Warrior (Yong Shi), directed by Wang Jiashi, is the sixth full-length animated film of the 50 year old Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS), now part of Shanghai Film Group. It took the studio four years and US$2 million (very high by Chinese stand

ard) to make. About 30% of this 90 minute (roughly) film was done in 3D animation and the rest was hand painted. Based on a Mongolian folklore, the story begins with a young warrior Barter coming to Balin Grassland. He rescues a young girl from a herd of running horses and finds out she is the daughter of the wrestling couch working for the grassland lord. Barter starts learning wrestling while working for the grassland lord as a coolie. Barter falls in love with the girl he saved. However, there is a reason for his coming to the grassland – he is looking for the man who killed his father. It is reportedly that Luc Besson has seen the film and express interest of buying the rights for French speaking countries.

SAFS was founded as the only state-run studio making animation films. In 1964, after went into production for more than four years, Da Nao Tian Gong (Uproar in Heaven / The Monkey King), the studio’s first full length animated film is completed. The story tells the Monkey King rises against the heaven.

In the past 50 years, SAFS made hundreds of films and TV shows, including five full-length animated films (besides Uproar in Heaven and Warrior) – Ne Zha Nao Hai (Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King / 1979), Tian Shu Qi Tan (The Book from Heaven / 1983), Jin Hou Xiang Yao (The Golden Monkey Conquers the Evil / 1985) and Bao Lian Deng (Lotus Lantern / 1999).

SAFS is no longer the only organization making animations in China. Competition now comes from hundreds of domestic studios as well as foreign imports. Many talented people have left the studio to do contract jobs for American and Japanese productions. It is unknown weather Warrior, which will be released in Chinese theaters July 12, is able to make an appeal and the sales in foreign countries is still a big question mark.

Notes: Credit of Uproar in Heaven largely goes to the Wan brothers (Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan and Wan Chaochen). Along with the fourth brother, Wan Dihuan, they started making animations in Shanghai in 1922. In 1941, after 16 months of labor, they completed Tie Shan Gong Zhu (Princess Iron Fan), with a story about the Monkey King trying to borrow the Iron Fan from the princess to extinguish the flame blocking his journey to the west. This 80 minute black and white animation is actually vaguely calling the Chinese people to rise against Japanese occupation. Ironically, a cut version of the film, about 65 minute long, was allowed to be released in Japan when the Second World War was still on. It greatly influenced the career of Osamu Tezuka, who is praised as the god of Japanese manga and anima.

The official website (Chinese only)

Trailer

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Mainland Chinese studio JA Media has recently announced investing US$30 million into five movie projects to be directed by five directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, Tsui Hark, Ann Hui, Staley Kwan, Stephen Fung and Cheng Hsiao-Zer. These projects are only the first shots from JA Media. Li Cheng, an executive of JA Media, told Sina.com that US$300 million will be pumped into movies and TV production in the next few year. JA Media is a relatively new but very financially strong studio, fully-owned by Jilin Ji’an Group, a mainland Chinese private enterprise focusing on new energy resources I bio-chemicals.

Tsui Hark will make a “hi-frequency comedy”, She Ain’t Mean, about the life and career of three women in the modern day Beijing. Tsui said he would cast three top actresses to play the three leads, who were 30 something, 25 and just over 20. The script is written by South Korean screenwriter and director Kwak Jae-young (My Sassy Girl, Classic, Windstruck). Tsui said this project was actually inspired by his 1986s classic Peking Opera Blues. A Korean movie with the same story will also be written and directed by Kwak.

Ann Hui’s (The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, July Rhapsody, Love in a Fallen City) project, Concubine’s Children, a US$12 million adaptation of the same name novel by Denise Chong will tell a Chinese concubine’s bitter life after moving to America with her husband in the 1920/30s. Chow Yun-Fat, who has starred in several movies by Hui, has basically agreed to play a role in the movie. Maggie Cheung is also talking with Hui about joining the cast. The script is developed by Ann Hui and Li Qiang (The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, Peacock).

Stanley Kwan (Everlasting Regret, Lan Yu, Rouge) is ambitiously preparing for Bruce, a US$12 million biopic of Bruce Lee, focusing on the relationship between Bruce Lee and his son Brandon. Kwan said he would cast four actors to play Bruce Lee of different ages and the second draft of the script had been completed.

Stephen Fung will be the director of Jump, about a naive farm girl in Shanghai, who by day works as a cleaner at a dance school and by night perfects her own unique hip hop martial arts dancing style. As previously reported, Stephen Chow’s The Star Overseas and Columbia (Sony) Pictures are also involved in the project. The idea of the story is from Stephen Chow and the script is penned by Ann Hui and Li Qiang.

Taiwanese director Cheng Hsiao-Zer will do Miao Miao, a drama about two schoolgirls in Taipei. This project will be co-produced by Jacky Pang, from Wong Kar-wai’s Jet-Tone.

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