According to China News Agency, Zhang Yimou has stayed in the States for several more days after the Oscar night. He said he was talking to people from MiramAxe about what HERO's promotion went wrong (There is nothing wrong with it because MiramAxe did nothing). He has also talked to several members from American Film Institute and voting member of the Academy Awards. He is trying to figure out the hit and miss of his film.

Click here for the transcript of HERO review by Orvar Säfström

Click here to watch his review online

HERO has hit Swedish theater on Friday. Film critic Orvar Säfström from Swedish TV program Filmkrönikan has given the film full mark, five critic's chairs, and has further commented on MiramAxe forcing director Zhang Yimou to cut the film into 98 minutes. Click here to watch his review online (Real Video, length: 5:30)

Click here for the HERO page by Filmkrönikan

Winner of the 8th Golden Bauhinia Awards have been announced yesterday in Hong Kong. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong's highest praised film in 2002, INFERNAL AFFAIRS, has swept away almost all awards.

Shooting of the futuristic action packed movie has started at Badaling sector of The Great Wall, north-west of Beijing City. Michelle Yeoh is playing "Hawk", a masked superhero. Along with his brother, a police officer, she is trying to stop "Fire Wolf" from destorying human race. A Japanese-style cabinet has been leased to as "Hawk"'s home. Later, Michelle Yoeh will ride a motorcycle flying over The Great Wall. Remember her riding a motorcycle landing on top of a moving rain in SUPERCOP? For that shot, she had to learn how to ride a motorcycle first and then learn how to land on a moving train. By the way, there is also a scene involving an action girl riding a motorcycle on The Great Wall in the recently released trailer of TOMBRAIDER 2. That is not real Angolina Jolie and that is not the real Great Wall. They build a mockup of The Great Wall in English countryside. All I can say is the the English countryside remains as English countryside and makers of the movie have no clue of what the real Great Wall looks like (they have no clue of what Shanghai looks either). Anyway, BMW has sponsored Michelle Yeoh with 16 of their finest motorcycles.

Here are four videos from the newest old-school martial-art film DRUNKEN MONKEY. Too bad, they only came with Real format. Made by the legendary Shaw Brothers, it is old fashion all the way. It has been announced that the film will be released in China on May 1.

Trailer: Stream (Real Video)    Download (ZIP)  -  Length: 1:13

Clip 1: Stream (Real Video)    Download (ZIP)  -  Length: 1:34

Clip 2: Stream (Real Video)    Download (ZIP)  -  Length: 3:42

Here (left) is the first shot of Jackie Chan and his old buddy Sammo Hung, who is doing a cameo in the film. According to two Hong Kong paper, Oriental Daily and Sing Pao, they are in a "Chinese village". But, the cart just does not look very Chinese - the wheels are too big. Since the set build in the Thai island Krabi also includes Indian, Malaysian and American sectors, I am also worried about the designers did not get the first two sectors right. Anyway, according to Oriental Daily, nearly US$4 million has been spent on building the set and they are only going to stay there for three weeks. According to The Hollywood Reporter, effect shop Rhythm & Hues (DAREDEVIL, X2, CAT IN THE HAT) will cater the a large portion of the film's CG shots (thanks to Marie M).

Jackie Chan' dairies from March 8th to 16th have been posted at his official site: click here (Thanks to Marie M and "pinoy") He mentioned Hong Kong super model turned actor Maggie Q and Japanese Pancrase wrestler Kengo are playing two Scorpion Agents.

Jackie Chan has decided to routinely provide us diaries and pictures from the of the 80 DAYS project, just like what he did for us during the filming of SHANGHAI KNIGHTS. According to the diary, a "Chinese village" was built at Krabi in Thailand. Not much of the "village" was shown but from the shot Jackie Chan taken with that black pig, we can see that it is a typical tropical "village". Only the far south tip of China reached the tropical zone. I am just hoping they can do it right and please don't make it looks like they are using the same set from PLATOON. Once again, they altered the history just to preserve Jackie Chan's hair. At that time (the Qing Dynasty) all men were supposed to shave their foreheads.

