Young comedian Xiao Shenyang will lead the cast of slapstick comedy Call Me Nobody, which will premiere on Dec 3.

In the film Xiao Shenyang plays a shoe-maker, who becomes the kungfu master Dugu Qiubai, after a series of uncanny incidents. Dugu is a well-known character in Hong Kong writer Louis Cha's kungfu novels. Xiao Shenyang will also sing two theme songs for the film.

The comedian rose to stardom overnight after a skit on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala two years ago. He had his big screen debut in Zhang Yimou's A Simple Noodle Story last year.

His mentor, Zhao Benshan, is a star of many CCTV Spring Festival Galas and also has a role in the film.

Discovery partners up for China Imagica

The State Council's Information Office will join hands with Discovery to produce a series of documentaries called China Imagica in the following three years.

The two will explore subjects such as China's science and technology, geography, social life and traditional culture.

They will also co-found a training course for Chinese filmmakers.

The first two co-productions will focus on the recovery of Sichuan province, which suffered a deadly earthquake in 2008, and the architectural wonders of Beijing. The two documentaries will be aired on Discovery channel in the second quarter of 2011. Discovery's 3D channel will also broadcast the first 3D documentaries about China in 2011.

The State Council has co-produced 20 hours of documentaries on China with Discovery since 2004, which have been released on the network, covering 180 countries and regions.

Sneak peek at global gala

More than 70 diplomats and government officials gathered at Beijing Television Station (BTV) on Friday night for a sneak preview of BTV's annual Spring Festival Global Gala.

Swedish pianist Robert Wells presented an innovative combination of classical music and rock' n 'roll, while American magician David Williamson performed close-up magic, cutting and connecting strings through a metal hoop.

The gala will also feature other foreign celebrities, such as Spain's top flamenco dancer Cristina Hoyos and Israel's counter-tenor David D'or.

It will be broadcast on BTV, TVB-8 (Hong Kong) and TVBS (Taiwan) on the night of Feb 4, 2011, the second day of the Chinese new year.

Spreading Chinese culture

Beijing Normal University established the Institute for International Communication of Chinese Culture on Nov 19, jointly with global IT media, research and exposition company International Data Group.

The institute aims to introduce and disseminate Chinese culture worldwide through research, creative projects and art works with Chinese characteristics, by integrating resources from universities, enterprises, relevant government departments and non-profit organizations.

Huang Huilin, institute director, proposed the idea of Chinese culture as "the third pole culture", along with American and European culture.

Chinese filmmaker Xiaojiang has brought the story of Paul, the prescient octopus, to the big screen.

Titled Kill Octopus Paul, the film is set against the 2010 World Cup, when a soccer-betting public watched Paul closely for his predictions of winners and losers.

The film was shot in South Africa and has former commentator Huang Jianxiang and well-known football reporter-turned writer Li Chengpeng making cameo appearances. The film will premiere on Nov 26.

Huang says the film's storyline is totally fictional, and the World Cup just forms the background. But he admits the scriptwriter was inspired by media reports about soccer betting.

Daily life in Xinjiang

An exhibition of paintings on everyday life in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is on at the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing.

On display are 260 paintings by 82 artists, including the late Ye Qianyu and Huang Zhou, spanning the period from the early 1960s to the present.

Most of the works are figures and portraits, with landscapes - including pencil sketches - Chinese traditional brush paintings and oil paintings comprising the rest.

The exhibition ends on Nov 28.