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| NEWS ACHIEVES |
| 2001 | October November December |
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HERO News 30 - The Remaining Heroes (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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| December 22, 2001 | ||
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In the film, Jet Li's character Silencer (No
Name?) had become the last remaining assassin against the king;
and now Jet Li has become pretty much the only remaining star staying
with Chen Daoming, the man playing the king of Qin, the later First
Emperor of China..
Leung Chiu-wai has already jointed Wong Kar-wai's new movie TIAN XIA WU DI (THE UNRIVALED / translation), Maggie Cheung has reunited with her French husband, and Zhang Ziyi is about to leave or perhaps, left already. Not sure they will ever come back. According to some report, Jet Li still has some scenes with Chen Daoming, with some extras, and with several kung-fu actors just came from Hong Kong yesterday. The camera will stop rolling next month, ending the six-month long, none-stop shooting. |
| Jet Li as Silencer (No Name?), the last remaining assassin | Chen Daoming as the king of Qin, the later First Emperor of China | |
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM | ||
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HERO News 29 - Jin Cheng Wu Is Not In (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| December 9, 2001 |
| IFor people who have been complaining about casting Jin Cheng Wu (Akini Jin / Takeshi Kaneshiro) in the film, here is a good news - it is nothing more than a rumor. According to someone from the inside, during the very early stage of of the film's preproduction, a Japanese actor, who looks like Jin Cheng Wu, was briefly contacted and that was the end of the story. |
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HERO News 28 - Run Away Stars (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| December 5, 2001 |
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Yesterday Leung
Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung flied to Shanghai for some scenes in TIAN XIA WU
DI (THE UNRIVALED / translation), helmed by Wong Kar-wai. Though neither
production of HERO and Wong's ever lasting shooting of 2046 are
completed.Leung Chiu-wai's wounded feet are still not heal, but he has
to make some actions scenes in both movies.
TIAN XIA WU DI is the annual Hong Kong holiday movie (for Chinese New Year). It is a comedy plus musical. Hong Kong female singer Wong Faye will play a man in the movie and the role of the emperor will probably be filled by Cheng Chen, played Lo in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. The opening scene will involve thousands of horses running in heavy snow. Shooting of 2046 will resume pretty soon and construction of the set is almost completed. Zhang Yimou and his gangs are still working on HERO in Hengdian. Some scenes require 100 black horses, which are hard to find. The problem was solved by painting 100 horses with other colors black and who ever riding the "black" horses have became "black" as well.
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| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM and The Sun (Hong Kong) |
| November 27, 2001 | ||
| Click to see larger version. | ||
 Zhang Ziyi's double. |
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 A giant Bianzhong, a kind of bronze music instrument.
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| The King's palace | ||
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| Weiqi Room | ||
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| Battle over a city | ||
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM |
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HERO News 26 - On Location Pix Of Three Stars (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 23, 2001 |
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This is the first time that some clear shots
being take. Director Zhang Yimou has said he would release some photos
when the timing was "right". Are these the first batch of the official
photos? We do not know. Warning: large size images are loading. Be patient! |
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Leung Chiu-wai plays Broken Sword. |
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Inside the shell, is a sword with a missing piece. |
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This single shot may take hours to complete. |
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Maggie Cheung plays Flying Snow. |
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To wait for the right beam of light, they could standing for hours in the chilling, windy desert. |
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Not ruins of a city, but amazing creation of the mother nature. |
| Location: Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province | |
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Jet Li (Silencer / No Name ?) chasing Leung Chiu-wai over and under the water of Arrow Bamboo Sea. |
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Guess what makes Jet Li fly? |
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After the shooting completed, the pavilion would be removed. |
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM | |
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HERO News 25 - Ending ? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 23, 2001 |
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Her are the description of the possible
ending of the film and something even more tempting is hiding inside.
Warning: if you do not want to know to much about it before you can see it yourself, disregard the following. Otherwise, highlight it to read. Jet Li's character, Silencer (No Name ?) will die under a hail of arrows and this is probably the ending of the film. Jet Li has just completed this scene in Hengdian Studio (aka. Orient Hollywood). According to one report, Jin Cheng Wu (Akini Jin / Takeshi Kaneshiro) has just been added to cast list. His role is unknown but he has already joined others in Hengdian.
