Sunshine is a 2007 British science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland about the crew of a spacecraft on a dangerous mission to the Sun. In 2057, with the Earth in peril from the dying Sun, the crew is sent to reignite the Sun with a massive stellar bomb with the mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. The crew is made up of an ensemble cast consisting of Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Chipo Chung, and Mark Strong.

The script was based on a scientific back-story that took the characters on a psychological journey. The director cast a group of international actors for the film, and had the actors live together and learn about topics related to their roles, as a form of method acting. To have the actors realistically react to visual effects that would be implemented in post-production, the filmmakers constructed live sets to serve as cues.

Previous science fiction films that Boyle cited as influences included Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1972 Tarkovsky's Solaris, and the 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien. Sunshine was released in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2007 and in the United States on 20 July 2007. The film took £3.2 million in the UK over twelve weeks, and in the USA it was placed no. 13 in the box office on the first weekend of its wide release. With a budget of US$40 million,^[2] it ultimately grossed almost US$32 million worldwide.^[3]

Plot[link]

In 2057, the failure of the Earth's Sun threatens life on the planet, compelling humanity to send a spacecraft that carries a stellar bomb payload intended to re-ignite it. The first spacecraft with the payload, the Icarus I, was lost seven years previously for reasons unknown, having failed in its mission. A second spacecraft with a new payload, the Icarus II, is sent to the Sun in a final attempt, as the Earth has been exhausted of the materials necessary to make the bomb.

The design of the Icarus spacecraft, displayed in the opening shots of the movie, incorporates a massive heat shield made of many small positionable mirrors in an umbrella shape at the front of the vessel. This shield protects the relatively fragile main hull of the Icarus craft from the intense radiation and superheated particles of the solar wind, which at such close proximity to the Sun can melt most materials near-instantaneously. The stellar bomb is located just behind the heat shield, with the remainder of the ship, including the engines, living quarters, oxygen garden, computer core, and other structure behind a second, smaller heat shield. This second shield will be used as both protection and a solar sail during the return trip, after the payload is deployed into the Sun taking the larger shield with it.

As the movie opens, the Icarus II is passing into the "dead zone", beyond which the radio communications of the crew back to Earth are lost in the solar wind. Mission Physicist Capa records a last-minute message to send back to his parents on Earth, while psychiatrist Searle views the Sun's filtered light on the ship's solar observation deck, pushing the limits of the computer's safety protocols to view as much light as is allowed.

When the Icarus II passes Mercury on its way to the Sun, communications officer Harvey discovers the distress beacon of Icarus I. Capa is asked by Captain Kaneda to decide whether to change course and approach Icarus I. Capa runs a simulation of the bomb's deployment and detonation, which like all previous runs is inconclusive due to the unpredictable variables inherent in the physics inside a gravity well. After a risk assessment, Capa decides to rendezvous with the stricken vessel in order to acquire its payload, hopefully doubling their chances of success.

In planning the new course, navigator Trey forgets to realign the heat shield to match the new trajectory (systemic design oversight), which results in damage to some of the mirrors on the heat shield, putting the spacecraft and mission at risk. Kaneda and Capa embark on a spacewalk to make repairs while the ship is angled to shelter the damaged portion of the shield, but an unintended automatic override by the ship's computer puts the two men at risk of fatal solar exposure. Capa escapes to shelter behind the shield while Kaneda completes the vital repairs. Unable to reach safety before the shields are completely exposed to full sunlight, he turns back and stares at the Sun as the solar wind consumes him. The incident that caused the override turns out to be a fire in the ship's oxygen garden, started by sunlight reflected from an exposed part of the ship. The fire both totally destroys the garden and dangerously depletes the oxygen levels, making a return trip impossible. Trey blames himself for the losses due to his neglect, and Searle sedates him, assessing him as a suicide risk.

The Icarus II makes rendezvous with the Icarus I, and the lost spacecraft is explored by four men of the crew: Harvey, Capa, Searle, and engineer Mace. While the Icarus I has a functional oxygen garden, the ship's operational computer is found to be sabotaged, rendering delivery of the payload impossible. Mace finds a video left behind by Captain Pinbacker, an extremely religious man, who states the mission was purposely abandoned, thinking it was the "will of God" that humanity should die. The crew of Icarus I is found dead in the solar observation room, having been exposed to unshielded rays of sunlight. During the group's exploration, the airlocks inexplicably decouple, damaging the Icarus I's airlock and stranding the crew members on the derelict spacecraft. In a risky move, Searle stays behind to jettison the three men using the coordinated vacuuming of the airlock to propel them to the airlock of the Icarus II. Harvey is knocked into space and quickly freezes to death in the near-absolute zero temperatures of space, while Searle, trapped on the Icarus I, submits himself to the same fate as the original crew in the observation room, exposing himself to the full light of the Sun.

Five remain on the Icarus II: Capa, Mace, Trey, Cassie, and Corazon. The survivors check the Icarus activity file and discover that someone must have manually decoupled the airlock as there was no hardware failure. While Trey – now the prime suspect for sabotaging the airlock – is elsewhere, the four other crew members discuss that the remaining oxygen reserves would only allow them to reach the Sun to deliver the payload if there were only four people. Everyone except Cassie decides Trey must be killed, but when they go to Trey, they find he has apparently committed suicide.^[A] During a final inspection some nineteen hours before the delivery point, Capa discovers with surprise from the spacecraft's computer that even without Trey the reserves will not last long enough to deploy, because of an unaccounted-for fifth person on the spacecraft. He discovers that Pinbacker is still alive and has made his way into the Icarus II observation room, having sneaked aboard and decoupled the ship from the Icarus I. He is very badly burned because of repeated exposures to the Sun. He slashes Capa with a scalpel and seals him in an airlock.

Pinbacker attempts to sabotage the spacecraft so that it will not complete its mission, removing the Icarus mainframe computer stack from its sub-zero coolant bath, and attacking the other crew members, killing Corazon in the oxygen garden. Mace attempts to undo Pinbacker's sabotage, but is trapped in the coolant reservoir and freezes to death there. Capa, trapped in the airlock, manages to blow the airlock door off, completely decompressing most of Icarus II. He makes his way to the computer core and manually uncouples the bomb from the rest of the spacecraft. Capa then travels to the airlock and jumps the distance to the payload, reaching it just as the boosters ignite. This sends the bomb out of solar orbit and into the Sun's corona, which burns up the remains of Icarus II as Capa enters the payload's airlock. He finds Cassie in the payload section, having been pursued there by Pinbacker. Pinbacker attempts to drop Capa off a precipice within the bomb, but Cassie grabs on to Capa, their combined weight peels the skin off Pinbacker's arm and they fall but the changing gravitational pull of the Sun arrests their fall down the cliff. Capa triggers the bomb in time to re-ignite the Sun. With the sparks of the stellar bomb multiplying, Capa watches the inner surface of the Sun burst through one wall of the payload capsule, as space and time break down, owing to the Sun's immense gravity field. He reaches out and touches it, smiling blissfully.

