News Archives
December 2005
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News Archives |
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December 2005 |
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Opening This Week: December 24 - 30 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 30, 2005 |
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A man persuades his mentally challenge old classmate to be a gigolo for money. The man need a big load of money to payback what he owns to a guy and his old classmate only wants to find is brother...
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The Weinsteins Abandoned Chen Kaige's WU JI / THE PROMISE (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 29, 2005 |
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The Weinstein Co. has handed back the rights of the film in all major English speaking countries to its producers, China Film Group Corp. and Moonstone Entertainment. Reportedly, the producers of the film, including director Chen Kaige, demand a wider released in the US and the Weinsteins are only willing to give it a limited exposure. The Weinsteins get a full load of homemade films ready to sell at the Oscar and promoting a foreign import is not their priority. Producer Etchie Stroh will continue push the film with his less known Moonstone Entertainment. The film's title will be changed back to The Promise and Master of the Crimson Armor, the title the Weinstines picked for English speaking countries, will no longer be used. However, only the 102 minute version, rather than the original 121 minute version, will be available to the market outside of Asia. (Thanks to PY Kong.)
Related Stories: Weinstein ends collaboration on release of Chinese movie, by Robert W. Welkos, Patrick Frater, Los Angeles Times "Promise" broken: Chen Kaige film in flux, by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter
More about Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor |
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Just Like the Old Weinsteins, The New Weinsteins Chop Chen Kaige's WU JI (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 28, 2005 |
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I knew it! I have been expecting the news ever since I saw the full 2 hour version of Wu Ji. I knew 2 hours are too long to be accepted by the Weinsteins, especially the action only count less than one hour of the film. I knew the Weinsteins would shorten it to make it more an actioner than a melodrama. The question is - when.
Now it is official. according to a Variety article by Patrick Frater, the Weinstein Co. has chopped off 24 minutes of the film and, allegedly, director Chen Kaige's had the honor of actually doing the chopping. The slimmed version version will be only thing officially available outside of Asia. In this case, the Weinsteins are again acted as businessmen, and if the report of that Chen Kaige did the final cut of the slimmed version was true, Chen should also be considered as a businessman rather than a filmmaker. There is absolutely nothing wrong about maximizing profit out of the investment. But should the people lose the right to decide which version is better? (Thanks to PY Kong.)
Related Stories: Studios hope leaner means greener, by Patrick Frater, Varity Weinsteins cut The Promise, Kaiju Shakedown
The slimmed version are showing at Fairfax 3 in LA. (Thanks to PY Kong.)
More about Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor |
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December 27, 2005 |
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Click here (Thanks to "Wilson" of blackfilm.com.)
Fox Searchlight Pictures official site
Related Story: Michelle Yeoh Gets Some SUNSHINE in Space (Variety) June 9, 2005 |
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December 26, 2005 |
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Sina.com just posted six production stills from a fight scene with Hu Yuanjia (Jet Li) and Master Qin (actor unkown). According to TungStar, the full trailer of Fearless released a few days ago was made by Michael Tronick, the editor of movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Scent of a Woman and Days of Thunder. Reportedly, the trailer cost over US$ 1 million, which makes it the most expensive trailer for a Chinese language film.
Click here (Thanks to Jet Liang.)
Related Stories: First FEARLESS Poster (MovieXclusive.com) November 16, 2005Official Site of FEARLESS, Jet Li’s HUO YUANJIA Biopic Opened with Teaser and Stills (FearlessTheMovie.com) November 3, 2005 |
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FEARLESS Full Trailer in English Plus Three Making-of Featurettes (Cinema.com.hk) |
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December 25, 2005 |
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Yahoo! Taiwan has the English version of the trailer is the same one I showed you yesterday plus three short making-of Featurettes.
In the first featurette, Jet Li said Wu meant a way to stop fighting and Shu meant the way, in other words, Wushu was a way of protecting yourself while your body being pushed to the extreme condition or the way to attack your opponent. Kung fu is really a concept of time because you need time to improve your skill. Wushu has two sides, to protect and to attack. Then gradually, things like wisdom, ethics and code of conduct evolved from the art. A good martial artists, like Huo Yuanjia, do not indent to harm anyone because they have already laid down everything within them, which is the highest level of Wu. Through the movie, Jet Li intents to make his conclusion of Wushu and to show how Wushu should be in his heart.
In the second featurette, Jet Li said the movie showed, at the time of the story (the turn of the 20th Century), how martial arts from all over the world were brought together to learn from each other and to them all as one sport.
In the third featurette, action director Yuen Wu-Ping said how new the fight scenes are depended on how new the story was. Different directors have different styles and some of them are able to give him new inspirations and new ideas. Jet Li is capable of doing a large number of fight scenes and the challenge is how to make these scene all look different, otherwise the audiences would feel bored. Too make each scene in Fearless looks unique, Yuen considered the number of fighters, the weapons involved and the set, but his design still needs the actors to make it right and to make it better. Yuen said Jet Li is his friend. Li fights beautifully and perfectly, and Li can execute Yuen's design flawlessly, therefore he is very happy to work with Li. The actors need to fight for real just like taking a driver's license test.
Click here for the videos in combo (Thanks to Jet Liang.)
Related Stories: First FEARLESS Poster (MovieXclusive.com) November 16, 2005Official Site of FEARLESS, Jet Li’s HUO YUANJIA Biopic Opened with Teaser and Stills (FearlessTheMovie.com) November 3, 2005 |
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Full Trailer of FEARLESS, Jet Li Huo Yuanjia Biopic (Cinema.com.hk) |
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December 24, 2005 |
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(Thanks to Jet Liang.)
