Shu Qi 舒淇

Номинанты Golden Singa Awards Юй Ши, Тань Цзяньцы, Шон Сяо и Ян Ми
Left to right: Yu Shi, Tan Jianci, Sean Xiao, Yang Mi. Photo: AsiaOne / Weibo

On October 26, Singapore announced the nominees for the second Golden Singa Awards (金狮大赏), a young prize for the best Chinese-language films. It was founded by the Singaporean media company NoonTalk Media with the support of the government media development agency IMDA. The first ceremony took place in December 2025: the best film then was the Hong Kong The Last Dance, and the best actor was Lau Ching-Wan for his role in Papa.

The most nominations this year — nine — went to Gezhi Town (得闲谨制), a war drama directed by Kong Sheng from a screenplay by Lan Xiao-Long about the residents of a small town during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In second place with seven nominations is Dear You (给阿嬷的情书) by Lan Hong-Chun: the main surprise of the Chinese box office this spring. The film is almost entirely in the Teochew dialect, cost about 14 million yuan and by the beginning of June had grossed more than 1.4 billion.

Also competing for best film are Girl — the directorial debut of Shu Qi, the Singaporean A Good Child and the Taiwanese Sunshine Women's Choir. Among the directors, besides Kong Sheng and Lan Hong-Chun, the nominees are Yuen Wo-Ping (Blades of the Guardians), Hong Zixuan (96 Minutes) and Ong Kuo-Sin (A Good Child).

Contending for the best actor prize are Sean Xiao (Gezhi Town), Austin Lin (96 Minutes), Joseph Chang, JC-T Tan Jian-Ci and Singaporean Richie Koh. Among the actresses are Ariel Lin, Ivy Chen and student Li Si-Tong, who played the lead role in Dear You. Yang Mi is nominated for a supporting role in The Lychee Road.

The final jury is headed by Kara Hui Ying-Hung. The ceremony will take place on November 28 at the Resorts World Sentosa resort in Singapore.

According to Golden Singa Awards, AsiaOne, 新华网

The box office success of the Chinese sci-fi actioner The Wandering Earth has emboldened its followers — deciding to strike while the iron is hot, the makers of the sci-fi action film Shanghai Fortress have released the first teaser for their project. The film stars Lu Han and Shu Qi, but the clip features none of the main characters — it is devoted to the sheer scale of the unfolding events (the plot has humanity going to war with alien invaders) and, frankly, it's impressive. No release date has been announced yet, but it's said we'll see the film this year.

A new trailer has arrived for the adventure film The Island, directed by mainland comedian Huang Bo in his directorial debut. The story centers on a group of people who randomly find themselves stranded on a deserted island, where they face an unforgettable encounter with wildlife and plenty of thrilling (and life-threatening) adventures. Alongside Huang Bo himself, the film stars Wang Bao-Qiang, Shu Qi, Lay Zhang Yi-Xing, Yu He-Wei, Wang Xun, Li Qin-Qin and Lee Yau-Lun. The film hits Chinese theaters on August 10.

A new trailer and posters have arrived for the adventure film The Island, the directorial debut of mainland comedian Huang Bo. The story centers on a group of people who find themselves stranded by chance on a deserted island, where an unforgettable encounter with wild nature and a host of thrilling (and life-threatening) adventures await them. Alongside Huang Bo himself, the film stars Wang Bao-Qiang, Shu Qi, Lay Zhang Yi-Xing, Yu He-Wei, Wang Xun, Li Qin-Qin and Lee Yau-Lun. The film is scheduled to premiere on August 10.

The story behind the remake of John Woo's classic crime comedy Once a Thief has taken a most intriguing turn. The film is being directed by Stephen Fung, as was announced earlier, and now word has come of who will play the lead roles – Andy Lau, Jean Reno and Shu Qi. William Feng was also being considered for the cast, but he couldn't work out his shooting schedule, and his role went to Tony Yang. It should be noted, though, that Fung himself asks that his film not be called a remake – in his words, it's not a remake, but simply a crime movie in the same style, also built around a romantic triangle. Shooting is about to begin in the Czech Republic, and the film's official English title is "The Adventures".

A couple of years ago there was news that a remake of John Woo's classic crime-romantic comedy Once a Thief was going into production. The lead roles were to be played by Huang Xiao-Ming, Kim Soo-Hyun and Michelle Chen, but that project never surfaced. Now it is being relaunched under the direction of Stephen Fung Tak-Lun – he will direct the film, and the trio of main characters will be played by Shu Qi, William Feng Shao-Feng and Fung himself. No dates or details yet, but we're waiting for them!

Shu Qi and Hou Hsiao-HsienHou Hsiao-Hsien, who recently won the Best Director award at Cannes, has already settled on his next project. This time it will be a contemporary film, and it will be devoted to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. For the lead roles, Hou plans to invite Shu Qi, for whom this will be her fifth collaboration with the director (not counting the short film 10+10), and Chang Chen. 

Wen ZhangNews has surfaced in the Chinese press about the sequel to one of the biggest box-office hits of the year before last – Journey to the West by Stephen Chow. Chow made the first film together with Derek Kwok, and rumor has it that for the sequel he may hand the director's chair to Tsui Hark, while staying on himself as executive producer. If, again, these rumors are to be believed, shooting should begin this August on a budget of 64 million US dollars, and the film will hit theaters for Chinese New Year 2017 (that is, in two years). The filmmakers hope to bring back the stars of the first film for the sequel – Wen Zhang, Huang Bo and Shu Qi – and to hire James Cameron's team for the 3D visual effects.

