies breaking up



We have previously reported that TVXQ is indeed breaking up, citing a Japanese source. SM Entertainment has denied the claims made by the Japanese article, and now the three members who seek to untie themselves from SME are also denying the claims.

According to Herald Business of Korea, representatives of the three members have stated "We have not heard of plans on the goodbye concert. Nothing is certain yet and we are still carrying on negotiations with the other party."

Edison Chen wants to get murdered for a legendary death; Faeces Thrown at Edison at Xmas party

The other day, Edison Chen accepted magazine "GQ" exclusive interview and reveals that he "hopes to have a legendary death". He said: "maybe it sounds stupid, but I want to get killed, I don't care what method is used, on the street getting robbed or that I'm too old to walk and have to lay in the hospital then someone comes to pull my oxygen support out. I don't think this person would have a legendary death, but I want to die a legend. My death is part of my story."

Edison used "this issue" to describe the Artist Photo Scandal. He said: "If there was not this incident, I will become a megalomaniac at age 35, not knowing what is happening in the outside world, not understanding how life is. I am very happy to have this opportunity to stop and think, what is life, what is lifestyle. Through this incident, I learned who are my real friends, who are my so-called friends. Actually, I am a simple person, money does not represent everything, but I still love money. In Hong Kong, I can earn millions in a month, but in the U.S, just a few thousands could be happiness. I was thinking in life, is money making me happy? Or is it love that is making me happy? The answer is love is making me happy."

Recently, it was rumored online that when Edison held his low-profile birthday party at some hotel, a 20+ year old male threw manure at them. However, his management already denied this and said that Edison was not in Hong Kong.

Faeces Thrown at Edison at Xmas party



Hong Kong Actor Edison Chen, whose pictures in various compromising positions with several female stars circulated in the Internet last year, had faeces thrown at him at a Christmas party in Hong Kong.

Sin Chew Daily reported that a man held a bucket of faeces and went up to the stage hoping to empty it on him.

Fortunately, Chen saw it coming and managed to quickly move aside.

He ended up with only drops of faeces on his clothes.

The incident shook the Chinese entertainment world just like the exposure of Chen's sex photos scandal last year. The man was arrested.

Video games outsell movies in U.K.

In the last year, consumers spent more money on video games in Britain than on films, including both trips to movie theaters and films on DVD, new figures compiled for U.K.'s Daily Telegraph indicate.

In the 12 months leading up to the end of September, 1.73 billion British pounds (about $2.8 billion) were spent on video games, according to data-monitoring company GFK Chart-Track. The U.K. Film Council said 1 billion British pounds ($1.6 billion) were spent at the British box office during the same period, with an additional 198 million British pounds ($320 million) spent on films released on DVD and Blu-ray.

U.K. video games: 1.73 billion pounds ($2.8 billion)
U.K. film: 1.198 billion pounds ($1.93 billion)


This means that approximately 532 million pounds ($860 million) more was spent on video games in 2009, roughly 30 percent more than on films. And while 1.73 billion pounds is impressive, it's still well shy of the $20 billion predicted for U.S. game sales in 2009. In fact, the U.S. spent $2.7 billion on games in November 2009 alone.

Video games, by no means a niche in the U.K, or most other parts of the world, are obviously big business and these statistics clearly show that the growth in new forms of digital entertainment specifically available via a computer or game console is having a major impact on more traditional forms of entertainment.

Contributing to the success of gaming in the U.K. were price cuts to jump-start sales, as well as tie-ins to supermarkets, greatly expanding the potential number of buyers and targeting gamers at the check-out stand, according to The Daily Telegraph. Further, Amazon.co.uk reported that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the No. 1 seller for 2009, beating out DVDs of "Harry Potter" and "Twilight."

The industry data compiled by GFK Chart-Track also shows that the number of games consoles being used in Britain nearly doubled in 2009 to 25 million which means there are enough consoles for nine out of every ten households in the country to have one.

According to the report, only television--including DVDs of television shows, along with the cost of the license and satellite subscriptions--and music are bigger forms of entertainment.

Jake Gyllenhaal ‘Trying to Win Back Reese Witherspoon’

Jake Gyllenhaal is desperately trying to win back Reese Witherspoon.

