THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

4 Da Loverz/Sharam Jey/Hinote Records
This release took DJ Sharam Jey five years to produce, and it was worth the wait. He was once a crusader on the dance-music Promised-Land Ibiza. Lavish in electronic beats, with a strong pop feel, the release is as fine for night booty shakes as for a daytime fix. Don’t miss this wealth of club anthems.

Human After All/Daft Punk/EMI
French duo Daft Punk recorded their third international album at their Paris home studio in just six weeks. Beats, loops, scratches and remixes sometimes, disappointingly, keep the melodies from emerging. Fortunately, three massive tracks “Rock Robot” “The Brainwasher” and “Television Rules the Nation” save the album.

Destination Lounge San Francisco/Various Artists/Hinote Records
The “Destination Lounge” collection proposes international soul/downtempo music with jazzy, chilled and soothingly delightful tracks and includes a stylishly packaged guide of San Francisco (or Bali). The package features info on the local night-scene including top-notch nightlife destinations, plus a profile of talented local artists.

Pyramid In Your Backyard/Praful/Hinote Records
Praful’s urban music explores Indian and Brazilian sounds with a hint of jazzy and funky sax thrown in new and groovy tracks. Dance and chill vibes spread from the mixing tables to the speakers, eventually seducing the ear drums. Pyramid in your Backyard produces haunting tunes in your head.


(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

While expats might regard Kenny G (G for Gorelick) as an abomination, the Chinese, ladies in particular, consider his music first-grade foreign stuff. Male listeners probably won’t understand this infatuation, but they likely know nothing of the G-spot, either. Indeed, G’s sax sound is mellow, jazzy, sensual and instinctively attractive, turning on any female listener. He did study with the master – at age 17 he performed in Barry White’s orchestra. For this 15th album, the Grammy-Award winner saxophonist has invited the world’s most prestigious singers (Barbara Streisand, Earth Wind & Fire…) to sing, while he blows the pipe on good-old tunes that have ben lingering for years in the Western collective psyche. Kenny G will probably make many other albums after The Duets. He may blow forever; Kenny holds the Guinness World Book record for playing the longest note ever, an E, for over 45 minutes…
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Nowadays, to launch a superstar in China is a hazardous business and no one wants to take the risk. The Super Girls TV-show producers found a riposte. They sold many teenagers a show with complete strangers and wannabe-stars, and aired a several-week long competition sparking a nationwide mania. No pirate copies or mp3 could ever top that, and the benefits made with commercials, sponsorships and SMSs were phenomenal. Super idea, everybody wins - producers, sponsors, fans and Super Girls.
Here’s the offspring; an album made by the ten finalists, including a VCD with MTVs, that cost virtually nothing to produce and distribute as massive pre-order profits have already been made.
Fresh, young, as talented as any Chinese pop idols - for what it means – the Super Girls deliver eleven super sweet, neatly studio-produced pop songs.
A Super Boys show is on its way.
Meika Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

http://www.chinese-furniture.com

A marvelous, eccentric site for aficionados of classical Chinese furniture. Webmaster Curtis Evarts was a former curator at the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in Renaissance, California. Consequently, he knows his ta from his chuang. The fact that Evarts uses this site to plug his own consulting services is forgivable since he has compiled an invaluable resource for collectors and dilettantes alike. Not only does the site provide a useful point of contact for collectors and dealers but it also hosts an event calendar, furniture bookstore, historical data, information on museum collections and a newsletter. One of the site’s most appealing pages is devoted to the “Piece of the Month” which is an educational appetite-whetter for those expats willing to break the money-pig. The site is beautifully illustrated with images of prints from hand scrolls and ancient paintings putting the various pieces into both a social and historical context. Who knew that the folding stool (deck chair) was once used for mounting horses?

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

http://www.blogherald.com

Blogs (or web logs to the uninitiated) have been with us since the late ‘90s so it’s no wonder that a site such as The Blog Herald has popped up to act as a news and information source for all things blogging. The site goes about its business with a great degree of solemnity providing statistics, studies and columns on its “blogosphere” as well as other interesting tidbits. Take this one for instance: “60 percent of Chinese bloggers are female because girls are more emotional while boys are busy playing online games.” Yes, you heard it here first (that is unless you’ve already visited this site). The Blog Herald itself is a blog, having been selected by technology consumer CNet.com in its list of the Top 100 blogs. Like most other blogs, it will no doubt draw an audience of like minds and preach to the converted.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Anthony Zimmer is a rich, smart gangster hunted by the formidable and feared combined forces of the French police, ex-KGB members and the Russian mafia. But he’s a slippery chap whose only weakness seems to be his sexy thirty-something girlfriend Chiara (Sophie Marceau). Like the Kaiser Soze character in Bryan Springer’s The Usual Suspects we never get to meet Zimmer, though we learn about him through Chiara. Marceau (Braveheart, The World is Not Enough) is spot on with her performance, at times reminiscent of Linda Fiorentino’s femme fatale in The Last Seduction, though she’s let down by the plot which is too straightforward. What’s more, director Jérôme Salle seems to like to show as many gratuitously naked bodies as possible (or at least scantily clad ones). Still, the cheap thrills, plus Marceau, will leave the film’s male audience captivated throughout, if only for two hours.
TF1/Studio Canal

