Eason Chan: king of cantopop

Eason Chan, the king of cantopop, took to the stage at Shanghai's Hongkou Soccer Stadium on April 25th. Chan has long been recognized as the leading male singer of his generation in the Hong Kong music scene. In our "List" today, we discover the world of Eason Chan's music.

This March saw the release of Eason Chan's new Cantonese album "H3M". The record is a bit of a departure from Chan's previous works. Apart from a change in his looks - he's started to grow a beard - Chan invited nine celebrated musicians to compose songs for his album. The nine musicians, including Joey Tang, Gary Tong, C.Y. Kong, Davy Chan, and Pam Chung, were all extremely popular in the 1980s in Hong Kong. Their contributions add a nostalgic touch to Chan's music, which has won acclaim from both critics and fans alike.

Eason Chan was sent to the United Kingdom to study at the age of 12. He attended Kingston University, where he majored in architecture. In 1995 he returned to Hong Kong to take part in a New Talent Singing Competition and won the first place. Chan then signed a contract with Wha Shing Records and his music career took off.

Chan released a number of albums while with Wha Shing. His albums, including "Happiness", "God Bless My Beloved One", "Nothing Really Matters", and "New Life" all sold well.

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Choreographer Pina Bausch

She is regarded one of the most influential avant-garde artists on the European dance scene. Her dance theater, the union of genuine dance and theatrical methods of stage performance, creates a new dance form that has won her a cult following the world over despite the longtime controversy it's caused. On our List today, we introduce German choreographer Pina Bausch.

The stage is filled with empty tables and chairs. Backed by the weeping melody written by Henry Purcell of the 17th century, two white-clad female dancers unburden their angst by scraping themselves along walls and floors on stage, again and again.

This is the opening scene of Spanish director Pedro Almodova's 2002 movie "Talk to Her". The dance is taken from German choreographer Pina Bausch's "Cafe Muller". Bausch herself performed the piece in the movie.

Pina Bausch is regarded one of the most influential artists on the European dance scene. Two years ago, Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal visited Beijing with a show at the Tianqiao Theater featuring "Cafe Muller", one of her signature works.

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Legendary Josephine Siao Fong Fong

Legendary Hong Kong film actress Josephine Siao Fong Fong will be presented with a lifetime achievement at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night. The 62-year-old actress became popular as a child and continued her success, winning numerous domestic and international film awards throughout her career spanning some five decades.

Josephine Siao was born in 1947 as Siao Liang in Shanghai. At the age of two, she was brought to Hong Kong by her parents. Siao's first movie appearance was at age seven in "A Child's Tear". Two years later she won the Best Child Award for her role in "Orphan Girl".

Unlike many child stars, Siao made a successful transition to adult stardom, remaining one of Hong Kong's most prolific and popular actresses. In the 1960s alone, she starred in over 200 films. She was one of the popular female teenage stars who were termed the "Seven Cantonese Princesses" of the 60s. But she was perhaps the most popular of them all. She appeared in all sorts of films, from romance to drama, to comedy, action and fantasy.

In 1970, she cut back on her film output to focus on her education. Siao earned a Communications degree from New Jersey's Seton Hall University. From then on, she worked less frequently in films. In 1974, Siao had only a small part on the screen as the hero-cop "Girlfriend", but it won her the Best Supporting Actress at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Awards.

In 1975, she worked as one of the directors for "Jumping Ash". The film is regarded by film critics as a prelude to the Hong Kong New Wave movies of the 1980s. She then created for TV the bumbling plain Jane character, Lam Ah Shun, in 1977.

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The movie P-T-U 2

The eagerly-awaited film "P-T-U 2", produced by Hong Kong director Johnnie To has been released. But this sequel to To's original popular action movie fails to live up to expectations, despite the return of the original cast and crew. Today's "Spotlight" shines on the movie.

Starring Simon Yam and Maggie Siu, "PTU 2" premiered last week. This story focuses on relations between members of a Police Tactical Unit, known as a P-T-U.

Director Wang-Cheong Law said, "The motif of this new movie is 'comradeship'. To my understanding, 'comradeship' means working partners who live through a lot of danger and difficulty together."

The story starts just a day before the scheduled disbanding of the PTU. An urgent task is suddenly assigned, breaking every member's plans.

The original 2003 "PTU" won Simon Yam "Best Actor" at the Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia Awards. Maggie Siu was crowned "Best Actress Award". So it's no surprise that the two team up again for the sequel.

Actress Maggie Siu said, "There is a lot of pressure, as I am the only female policeman in the movie. But when you complete those tough acts, you just feel happy and forget all about difficulties. "

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Screen adoptions of novels

Screen adaptations of novels often have mixed fortunes...with many turning out to be a huge success, or a dismal failure. One successful example is the latest Oscar winning film, "Slumdog Millionare". In today's "Spotlight", we take a look at some screen adaptations, both at home and abroad.

In China, the novel "Summer of Foam" is being made into a TV series and shooting has just begun. The lead roles are played by stars Huang Xiaoming, He Rundong, Barbie Hsu, and Ying Tsai-ling. Lead actor He Rundong, who is also the series' producer, says they are being very careful about adapting the novel into a TV series. They have chosen quality stars who appeal to a young audience.

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Producer He Rundong said, "I persuaded Ming Xiaoxi, the writer of the original novel for two months, letting her to sell the adaptation rights to me. Now, you see our cast is very powerful, so I believe the series will be a success."

Another two screen adaptations in China are using stars to boost their image. The film "Night Rose" was adapted from Taiwan writer Cai Zhiheng's novel of the same name. It stars Ruby Lin and Wallace Chung. Another TV series "Love in a Fallen City", adapted from late writer Eileen Chang's famous novel, features actress Chen Shu as the ***. Chen rose to fame by playing a mathematician in the hit TV series "Calculation". The novel is a classic in the eyes of many readers. Chen has done a lot of preparation for her role, hoping she can satisfy fans' expectations.

The most successful adaptation of the year arguably goes to "Slumdog Millionare". It met Chinese audiences within the shortest time of all imported films, after its foreign premiere. It garnered eight Academy awards at this year's Oscars.

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