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News Archives |
| September 2003 | |
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More On-Location Shots Of Jackie Chan's NEW POLICE STORY (Oriental Daily) |
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September 30, 2003 |
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Oriental Daily posted two new on-location shots of New Police Story (looks like promotional photos released by the studio). It is a funeral for ten police officers kills by the bad guys. The picture on the left shows Jackie Chan and co-star Charlie Yeung. According to Jackie Chan, New Police Story is not the fourth Police Story and he is playing a different cop, although they both names Chan. So far we know nothing about the plot except the story largely happening in Hong Kong and partially somewhere in the rest of China. |
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More On-Location Shots Of Jackie Chan's NEW POLICE STORY (Various) |
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September 29, 2003 |
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More pictures of Jackie Chan and co-star Nicolas Tse making New Police Story have been posted on websites of various papers.
The news conference (announced Charlie Yeung being the female lead)
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Hong Kong Comic Adaptation SHEN BING / THE SWORD SEARCHERS Is A Go (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 28, 2003 |
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According to various reports, production of Shen Bing (Divine Weapons / English title: The Sword Searchers), halted due to the SARS outbreak, will start next April. Based on comic series Shen Bing Qi Xuan, by Hong Kong comic artist Wong Yuk-Long and his King Comics, it follows a story of a young man searching for the sword which can stop the power unleashed by an evil weapon. Nicolas Tse will play the young man and veteran Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing will take a cameo role of the young man's mother. According to the film's producer Wong Pak-Ming, actors including Jackie Chan, from many countries, are interested in joining the project. Director Ching Siu-Tung has been scouting locations in Qinhai Province of northern part of Tibetan Plateau.
Related Story: Two Jackie Chan's Projects - TITANIUM RAIN Renamed TIME BREAKER And SHEN XUAN QI BING Postponed (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) May 7, 2003 |
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HERO News 284 - Cameraman Christopher Doyle's Production Journal (American Cinematographer Magazine) |
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September 26, 2003 |
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The September issue of American Cinematographer Magazine has published the production journal cinematographer Christopher Doyle wrote during the filming of Hero. Thanks to Sheila Carrington
Review in French: "Les plus grands films sont fait avec les histoires les plus simples et les plus riches. Machine translation: The greatest films are made with the simplest and richest stories." Kevin Prin (DVDDRAMA) Thanks to Olivier Ferra
Hero has been released in France September 24. |
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RUNNING ON KARMA Videos - Trailer And Making Of (Sina.com) |
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September 25, 2003 |
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Trailer (higher resolution) (Widows Media / Length: 1:46 / Size: 4.64M)
Making of (Windows Media / Length: 7:35 / Size: 19.9M)
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Johnnie To Will Make WEN QUE, Another Stylish Piece With Simon Yam (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 25, 2003 |
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Excited by good words PTU has been getting, Johnnie To has decided to shoot another stylish film Wen Que, story of a pickpocket. Simon Yam, the leading man in PTU, will take the role. Johnnie To said, "(I) have made many movies about big criminals, and not one about small crooks. This time (I) will add lots of interesting elements into the story about the small crook. And it won't be a main stream commercial movie." According to Simon Yam, the story is about the destine of a pickpocket. He said, "a pickpocket will always be a pickpocket, no matter how wealthy he is. An old hobbit is so hard to drop." |
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WARRIORS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH Premièred In Beijing (Sina.com) |
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September 24, 2003 |
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Warriors Of Heaven And Earth has premièred at Dunen* of Beijing yesterday. Produced by China's HTF (Huayi brothers and Taihe) and Xi'an Film Studio, the film will be released in China October 1. Columbia co-financed the film and will distribute it internationally, though it has yet set any date.
