Talking Entertainment: Rubber Ducky You’re the One

The famous Rubber Duck, which I lovingly refer to as Ducky, that soothed many aching hearts with its bobbing in Hong Kong harbor and will arrive in Beijing this September to soothe our own tortured souls. (Watch the video above and you'll understand what I mean by soothing.)

Beijing Design Week is behind the duck visit, as Amsterdam will be their guest city this year. Dutch Artist Florentijn Hofman who created Ducky, finished his speech about the humungous yellow bird at a press conference in Beijing with this comforting comment: “The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!”

This is good news for the authorities who seem to have a thing against large animals.

Which body of water Ducky will bob on is still under speculation. There has been talk of Hou Hai, but as you can discover in the July issue of the Beijinger there are many waterways in the city for a duck. I suppose a strip of hutongs could be torn down for a giant bathtub…

On that note, news came in earlier this week that no Beijing landmarks would be reduced to rubble in Transformers 4, but some will appear in the film which will be released next summer. And the new Superman flick, Man of Steel, is now in cinemas. You can expect a lot of destruction in this modern twist on the classic comic. Clark Kent is characterized more as an “alien” and barely referred to as “super” in this version, which some critics lament has lost its human touch.

One final word: The author Alain Mabanckou, who was slated to speak at the Bookworm July 2, will not be coming to China, so cross that date off your calendar.

Here are some A&C events to keep you entertained over the following week:

• Hutong Comics at 798
  
• Tehching Hsieh’s performance art at UCCA
  
• Photography and video describe the genesis of Persia
  
• Young Chinese Filmmaker’s Showcase: Fly with the crane

Photo: bjdw.org