More about Seven Swords

(Mandarin Films, China Film Group Corp.)

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More about The Myth

According to Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily, Andy Lau is in talk to play Zhou Yu, a general of warlord Sun Quan.

According to the Chinese media, the answer is yes. Reportedly, Ken Watanabe will play Cao Cao, the northern warlord chased Liu Bei, played by Chow Yun-Fat, to the south, and Leung Chiu-Wai will play Zhuge Liang, a strategist and the closes advisor to Liu Bei, who helped Liu to unit with southern warlord Sun Quan to defeat Cao's army with a decisive battle in Red Cliff. Screenwriter Zou Jingzhi has completed the third draft of the script, which has yet got John Woo's final approval.

Chow Yun-Fat has not been working much since Bulletproof Monk and he is currently set to star in zombie western The Wretched, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and The Aunt's Postmodern Life, a drama set in modern day Shanghai. Leung Chiu-Wai has not been in any ancient costume for a while and some of the recent works include Hero, Infernal Affairs trilogy and 2046. Japanese actor Ken Watanabe have stared in three Hollywood production, The Last Samurai, Batman Begins and the upcoming Memoirs of a Geisha, which have made him shine internationally.

(EMP)

A girl, who has the ability to communicate with bugs, is encouraged by a little bug to approach her "prince charming", but the bug's way of showing love fails. She gets very angry and hurts the little bug. Then suddenly, all bugs disappear overnight and the ecosystem starts to shut down as well...

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Ni Zhengyu (Ying Da), the chief consultant for the Chinese prosecution team.	The defendants are played by a full Japanese cast.	Joseph Keenan (John Henry Cox), the Chief Prosecutor.
(?)

A Chinese production, named after the trial held in Tokyo from 1946 to 1948, is currently under filming in and around Beijing. Makers of the film intent to retell what happened during the trial with real and fictional characters. Cast was formed with actors from the mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the US and several other countries.

More photos:

Real characters:

The defendants: Hideki Tojo (A B) (Akira Hoshino); Itagaki Seishiro (Shingo Hiramatsu); Kenji Doihara (Sakae Koike) ; Iwane Matsui (Yukimasa Natori); a defendant; another defendant

Fictional characters:

A Chinese reporter (Ken Chu); A Japanese reporter (Kelly Lin); The Japanese reporter's brother (Eric Tsang); A young Japanese man (Tse Kwan-Ho); A young Japanese woman (Bai Xueyun); A Japanese defense attorney (Koji Koike); A Japanese bar hostess (Shinobu Otsuka)

Click here for more about the trial.

The blue eyes!

(Thanks to Wilson Morales.)

More about Memoirs Of A Geisha.

Chow Yun-Fat	Ann Hui
(Sina.com, ?)

Screen Daily reports that Chow Yun-Fat will soon star in Hong Kong director Ann Hui's The Aunt's Postmodern Life, produced Beijing-based Cheerland Films. In this US$5 million production, Chow will play a con artist who falls in love with a potential victim played by veteran Mongolian Chinese actress Siqin Gaowa and another Chinese actress Zhao Wei also lands a role in the project. The script is written by Li Qiang. Shooting is set to begin in Shanghai and northern China this October.

The film will be the first production of Cheerland Films, newly formed by three producers -  Taiwan's Peggy Chiao and Beijing's Yuan Mei and Zhang Wang as well as scriptwriter Li Qiang. The company is financing Hui's film along with Chinese private investors and is looking for pre-sales and perhaps a co-production deal in the US or Europe.

(Thanks to PY Kong.)

This US$15 million period feature is produced by HTF and Hong Kong's Media Asia. Shooting will begin in September at the temporary sets built outside of Beijing.

Related Stories:

Casting News for Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (...) June 28 2005

Jet Li not Involved in an Accident on the Set oF HUO YUANJIA (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) June 22 2005

Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA Will Go to the Mountains (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) May 31, 2005

Plot Description of Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) May 1, 2005

Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA Got a Major Script Overhaul by HERO Writer (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) April 30, 2005

Another Round of Spy Photos from the Set of Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (The Beijing News) April 26, 2005

Even More Spy Photos from the Set of Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (JetLiang.com) April 24, 2005

Two More Spy Photos from the Set of Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (Sina.com / BigStar) April 23, 2005

Spy Photos from the Set of Jet Li's HUO YUANJIA (The Beijing Morning Post) April 21, 2005

Story of Night Banquet is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet. This US$15 million project is reinforced by three talents from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - action choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping will be the executive producer, composer Tan Dun will handle the music and designer Tim Yip will be the art director.

