February 22, 2009
Leah Dizon atau Leah Donna Dizon (lahir pada 24 September 1986) adalah model sekaligus penyanyi Jepang. Berdarah campuran Perancis-Cina-Filipina, dan lahir di Las Vegas, Nevada, Amerika Serikat. Ia sudah mulai menyanyi di Amerika, tetapi kurang begitu terkenal sehingga memutuskan untuk pindah ke Jepang. Ternyata ia lebih terkenal di Jepang. Ia jjjuga sering berpose sebagai model dengan bikini atau baju-baju seksi.Ia dikabarkan sudah menikah dan sedang mengandung anak dan menyebabkan ia ingin berhenti menyanyi tetapi ia janji akan kemabali bernyanyi kepada para fansnya.
June 2, 2008
Biography
Susan Wong was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Sydney, Australia with her family at the age of seven. Musically inclined from a young age, she learned to play the piano from five and later also learned the violin. At school in Sydney she sang alto in the choir and appeared in the school dramas (Gilbert & Sullivan & the like) and entered a number of piano competitions. She received an associate degree, ATCL, in piano at Trinity College.
Her first break in the music world was at the age of sixteen when her parents (with mixed feelings) entered her for a singing contest in Sydney. It was organized by TVB with the winner to be offered a recording contract with one of the big music companies in Hong Kong. She won the competition and was sent back to Hong Kong and met with the TVB producers who wanted her to sign with one of the music labels. After much deliberation she finally decided that it wasn’t right for her at that time and instead returned to Australia to study at University. She pretty much just settled back into life at Uni and put aside any dreams of a music career.
After graduating from University she returned to Hong Kong in 1997 to help run her family’s accounting business and gained CPA certification. Despite her relatively settled career Susan was thinking, “is that all there is in life”. One of the students who she was teaching piano was working for a Hong Kong independent label, and she asked the boss if they wanted a singer. Susan says “I really wanted to record the English songs that I loved. We agreed to make an album and I just went into the studio feeling really relaxed with no stress or pressure and had a fun time recording my ‘Close To You’ album.” When the album came out it in 2002 it was widely acclaimed and quickly became a favourite of music stores to play and the album was soon climbing up the sales charts in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The four album release’s since, ‘Close To You’ have also enjoyed wide critical and commercial success establishing Susan as probably the No.1 selling English language female singer of her genre throughout S.E.Asia.
In early 2007 Susan Wong signed a new recording agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and pre-production is currently underway for her new album that will be recorded in the USA in May. As Susan explains her motivation behind the new album, “Musically I wanted a new challenge and new musical chemistry to give me a different lift and to move on to another stage. Not everyone has opportunity to work with such high calibre musicians and producers like those I’m working with on the new album”.
May 24, 2008
Cherrie Ying Choi-Yi (traditional Chinese: 應采兒), born Ting Man on June 20th, 1983 in Taiwan, is a Hong Kong actress. She moved to New York City at a young age, and later moved to Hong Kong. Her nickname is Ding Ding (丁丁), and she is often credited under the name Cherrie In.
After making her film debut in Fulltime Killer, she caught the attention of Charles Heung’s wife, Tiffany Chen, and was signed to a contract with China Star Entertainment Group.[1] Since then, Ying has been working consistently as an actress and continues to gain popularity in the Hong Kong cinema scene.
Filmography
* Mr. 3 Minutes (2006)
* Nothing is Impossible (2006) - Vivian
* Rob-B-Hood (2006)
* Karmic Mahjong (2006) - Jiajia
* Wait ‘Til You’re Older (2005) (credited as Cherrie In) - Miss Lee
* Election (2005)
* Slim Till Dead (2005) - Cherrie
* Himalaya Singh (2005) - Tally
* Kung Fu Mahjong 2 (2005) - Fanny
* Throw Down (2004) - Mona
* Itchy Heart (2004) - Cherry
* Naked Ambition (2003) - Pamela
* Why Me, Sweetie?! (2003) - Ding Ding
* Fat Choi Spirit (2002) - Cherrie
* The Wall (2002)
* Mighty Baby (2002) - Ginger
* My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002)
* Visible Secret 2 (2002) - September
* Dance of a Dream (2001) - June
* Fulltime Killer (2001) - Gigi
Brandon Chang (Chinese: 張卓楠; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhāng Zhúonán; born December 28, 1982 in Toronto, Canada) is a popular Chinese artist. By his late-teens, he became the apprentice of Michelle Yeoh (an internationally acclaimed superstar), and Anita Mui (a popular singer from Hong Kong who died in December 2003), before returning to Taiwan to pursue his entertainment career.