Click here for part one of Jackie Chan's Diary

Click here for shots taken on location in Thailand

Thanks to Marie M and "pinoy"

According to Taiwanese media, director Zhang Yimou has reached a deal with Bill Kong, the man behind CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and HERO, to make another martial-art film set the the Qin or Han Dynasty, a little bit later than the time of HERO. Zhang Ziyi has been picked to play a blind swordswoman. Shooing will start in July and pre-order of international distribution rights has already begun.

HERO's quest for the Oscar has ended with nothing in hand. Thanks to MiramAxe for doing nothing! Congratulations to Germany for its NOWHERE IN AFRICA.

In the name of the MiramAxe authority, people who live in the following regions may not see the movie until November 2003, or may not see the movie until an undetermined date, or may not see the movie on the big screen:

17 reviews from both professional film critics and moviegoers have been linked at the HERO page.

Click here

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wayne Wang (MAID IN MANHATTAN, THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, THE JOY LUCK CLUB) has signed up to helm GOOD COOK, LIKES MUSIC, a comedy, staring Adam Sandler and Zhang Ziyi. The plot is: an loser (Sandler) got drunk one night and ordered a bride (Zhang) online who "ends up being a musical prodigy, and they changed each other's lives." The idea of the movie has been around for almost two years, and personally, I do not like it!

Click here for the story by ComingSoon.com

Thanks to Scott Liu

According to Nanfang Daily, everyone, except director Zhang Yimou, producer Zhang Weiping and producer Bill Kong, has cancelled their plan of attending the Academy Awards Ceremony. The decisions were made yesterday afternoon right after the Iraqi War broke out. Peace, is the message being carried by HERO, and ...

Studio Babelsberg in Berlin, the one has been picked to make much of the film happening, has posted an update on its website. According to the update, the shooting has already started in Thailand last Friday and the production will be moved to Studio Babelsberg three weeks later.

Click here for the update

Thanks to Marie M, who found the link on Wendy Page's site

Click here for the HERO page by MiramAxe

It is a standard page with minimum amount of information. Errors: two other writers, Wang Bin and Li Feng, are not credited; producer Zhang Weiping and Dou Shoufang are not credited; Jet Li is not one of the producers. It shows the film will be "in theaters - Winter 2003". So no matter what HERO does at the Oscar, people will forget about it by then. Stupid!

Thanks to Toan Mail, Peter Chan and Wei Han

According Beijing Times, MO LI HUA KAI (JASMINES BLOOM) is about three stories happened at a small photo shop in 1937, 1957 and 1978. Zhang Ziyi is playing the young Mo, Li and Hua; Joan Chen is playing Mo's mother and the old Mo; Jiang Wen is playing Mo's boyfriend and Li's father, owner of the photo shop; and Lu Yi is playing Li's boyfriend Zou Jie. Director Zhang Yimou is the art consultant and director Tian Zhuangzhuang is the executive producer. According to Star Daily, in less than ten days since the the production started, the film's financers had seen their money back. Revenues from sales of video distribution rights, TV broadcasting rights and international distribution rights are more than enough to cover the 16 million yuans (US$ 1.81 million) they have invested. The film is financed by China Film Group, Century Hero Film Investment, Bei Da Hua Yi and Jin Ying Ma.

According to Sina.com, Dede Nickerson, MiramAxe's Asian consultant and the Beijing Representative, said she would travel to Los Angeles on March 20 to arrange the promotion for HERO. But isn't that too late? The voting will end today! Any way, according to Nanfang Daily, director Zhang Yimou, Jet Li, Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, producer Zhang Weiping and producer Bill Kong will all go to Los Angeles. But there are only four tickets for HERO,  and according to the paper, MiramAxe was doing its best to look for extra tickets. Yea, right!

