|
|
News Archives |
| October 2004 | |
|
|
|
|
October 31, 2004 |
||||
For more: click here and here. (Thanks to "kington".)
Related Stories: More About SHA PO LANG (DonnieYen.us) September 23, 2004 Stills Of SHA PO LANG, A New All-Star Hong Kong Martial-Art Production (DonnieYen.net / hkfilmart.com) September 11, 2004
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Yuen Wo-Ping's SNOW WHITE AND SEVEN Gets A Writer (Variety / The Hollywood Reporter) |
|
|
October 30, 2004 |
|
According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, author Michael Chabon will adapt the Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs into an "East-meets-West" story for Disney. Two years ago, Disney announced the project, with Yuen Wo-Ping attached to direct. The Hollywood Reporter says the story "will be set in 1880s British colonial China." I don't know what's that suppose to mean. During the 1880's, the only Chinese territory occupied by the British are Hong Kong island, Kowloon Peninsular, just north the Hong Kong island, and a small portion of Shanghai.
Story by The Hollywood Reporter
Related Story: Disney Is Tipping Yuen Wo-Ping With Kung Fu Snow White (Variety / Reuters) September 20, 2002
|
|
|
|
|
Opening This Week: October 9 - 15, 2004 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||||||||
|
October 29, 2004 |
||||||||
A Chinese girl in a British school, an ancient Chinese girl in love with both a prince and an outlaw, a rectangle of lust in Hong Kong, and three young girls run a gang war in Taiwan...
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
John Woo Has ESPIONAGE FOR DUMMIES In Mind (The Hollywood Reporter) |
||
|
October 28, 2004 |
||
Wiley Publishing, Inc. has reached a deal with John Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Productions, for making the first big screen version of the Dummies book series - Espionage For Dummies. Written by Stevie Long, the story will follow a high school VP who accidentally exchanges identity with a super spy. Armed only with an Espionage for Dummies handbook, he must single handily save the world.
I am not sure John Woo will do it personally. Besides Espionage For Dummies, his to-do list also includes Unicef project All The Invisible Children (set to start soon), Spy Hunter (prep stage) with The Rock, toy adaptation He-Man (just announced two weeks ago) historical drama Battle Of Red Cliff, has been mistranslated as "War of the Red Cliff (a team of writers are working on the script), remaking Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle), a musical about American gangsters in the 1920's, which might be called Tale of Chris Damon (got some script problem), historical drama about the construction of America's first transcontinental railroad Land Of Destiny / The Divide (got some serious script problem).
Click here for the original report by The Hollywood Reporter.
|
||
|
|
|
October 27, 2004 |
|||||||||
These shots only shows director Tsui Hark, Lu Yi and Zhang Jingchu. This historical martial-art epic is currently under production in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Related Stories:
THE SEVEN SWORDS Went
Into Production
(Information Times)
September 3, 2004
Tsui Hark's THE SEVEN SWORDS
Revealed Its Cast
(MonkeyPeaches
Exclusive)
August 29, 2004
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Rumor Of Toei Boycotting MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA Unverified (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||
|
October 26, 2004 |
||
The rumor of Japan's Toei Studios might refuse to lend its set to the production of Memoirs Of A Geisha was from an article by The Hong Kong Sun last week. I have been unable to independently verify the authentic of the report. The credibility of the newspaper is the only thing we can count on. Shooting has been carried out in California, including Sony Studios in Hollywood, Thousand Oaks and The Huntington in San Marino. Studio press release indicates shooting will also take place in Japan but Toei Studios are not mentioned. (Click here for the newest press release.)
Related Story: Japan's Toei Studios Might Boycott MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA Production? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) October 18, 2004
|
||
|
|
|
What Do You Know - A Fake Tree For MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA (Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre) |
||||
|
October 25, 2004 |
||||
An artificial Japanese cherry tree has been "planted" at the Japanese Garden of The Huntington near Los Angeles. It is the off season for the tree to blossom, so using a fake tree makes sense. The filming will be held at the garden today. According to Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre, "the production company has built an actual Japanese Village in Thousand Oaks, a city 39 miles west of Los Angeles and the bulk of the film will be shot there. A large Sumo wrestling scene which involves 300-400 extras will be shot at the Sony Studios during November 2 - 4."
