Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled

Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan, right, gestures as he speak while Chinese actress AP – Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan, right, gestures as he speak while Chinese actress Lin Peng look on during …

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer

BOAO, China – Action star Jackie Chan said Saturday he's not sure if a free society is a good thing for China and that he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."

Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders in China's southern island province of Hainan.

The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao Forum when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society.

"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic."

Chan added: "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."

The kung fu star has not been a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement in his hometown of Hong Kong. Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, voters have not been allowed to directly elect their leader. Several massive street protests have been held to demand full democracy, but Beijing has repeatedly said Hong Kong isn't ready for it.

The theme at Saturday's panel discussion was "Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential," and Chan had several opinions about innovation in China.

He said that early in his career, he lived in the shadow of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee. He said that during his first foray into Hollywood, he struggled to establish his own identity, so he returned to Hong Kong. After spending 15 years building his reputation in Asia, Chan finally got rediscovered by Hollywood, he said.

Chan said the problem with Chinese youth is that "they like other people's things. They don't like their own things." Young people need to spend more time developing their own style, he added.

The action hero complained that Chinese goods still have too many quality problems. He became emotional when discussing contaminated milk powder that sickened tens of thousands of Chinese babies in the past year.

Speaking fast with his voice rising, Chan said, "If I need to buy a TV, I'll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode."

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Perry Still Embarrased By Shyamalan Mix Up

By Celeb Stink


Perry Still Embarrased By Shyamalan Mix Up Actor Matthew Perry was once left red-faced after spending a whole evening talking to director M. Night Shyamalan - before realizing the man was a look-a-like.

The former Friends star first met the filmmaker at a Hollywood awards show during promotion for 1999 movie The Sixth Sense, and he was delighted when he encountered the man he was convinced was Shyamalan on another night out years later.

Perry struck up a friendship with the Shyamalan doppelganger that night and started dreaming about the prospect of working with the director - before he realized his mistake and bailed on his new pal.

He explains, "I was at the People's Choice Awards a while back and that night I met all the Sixth Sense people; M. Night Shyamalan, Haley Joel Osment. So I met them, I spoke with them for a few minutes. Then a few years later I was out at this place in Hollywood and M. Night Shyamalan walked up and said hello. I was like, 'Oh my God, come sit down, please join us.' We sat there for a few minutes and everybody sort of filtered out and it was just me and M. Night Shyamalan. Pretty great, great guy, very talented."

"We talked for a little while, and then I started to realize, you know, he likes me. Laughing at everything I say, really enjoying me. We're not really talking about show business, just sort of bonding. At one point, about an hour into it, he says, 'You know, I know this other place, it's opening night', and so we go to the carpool, he gets his car and I get my car and I follow him all the way across town. On the way there, I started to think, 'Ok, this guy really likes me.' Like in the Hollywood way where I'm going to be the lead in his next movie. I'm like, he's going to make a movie about aliens who come down and there's a trick ending, and it's gonna be me! We go to the next place, we're hanging out. ...Another hour passes, he goes to the bathroom, he comes back, and then... I realize it's not M. Night Shyamalan. It's just an Indian guy who looks a lot like M. Night Shyamalan! I hightailed it out of there. I felt dirty."

But Perry is still embarrassed by his case of mistaken identity and is reminded of it every time he runs into the unnamed man: "The problem is, I see this guy out, now, and we look at each other like jilted lovers." (MT/WNVLET/IG)

Copyright 2009 WENN

Oprah gets pwned by Shaq on Twitter

by Matt Hickey

(Credit: Twitter)

Your first day on Twitter can be rough. Twittering's still a brand new thing to a lot of people, and a lot of people have Twitterfails. Nobody on Twitter on Friday, though, got as much attention as Oprah, who tweeted for the first time.

Sadly, her inaugural tweet was all in caps. Thankfully, Shaquille O'Neal was there to remind the talk show host that her caps were on. We'd like to congratulate Shaq for having Oprah's back. That's what Twitter friends do for each other.

With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt.

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