11.03.2009 - Movie News

Horror film, Midnight Taxi poster resembles Saw style. It gets a national release Nov.17.

 (Sina)

Variety: Murderer

Variety: Talentime (Malaysia)

Somewhere between understated and underdeveloped, "Talentime," the swan song of Yasmin Ahmad, who died in July at age 51, reveals a writer-director granted insufficient time to reach her full potential.

Gao Qunshu has relinquished the title 'Four Marshals' to Gordon Chan. His film is now titled 'Fierce West Wind'. Together with his film The Message (lit.Wind Sound or Sound of the Wind) and a film scheduled to start in May that is based on a novel that also has 'Wind' in the title, the three will therefore form his 'Wind Trilogy'. (Xinhua)

Takeshi Kaneshiro considering a career advancement in Hollywood (2)
Screen Daily: EMP adds Stool Pigeon to star-studded AFM slate

Li Xiaolu

Love At Seventh Sight opens Nov. 3. Love is a road romance, Mike He plays a sound engineer from Hong Kong and Li plays a Beijing girl. (Sina)

Mainland theaters ready promotional materials for Storm Warriors, opening Dec.10 Twenty cities nationwide have slotted the film in its prime movie house. Already, female moviegoers are clamoring for the posters featuring Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng. Golden Harvest and Chengtian has been giving out free monthly 'Wind and Cloud' magazines to heighten the anticipation. (Sina)

THR: Polybona plans NYSE listing
Third Chinese film studio readies IPO for late 2010 or 2011

"The capital markets are starting to recognize Chinese movie studios"

11.02.2009 - Movie News

Mulan opens November 27

Amazing Tales: Three Guns (Dec.10, earlier reported as Dec.11)

Ning Hao's No Man Land/No Man's Land (Dec.18)

Other release dates:  The Robbers/Tang Dynasty Brothers, Panda Express (Nov.20), Bodyguards and Assassins (Dec.18), Still unconfirmed: Treasure Hunter,14 Blades, Little Big Soldier, Confucius. (cri.cn)

Stephen Chow

Spotted outside a Hong Kong Jockey Club event, Stephen Chow said he will begin shooting a film next year. A noted bicycling enthusiast often seen riding about the city, reporters suggested a Shaolin Bicycle film would be appropriate. Asked if he was taking advantage of the real estate market to make big money, Chow was evasive.  (Sina)

Ann Hui has not decided whether a kissing scene between Vivian Chow and Chan Wei-Ting will be necessary. (Sina)

Aaron Kwok

Josie Ho

Josie, Aaron, Director Roy Chow, Christine To (writer)

Murderer aka Crime and Punishment promotion in Guangzhou. The ending was changed and the violence toned down in order to play in the Mainland. Josie Ho hoped that her Dream Homes would be accepted for screening with edits from director Pang Ho-Cheung. (Sina) (Xinhua)

CCTV: Remake of the classic "Mulan"
Actress Zhao Wei said, "I have dressed like a man before, but it was all about being funny. This time, I have to actually perform like a man. I'm not sure if the audience will think I'm really manly in this film. Director Ma has been devoted in sculpting my part and Chen Kun's role. So the movie is going to be very romantic."

CCTV: Stephen Fung's Jump
Hong Kong actor, singer, model, writer and film director Stephen Fung's third directorial effort "Jump" will come out soon to be screened for the year-end season. Fung has recently embarked on an intensive promotional campaign around China in hopes that it will help his movie "Jump" over some fierce box office competition...
THR: 'Stool Pigeon' starts filming in HK
'Beast Stalker' team returns with police story

Variety: Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction

Variety: A Good Rain Knows (Season of Good Rain)(China-South Korea)

Variety: The Executions (South Korea)
THR: Jeon to star in 'Housemaid' remake

HK Magazine: Kara Hui interview

[T]he first-ever recipient of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress, is making a comeback with a new indie film called “At the End of Daybreak.”

HK Magazine: Thirst (South Korea)

THR: Beijing Screenings anoints Wang with awards, backing

'Tuya's Marriage' director stands out at four-day market

THR: Huayi shares up 148% in debut

Film production house now valued over $1.5 bil

10.29.2009 - Movie News

To Live and Die in Mongkok (lit.Mongkok Prison)

Liu Kai-Chi

Pau Hei-Ching plays Nick's mother (Sina)

Nick Cheung plays a killer released from prison who suffers schizophrenia in Wong Jing's latest film.(Sina)

Simon Yam

Model Emma Pei training with Kong Sifu

Producer Bey Logan chronicles the filming of Michael Biehn's Blood Bond in Guangzhou on his blog, jump directly to the Simon Yam post, or meet Phoenix Chou

HK Magazine: Rebellion review
Despite being the 67th Hong Kong triad film I have seen thus far, “Rebellion” is a surprisingly interesting production. Directed by insanely prolific director Herman Yau (this is his sixth film in the past 12 months), the movie combines a cute suspense storyline with surprisingly good acting from some non-actors (namely Paul Wong and Jun Kung). It’s just a shame Yau coudln’t control the pacing better, and main star Shawn Yue didn’t turn in a more solid performance...