On Earth, Capa's sister reviews her brother's last message on video while her children build snowmen. Suddenly, the sky brightens, an indication of the mission's success. The final scene reveals that they were building snowmen on the frozen harbour near the Sydney Opera House, as Earth was experiencing an ice age when the sun failed.

Cast[link]

• Cillian Murphy as Robert Capa:

  The physicist who operates the massive star-bomb device. Murphy described the character of Capa as a silent outsider, which was due to the fact that only Capa understood the operation and true scale of the star bomb.^[4] Murphy worked with physicist Brian Cox to learn about advanced physics,^[5] touring the CERN facility and learning to copy physicists' mannerisms.^[6] The actor also studied the thriller The Wages of Fear (1953) with Boyle to gain an understanding of the type of suspense that Boyle wanted to create in the film.^[7] Murphy claims that his involvement in the film caused him to change his views on religion from agnosticism to atheism.^[6][8]

• Chris Evans as Mace:

  The engineer. Evans described his character Mace as one with a military family and background. Mace has a dry and morally uncomplicated personality. Said Evans, "[He] has a very level head which enables him to operate fairly coherently under pressure-filled situations."^[9]

• Rose Byrne as Cassie:

  The space vessel's pilot. Byrne was chosen by the director for her role in Troy (2004).^[10] Byrne described Cassie as the most emotional member of the crew, "[wearing] her heart on her sleeve". Byrne considered Cassie's role among the crew was to possess an even temperament which helps her last the journey.^[9]

• Michelle Yeoh as Corazon:

  The biologist who takes care of the ship's "oxygen garden". Boyle cast Yeoh based on her performance in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997),^[9] and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).^[11] Yeoh described her character as more spiritual, explaining Corazon's background, as an "Asian influence or that she's always constantly surrounded by organic things – she's very grounded and more down-to-earth."^[12]

• Cliff Curtis as Searle:

  The ship's doctor and psychological officer. He is obsessed with the Sun and how it looks like when staring at it without any type of protection. The role of Searle was originally written to be a "slightly stiff" British character.^[9] Curtis was drawn to the role based on the script and also expressed interest in working with the director.^[13] Boyle was familiar with Curtis from Training Day (2001) and Whale Rider (2002),^[14] and Curtis's audition appealed to Boyle strongly enough to cast the actor as Searle.^[9] Curtis initially foresaw an esoteric approach for his character, but he later pursued a military and scientific approach based on the seriousness of the mission. The actor also compared Searle to the character of Pinbacker, noting their similarities and differences: "[Searle] would sacrifice those beliefs and views, his life, for the greater good, whereas Pinbacker, who's come to a place he believes is right, would sacrifice the world for his beliefs. They're two sides of the same coin."^[13]

• Troy Garity as Harvey:

  The communications officer and second-in-command. He is also the only crew member to be homesick. Garity's previous work was unknown to Boyle, but the director was impressed enough with the actor upon meeting him that he cast Garity. Garity described the character of Harvey as the only crew member who misses his family back home on Earth and attempts to hide the fact.^[9]

• Hiroyuki Sanada as Kaneda:

  The ship's captain. The script originally had an American captain, but scientists and space experts persuaded Boyle to change the nationality to Japanese.^[15] Boyle saw Sanada in The Twilight Samurai (2002), and director Wong Kar-wai recommended the actor to Boyle when the latter sought someone to cast as the Asian captain of the ship.^[16] Sanada's character was originally called Kanada, but he asked Boyle to change the name to Kaneda, a more natural Japanese name. The character was Sanada's second English-language role in cinema, and Sanada learned different forms of English, depending on the circumstances. Sanada's base English language had a British dialect, and when the actor recited official statements as Kaneda, the dialect was official English. In communicating with other characters as Kaneda, Sanada spoke with an American English accent to reflect the fictional situation of the character training with the rest at NASA.^[15]

• Benedict Wong as Trey:

  The navigator. Boyle saw Wong in Dirty Pretty Things (2002). Wong's character, Trey, was a child prodigy who created a computer virus that brought down one-sixth of the world's computers. As a result, Trey is recruited into the space program so his genius could be applied more beneficially.^[9]

• Chipo Chung as the voice of Icarus:

  The on-board computer of the spacecraft Icarus II possesses a "natural-language" communication interface, allowing the crew to ask questions, give orders, and receive status updates and warnings verbally, as if they were talking to a human. Indeed, the ship itself is a major character in the movie. This was Chung's first named film role.^[17]

• Mark Strong as Pinbacker:

  The insane captain of Icarus I, the first ship that was sent to reignite the Sun. Pinbacker was inspired by the character of Sergeant Pinback from Dark Star.^[18] The character's disfiguring burns were influenced by the injuries suffered by F1 driver Niki Lauda.^[19] Boyle described the character of Pinbacker as a representation of fundamentalism.^[20] The director also described the potentially unrealistic presence of Pinbacker as an example of something that breaks the pattern of realism, similar to his scene in Trainspotting (1996) in which Ewan McGregor's character dives into a toilet.^[21]

Production[link]

In March 2005, following the completion of Millions (2004),^[22] director Danny Boyle was briefly attached to direct 3000 Degrees, a Warner Bros. project about the 1999 Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire in Massachusetts, but due to opposition from surviving victims and firefighters, the project did not enter production. At the same time, Boyle received a script from screenwriter Alex Garland, who had paired with Boyle for The Beach (2000) and 28 Days Later (2002). Producer Andrew Macdonald, working with Boyle and Garland, pitched the script to 20th Century Fox, who were reluctant to finance the film based on its similarities to the 2002 remake Solaris, which performed dismally for the studio. The project was instead financed by Fox's specialized film unit Fox Searchlight Pictures. Since the preliminary budget at US$40 million was too demanding for Fox Searchlight, Macdonald sought outside financing from British lottery funds, U.K. rebates, and outside investor Ingenious Film Partners.^[19] With financing in place, Boyle entered pre-production work for Sunshine, for which he planned to commence production by the following July.^[22] Since Boyle had previously worked with Fox Searchlight on 28 Days Later, the existing relationship permitted the director with freedom in production, working in a small studio.^[23]

Boyle and Garland worked on the script for a year, spent a second year preparing for production, filmed for three months, and spent a third full year editing and completing visual effects for Sunshine.^[14] After completion of filming for Sunshine, Boyle said that he would not revisit the science fiction genre, citing production as a spiritually exhausting experience.^[18] The director said making the film had conquered his fear of the difficulty encountered in producing a science fiction film, and that he would move on from the genre.^[24]

Writing[link]

Screenwriter Alex Garland was inspired to write Sunshine based on scientific ideas about the heat death of the universe,^[26] specifically "an article projecting the future of mankind from a physics-based, atheist perspective", according to Garland.^[18] The article was from an American scientific periodical, and Garland had wondered about what would result from the Sun's death.^[25] Garland brought the script to director Danny Boyle, who enthusiastically took up the project due to his long-time desire to direct a science fiction film in space.^[27] Boyle and Garland worked on the script for a year, creating 35 drafts in their experimenting.^[16]