Warriors Of Heaven And Earth has
* Duanmen (Gate of Upright) is the gate between Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace, the front gate of the Imperial City) and Wu Men (Gate of Meridian, the front gate of the Palace City, i.e. the Forbidden City, which is inside the Imperial City). |
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September 24, 2003 |
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Jackie Chan and co-star Nicolas Tse showed up in the street of Hong Kong last night. The sequence is Jackie Chan getting drunk and falling in a small alley. There was no action involved. About the tumor just discovered at his throat, it is harmless so far. |
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SHI MIAN MAI FU Filming In Ukrainian Town Lviv (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 23, 2003 |
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According to China's Tianjin Daily, Zhang Yimou's second martial-art film Shi Mian Mai Fu is currently under production in Lviv of western Ukraine. The mountains outside the town are used to double China. The same location has been featured in Jackie Chan's First Strike during the snowy mountain chasing scene. According to the paper, Zhang Yimou chose to shoot there because "the scenery is beautiful, (the location) is closer to China (closer than the US, New Zealand, Australia, etc.), and the production cost is low (lower than filming in China). However, the tradeoff is the living condition. The mountain hotel they are staying at is constantly running out of power and hot water. Taking cold shower is something everyone has to accept. Feeding an army of over a hundred is quite challenging and quality of everyday meals are just minimum. Everyone, including the big name stars, have to eat whatever available. Takeshi Kaneshiro has stopped calling for delivery because there is no delivery. His notebook computer is the only thing he can use to log onto the net, but the connection is frequently down. Even though, the crew are in good spirit. Action director Ching Siu-Tung had positive words on Zhang Ziyi's handling of wire and other action sequences. Jin Chengwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) has also received a full month sword training prior the shooting. Andy Lau and Anita Mui will join the the production in Beijing following the wrapping up in Ukraine by the end of the year. |
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September 22, 2003 |
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The official site has been fully reloaded, caps of the cult trailers are posted here, and the two cult trailers are linked from here. |
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RUNNING ON KARMA Trailer (Official Site) |
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September 21, 2003 |
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Jackie Chan Found Charlie Yeung As His The Other Half In NEW POLICE STORY (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 20, 2003 |
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According to Hong Kong media, actress Yeung Choi-Nei (Charlie) has been cast to play Jackie Chan's girlfriend in New Police Story. Director Benny Chan said final list the cast would be revealed during a news conference in Hong Kong September 25. This will be Yeung's first big screen performance since 1997. Maggie Cheung, who played Jackie Chan's girlfriend in the first three episodes of the series, has declined showing up for the fourth time. New Police Story would be the first production by JCE (Jackie Chan Emperor), a joint-venture between Jackie Chan and Hong Kong's Emperor Multimedia Group. Shooting will start soon in Hong Kong and "other places". |
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September 19, 2003 |
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According to The New York Observer, Nicole Kidman has reserved six month of 2004 to work on an untitled Wong Kar-Wai movie. Wong has confirmed to Hong Kong's Oriental Daily that he had been in contact with Kidman. He has told her that six months might not be enough and Kidman said she knew Wong Kar-Wai's way of working (very very slow actually). Wong said he would meet Kidman next month in Hong Kong, Shanghai or somewhere in the States, to discuss the detail. However, Wong has yet come out a story for the film and his currently 2046 has yet shown any sign of wrapping up. |
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Chow Yun-Fat, Diane Lane In SOPHIE AND THE RISING SUN (Various) |
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September 19, 2003 |
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According to Hong Kong paper Oriental Daily, Diane Lane will join Chow Yun-Fat in Sophie And The Rising Sun, based on the same name novel by Augusta Trobaugh. The tale focuses on the romance between a small town spinster Sophie and her Japanese gardener Oto before and after Pearl Harbor attack. The project, tailored as a vehicle for Chow Yun-Fat, has been in development for at least two years. According to an article by Variety from 2001, the film would be made by Pandora Films. It was developed and penned by Robert Harling, and produced by Wendy Finerman. Also according to Oriental Daily, Chow Yun-Fat has turned down the offer of playing General Li in Michelle Yoeh's Hua Mulan. |
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KILL BILL Volume 1 Soundtracks Review (The Quentin Tarantino Archives) |
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September 18, 2003 |
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The webmaster of THE QUENTIN TARANTINO ARCHIVES got a copy of the soundtrack and wrote a review: http://www.tarantino.info/movie/killbill/OST_review.htm.