Related Stories:

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For people don't recognize her - the lady behind Tom Cruise was Hong Kong actress Maggie Q. (Click here for more shots)

Also according to several Hong Kong newspaper, Tom Cruise's agent confirmed the production of M:I3 would move to Shanghai in September or October this year.

(JCE, EMP)

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Two new trailers of Seven Swords have been discovered today:

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(Thanks to "Chelle" of donnieYen.us).

From Seven Swords Official Site:

Wallpapers:

The Seven Swords

Leon Lai as Yang Yuncong

Charlie Yeung as Wu Yuanying

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Official site (coming)

Click here for the trailer

Click here for more stills.

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(JCE, EMP)

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Jackie Chan	Zhang Yimou
(?)

At a press conference for promoting his newly completed The Myth, held yesterday in Beijing, Jackie Chan has talked about four projects he would do from now. The first one is a comedy, in which he would play a very bad guy, the second one would be directed by Yee Tung-Shing and Chan would play a Chinese guy roaming in Japan, the third one would be Rush Hour 3, and the fourth one would be directed by Zhang Yimou and the production would begin at the end of 2006 or early 2007.

(JCE, EMP)

(L to R): Jackie Chan, Kim Hee-Seon, Leung Ka-Fai, Mallika Sherawat.

(?)

Set in the late 1930's, story of this war drama tells three divisions of communist lead the 8th Route Army moved to Taihang Mountains to stop the advancing Japanese force, along with the Nationalist troops. To recreate some battle scenes, the maker of the film, the Chinese military affiliated August 1st Studio, uses CG effects rather than through the old fashion way, which would mobilize tens thousands of extras. The studio also says they many shots were made with handheld cameras (probably the Saving Private Ryan style) and a fight choreographer was hired to handle the hand combat scenes. Huo Tingxiao from Hero and House of the Flying Daggers was on board as the art director. The movie has been scheduled for a full release in the mainland China on August 15, the day Japan surrendered to the Allied 60 years ago.

There is a very interesting twist during the production: Hong Kong star Leung Ka Fai played He Bingyan, a one-arm commander of the 8th Route Army and the filmmakers accidentally let the commander lost the wrong arm, which was subsequently protested by the commander's family. Then during the post-production, several movie tricks, like flipping the frame, quick editing and CG alternating, were used to make the commander lost the "right arm", which was the right arm.

Production stills: A B C

Director: Wei Lian, assistant director: Shen Dong, action director: Chen Jian, art director: Huo Tingxiao

He never had a chance to meet his parents and he only known he was born someday in October of 1939, but he was luckily enough to be born looks like Ma Zedong. Grew up at an orphanage and joined an army troupe when he was only eleven, Gu Yue was assigned to play Ma Zedong in The Xi'an Incident in 1981 and in the following 27 years, he played Mao in more than eighty movies and TV series. Gu Yue died of heart failure yesterday in a small town called San Shui of the southwestern China.

Hong Kong director and choreographer Ching Siu-Tung (Tony) has officially boarded the first film adaptation of Dungeon Siege, the hit action RPG game series. Ching received two titles in the project - Action Director and Choreographer.

Official Dungeon Siege movie website

Related Story: Statham & Sobieski Enter Dungeon Siege (ComingSoon.net)

(Thanks to PY Kong)

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(Thanks to "Raphy", Chellie of DY.us and Wu-Jing.org)

More about Seven Swords

(Mandarin Films)

(Thanks to "kington".)

More about Seven Swords

According to Hong Kong newspapers, Andy Lau will soon take the lead in period films back-to-back. two The first one is a film adaptation of Japanese Mange series Stratège, drawn by Mori Hideki. Set in China's Warring States Period, about 2300 years ago, it will tell a stratège called Ge Li using the wisdom of the House of Mo to protect Liang, a state with only a few thousand, from millions of invading troops of Zhao. The project will be helmed by Jacob Cheung and the budget has been set at over US$18 millions. The second film is Zhang Zi Long Zhuan (literal: Zhao Zilong), telling the life story of Zhao Yun or Zhao Zilong, a military commander from the state of Shu during China's Three Kingdom Period (A.D. 220 - 280). Later in classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao was described as a handsome fighter and military commander who was extremely loyal to his master.  The film will very likely based on the book rather than historical facts. The project will cost estimate over US$19 millions and the cast will also include Daniel Wu.

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