(Thanks to "CJ".)
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
SHI MIAN MAI FU / HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS European Teaser (MyMovies.net) |
|
|
October 25, 2004 |
|
European Teaser: 512k 128k 56k
(Thanks to "emacs".) |
|
|
|
|
Photos Of Zhang Ziyi On The Set Of TANUKI GOTEN (HelloZiyi.us) |
||||
|
October 24, 2004 |
||||
HelloZiyi.us has grabbed a couple set photos of Tanuki Goten (Raccoon Dog Palace), which look like scans from a magazine.
(Thanks to "Janguruguru" and "CJ".)
Related Stories: TANUKI GOTEN (Raccoon Dog Palace) Official Site (Herald Online) August 29, 2004 Yet Another Shot Of Zhang Ziyi In Japanese Flick OPERETTA TANUKI GOTEN (Ziyifan.com) August 12, 2004 Another Shot Of Zhang Ziyi In Japanese Flick OPERETTA TANUKI GOTEN (Sina.com) August 10, 2004 First Shot Of Zhang Ziyi In Japanese Flick OPERETTA TANUKI GOTEN (Oriental Daily) August 9, 2004
Zhang Ziyi Stars In Japanese Musical
OPERETTA TANUKI GOTEN
Zhang Ziyi Will Star In Seijun Suzuki's Musical (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) February 21, 2004
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
October 23, 2004 |
||
The clip was recorded from a program by Shanghai's Oriental Television. Adapted from the same name Japanese comic series, the movie is produced by Hong Kong's Media Asia Group. Core of the cast and crew is from Infernal Affairs trilogy.
Clip: Making of Initial D (Windows Media / 2:51) (Thanks to "alvin".)
Related Story: INITIAL D Initialized, Finally (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) July 2, 2004
|
||
|
|
|
Opening This Week: October 16 - 22, 2004 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||||
|
October 22, 2004 |
||||
A biopic of a public servant and a horror flick from Hong Kong.
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
KUNG FU / KUNG FU HUSTLE Official Site Launched In Full (KungFuHustle.com) |
||
|
October 22, 2004 |
||
|
||
|
|
|
SHI MIAN MAI FU / HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS North American Teasers (Sony Pictures Classics) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
October 21, 2004 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
John Woo Adds Remaking LE CERCLE ROUGE To His To-Do List (Empire) |
||
|
October 20, 2004 |
||
According to Empire, John Woo has included another task to his agenda - remaking 1970 classic Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle). Woo's to-do list also includes Unicef project All The Invisible Children (set to start soon), Spy Hunter (prep stage) with The Rock, toy adaptation He-Man (just announced two weeks ago) historical drama Battle Of Red Cliff, has been mistranslated as "War of the Red Cliff (a team of writers are working on the script), a musical about American gangsters in the 1920's, which might be called Tale of Chris Damon (got some script problem), historical drama about the construction of America's first transcontinental railroad Land Of Destiny / The Divide (got some serious script problem).
More about Battle Of Red Cliff.
|
||
|
|
|
Wong Kar-Wai Begins Filming THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI With Gong Li (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||||||
|
October 19, 2004 |
||||||
According to Hong Kong's Oriental Daily of Hong Kong, Nicole Kidman said director Wong Kar-Wai just spent five weeks to complete the scenes with Gong Li. It is the first time we know Gong Li is involved. She will also star in Memoirs Of A Geisha. The cast list has not been revealed though Takeshi Kitano's name was mentioned last month. Kidman said Wong had adopted a new way of working which greatly speeded up the process. They really spent a long time to prepare for the production. Kidman said she would start working on the filming sometime next year, after finishing Bewitched, Eucalyptus and The Producers Movie.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Japan's Toei Studios Might Boycott MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA Production? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||
|
October 18, 2004 |
||
Hong Kong newspaper The Sun reported that Japanese studio Toei, set to collaborate the production of Memoirs Of A Geisha in Japan, might refuse to lease its set to the Americans. According to the paper, Toei was not happy about the fat that the cast of Memoirs Of A Geisha, a story supposed occurred in Japan, consists with too many Chinese and not enough Japanese. It was just like "changing a Kyoto's temple into a grand Chinese restaurant."
