News Archives
November 2001
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News Archives |
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November 2001 |
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October 31, 2001 |
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An MD-11 passenger plane just takes off from Shanghai. Suddenly the pilots discovered the landing gears are jammed. After several failed attempts of lowering the landing gears, the only option left is crash landing ... This is the plot of CRASH LANDING, a disaster movie produced by Shanghai Film Studio. An article from TIME magazine calls it "gives a nod to disaster-film rules, then breaks every one of them." The spotlight is on the 37 CG shots, 9 minutes and 45 seconds long in total. The same article says the special effects are "as impressive as anything in DIE HARD 2." Though it is not China's first disaster picture as what the article has claimed, it is the first one using CG effects. More impressively, the effects were exclusively done by SFS Digital, a subsidiary of Shanghai Film Studio, after the negotiation with an American special effect firm broke down due to disagreement over time and price. "Have Kitsch, Will Travel", the TIME magazine article. Clips: (QuickTime) (Be patient! loading speed
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Photo courtesy: Shanghai Film Studio, SFS Digital and Paradise.sh.cn |
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| Roland Joffé, director of KILLING FIELD and THE MISSION, is planning SUN TZU'S THE ART OF WAR. Sun Tzu's the Art of War is a rare work of military strategies, written by Sun Tzu during the 4th Century B.C. Story of the new movie will take place in 1911, in which a young Chinese girl traveled to America and started to use all kinds of strategies written in the book to pace her way to success. Roland Joffé said this film would be devoted to his young Chinese wife and he would ask Zhang Ziyi to be the lead. Half of the scenes will be shot in Shanghai and the other half will be done in America. Production is expected to start early next year. | ||
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Photo courtesy: Chengdu Daily |
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| HERO News 18 - Jet Li And Leung Chiu-wai In Water (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| October 29, 2001 | ||
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In Jiuzhaigou (Nine Villages Valley) of the
south-western province Sichuan, on the lakeshore of Jianzhuhai (Arrow
Bamboo Sea), a moss-covered pavilion was built. Silencer (Jet Li) and
Broken Sword (Leung Chiu-wai) were in battle while wounded Flying Snow
(Maggie Cheung) lying inside the pavilion. With help from two cranes,
they were doing dangerous stuns, flying through the lake surface,
fighting in the sky, or jumping into the lake. The entire scene may last
only several minutes on screen but has cost them three days to make. To
catch the right sunlight, they can do nothing but wait for two hours.
Jet Li dressed in full black, Leung Chiu-wai was in blue and Maggie
Cheung was wearing white dress and blue coat. Some shots were filled by doubles, including the one with Jet Li and Leung Chiu-wai jumping into the lake. Even the wounded Flying Snow was played by a locally cast double, who closely assembles Maggie Cheung. The real Maggie Cheung will arrive on November 5th to finish the scene. Director Zhang Yimou was wearing a green military jacket and a blue baseball hat and Christopher Doyle, the director of Cinematography was spotted drinking beer on duty. There was even a diver standing by to recover swords. The set was "harassed" by tourists and undercover reporters had successfully taken some pictures. Despite the security provided by the Paramilitary Police, many fans still attempted to get autography from the stars. They will stay in Jiuzhaigou for another half month and then will move to Hengdian Studio to finish the shooting.
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| Photo courtesy: Chengdu Daily | ||
| THE TOUCH In Tibet (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| October 29, 2001 | |
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In Lhasa, capital of Tibet, Michelle Yeoh
was not only allowed to enter Putala Palace, the former residence of
Dalai Lama, but also got permission of shooting the movie on the
palace's golden roof. Scene shot in Putala Palace will be the ending of
the movie, in which Michelle's character and her companies returning the
treasure they recovered to where it belongs. More than 2500 extras were
mobilized to play lamas, some were filled by tourists. Besieged by
thousands of curious bystanders, they had to ask the police for
controlling the crowd.