Eddie Peng Yu-Yen and Shu Qi"Women's" cinema is hugely popular in China, and a new film titled The Last One Standing will also target female audiences — despite its name, it won't be a bloody actioner or a slasher, but a melodrama. The story centers on three single female friends in their middle years who will look for good men and cry on each other's shoulders. Who said "Sex and the City"? It is already known that one of the three friends will be played by Shu Qi, and one of the men in the film will be played by Eddie Peng Yu-Yen. Filming is either about to start or has already begun.

Shu QiShu Qi and Stephen Fung Tak-Lun's 17-year romance is about to enter a new phase — if rumors are to be believed, the two actors are planning to tie the knot at the end of the year. But before that happens, Shu Qi wants to close an important chapter of her past — her appearances in erotic photo shoots and films. The actress is prepared to spend 10 million yuan to acquire the rights to the films, video programs and photo shoots she appeared in, which, frankly, isn't all that much considering we're talking not only about "fringe" projects but also quite mainstream films like Sex & Zen II. Besides, in this internet age, the actress clearly won't be able to completely erase the traces of her wild past.

Shu Qi and Hugh JackmanNot long ago, Shu Qi traveled west, where she appeared in a Toyota commercial with Hugh Jackman. Apparently, the actors hit it off (they even celebrated the actress's birthday together), and now rumors are swirling in China that Marvel is considering inviting Shu Qi to appear in the next X-Men film — and moreover, not in some minor role like Fan Bing-Bing had in Days of Future Past. It's said they want to offer her the role of X-23, the female clone of Wolverine. How realistic all this is, it's too early to say, but it's hard to believe — although Shu Qi has already appeared in the West in the very first Transporter.

Dayo WongThere were periods in Dayo Wong's career when he conquered the box office, but in the 2000s he almost completely retreated to television, and it is on television that the young star Fala Chen is known. Nevertheless, the two have landed the lead roles in the comedy Cheung Po-Tsai, which will be directed by Ronald Cheng and Gordon Chan. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that the lead roles were originally offered to Louis Koo and Shu Qi, who are more accustomed to big film projects, but this pair was forced to turn down the shoot due to their packed schedules, while filming had to start any day. Interestingly, Wong was not eager to take part — he is preparing for his stand-up show and agreed only as a sign of respect for Ronald Cheng, and only after being assured that the shoot would last just a month and a half. On top of all that, the project is expected to be a big one — its budget will be 80 million Hong Kong dollars (more than 10 million American!). What the money is planned to be spent on is not yet clear, but it is already known that Ronald Cheng and Dayo Wong will play pirates, so perhaps it is a matter of complicated sea shoots. 

Details have emerged about Wilson Yip's project Fengshen Yanyi, which will star Jet Li in the lead role. It is now known that Jet will play Jiang Ziya, a strategist serving the emperor of the Zhou kingdom. He will do battle with the emperor of the Shang kingdom, a role that will be played by Tony Leung Ka-Fai. His concubine, the cunning sorceress Daji, who disguises herself as an ordinary girl, will be played by Shu Qi. Huang Xiao-Ming will also play a hero named Erlang Shen, AngelaBaby will portray a mermaid, Louis Koo Tin-Lok will play the Buddhist god of wisdom Mahamayuri, Wen Zhang will play Nezha (or Na Cha), who has been the subject of quite a few films (including one with Alexander Fu Sheng), and Jacky Heung Cho will play a deity named Leizhenzi. Filming will begin in September.

Jet LiAfter "rebooting" Donnie Yen Ji-Dan's career with two installments of Ip Man, director Wilson Yip Wai-Shun set off to conquer new heights — among other things, he made a fairly decent remake of A Chinese Ghost Story. His next project will be the wuxia epic Fengshen Yanyi, which translates as Investiture of the Gods. The film will be based on the classic 16th-century novel about the final days of the Shang dynasty — its characters include not only humans but also gods and immortal spirits. The lead role will be played by Jet Li Lian-Jie, and the cast also includes Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Shu Qi, Huang Xiao-Ming, AngelaBaby and Tony Leung Ka-Fai.

Huang Xiao-MingHong Kong's Media Asia Entertainment is trying to acquire the rights to the South Korean TV series You Who Came from the Stars, which has been a hit not only at home but also in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. On Chinese online platforms alone, the series has drawn more than 800 million (!) viewers, and its final episode airs today. Word is that the Koreans have refused to sell the rights outright, but they are interested in a co-production with China, and Media Asia will most likely accept those terms. For the lead roles, the Chinese side would like to bring in Shu Qi and Huang Xiao-Ming (the names of Mark Chao and Kai Ko are also being mentioned), but all of this is very tentative — if the two sides reach an agreement, shooting will not begin before the end of this year.

Another stage in the long journey to the screen of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's historical epic The Assassin has drawn to a close — a project that has been in development for at least a quarter of a century (the first mention of it dates back to 1989). The Taiwanese director had long dreamed of making a wuxia film, and it seems he has finally done it — all that's left is to edit it. The main shoot, featuring leading actress Shu Qi, lasted 15 months, though Japanese actor Satoshi Tsumabuki, for instance, shot his scenes back in 2010. Before filming began, the budget stood at 15 million US dollars, but there's a feeling that such a long production period has pushed that figure higher. The director hopes to finish editing soon in order to make it to the Cannes Film Festival premiere — the thing is, editing began in parallel with shooting, so there's only a little left to do.