Both the movie and the book it is based on are in fact western interpretation of Japan's geisha culture. The Japanese are especially upset that geishas are portrayed as prostitutes. In fact, they are entertainers and could even be seen as artists.
More about Memoirs Of A Geisha.
|
||
|
|
|
First Look At James Ivory THE WHITE COUNTESS Filming In Shanghai (Sina.com) |
|||||||||
|
October 17, 2004 |
|||||||||
More photos: Ralph Fiennes, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson and Madeleine Cooper: A B, Natasha Richardson and Madeleine Cooper, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Madeleine Cooper and an unidentified actor, Ralph Fiennes and Wang Luoyong, Ying Da, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cinematographer Christopher Doyle, A 1946 Cadillac was used to double a vehicle from 1936/37.Ralph Fiennes..
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
KUNG FU / KUNG FU HUSTLE Sold To MiramAxe? - Not Really (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
|
|
October 16, 2004 |
|
According to an article by Chinese paper Nanjing Daily, the answer is yet. Reportedly, Wang Zhonglei, the president of HTF (Huayi Brothers and Taihe Film Investment Co., Ltd.) told the paper that, at the Toronto International Film Festival, MiramAxe promised them a full release for the movie in North America. Kung Fu (English title: Kung Fu Hustle) was jointly produced by China Film Group Corp., Beijing based HTF and Columbia Pictures' Asian branch. I guess someone just never learned.
Through an alliance with HTF, Columbia has produced a series of Chinese titles since 2000, including The Big Shot's Funeral, Warriors Of Heaven And Earth, Cell Phone, Kekexili and Kung Fu. It has been rumored that their love affair just ended. (Thanks to Christofer Smith for the reminder.)
According to <Twitch>, the PR representative from Sony/Columbia has denied that MiramAxe brought the rights to Kung Ku. Click here for detail. (Thanks to "Paul".)
|
|
|
|
|
Opening This Week: October 9 - 15, 2004 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||||||||
|
October 15, 2004 |
||||||||
Johnnie To's Yesterday Once More, a cat-and-mouse game played by a divorced couple has simultaneous release in Hong Kong, the mainland China and Taiwan; La Melodie d’Helene, a cross-continental love story from producer Hsu Li-Kong premières in Taiwan; and two Taiwanese films, Comes The Black Dog and Taipei 21, are back in theaters in their native land.
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
| DVD - HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS / 2046 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
|
October 14, 2004 |
||
These DVDs were released in China (mainland) on October 8, 2004.
|
||
|
|
|
October 13, 2004 |
|||
According to Variety, the production of The Myth was temporarily on hold after "India's Directorate of Archaeology and Museums ordered cranes and sets to be removed from grounds of the 15th-century Virupaksha temple at Hampi." Officials from the directorate said the production did not have permission to shoot there. However, director Stanley Tong said "permission was granted by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Hampi World Heritage Site." (thanks to Patrick Y.)
According to local paper Central Chronicle, the scenes shot at the temple was a song sequence between Jackie Chan and Bollywood beauty Mallika Sherawat. "Films earlier shot amidst the historical monuments of Hampi include Agni Varsha and Amol Palekar's Marathi film Anaahat."
Related Story: Red tape sidelines Chan, by Bryan Pearson, Variety via Yahoo! News
Follow-up: according to a new report by AFP, shooting of The Myth had resumed. Click here for the report.
|
|||
|
|
|
More Detail Of Chen Kaige's Next Project - DU YUESHENG (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
||
|
October 12, 2004 |
||
According to Shanghai Youth, Chen Kaige's next project would be a biopic of Du Yuesheng, the most powerful crime lord in Shanghai from the 1920's to the 1940's. The project was endorsed by a major Hollywood studio, the paper reported. Chinese actor Liu Ye and Korean actor Jang Dong-Kun are rumored for being attached to the project, but neither will play the leading role. It would be someone with a much bigger name, according to the director. Chen Kaige's wife, Chen Hong, played the female title role in Chen Kaige's Together, will very likely to take the lead again. The screenplay, not done yet, has to be greanlighted by the Chinese censorship. Shooting is expected to start by the end of 2005, after Chen Kaige finishing the post-production of his fantasy epic Wu Ji /(English title: The Promise). Internationally, Chen Kaige is best known for Yellow Earth, Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor And The Assassin.
|
||
