One of the nation’s best-selling authors, Giddens Ko (柯景騰), also known as Jiu Ba-dao (九把刀), confirmed yesterday that a major studio in the US has purchased the rights to produce a screenplay based on his work, marking possibly the first time a local author’s story has been adapted into a Hollywood film.
The Killer Who Never Kills, a novel first published in 2005 that sold more than 100,000 copies nationwide, consists of two stories.
One of those stories has been sold to Hollywood, Ko said.
“If I could have a say on who plays the lead role of my novel, I would say Jay Chou (周杰倫), but obviously I am not the one making that decision,” Ko said, referring to the Taiwanese pop singer and actor who plays Seth Rogen’s sidekick in The Green Hornet.
The story sold to Hollywood follows the life of a killer who actually never kills anyone, but instead uses deceit to give the appearance that he has fulfilled his mission.
Ko refused to disclose any details of the deal, citing a confidentiality agreement.
Ko’s noted achievements include writing up to 5,000 words per day and publishing 14 novels in as many months. His prolific career started when he wrote a short story as part of his application to get into a local graduate school. It was then that he discovered his talent for writing.
At the age of 32, Ko has already published 56 novels, many of which have topped the best-seller charts. Some have been adapted for television soap operas, comic books and video games.
He has never experienced “writer’s block,” he said, adding that he thinks writing a novel is a process of talking to himself, a journey he finds “extremely lonely.”
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS