http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20051112/capt.sge.esq29.121105200633.photo00.photo.default-285x359.jpg?x=273&y=345&sig=NYDny6x9mlPkS2UpTG1HFA-- TAIPEI (AFP) - Leading Chinese movie stars gather in Taiwan Sunday for the 42nd annual Golden Horse Film Awards, considered the "Oscars" of the Chinese-language film industry, with Hong Kong tipped for a bumper year. Best actor nominees Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai, from Hong Kong, along with Chang Chen and screen siren Shu Qi, both from Taiwan, head an all-star cast who will tread the red carpet at the ceremony in northern Keelung city. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" director Ang Lee and heartthrob actor Takeshi Kaneshiro will also walk the so-called Star Boulevard as 18 gongs are handed out to the region's best films of the year. This year Hong Kong blockbusters are expected to eclipse Taiwanese art house films, with Hong Kong director Johnnie To's "Election" up for 11 Golden Horses and Stephen Chow's martial arts comedy "Kung Fu Hustle" nominated in 10 categories. Legendary Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien's period romance "Three Times" earned nine nods, while Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang's controversial Taiwan-produced "The Wayward Cloud" is competing for three awards. "The two Hong Kong movies have the upper hand. But still there are odds of the two Taiwan films beating them," film critic Wang Wei told AFP. To, a two-time best director winner in Taiwan, is up for best director and best picture for "Election", which tells the story of a bloody power struggle within a Hong Kong triad society. But he faces competition in both categories from Chow, who hopes to add to his sweep of the Hong Kong Film Awards earlier this year for "Kung Fu Hustle", the most commercially successful movie in the competition. Set in 1930s Shanghai, Chow's trademark slapstick comedy has seen the director finally break through to overseas, and in particular, US audiences. Hou's "Three Times", a poetic narrative of love stories set in three different eras, earned him a nod for best director and best picture, along with nominations in the acting categories for stars Shu and Chang. Most controversial is Tsai's "The Wayward Cloud" about the relationship between a woman who returns from studying in Paris and a man who acts in porn movies. The film features explicit sex scenes. "Compared with Hong Kong movies, the two Taiwanese films are stronger in the presentation of the directors' style and relatively speaking, less market-oriented," Wang said. Another film critic, Steven Tu, favored "Kung Fu Hustle" to come out on top of the heap because it was the most "creative", but he was downbeat on this year's crop of contenders. "Generally speaking, movies in contention this year, either from Hong Kong and Taiwan, are no match of the previous years," he said. The fifth nominee in the best film category is "A World Without Thieves," a film co-produced by Hong Kong and China and tipped to be a long shot in the race. Vying with Chang in the best actor category are Leung ("Election"), Chen Kun ("A West Lake Moment") and Kwok ("Divergence"). Shu's best actress rivals are Chen Shiang-chyi ("The Wayward Cloud"), Miriam Yeung ("Drink, Drenk, Drunk") and Michelle Krusiec ("Saving Face"). This year's awards take place against the backdrop of the phenomenal international success of movies from South Korea which has been grabbing market share. Film critic Liang Liang warned Chinese-language filmmakers had to rise to the challenge and urged governments to support the industry. "New Korean films hit the local market nearly every week," he said. "The Korean films indeed have done a good job in recent years in part because of the massive support from their government." http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051112/ennew_afp/afpentertainmentfilm_051112200639