Profile
Brandon Chang
Origin Taiwan, Hong Kong
* Name: Brandon Chang
* Birthdate: December 28, 1982
* Family: Father, Mother, Brother, Sister
* Religion: Catholic
* Place of Birth: Canada
* Height: 175 cm
* Weight: 68 kg
Biography
Brandon Chang was born on December 28, 1982 in Toronto, Canada. Growing up overseas, he was very talented in both sports and music. At an early age, his parents encouraged him to be active in sports (particularly in martial arts , and in music, especially with the piano, which he began to take up lessons at the age of five. His focus gradually turned towards his taste for music after he was able to complete his piano studies by the age of 10, and thereafter started picking up other instruments, such as the guitar. Though he mainly spoke English with his siblings and friends, he also spoke Mandarin and Cantonese at home with his father, a Taiwanese, and his mother, a Hong Kong Chinese. At the age of 14, he moved to Hong Kong with his family, and by early-20’s, he moved back to Taipei, Taiwan.
His career first started-off at the age of 16 when Brandon started off modelling in Hong Kong. His first casting landed him a commercial shoot with Nokia in Mont-Blanc, France. This was followed by several other shoots with fashionable brands such as Comme des Garçons and Calvin Klein ads, Within a short year after, Brandon was casted to star in one of Hong Kong’s popular teen dramas, then known as RTHK’s Y2K.
By 2001, Brandon signed under Media Asia Entertainment Group, the same company as Hong Kong’s Jacky Chan and one of Asia’s largest and most successful Chinese language film studios (producing popular films such as The Banquet (2006), Initial D (2005) and the Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-2003)). It was then that Michelle Yeoh, an internationally acclaimed superstar for her roles in most recently Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) and Hollywood’s James Bond series Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), took notice of Brandon and his talents. Brandon’s family soon became very close to Michelle, and with the approval of his parents, Michelle took Brandon as her first apprentice. Brandon started shooting his first film in the same year, The Touch (2002), staring Hollywood’s Ben Chaplin and Richard Roxburgh, followed by Silver Hawk (2003) and Jiang Shi (2004). By 2002, one of Michelle’s close friends, Anita Mui, a popular Hong Kong pop singer, took notice of Brandon’s musical talents in addition to his acting. Shortly after Anita announced her intentions to take Brandon as one of her apprentices in the music industry, and with that, training went underway. A little over a year later (2003), Anita died from cervical cancer. Brandon returned to Taipei, Taiwan, shortly afterwards.
Since 2005, aside from appearing in television dramas, Brandon’s quieter and humble lifestyle has left him more focused on his own work and training, no longer taking part in any major music or movie events.
May 23, 2008
Bruce Lee (traditional Chinese: 李小龍; simplified Chinese: 李小龙; pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born martial artist, philosopher, instructor, martial arts actor and the founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts system, widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the twentieth century and a cultural icon. He was the father of actor Brandon Lee and of actress Shannon Lee.
Lee was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Hong Kong. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked the first major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world as well. Lee became an iconic figure particularly to the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies. Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient body and the highest possible level of physical fitness, as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. He primarily practiced Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu).
Early life
Lee Jun Fan was born in the hour of the dragon, between 6-8 a.m., in the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, November 27, 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the United States.His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen (李海泉), was Chinese, and his Catholic mother, Grace (何愛瑜), was of Chinese and German ancestry. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old. He was a citizen of the United States by birth and did not hold any other citizenships.
Education and family
At age 12, Lee entered La Salle College and later he attended St. Francis Xavier’s College. In 1959, at the age of 18, Lee got into a fight and badly beat his opponent, getting into trouble with the police. His father became concerned about young Bruce’s safety, and as a result, he and his wife decided to send Bruce to the United States to live with an old friend of his father’s. Lee left with $100 in his pocket and the titles of 1958 Boxing Champion and the Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. After living in San Francisco, he moved to Seattle to work for Ruby Chow, another friend of his father’s. In 1959, Lee completed his high school education in Seattle and received his diploma from Edison Technical School. He enrolled at the University of Washington and studied philosophy, drama, and psychology, among other subjects. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964.
He had two children with Linda, Brandon Lee (1965-1993) and Shannon Lee (1969-). Brandon, who also became an actor like his father, died in an accident during the filming of The Crow in 1993. Shannon Lee also became an actress and appeared in some low-budget films starting in the mid 1990s, but has since quit acting.