When they were in Namtso Lake, the sacred lake, the frozen lake started to melt. Director Peter Pau started to yowl, "Even the heaven is helping us!" Michelle said, "We spent 18 months to prepare for the film, today is a lucky day!" During another scene, 1500 extras were hired to recreate a local market. Michelle Yeoh and Ben Chaplin had to stand in the crowed market and kiss each other 12 times for one single shot. |
| Michelle Yeoh riding a Tibetan horse, small but strong | |
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| Thousands of lamas, many were "imposers" | |
| Photo courtesy: BeijingNews.com.cn | |
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Cheng Kaige And Josh Hartnett Catch THE FANCY (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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| October 29, 2001 | |
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Chen Kaige's next film will be THE FANCY, a biopic of the first Jewish boxer in Britain. Next month, Josh Hartnett, who will play the boxer, along with the producer and the screenwriter, will fly to China to meet Chen Kaige. |
| Josh Hartnett in PEARL HARBOR | |
| Photo courtesy: IMDB.COM | |
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HERO News 17- HERO GETS NEW ACTION DIRECTOR (The Jet Lee (Li) Homepage) |
| October 29, 2001 |
| A Chinese newspaper has reported that Hero director Zhang Yimou had problems with his action director Tung Wei, which led to the pulling out of Tung Wei and his whole action support team from the production of Hero. Because of this, Zhang Yimou immediately got hold of Ching Siu Tung (action director of Swordsman 2 and part of Dr. Wai) to take over the job. Hopefully, Ching Siu Tung will do a good job here. [Thanks to SKL Chan for this!!!] |
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Legend of The Sacred Stone Lives On - TALE OF THE EAGLE HUNTER, The TV Series (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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| October 28, 2001 | |||
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The people behind the breath-taking poppet martial art movie THE LEGEND
OF THE SACRED STONE, just finished their newest work SHE DIAO YING XIONG
ZHUAN (TALE OF THE EAGLE HUNTER). Based on the same name novel written
by Louis Cha, this 36 episode TV series was made by the Huangs, a
puppeteers family from Taiwan.
The same novel has been adopted for the big and small screens many times, including ASHES OF TIME, which was developed based on some characters from the novel. Two more Louis Cha's novels, SHEN DIAO XIA LÜ (SACRED EAGLE AND CHIVALROUS COUPLE) and YI TIAN TU LONG JI (Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber) are aimed for future productions. The puppet version of comic book FENG YUN is also in planning. The big screen version of the comic book is called THE STORM RIDERS. Video (Real): |
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| Official Site | |||
| Photo courtesy: TVPARK. | |||
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| October 28, 2001 | |
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After finished shooting in Tibet, Dunhuang and Xinjiang, the production has moved to Qingdao, a port city in eastern China. During a short interview done by ET Today, producer James Chung said members of the cast and crew are from 26 countries and there are 6 assistant directors. Ben Chaplin And Richard Roxburgh have learned very hard for their fighting scenes. They not only learned some Chinese but also asked to be "wired" for their fighting scenes. Chung also revealed that Jean Réno's age has prevented him from being cast as the boyfriend of Michelle's character. He said, "Ben (Chaplin) had some hard time of learning martial arts, (we) had to treat him as a beginner. But after a kissing scene with Michelle, we all convinced his was the right man." "THE TOUCH is shot in the Mainland China. Beautiful scenes of deserts, plateaus and lakes are all collected by Peter Pau's camera. We got a lot of troubles with |
| Qingdao | |
weathers and mountain terrains. However, the most unbearable and most troublesome is the cold temperature." When they were shooting a large scene at Putala Palace in Tibet at six o'clock in the morning, more than 2000 extras were in position, Michelle Yeoh suddenly felt sick and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Right after being released from the hospital, she immediately went back to work Production in Qingdao will be wrapped up in December and they will move to Beijing Film Studios to finish the principal shooting there. Qingdao, is a popular summer retreat which is known for its beautiful scenes and mild weather. Being occupied by Germany from 1897 to 1914, the city has many German influences, including the architecture and the Tsingtao Beer. |
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Pirated THE ONE Video Hits The Shelf Space (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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| October 26, 2001 | ||
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With one week to go until the official premier, THE ONE has fallen victim to piracy. Illegal VCD of this Jet Li’s newest movie has been found in China and it should be available in other regions as well. The pirated video was duplicated directed from one of the official copies of the film rather than was recorded by camcorder, even though the image quality is very poor. It is suspected that the “guilty one” is someone working for Columbia or Revolution.
