Asia on the small screen

It may have lost the English premier league but TrueVisions certainly isn’t about to lose movie buffs, adding yet another channel to its already impressive dedicated film channel line-up.
Screen Red HD, as the new channel is called, will especially delight fans of Asian cinema with 24-hour showings of blockbusters from all over the region.
The pay-TV content provider has teamed up with HBO Asia for Screen Red and aims to bring viewers Asia’s biggest hits including award-winning flicks from film festivals, sensational blockbusters, action movies, drama, comedy and also series.
“We’re very excited that our long-term partner, TrueVisions, has launched the Asian movie channel on their platform. This gives Thai viewers more access to premium Asian films and series from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea. Taiwan and many other Asian countries,” says Jonathan Spink, chief executive of HBO Asia.
“With the launch of Screen Red HD by HBO in Thailand, TrueVisions now offers the entire HBO Asia boutique of high-definition channels – HBO HB, HBO Signature HD, HBO Hits HD, HBO Family HD and Cinemax.”
Screenings will be in the original soundtrack with English subtitles though viewers whose sets have a dual-language function can also enjoy selected flicks with a Thai soundtrack.
Among the highlights are “Bear It”, which premieres tonight, a Taiwanese flick starring Dylan Kuo as a tour guide who grows tired of demanding clients and decides to devote his life to serving a teddy bear, even bringing his fluffy master on a vacation abroad.
Takahiro Miki’s hit Japanese romantic drama “We Were There: First Love” screens on October 18 and explores the struggle of a teenage couple through a “reality” that includes a painful past, constant misunderstandings and an eventual twist of fate.
Martial arts fans can look forward to a major fix in December when “The Grandmaster” by renowned Taiwanese director Wong Kar-wai comes to the screen. The star-studded action drama stars Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen, who also turned out for the Screen Red launch event at Mandopop on Wittayu Road on Wednesday.
“I’m very happy that we can now enjoy lots of Asian movies from Screen Red,” he told the press in an interview. “I see movies as carriers of culture. When you watch a film from another country you get to know a bit more about who they are, what their lives are like and what their culture stands for. Asia is blessed with very diverse cultures and many different languages that could become barriers when we try to understand each other. Movies are a universal language that open our minds, and makes us more accepting and understanding.
“I’m particularly happy that I can now watch Thai films as well as interesting movies from other countries that may not screen in cinemas at home.”
An actor of prolific talent, 36-years-old Chang Chen started his film career at a very young age before being elected by a Taiwanese film director Edward Yang to be the protagonist of the critically acclaimed four-hour-long epic “A Brighter Summer Day”, which catapulted him to international stardom. He played Dark Cloud, lover of Zhang Ziyi’s character, in Ang Lee’s blockbuster “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in 2000, and also starred in Wong Kar-wai’s fantasy romance “2046” in 2004.
Chang co-starred with Shu Qi in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “Three Times” in 2005, which was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won Golden Horse accolades for Best Taiwanese film, among other awards. The following year, he was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor for his role in “The Go Master”, a dramatisation of the life of the Go master Wu Qingyuan.
“I don’t limit myself to certain types of characters and I always like to explore new roles,” he says. “A lot of my fans says they sometimes can’t recognise me in films because I look so dramatically different with each role. As an actor I take that as a compliment. I’ve done many different characters, but I would love to try playing an athlete because there’s an age limit to it. Most roles you can take anytime. I also want to do a musical, which would allow me to sing and act at the same time. So far I have only had time for films, but would also love to try a series if the right character comes along.”

Seeing Red
>> Screen Red HD by HBO is available on TrueVisions 136 for holders of the Platinum HD, Gold HD, Super Family, Super Knowledge and Super Sports packages. True Knowledge package holders can see it on TrueVisions 38 in standard definition.
>> For more information, visit www.TrueVisonsTV.com.
>> For more about HBO, click on www.HBOAsia.com.