News Archives

April 2001

The One, Three Jet Li, Five Universes (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 30, 2001

Three Jet Lis, the good, the bad, and the "cloned concept" who has been killed in the beginning is fighting in five universes, current days, ten years later, a one with shifting dimensions, a one like the hell, and a futuristic one like the green LA.

On April 23rd, they were shooting the bad Jet Li getting caught while making dimension shifting. Because Jet Li had to coordinate his moves with the acquirement from the CG specialists, he repeatedly showed painful expression, looks very funny. To make two Jet Li visibly different, Yuen Kwai, the action choreographer, designed Ba Gua Quan (Pa Kua Chuan) for the good Jet Li. His evil "twin" uses Xing Yi Quan, simple, straight and making kill at all cost. To make the energy-charged Jet Li moves faster and heavier, Jet Li is shot at the speed of 24 frames per second and others for 96 frames per second. Each time when Jet Li is fighting Jet Li, his double has to wear a mask, then they shoot Jet Li's face based on the footage, and digitally combine both footages together. Because of the tremendous technical challenge, directors James Wong and Glen Morgan said they can only figure out the best way to shoot by the end of the shooting process.

 

The initial budget is about $50 million US and principal shooting will complete in mid May. It will be released probably around Christmas.

Jet Li said, "actually I'm a monk!" In fact he has planned a film about a Lama in New York and has study Buddhism for a year.

Jet Li's long time companion Yuen Kwai is temporally leaving him and heading back to Hong Kong to make Angle's Dusk. Jet Li, however, is not in.

Purple Sunset - Last Day Of The WWII (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 25, 2001

Full size (zip)

August 9th, 1945, Soviet troops entered the Northeast China (Manchuria) to attack the Japanese. On the same day, the American dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. On August 15th, a concentration camp was liberated. The sole survivor, a Chinese farmer, was ordered to be sent back to the Soviet base along with some Soviet wounded. On the way to the base, the armor vehicle he was sitting on accidentally entered a Japanese base. During the chaos, the farmer, a Soviet female lieutenant medic and a Japanese girl run into the forest. Together, they have to cope the barriers of mistrust and languages to find a way out ?#060;/font>

Trailer:
Media Player 7 (recommended. Download to your hard drive first.)
Real Player
 
Full size (zip)

Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk

Official Site Beijing Forbidden City & Trinity Pictures   Paridise-FilmTV
 

Rush Hour II: March 29's Shooting (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 25, 2001

 

Prequel Of Black Mask - Legend Of The Black Mask (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 24, 2001

Fan Siu-Wong (Louis) just finished his new flick - The Legend Of Black Mask, a prequel of Tsui Hark's Black Mask. It tells the story of the earliest days of the Black Mask. Fan Siu-Wong himself is the leading man and his co-star Cheng Pei Pei from Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger played the main villain for the second time since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Jet Li's Angles (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 23, 2001
According to some report, Columbia Tristar has nailed Jet Li for its newest Asian flick - Angle's Dusk, a co-production with Jet Li's own company. Plot will be somewhat similar to that of Charlie's Angles. Hsu Chi, Zhao Wei and Cecilia Cheung will play the three angles and Yuen Kwai will direct. Shooting in Thailand might start in June.

Tsui Hark In Talk With Miramax - A Film With Both Real And Animated People (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 20, 2001

After Master Q 2001, Tsui Hark is planning another one like it. No detail has been given.

Release Date Of Tsui Hark's Time and Tide:

May 4th, 2001 Los Angles and Washington D.C.

May 11th, 2001 New York

Official Master Q 2001 site: Flash HTML

Chow Yun-Fat / John Woo Project Will Be Delayed By The Strike (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 18, 2001

The upcoming Hollywood strike is going to take a heavy toll on their new project The Incredible Thief (translation / Light of Thief?). Chow Yun-Fat recently told Hong Kong media that John Woo was hoping to start the shooting as early as possible. But judging from the scale of the strike, the earliest day to start the shooting is in July.

This will be the first film for them since 1992's Hard Boil. Chow Yun-Fat will play a jewelry thief, similar to the character he played in Once A Thief.

Zhang Ziyi Interview: Hero and 2046 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 11, 2001

By Shi Yu and Duan Yi Gang


Reporter: First time in a Hollywood Movie, how do you feel?

