CX717 is an ampakine compound created by Christopher Marrs and Gary Rogers in 1996 at Cortex Pharmaceuticals. It affects the neurotransmitter glutamate, with trials showing the drug improves cognitive functioning and memory.

Approval process

In 2005 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Cortex Pharmaceuticals' Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate pilot Phase II clinical trials in the United States.

Also, in 2005, the United States Department of Defense funded a study to look into CX717 and the physiological effects of sleepiness. The study found that rhesus monkeys performed faster and better after receiving the drug, and it counteracted the effects of sleep deprivation.

However, a 2006 study funded by DARPA found that CX717 did not improve cognitive performance in humans subjected to simulated night shift work.

In early March 2006 Cortex reported that, in a small pilot Phase II study, CX717 had demonstrated positive clinical and statistical results on the primary endpoint, the ADHD rating scale and the sub-scales related to attention and hyperactivity which are used for the approval of all currently available ADHD treatments. According to a Cortex Pharmaceuticals press release, "Consistent with all previous studies involving over 220 patients and healthy adults, this study demonstrated that CX717 was safe, well tolerated, and produced no increase in heart rate, blood pressure or other cardiovascular side effects".

In April 2007 Cortex Pharmaceuticals submitted two large data packages to the FDA regarding CX717. One data set went to the FDA's Division of Neurology Drug Products for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, while the other went to the Division of Psychiatry Products where the company filed a second CX717 IND for the treatment of ADHD. According to a Cortex Pharmaceuticals press release, the submitted data package "provides clear evidence that the specific histopathological changes seen in animal toxicology studies, which previously caused the FDA to put CX717 on clinical hold, is a postmortem fixation artifact and is not found in the tissue of the animal when it is still living".

Roger G Stoll PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Cortex, stated,

“When CX717 was removed from clinical hold on October 6, 2006 by the Neurology Division a dose was permitted for continuing a study in patients with Alzheimer's disease, but that dose was too low to permit the assessment of the drug in patients with ADHD. Further information was needed to better understand the cause of the histopathological changes. We now have a substantial data base which clearly documents the fact that the histological changes of concern occur postmortem when the fixative solution is used to prepare the slides of the tissue specimens.”

However, in October 2007 the FDA denied Cortex's IND application for a Phase IIb study of CX717 for treatment of ADHD, based on the same animal toxicology results. Cortex responded by inactivating the application, although it will "continue its plans to develop CX717 for the acute treatment of respiratory depression (RD) and continue its study of CX717 in its Alzheimer’s disease PET scan study. Cortex believes that the IND application previously filed with the Division of Neurology Products of the FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease will not be affected by the actions of the DPP." The company hopes that after the use of the compound in treating a high-risk acute condition is approved and well-established, the risks of longer-term use at higher doses, such as for treatment of ADHD, will be shown to be less than the FDA had concluded.

Use for reversal of respiratory depression

The relatively poor oral bioavailability and blood-brain barrier penetration of CX-717 ultimately led to Cortex abandoning development of the 800 mg oral formulation of CX-717 for ADHD, although research into its action in the brain continues. along with an oral formulation of CX-1739, which is around 3-5x more potent than CX-717 and has better oral bioavailability, and is being trialled for treatment of sleep apnoea. Further research has investigated the neurological mechanisms behind the anti-respiratory depressant effects of CX-717, and demonstrated that it can be used in humans alongside opioid drugs to reduce this side effect without affecting analgesia.

Related AMPAkines

Other AMPAkine drugs from Cortex Pharmaceuticals such as CX-546 and CX-614 have already been researched for use in treating Alzheimer's disease and ADHD. These drugs were reasonably effective at reducing the symptoms of Alzheimer's and it was hoped that they could also slow the progression of the disease, but both CX-546 and CX-614 have poor bioavailability, and are only active at very high doses of 1000 mg or more. CX-717 and CX-1739 are newer and more potent drugs in the same series. The chemical structures of CX-717 and CX-1739 have not yet been revealed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals, but are presumably similar to earlier compounds in the series as shown below. It is very unusual for research on a compound to be released in scientific journals without disclosing exactly what the compound consists of, but this information is likely to have been kept confidential for reasons of intellectual property, and also because the research on CX-717 was initially partially funded by DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

