Quid pro quo

Nothing like a bit of controversy to stir up publicity for a movie especially as we approach Oscar season. The Chinese are mad, the Japanese are mad and the average moviegoer is demanding to know why Rob Marshall didn't include a scene where all the geishas at the house decide to spontaneously break out into a perfectly choreographed dance number while singing "What Are We Going To Do With Sa-yu-ri?"

Well all I can say is be thankful that at least an all-Asian cast was chosen. If some clueless Hollywood executive had got their way, we would be having a very different discussion right now.



Before you heap more criticism on the movie, spare a thought for Zhang Ziyi who plays the lead role. She's had to endure unkind jibes from her countrymen including references to her "flat-bosom and fat-bottom". She's had to master a foreign language in a relatively short time. Worst of all, she's been forced to attend the world premiere, up to her supposedly non-existent breasts in snow fungus.



Strangely enough, Gong Li, who plays the evil Hatsumomo is nowhere to be found at the same event. I wonder where she could have gotten to.



Who wants to be walking the red carpet when you could be living it up on the set of Miami Vice with someone who hasn't bathed since the shooting started, his half-asleep co-star and those fantastic mojitos, not to mention a Brad Pitt lookalike in a pony tail.

Angered by what they perceive to be inappropriate casting choices, some Japanese have tried to rile up the Chinese in return. How? By making a dog look like a panda.



It's not the most original trick in the book but let's just call it even shall we.

Another blog to visit: The shaky kaiser - different drinks for..different needs.