Director Hou Yong just had a short telephone interview with Beijing Youth, but he refused to say anything about the plot. He said revealing the plot will spoil people's minds and if the plot was kept secretly, each person would see the movie with his or her own expectation. Hou Yong said the cast was the best and Zhang Ziyi would surprise everyone because she was playing three roles very much different from any role she had played before. Most scenes are about the old Shanghai and are shot at the same lot inside Shanghai Film Studios, where Zhang Ziyi made PURPLE BUTTERFLY last year.

Guang Dong Face Audio & Video Production Co. Ltd., one of the video distributors of HERO, has claimed that it would release BULLETPROOF MONK on DVD and VCD in the mainland China on April 18, only two days after the North American theatrical release date. The movie will also hit the theaters in Hong Kong, Taiwan and a few others in Asia around the same time. DVDs and VCDs containing a bootlegged video shot during a test screening held in the States were found  in the market three months ago. Even though the video was in inferior quality, missing the beginning, the ending, some CG effects and audio components, MGM, the movie's distributor, and Motion Picture Association have felt very uneasy about the incident. Such simultaneous release could be the new attempt to fight piracy. Pirated video of a movie usually hits the market in Asia in less than a week after being released in theaters.

According to Chinese media, director Feng Xiaogang has started shooting his next project SHOU JI (CELL PHONE) outside of Beijing. Originated from a chat between Feng Xiaogang and writer Liu Zhenyun, the film is about how the modern communication device plays a trick role in our modern life. Motorola and BMW have become the sponsors of the films (you know what you are going to see). With nearly 200 million users, China is the world No. 1 cell phone market. Starring Ge You, Zhang Guoli, Xu Fan, Fan Bingbing; written by Liu Zhenyun; cinematography by Zhao Fei (THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION), music by Su Cong (THE LAST EMPEROR); art direction by Liu Xingang.

According to Chengdu Daily, young Chinese director Li Xin is about to helm THE BLADE OF DESIRE, a thriller produced by Hollywood Motion Picture. Li Xin has just received the script, about a love story of a 19 year old Chinese girl and a white guy, and it will have a twist of Chinese martial-art. They will ask either Yuen Wo-Ping or Jackie Chan's team to direct the action for the movie. About 80% of the movie will be shot in China and the rest will be made in London and Spain. Budgeted at over US$8 million, the movie will probably go into production this fall. Li Xin has been directing commercials for nearly a decade before making his first feature film HUA YAN (DAZZLING).

According to the webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives, production of KILL BILL has finally ended with a big party last week. The shooting started in Beijing last May and lasted for nine months, very unusually long. He suspects Quentin Tarantino might be able to make a rush delivery to the Cannes, which will be held the coming May, because Quentin Tarantino and Sally Menke have been working on the editing for a while.

According to Business Times, Zhang Ziyi's brother and manager, Zhang Zinan, said Zhang Ziyi is indeed playing three characters in JASMINES BLOOM. They are Mo from the 1930's, Li from the 1950's and Hua from the 1980's. Mo Li Hua means Jasmine. Zhang Zinan said the look of Mo is modeled after writer Chang Ai-ling (Eileen Chang) and the look of Li, a young girl dreaming about being a star, is modeled after Hedy Lamarr.

Here is the first review of Hong Kong director Johnnie To's PTU, a cop/crook thriller premièred at the Berlin International Film Festival and will be released in Hong Kong soon.

Review: PTU (Positive, Minor Spoilers) by Dan Fainaru

Disney is pushing for a live action version of the popular PlayStation 2 game ONIMUSHA. Donnie Yen told reporters from Hong Kong yesterday at a news conference for the third installment of the game. Donnie said, "the director (attached to the project) is quite well-know. He would be in charge of the detail (of the movie), and I would be the action director and the leading man." To the action director of the game, Donnie Ye was paid with a 7 figure ((Hong Hong dollars), five times of what he got from THE TWINS EFFECT. Disney is aiming at a release in 2005.