Ip Man 2

Donnie Yen says a third film will not be necessary, Ip Man 2 will be an instant classic and praises Huang Xiaoming. (Sina)

Carina Lau has joined the cast of Jiang Wen's Let The Bullets Fly. Her role requires plenty of action, fighting, riding, wading and passionate scenes. Maggie Cheung was reportedly invited to join the cast but she was not prepared to return to film yet. (Sina) (Xinhua)

Yonfan and George Lam

Terri Kwan

Zhu Xuan

(SZonline)

Prince of Tears Taipei Premiere slide show (18) (Sina)
Movie makes Taiwan relive 'White Terror' period
HK Magazine: Yonfan interview

CCTV: Year-end films' competition starts heating up

One month before the year-end film season begins, the competition has already started heating up. The most anticipated Chinese movies seem to be following the same formula that is, a combination of ancient Chinese stories, all-star casts, and prestigious directors

Zhang Yimou and producer Zhang Weiping screened a rough of cut of Three Guns for the CEOs of the nation's theatre owners to secure prime theatre slot for the year-end season.
Release dates: Treasure Hunters (Dec.9), Storm Warriors (Dec.10), Amazing Guns: Three Tales (Dec.11), Assassins and Bodyguards (Dec.18) (Sina)

THR: China looks for film export opps

Industry needs upgrade, diversity of genres, experts say

Compared with "Ice Age," he described Chinese animated movies as "shitty."

Screen Daily: Edko Films opens China’s first arthouse cinema

Asian Pop: Black belt jonesing The history of American martial arts culture is rooted in the black community -- and so, too, is its future .

Golden Rooster, Flying Duck

CRI: Jia Zhangke Helps Korean 'Flying Duck'
Veteran Chinese actors Jackie Chan and Ge You are also in talks to appear in the picture.

Jackie Chan eyes role in 'Flying Duck'
Jia Zhangke film described as 'cross-border bromance'

Mascot Weiwei

CRI: Golden Rooster Awards overview (Oct 14-17)

THR: Golden Rooster fest opens in central China

Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock/Tangshan Earthquake slide show

70's era is meticulously recreated

14 Blades villain Qi Yuwu (Painted Skin) slide show

THR: Huayi to launch $176 mil IPO Thursday

Astro Boy's creator Osamu Tezuka's son, Gouw Ian Iskander and Aaron Kwok attend the HK premiere (Sina.com)

In a recent interview on Hong Kong Cable TV while promoting Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee said he smoked marijuana when he was a student studying in the US. (Sina.com)

Vivian Chow to Star in Lesbian Romantic Comedy Film

The movie will be helmed by award-winning director Ann Hui. Filming is scheduled to start in November, although the movie's title has yet to be unveiled.

Cheng Pei Pei

Cheng Pei Pei rushed to Hong Kong from the US in order to catch her daughter in Musical Moments. Cheng had already twice missed her performance and she would not forgive her if she missed it again. The next day, Cheng Pei Pei flew to Shanghai (to shoot a film?). (on.cc)

China cracks down on piracy of anniversary films

China has launched a crackdown on the piracy of domestic films especially made to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, including all-star epic "Jian Guo Da Ye" and spy thriller "Feng Sheng".

Any pirated copies of these films, once caught, will be confiscated, while production and marketing dens will be destroyed, according to a notice by the national work team on pornographic and illegal publications issued Monday on its website.

The audio-video products of "Jian Guo Da Ye", or "The Founding of A Republic", and "Feng Sheng", or "The message", are supposed to appear on market respectively on Oct. 16 and Nov. 13.

THR: China may loosen media controls
Possible move would bolster IPO-bound groups

Mainland News

NY Times: China Looks to Create Its Own Media Empires

CRI: Comedian Zhao Benshan Looks Well after Surgery
CRI: Comedian Zhao in Stable Condition (Oct.1)

Exec: China's anniversary film set to break record

BBC: Communist China's founding lauded in film
The cult of Mao may be dead, but celebrity power is helping the Great Helmsman receive a Hollywood-style makeover.

WSJ: Sixty Years of Propaganda

What 'The Founding of a Republic' says about China today.

Impressive film of Mao and the Chinese Revolution

The Founding of a Republic is a propaganda film but not one that you would expect. It takes an almost documentary approach to the Chinese Civil War and the formation of the Republic and there is a sense of honesty about it.

THR: China marks 60th anniversary on TV

Variety: China celebrates 60 years of communism

LA Times: With tanks, troops and kitsch, China celebrates 60 years of communist rule and its new power