The director (Danny Boyle) also considered the story of Sunshine as a counterintuitive approach for the contemporary issue of global warming, with the death of the Sun being a threat.^[27] Originally, Sunshine was scripted to begin with a voiceover talking about how parents tell their children not to look into the Sun, but once told, the children would be compelled to look. Boyle described the Sun as a godly personality in the film, creating a psychological dimension for the astronauts due to its scale and power.^[28] The director also described the film's villain as based on light, explaining: "That's quite a challenge because the way you generate fear in cinema is darkness." The director also sought to have the characters experience a psychological journey in which each person is worn mentally, physically, and existentially and is experiencing doubt in their faiths.^[29] To capture the dangers of the voyage that the crew members went through, the director cited Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything as influential in "articulating the universe's power".^[30]

The story was also written in part to reflect the brilliance and "necessary arrogance" of real-life science when the world's scientists are presented with the crisis that threatens Earth.^[31] The time period of the story, 50 years in the future, was chosen to enable the level of technology to advance to the ability to travel to the Sun, but to simultaneously keep a feel of familiarity for the audience. Scientific advisers, futurists, and people who developed products for the future were consulted to shape an idea of the future.^[27]

To shape the science of the film, Boyle and Garland hired scientist advisers, including NASA employees and astrophysicists.^[31] One physicist, Brian Cox of University of Manchester, was hired to advise the cast and crew after the director had seen Cox on the science TV series Horizon.^[32] The physicist gave regular lectures to the film's cast members about solar physics. Cox also advised the filmmakers to scale down the nuclear device in the film from the mass of the Moon to the size of Manhattan. In the film's backstory, a Q-ball enters the Earth's Sun and begins to eat it away. According to Cox, the Sun would not be dense enough in real life to stop a Q-ball, but filmmakers took creative licence in writing the backstory.^[26]

Boyle originally included romantic subplots,^[33] including a sex scene planned between the characters Capa (Murphy) and Cassie (Byrne) in the ship's oxygen garden.^[34] However, the director considered the attempt for relationships in space too "embarrassing" and excluded the subplots.^[33] Boyle further distanced the characters from possible relationships by ensuring that the cast members wore little to no make-up to avoid any romantic overtures.^[35] The director also avoided including humor in the script with the exception of a few gags, believing that humor was a difficult fit for the story.^[21] "You get intensity of experience in space movies but not joy. So there's not much room for comedy or sex – everything is waiting to destroy you", explained Boyle.^[36]

Casting[link]

Director Danny Boyle chose to have an ensemble cast for Sunshine to encourage a more democratic process, similar to the ensemble cast in Alien. Boyle also chose to have the cast be international in order to reflect the mission's purpose "on behalf of all mankind".^[31] The space crew in the film also consisted of American/Asian nationality because of the filmmakers' belief that the American and Chinese space programs would be the most developed and economically empowered 50 years in the future.^[37] The director had also received advice that there would be advanced space programs with India and Brazil, but the advice was overlooked to avoid creating a cast that was too disparate.^[38] According to producer Andrew Macdonald, the actors were required to speak with American accents to target the U.S. audience as much as international audiences due to the budget level of the project.^[39]

To prepare the international actors for the film, Boyle had the cast undergo method acting.^[35] At the beginning of the film, the characters had been together for sixteen months, so Boyle desired to capture a sense of togetherness among the actors by assigning them to live together. He also enrolled the cast members in space training and scuba diving, as well as watching films together,^[27] such as The Right Stuff (1983) and the documentary For All Mankind (1989).^[40] Boyle also took the cast on a tour of a nuclear submarine to comprehend claustrophobic living conditions. He also had the cast experience weightlessness in the zero G environment of an acrobatic plane.^[27]

Cast members operated a Boeing 747 flight simulator and were introduced to futurologist Richard Seymour.^[41] The book Moondust by Andrew Smith, a collection of accounts of the men who had walked on the Moon, was required reading for cast members.^[42] The book had been assigned by Boyle because it described the lasting psychological changes experienced by that particular group of astronauts. The director sought to manifest the effect by showing the Sun's awesome, radiant power influencing the psyches of the ship's crew.^[43]

Filming[link]

Filming for Sunshine took place at 3 Mills Studios in east London. An elaborate set was constructed, containing eight stages, 17 sets, and detailed models. The filmmakers employed three film units.^[39] Filming began on 23 August 2005,^[44] lasting for 15 weeks, with August and September being difficult months due to the heat and the cast's requirement to wear spacesuits for their roles.^[6] Cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler chose to film in anamorphic format to capture a physical sense of the light. "We shot certain sequences in a very dark environment, which you get used to, so when the Sun plays a role, we wanted the audience to have a physical reaction to it", Kuchler said.^[45] Due to filming with the actors taking place on a stage, director Danny Boyle constructed live effects so the actors could realistically respond to computer-generated effects that were later implemented.^[46]

To increase the feeling of claustrophobia in Sunshine, Boyle refused to cut back to scenes on Earth, a traditional technique in most films about the planet in jeopardy. The director also maintained an atmosphere of confinement in Sunshine by avoiding filming the primary ship, Icarus II, from the outside. There are only a few outside shots of the ship.^[41] He also attempted to avoid filming star field backgrounds, keeping the ship's exterior pitch black, but he was ultimately compelled to show stars outside the spacecraft to help convey a sense of the ship's movement.^[29]

A scene in a snow-covered park with three stone monoliths was a homage to a similar scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The scene was filmed at a May Day memorial in Stockholm, Sweden.^[47] The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, was chosen by Boyle out of six monuments that he considered universally recognisable. The Opera House, according to the director, possessed a "heat-thing" quality that decided it as his choice for a final establishing shot on Earth.

The snowy territory of the final scene was shot in Stockholm, Sweden, and a composite shot was created combining Stockholm's background and the Sydney Opera House.^[27] A slightly different ending was shot after the original but was not chosen as the director felt that it did not fit the film. The alternate ending became available on the DVD of Sunshine.^[38]

Design[link]

The presspack says that the claustrophobic environment in the film was inspired by Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot (1981).^[39] Boyle also cited inevitable visual influences from science fiction films in space by Andrei Tarkovsky (Solaris in 1972), Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968), and Ridley Scott (Alien in 1979).^[48] Influences from other science fiction films also included Paul W. S. Anderson's Event Horizon (1997), John Carpenter's Dark Star (1974), and Douglas Trumbull's Silent Running (1971).^[18]

Filmmakers consulted NASA in designing the scientific aspects of the film. Technical specifications for the ship were provided in order to make it more realistic. An oxygen garden was also recommended to provide oxygen for the ship and to enable the crew to grow their own food rather than rely completely on pre-packaged sustenance.^[43] Boyle met with a department within NASA that was focused on the psychology of deep-space travel, and they advised the director that regular Earth routines like preparing one's own food, enjoying its consumption and cleaning up afterwards are activities crucial to an astronaut's sanity.^[49]

