News Archives
March 2005
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March 31, 2005 |
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A young couple from a small town migrate to Beijing to work at a theme park with scaled models of man-made wonders from around the world. The film explored the impact of urbanization and globalization on China's traditional culture. For years, director Jia Zhangke, a member of China's Sixth Generation directors, was making underground films, like Xiao Wu, Zhantai, In Public, In Person and Unknown Pleasures. The World is Jia's first film fully approved by the censorship of China. It is produced by the state-run Shanghai Film Studios.
Related Stories:
Jia Zhangke's WORLD
Takes Top-Prize At Spain's Las Palmas International Film Festival
(FestivalCineLasPalmas.com)
March 14, 2005
Jia Zhangke Wrapped Up
His WORLD
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
July 28, 2004
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Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN JI and Chen Kaige's WU JI / THE PROMISE Will Clash In December (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 30, 2005 |
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According to newspaper Chinese Business View, both Zhang Yimou's Qian Li Zou Dan Ji and Chen Kaige's Wu Ji had been aimed at December in China. Qian Li Zou Dan Ji, literally means "riding alone for thousands of lis (1 li equals to 0.31 mile)," is a relatively low-budget film, in which Japanese veteran actor Takakura Ken plays an old man traveling to the southwestern China for fulfilling the last wish of his son dying back in Japan. Zhang made this film after shooting Hero and House of Flying Daggers back-in-back.
Chen Kaige's Wu Ji (literally title: Infinity, English title: The Promise), is a mega budget fantasy film with an all-star cast - Cecilia Cheung, Jang Dong-Kun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Liu Ye, Nicholas Tse, Chen Hong and Cheng Qian.
Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are two most active figures among China's Fifth Generation Directors. They both graduated from Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980s. Zhang worked as the cinematographer in Chen's directorial début Yellow Earth and the follow-up The Big Parade. Although remain as close friends, they have not worked together for almost two decades.
More about Wu Ji / The Promise
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Johnnie To's WEN QUE Filmed in Hong Kong (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 29, 2005 |
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In Wen Que, directed by Johnnie To, Simon Yam and Lam Ka-Tung play a pair of pickpockets. To just shot a 90 second uncut scene, in which Yam and Lam pulled wallets from three victims, removed cash and put empty wallets back. Their tools, razor blades, were hidden inside their mouths.A dance choreographer was in charge of designing the scene and a retired pickpocket was also on board as the action consultant. To said this movie told a romantic love story about "love could not be achieved through stealing." Wen Que means Ploceidae and is a Cantonese slang for pickpocket.
Related Stories: Johnnie To Will Make WEN QUE, Another Stylish Piece With Simon Yam (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) September 25, 2003
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Photos: TANUKI GOTEN (aka. RACCOON PRINCESS) Press Conference in Tokyo (Sina.com) |
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March 29, 2005 |
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I n the musical set in the ancient Japan, Zhang Ziyi plays a raccoon dog who takes a human form and falls in love with a human prince, played by Joe Odagiri. Tanuki Goten (literal title: Raccoon Dog Palace) is the latest from veteran Japanese director Seijun Suzuki.
More shots from the press conference (this afternoon).
Related Stories: Official Site Of Zhang Ziyi's Japanese Musical TANUKI GOTEN (aka. RACCOON PRINCESS) (Tanuki-Goten.com) December 8, 2004 Photos Of Zhang Ziyi On The Set Of TANUKI GOTEN (HelloZiyi.us) October 24, 2004 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
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Live Coverage: The 24th Hong Kong Film Awards (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||||
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March 27, 2005 |
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Tonight, Kung Fu Hustle was named the Best Picture. Leung Chiu-Wai and Zhang Ziyi collected two most important acting awards for 2046. Yee Tung-Shing had a double victory for writing and directing One Nite in Mongkok. Yuen Wah won for his supporting role in Kung Fu Hustle and Bai Ling received the title of Best Actress for Dumpling - Three Extreme. Other categories were almost evenly distributed to 2046 and Kung Fu Hustle.
Photos from the award ceremony: A B
Best Picture
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Kung Fu Hustle
Best Director
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YEE Tung-Shing (One
Nite in Mongkok)
Best Actor
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LEUNG Chiu-Wai (2046)
Best Actress
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ZHANG Ziyi (2046)
Best Supporting Actor
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Yuen WAH (Kung
Fu Hustle)
Best Supporting Actress
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BAI Ling (Dumpling
- Three Extreme)
Best Screenplay
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YEE Tung-Shing (One
Nite in Mongkok)
Best Cinematography
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Christopher DOYLE, LAI Yiu-Fai,
KWAN Pun-Leung (2046)
Best Art Direction
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CHANG Suk-Ping, YAU Wai-Ming (2046)
Best Costume and Make-Up Design
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CHANG Suk-Ping (2046)
Best Visual Effect
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JUNG Ji-Hang, MA Wing-On, TAM
Gwan-Hung, HUNG Yuk-Leung (Kung
Fu Hustle)
Best Sound Design
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Steven TICKNOR, Steve BURGESS,
Rob MACKENZIE, Paul PIROLA (Kung
Fu Hustle)
Best Editing
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Angie LAM
(Kung
Fu Hustle)
Best Original Score (Music)
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Peer RABEN, Shigeru UMEBAYASHI
(2046)
Best Original Score (Song)
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"Gem-Gem-Gem (?)", composed by
The Pancakes, lyric by Brian TSE and The Pancakes, sung by The Pancakes
(McDull Prince de la Bun)
Best Action Choreography
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YUEN Wo-Ping (Kung
Fu Hustle)
Best New Performer
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TIN Yun (Butterfly)
Best Directorial Debut
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WONG Ching-Po (Jiang
Hu)
Best Asian Film
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Oldboy (South Korea)
Star of the Century
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Bruce LEE
Professional Spirit Award - Jackie CHAN
(actor, director, action director, producer), YU Mo-Wan (Hong Kong film
historian)
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New UNLEASHED / DANNY THE DOG Official US Site (Rogue Pictures) |
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March 27, 2005 |
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(Thanks to "jetliang" of JetLiang.com)
More about Unleashed / Danny the Dog.
