【娱乐前沿】香港国际电影节开幕

Hong Kong International Film Festival opens The 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival kicked off yesterday with a sparkling red carpet event. 　 "Aberdeen" and "The Midnight After", two hotly tipped Hong Kong productions, were chosen as the openers this year. "Aberdeen," a drama about a Hong Kong family, reunites director Pang Ho-Cheung with his favorite leading lady, Miriam Yeung - who worked with him on his hit films　"Love in the Puff" and sequel "Love in the Buff." Star of "Aberdeen" Louis Koo says securing his date for the event was not a simple matter. "The thing I worry about the most tonight is that, I invited my 'daughter' to go with me to the after party tonight. She said she needs to think about it.　She has school tomorrow.　I said, 'Just say yes.' " With 300 films from 56 countries, this year's lineup promises to be as eclectic as ever, though its focus will be on local cinema. The festival runs until April 7th and will close with Dante Lam's action thriller "That Demon Within". "Z Storm" to hit Chinese screens this summer Director David Lam Tak-Luk's latest crime thriller, "Z Storm," will come to Chinese screens this summer. Lam was joined by the stars of his upcoming film Louis Koo, Gordon Lam and DaDa Chan at the ongoing Hong Kong International Film Festival on Monday to promote "Z Storm." The story is based on an anti-corruption investigation by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption of a charity that was involved in a Bernie Madoff-like ponzi scheme. Sixty million HK dollars have been invested in the film. "Justin and the Knights of Valour" premieres in Beijing Spanish animated fantasy film, "Justin and the Knights of Valour" premiered in Beijing on Tuesday. [BJH/Soundbite/0325 Justin] Freddie Highmore, Antonio Banderas and James Cosmo voice the lead characters in the film. The fantasy romp centers on the adventures of Justin on his quest to become a knight like his grandfather. However, his true test of knighthood comes when banished former knight Sir Heraclio returns with his army, threatening to destroy the kingdom. "Justin and the Knights of Valour" makes its way to screens across China on Friday, March 28th. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" releases new trailer A new trailer has been released for the upcoming film, "X-Men: Days of Future Past." The highly anticipated film features Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who is sent into the past by Professor 'X,' played by Patrick Stewart, in a last-ditch effort to change history and prevent an apocalyptic doom for humans and mutants alike. The film's impressive list of stars includes Jennifer Lawrence as the shape-shifting Mystique, Michael Fassbender as a young Magneto, James McAvoy as a young Professor 'X' and Halle Berry as Storm. The X-Men franchise has been one of the most successful comic book film adaptations in history, with all five films based on the Marvel series bringing in over $2 billion USD worldwide. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" will be released on May 23rd. Filmmaker David McKay makes shift from comedy to drama David McKay plans to make a shift from comedy to drama by writing and directing "The Big Short," an adaptation of Michael Lewis' bestseller about the financial crisis of the 2000s. McKay is known for collaborating often with Will Ferrell. He made his name as director and co-writer of Hollywood blockbusters "Anchorman," "Talledega Nights," "Step Brothers" and more. The comedy filmmaker also co-founded the website "Funny or Die" and served as head writer on "Saturday Night Live." McKay's new project will be produced by Plan B, Brad Pitt's production company. The film will follow a few savvy investors who saw the subprime mortgage crisis coming and placed bets on the coming collapse. Two of author Michael Lewis' previous books, "The Blind Side"and "Moneyball," have been adapted into features films as well.