Archive for the ‘Edison Chen’ Category
Villains Converge On One Stage For “The Return Of The V”
SINGAPORE: Join Mas Selamat, Edison Chen and TT Durai, all in one room, as they set about to add more jest into already segregated speculations about their escapades and infernal affairs.
They are impersonated, but of course, for if otherwise, the St James Power Station would be surrounded by cops and Hong Kong mafias come Wednesday night.
After a show-stopping success in its first run last year, Irene Ang, one of Singapore’s favourite comedians, is bringing “The V Conference” back, this time as “The Return of the V”.
Like the inaugural show, she promises this year’s show to be filled with gut-wrenching laughs and daring and controversial topics, but unlike last year, “The Return of the V” is “meatier”, “juicier” and altogether “more delicious”.
While the previous show was mostly about women and wisecracks about their, erm, “V”, this sequel’s “V” actually means “Villains and Victims”, where Irene and her partner-in-crime actor-comedian Chua Enlai portray newsmakers in another light.
“For example,” said Irene, in an interview with Channelnewsasia.com, “I will be interviewing Edison (Chen) and asking him what were his inspirations for his artsy photography.
“But the whole idea is not to make these people look bad; it’s to present another view of the story. It’s funny, but it also makes people think about if these newsmakers are they really villains or perhaps they are the victims - maybe they are the good people.”
Besides men, the pair will also be bringing back, by popular request, funny female characters from the previous show such as “Guan Yin Ma” (the Goddess of Mercy), the Singapore Girl, as well as Mrs Heng, the Peranakan talk show host.
Irene also said that apart from being more seasoned this time round, both comedians are also more comfortable with the stand-up as they, along with the director, Beatrice Chia, wrote the script themselves.
“Being our own scriptwriters, it was much easier for us to execute… memorising lines was much easier because we came out with the jokes ourselves,” she said.
According to the comedian, at least 10 well-known people who made the headlines recently would be featured in the show.
Although tight-lipped with more information, she revealed that audiences may just hear all about terror fugitive Mas Selamat’s prison break from another point of view - from the “prison kitchen dish-washing aunties”.
Of course, audiences are urged not to panic, watch the play with a pinch of salt, and carefully scrutinize suspicious characters for authenticity before calling the police.
“The Return of the V” will run for five nights from November 5 at Movida, St James Power Station.
Tickets are priced at S$48, including one beer. Performances on November 4 and 5 have been sold out.
- CNA/yb
Channel News Asia
HK Star, Edison Chen, Will Not Return To Testify In Sex Photo Case
HONG KONG : The Hong Kong actor at the centre of a sex photos scandal involving female celebrities has refused to return to the city to testify in a trial linked to the saga, a report said Wednesday.
Edison Chen will not appear as a witness in the trial against a man who allegedly distributed photos across the Internet of Chen’s sex acts with a string of female starlets, according to the South China Morning Post.
The refusal of Chen to return from the United States has stalled the trial of computer technician Sze Ho-chun, as the prosecution said it would have to apply for a higher court’s permission to obtain evidence from the actor there.
Prosecutor Hayson Tse told a magistrates court that the permission would allow a Hong Kong judge to take evidence in the United States and assess the credibility of the Canadian-born star.
Tse said they had originally planned to deal with Chen’s evidence by way of his witness statements. But the proposal was rejected by defence lawyers for Sze.
Explicit photographs of Chen with the stars were plastered across the Internet for weeks in February this year, causing a storm in this celebrity-obsessed city.
Sze was arrested in his computer store and pleaded not guilty to one count of obtaining access to a computer with a view of making dishonest gain for himself or another.
Chen’s management company said the actor had promised to try his best to assist the investigation of the case but not to return to testify in court, the report added.
- AFP/vm
Channel News Asia
Internet Video Of Alleged Rape Sparks Outrage In HK
HONG KONG: A disturbing video of an alleged rape circulating online has sparked outrage in Hong Kong.
Shot with a mobile phone camera, it shows a young woman struggling with two men seemingly in an office.
The incident has triggered more debate about controlling internet content in the territory.
The one minute 48 second clip showed the attacker wearing a uniform of a well-known Japanese restaurant chain.
Police arrested three teenage boys last week in connection with the case and warned of tough action against illegal uploading and distribution of the video.
The nature of the internet, however, made it virtually impossible for police to stop the clip from circulating.
This has sparked fears that a lack of regulation of the online world means it is becoming too easy for violent or private content to reach web users.
Mr Mike Yao, Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong, said: “Digital technology, online technology, allows people to relatively easily acquire, distribute, exchange this type of information. And it’s difficult for the government to control.”
Media communication experts however stressed that people often jump to blame technology when inappropriate or private content is released, overlooking the benefits of the internet.
Mr Yao added: “We’re afraid of something that we don’t truly know and we have no control over. In this case, I think the obvious party to be blamed is, “wow, look how easily it is to share this information”, but again, yeah it was so easy to share this video but it’s also made it very easy to share other things too.”
The case follows a controversy in Hong Kong earlier this year, when naked photos of pop star Edison Chen and young starlets were widely distributed on the internet.
The seemingly endless boundaries of the internet can be seen as a blessing and a curse. And maintaining an open medium of communication versus protecting people’s privacy is sure to be an on-going debate in the public eye. - CNA/de
Channel News Asia