According to In Touch Weekly magazine, Jake has been buying Reese expensive gifts in the hope she’ll take him back.

The actor reportedly splashed out $75,000 on vintage dinnerware from France for Reese’s home in Ojai, Calif.

Gyllenhaal has also been bombarding the Legally Blond star with e-mails and flowers.

“He isn’t giving up without a fight,” a source said.

It was previously reported that the pair split because Reese — who is divorced from hunky actor Ryan Phillippe – didn’t want to get married.

“As much as everyone thinks they’re right there, they’re really not near the whole marriage thing,” a source said in December.

“Jake would marry her tomorrow, but Reese doesn’t want to go there yet, even though he would like to.

“There’s a huge attraction between them, and they’ve becomes a team, partners, but Jake can be a little overbearing at times, and Reese is really happy with life right now. Why screw that up or change a good thing?”

G-Dragon caught red-handed after a wild night?

G-Dragon of Big Bang was recently spotted with odd scars, leading people to speculate that he might be interested in some naughty things.


The above photo, taken at one of many year end ceremonies, got people talking with obvious scar marks on G Dragon's chest. Some netizens jokingly suggested that only a girl's fingernails can leave such marks, leading many to come up with stories on things that we should not describe to our younger readers. The star's past antics, such as sporting clothes with sexual symbols and performing naughty acts in a concert, did not help with netizens' wild fantasies about him and his scar.

More sensible netizens, however, appear to have agreed that the scars must have come from Gaho, G Dragon's Shar Pei.

The beautiful Kung Fu Sidekick

The Treasure Hunter might star a charismatic Jay Chou as a gungho hero. But it's Taiwanese eye candy Lin Chiling who shines most brightly

In the movie, 35-year-old model-actress Lin Chiling plays Lan Ting, the clingy sidekick and childhood love of archaeologist protagonist Qiao Fei (Jay Chou).

Time and again, she gets rescued by the gungho hero who goes around the desert kicking grave plunderers' butts, so that he can return artefacts to their rightful owners.

In reality, it's probably Chiling's looks that will save this movie, which opens here today, from becoming a $21-million disaster.

After all, the combination of megastars and a colossal budget means expectations will be high.

Too bad these megastars are known more for their celebrity hijinks than acting chops.

In other words, The Treasure Hunter will probably fall short of meeting these expectations.

Perhaps director Kevin Chu was counting on Chiling's natural allure. She has been hailed by Taiwan media as the sexiest model on the island.

Well, she does ooze sex appeal onscreen.

The way the buxom beauty clings onto the 30-year-old Jay will appeal to males who may envision themselves as a hero saving a damsel in distress.

(The artificial sandstorms and ugly baddies on horses add to the hero fantasy too.)

Chiling also exercised her singing chops when she recorded the film's ending theme, Take Me Flying - in her famous girlish voice, of course.

She even penned its lyrics, with multi-hyphenate Jay writing the tune.

Kudos to the 1.74m-tall actress for shattering her image as a 'vase', or an ornament, as the Chinese metaphor goes.

The Chinese media had given her that moniker after she played Tony Leung's demure wife in the two-part Red Cliff in 2008 and 2009.

To film The Treasure Hunter, she had to brave the scenic yet harsh Mongolian desert for more than two months.

Sometimes, she went without a shower for two days.

Sand was everywhere, in the crew's food, in their tents. Chiling even had her face scraped by flying sand when the wind picked up.

But she told the local media it was 'all good fun' when she, Jay and Kevin flew into town last week to promote the movie.

She also performed all her own fighting scenes. (Jay did more than 90 per cent of his action stunts.)

In one particular scene, Chiling leapt on Jay's shoulders and wrapped her legs around him, as he swung her around like a rag doll.

She also wielded a spear in the movie.

Beefed up role

Pretty impressive for someone with no prior training in martial arts.

'My greatest regret is not preparing myself sufficiently before filming started,' she told FiRST.

She had to learn her stunts on the set.

Why so unprepared? Apparently, it's because her fighting role was only beefed up halfway into filming.

On the last-minute changes, director Kevin explained: 'Her potential in shooting action scenes surprised me so I increased the number of her fighting scenes.'