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

As if the world hasn’t enough real-life terrorism, here we go, once again, with a new terrorist-loaded season of 24. Kiefer Sutherland is back as Jack Bauer and, this time around, he must deal with not one, but several threats to national security. All to be done and dusted within 24 hours of course. Ho hum. The series has become all too predictable – it’s easy to tell when someone is about to be tortured or killed, all for the sake of the nation, if you please. That said, the show does have its moments: clock-ticking, gripping scenes, and paralyzing tension are conveyed with great effect through clever editing and hand-held cameras.
But the main draw here is bad guy Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), a villain whose cunning puts him one step ahead of Bauer. Strange that such a charismatic terrorist should feature so prominently on the hawkish Fox network. Maybe they’re trying to tell us something.
20th Century Fox Television

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

While Ice Age was irreverent, witty and tasteful, this follow up by the same team of animators lacks the same qualities. Where did they go wrong? The film was cooked from the same recipe – simple story, technical wizardry and a gag a minute – but unlike its predecessor, Robots isn’t nearly innovative enough for an adult audience. Children, however, will find enough bits and bolts to chew on as evidenced by the film’s box office success – a respectable USD 36.5 million in its opening weekend (though still short of Ice Age’s record breaking USD 46.3 million). The plot is simple enough – robot Rodney Copperbottom leaves Rivettown to make it big in Robot City, but will the evil Ratchet put a spanner in his works (or a ratchet perhaps)? Expensive production and all-star cast providing the voices (Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Halle Berry et al.) add up to cheap divertissement.
Blue Sky/Fox Animation Studios

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

A woman loses control after realizing she cannot recognize her own husband. Meanwhile, another mutilated body is found by the police who suspect a serial-killer is on the loose. Such is the plot of French director Chris Nahon’s captivating thriller L’empire des Loups (The Empire of Wolves) set against the exotic backdrop of Paris’ Turkish ghetto. Adapted from journalist-turned-author Jean-Christophe Grangé’s fourth novel, the film is brilliantly photographed and deserves praise for its plot twists, action and tension – much of it reminiscent of Hitchcock. Leading man Jean Reno (Leon, Mission Impossible) offers a restrained performance as always, but is let down by co-stars (Bas, Jover and Quivrin) who grate on the nerves and considerably lessen the impact of an otherwise enjoyable romp.
Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Films

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

The Myth, starring the prolific Jackie Chan, marks a return to form for the action hero whose career has been in decline for nearly a decade. The stunts, plot, jokes and acting are better than usual, and the film has some moments of real poetry. Chan suffers from spreading himself too widely (actor, stuntman, director and producer) which often results in half-baked flicks. However, here the film is more than the sum of its parts. The plot features parallel storylines: one contemporary, the other set during the Qin dynasty. The cast is equally diverse, intentionally so, as Indian actress Mallika Sherawat will increase the potential box office take by adding a third of the world’s population. In any case, Chan’s ambitions are clear: “I want to be an Asian Robert De Niro,” he recently boasted. One can always dream, but at least the man is back on the ladder instead of falling off it.
Media Asia

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

This second adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel meanders for the first 30 minutes until Johnny Depp takes center stage. His turn as the eccentric owner of the titular chocolate factory is a bravura performance. But then Depp specializes in playing oddballs. Who can forget his first outing with director Tim Burton as the digitally-challenged Edward Scissorhands? Charlie is Depp and Burton’s sixth joint venture and the film has already taken in USD 300 million worldwide.
This is a movie best appreciated on the big screen, so try the IMAX theater which has a format ten times larger than a conventional screen, and a massive sound system to boot (14,000 watts, to be exact).
Later, you might want to compare this with the 1971 version, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder in the title role. The latest version is true to Dahl’s novel, though it is somewhat lighter in tone than the book. However, any thought that Depp or Burton have lightened up permanently must be dispelled by the title of their recently released: Corpse Bride.
Warner Bros
IMAX at Peace Cinema/268 Xizang Middle Rd/63225252