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Donnie Yen in Negotiation for MEGA DRAGON AND TIGER (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 27, 2005 |
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Hong Kong producer Raymond Wong just told Shanghai Youth Daily he had offered Donnie Yen the title role for the film adaptation of Hong Kong comic series Mage Dragon and Tiger. This US$10 million project will be directed by Wilson Yip (Leaving Me, Leaving You, 2002) and the shooting will begin this September.
Related Stories: Official site of Dragon and Tiger / Mega Dragon and Tiger (King Comics) Donnie Yen To Helm Film Adaptation Of Comic Series MEGA DRAGON AND TIGER (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) June 24, 2003
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Cast of New Hong Kong Crime Drama A SAO Announced (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 27, 2005 |
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The cast list for A SAO, a new gang related Hong Kong title, was released earlier this week. 23 year old Taiwanese girl Annie Liu was picked to take the title role as "A Sao" the eight gangsters will be played by Leung Ka-Fai (Three...Extremes, Throw Down), Simon Yam (PTU, Fulltime Killer), Alex Fong (One Nite in Mongkok, The Storm Riders), Anthony Wong (House of Fury, Infernal Affairs trilogy), Eric Tsang (Jiang Hu, Infernal Affairs trilogy), Chen Sung-Yung (Fong Shi Yu, City of Sadness), Ko Chun-Hsiung (Island of Fire, 800 Heros), Liu Ye (The Foliage, Purple Butterfly). "A Sao" is a form of address to the big brother's wife, who is sometimes as powerful as the big brother. A Sao is the third project for director Wong Ching-Po. Wong said the movie would be very romantic, the tone would be "pinky-blues" and it would show the innocence of a young woman in a corrupted world. Reportedly this movie may not be released in the mainland China, just like Wong's last movie Jiang Hu, because the Chinese Film Bureau never had good taste for the subject of gangs. Shooting will start soon and the release has been aimed at August this year.
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Just How Evil Would Jackie Chan Play? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 26, 2005 |
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Looks like Jackie Chan is really getting tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy over and over again. He just told Hong Kong media that he was planning a movie in which he would play a real baddie.
Spoiler Alert! Highlight to read:
He even designed three scenes to show how evil his character would be: pulling a little girl by her hair and smashing her against a piece of glass; putting a gun into an old man's mouth; and burning a baby's arms and legs with a cigarette.
Related Story: Jackie Chan Plans to Play Baddie for the First Time Since People Started to Remember Him (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) February 27, 2005
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Opening This Week: March 19 - March 25, 2005 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 25, 2005 |
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A love story of a man and a woman kept apart by fate, a brother and a sister have to rescue their dad, an ex-secret agent kidnapped by another ex-secret agent, a group of young people play a game, which offers them 10 ways to meet the dead, a documentary trying to uncover the mysteriousness surrounding Noah's Ark from the Christian view point, and four soon-to-be college graduates plan to shoot an adult film in order to have sex with the film's lead star.
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March 23, 2005 |
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(Thanks to "jetliang" of JetLiang.com)
More about Unleashed / Danny the Dog.
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March 22, 2005 |
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Chinese newspaper Goat City Evening Post just uncovered the plot of Bey Logan / Steven Seagal co-produced Hong Kong production Dragon Squad: a prostitute, befriends a gang lord but later finds out her "boyfriend" is only using as a cover for his own business. Before she could get her out of danger, she unwillingly becomes a bait of a rival gang and Interpol agents. Mainland Chinese actress Li Bingbing (A World without Thieves, Purple Butterfly) told the paper that she will play the prostitute and other cast members included Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs trilogy), Xia Yu (Shadow Magic, In the Heat of the Sun) and Huang Shengyi (Kung Fu Hustle). According to an earlier report, the cast also included Sammo Hung, Michael Biehn, The Rock, Andy On (New Police Story, Black Mask 2), Vanness Wu (Star Runner), Heo Jun-Ho (Silmido), Simon Yam (PTU, The Mission) and Maggie Q (Naked Weapon, Gen-Y Cops). Li said shooting of this English-language production would start next month.
Related Stories: Producer Bey Logan Talks about DRAGON SQUAD (Moviehole.net) March 4, 2005
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About That CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON Prequel Rumor (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 21, 2005 |
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According to Chinese media, an assistance to Hsu Li-Kong, one of the producers of the original film, denied the rumor that Ang Lee would start making the prequel. An assistance to Ang Lee said the financier of the prequel had quit and Ang Lee had already abandoned the prequel. But according to a representative from Zoom Hunt International Productions Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based studio co-produced the original film, screenwriter Wang Hui-Ling still works on the script of the prequel and there is no plan of making it this year.
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HOUSE OF FURY Posters and Stills (Sina.com) | ||
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March 21, 2005 |
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More posters: Anthony Wong Danniel Wu Stephen Fung Gillian Chung Charlene Choi
Stills: A |
