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Hong Kong screen stars line-up for showbiz extravaganza
2006-03-17
Leading Hong Kong film stars including Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung will open the southern Chinese territory's biggest entertainment event on Monday. Acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai and actor Tony Leung, the event's ambassador, are also expected at the red-carpet opening of the city's second Entertainment Expo, which runs for one month. The event combines movies, digital entertainment, music and TV under one showcase banner, with a film festival and awards show as the centrepiece. The 30th Hong Kong International Film Festival has a roster of more than 200 movies and will be opened by director Johnnie To's "Election 2" and Pang Ho-cheung's "Isabella" which won the Silver Bear award for best film music at last month's Berlin Film Festival. Also among the 100 industry players expected at the Expo's gala opening are "Perhaps Love" director Peter Chan Ho-sun and "Rumble in the Bronx" director Stanley Tong, while singers Jacky Cheung and Joey Yung will also appear, event organisers said. At the ceremony eight prizes will be awarded to directors and actors from China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. Expo organisers held an Internet poll to find the winners in categories including the most admired Chinese director, the best screen hero as well as the most glamorous actor and actress. Hong Kong's main annual film awards will be handed out at another ceremony on April 8. The Expo is hoped to provide a shot in the arm for the territory's ailing film industry which suffered its worst year in a decade in 2005 with plunging domestic box-office receipts and a decline in the number of local productions. Hong Kong released just 55 films last year, the lowest number in 10 years and well down from the 64 movies that hit cinema screens in 2004. Piracy and the inability of moviemakers to meet the changing tastes of local audiences in the face of Hollywood blockbusters have been blamed for the decline.
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