The Week March 12, 2010

Putting the Hurt on Avatar

I don't want to say which movie I thought would win. But when the little anti-war movie, The Hurt Locker, beat out the worldwide blockbuster Avatar for Best Picture at the Academy Award, many fans of Avatar were shocked. In fact, China Daily ran its headline on the next day's paper, it said "Avatar is Chinese Choice." Regardless, the 3D movie is still attracting crowds in China. And 3D is the new wave of the future for movies, says Hollywood. The new 3D movie Alice in Wonderland took in $116 million in its opening weekend. The first 3D television sets are arriving at the US market this week, too. Maybe we should change that famous line in Avatar from "I see you" to "I see you in 3D."

China's Show Biz Mayor

Maybe Avatar could have used some help from China's Show Biz Mayor before the vote this week for the Academy Awards. Zhao Xiaoming, the mayor of Zhangjiajie, is in Beijing for the National People's Congress. But he is also promoting his scenic city in Hunan province. He was the first mayor in China to be featured in an animated video where he sings and dances. And according to the city, that video has attracted 220 million hits. When it comes to tourism, he told China Daily, "70 percent of your success depends on publicity." In fact, people of his city recently came out with a new tourism poster renaming a local mountain "Hallelujah" after the fictional mountain in the movie Avatar. That's show biz!

A Little Bit of Show Biz

When it comes to finding a job in this tough job market, some young Chinese people are using a little bit of show biz. One young Chinese man was featured on odditycentral.com he is wearing an LCD featuring his resume. He was pictured wearing his LCD CV in subways and walking down streets. But as far as I can tell, his face was not painted blue.

Cool New Things

Yes, it's time for our "cool new things" segment.

First there's Huang Cheng-nan, a Chinese ceramic artist who has made several of what are considered the thinnest bowls in the world. The Taiwan artist displayed some sitting on a spider web this week. In making them, he did say, "a lot of bowls get broken."

And in the US this week, there was a car show of sorts featuring a race car fueled by leftover chocolate. And according to Reuters, it’s using cashews for brake pads. Students from England who were making the Formula 3 race car say they are also using carrots and potato starch.

Maybe next week, we'll focus on cool new things that can't be broken or eaten.

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.