Wong Kar-wai takes on Bruce Lee's trainer, while Jessica Chastain's hot streak continues.

Wong Kar-wai began filming his next film, The Grandmaster, in December 2009, so obviously it’s wrapped by now, hasn’t it? Actually no, it hasn’t. The demanding Hong Kong filmmaker, the perfectionist behind the likes of In the Mood for Love, Fallen Angels and 2046, is scheduled to do his final reshoots and inserts next month, with the film tentatively scheduled to release in mainland China on December 18, 2012. This is pretty much par for the course for Wong, who sometimes gives the impression that he doesn’t finish a film so much as keep going until the film is finished with him. (There was a joke among Wong’s crew on 2046 that the film’s title was actually his intended finish date.)

Interest in The Grandmaster will be intense, as it follows the public misfire of My Blueberry Nights, Wong’s 2007 English language, American-set road movie that found aimless uses for the likes of Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz. With his forthcoming picture he’s back working in Chinese, telling the story of Hong Kong martial arts master Yip Man, who trained Bruce Lee amongst others before dieing at the age of 79 in 1972. His life has already been the subject of several biopics, such as 2008’s Ip Man, but while the teasers for The Grandmaster are purely stylised hand-to-hand combat (with fight choreography by the revered Yuen Woo-ping), it’s difficult to believe Wong wouldn’t explore more diverse ground.

Wong gravitates to actors used to his methods, so as Yip he’s cast Tony Leung (Hero, 2046, Lust, Caution), while the supporting cast include two other actors who’ve worked with Wong before: Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2046) and Chen Chang (Happy Together, Red Cliff). After the charged atmosphere and romantic languor of his previous Chinese language movies this could be a major departure for Wong, who long ago confused audiences and critics with 1994’s Ashes of Time, a wuxia (martial arts) picture that was infamously light on story and strong on metaphor.

Maxim Iglinskiy's mulet celebrates it's victory at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege (AAP)

Congratulations to Maxim Iglinsky, Kazakhstan and Maxim Iglinsky's mullet, all of whom can revel in what was a thrilling victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, made more so by the wildly inaccurate timegaps displayed by the host broadcaster as Vincenzo Nibali snuggled down inside his hurt box.

Although the victory is Iglinsky's first, it is the third by a Kazakh in the same race in eight years – making the landlocked Central Asian nation infinitely more successful in recent seasons than, say, Italy, which has won not one of the last 21 monuments.

The previous Kazakh winner at Liege was, of course, Alexandre Vinokourov, who won in 2005 and 2010. His political ambitions seemingly on hold, Vinokourov is set to take up a role as team manager at Iglinsky's team, Astana. Vino was several hundred miles away preparing for the Tour of Turkey as Iglinsky crossed the line on Sunday, but did not let that stop him claiming partial credit for the win.

"I called Maxim yesterday morning before the start," Vino honked at Cyclingnews. "I had noticed that he had good legs at Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne ... He rode to perfection. He did it the Vino way!"

It seems like if you’re running a television network these days, profits are on the decline.

If you’re on the network, starring in a successful show, then your personal profits are up.

Shares in Seven West Media slumped as much as 23 per cent today, after investors reacted to the company’s profit warning two days ago.

Seven West, which owns Network Seven and The West Australian, said a lacklustre advertising market will see earnings for this financial year fall to between $460million and $470million.

Andy Schleck (foreground) and brother Frank (background) at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege (AAP Images)

There is only one race that can now save the season for Andy Schleck, his older brother Frank and RadioShack-Nissan, the Tour de France.

To say this season for the Schlecks and RadioShack-Nissan has been one to forget is an understatement, and the latest news coming out of the team camp suggests there are also a few internal management tensions.

Back in February, as the reality of the freshly minted RadioShack and Leopard Trek merger was starting to sink in, it was all sweetness and light. Optimism reigned and success for Andy and the team was all in front of them, with Johan Bruyneel driving the bus.

"We had training camps two-and-a-half weeks in Mallorca. Johan is now also in Luxembourg so we meet quite a lot We did testing on the track with time-trial bikes," Andy Schleck told Cycling Central’s Sophie Smith at the Tour of Oman.

With today's surprisingly low inflation figures, the question isn't if the Reserve Bank board will cut interest rate next week, but rather by how much.

The Consumer Price Index rose by just 0.1 per cent in the March quarter to be 1.6 per cent higher on the year.