References

Cortex Pharmaceuticals press release

See also

Adrafinil

AMPA

Arecoline

Carphedon

CX-516 (Ampalex)

CX-546

CX-614

Desmopressin

Farampator

Idebenone

Modafinil

Vasopressin

Vinpocetine

Category:Ampakines Category:Stimulants

Name	Jay Chou
Caption	Chou on the red carpet at the MTV Asia Aid, Bangkok, Thailand, 2005
Tradchinesename	周杰倫
Simpchinesename	周杰伦
Pinyinchinesename	Zhōu Jiélún
Origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Birthdate	January 18, 1979
Birthplace	Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan
Othername	Director Chou (周董)
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, rapper, deejay, music video director, film director, music arranger, model, screenwriter, actor
Genre	R&B;MandopopTaiwanese popHip popC-rock
Instrument	Piano, violin, cello, guitar, drum, guzheng, bass guitar, keyboard, pipa, erhu, harmonica
Label	Sony Music Taiwan(2008–present)JVR Music (2007–present)Alfa Music (1999–2007)
Yearsactive	2000–present
Parents	Father: Zhou Yaozhong (周耀中)Mother: Ye Huimei (葉惠美)
Influenced	Nan Quan Mama
Religion	Buddhist
Website	Jay Chou@JVR Music
Hongkongfilmwards	Best New Performer2006 Initial DBest Original Film Song2007 "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (Curse of the Golden Flower)
Goldenhorseawards	Best Newcomer2005 Initial DOutstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year2007 SecretBest Original Song2007 "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" (Secret)
Mtvasiaawards	Favorite Artist, Taiwan2002, 2005
Goldenmelodyawards	Best Mandarin Album2001 Jay2002 Fantasy2004 Ye Hui MeiBest Music Video2009 "Mr. Magic" (Capricorn)Best Song of the Year2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run)2009 "Fragrant Rice" (Capricorn)Best Composer2002 "Love Before A.D." (Fantasy)2008 "Blue and White Porcelain" (On the Run)Best Producer2002 Fantasy
Awards	World Music AwardsBest-Selling Chinese Artist2004, 2006, 2007, 2008Shanghai Film Critics Awards2007 Best Actor (Curse of the Golden Flower)

in Seoul, South Korea, on 10 January 2008.]] Jay Chou ( was born on 18 January 1979. He is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. He is well-known for composing all his own songs and songs for other singers. 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, covering issues such as domestic violence, war, and urbanization.

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, winning more than 20 awards each year. He has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide up to 2010. 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.

Life and career

Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan. Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Ye Hui Mei (), taught fine arts, while his father, Zhou Yao Zhong (), was a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three. 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. has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and his insistence on singing with relaxed 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 ..."

He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B; or rock to form a new genre called "Zhongguo feng" (), which literally means "Chinese Style Music", 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" (), American techno/electronica in "Herbalist's Manual" (), rap with subtle classical music undertones in "Reverse Scales" (), and Bossanova style in "Rosemary" (), 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).

His formal musical training is evident by the use of classical textures in his compositions. For example, counterpoint was used in "Perfection" () and "Sorry" (), while polyphony can be found in "The Wound That Ends War" () and "Twilight's Chapter Seven" ().

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." which he also insisted will not change; however, recently he has adopted clearer pronunciation for certain songs, particularly more traditional Chinese style songs, such as "Faraway" () which features Fei Yu-ching and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" ().

Lyrics

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. In addition to writing romantic hits, he also touches on war, the Bible, sports, and martial arts. Vivian Hsu is a singer herself and has helped with Chou's earlier hits, while Huang Jun Lang () is noted for his work surrounding unusual themes (such as a detective story and chess game).

Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads, but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" () and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace fields" (). Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I am back" () received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music, which helped solidify his status as a pioneer and a unique pop singer capable of approaching serious issues. In the songs "Maternal grandmother" () and "Listen to Mother" (), he voiced his high regard for family values. He addressed personal issues about his failure to enter university in "Split" (), his resentment towards the paparazzi in "Besieged From All Sides" (), and highlighted the importance of individuality in "Popular Imitation" (). "Rice Fragrance" (), a song from his 9th album Capricorn encourages people not to give up their dreams even when facing difficulties in life.

