good to know

[toastykitten]

Not that I'm planning to quit or anything, but this is very good to know: In California, a non-compete agreement is enforceable only if someone sells a business and agrees not to compete with the new owner. That aside, California employers cannot restrict the livelihood of their current or former employees.

Greencine had someone covering the Hong Kong Film Festival - the most interesting part is the controversial directorial debut of heartthrob Daniel Wu, who according to Wikipedia, went to Head Royce in Oakland. Head Royce is a pretty exclusive private school, and you either have to be very rich or very smart to get in. (Of course, the first thing that popped into my head was, so that's where all the hot Asian boys were!) I received an application, but I never applied, after looking at the cost. I remember we had a few friends who went there, and (my memory is extremely fuzzy on this) how once some people from Skyline went to visit them. One told a story about how the teacher, in order to get her class to be quiet, said that she would walk out until the class became quiet. And did. When one of the Head Royce students asked the Skyline kid what she would do if it happened in the public school, she replied, "We would walk out, too. Shit." Or something to that effect.

Of course, being from Oakland, Mr. Wu's a troublemaker, and his movie, Heavenly Kings, totally pissed off the Hong Kong media. It's basically a mockumentary/documentary, in which he and three other friends create a real band, and show how stuff gets manipulated and processed in the press and in the recording studio. He's been blacklisted from quite a few places, but it's only garnered him more media attention elsewhere, and his band is still Alive.

How is the movie itself? Don't know; have not received any VCDs from my sisters yet.

Comments

[toastykitten.livejournal.com]

The press is pissed off because he made them look stupid and exposed the so-called "secrets" of the recording industry there: Wu attempted to use the film to expose the ways that the voracious HK music industry uses and exploits the public and the media to create a sellable image. He shows us the equipment used in the recording of songs to edit out off-key notes. He shows management meetings where the hiring of "professional fans" is discussed. He shows that you don't need talent, only a pretty face, to sell records in HK. - The title Heavenly Kings is a reference to the four biggest Cantopop stars, nicknamed the Four Heavenly Kings, not really for their singing talents (which I don't think any of them really have, but it doesn't stop me from listening to their records), but for their ability to sell records.

As for the official visit - the only thing I think whenever I read about it is BULLSHIT. I don't think the visit will change anything except maybe they'll both figure out a better way to exploit Chinese people.