Tuesday, March 22, 2011

3.22.2011 - News

FBA: Celestial unveils My Kingdom
A tale of fame, love and revenge, the film is the story of two orphans adopted into an opera troupe at the end of the 19th century. They are trained in Peking Opera and martial arts and become sensations in Shanghai.
FBA: To and Wai again Romancing with Media Asia
The film is shooting in Shangri-la in China's Yunnan province and stars Louis Koo as a superstar dumped by his girlfriend, played by Gao Yuanyuan. He flies off to Shangri-la to seek peace, but falls in love with another character played by Sammi Cheng).
FBA: Mei Ah gives Palace royal treatment
The film, a co-production between Mei Ah, Hunan etv Culture Media and Huanrui Century Film is based on the hit 2010 television series of the same name, and revolves around a time-travelling female scientist during the Qing dynasty. Separately, Mei Ah also launched Mysterious Island starring Hong Kong stalwart Jordan Chan

Production is underway on Mayday 3DNA, a 3-D film starring popular alternative rock band Mayday
THR: China's Top Rocker Cui Jian Set to Get 3D Concert Film
Producer of "U2 3D" to bring Chinese rocker's symphonic show to life.
Tentatively titled Stereo Symphony On the New Long March, the roughly 75-minute film will feature footage shot around two New Year’s 2010 concerts Cui gave in December at Beijing’s outdoor Workers' Stadium cut together with interviews with the rock legend and his fans.

Yet comedy will come before tragedy for Pegasus, as Wong reawakens his Happy Ghost franchise of the 1980s CinemaCity heyday for the Chinese audience, now renamed Magic to Win. Wong’s Ip Man director Wilson Yip is at the helm, and Edmond Wong again on the screenplay. In fact, the whole crew from Ip Man will return for this CGI-heavy US$10 million update, with Wong reprising the role of the motivational high school teacher, this time possessing not supernatural powers nor a Chinese vampire-style past life but magic instead.

A little less sex was just what the censor ordered for Singapore.
Three minutes of footage depicting group sex has been left on the cutting floor for the South Korean edition.
The Hong Kong theatrical version of the period sex romp is set and approved for release on April 14 at 118 minutes, but a full 129-minute director’s cut has been made. The producers will decide whether to release it in Hong Kong cinemas depending on public demand and local censors, or on DVD; European distributors can choose between the two versions.

Tai Chi was originally slated as a martial arts drama tracing the life story of 19th century tai chi master Yang Lu-chan, with Jet Li confirmed as the lead and Stephen Fung at the helm.

But the colorful life of the founder of the Yang school of tai chi proved too eventful for the producers, who decided to spread the biography into a three-part series. Part one will detail the master’s young life from age 17 through 25, with an as yet-unconfirmed young Chinese actor in the lead. Li will take part in the second installment, and an older actor will portray the martial artist’s later years in the third.

Also in the pipeline for the boutique label is another remake of the John Woo classic, A Better Tomorrow, of which both Fung and Wu have been dedicated fans.  

CRI:  Stars Return to 'Painted Skin 2
This time, Wuershan, director of the film "Dao Jian Xiao", or "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman", has taken over the directorial reins from Gordon Chan with Chen Kuo-fu as executive producer.

The new project is said to be an updated version of her highly-acclaimed film, "Go Lala Go!" about romance and survival in the office, which she directed and acted in last year. The new flick is likely to be the last project which would feature her acting and directing in tandem.

The Bottom Line
Frequently charming, diverse collection of shorts that speaks to the city like few films have in recent years
Marking the screen return of 1980s movie actress Pat Ha (An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty, My Name Ain’t Suzie), this directorial effort by Calvin Poon - a Cantopop lyricist, football commentator, screenwriter and one-time film director (1986’s Kiss Me Goodbye) - starts out as a character drama centred around three unhappily married middle-aged Hong Kong women, but gradually turns into full-on B-movie mode.
The Bottom Line
Nostalgic, feel-good stories set in an amusement park is only periodically amusing.
"It’s a Great, Great World" dramatizes a few individuals who made a living in a Singaporean amusement park with 40 years’ history.
Hsu’s narrative structure is symptomatic of many new generation Taiwan filmmakers whose feature length ventures are thinly disguised amalgams of shorts. Its lack of one strong lead story will weaken its impression on buyers and audiences alike, limiting commercial prospects to short spells of semi-arthouse release domestically.

NPR: 'Til Death Do Us Part' Tackles AIDS In Rural China (Life is a Miracle)
Director Gu Changwei is praising the all-star cast he assembled in his first film in four years, a drama exploring how AIDS impacts a rural Chinese village.
HKIFF Press Conference photos
Aaron Kwok, Zhang Ziyi


Aaron Kwok

Aaron Kwok, Zhang Ziyi, Jiang Wenli, Gu Changwei

 Zhang Ziyi


White Vengeance (lit. Banquet at Hongmen)
Directed by Daniel Lee, the poster features the seven main characters.
Liu Kai-Chi is back for Detective 2 (lit. B+ Detective)




Andrew Lau
Andrew Lau confirmed that Beautiful Life received a name change to "No Longer Leave You Alone" at FilMart today. The title now matches the theme song of the same name. Shu Qi demonstrated her calligraphy skills and wrote the new title by brush in Lau's studio.


MSN: Raymond Lam sheds light on relationship with model
According to Raymond, Shuang Shuang likes to take sexy photos. He added, "[I] told her to not take so much [sexy photos] initially. No one likes to have his own girlfriend expose herself."MSN: Andy Hui hopes for a future with Sammi Cheng
The Hong Kong singer tells how the pair reconciledMSN: Barbie Hsu’s father to give her away at wedding
CRI: Stars Leave for Barbie Hsu's Wedding
CRI: A Wedding in the Limelight

4 comments:

Walter said...

I noticed those platform shoes from the second photo of Zhang Ziyi - what's with that and her odd hair style? Oh well.

I never was able to see/ purchase the "Director's Cut" of "Painted Skin" and I'm always on the lookout for it; I read that it fills in the story a bit better. Betty Sun really threw me off in the movie - I was thinking about her in "Fearless". :)

dleedlee said...

I think the article described ZZY's look as retro-fashion.

I can't recall hearing about a Director's Cut but I wasn't following it closely at the time. Were they deleted scenes or integrated into the movie?

Walter said...

The Director's Cut was only offered a short time on DVD (that's why I missed it). Based on this website, they only included a few scenes - some longer views, etc...

Painted Skin comparison

I'm always curious about deleted scenes and the director's cuts.

dleedlee said...

Thanks for the detailed link!

I never picked up the Director's Cut of After This Our Exile.

And I wish they would release that 3 hour version of The Message that they teased, too.