Collaborations

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.

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; as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band, but continues to help increase their exposure to mass audiences by inviting them as guests performers for his own concerts and music videos.

He has performed live duets with Landy Wen, and former girlfriend news anchor Patty Hou, but only two studio recordings of duets have been formally placed in his own albums: "Coral Sea" () in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama) and "Faraway" () in 2006 features Fei Yu-Ching, who began his career in the 1970s. 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 () featured 12 songs, each consisting of Chou's musical and Fang's lyrical compositions. 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 (), and is now Chou's business partner (together with Chou's manager JR Yang) for the record company JVR Music. Jay Chou was also featured in Cindy Yen's (袁詠琳) song "Sand Painting" (畫沙) released in October 2009. Jay Chou collaborates 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 February 20, 2011.

World tours

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

Movie career

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", 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.

Acting

in January 2008]] Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou. 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. 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 while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character’s personality closely mirrored his own. His performance in Initial D won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. 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, 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" to "acceptable," but was critically praised by Western reviewers. His performance in Curse of the Golden Flower was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards. 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). 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. MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.

Directing

featuring Chou as a director for the first time.]] Chou's acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music videos. He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" () 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. However, his interest resurfaced again as he directed music videos for 4 of the 12 songs in own album November's Chopin in 2005, and later television advertisements. By 2006, he had taken responsibility for the storyboard, directing, and editing of music videos for all his songs.

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. 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.

In 2005, Jay Chou played the male lead in Initial D, but 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.

Book: Grandeur de D Major

Chou published his first book titled Grandeur de D Major () on November 25, 2004. 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

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), and Metersbonwe Group (casual wear, since 2003), Colgate (2004–2005), popular computer game (2002), science and nature magazine National Geographic (2005). To maximize the celebrity branding effect, advertisements are nearly always linked to his music and TV commercials are occasionally directed by him. Recently, Jay is promoting Sprite with Angela Chang. In the commercial, he can be seen performing magic tricks. He also did a Sprite commercial with Kobe Bryant.

Accolades

From the launch of his music career in 2000, Jay Chou has won more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia. The highly coveted Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan 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. In 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, he was awarded Best-Selling Artist in China by World Music Awards for the albums Common Jasmin Orange, Still Fantasy and ''On the Run.

Media and public relations

Public image

Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his "personal philosophy". 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". The media describes a hard-working perfectionist who is occasionally regarded as competitive and a "control freak". but also points at his musical talent. modest, and views filial piety as "the most important thing". In-line with his aim to present a positive image, he is a non-smoker, non-drinker, and does not go to nightclubs. Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour, designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007, His lyrics for two songs has been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes. In November 2007, Chou was criticized for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Chen Chuhe, whom Chou met while filming Kung Fu Dunk.

Response to the news media and paparazzi

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. He openly calls the paparazzi "dogs" and tabloids "dog magazines", as shown in his lyrics for "Besieged From All Sides" (). The media have also accused Chou of evading compulsory military service 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.

Despite constant harassment and stalking by the media, he does acknowledge that not all media attention is unwelcome. Coverage by international journals and news agencies such as Time, and Reuters At the end of 2009, he was included on JWT's annual list of 100 Things to Watch in 2010.

Fanbase

It is difficult to estimate the size and global spread of Chou's fanbase. Jay's fanbase originated and grew extensively in his native country, Taiwan. The Chinese-speaking populations of Hong Kong, 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.

In Hong Kong, he has been the best-selling Mandarin artist for the past 4 years. 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; he was also reported as the favorite singer of youths aged 8 to 25 in a study conducted in seven Asian countries (2006). He has a solid fanbase throughout Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Currently, Chou remains largely unknown outside of Asia, except in cities with large Chinese immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. He has held concerts in major venues such as the Acer Arena (Sydney - July 3, 2009), HP Pavilion at San Jose (San Jose - December 31, 2010), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles - January 8, 2011), MGM Grand (Las Vegas—December 25, 2002), Rogers Arena (Vancouver - December 23, 2010), Galen Center (Los Angeles—December 24, 2007) and the Air Canada Centre (Toronto - December 18, 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, 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.