The gold-leaf shielding in Sunshine was influenced by NASA satellite designs for deflecting heat and other forms of radiant energy. Director Danny Boyle designed the gold-colored space suits along these lines despite persistent encouragement to model them after the NASA template. The helmets were designed to have cameras mounted in them. This further enhanced a sense of claustrophobia useful to the actors in delivering more heartfelt performances.^[27] The helmets were also limited to a horizontal slit for visibility instead of a full-face visor as further consideration toward protecting the characters from the ambient radiation of outer space.^[29] According to Boyle, the funnel shape of the helmet was influenced by the character Kenny from South Park.^[27]

Boyle included "Icarus" in the name of the ship to continue a theme of bleakness, opining that no American would give their craft such an ill-fated name. According to the director, "They'd call it Spirit of Hope or Ship of Destiny. They'd call it something optimistic... in America they would sacrifice all plausibility, because there would be hope."^[50] The ship's exterior was designed to look like an oil tanker.^[19] The ship's interior was influenced by the design of a nuclear submarine that filmmakers had visited in Scotland, though the space was larger due to NASA's advice that smaller quarters would adversely affect the crewmembers' sanity.^[14] The corpses of burn victims in the film were modeled on the Pompeii victims from the Mount Vesuvius eruption.^[19]

Visual effects[link]

Cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler provided an idea to render the interior of the ship in the colours of grey, blue, and green, with no reference to orange, red, or yellow. Scenes were intended to be shot inside the ship at long intervals, and when the shot changed to the outside, yellow-starved audiences would be "penetrated" by sunlight.^[16] The visual effects of the sunlight were based on photographs from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory project.^[51] Boyle also sought to pursue inexpensive methods in filming sequences involving actors and visual effects. In a scene where Cillian Murphy's character dreams of falling into the sun, the actor was placed in a gantry around which 20 assistants rotated an assembly of bright lights.

In another scene in which a character dies from solar exposure among the ashes from cremated bodies, massive wind turbines propelled biodegradable dust at the actor in the director's attempt to have the computer-generated effects follow the actor instead of vice versa.^[36] Boyle commented on his approach to using effects, "There is part of our brain where we admire the effect, but we put it in a side compartment of our experience because you know there's no way an actor can live through that, or be there in that moment."^[2] During the post-production process, Boyle hired one visual effects company, London's Moving Picture Company, to work on the film's 750 visual effects. The assignment of a single company was contrary to the industry trend of hiring multiple vendors to work on a film's effects. Boyle chose one company for ease of quality control, though the decision resulted in a prolonged post-production process.^[19]

Score[link]

When the film was mostly complete, director Danny Boyle provided the footage to the band Underworld, who improvised a score.^[35] Karl Hyde of Underworld was influenced by the music of avant garde composer György Ligeti which had been used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Lux Aeterna by Ligeti particularly influenced Hyde.^[18] When Underworld finished recording the band sent its work to composer John Murphy, who completed the score, resulting in a hybrid between Underworld and Murphy.^[35] The band I Am Kloot also contributed to the score with the track "Avenue of Hope".^[52]

Despite high praise for the score from fans of the film a soundtrack was significantly delayed. This was partly due to "disputes" between the lawyers of Underworld and Fox Searchlight.^[53] Although not available close to the film's debut, the soundtrack was finally released on iTunes USA on 25 November 2008.

Release[link]

Box office performance[link]

Sunshine was originally slated for a theatrical release in October 2006, but the release was later changed to March 2007. The film was finally set to debut in April 2007.^[54] Sunshine made its world premiere at Fantasy Filmfest in Bochum, Germany, on 23 March 2007.^[55] The film was released commercially in the home country of the United Kingdom on 6 April 2007, taking £1,021,063 in 407 cinemas for its opening weekend.^[56]

The film also opened the same weekend in seven other markets, performing most strongly in Hong Kong (US$267,000), Taiwan (US$442,000) and Singapore (US$198,000).^[57] On the weekend of 13 April 2007, Sunshine opened in 22 more markets, garnering US$5.3 million for the weekend. Its French debut was the strongest with US$1.2 million in 380 theatres, but the film only had average performance in New Zealand (US$120,149 from 36 theatres), Switzerland (US$60,285 from 11 theatres) and Finland (US$42,745 from 15 theatres).^[58]

The following weekend of 20 April 2007, the film expanded to 44 markets, garnering US$5.9 million for a total of US$18.6 million thus far, considered a disappointing amount. Sunshine had poor debuts in Spain (US$1 million), Germany (US$638,549), and Italy (US$453,000).^[59] By the end of April, Sunshine had opened to most markets, with the notable exception of the United States, for which a release date had yet to be established at the time.^[57] The film's theatrical run in the UK lasted twelve weeks, totaling £3,175,911.^[60]

The film was originally slated to be released in the United States in September 2007, but the release date was moved earlier to July 2007.^[61] Sunshine was released in the United States and Canada at select locations in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto on 20 July 2007.^[62] Sunshine opened in 10 cinemas in the United States and took US$242,964 over the opening weekend.^[3]

The film was released everywhere else in the two countries the following weekend of 27 July 2007.^[62] In the film's first wide release weekend in the United States and Canada, Sunshine took US$1,262,996 in 461 theatres, ranking no. 13 at the weekend box office.^[63] In its theatrical run, the film took US$3,675,753 in the United States and Canada and US$28,342,050 in other territories for a worldwide total of US$32,017,803;^[3] the film's budget reportedly was US$40 million.^[2]

Critical reception[link]

The film currently holds a 75% positive rating out of 162 reviews at the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.8/10. On another aggregator, Metacritic, Sunshine received an average score of 64 out of 100 based on 34 reviews.^[64]

Critically, the film was moderately well received in the UK.^[65][66] However, many found the last reels disappointing, with one critic suggesting the switch to "slasher movie" mode might have been inserted to appease teenage audiences.^[67]

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and said that "the [actors] are effective by trying not to be too effective; they almost all play professional astronaut/scientists, and not action-movie heroes", and also that the film "is strongest when it focuses on the sheer enormity of the mission and its consequences".^[68]

Scientific inaccuracy[link]

Professor Brian Cox served as the film's scientific advisor, though he noted in the DVD commentary that several inaccuracies were permitted to allow for plot. He also dismissed criticisms of the film by scientists: "Sunshine is not a documentary. It's trying to just, in an hour and forty minutes, get across a feeling of what it's like – not only to be a scientist, because obviously there's much more in it than that. So, I found it interesting to watch the kind of people that get upset because the gravity is wrong."^[69]

Slow motion during weightlessness was inaccurately portrayed; the director had discovered this when riding the Vomit Comet, but he kept the slow motion to meet audiences' expectations. The film's premise of the sun dying out is also inaccurate, since the sun is estimated to die out in five billion years' time, after becoming a red giant and not by a gradual decline in brightness. Part of the film's back-story included the sun's death being caused by a Q-ball caught in the solar body, but realistically, the sun would not be dense enough to trap a Q-ball.^[70] Another purposeful inaccuracy was the "whooshing" of the ship despite the vacuum — Cox later mentioned in the BBC's Stargazing Live programme in January 2011 that this was simply because without accompanying sound, the CGI shots seemed "cheap". Mercury's orbit was also pictured at many times its actual rate.