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Stills from the pirated VCD |
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Cover of the pirated VCD |
On the set - Jet Li, Jason Statham and director James Wong |
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| Photo courtesy: Oriental Daily. | ||
| October 26, 2001 | ||
| Looks just like another Japanese Comic. | ||
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Male lead Stephen Chow |
Female lead Zhao Wei (Vicki) |
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| Photo courtesy: Sohu.COM and People's Daily. | ||
| HERO NEWS 16 - The Set Might Be Used (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| October 25, 2001 | ||
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The set, located in Hengdian Studio (aka.
Orient Hollywood) of Zhejiang Province, is originally built for Chen
Kaige's THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. The architect style is from
Warring States Period (771 - 221 BC and Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC). The
set compound include palaces and city walls. All buildings from those
periods have been destroyed long times ago and the buildings were
designed only partially based on archeological discoveries and
historical records.
THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN was based on the true event of an attempted assassination of the First Emperor and the story of HERO is completed fictional although it is definitely inspired by the failed assassination. |
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| Photo courtesy: Dongyang Government and Zhejiang Travel. | ||
| Sammo Hung Showed Up In DUAN CHOU GU (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| October 25, 2001 | ||
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Sammo Hung has been spotted on the set of TV series DUAN CHOU GU (END
ENMITY HOLLOW') at North Town Castle outside Yinchuan, capital of
China's Ningxia Region. This time Sammo is playing Wan Bo Long, head of
Duan Chou Gu, a good guy who is murdered by him own son. He said he no
longer put pressure on himself anymore. With fewer roles to play, he now
has time to play golf, his favored sport. Ma Jingwu, the old master in
Zhang Yimou's RAISE THE RED LANTERN, plays the head of Dark Wind
Village. Other actors include Guan Lijie and Liu Dong.
The 30 episode TV series is directed by Yuen Bin, Sammo Hung's old classmate of the opera school they attended. Yuen said a wanted killer, a man who abounded his wife, or a gambler be heavily in debt, once walks in Duan Chou Gu, all enmities against him will end once for all. But even though, the one still cannot escape justice and feeling of great guilt. Much of the story will happen in Duan Chou Gu and He Ping Zhen (Peace Town) nearby. North Town Castle has been used for shooting of many movies, including ASHES OF TIME, DRAGON INN (1992), RED SORGHUM and THE SWORDSMAN IN DOUBLE-FLAG TOWN. |
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| Hong Kong Cinemas Won Big In New York Int'l Inde Film & Video Fest (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| October 23, 2001 | |
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WOMEN’S PRIVATE PARTS International Film Awards - Feature |
PAVILION OF WOMAN Director Awards - Feature - YIM HO |
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 Official Site |
| New York International Independent Film & Video Festival | |
| Photo courtesy: New York International Independent Film & Video Festival & sina.COM | |
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Wong Kar-wai Chooses Gong Li To Lead His Part of Century Trilogy (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |||
| October 19, 2001 | |||
Gong Li in Vogue |
Wong Kar-wai
| Legendary director Michelangelo Antonioni will soon work again. This time he is joining forces with Wong Kar-wai and Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar to make CENTURY TRILOGY. For his part, Wong Kar-wai has decided to transform Pai Hsien-yung's novel Yin HsüehYen Forever into the big screen. The film is about Yin HsüehYen, now lives in Taiwan, recalling her glory days as a professional ballroom dancer in the old Shanghai. Gong Li, from raise the red latten, will play the leading role. William Chang, worked with Wong Kar-wai in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, has flied to Shanghai to collect antique fibers and fashion designs. Shooting will start next spring, after Wong Kar-wai finishing his "ever-last" project 2046. The September issue of French edition of Vogue magazine just featured a photo special of Gong Li. Titled A Street Car Called Desire and directed by Wong Kar-wai, Gong Li is showing up as a mistress type of person for the same time. | |
| photo courtesy: Sina.COM | |||
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Miramax Remaking Korean Flick MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER!! (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |||
| October 19, 2001 | |||
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Miramax has reportedly purchased the right to
remake this Korean movie and $70 million US will be thrown in. Who will play
the young, cute and cold blood crime boss? Miramax is considering Cameron
Diaz or Michelle Yeoh. Production will be done in the next one or two years.
