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*More than Kung Fu Masters!* January 16, 2001 Thailand's Princess Ubolratana has finally had enough of rumors that she's having an affair with former actor Nirut Sirichanya. "I felt amused at first... But after two years, I am getting bored with it,'' the princess said in a television interview with Channel 9. And, while we're in Thailand, the government here has decided to cut income tax on foreign actors to encourage more foreign films to be shot in the country. Thailand earned about 1.27 billion bhat last year from 435 foreign films. A recent Reuters article by Jon Herskovitz highlighted the dilemma of Asian American actors at a time when films and directors from Asia are breaking through in a major way. Among those interviewed in the article was old stalwart George Takei of *Star Trek* fame. He lamented the continuation of stereotyped roles (Kung fu master, Dragon Lady, etc.) for AA actors and actresses. Speaking of kung fu masters, Jet Li is teaming up again with rapper DMX in the action thriller *Cradle to the Grave, a Warner Bros. production. The film is also reunites the pair with Romeo Must Die* director Andrzej Bartkowiak and producer Joel Silver. Li plays a police officer who ends up paired with suspected diamond thief (DMX) to find the latter's kidnapped daughter. *Rush Hour II* beat out Jurassic Park III in head-on DVD competition during the first week of sales. The action comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker also topped the VidTrac VHS charts for two straight weeks. J-Pop star Ayumi Hamasaki won this year's 43rd Annual Nihon Record Taishou, Japan's top music award. And one of Japan's master directors Kon Ichikawa is having his films presented at the Gene Siskel film center in Chicago during January. He is known as one of cinema's greatest artists especially noted for his black humor. Watch for Bertha Pan's entry in the Sundance Dramatic Competition. The drama *Face* tells the story of three generations of Chinese American women in New York City. The cast includes Bai Ling, Kristy Wu and Treach. Good luck, Bertha! --- *Stay tuned to APU Pop for news and updates on the entertainment scene.* *Send in your news, press releases, gossip, photos and tips to apu_pop@AsiaPacificUniverse.com.* Previous Issues 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| 10 Discuss entertainment topics @ our Celebrities and Entertainment Forum. Discuss your favorite tunes and musicians @ our Music Forum.