Continued from previews report, Donnie Yen also said Disney and producer Joel Silver are planning a project called CHINESE BROTHERS, and besides Donnie Yen, Chow Yun-Fat and Jet Li are also considered. Donnie Yen said, "The story is about four brothers struggling together (in America, most likely). I will use my own name in the movie and I will play the second brother. Shooting may start in July, If nothing goes wrong, and location is unknown." However, Donnie also said he knew nothing about the status of Chow Yun-Fat and Jet Li. Donnie Yen is also talking with Disney over a few other projects but there is no detail.

Five exclusive photos of how Jackie Chan was transformed to the character he will play:

According Screen Daily, actress Cécile de France has joined the cast. He will play "Monique, a disillusioned French artists who hitches a ride".

Click here for the report by Screen Daily

Thanks to Marie M and JF

From an unknown source: Columbia is tossing $20 million US into Stephen Chow's next project, a film about a young mean's search for the true masters of martial-art. Sammo Hung will be the action director and the shooting will start in May. But Stephen Chow told Hong Kong's The Sun that there were many unsolved problems about his next project, including script problem and casting problem, and he had never stopped communicating with the American.

According to Tianjin Daily, shooting of JASMINES BLOOM has quietly started in Shanghai. Zhang Ziyi is playing two roles in the film while still working on 2046. Joan Chen has arrived in her home town Shanghai last month. On the male side of the cast, Jiang Wen and Lu Yi have signed up. However, the rumor of Nicholas Tse and Korean star Won Bin joining the cast has been dismissed.

Related Stories:

Joan Chan, Jiang Wen Confirmed For JASMINES BLOOM (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) February 10, 2003

Jiang Wen, Jone Chan May Board Hou Yong's New Film With Zhang Ziyi (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) January 25, 2003

Zhang Ziyi Will Play Take Three Roles In Her Next Film (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) January 9, 2003

Zhang Ziyi Signs Up For Cinematographer Hou Yong's Untitled Directorial Début (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) January 8, 2003

Review: HERO (Positive, 5 discs, Minor Spoilers) by Pat (Note: there is no cello performance but a violin solo)

Review: HERO - A Thing of Beauty (Positive, No Spoilers) by Albert Lanier (Note: It's Zhang Ziyi not Zhang Yiyi)

Review: HERO (Positive, 4 stars, Minor Spoilers) by Jules Brenner

Thanks to an anonymous reader

If you click "story" or "killbill", you get hidden treasures. There is another secret password starting with the letter "Q". Maybe you can figure it out by yourself. Beware, some of the hidden treasures might be R rated.

According to Hong Kong's The Sun, Jackie Chan has asked Karen Mok and Marsha Yuen to join the cast of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. Both of them have martial-art experience and both of them speak fluent English, witch is essential. Karen Mok has played Jackie Chan's bride in the upcoming THE TWINS EFFECT and Marsha Yuen is the daughter of Cheng Pei-Pei (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) and the sister of Eugenia Yuan. Jackie Chan said he wanted to make the film more like a Jackie Chan's movie rather than a Hollywood movie, therefore the female co-stars would be cast by himself personally. Jackie Chan is also one of the producers of the movie. Shooting will start soon but we do not know the exact schedule.

Shooting of 2046 continued in Macao. Here are three pictures taken by Hong Kong's Sing Pao.

Leung Chiu-Wai

Zhang Ziyi

Cinematographer Christopher Doyle and Leung Chiu-Wai  (The truck was parked there to block the view of photographer)

Hong Kong's Oriental Daily reports Wong Kar-Wai was shooting 2046 in a small river bank street of Macao. For eight hours, Leung Chiu-Wai and Zhang Ziyi walked back-in-forth at the chilling and raining night and the scene is just over ten second long, according to the paper. Both of them dressed very 1950's and the street, which was probably used to double the old Hong Kong, was also made very old by the crew. The chance of 2046 being premièred at this year's Cannes Film Festival is very slim because the production is not done yet. Zhang Ziyi will fly to Shanghai to prepare for her next film, JASMINES BLOOM.