Names
Lee’s Cantonese given name was Jun Fan (振藩; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhènfán).[14] At his birth, he additionally was given the English name of “Bruce” by a Dr. Mary Glover. Though Mrs. Lee had not initially planned on an English name for the child, she deemed it appropriate and would concur with Dr. Glover’s addition. However, his American name was never used within his family until he enrolled in La Salle College (a Hong Kong high school) at the age of 12, and again at another high school (St. Francis Xavier’s College in Kowloon), where Lee would come to represent the boxing team in inter-school events.
Lee initially had the birth name Li Yuen Kam(李炫金); Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xuànjīn) given to him by his mother, as at the time, Lee’s father was away on a Chinese opera tour. This name would later be abandoned because of a conflict with the name of Bruce’s grandfather, causing him to be renamed Jun Fan upon his father’s return. Also of note is that Lee was given a feminine name, Sai Fung (細鳳, literally “small phoenix”), which was used throughout his early childhood in keeping with a Chinese custom, traditionally thought to hide a child from evil spirits.
Lee’s screen names were respectively Lee Siu Lung (in Cantonese), and Li Xiao Long (in Mandarin) (李小龍; Cantonese pengyam: Ley5 Siu² Long4; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng) which literally translate to “Lee the Little Dragon” in English. These names were first used by director 袁步雲 of the 1950 Cantonese movie 細路祥, in which Lee would perform. It is possible that the name “Lee Little Dragon” was based on his childhood name of “small dragon”, as, in Chinese tradition, the dragon and phoenix come in pairs to represent the male and female genders respectively. The more likely explanation is that he came to be called “Little Dragon” because, according to the Chinese zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Dragon.
Acting career
Lee’s father Hoi-Chuen was a famous Cantonese Opera star. Thus, through his father, Bruce was introduced into films at a very young age and appeared in several short black-and-white films as a child. Lee had his first role as a baby who was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.
While in the United States from 1958-1964, Lee abandoned thoughts of a film career in favor of pursuing martial arts. However, after Lee’s high-profile martial arts demonstration at the 1964 Long Beach Karate Tournament, he was seen by some of the nation’s most proficient martial artists–as well as the hairdresser of Batman producer William Dozier. Dozier soon invited Lee for an audition, where Lee so impressed the producers with his lightning-fast moves that he earned the role of Kato alongside Van Williams in the TV series The Green Hornet. The show lasted just one season, from 1966 to 1967. Lee would also play Kato in three episodes of the series Batman, produced by the same company as The Green Hornet. This was followed by guest appearances in a host of television series, including Ironside (1967) and Here Come the Brides (1969).
In 1969, Lee made a brief appearance in the film Marlowe where he played a henchman hired to intimidate private detective Philip Marlowe (played by James Garner) by smashing up his office with leaping kicks and flashing punches, only to later accidentally jump off a tall building while trying to kick Marlowe off. In 1971, Lee appeared in four episodes of the television series Longstreet as the martial arts instructor of the title character Mike Longstreet (played by James Franciscus). Bruce would later pitch a television series of his own tentatively titled The Warrior. Allegedly, Lee’s concept was retooled and renamed Kung Fu, but if so, Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit. The role of the Shaolin monk in the Wild West, known to have been coveted by Bruce, was awarded to non-martial artist David Carradine, purportedly because of the studio’s belief that a Chinese leading man would not be embraced by the American public.
Not happy with his supporting roles in the U.S., Lee returned to Hong Kong and was offered a film contract by legendary director Raymond Chow to star in films produced by his production company Golden Harvest. Lee played his first leading role in The Big Boss (1971) which proved an enormous box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up his success with two more huge box office successes: Fist of Fury (1972) and Way of the Dragon (1972). For Way of the Dragon, he took complete control of the film’s production as the writer, director, star, and choreographer of the fight scenes. In 1964, at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee had met karate champion Chuck Norris. In Way of the Dragon Lee introduced Norris to moviegoers as his opponent in the final death fight at the Colosseum in Rome, today considered one of Lee’s most legendary fight scenes.
In 1973, Lee played the lead role in Enter the Dragon, the first film to be produced jointly by Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. This film would skyrocket Lee to fame in the U.S. and Europe. However, only a few months after the film’s completion and three weeks before its release, the supremely fit Lee mysteriously died. Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year’s highest grossing films and cemented Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $4 million adjusted for inflation as of 2007). To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $200 million worldwide. The movie sparked a brief fad in the martial-arts epitomized in songs like “Kung Fu Fighting” and TV shows like Kung Fu.
Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon, attempted to finish Lee’s incomplete film Game of Death which Lee was also set to write and direct. Lee had shot over forty minutes of footage for Game of Death before shooting was stopped to allow him to work on Enter the Dragon. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a student of Lee, also appeared in the film, which culminates in Lee’s character, Billy Lo (clad in the now-famous yellow track suit) taking on the 7′2″ basketball player in a climactic fight scene. In a controversial move, Robert Clouse finished the film using a look-alike and archive footage of Lee from his other films and released it in 1978 with a new storyline and cast. However, the cobbled-together film contained only 15 minutes of actual footage of Lee while the rest had a Lee lookalike, Tai Chung Kim, and Yuen Biao as stunt doubles. The unused footage Lee had filmed was recovered 22 years later and included in the documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey.
Challengers on the set
Lee’s celebrity and martial arts prowess often put him on a collision course with a number of street thugs, stunt men and martial arts extras, all hoping to make a name for themselves. Lee typically defused such challenges without fighting, but felt forced to respond to several persistent individuals.
Bob Wall, USPK karate champion and co-star in Enter the Dragon, recalled a particularly serious encounter that transpired after a film extra kept taunting Lee. The extra yelled that Lee was “a movie star, not a martial artist,” that he “wasn’t much of a fighter.” Lee answered his taunts by asking him to jump down from the wall he was sitting on. Bob Wall described Lee’s opponent as “a gang-banger type of guy from Hong Kong,” a “damned good martial artist,” and observed that he was fast, strong, and bigger than Bruce.
Wall recalled the confrontation in detail:
“This kid was good. He was strong and fast, and he was really trying to punch Bruce’s brains in. But Bruce just methodically took him apart.”
“Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn’t touch him…Then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass into the wall and swept him, he proceeded to drop his knee into his opponent’s chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him in the face repeatedly.”
After his victory, Lee gave his opponent lessons on how to improve his fighting skills. His opponent, now impressed, would later say to Lee, “You really are a master of the martial arts.”
Hong Kong legacy
There are a number of legacies surrounding Lee that still exist in Hong Kong culture today. One is that his early 70s interview on the TVB show Enjoy Yourself Tonight cleared the busy streets of Hong Kong as everyone was watching the interview at home.
Another topic is that his moment of birth is often used as a modern cultural proof of the existence of the Four Pillars of Destiny concept, having been born in the year of the dragon and hour of the dragon along with other astrological alignment.
Martial arts training and development
Lee’s first introduction to martial arts was through his father, Lee Hoi Cheun. He learned the fundamentals of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan from his father. Lee’s sifu, Wing Chun master Yip Man, was also a colleague and friend of Hong Kong’s Wu style Tai Chi Chuan teacher Wu Ta-ch’i.
Lee trained in Wing Chun Gung Fu from age 13-18 under Hong Kong Wing Chun Sifu Yip Man. Lee was introduced to Yip Man in early 1954 by William Cheung, then a live-in student of Yip Man. Like most Chinese martial arts schools at that time, Sifu Yip Man’s classes were often taught by the highest ranking students. One of the highest ranking students under Yip Man at the time was Wong Shun-Leung. Wong is thought to have had the largest influence on Bruce’s training. Yip Man trained Lee privately after some students refused to train with Lee due to his ancestry.
Bruce was also trained in Western boxing and won the 1958 Boxing Championship match against 3-time champion Gary Elms by knockout in the 3rd round. Before arriving to the finals against Elms, Lee had knocked out 3 straight boxers in the first round. In addition, Bruce learned western fencing techniques from his brother Peter Lee, who was a champion fencer at the time. This multi-faceted exposure to different fighting arts would later play an influence in the creation of the eclectic martial art Jeet Kune Do.
May 19, 2008
Steven Cheung (November 10, 1984) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Steven Cheung was a member of the Cantopop duo, Boy’Z from 2002-2006. He is now the leader in the Cantopop trio, Sun Boy’z.
Biography
Early life and career
Steven Cheung was born in Holland and raised in Hong Kong to a Dutch mother and a Chinese father[citation needed]. He has two elder sisters and a younger brother. One of his elder sisters, Jan Cheung, is a member of the Hong Kong Cantopop music duo Krusty. His younger brother, Ryan Cheung, is a freelance model.
As a young boy, Steven has never been studious. He did not do well in school and always had to repeat the same grade level. He began modelling when he was a teenager and auditioned for the Emperor Entertainment Group before finishing high school. He was signed, but the company required him to finish high school, which was against his will. Steven began his career in the entertainment industry as one-half of the duo Boy’Z with Kenny Kwan in 2002-2005. When Kwan left Boy’Z in January 2005, Cheung continued the duo with Dennis Mak. In June of 2006, when William Chan, joined Boy’Z and the group was renamed as Sun Boy’z. Steven then became the frontman of the band.