 

Zhang Ziyi: The production in Hollywood is very restrict, regulated and has a comprehensive operating system. Hollywood filmmakers work very hard and have professional knowledge and rich experience.

 

Reporter: Will you be in Zhang Yimou's wuxia (Kung Fu) movie?

 

Zhang Ziyi: Approximately in July. The leading man has been chosen. It's Jet Li. I really want to work with director Zhang again.

 

Reporter: When will you play in Wong Kar-Wai's 2046?

 

Zhang Ziyi: Maybe in September. I will have lots of scenes with Chang Chen from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

 

Reporter: You have played several action movies. Will you ever consider to have a change?

 

Zhang Ziyi: I plan to make more dramatic and artistic films in the future. Wong Kar-Wai is the director I really want to work with. This time my wish comes true.

 

The wuxia film being referred is called Hero (previously translated as The Qin Assasination). It has more than $12 million US budget and more than 2,000 extras will be involved. Shooting location will include Xi'an, the old capital during the Qin dynasty, Xinjiang, Tibet and Southern China. Shooting will start in June.

 

Leung Chiu-Wai has officially confirmed his involvement in the project. Leung said what he is really afraid of is not playing sword but speaking Chinese in Mandarin.

Rush Hour II: Today's Shooting (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 9, 2001

Rush Hour II Teaser:

Lo-Res (3.9Mb, MOV)
Hi-Res (12.0Mb, MOV)

     

 

Jackie Chan's son

 

 

 

Rush Hour II: April 8 - Jackie Chan's Birthday: Kiss The Girl (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 9, 2001

Ziyi vs. Jackie + Chris:

 

 

Rush Hour II: April 7 - Jackie Chan Fell From The Sky (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 9, 2001

 

Rush Hour II: Today's Shooting (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 6, 2001

 

Sammo Hung Will Helm Soul Calibur (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 6, 2001

Sammo Hung has been asked to direct Soul Calibur, based on the same name video game and with $50 million US budget.

More On Sammo Hung's Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 6, 2001

During the screen test was conducted in the US early this year, the audiences disliked the ending, in which Sammo's character got killed. The production company has decided to let him live although the production has been done in November last year. Currently, the reshooting is taking place at Tianmo Desert Scene City of Hebei Province in China. The story is: on the turn of Ming and Qing Dynasty (mid-17th century), a bandit Luk Jing Yeung (Sammo Hung) missed the birth of his child for loyalty to his sworn brother Kiu Hung (Fong Ji Go). With great anger, his wife Lau Yu Yin (Cheng Pei Pei) left him and later the friendship with his Kiu Hung also fell apart. Twenty years later, the three had become "The Three Masters" on the Silkroad. ...

Known as Queen of Wuxia, Cheng Pei Pei is a veteran Kung Fu actress, who started her career in the 60's. After playing the main villain Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, she has turned down many roles, all villains. First-time director Lam Hoi Hon was the action choreographer of Swordsman II, Once Upon in China III and Fong Sai-Yuk (The Legend).

Rush Hour II News Conference - Zhang Ziyi Stole The Show (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 2, 2001

 

Michelle Yeoh's The Touch News Conference (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 1, 2001

The Touch Poster: the goddess figure at the lower part is called Fei Tian (flying in the sky), commonly seen on many cave frescos in Dunhuang, a historical Chinese city in the Silk Road.

 

The first news conference of Michelle Yeoh's The Touch was held yesterday in Hong Kong. Produced and played by Michelle Yeoh herself and directed by the newest Oscar's best cinematographer winner Peter Pau, the film will be shot in Shanghai and Beijing instead of in Europe as originally planned, and the budget has soared from $95 million HK ($12.2 million US) to $150 million HK ($19.2 million US). The film will be produced by Michelle's own company Mythical Films United and be released by her boyfriend's company Media Asia Production.

 

The story of the sixth edition of the script is: hundreds year ago, a Lama buried some treasure at a secret location and prophesied the return of the treasure. Michelle Yeoh's character and her younger brother, carrying some family mission, start a deadly struggle with the main villain.

(Top) Michelle Yeoh and Peter Pau flying to Chengdu, a city in Southeast China, to look for locaions. The man On the left is Michelle Yeoh's boyfriend.

 

Ending of Sammo Hung's Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger Was Changed (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

April 1, 2001

Sammo Hung is working on the re-shooting of the flick's ending in China. Despite positive result from a screen test, apparently the audiences did not like the ending.