Wedding bells send luxury brands into ad overdrive

While the upcoming March wedding of actress Barbie Hsu and the heir to a fortune, Wang Xiaofei, is expected to be a grand affair, they are planning to make the most of it commercially by promoting themselves and their sponsors. Basically, it looks like Hsu's big day will be a huge advertisement.

First off, the wedding will be held at a hotel owned by the Wang family in Hainan province, second, according to a China Youth Daily report, there will be a great deal of product placement. The luxury crystal brand that Hsu endorses has applied to sponsor her wedding jewelry, while drink manufacturers are also lining up to provide refreshments in the hope of getting exposure for their brands.

A Guangzhou Daily report says Hollywood star Christian Bale has joined the cast of Zhang Yimou's latest film, Nanking Heroes (working title), which depicts Nanjing under Japanese occupation. Bale has signed an eight-week contract that calls on him to shoot eight hours per day and have one day off per week, following the Hollywood work pattern.