And although Chiling's terrified of horses - she fell off one in 2005 while filming an advertisement - she gamely shot a scene which had dozens of horsemen attacking her and Jay while they escape on a motorcycle.

'I was really afraid, so I begged Jay to ride faster. That wasn't in the original script,' she said.

Ah, no wonder there was a look of genuine fear on her face as she clung on to her co-star during the shoot.

The way she tossed her tresses in the wind - shampoo-ad style - and how she put her face on Jay's leather-clad shoulders gave new meaning to the term 'in hot pursuit'.

So the chemistry sizzled between the stars then?

Not really.

While Chiling and Jay claimed they share an excellent rapport - he had taken her on desert drives to secluded places to talk about 'personal stuff' in between shoots - don't expect first-class acting from them.

How bad is it? Let's just say other cast members like Chinese actor Chen Daoming and Hong Kong veteran Eric Tsang were more expressive.

Even the CGI-created demons showed more facial expressions than these onscreen lovebirds.

Lan Ting's sadness over the loss of her father, tragically, wasn't convincing at all.

And while Kevin praised Jay for his martial arts prowess (coached by top Hong Kong action choreographer Tony Ching), no number of high kicks can compensate for Jay's deadpan acting, which we have seen in his other films such as Initial D, Secret and Kung Fu Dunk.

Perhaps Jay was just being himself? Again.

Not that his gongfu moves are that great anyway.

Pitted against heroes of recent action flicks, Jay's skills would probably get thumped by Donnie Yen's ability (Bodyguards And Assassins) and Rain's abs (Ninja Assassin).

Even the vampires and werewolves from The Twilight Saga: New Moon would beat The Treasure Hunter, and that's just on their growls alone.

We can only hope that Jay, who's currently playing Kato, a superhero's sidekick in a re-make of The Green Hornet, will pick up a trick or two from gongfu icon Bruce Lee, who first played that role.

Yet, something is more disturbing than sub-par acting in The Treasure Hunter - like the director's poor memory.

In our interview with him, we asked 57-year-old Kevin whether he finds his film similar to past Hollywood adventure flicks.

He said in Mandarin: 'How can that be?

'I don't think they fought a mummy in a desert.'

Er, Brendan Fraser did that in The Mummy in 1999 - and its two sequels in 2001 and 2008, we reminded Kevin.

KAT-TUN Kamenashi Encountered Earth Quake when Wearing Nothing but Pants!

From the drama "Kami no Shizuku", the musical "DREAM BOYS" to the movie "GOKUSEN (THE MOVIE)", KAT-TUN member Kazuya Kamenashi seemed to be more active as solo than in the group in 2009. Though he had rare private time, he revealed the "TOP3 Major Private Events" in the radio program "Kase by Kase of Kazuya Kamenashi". He had a lot of fun in playing golf in Okinawa during the concert, going to hot spring trip with parents, and playing baseball as a professional player. You may know the first and third one from musicJAPANplus news. But what's episode of his hot spring trip?

A few days ago, Kamenashi visited his parents in the suburb when attending relative's wedding ceremony. Because the relative liked the opening song "YOU" of the drama "Suppli" by KAT-TUN, Kamenashi was supposed to sing the song at the end of the ceremony as a surprise. His parents left the hotel earlier to the wedding venue, and Kamenashi can put on his outfit at leisure. However... "It was 3p.m. and we were living on the 7th floor. I just brushed my teeth and took a bath in the hot spring. The hotel was quite old...and all of a sudden, a seismic intensity 3 earth quake occurred! The building shook a lot when I was brushing the teeth and washing my face! I was really scared." Just as he said, on the 7th floor of an old building, it will shake quite severely under the seismic intensity 3 earth quake! The problem is Kamenashi was only wearing a pair of pants and was totally not prepared! So he learned a lesson from the incident: "You should put on your clothes even when you wash your face, so that you can flee as soon as possible!" That's right but...it seems he is a little bit out of focus...(laugh) It is heartwarming for a steady person like Kamenashi emphasize on such a thing, isn't it?

By the way, about one month ago, in the same program, Kamenashi said: "Of course it is different from standing in front of the guests, in the spotlight with KAT-TUN's style. I was very nervous when I was told to sing a song on wedding ceremony!" I really want to know how everything went about the surprise plan!

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