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September 17, 2003 |
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First of all, the title - Shi means "ten", Mian means "direction(s)" and Mai Fu means "ambush". Together, it means "ambush from ten directions." There is a story behind the phrase. In 206 A.D., the mighty Qin Dynasty created by the First Emperor (the king in Hero) fell. Two warlords, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were set to settle who would be the new ruler of China. After four years' bloodshed, Xiang Yu and his troops were encircled by Liu Bang at Gaixia. Facing enemies from ten directions, Xiang Yu lost hope of escaping and committed suicide. Liu Bang later became the first emperor of Han Dynasty. A music piece titled Shi Mian Mai Fu and with the subject of the battle, was composed by an anonymous musician during 16th Century or earlier. It is usually performed by pipa, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. In the movie, Zhang Ziyi plays a blind entertainer. Her character might be a pipaist or a dancer. The title may also imply the film has a suspense story. |
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INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2 Teaser Trailer And Production Video 1 (Media Asia) |
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September 16, 2003 |
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Production Video 1 (ASF): Low Hi
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WARRIORS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH Gets Oscar Recommendation (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 15, 2003 |
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According to various reports, Warriors of Heaven and Earth has been selected as the official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film competition at next year's Academy Awards. For the same award, Infernal Affairs has already been chosen to represent Hong Kong. To be qualified for the award, Warriors of Heaven and Earth will start a seven-day limited release in six Chinese cities on September 23. Full release will start September 30. Infernal Affairs has already been qualified since it was released in Hong Kong December last year.
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Zhang Yimou Will Keep Anita Mui's Role In SHI MIAN MAI FU (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 14, 2003 |
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An emergency meeting among director Zhang Yimou, producer Zhang Weiping and producer William (Bill) Kong was held and the agreement reached during the meeting is that Anita Mui will not be replaced and her scenes will remain unchanged, Zhang Weiping told Beijing Youth yesterday. He has also confirmed Anita Mui had never been part of the filming now under way in Ukraine. She will only go to locations in Beijing and Sichuan Province in November. Zhang Weiping and Willim Kong produced Zhang Yimou's first martial-art film Hero. William Kong is also one of the producers of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. |
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Rumored Secondary Plan For Anita Mui's Role In SHI MIAN MAI FU (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 13, 2003 |
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According to various reports, Anita Mui's health problem would not allow her to handle long and exhausting work. Director Zhang Yimou has started making plan to reduce the weight of her role or even replace her with another actress and, possibly, offer her another role, a cameo. According to Hong Kong's Sing Pao, Anita Mui's manager said , Anita Mui has never been part of Ukrainian filming and she will only show up for filming in Beijing and Sichuan Province. According to the script, Anita Mui will play the big sister of Zhang Ziyi's character. Her role is relatively small but vital to the development of the story. According to Beijing Youth, shooting has started in Ukraine as scheduled. Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau and Jin Chengwu / Takeshi Kaneshiro attended the ceremony marks the beginning of the production. However, Hong Kong media report yesterday Andy Lau returned to Hong Kong from Malaysia. |
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See Andy Lau Putting On The Muscle Suit For RUNNING ON KARMA (Sina.com) |
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September 12, 2003 |
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Sina.com posts four pictures showing Andy Lau putting on the muscle suit before the shooting. The studio ordered six identical muscle suits from an American company, each weights 60 pounds and together they cost US$500,000. Everyday Andy Lau spent 12 hours just for putting on and taking off the suit. In Running On Karma, Andy Lau plays a muscular guy, a martial artist and once a Buddhist monk. He travels to Hong Kong and meets a police officer played by Cecilia Cheung. He starts helping her on her cases and discovers her father's killer... Directed by Johnny To and Wai Ka-Fai, Running On Karma will be released in Hong Kong and the rest of China this month.
Related Story: Andy Lau Puts On Big Muscle Suit In Johnny To's RUNNING ON KARMA (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) July 10, 2003 |
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SHI MIAN MAI FU Starts Rolling Today In Ukraine (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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September 11, 2003 |
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"The crew of Shi Mian Mai Fu is a large army with over a hundred members. We will stay there for three months. Most scenes will be shot at the "scenery zone". Everyone will reside in the mountain. Shooting will begin by noon tomorrow and all key figures have arrived." This is what producer Zhang Weiping told Shenyang Today yesterday from Ukraine over the phone. Besides director Zhang Yimou, action director Ching Siu-Tung and costume designer Emi Wada have also arrived in Ukraine. He confirmed Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Jin Chengwu / Takeshi Kaneshiro and Anita Mui would all come. However, Anita Mui's cancer has added a certain degree of uncertainty to her appearance. Zhang Weiping said Ukraine was picked because sceneries in China had all been used by Zhang Yimou and the Ukrainian wilderness is perfect for exploring Zhang Yimou's imagination. According to Zhang Weiping, the flowers have been planted on the location are in three colors - red, gold and about the color of "Ukrainian autumn". The costumes designed and made by Emi Wada are the most expensive investment during the process of pre-production. Just like what she did to Hero, documentary maker Gan Lu has started recoding the making of the film. |
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