News Archives

 
 

January 2007

 

     
   
     
     

 

Xu Jinglei to Shoot DAYS IN THE PALACE (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

 

 

January 31, 2007

 

(TungStar) 

Mainland Chinese actress director Xu Jinglei recently said the shooting of her historical drama Gong Li De Ri Zi (Days in the Palace) would begin this year.  Penned by Wang Shuo, it will tell the story of of China's only female monarch, Wu Zetian (624 - 705), will be played by Xu herself. Wu was selected as a lower-end concubine of emperor Li Shimin when she was only 14. Later she married the new emperor, Li Shimin's son Li Zhi and started her quest for power. Finally, after moved to the place for 52 years, 66 year old Wu Zetian took the throne from her own son and proclaimed herself as the emperor. Someone working for Xu has said the story would look a little bit like Godfather.

 

 

 

Related stories:

Xu Jinglei's DAYS WITHIN THE PALACE Gets Ready for Production (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) September 19, 2005

Woman Director Xu Jinglei Tells Tale of China's Only Female Emperor with DAYS WITHIN THE PALACE (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) May 26, 2005 

 
 

 

The 1st Asian Film Awards (AFA) Nominees Are... (HKIFF)

 

 

January 30, 2007

 

(HKIFF.Org.HK) 

Hong Kong International Film Festival Society has announced the nomination list for the first ever Asian Film Awards. Finally, someone is doing something to summarize what Asian filmmakers did in the past year. That's something to cheer about. Unfortunately, almost all nominated films were produced in the northeastern part of Asia. That's something not so cheerful.

 

Click here for detail.

 

 

 
 

 

Shots from TWINS MISSION (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)  

 

January 29, 2007  

(EMP)

In Twins Mission, Wu Jing is asked to fight with two villains, played by Bat Leung Gam and a former Chinese national female bodybuilding champion.

 

Click here for more.

 

 

 

 

 

Related Stories:

Trailer: LET'S STEAL TOGETHER (Southern Metropolitan Weekly / Sina.com) January 7, 2007

Let's Take a Look at LET'S STEAL TOGETHER (...) September 3, 2006

 
 

 

MORE TWINS MISSION (aka. LET'S STEAL TOGETHER) Trailers (Mov3.com)

 

 

January 28, 2007

 

(EMP)

Trailer 1   Trailer 2  Stills.

 

Official website.

 

Related Stories:

Trailer: LET'S STEAL TOGETHER (Southern Metropolitan Weekly / Sina.com) January 7, 2007

Let's Take a Look at LET'S STEAL TOGETHER (...) September 3, 2006

 
 

 

PROTÉGÉ Stills (G-Film.com)

 

 

January 27, 2007

 

(Applause Pictures)

Click here for more.

 

Official website.

 

Related Stories:

Jackie Chan Needs Protégés for his Ten Projects (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) December 28, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Stills - Daniel Wu as the Protégé (Sina.com) December 26, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Stills (Sina.com) December 22, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Stuffs (...) December 10, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Teaser Posters (Sina.com.cn) November 20, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Teaser Trailer (Film Unlimited) October 20, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Production Photos (Oriental Daily / The Hong Kong Sun) August 3, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Press Conference Photos from Hong Kong (Sina.com.cn / OriSun.com) August 4, 2006

PROTÉGÉ Plot Summary (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) August 30, 2006

Andy Lau as a Drug Lord in PROTÉGÉ (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) July 12, 2006

Andy Lau Gets PROTÉGÉ Heads to BOARDING GATE (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) June 18, 2006

Peter Chan Talks Future Projects - PROTÉGÉ BLOOD BROTHER Remake and More of THE EYE Series (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) April 13, 2006

 
 

 

Opening This Week:  January 20 - 26 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)

 

 

January 26, 2007

 

The Valiant Ones

The House of the Invisibles

(PolyBona, Global Picture) 

A group of Ming Dynasty fighters helping the Chinese officials to defeat Japanese pirates frequently invading the coast of China; and there are someone other than hum living inside a building scheduled for demolishing...

 

Click here for detail

 

 
 

 

Remake of King Hu's THE VALIANT ONES - Trailer, Poster, Stills (Sina.com)  

 

January 25, 2007  

(PolyBona) 

This is a remake of master martial-art film director King Hu's The Valiant Ones. The original film, released in 1975, won the Outstanding Contribution Award at Chicago Film Festival of that year. The story is about a group of fighters helping the Chinese officials to defeat Japanese pirates frequently invading the coast of China. The remake is directed by Liu Yin and choreographed by Yuen Wah and Yuen Bo. The cast includes Nicky Wu, Huang Yi, Yuen Wah, Yang Zi and Terence Yin. I have no idea why the poster shows the English title as "The Vallant Ones New II" Not only it does not sound English but also "Valiant" is misspelled as "Vallant".
 