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

It’s no secret that film directing in both China and the West is a predominantly male métier. But try telling that to director Peng Xiaolian. Not only has she defied the odds with a string of critically-acclaimed films, but she continues to go against the grain by making films in Shanghai, her hometown. While the city has become an attractive backdrop for major foreign film companies (most notably Warner’s The Painted Veil starring Edward Norton and Paramount’s Mission Impossible 3 with Tom Cruise), local filmmakers still struggle to get Chinese films off the ground. But Peng remains doggedly undeterred. The fifth-generation filmmaker insists upon shooting in Shanghai despite the fact that Beijing remains the best place by far to get a movie made in China.
Her latest film, Shanghai Story, was shot in 2003 and released in cinemas this year during the mid-autumn festival. The film, Peng’s tenth, is about the legacy of the “cultural revolution” in today’s China. Shot in just 45 days, the film was selected for competition in five international film festivals and swept a record four Golden Rooster Awards [China’s equivalent to the Oscars] in 2004, as well as the Best Actress Award at the 2004 Shanghai International Film Festival.
Peng always writes her own scripts, including dialogue from real-life conversations she has recorded. It’s a method she’s used to great effect since her student days in the late 1970s when studying at the Beijing Film Academy with alumni Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. Upon graduation and after a couple of art-house successes under the Shanghai Film Studio’s umbrella -- Me and My Classmate (1986) and Women’s Story (1989) -- she furthered her studies at the New York University. In 1996, she returned to Shanghai, a city she’s since made her permanent home. In the last nine years she has directed no less than six feature films. Amongst them, Once Upon A Time in Shanghai (1999) achieved cinematic release in the US, while Shanghai Women (2002) was a sleeper hit in Japan, running for 13 consecutive weeks. In an exclusive interview with that’s she discusses the film industry, and her favorite movie themes – Shanghai and Chinese women.

that’s: What drew you to filmmaking?
Peng Xiaolian: When I was young there was no one to take care of me at home during the summer vacations so my mother brought me to the studio where she worked as a translator for Russian films. I saw there how they made and processed films. I thought it was what I knew best and so, in 1978, I applied for entry to China’s only film school at the time, the Beijing Film Academy [BFA].

that’s: Your generation – the first after the “cultural revolution” – is referred to as the “fifth generation” filmmakers.
PX: That’s what a lot of people call it. But I don’t care for labels. Maybe it’s important to others, but not to me. The most important thing to me is that people care about who you are, what you’ve done, and if it actually makes sense.

that’s: Shanghai itself is a central feature of your films, Shanghai Story, Shanghai Women, and Once Upon a Time in Shanghai. You obviously have a special affinity with your hometown.
PX: Yes, Shanghai is like a character in my movies. The culture is so different from the rest of the country. It’s the most interesting, modern and artistic city in China. During the 30s and 40s there were many colonial concessions here. It was – and still is – a multicultural city. It’s like a foreign city in China. That’s why I pay a lot of attention to Shanghai, to its culture and to people who live here.

that’s: It makes sense; you grew up here.
PX: Yes, since I returned from New York, I love Shanghai more than ever. Shanghai is to China what New York is to the US. When I grew up here, I never appreciated how interesting Shanghai was. Everything was so commonplace. New York gave me the critical distance to appreciate just how interesting Shanghai really is. It wasn’t until then that I realized that Shanghai is the city I love the most.

that’s: What’s your latest film Shanghai Story about?
PX: It’s the story of a Chinese family and set after the “cultural revolution”. During this time many people were hurt emotionally and that’s what the film is about. Chinese people couldn’t cope with their feelings or with the shadows of this era. Shanghai Story is about a country – China - and its people. It’s about the lives of modern Chinese, their feelings and their thoughts resulting from the “cultural revolution”. So, this movie, like most of my films, is based on ordinary people’s lives, which is what I really care about.

that’s: Was it difficult to put the project together and how was it received?
PX: I was lucky with the Film Bureau in Beijing which gave the film a very favorable reaction. The final cut passed through the censorship process without a single word being changed. We won many Golden Rooster Awards in 2004. All 22 of the jury members voted unanimously for Shanghai Story as the best picture. So people were really moved by the film. It was also the first time they gave the Best Director Award to a female director.

that’s: You like to use real-life dialogue in your movies. Why?
PX: In Shanghai Story, the family story had to be natural; that is, they shouldn’t talk in a dramatic way. I wanted to give the film a docu-drama style. Actually we did a lot of beautiful photography and camera work so it doesn’t really look like a docu-drama at all!