Related Stories: First FEARLESS Poster (MovieXclusive.com) November 16, 2005Official Site of FEARLESS, Jet Li’s HUO YUANJIA Biopic Opened with Teaser and Stills (FearlessTheMovie.com) November 3, 2005 |
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Opening This Week: December 17 - 23 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 23, 2005 |
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A Japanese fisherman travels to China to film an opera performer and a monk travels to the west for Buddhist texts...
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WU JI / THE PROMISE / MASTER OF THE CRIMSON ARMOR Performs Strong in China (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 22, 2005 |
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According to Shanghai based Jiefang Daily, the box-office revenue of Chen Kaige's fantasy epic Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor just passed 100 million yuans (US$12.38) today. Zhang Yimou's Hero reached the number in seven days, one day shorter than Wu Ji did. The film's distributor China Film Group Corp. estimated the film would continue doing well for a while. However, its market share will shrink with release of two new titles today, Zhang Yimou's low-budget drama Riding Along for Thousands of Miles and Hong Kong director Jeffrey Lau's wacky action A Chinese Tall Story.
Several bootlegged versions of Wu Ji has already shown up in China's underground DVD market and at least one of them contains a video converted directly from a copy of the film distributed to a movie theater. A TV station operated at a coal mining company even broadcasted the pirated video as a pay-per-view. Three years ago, Hero remained un-pirated for almost two months until being released on DVD and VCD legally, due to some very costly security measure.
More about Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor |
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Exclusive Promotional Stills of JADESOTURI / JADE WARRIOR (Sina.com) |
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December 21, 2005 |
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Two exclusive promotional stills of Jadesoturi / Jade Warrior are posted at Sina.com. Known as the first Finish-Chinese co-produced martial-art film, Jadesoturi is inspired by Finish epic poem Kalevala and set in both ancient China and modern day Finland. According to Sina.com, after wrapping up production in Finland and Estonia, filming is currently underway in Hengdian World Studios of China's Zhejiang Province.
Related Story: JADESOTURI / JADE WARRIOR, the First Finish Produced Kung Fu Film (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)October 1, 2005 |
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THE AUNT'S POSTMODERN LIFE Press Conference (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 20, 2005 |
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A press conference for The Aunt's Postmodern Life was held this afternoon. Set in today's Shanghai, the film's story centers around the aunt (Siqin Gaowa), a retired woman who picks up a short romance with Lao Pan (Chow Yun-Fat), a amateur Peking opera player. The project reunites Chow with director Ann Hui twenty-one years after they worked together in Love in a Fallen City.
Snapshots from the press conference
Related Story: Chow Yun-Fat Boards Ann Hui's THE AUNT'S POSTMODERN LIFE (Screen Daily) July 20, 2005 |
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(Sina.com) | ||||||||||
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December 19, 2005 |
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Sina.com acquired a short preview video for Dragon Tiger Gate from Beijing-based Polybona Films. It doesn't show any footage from the film or will be included in the film, but rather many behind-the-scene shots.Starring Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue, the new martial-art film is based on the popular same-name Hong Kong comic series by Tony Wong. It is helmed by Wilson Yip, with Donnie Yen as the action director and Chang Suk-Ping as the art director.
Related Stories: DRAGON TIGER GATE Promotional Stills (Beijing Times) October 22, 2005 Production of DRAGON TIGER GATE Begins (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) October 1, 2005
Donnie Yen's
DRAGON AND TIGER GATE Will Go into Production This Fall
(DonnieYen.net) September 26, 2005
Donnie Yen Preps
MEGA DRAGON AND TIGER / GATE OF DRAGON AND TIGER (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
August 2, 2005
Donnie Yen in Negotiation for MEGA
DRAGON AND TIGER
Donnie Yen To Helm Film
Adaptation Of Comic Series MEGA DRAGON AND TIGER
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
June 24, 2003 |
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WU JI / THE PROMISE / MASTER OF THE CRIMSON ARMOR Set New Records in China (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 18, 2005 |
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Chen Kaige's fantasy epic Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor has created the strongest opening ever in the mainland China. The revenue from the pre-release screening day (Wednesday) is about 8 million yuans (US$ 0.99 million), breaking the old record of 2.1 million (US$ 0.26 million) set by Hero; the revenue from the opening day (Thursday) is 21.14 million yuans (US$2.62 million), breaking the old record of 18 million yuans (US$ 2.23 million) set by Titanic; the revenue from the first weekend (Thursday - Sunday) is 81 million yuans (US$10.03 million), breaking the old record of 50 million yuans (US$ 6.19 million) set by Hero and Kung Fu Hustle ; the highest single-day revenue is generated on Friday, about 25 million yuans (US$ 3.10 million), breaking the old record of 22 million yuans (US$ 2.73 million). Wu Ji was the only movie released this weekend, and reportedly, most screens were arranged to screen the movie.
In Hong Kong, the revenue is rather weaker. The number for the first weekend (Thursday - Sunday) is only about HK$ 2.39 million (US$ 0.31 million), behind the numbers by King Kong (HK$ 10.44 million / US$ 1.35 million) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HK$ 3.72 million / US$ 0.48 million). However, only about half movie theaters in Hong Kong were showing Wu Ji.
More about Wu Ji / The Promise / Master of the Crimson Armor |
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