When the crew use the airlocks to move between ships without space suits, one of the crew members claims the temperature outside is −273 °C (0 K; −459 °F), which is absolute zero. Not only is this incorrect, as the temperature in outer space is slightly higher, −270 °C (3 K; −454 °F), but orbiting the planet of Mercury behind a heatshield as close as they are, the temperature would be higher than −173 °C (100 K; −279 °F). The low temperature of space would not actually cause astronauts to freeze after a few seconds without space suits, as there is no medium to absorb their body heat.

The film's scientific content has been criticized by "specialists" with arguments often found contradicted by statements pertaining to the film.^[71] For example, the science periodical New Scientist claimed that the nuclear device (stellar bomb) used by the crew would be woefully inadequate to reignite the dying sun (billions of such devices would be required).^[72] The periodical found the film to be confusing and disappointing. Although some argue the "stellar bomb" may have been an unknown type of advanced technology, the film specifically states it they have used "all of Earth's fissile material" and the description of how the bomb works involved atoms "becoming two" (fission). Similarly, solar physicist Anjana Ahuja, a columnist for The Times, commented on the lack of source of artificial gravity onboard the spacecraft, claiming "Danny Boyle could have achieved the same level of scientific fidelity in Sunshine by giving a calculator to a schoolboy". Ahuja was, however, more positive about the psychological aspect of the film, joking that "the psychology of extended space travel is covered well, although we could have done with a space bonk".^[73]

Home media[link]

The DVD for Sunshine was released in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2007. Extras include separate commentaries by Danny Boyle and Prof. Brian Cox, an alternative ending, 11 deleted scenes, web production diaries, and the short films Dad's Dead and Mole Hills.^[74] It was also released on UMD for the Sony PSP. A Blu-ray version was released in the UK in October of the same year. In the United States, Sunshine was released on high-definition Blu-ray Disc and standard definition DVD on 8 January 2008.^[75] As of 17 February 2008, Sunshine had grossed $15.83 million in rental sales.^[76]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sunshine

• Official website
• Visual effects article at VFXWorld
• Sunshine at the Internet Movie Database
• Sunshine at AllRovi
• Sunshine at Rotten Tomatoes
• Sunshine at Metacritic

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Jay Chou
Chou on the red carpet at the MTV Asia Aid, Bangkok, Thailand, 2005
Chinese name	周杰倫 (Traditional)
Chinese name	周杰伦 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhōu Jiélún (Mandarin)
Origin	Taiwan
Born	(1979-01-18) 18 January 1979 (age 33) Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan
Other name(s)	Director Chou (周董)
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, rapper, DJ, music video director, film director, music arranger, model, screenwriter, actor
Genre(s)	Pop, rock, R&B, hip pop
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, violin, cello, drums, guzheng, keyboards, pipa, erhu, harmonica
Voice type(s)	tenor
Label(s)	Sony Music Taiwan (2008–present) JVR Music (2007–present) Alfa Music (1999–2007)
Years active	2000–present
Parents	Father: Zhou Yaozhong (周耀中) Mother: Ye Huimei (葉惠美)
Influenced	Nan Quan Mama
Official Website	Jay Chou@JVR Music
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Performer 2006 Initial D Best Original Film Song 2007 "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (Curse of the Golden Flower) Golden Horse Awards Best Newcomer 2005 Initial D Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year 2007 Secret Best Original Song 2007 "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" (Secret) Golden Melody Awards Best Mandarin Album 2001 Jay 2002 Fantasy 2004 Ye Hui Mei 2011 The Era Best Music Video 2009 "Mr. Magic" (Capricorn) Best Song of the Year 2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run) 2009 "Fragrant Rice" (Capricorn) Best Composer 2002 "Love Before A.D." (Fantasy)[1] 2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run) Best Producer 2002 Fantasy Best Single Producer 2007 Fearless EP Best Male Mandarin Artist 2009 Capricorn 2011 The Era Best Composer (Instrumental Category) 2008 "Piano Room" (Secret) Best Producer (Instrumental Category) 2008 Secret Original Movie Soundtrack (Secret) MTV Asia Awards Favorite Artist, Taiwan 2002, 2005 Other awards World Music Awards Best-Selling Chinese-Speaking Artist 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2007 Best Actor (Curse of the Golden Flower)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Jay Chou; (born 18 January 1979)^[2] is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for popular Mandarin singers. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B, rock and pop genres. He composes all his own songs, as well as songs for other singers.

In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled Jay, under the record company Alfa Music. Since then he has released one album per year except in 2009, selling several million copies each. His music has gained recognition throughout Asia, most notably in regions such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and in overseas Asian communities. He has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide up to 2010.^[3] He debuted his acting career in Initial D (2005), for which he won Best Newcomer Actor in both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). He produced the theme song for the film Ocean Heaven starring Jet Li. His career now extends into directing and running his own record company JVR Music.

Career[link]

Jay Chou at the premiere of Secret in Seoul, South Korea, on 10 January 2008.

Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan.^[4] Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Ye Hui Mei (Chinese: 葉惠美; pinyin: Yè Huìměi), taught fine arts, while his father, Zhou Yao Zhong (Chinese: 周耀中; pinyin: Zhōu Yàozhōng), was a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three.^[4] During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He is an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and still is to this day, Chopin. His parents divorced when he was 13, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. Although he had friends, he often preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At Tamkang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music and began to write songs.^[5][6]

Chou graduated from high school with inadequate grades for university, so he prepared for mandatory military service. However, a sports injury triggered by an unexplainable and severe back pain eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a hereditary spine inflammation disease; as a result, he was exempted from conscription.^[7][8] Meanwhile, he found himself a job as a waiter. Without his knowing, his friend had entered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as "lousy". Although they did not win, the show's host Jacky Wu—an influential character in Taiwan's entertainment business—happened to glance at Chou's music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang.^[6]

Over the next two years he wrote songs for Mandarin pop artists, and also learned recording and sound mixing; his dedication was apparent as he even slept in the music studio. Wu's music studio was later sold to Alfa Music, and the new manager Yang Jun Rong asked him to release his own album. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD Jay that was released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions including countries throughout Southeast Asia.^[9][10][11] Since 2000, Chou has released one album per year, except the year 2009, each selling several million copies, and has been recognized with hundreds of awards.^[12] In 2003, he was the cover story of Time magazine (Asia version),^[6] acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held four world tours, "The One" (2002), "Incomparable" (2004), "Jay Chou The World Tours" (2007–2008) and "The Era" (2010–2011) performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. Unlike most singers, Chou has an enormous amount of creative control over his music.^[6] He is not only the songwriter but also the producer on all of his albums; since 2005 he is also the music director and also directs his own music videos.