Trailer   Stills: A B C D E F G H

 

 

Related Stories:

Remaking of King Hu's Classic THE VALIANT ONES Begins (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) March 30, 2006

 
 

 

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Announced Its Best List for 2006 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)  

 

January 24, 2007  
(HKFCS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Film - Election 2: Harmony Is a Virtue

      Other Nominees: The Heavenly Kings, Exiled, Confession of Pain.

 

Best Director - Johnnie To (Exiled)

      Other Nominees: Daniel Wu (The Heavenly Kings), Johnnie To (Election 2: Harmony Is a Virtue), Patrick Tam (After This Our Exile),

                                       Lau Wai-Keung and Mak Siu-Fai (Confession of Pain).
 

Best Screenwriters - Wong Jing and Tang Tui-Hei (Wo Hu)

      Other Nominees: Yau Nai-Hoi and Yip Tin-Shing (Election 2: Harmony Is a Virtue), Daniel Wu (The Heavenly Kings), Lau Wai-

                                      Keung and Mak Siu-Fai (Confession of Pain), Herman Yau (On the Edge).

 

Best Actor - Jet Li (Fearless)

      Other Nominees: Francis Ng (Wo Hu), Chow Yun-Fat (Curse of the Golden Flower), Leung Chiu-Wai (Confession of Pain), Nick

                                       Cheung (On the Edge), Anthony Wong (Exile).

 
Best Actress - Gong Li (Curse of the Golden Flower)

      Other Nominees: Zhou Xun (The Banquet), Teresa Mo (Men Suddenly in Black 2), Qi Hailu (After This Our Exile), Shu Qi (Confession

                                       of Pain).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

GETTING HOME Going to Berlin Too (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)  

 

January 24, 2007  

(SunWah Media)

 

Chinese director Zhang Yang's latest black comedy Going Home will be shown at the coming Berlin Film Festival as an out-of-competition film.  Inspired by a real story, it is about a farmer who tries to bring home the body of his friend, who died far from his village. Without a penny in his pocket, he cannot afford to ship his friend home in the normal way. He meets many interesting people along road. On a bus, he tries to protect  everyone from being robbed. He wins the robbers' respect but is kicked off the bus because bus passengers discover there is a dead man on bus. Some steals his money and he dresses his dead friend as a homeless to beg for money. He attends someone's funeral to get a free meal. A hooker is asked by him to give his decomposing dead friend a makeover. A landslide blocks his way and he did his best to help the villagers and becomes a local hero. When he finally reach the end his the journey, he finds out his dead friend's village has already been flooded to make a reservoir.

 

Related Stories:

GETTING HOME Is Coming (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) December 30, 2006

Trailer: Zhang Yang's Black Comedy AIR (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) November 11, 2006

 
 

 

The Oscar Nomination (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)  

 

January 23, 2007  

(Beijing New Picture Film Co, Li Li Er.)

Curse of Golden Flowers is nominated for Best Costume Design. Congratulations to Yee Chung-Man (Ci Ma, Perhaps Love, Comrades: Almost  a Love Story, A Terracotta Warrior). The film is not in Best Foreign Language list, as as Volver.

Ruby Yang and Thomas Lonnon's The Blood of Yingzhou District is nominated for "Documentary Short". It follows the story of a little boy named Gao Jun, from Yingzhou, Anhui Province of eastern China. He is one of 75,000 so-called AIDS Orphans now living in China. His parents died after being infected with HIV through blood seller. After he was rejected by his relatives, he was sent to live with two foster parents, who were also HIV positive. A year after, his HIV symptom appeared and he had to take medication made for adults because medication for children was hard to find in China. His foster parents could not afford his medical expense and he had to move to a another foster family.

 

The nomination list.

 
 

 

APPLE Is up to the Berlin Bear Too (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)  

 

January 23, 2007  
(Sina.com). 

Chinese woman director Li Yu's new drama Ping Guo (Apple) has been listed to compete for the grand prize of this year's Berlin Film Festival. Apple is a black comedy about a young country couple (played by Fan Bingbaing and Tong Dawei), traveling to Beijing for better works, and meet a wealthy city couple (played by Leung Ka-Fei and Elaine Jin). Their life is unexpectedly stirred by an unspeakable incident. In 2000, Li Yu made her directorial début, Fish and Elephant, about a love story between two girls and four years later, she shot her second film, Dam Street, about a young single woman's struggling life after having a baby when she was still in school.

 

Berlin Film Festival official website.

 
 

 

Video: CHILDREN OF HUANGSHI Press Conference Plus a Behind-the-Scene Clip (CCTV / Sina.com)  

 

January 23, 2007