Filmography

Films

Television series

Notes

a. Examples of Chou's Chinese style R&B;: "East Wind Breaks" (東風破), "Hair Like Snow" (髮如雪), "Faraway" (千里之外). Examples of Chinese style rock: "Nunchucks" (雙截棍), "Dragon Fist" (龍拳), "Golden Armor" (黃金甲). b. Examples of sound effects used in Chou's music: ping pong balls in "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), touch-tone phone dialing in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), helicopter blades in "My Territory" (我的地盤), dripping rain in "You Can Hear" (妳聽得到), and radio static noise in "Nocturne" (夜曲). c. Examples of Oriental-style lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Shanghai 1943" (上海一九四三), "Wife" (娘子), and "Chrysanthemum Flower Platform" (菊花台). d. Examples of romantic lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Love Before Anno Domini" (愛在西元前), "Nocturne" (夜曲), "Common Jasmin Orange" (七里香), and "Perfectionist" (完美主義) . e. Vincent Fang's lyrics discuss war in "The Last Campaign" (最後的戰役) and "Wounds That End War" (止戰之殤), the Bible in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), sports in "Bullfight" (鬥牛) and "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), and martial arts in "Nunchucks" (雙截棍) and "Ninja" (忍者). f. Examples of Vivian Hsu's work: "Adorable Woman" (可愛女人), "Tornado" (龍捲風), and "Simple Love" (簡單愛). g. Unusual themes of Huan Jun Lang's lyrics: detective story in "Twilight's Chapter Seven" (夜的第七章), a chess game in "Checkmate" (將軍). h. Examples of romantic lyrics by Jay Chou: "Black Humor" (黑色幽默), "Silence" (安靜), "Iron Box Of An Island" (半島鐵盒), "Fine Day" (晴天), "Excuse" (藉口), "Black Sweater" (黑色毛衣), and "White Windmills" (白色風車). i. "Snail" (蝸牛) and "Listen To Mother's Words" (聽媽媽的話) j. Golden Melody Awards: "…the Chinese pop music industry's equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US are held annually to award professionals making music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and any of Taiwan's Aboriginal languages." k. A similar book was published in Japanese, titled Grandeur de D major—Jay Chou Photo Essay (ISBN 4-901873-50-4).

References

External links

Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Best New Performer HKFA Category:Living people Category:People from New Taipei Category:Taiwanese film actors Category:Taiwanese film directors Category:Taiwanese male singers Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Sergei Govorkov
Caption
First	His Nickname Is 'Beast' (1989)
Last	Return of the Furious (2005)
Nickname	30th
Alias	Beast, Rex, Furious
Title	Sergeant
Portrayer	Igor Livanov (1992 film)Dmitry Pevtsov (1989 film)
Creator	Victor Dotsenko

Sergeant Sergei (Rex) Govorkov (nicknamed Furious) is a fictional character in the 1992 Soviet action/adventure film Terminate the Thirtieth!, played by Igor Livanov. He is arguably a breakout character. The movie is based on the same-titled novel by Victor Dotsenko. Govorkov, created by Victor Dotsenko in 1980s, is a main protagonist in the novels of other well-known Russian writers including Yuri Nikitin, Anton Pervushin, Valery Roschin, Kirill Vorobyev. Novels about his adventures made Victor Dotsenko the most published and highest paid Russian writer in 1995. In them his character got to know many prominent Russian politicians and officials, who later became personal friends of Dotsenko in reality (for example, the mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov). Overall Dotsenko has written 25 books about Govorkov or about gaps in his fictional biography (for instance, An Appeal to Furious). Dotsenko even calles himself Furious's Father (). Today, the total number of books sold about Govorkov's adventures remains unknown. The approximate number is 20,000,000 from 1991 to 2001, which includes books with different covers and by other authors as well as unlicensed books. Some of them have been translated into English.