Music[link]

Musical style[link]

	"Chrysanthemum Terrace" (菊花台) noicon An example of Chou using Chinese style music. "Nunchucks" (雙截棍) noicon A combination of Chinese style music and rap.
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Chou's compositions are loosely categorized as pop music. While many of his works fall into contemporary R&B, rap, and rock genres, the term "Chou Style" (Chinese: 周氏風格; pinyin: zhōu shì fēnggé)^[13][14] has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and his insistence on singing with slurred enunciation. Taipei Times once described the meaning of "Chou Style": "In what has become the archetypal Chou style, Taiwan's favorite son blends pop, rap, blues and a smorgasbord of esthetic elements of world music to create his dream-like never-never land ..."^[15]

He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B or rock to form a new genre called "Zhongguo feng" (simplified Chinese: 中国风; traditional Chinese: 中國風; pinyin: Zhōngguó fēng), which literally means "Chinese Style Music",^[a] some of which are written in the Pentatonic Scale as opposed to the more common seven-note scale (Diatonic Scale) to accentuate an oriental style. Besides his own culture, he also incorporated Spanish guitar in "Red Imitation" (Chinese: 紅模仿; pinyin: hóng mófǎng), American techno/electronica in "Herbalist's Manual" (Chinese: 本草綱目; pinyin: Běncǎo Gāngmù), rap with subtle classical music undertones in "Reverse Scales" (Chinese: 逆鱗; pinyin: nìlín), Blues style in "Free Tutorial Video" (Chinese: 免費教學錄影帶; pinyin: Mian Fei Jiao Xue Lu Ying Dai) and Bossanova style in "Rosemary" (Chinese: 迷迭香; pinyin: mídiéxiāng), to name a few. Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (concrete music).^[b]

His formal musical training is evident by the use of classical textures in his compositions. For example, counterpoint was used in "Perfection" (Chinese: 完美主義; pinyin: wánměizhǔyì) and "Sorry" (Chinese: 對不起; pinyin: duìbuqǐ), while polyphony can be found in "The Wound That Ends War" (Chinese: 止戰之殤; pinyin: zhǐ zhàn zhī shāng) and "Twilight's Chapter Seven" (Chinese: 夜的第七章; pinyin: yè de dì-qī zhāng).

Chou's albums have been noted for the lack of change compared to his earlier works, yet he firmly stated that he will not alter his style: "They say I've been standing still ... but this is the music I want, and I don't see what I want by moving ahead."^[16] To demonstrate his point, he named his 2006 album Still Fantasy after his 2001 album Fantasy. His use of relaxed enunciation has been criticized as "mumbling"^[17] which he also insisted will not change;^[18] however, recently he has adopted clearer pronunciation for certain songs, particularly more traditional Chinese style songs, such as "Faraway" (Chinese: 千里之外; pinyin: qiānlǐ zhīwài) which features Fei Yu-ching and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (Chinese: 菊花台; pinyin: júhuā tái).^[19]

Lyrics[link]

Chou is more often a singer-composer than a lyricist. Several "regulars" write the lyrics for most of his music, but the content and style is unified with his own personality and image, covering a diverse range of topics and ideas. Vincent Fang accounts for more than half of the lyrics in his albums, helping to establish an important element in Chou's music: the use of meaningful, imagery- and emotionally rich lyrics, sometimes written in the form of ancient Chinese poetry with reference to Chinese history or folklore.^[c] In addition to writing romantic hits,^[d] he also touches on war, the Bible, sports, and martial arts.^[e] Vivian Hsu is a singer herself and has helped with Chou's earlier hits,^[f] while Huang Jun Lang (Chinese: 黃俊郎; pinyin: Huáng Jùnláng) is noted for his work surrounding unusual themes (such as a detective story and chess game).^[g]

Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads,^[h] but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" (Chinese: 懦夫; pinyin: nuòfū) and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace fields" (Chinese: 梯田; pinyin: tītián). Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I am back" (Chinese: 爸,我回來了; pinyin: bà, wǒ huílai le) received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music,^[20] which helped solidify his status as a pioneer and a unique pop singer capable of approaching serious issues. In the songs "Maternal grandmother" (Chinese: 外婆; pinyin: wàipó) and "Listen to Mother" (Chinese: 聽媽媽的話; pinyin: tīng māma de huà), he voiced his high regard for family values. He addressed personal issues about his failure to enter university in "Split" (Chinese: 分裂; pinyin: fēnliè), his resentment towards the paparazzi in "Besieged From All Sides" (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sìmiànchǔgē), "Rice Fragrance" (Chinese: 稻香; pinyin: dào xiāng), a song from his 9th album Capricorn encourages people not to give up their dreams even when facing difficulties in life, the sadness of becoming a clown in "Uncle Joker"(Chinese: 喬克叔叔; pinyin: Qiao Ke Shu Shu) and highlighted the importance of individuality in "Popular Imitation" (Chinese: 紅模仿; pinyin: hóng mófǎng).

Collaborations[link]

Chou began as a songwriter for other singers and continued this area of work even after he debuted his own career in singing. He has composed frequently for Jolin Tsai, Landy Wen, and occasionally for other Taiwanese singers such as Coco Lee, S.H.E, Vivian Hsu, Leehom Wang, Will Liu, Valen Hsu, and Hong Kong pop stars Edmond Leung, Gigi Leung, Jordan Chan, Edison Chen, Karen Mok, Leo Ku, Eason Chan, and Joey Yung, as well as a one-time collaboration with Howard Su. He has also written for singers outside of his generation—over one dozen songs for his mentor Jacky Wu, later also for Taiwanese singer Jody Chiang, and Hong Kong singers Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, and Kenny Bee.^{[21][22][23][24]}

He initiated the band Nan Quan Mama in 2004, selecting band members and overseeing their album production. The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor;^[25] as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band,^[26] but continues to help increase their exposure to mass audiences by inviting them as guests performers for his own concerts and music videos.^{[27][28][29][30]}

He has performed live duets with Landy Wen,^[28] Jolin Tsai,^[31] and former girlfriend news anchor Patty Hou,^[32] but only two studio recordings of duets have been formally placed in his own albums: "Coral Sea" (Chinese: 珊瑚海; pinyin: shānhú hǎi) in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama)^[33] and "Faraway" (Chinese: 千里之外; pinyin: qiānlǐ zhīwài) in 2006 features Fei Yu-Ching, who began his career in the 1970s.^[34]

Besides working with singers, Chou's longest-running collaboration is with lyricist Vincent Fang, as they both started their careers in the music field in 1998. The compilation album Partners (Chinese: 拍檔; pinyin: pāi dàng) featured 12 songs, each consisting of Chou's musical and Fang's lyrical compositions.^[35] Fang has written the words to more than 40 of Chou's songs, was the chief editor of Chou's book Grandeur de D Major (Chinese: D調的華麗; pinyin: D diào de huálì), and is now Chou's business partner (together with Chou's manager JR Yang) for the record company JVR Music.^[36][37]

Jay Chou was also featured in Cindy Yen's (袁詠琳) song "Sand Painting" (畫沙) released in October 2009.

