BIG IN ASIA

What's big in Asia right now?

If you're in Japan, it's NANA, the live action version of the manga institution, which brought in $1 billion yen at the box office in its first week.

If you're in China, it's JEWEL IN THE PALACE, the Korean TV drama where Lee Young-Ae plays a woman in the court. TV transmission companies in Beijing have been swamped by viewers in older buildings who can't get JEWEL and they want it now. Best of all, this series seems to be a couple of years old but only now getting broadcast around Asia.

If you're in Taiwan, what's big is Peng Chia-chia's masturbation video. At a party, the inebriated (or just party hearty) singer/tv host pleasured himself over a woman. No one's quite sure about the woman's involvement but what they are sure about is that she was a gangster's niece and Peng had to cough up a huge payment (in the millions) to keep from getting abused for real.

If you're in Korea, what's big is MARRYING THE MAFIA 2 which cleaned up at the box office this past week (with a US$7 million take).

If you're 3,000 feet below Japan's Bonin Islands, what's big is the first and biggest giant squid to be caught on film. 26 nightmare-inducing feet.