Sunday, December 24, 2006

《满城尽带黄金甲》


剧情简介:

   满城的菊花,意态舒展。人的忧思,却绞缠于胸。
  金碧辉煌的宫廷里,心绪不宁的皇后领着王子们在等王。宫闱上下,因为这个即将到来的重阳,忙碌得有序而繁密。

  一场盛大仪式准备就绪,王却悄然回宫,他好像要有意冷落那些恭候已久的人们,不给他们一个稍微镇定的机会去察言观色,暗自忖量。独自一人的时候他开怀大笑,他的笑里好像有很多的秘密。

  王是这样的王,仿佛振一振袍子,也有雷霆迅至。

  大的王子是祥,他的秘密太沉太重,矜贵之躯,也被这秘密打发成落魄的形骸。

  小的王子是昌,他的笑容灿烂,但是金玉之体,转过身来是温厚端笑,变过身去,嘴角竟有了一丝冷凝。

  王后是这深宫禁院里最美的女人,也是天下最美的女人。这样的女人,肚腑中藏着最惊心的秘密与最湿冷的筹划。

  大王有令,要一个满目祥和的重阳。大王容得了天下的胸襟,却装不下一个秘密。

  满城菊花。长安仗剑。

  郁郁不舒、纠葛不尽的命运,带来雷霆暴雨的气象。菊花甬道上,纷沓而来那些藏在秘密中又挤破了秘密的人!

  暗战、刀光,斩不断痴缠与无情,只有阴霾压境……

  满城的菊花。肃杀。


幕后花絮:
  张艺谋执导、耗资3.6亿元打造的电影《满城尽带黄金甲》,定于圣诞黄金档12月21日全球同步上映。3.6亿元的大制作,费用花在哪里,相信金碧辉煌的皇宫已花掉不少金钱。

  据香港《明报》报道,《黄金甲》除了台前演员强劲,有蜚声国际的周润发、巩俐及实力派影帝刘烨、最佳新演员周杰伦演出外,幕后班底亦甚有来头,由奚仲 文担任服装设计,配乐方面更由曾为《花样年华》、《十面埋伏》及《霍元甲》等担任音乐总监的梅林茂操刀。而制作费达3.6亿元,话题不比演员阵容逊色。

  据报道,张艺谋为了将富丽堂皇的大唐盛世呈现眼前,花上不少财力、人力和时间,他出动接近300个工人,以5个月时间,日以继夜在横店影视城内重建原 大的故宫,宫内宫外每个细节都一丝不苟。 报道指出,宫内金碧辉煌,所有布置包括门及600条柱,全数雕菊花为图案,并漆上金黄色,加上色彩鲜艳的玻璃装饰,在灯光映照下,金光灿烂。而整个皇宫更 铺上特别订制、长达1000米的丝绒地毡。 报道说,宫内处处贴金,宫外亦一样极尽奢华,整个皇宫的外墙同样雕满菊花图案,总长度超过600米,俨如一幅巨型菊花壁画,加上用超过300万菊花铺满 13万平方尺(面积相等于约25个足球场)的花海,登上宫内的露天长廊则铺上一条逾500米长的红、蓝色地毡,沿途摆放

Friday, December 01, 2006

Elections Are Over. Time to Raise Ministers' Salaries!

    ST Nov 29, 2006
    Ministerial pay 'lags behind benchmark'
    But decision on whether to relook salaries rests with PM, says SM Goh

    By Sue-Ann Chia

    BRATISLAVA (SLOVAKIA) - MINISTERS' salaries are pegged to that of the private sector, but they still lag behind the benchmark.

    It is therefore likely that when civil service pay is reviewed, ministers' salaries will also be looked at, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.

    Last week, the Government indicated that salaries of civil servants are likely to go up as it must keep its wages competitive to recruit and retain talent in a tightening labour market.

    At an interview yesterday wrapping up his visit to Europe, Mr Goh was asked about the likelihood of the pay increase, including for ministers.

    He replied: 'Since the year 2000, six years have gone by with very good growth rates in some of the years, so it's time to have a look at the salary of the civil service as a whole, including the salary of the ministers.'

    Right now, he said, ministers' pay packets are at 50 per cent of the benchmark, when they should be at two-thirds level.

    According to the formula agreed upon for over a decade now, ministerial pay is benchmarked to the salaries of the top earners in six chosen professions. It is set at two-thirds the median income of the top eight earners in each of these six professions - that is, the pay of the individual at the mid-point of the list.
It must be fun being a minister. Because unlike the rest of Singapore, you'll never have a bad year.

What do I mean? Well, let's say a cardiosurgeon in Singapore does very well in his career this year, makes a lot of money and is the top-earning cardiosurgeon this year.

Next year he may not do so well. Maybe he will have fewer patients. Or perhaps he just won't have so many complicated cases, so he has to charge less for doing simpler surgeries. Consequently, he will earn much less.

That's life. Some years are good, some years are not so good.

Ministers, however, have no such problem. Their salary is pegged to whoever is earning most, in a given year. When our top cardiosurgeon is earning a lot, the ministers will peg their salaries to him. When our top cardiosurgeon has a bad year, the ministers will just drop him out of the list.

They will then peg their salaries to some other doctor for whom 2007 does turn out to be a great year (eg the most successful neurosurgeon or oncologist in Singapore, for example).

Don't you just love the subtle phrasing in the following paragraph:
    According to the formula agreed upon for over a decade now, ministerial pay is benchmarked to the salaries of the top earners in six chosen professions.
"According to the formula agreed upon ...".

Heheh. Agreed upon by whom? The people of Singapore? The Opposition MPs? The NMPs? Or just between Lee Kuan Yew and his merry men in white?