In 2003, he started filming movies with Kenny and has appeared in many movies such as The Death Curse, Bug Me Not!, The Haunted School and A Chinese Tall Story. In many movies he has appeared alongside his partner Kenny and other members of the company EEG, mostly Twins. But when Kenny went solo in 2005, Steven pursued his acting career individually. He and Kenny have also starred a movie named 6:00 AM, with them as the main leads; In 2005, he made a horror movie named The Haunted School, with his new partner Dennis Mak, although it was not released until early 2007; In 2008, he starred a movie called Yes, I Can See Dead People and played the main lead himself.
Vocals
Steven is a tenor with a smooth voice. His voice used to be higher at age 18-20 during Boy’z early years with Kenny Kwan. On their final album Boy’z Can Cook, his voice is noticeably lower than their earlier EPs and album.
Filmography
* The Death Curse (2003)
* Fantasia (2004)
* Papa Loves You (2004)
* New Police Story (2004) [cameo]
* 6 AM (2004)
* Bug Me Not! (2005)
* Moments of Love (2005)
* A Chinese Tall Story (2005)
* 49 Days (2006)
* Isabella (2006)
* The Knot (China 2006)
* McDull, The Alumni (2006) (cameo)
* Twins Mission (2006)
* The Haunted School (2007)
* Super Fans (2007)
* Yes, I Can See Dead People (2008)
* A Decade of Love (2008)
Television Series
* All About Boy’z
* Hearts Of Fencing [cameo]
* Sunshine Heartbeat [cameo]
* Kung Fu Soccer
* Supreme Fate [Steven@Boy’z]
Discography
As Boy’Z:
2003:
* LaLa 世界
* LaLa 世界 (第二版)
* 一起喝采
* A Year to Remember (AVEP)
2004:
* A Year To Remember (3rd Version)
* Boy’zone 男生圍
* Boy’zone (Version 2)
* Boy’z Can Cook
* Joy to the World Christmas Hits (Box Set with Twins, Yumiko Cheng and Isabella Leong)
2005:
* 星Mobile超時空接觸演唱會
* 八星報囍賀賀囍 (CD with Twins, Yumiko Cheng, Isabella Leong, Deep Ng and Don Li)
2006
* Sun Boy’z - Sun Boy’z (EP)
* Say Goodbye [Isabella Leong ft. Steven Cheung]
2007
* Sun Boy’z - All For 1
* Sun Boy’z - First Date (初次約會)
May 18, 2008
Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun (December 30, 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and actor, under the music label EEG. He was born in the Philippines, but grew up in Hong Kong.
At age 20, he and his friend, Steven Cheung were created as members of Boy’Z. Boy’Z became one of the most popular pop duos in Hong Kong.
In 2005, Kenny was asked to leave Boy’Z so he could pursue his career as a solo artist. He has since released three albums (July 2005, December 2005, and July 2006) called Oncoming, Musick, and Mie Wo Sagashite, respectively. On July 13, 2006, Kenny released his newest album called Mie Wo Sagashite with a 160-page photo book.
In 2007, Kenny was a guest at the SUCCESS Gala in Vancouver, where he performed and fundraised money for the organization. Kenny was also featured in Sun Boy’z’ new song, 3+1=1 in their second album All For 1. This marks their first collaboration since he left the group.
Kenny has just released his fifth solo album called “Essentials” and is currently promoting his new album.
Discography
* 2005: Oncoming
* 2005: Musick
* 2006: Mie Wo Sagashite
* 2007: In Progress
* 2008: Essentials
Filmography
* The Death Curse (2003)
* Pa Pa Loves You (2004)
* New Police Story (2004) [cameo]
* Fantasia (2004)
* Love Battlefield (2004)
* 6 AM (2004)
* Bug Me Not! (2005)
* A Chinese Tall Story (2005)
* Trivial Matters (2007)
* The Sparkle in the Dark (2008)
* Shi Guang? Dao Liu De Hua (not yet shown)
Series
* Y2K+01 (2002)
* All About Boy’z (2003)
* Heart of Fencing (cameo) (2003)
* Kung Fu Soccer (2004)
* Hearts of Fencing II - Sunshine Heartbeat (cameo) (2004)
* Magic Chef (2005)
* On The First Beat (2007)