photo courtesy: The Official site | ||
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Legend of the Sacred Stone - A Puppet Martial Art Film From Taiwan (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 17, 2001 |
| Preview (10 minutes) |
| Trailer (2 minutes) |
| Making of The Legend of Stone (22 minutes) |
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| Master Chien Shang Ching suffers from a mental breakdown after the murder of his entire family. He, under the name “Mr. Bone Skin”, lives in the ruin of his Singing Sword Mountain Villa alone with his servant. While everyone thinks he is dead, Mr. Bone Skin is secretly planning his revenge. Using the relationship between his daughter Chien Ju Ping and Ao Hsiao Hung Chen, he tries to get the sacred stone Tien Wen, which representing the extreme power. A bloody war breaks out among people who want to get their hands on the stone. Meanwhile a group of evil aliens have arrived to search their long lost stone… | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Photo courtesy: Paradise Films & TV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 16, 2001 | ||||
| Official Site Trailer | ||||
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An old fashion video game type kung-fu flick. "A surrealistic movie, full of meticulously choreographed fight scenes, Extreme Challenge promises to be memorable for audiences. The World Open - Power Net Show will hit the cyber world soon. The Organizer is to look for a new idol to represent a series of new merchandise. 'The show must go on,' is the motto put forth by match host Karen. The match, involving a huge amount of bets, is broadcasted lived on the Internet for the first time. Skills alone does not guarantee victory in an all energy-consuming match like this. An 'Extreme Challenge' among the strong-willed to fighters therefore takes place ..." - synopsis from the official site.
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| Photo courtesy: Paradise Films & TV | ||||
| HERO News 13 - Next Destination: Jiu Zhai Gou (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| October 15, 2001 | |
Jian Zhu Hai (Arrow Bamboo Sea) |
Chengdu Business News has reported the production will move to Jiu Zhai Gou by the end of October. According to Yang Shudong, the character designer, shooting in Dunhuang has completed last week. Now Zhang Yimou and his gang are shooting war scenes in Inner Mongolia (in China not Mongolia). Dead grasses and withered poplar trees seem perfect for such bloody scenes. A week ago, some crewmembers have arrived in Jiu Zhai Gou and started to build some structure for the film. Jiu Zhai Gou (Nine Villages Valley) is a popular tourist destination in the southwest province of Sichuang. Zhang Yimou has chosen Jian Zhu Hai to make fighting scenes between two lead characters. Jian Zhu Hai (Cold Bamboo Sea) is a lake, 2,618 meters (8,589 feet) above the sea level. Arrow bamboo, also known as cold arrow bamboo (Gelidocalamus fangianus), is the only kind of bamboo favored by giant pandas. Jian Zhu Hai is surrounded by seas of cold arrow bamboos and China fir trees. Jet Li, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are expected to show up in Jiu Zhai Gou. |
| Photo courtesy: www.ctrip.com | |
| Jet Li's NEW LEGEND OF SHAOLIN Goes To The Big Screen As RED DRAGON (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| October 12, 2001 | |
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French TV show de Cinema just showed the trailer of RED DRAGON, the big
screen title for NEW LEGEND OF SHAOLIN, along with previews for 21 other
films - Time and
Tide, Spy Game, Resident Evil, Rollerball, Le Peuple Mirgrateur, Wasabi, Les
Jolies Choses, Le Boulet, Monster, Inc., Jimmy Neutron, Ice Age, Sexy Boys,
Spoof Movie, Tanguy, Finger in the Noze, Les Rois Mages, Battle Royale, The
Chateau, Se Souvenir desbelles choses, Pauline and Paulette, and
Ocean’s Eleven. One more thing: it is NOT the Silence Lambs prequel! Here is the video: click here (for RED DRAGON: 04:34 - 05:25) |
| Photo courtesy: The Jet Lee (Li) Homepage & Amazon. COM | |
| Thanks to Bill Tanguay. | |
| Chen Kaige's 10 Minutes (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 11, 2001 |
Chen Kaige |
Chen Kaige has finished
his part of 10 MINUTES, AGING (translation) yesterday after a 4 day
shooting. The story is: a manager of a moving company (Geng Le) received a
phone call asking for his service. But when arrived the address, he only
found piles of rubbles and a lone man (Feng Yuanzheng). The lone man started
to explain - this was a courtyard, there is a vase, and here was a windbell.