Photos: Oriental Daily

According to Beijing Times, Steven Seagal has arrived in the city for his GENGHIS KHAN. Besides casting several martial-art actors, Seagal was looking for a tall and pretty girl who can dance. He said he would personally teach her martial art. More than 20 girl models represented by Pierre Cardin has been interviewed by Seagal last night at a restaurant. Seagal said "the script is done and the finance is secured - about 60 million dollars (US). But I can't tell you the source of the money. You have wait until the news conference next time. It hasn't been decided yet who would be the partner of GENGHIS KHAN, but I can assure you the shooting will start in March or April next year."

Picture: Steven Seagal made a funny face last night

Related Stories:

Steven Seagal Left Beijing With A Last Minute GENGHIS KHAN Deal (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) August 28, 2002

Steven Seagal's First Day In Beijing (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) August 27, 2002

Steven Seagal Arrives In Beijing To Look For His "Sons And Grandsons" (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) August 25, 2002

Steven Seagal's GENGHIS KHAN Might Be Genghis Gone (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) August 24, 2002

According to Hong Kong's Oriental Daily, MiramAxe, Revolution and Universal are bidding on the film rights of Michelle Yeoh's upcoming super-hero flick MASKED CRUSADER. At least one studio has offer a 9-ditigt figure (Hong Kong Dollar) for the world-wide distribution rights, but Michelle Yeoh and producer Thomas Chung want to keep the Asian distribution rights.

According to Variety, veteran British Jim Broadbent has signed up to play Lord Kelvin, who will try to prevent  Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan from traveling around the world in 80 days. The movie, based on, or maybe just loosely based on, the famous novel by Jules Verne, will be helmed by Frank Coraci, the director of Adam Sandler's THE WEDDING SINGER and THE WATERBOY. Did I hear Adam Sandler? Looks like there will be a lot of cameos in 80 DAYS. Variety suspects Adam Sandler might be in and Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan's co-star in two SHANGHAI flicks, told Empire Magazine he and his brother Luke might play the Wright Brothers in the film.

Click here for the Variety article

Thanks to Marie M

Hong Kong's Oriental Daily has conducted a short telephone interview with Jet Li who is currently filming DANNY THE DOG in Scotland. He said, "I have made 31 movies so far. In each one I played a big hero, but this time it's an exception. My character is a guy who very well knows how to fight but only gets the IQ of a 10 year old. He doesn't know the meaning of life and needs guidance from a blind (piano) tuner played by Morgan Freeman.

DANNY THE DOG is directed by Louis Leterrier and produced by Luc Besson. They have worked with Jet Li in KISS OF THE DRAGON two years ago. The Z Review has posted the first batch of shots from location in Glasgow: click here.

Photo: Sina.com

According to Beijing's Star Daily, Hong Kong director Tsui Hark has agreed to helm QI JIAN XIA TIAN SHAN (literal title: SEVEN SWORDSMEN LEAVE MT. HEAVEN), produced by Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing Corp. Footages to shot with high definition digital video camera will be edited into a 30-episode TV series and a feature film. Based on the same name wuxia novel by Liang Yu-Sheng, it tells a tale of seven warriors at the turn of Ming and Qing Dynasties. After being personally picked by Liang Yu-Sheng, Tsui Hark said, this time, he would keep away from CG effects and go back to the traditional. The price he paid for THE LEGEND OF ZU and BLACK MASK 2 is very high. Both films offers nothing but piles of dizzying CG stuffs. Failure of THE LEGEND OF ZU has contributed to the cancellation of BOOK SWORD LOVE HATE over a year ago. However no one has been cast yet and shooting will start this fall.

Photo: Sina.com