2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

There is an age-old tradition of biting gold in order to test its authenticity. Although this is certainly not a professional way of examining gold, the bite test should score the gold because gold is considered a soft metal according to the Mohs' scale of mineral hardness. The purer the gold the easier it should be to mark it. Painted lead can cheat this test because lead is softer than gold (and may invite a small risk of lead poisoning if sufficient lead is absorbed by the biting).

redred wrote:

……

可惜啊。美女再也不能起舞了。我们一起祝福她吧。

lbone wrote:

演唱的小MM叫杨沛宜，正在换牙，音乐导演没让她上台，九岁的那个叫林妙可，是杨的形象代言人。

杨MM的声音很好听，林MM的形象很漂亮，都是可爱的小MM。

pkchan wrote:

Olympic Girl NOT Cute enough for T.V. !

Andrews vs. Hepburn
It was never assumed that the lead role in the film would go to Julie Andrews, who had played Eliza in the stage version to great critical acclaim. Audrey Hepburn was cast instead (despite lobbying from screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner), because Jack Warner of Warner Brothers wanted a box office star, and at the time Andrews was an untested screen presence. Elizabeth Taylor reportedly fought long and hard for the role as well. The casting controversy did little to hurt Hepburn's career. Andrews' subsequent Academy Award for Mary Poppins - and the lack of a nomination for Hepburn - was seen by many as vindication for Julie Andrews, though both actresses denied that there was ever any animosity between them. Years later, when Warner Bros. offered Andrews the role of Guinevere in the film adaptation of the Lerner & Lowe musical Camelot (which she also originated to great acclaim on Broadway), Andrews asked for $7 million, and as a consequence, politely declined the offer. Vanessa Redgrave took the role, although she was quoted as saying that, had Julie Andrews wanted to play the role, she certainly would have.


Dubbing
Hepburn's singing was judged inadequate, however, and she was dubbed by Marni Nixon. Some of Hepburn's original vocal performances for the film were released in the 1990s, affording audiences an opportunity to judge whether the dubbing was necessary. Less well known is the dubbing of Jeremy Brett's songs (as Freddy) by Bill Shirley.

No dubbing was done for Rex Harrison, even though he spoke most of his lyrics instead of singing them. In addition, the actor declined to pre-record his musical numbers for the film, explaining that he had never sung the songs the same way twice and thus couldn't convincingly lip-sync to a playback during filming (as musical stars had been doing in Hollywood since the dawn of talking pictures). In order to permit Harrison to sing his songs live during filming, the Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, under the direction of George Groves, implanted a wireless microphone in Harrison's neckties, marking the first time in film history that one was used to record sound during filming. André Previn then conducted the final version of the music to the voice recording. The sound department earned an Academy Award for its efforts.

Julie Andrews was the first choice for the role of Eliza Doolittle, but Warner Brothers, which had paid $5.5 million for the rights to the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical, didn't want to risk a stage actress in the central role of a $17-million film, despite lobbying from Lerner himself. It is also reported that Jack L. Warner didn't think Andrews would be photogenic enough. He invited her to do a screen test, but she refused, so he forgot about her altogether.

...

There was considerable controversy over the casting of Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle. Not only did newspapers ask how a major musical could have a non-singer as its star, but in addition she was felt to be too old at 34 to play a 21-year-old.

wherestip wrote:



You know what they say: Politics is showbiz for ugly people.


Seriously, it definitely was a poor decision that was made on an issue that should never had become one. IMO, it is also an issue - after the fact - that should not have been blown all out of proportion, as some of the youtube clips have done. Some of the hostile comments associated with these clips were totally uncalled for.




[Edited at 2008-08-13 18:08]

Jason Ma wrote:

在电视前看比赛时总要拿个小红旗挥舞。而每次国旗升起，国歌奏响时，他会扑腾从沙发上跳下来起立致敬。我们也只好跟随他照办。

lbone wrote:



演唱的小MM叫杨沛宜，正在换牙，音乐导演没让她上台，九岁的那个叫林妙可，是杨的形象代言人。

杨MM的声音很好听，林MM的形象很漂亮，都是可爱的小MM。

http://www.google.cn/search?num=100&complete=1&hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1&q=杨沛宜%20林妙可&btnG=Google%20搜索&meta=&aq=f


天籁之音杨沛宜生活照：





[Edited at 2008-08-12 16:22]