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SCMP Reporter

William Hung, Hong Kong's off-key answer to Ricky Martin, will be back in town  with a bang next month to begin work on a new film -  My Crazy Mother!

Most of the shooting of the film, a co-production by My Way Film Company and a Tianjin studio,  will take place in Guangdong.

My Way Film managing director Jeremy Cheung said production costs could reach HK$10 million but he declined to say how much would be paid to American Idol's most famous reject. Hung reportedly demands US$5,000 for a five-minute song - if that is the right word.

My Way Film said Hung would be involved in four productions in the next year, including  two to be shot next month.

Asked if the University of California Berkeley student would stay in Hong Kong to finish the shoot, Mr Cheung said: 'No, no. He can only do that during summer breaks.'

I guess that's why he's regarded as a top star - work hard, play hard, moonlight harder.

fun of the book fair

The 15th Hong Kong Book Fair, which ended on Monday, drew a record number of visitors - more than 500,000 - but only about 2,000 were mainland tourists, even though the Trade Development Council set aside a special entrance for them.  Among the 367 booths were 20 from mainland publishers.

'Finance and health books are the best-selling titles,' a spokeswoman for the General Administration of Press and Publications of the People's Republic of China said. 'But most buyers are local families, not people from mainland China.'

For mainland publishers, the book fair  was a chance to clear inventory rather than an opportunity to push new titles.

'We don't see a lot of mainland shoppers,' a  China Forestry Publishing House  salesman said.

'Serious readers in Hong Kong or the mainland won't come to the book fair to search for particular titles. They just buy spontaneously. It is a very good chance for us to clear stock once a year. People buy books which they don't normally see.'

He said it cost up to HK$20,000 to rent a nine-square-metre  space for the six-day event.

The most crowded  stalls were those selling stationery, stickers, dolls and toy figures.

'We have launched a book fair edition for our LOMO camera,'  a  Page One salesman said. The bookstore sold about 100 of the low-tech cult cameras during the book fair, including 70 shocking-pink, limited edition models priced at $585. 'Young people are looking for fun in the fair, not books,' the salesman said.

let them eat fruit

Ming Pao Daily's latest attempt to give credit where it's due does not appear to be bearing fruit.

In a memo posted on the wall of its office lift, the publisher has listed the names of about 20 editorial staff awarded bonuses and pay rises this year.

The performance-based incentive system has upset many staff.

'It is stupid,' one reporter said. 'It makes more people  unhappy than happy.'

The system has also generated conflict and embarrassment by giving credit to individual reporters, based on assessments by editors.

'Now I realise my boss doesn't like me,' another reporter said. 'I might need to find another job.'

In the past, chief editor Cheung Po used to buy fruit to reward those who met deadlines,  while the newspaper's majority shareholder, Malaysian tycoon Tiong Hew King, used to chip in with some home-grown mangoes during the mid-autumn festival.

It seems the peasants were happier when their rulers said: 'Let them eat fruit.'



Next change at the cinema: William Hung the accidental actor