that’s: Shanghai Story features strong female characters. How has the situation of Chinese women evolved since you made Women’s Story (1989) and Shanghai Women (2002)?
PX: Women’s Story told of the struggle of three peasant women in the 1980s when China started to reform. They flee from the country to the city and fight to change their lives. The situation for women is very different now. I couldn’t say it’s better, just different. Shanghai Women (2002) is about women in the big city who try to find their own spirit and space in life. Chinese society today is changing in a very commercial way. Now a lot of women who try to be independent have difficulties getting a job, whereas it’s easier for men. Company managers will hire a 45-year-old man but not a women older than 35. They encourage women to retire at 40 or 45. In the work environment they think a 30-something woman is already old! So there’s a gender and age issue here. It’s stupid. They just like pretty women and don’t care whether they’re smart or educated.

that’s: What about women in the film industry?
PX: It’s very difficult for women to make movies nowadays in China. The market is driven by commercial concerns, not cultural ones. In the ‘80s there were a lot of female directors. Now only a few women filmmakers make feature films. Most work in TV.

that’s: Is Shanghai the place to make modern Chinese films?
PX: It’s extremely difficult to make movies in Shanghai. I don’t really know why. I don’t think Shanghai will be the new cinema center in China any time soon. The Beijing film industry, however, is getting stronger and stronger. Not just because there’s the Beijing Film Academy, as people don’t care about school. What they care about is the market, the current situation and the powers that be. That’s what Beijing currently offers. It’s easier to make movies there and it’s very attractive for foreign investors.
Shanghai is simply too complicated and weak.

that’s: Filmmaking also takes center stage in your next project…
PX: Yes, it’s a movie called Shanghai Rumba starring celebrated actor Xia Yu [Waiting Alone]. It deals with filmmakers in the late 1940s, their work, lives and loves. They try to make left wing movies and have a lot of trouble with the national government of the time. They try to shoot secretly and to protect their low-budget films. Nowadays we still face the same financing problems. Like the characters in the film, we don’t have nearly enough money but we still try to make the best film possible.

Special thanks to Tomson Films and Runa Zhou.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue
Photo courtesy Mick Ryan www.mickryan.com

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

In “X&Y”, Coldplay’s highly-anticipated third album, massive tune upon massive tune just keep on coming. The melancholic “Speed of Sound;” the punchy and catchy “Talk” and the lackadaisical “X&Y” and “Fix You” – at this rate we could catalog the whole track list. After two impressive record-selling albums Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, this release is obviously more mature and unruffled. Off course, frontman Chris Martin’s stark vocals still lead the sorrowful and mellow tones the British band has been famous for. Yet the band is still adventurous, defining their sound more specifically, which distinguishes them from any other Brit-pop act they have been compared to – Radiohead being just one. It took 18 months for the quartet to polish this release; needless to say it won’t disappoint long-time fans, or anyone who likes well-crafted melodies and neatly-written lyrics.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

If pop rock and Brit pop are the most popular music genres in Shanghai, The Lanterns manage to have it their own way. The band of five’s debut album/demo To The Light House proves that dazzling guitar riffs, mesmerizing vocals and sonic melodies aren’t only the prerogative of US alternative-rock bands. “Turn Into cloud” (“Zhuan Duo Yun”) and “Nearly Got rescued” (“Ji Hu Bei Zheng Jiu”) could top charts – if any producers deign to lay an eye, or an ear on them and bet the money. Although The Lanterns don’t break new grounds in the rock music world, they deliver ten deeply enjoyable and beautifully written tunes. A very promising start. A new album is currently on its way - still between the mixing table and the CD press. Who said Shanghai bands are not up to the task?
The Lanterns Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

This second album from the indie-rock band Super VC (in Chinese “Fruit Taste Vitamin C”) is a tasty surprise. They’ve pushed their sound a bit further after their debut Dual Life released in 2001, but there is no denying their dream noise-rock sound is intact. With Dublin noise-band My Bloody Valentine among their main influences, this Irish-British quartet was typed “shoe-gazers” by the British press, after the tendency of this subculture to stare at their feet while on stage. Probably not short of vitamin C, Super VC doesn’t need to bend the head, but their array of shoe-gazer elements -- a wall of sound with thick, multi-layered guitars and subdued vocals, never overwhelms their strong sense of melody. All said, Super VC are no clones; hey, they even include one song, “Amy & Betty” in French.
Modern Sky

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue