QINGDAO, China - China's richest man, property developer Wang Jianlin, raised the curtain on a planned 50 billion yuan ($8.17 billion) "motion-picture city" which he described as the biggest-ever single investment in the movie and television industry.Dalian Wanda Group, was surrounded by Hollywood stars John Travolta, Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones on Sunday as he launched his most ambitious project yet in the picturesque coastal city of Qingdao. When completed in 2017, the Oriental Movie Metropolis will boast 20 sound stages, including the world's first underwater studio, a massive convention and exhibition complex, a sprawling shopping mall with an indoor amusement park and seven resort hotels. The project also will include a yacht club with 300 berths. "The Oriental Movie Metropolis is a major step in China's strategy to become a global cultural powerhouse," Wang said. It was not only crucial to the development of Wanda's entertainment business, he added, but … [Read more...] about That’s entertainment: Stars come out as China’s richest man announces $8 bln film park
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ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 14/10
Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra to perform in the US Artists from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra along with Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji and violist Le Hoai Nam will be on a performance tour in the US. The first performance will take place at Carnegie Hall in New York on October 23 and the second one at Symphony Hall in Boston on October 24. The show, having a mix of Western and Oriental musical styles, will provide US audiences and international friends a window into Vietnam’s successes in the Doi moi (renewal) process. … [Read more...] about ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 14/10
ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 19/10
Artist uses his ‘Hands' to question status quo Hands, a solo exhibition by Pham Huy Thong, a Ha Noi-based visual artist whose works have been described as political and social commentary, will open tomorrow at the Craig Thomas Gallery in HCM City. Thong was born in 1981 to journalist parents who often hosted gatherings that discussed social and political issues of the day, influencing his decision to engage with social and political issues in his art. In the latest exhibition, with the aim of making his subjects universal, anonymous, beings without individuality or nationality, Thong replaces their faces with hands. Thong's Hands have the capacity to express a range of emotions – anger, power, fear, happiness – and meaning through the symbols and gestures. The Hands allow Thong to take on issues of globalisation, Westernisation, consumerism, development aid, and the current dispute between China and its Southeast Asian neighbours over island territories in the … [Read more...] about ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 19/10
ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 18/10
Toyota Classics returns to Ho Chi Minh City The 14th Toyota Classics is expected to leave a deep impression on Ho Chi Minh City audiences on the night of November 11. A collection of world famous concertos will be performed by the renowned Northeast German Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Thomas Dorsch, with the participation of the famous duo Pamela Nicholson and Vasko Vassilev, and a young Vietnamese talent, Pham Thi Duyen Huyen. All ticket proceeds will go to the "Toyota Scholarship for Vietnamese Young Music Talents" programme. Thai Kathina ceremony held in Thua Thien-Hue The Thai Royal Family hosted a Kathina (robe offering) ceremony at Huyen Khong temple in Huong Ho commune, central Thua Thien-Hue province, on October 16. The Kathina ceremony is one of the official traditional rituals of Therevada Buddhism in which Buddhist followers donate new robes to the monks in the hope that both monks and devotees at the Kathina ceremony will gain merits. Addressing the Kathina … [Read more...] about ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 18/10
ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 17/10
Photographs of Japan after WWII to be displayed An exhibition of photographs entitled “Metamorphosis of Japan after the War: 1945-1964” will be on show in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang from October 17 to December 22. It will feature 123 black-and-white works by 11 renowned Japanese photographers offering a review of the creative and energetic Japanese society during the turbulent period after World War II from 1945 to 1964. The event is organized by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam in co-ordination with the Consulate General of Japan in Vietnam. The exhibition will begin at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum on 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1 from October 17-29 then travel to the Ngo Quyen Exhibition Hall on 16 Ngo Quyen Street in Hanoi between November 20-29, and finally end up at the Danang Heritage Management Centre on 78 Le Duan Street from December 13-22.Da Nang festival puts cherry on top of ties with Japan The central city of Da … [Read more...] about ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 17/10