But the underlying measure -- the key measure which the Reserve Bank board looks at when considering monetary policy,--is up by only 2.1 per cent. That's at the very bottom of its 2 -3 per cent comfort band and is in fact, at the lowest level in two-and-a-half years.

The biggest price rises for the quarter came from pharmaceuticals (+14.4%), secondary education (+7.7%) and tertiary education (+4.7%)

Afghan refugees arrive by plane. (File: AAP)

Since 1975, the US has taken over 3 million refugees, most of them from Bhutan, Burma, and Iraq.

"We are a compressed version of Ellis Island," suggested John Bateman, the man from the United States' government Center for Disease Control, and one of several officials responsible for overseeing the arrival of refugees on American soil.

Bateman was referring to the now-famous island that sits in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. For decades, Ellis Island was the first stop for immigrants arriving in America, eloquently paid tribute in a poem by Emma Lazarus that now stands on the pedestal of Lady Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey may not inspire the same romanticism as New York's spectacular harbour but as Bateman explained, in 2012, it serves as a point of welcome for people aspiring to some kind of the American dream, whatever that is in the 21st Century.

Winning Feeling: Mark O'Brien of Budget Forklifts celebrates winning stage two of the Mersey Valley Tour. He went on to win the overall.

Despite a welcome injection of funds from new Cycling Australia sponsor Subaru, Al Hinds questions just what impact that sponsorship has had on the grass roots of cycling after round one of the National Road Series; the Mersey Valley Tour in Tasmania.

If there has been any change [in the stature of the NRS], I don't see it.From a personal perspective it was a shame to hear the above comments over the phone in a candid conversation with the Genesys Wealth Advisers team boss on Friday afternoon, as he scouted some of the time trial course with his riders.

At the time he'd yet to see the NRS's new website launched the same day, which I'll credit Sean Muir and the Cycling Australia team as a step in the right direction, but his comments were a reflection of a greater frustration at the lack of promotion of both the race and the NRS in the lead-up.

If ever there had been a tide going in the NRS's favour the success of Steele Von Hoff and Nathan Haas last year must certainly have been it.

After languishing on the shelf, a comedy directed by a Sydney-based filmmaker finally is being released internationally.

Four years ago, US-born, Australian-based director Jeff Balsmeyer shot a buddy comedy with a little known cast in Tucson, Arizona. It screened in a few festivals to good reviews but no one wanted to buy it.

Originally known as Lightbulb, it has since been re-titled Ingenious, and one of the stars was Jeremy Renner.

The movie finally is being released in a bunch of international markets in the third quarter of this year, tying in with the August launch of Renner’s latest vehicle, The Bourne Legacy, as distributors and the filmmakers hope to capitalise on that high-profile film plus his Academy Award nominations for The Hurt Locker and The Town.

Saxo Bank boss Bjarne Riis (Getty Images)

I’ve always had mixed emotions when it comes to Bjarne Riis. In the 16 years since first crossing paths with the 1996 Tour de France winner, he’s always come across as dour, aloof, single minded, moody and not one for simple conversation.

Riis been described by some as “cycling’s most boring man”, a description I concur with in my experience covering TV cycling as a reporter and presenter.

But is he really all that? Maybe it’s a Danish thing or a simple contrast in cultures that I haven’t been able to navigate.

Despite that I also see Riis as having many positives (no pun intended). He’s a man who has done much for Danish cycling and as a sporting director for one of the WorldTour’s most successful squads, Saxo Bank.

Riccardo Ricco at the 2008 Tour de France (Sirotti)

Today Riccardo Ricco was drummed out of professional cycling by Italian authorities but I take no pleasure in seeing the “Cobra” defanged for life.

In fact sadness is the feeling. For him and the blatant double standards that exist in the sport.

Sure there may be degrees of doping. From the young first timer to the hard men that see doping as a fact of life. Ricco clearly exists at the sharp end of that spectrum but did he deserve a life sentence? The ultimate scapegoat, the treatment of whom knows no limits because he is unpopular. Most likely he has doped like many who retain status and admiration in cycling. I can’t help but feel the same. In fact that was my first thought on hearing the news this morning of a 12-year ban for Ricco (effectively a life ban) which came after the announcement of an admission of guilt by Denis Galimzyanov who was pinged this week by the anti-doping authorities for EPO use earlier this season.

And lets not get into the detail of Galimzyanov’s odd handwritten “confession’ because that incident has left us with more questions than answers.