Jay Chou collaborated with Kobe Bryant on "The Heaven and Earth Challenge"(天地一鬥) in order to "promote youth creativity, as well as an upcoming slam-dunk competition in China." The song was released at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game on 20 February 2011.^[38]

World tours[link]

Jay Chou's 3D enhanced stage at his Singapore concert in 2010, as part of his The Era World Tour

Jay held his first series of five solo concerts, titled Fantasy Concert (范特西演唱會), with the first stop on 11 January 2001 at Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan. Followed by two shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one in Malaysia and ended in Singapore on 10 February 2002. His second concert tour, The One Concert (The One 演唱會) commenced on 28 September 2002 at Taipei Municipal Stadium, followed by 11 stops and ended at Shenzhen Stadium, China on 3 January 2004.

Two more series of world tours followed: Incomparable Concert (無與倫比演唱會) in 2004 and Jay Chou 2007 World Tours (2007世界巡迴演唱會), with stops in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2010, to celebrate Jay's 10 year career in the entertainment industry, he embarked on his fifth series of concert tour titled, New Era World Tour (超時代演唱會), with the first stop of three concerts from 11 to 13 June 2010 at Taipei Arena, followed by 24 stops ending in Malaysia on 5 March 2011.

World tours/Live (DVD) album releases

• 2001 – Fantasy Concert (范特西演唱會)
• 2002 – The One Concert (The One 演唱會) – Jay Chou The One Concert Live
• 2004 – Incomparable Concert (無與倫比演唱會) – Incomparable Jay Concert Live
• 2007 – Jay Chou World Tours (世界巡迴演唱會) – Jay Chou 2007 the World Tours Concert Live
• 2010 – New Era World Tour (超時代演唱會) – Jay Chou 2010 The Era World Tours Concert Live

Other works[link]

Movie career[link]

Chou formally entered the film industry in 2005 with the release of the movie Initial D (頭文字Ｄ). He has since acted in three other movies, directed one film and more than a dozen music videos. Chou, who once said "I live because of music",^[39] ventured into movies because he felt the need for a new challenge. As fans have grown concerned that movies will compromise his music career, Chou has repeatedly reassured that movies are a source of inspiration and not a distraction; at the same time, he realizes the need to balance both careers and maintain his place in the music field to garner the continued support of fans.^{[40][41][42][43]}

Acting[link]

Jay Chou at a promotional event for Kung Fu Dunk in January 2008

Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou.^[41] His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions,^[6] and the director of Hidden Track (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong individualistic personality will not make him a good actor.^[44] In 2005, Chou's first role as the lead actor in Initial D served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences.^[45] This film is based on the Japanese comic Initial D, where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting^[46] while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character’s personality closely mirrored his own.^[47][48] His performance in Initial D won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.^[49][50] Chou’s second film was Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention of Chinese reporters; Chou’s involvement in this movie was announced in its own press conference,^[51] separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and the other actors. Chou portrayed Prince Jai, the ambitious second eldest prince and general of the Imperial army whose personality epitomizes Xiao (孝), the Chinese virtue of filial piety. In this internationally released film, North American audiences saw Chou for the first time. According to Chinese movie critics, comments about his acting ranged from "lacks complexity"^[52] to "acceptable,"^[53][54] but was critically praised by Western reviewers.^{[55][56][57][58][59]} His performance in Curse of the Golden Flower was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards.^[60] In the 2008 film Kung Fu Dunk, Chou portrayed a kung fu student and dunking prodigy, and the film earned over ¥100 million (US$14.7 million).^[61] Chou portrayed Kato in The Green Hornet, directed by Michel Gondry and released in January 2011, after Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow withdrew from the project; the film grossed over $228 million worldwide.^[62] MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.^[63] In May 2011, Chou started filming for a new movie, The Viral Factor directed by Dante Lam and starred various well known artistes such as Nicholas Tse, Bai Bing and Lin Peng. The movie was released in theatres over Asia on 17 January 2012. With most of the scenes shot in the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, earlier filming process has been slightly disrupted due to political conflicts in the Middle East. In 2012, Jay Chou announced that he has started the filming process to the sequel of his directorial debut "不能说的秘密" (Secret/A Secret That Cannot Be Told), collaborating with his lifelong friend, 刘畊宏/Will Liu. It has been tentatively being named as "不能说的秘密2" (Secret 2/A Secret That Cannot Be Told 2) and is expected to be released in 2013.

Directing[link]

Chou acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music videos. He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" (Chinese: 家; pinyin: jiā) where he was involved throughout the entire process from research to editing. After learning the difficulties of being a director, he refused to direct again even at the request of his record company.^[64] However, his interest resurfaced again as he directed music videos for 4 of the 12 songs in own album November's Chopin in 2005,^[65] and later television advertisements.^[66][67] By 2006, he had taken responsibility for the storyboard, directing, and editing of music videos for all his songs.^[40] It is unclear how the public appraises his work, since music videos are rarely the subject of critical review; however, director Zhang Yimou said that Chou's directing abilities may surpass his own in the future, after viewing several of Chou's music videos.^[51][68]

In February 2007, Chou finally directed his first movie Secret. The story he wrote is based loosely on his relationship with a high school girlfriend, with a plot focused on music, love, and family.^[69] He stars as the lead actor of the film with Kwai Lun-Mei‎ as the female lead, and Hong Kong veteran actor Anthony Wong as Chou’s father. Despite previous experience in filming music videos, Chou admits that movies are more challenging due to storyline and time constraints.^[69] This movie was released in July 2007.^[70]

In 2005, Jay Chou played the male lead in Initial D, and according to reports, he will be back to direct the sequel, while Andrew Lau, who was a co-director of the first Initial D, will take on the role of the producer.^[71]

[edit] Book: Grandeur de D Major

Chou published his first book titled Grandeur de D Major (simplified Chinese: D调的华丽; traditional Chinese: D調的華麗; pinyin: D diào de huálì) on 25 November 2004.^[k] This 200-page book features a prologue written by his family, friends, and co-workers; the main section is a compilation of his personal attitudes, philosophies, and recollections of childhood experiences along with pictures from his music videos, many of which have never been released; and lastly, a list of the artist's major awards, musical and lyrical compositions, and discography. For the usually low-profile singer, this book revealed his personality and convictions that has served as the basis of his musical and public image. He demonstrated a strong appreciation of family values with an especially deep connection with his mother and maternal grandmother. His confidence and dedication towards music is evident as he dedicated 2 out of 7 chapters to music: the current state of the industry, his composition methodology, and the importance of individualism to his success in music. This pride is contrasted against his modesty and self-assessed naivety about many aspects in life, particularly regarding relationships and marriage.

Endorsements[link]

Chou has been a spokesperson for popular brands such as Pepsi (2002–2007), Panasonic (2001–2005), Motorola (since 2006), M-Zone/China Mobile (since 2003), Levi's (2004–2005), Deerhui (sporting goods, since 2003), Metersbonwe Group (casual wear, since 2003), Colgate (2004–2005), popular computer game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002), and science and nature magazine National Geographic (2005).^[72][73] To maximize the celebrity branding effect, advertisements are nearly always linked to his music and TV commercials are occasionally directed by him.^[66][67] He acted as the tourism ambassador for Malaysia in 2003.^[74][75] In April 2008, Jay signed with Sprite and collaborated with artistes such as Angela Chang and JJ Lin in commercials. He also did a Sprite commercial with Kobe Bryant and specially wrote a song named "天地一斗 (Battle of the Incomparable)" featuring Kobe Bryant for the commercial. In June 2011, Jay expanded his area of endorsement into the field of technology, becoming the designer and spokesperson of the "N43SL Jay Chou Edition" laptop of ASUS Computers. The laptop is most notable for its lid design, sound system, start-up and shut-down tones, and a unique 'J' font for its key. All of which, except for the sound system, are designed and composed by Jay himself.

Accolades[link]

From the launch of his music career in 2000, Jay Chou has won more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia.^[12] The highly coveted Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan^[j] awarded "Best Album" for his debut CD Jay (2000) in 2001, and five awards (including "Best Album", "Best Composer", and "Best Producer") in the following year for the album Fantasy (2001). However, failure to win "Best Album" for three consecutive years has left him disheartened with award ceremonies. Although he continues to win more than 20 awards per year from various organizations in Asia, Chou has stated he will rely more on album sales as an indicator of his music's quality and popularity.^[76] In 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, he was awarded Best-Selling Artist in Taiwan by World Music Awards for the albums Common Jasmin Orange, Still Fantasy and On the Run.^[77]

Media and public relations[link]

Public image[link]

Chou's 2007 tour outfit exhibited at the Hard Rock Cafe 40th anniversary tour in Seattle, 2011

Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his "personal philosophy".^[6][78] In his music, this is also evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores topics unconventional for a pop singer, which have been described as "authentic" and "revolutionary".^[6][10][11] The media describes a hard-working^[79] perfectionist^[6] with clear self-direction^[80] who is occasionally regarded as competitive^[81] and a "control freak".^[6] There is a misunderstanding about his nickname "Chairman Chou" (Chinese: 周董; pinyin: Zhōu dǒng), used by both the press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on Asian music,^[82] but also points at his musical talent.^[20][79] Yet the origin of this nickname emerges from his fever of collecting antiques as the word "董" comes from "antique" in Chinese (古董). Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet,^[80][83] modest, and views filial piety as "the most important thing".^[84] In-line with his aim to present a positive image,^[16] he is a non-smoker, non-drinker, and does not go to nightclubs.^[85] Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour,^[86] designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007,^[87][88] His lyrics for two songs^[i] has been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes.^{[89][90][91][92]} In November 2007, Chou was criticized for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Baron Chen, whom Chou met while filming Kung Fu Dunk.^[93][94][95] In 2011 Chou performed on the New Year's Gala program on China's Central Television.^[96]

Response to the news media and paparazzi[link]

As with other stars, Chou has expressed a strong dislike of the paparazzi. In the early years of his career, unwanted attention by the media was usually dealt with by avoidance. In-line with his quiet nature, he frequently wore baseball caps and hoods while lowering his head and evading eye contact during interviews.^[83] In recent years however, he has been less passive about the invasion of his privacy. To discourage the paparazzi from taking unsolicited pictures, Chou is known to photograph the paparazzi that follow him.^[97] He openly calls the paparazzi "dogs" and tabloids "dog magazines", as shown in his lyrics for "Besieged From All Sides" (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sìmiànchǔgē). The media have also accused Chou of evading compulsory military service^[98] by feigning to suffer from ankylosing spondylitis. Later that year he was acquitted after providing the relevant medical records and letters from the army confirming a lawful exemption from draft dated before the start of his music career.^[99]

Despite constant harassment and stalking by the media, he does acknowledge that not all media attention is unwelcome.^[100] Coverage by international journals and news agencies such as Time,^[6] The Guardian,^[101] and Reuters^[78] help ascertain his influence on mainstream culture. An editorial written by Kerry Brown of Chatham House named Chou as one of the 50 most influential figures in China, one of only three singers on a list dominated by politicians and corporate owners.^[102] At the end of 2009, he was included on JWT's annual list of 100 Things to Watch in 2010.^[103]

Fanbase[link]

Chou's wax statue at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong

It is difficult to estimate the size and global spread of Chou's fanbase. Jay's fanbase originated from Taiwan, his country, and grew extensively to other mandarin-speaking nations. The Chinese-speaking populations of Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and China make up a significant percentage of Chou's fans. Despite rampant piracy issues in this region of Asia, particularly in China, every album Chou has released so far has surpassed 2 million sales. According to Baidu, the most popular internet search engine in China, Chou is the number one searched male artist in 2002, 05, 06 and 07.^{[104][105][106][107]}

In Hong Kong, he has been the best-selling Mandarin speaking artist for the past 4 years.^[108] According to a 2004 survey in five Chinese urban centers for children ages 9 to 14, 1 in 6 named Chou as their favorite idol;^[109] he was also reported as the favorite singer of youths aged 8 to 25 in a study conducted in seven Asian countries (2006).^[110] He has a solid fanbase throughout Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.^[110] In Singapore, Chou was the second most searched celebrity behind Britney Spears in the music category.^[111]

Currently, Chou remains largely unknown outside of Asia, except in cities with large Chinese speaking immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. He has held concerts in major venues such as the Acer Arena (Sydney – 3 July 2009), HP Pavilion at San Jose (San Jose – 31 December 2010), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles – 8 January 2011), MGM Grand (Las Vegas—25 December 2002), Rogers Arena (Vancouver – 23 December 2010),^[6] Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles—18 December 2004),^[112] Galen Center (Los Angeles—24 December 2007) and the Air Canada Centre (Toronto – 18 December 2008). His intention to increase his prominence in the Western world beyond Chinese audiences is clear. In 2006, Chou composed and sang the theme song for Fearless, a movie released in major theatres in most English-speaking countries,^[113] though the impact to his fame has been minimal. His role in Curse of the Golden Flower (limited release) marks his acting debut in North America. Despite having a supporting but important role in the story's plot, the North American version of the official posters only featured a view of his back, greatly contrasting the Asian versions where his face and name were clear and placed between the leading actor and actress. Although Chou is still far from being well known to English audiences, this movie has brought him international exposure. Chou gained further exposure to western audiences in his starring role as crimefighter Kato in January 2011's The Green Hornet.

Chou has won the Favorite Male Artist of the 20th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. He did not attend the event to collect the award because he was on tour in China at the time.

Discography[link]

• Jay (2000)
• Fantasy (2001)
• Eight Dimensions (2002)
• Ye Hui Mei (2003)
• Common Jasmin Orange (2004)
• November's Chopin (2005)
• Still Fantasy (2006)
• On the Run (2007)
• Capricorn (2008)
• The Era (2010)
• Exclamation Mark (2011)

Filmography[link]

Chou at the 2007 Shanghai Film Festival

Films[link]

Television series[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]