Being moved by the lone man enthusiasm, the manager asked his men start to
work. After everything has been "moved", the manager left without asking
payment from the lone man. Next day, after being told the lone man was a
mental patient, the manager's own mind started to fall apart. The short film
is described as being heavily influenced by anti-realism, which looks absurd
but really touching. 10 MINUTES, AGING is an unusual film, which contains 15
short films, each one is 10 minute long and directed by an internationally
acclaimed director. Wong Kar-wai, the director of IN A MOOD FOR LOVE, is
currently preparing his 10 minutes.
Chen Kaige made his directing début YELLOW EARTH in 1984. Since then he has directed THE BIG PARADE, KING OF THE CHILDREN, LIFE ON A STRING, FAREWELL, MY CONCUBINE and TEMPTRESS MOON. In 1999 he made the historical epic THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. His first English film, KILLING ME SOFTLY, a psychological thriller staring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes, will be released in the coming January. |
| LÜ BU AND DIAO CHAN, Chen Kaige's TV début and is over-budgeted, is almost wrapped up. Based on part of the centuries old novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it tells a love story between General Lü Bu and Diao Chan, played by Chen Kaige's wife Chen Hong. Shooting of his next film, HE NI ZAI YI QI (I'M WITH YOU) staring Chen Hong, will start this month. In addition, he has planed to further explore the stories of Romance of the Three Kingdoms next spring - a 30 episode TV series HEROES OF THE THREE KINGDOMS - ZHOU YÜ AND QIAO SISTERS. Unlike LÜ BU AND DIAO CHAN, in which people dressed like cavemen, his next TV series will feature lavish costumes and sets. He has talked to a Chinese lived in overseas to play Zhou Yü. Chen Hong shows her interest in playing one of or even both Qiao sisters, but Chen Kaige has yet to agree on that. |
| LÜ BU AND DIAO CHAN (TV) |
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| Huang Lei as Lü Bu | Chen Hong as Diao Chan |
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| Yiu Yong as Zhang Li | Li Ren as Niu Fu | Juan Zi as Xiao Yan | Sun Feihu as Ding Yuan |
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| Yang Fan as Guan Yü | Li Xiaolu as Er Duo (Ear) | Shao Feng as Cao Cao |
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| Geng Le as Xin (Heart) |
| Photo courtesy: sima.com |
| FLYING DRAGON, LEAPING TIGER - An Old Fashion Kung-Fu Film By Sammo Hung (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 10, 2001 |
Peoples
Daily |
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| 10 minute exclusive footage (RealPlayer): click here (Courtesy: Shanghai TV Station) |
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At
the turn of Ming and Qing Dynasties (mid-17th Century), on the thousands
year old Silk Road, bandit Lu Zheng Yang, for the loyalty to his sworn brother
Qiao Xiong, missed the birth of his own son. Qiao Xiong paid back Lu Zheng
Yang's loyalty only by betraying him and Lu's wife Liu Ru Yan had run away
along with his son. Since then, they had become "The Three Masters"
on the Silk Road …
Twenty years later, the next generation had grown up and more bloodshed was waiting for them… |
| Fan Binging: Book And Sword Postponed Not Cancelled (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 8, 2001 |
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Fan Bingbing, just being cast for the female leading role, has dismissed the report that BOOK SWORD LOVE HATE was cancelled and said shooting has been rescheduled for December. According to her, the film is partially financed by a Hollywood studio. The money is secured, but after the terrorist attacks the studio has decided to let it untouched for a while. |
| No More Book And Sword (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 8, 2001 |
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Chinese paper Changjiang Daily reports today that Tsui Hark's BOOK SWORD LOVE HATE has been cancelled, due to the poor box-office performance of THE LEGEND OF ZU. In Hengdian Studio, workers have started to tear down the sets build for the project. China Star, the studio behind both projects, spent 90 million Hong Kong dollars for THE LEGEND OF ZU, but after being released for two weeks in Hong Kong only 11 million was collected. The performance in the Mainland China is also very miserable. The audiences think the second Zu movie is filled with too many CG effects and has little room for the building up plot and characters. |
