Grab what you can this weekend from 4 big brands.

In Quarry Bay, today till Saturday at Oxford House in Taikoo Place; check out a big off season sale on Moschino, Blumarine Anna Molinari, Paul Smith and J.M. Weston.

Click here to get the full details.

More interestingly, is that people are still buying CD’s.

You can buy the new Maroon 5 CD and thousands of others on CD Wow’s website in the UK for cheaper than you would find on any other UK music site. What CD Wow does is import the cheaper versions that are made for the local Hong Kong market and sell them at their site for what is apparently incredibly low-prices:

CD Wow originally imported cheap CDs from Hong Kong but promised as long ago as 2004 to stop the practice.

However, in March the company was found guilty of continuing the trade and last week was fined £36 million damages and £5 million interest as penalty for its actions.

Yesterday CD Wow — a privately held company with little-known British and European founders — said that the BPI was able to cite only 39 instances of the rules being breached, a fraction of the 10,000 CDs it ships a day.

This was a big thing in Hong Kong 10 years ago about parallel imports, now that Hong Kong lost so much to piracy all the record labels and movie companies had to drop their wholesale prices to compete, and now its so cheap that other countries that don’t have such rampant piracy can capitalize on it.

Our bigger shock than this story was that people in the U.K. still buy physical CD’s and from this one retailer equals 10,000 a day??!!! Even at a discount, how much is Virgin and HMV selling in the UK a day?

Heavy fines for sending out junk mail in Hong Kong.

Marketers Beware: Starting this Friday, the Hong Kong Gov thinks they can stop something that no other country has been able to stop with a huge fine and jail time.

The new law covers all information transmitted via electronic media, including fax, email, mobile phone SMS and pre-recorded voice message. Violators of the law will be fined HK$1 million and face up to five years’ imprisonment.

We’re all for stopping faxes and those annoying pre-recorded messages that hit your mobile when you are in the middle of an important meeting. As Hong Kong was the first to prosecute the first Internet movie file sharing case, I’m sure that some poor guy now is being targeted to be the first “example.”

A 30-40% off private sale

Dmop is having a private sale from now till Friday (June 1st). Y3 and Moussy products are 30% off everything else is 40% off at all Dmop stores in Hong Kong.

This is a private sale so you will need to join the Butterboom VIP list to get the secret code to get these discounts.

Where in the world is John Woo?

Many of you who are fans of John Woo (吳宇森) are probably wondering where he’s been lately. The last movie you probably remember him making was that terrible Ben Affleck movie Paycheck in 2003. Well hopefully he is recharging his creative muscles and is coming back strong in 2008 with a new film made in China called The Battle of Red Cliff.

Today, Mr. Woo has announced that he will be filming his next movie about gold ninjas in the aptly titled Ninja Gold which is based on a video game that hasn’t come out yet. (Actually that’s the world that Woo has been in recently - the video game one - where slow-motion gunplay is the norm.)

“Ninja” centers on a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old legacy and bloodline, forced to confront the reality of covert warfare in the modern world.

“The game concept is actually based on facts that the Yakuza and the Russian mob are involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa,” Chang said.

Added Spector: “The idea actually started with John Woo. He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me. I was intrigued with the idea of what happens when the traditional and the contemporary come into conflict. And, to say the least, I was very interested in working with John on a project. I’m just a huge fan.”

Spector said Woo was intimately involved in the creation of the “Ninja” cast of characters, especially the hero. He said Woo’s input on the basic situations and thematic underpinnings of the story puts him in a great position to develop the film property without a lot of assistance from the game creators.

Read the rest (via The Hollywood Reporter) here.

Motorola gives Hong Kong a limited edition phone.

Motorola’s new K1 phone has been out for awhile in a variety of colors, but this gold one is specifically for the Hong Kong market. This would make a great target for Ebay transactions as I’m sure there are plenty of Solid Gold dancers looking for one of these slim gold babies around the world! (There are only 20 variations listed on Ebay now)
If you love it but need to study it more, here is an official PC screensaver of dancing K1 phones for you.

“The King of Karaoke” speaks out in English.

Whenever there is an English interview about a Hong Kong celebrity we like to link to it. Eason Chan (陳奕迅) recently was in Shanghai and here is the transcript of the interview - its funny to read the interviewer state that his looks - or lackthereof - are part of his charm:

Q: You’re such an icon who is hailed not for a handsome face but for superb singing skills, passion and charisma on the stage. How do you describe yourself and your music?

A: I’m sort of a low-key person. Actually, I don’t even hang out with my friends that often, especially now that I’m a dad. I hope to have more time with my family. I play music just for fun. When I was sent to the UK for study, life was so boring. But I’m absorbed and determined at work. I think I should try my best when I make up my mind.

Read the rest here. Whatever Eason supposedly lacks in the ‘handsome face’ department he surely makes up for in talent as the UK-studied singer also plays the piano, drums, guitar, violin, acordian, sax, trumpet and electronic organ besides writing his own music.

Load up on discounted DVD’s and CD’s, people!

HMV is having a 40% off sale right now - wait, don’t they always have some kind of sale going on? Yes they do, but why not drop by one of their 5 Hong Kong stores or the website and grab Fast and Furious 2 or 8 Mile for only $49 (Discounted from $130).

I like HMV because they actually update their site and they offer free shipping on all products on their site. But sometimes you just gotta hit their shops to see what’s come up that week.