For more NMA hilarity, click here. more ›

Simon Murray, British businessman, adventurer and author, is better known as the “Tai Pan” (world's most venomous terrestrial snake) of Hong Kong in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Watch him tell Russia Today's Sophie Shevardnadze why he thinks China will not "lead the world forever and ever" or be "the centre of the world's economic future." more ›

• The 14th annual Shanghai International Film Festival (affectionately dubbed SIFFilis around the Shanghaiist 'office' this week) kicked off last night with Francis Lawrence's Hollywood romantic drama Water for Elephants. Red carpet stars this year included Susan Sarandon, Matt Dillon, and Rupert Murdoch.
• Adam Minter of Shanghai Scrap draws some interesting comparisons for Bloomberg between the two largest crowds he saw gathered this week around Shanghai: Nervous gaokao parents and Kungfu Panda fans.
• What do you get for hating the rich and keying nine of their cars in Shanghai? One year in prison.

I can't watch this video without feeling a sense of dread. This Ironing Man must have nerves of steel! more ›

The Russian references were not political in nature. They were innocuous nods to the nationality and spoken language of Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, the villain portrayed by Mickey Rourke. (More information on that character's background here ... be careful, that link features some spoilers.) While most of the censorship consisted of altering the audio track, one scene — during a dinner in a hangar, Vanko asks Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to fetch his pet cockatoo — appeared to be cut short. more ›

Maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but it’s hard to argue that Iron Man is the best English-language film to hit Chinese theaters in a very very long time. And as far as the comic book movie genre is concerned, this may be one of the best offerings to date. more ›