Short description

Sergei Govorkov is a fictional character, created by Victor Dotsenko, returnee of the Afghan war, who fights the Mafia in the manner of a superhero or Rambo. He fights mafia criminals, corrupt politicians, Chechen terrorists, and foreign enemies, saving President Yeltsin and receives a Purple Heart from US authorities.

In the novels his name is Savely – a rare Russian name, which was changed to relatively sounding, more common and catchy. He appeared in more than twenty novels, all of them became a bestsellers.

Fictional character biography

Sergei was brought up in an orphanage, VDV and Spetsnaz Sergeant, martial arts sensei's best trainee, Afghan vet, after being retired he was convicted for a crime he didn't commit, became a prisoner, then an escapee and fugitive from justice, later considered not guilty, back in the Afghan, MIA, then became a POW, during his escape he came into a copter crash, badly wounded and healed by some Pakistani Zoroastrian sect which later initiated him as adept. And by the time depicted in the beginning of "Terminate the Thirtieth!", he's just a lonely drifter in some oriental country , completely out of money, applying for any kind of job and attempting to sold his war decorations to prevent himself from starvation death. His friend Cpt. Voronov (or '11th'), which also became missing in action during the Afghan campaign, is his only relative - they grew up together in the orphanage.

Complicated tangle, eh? And there is no wonder that KGB, Russian mob and Mujahideen wants him dead or alive. Finally he came back in the USSR, but now it's not the same Country he had left a years ago. New trends, new ideas, new liberties are in the air.

Meaning of the "30th"

30th is a chest-badge number, which is a heritage from his previous owner, killed in the beginning of the novel "Terminate the Thirtieth!"

Victor Dotsenko "Terminate the Thirtieth!":

Other facts

Unlike the novel, the film contains no sex scenes, which are frequent in the novel. Despite, its having been shot shortly after the 'Glasnost' period, sexploitation on the screen was widespread and encouraged. A vast majority of the initiated audience, mostly VDV and Spetsnaz servicemen considered the movie quieter, more interesting and related to reality. This is because Dotsenko, who was Director as well, has used military consultants. Also, actor Igor Livanov, who portrayed the '30th', served active duty in Soviet marine troops, and was well-experienced in martial arts. A "Kill the Thirtieth" novel took the 9th position in the 1992' The Economist chart. After the 1992' film, there were events, when people change their original name to character's one.

See also

VDV

Spetsnaz

Further reading

Adele Marie Barker "Consuming Russia: popular culture, sex, and society since Gorbachev". Durham, N.C. : Duke University Press, 1999 - 473 p. ISBN 0822323133, 9780822323136 (Page 188)

Birgit Beumers "Pop culture Russia!: media, arts, and lifestyle". Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005 - 399 p. ISBN 1851094598, 9781851094592 (Page 300)

Eliot Borenstein "Overkill: sex and violence in contemporary Russian popular culture". Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2008 - 265 p. ISBN 0801474035, 9780801474033

Michael L. Bressler "Understanding contemporary Russia". Boulder : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2009 - 423 p. ISBN 1588265862, 9781588265869 (Page 371)

Anna Brodsky, Mark Naumovich Lipovetskiĭ, Marina Kanevskaya, Sven Spieker "The imprints of terror: the rhetoric of violence and the violence of rhetoric in modern Russian culture". Gesellschaft zur Förderung slawistischer Studien, 2006 - 290 p. ISBN 3876909791, 9783876909790 (Page 121)

Anthony Olcott "Russian pulp: the detektiv and the Russian way of crime". Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2001 - 207 p. ISBN 0742511405, 9780742511408 (Pages 33,145,191,202)

"Russian studies in literature", vol. 36. Periodical. Armonk, NY : M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2000. ISSN: 1061-1975

"The Soviet and post-Soviet review", vol. 29. Periodical. Salt Lake City, UT : College of Humanities, University of Utah, 2002. ISSN: 1075-1262

References

Category:Fictional sergeants Category:Fictional Spetsnaz personnel Category:Fictional war veterans Category:Fictional mercenaries Category:Fictional private military members Category:Characters in Russian novels of the 20th century Category:Russian characters in written fiction