INITIAL D EATING PLANET

The Hong Kong car racing flick based on a Japanese manga, and starring first-time actor and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, is making money like it's going out of style. In its first 10 days the flick made HK$27 million. Compare that to the sithy take of STAR WARS WHATEVER which made HK$19 million in 46 days.

This doesn't come without controversy however, and it breaks down by country.

- in Malaysia, traumatized journalists bemoan the glorification of unsafe driving which might keep kids from their god-given duty to "Get on the career fast track and make your first million."

- in Taiwan, fans think that Jay Chou is a big poopy-head for denying his former love for pop star Jolin Cai and revealing that he is now in love with beauty host, Patty Hou. Taking a page from the Tom Cruise School of Dating some disgruntled fans (which apparently includes Patty's mom) say that this is a publicity stunt for Patty's forthcoming book "Patty's About Love", which will be released in March.

- in Mainland China the press is claiming that the promoter of INITIAL D is inflating its box office takings by $12 million yuan. The promoter has struck back by claiming that INITIAL D was a special case and that normal means of accounting no longer applied. This is thought to be common practice in the US, although there's no way to prove it since studios report their own grosses, and Miramax is the only company to ever get caught with their hand in this particular cookie jar.

(Thanks to Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review)