Photo courtesy: Nanfang Daily |
| HERO T-shirt | |
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HERO News 24 - Shooting In Hengdian Begins (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 21, 2001 |
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Once again the set was successfully
infiltrated by a reporter called Yang Shanshan. According to him, Jet
Li's character is called Wu Ming (No Name) rather than Wu Yü (Silencer)
as previously reported. Zhang Ziyi's character finally got a name - Ru
Yüe (Like Moon) and she is one of the Three Masters. The character Six
Finger Iron Hand is not mentioned.
Director Zhang Yimou was a cinematographer before turned to directing. He is well-known for mastering colors, especially red, in his films. There is no exception in this one - soldiers are all wearing red scarves. Four warriors are in three different colors. Jet Li is in full black - black hat, black helmet, black armor, black robe and black sword shell. Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung are in full light green. Zhang Ziyi is in full red with some curves on her collar and waist belt. Red represents passion, green represents life and black represents death. Two inertial sets have been built in two separate sound stages - the king's palace and Wei Qi Room. Many scenes, assassination, playing wei qi (aka. go, baduk) and sward match, will be shot in these two sets. Wei Qi Room was built In the bigger sound stage, with 81 pavilions and no roof. Entire set is designed to show a kind of grey color and the king's palace is in red. Shooting in two sound stages and the outdoor are taking place simultaneously. There are five deputy directors, including one from Hong Kong who are in charge of outdoor scenes. One scene of attacking a city was shot with five cameras, more than 2000 extras, including 800 local students. |
| Attacking a city | |
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| King's palace | |
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| Thanks to Jane (michelleyeoh.info) | |
| Photo courtesy: CNHAN.COM | |
| HERO News 23 - Yen Takes On Li In HERO (KungFuCinema.COM) |
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November 15, 2001 |
Jet Li (left) and Donnie Yen (right) |
Add one more to the list of stars appearing
in Jet Li's latest high wire, historical picture, "Hero." Donnie Yen
("Iron Monkey") will be heading to China in December to shoot a scene
for the film currently in production. In a "big fight scene" Yen will be
the first defender that Jet Li's character must defeat on his mission to
assassinate the Emperor of China. "Hero" is a retelling of the historical events revolving around a failed attempt to assassinate China's first Emperor. The film is helmed by the acclaimed Chinese director, ZhangYimou ("Raise the Red Lantern") and co-stars Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, and Chen Daoming as the emperor. |
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n addition to a prominent cameo role in "Hero," Donnie Yen will be directing a Japanese version of "Charlie's Angels" that goes into pre-production in 2002. Yen is also in final negotiations to play the lead villain in Jackie Chan's "Shanghai Knights." On the American television front, Yen will begin work on a series for TNT as the star, director and executive producer. This is welcome news since Yen's experience in television production is quite extensive in addition to his film credits. He has worked on a German series entitled "Puma" and starred in various Hong Kong productions including "Fist of Fury," a successful series based on the historical figure and events portrayed in Bruce Lee's film of the same name. Incidentally, Yen is also working on a feature film version of this series in which he'll also star. |
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HERO News 22 - Production Relocated (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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| November 14, 2001 | ||||
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Shooting in Jiuzhaigou has wrapped up and
the crew has regrouped in their last location, Hengdian Studio (aka
Orient Hollywood) in Zhejiang Province of eastern China. Zhang Yimou,
Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Leung Chiu-wai has flown to Hangzhou, capital
of Zhejiang. Meanwhile Zhang Ziyi, who was not involved in the shooting
in Jiuzhaigou, has gone to Hong Kong to tape a celebrity special of Hong
Kong edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? In Dunhuang, Leung Chiu-wai twisted one of his feet while jumped from high ground. His foot was trapped in between two card boxes, which were suppose to protect him. Production will resume in Hengdian for urban and indoor scenes. |
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| Director Zhang Yimou | Jet Li as Silencer | Leung Chiu-wai as Broken Sword | ||
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| Maggie Cheung as Flying Snow | Zhang Ziyi as the maid of Broken Sword | Chen Daoming as the First Emperor | ||
| Photo courtesy: 21dnn.com | ||||
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HERO News 21 - Shooting In Nuorilang Falls (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 9, 2001 |
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Two days ago, heavy wind has broken the still surface of Cold Arrow Lake and shooting in there was suspended. While the crew was away, six camera platforms were discovered, two were under water, protected by "fish tanks". According to a park maintainer, fighting between Jet Li and Leung Chiu-wai have been fighting over the lake for eight days. By ten, Maggie Cheung and Leung Chiu-wai had arrived. Cheung wrapped herself in an army surplus heavy green coat and Leung was wearing a light green silk coat. After receiving instruction from a fight director, Cheung removed her coat and unveiled what is inside - the same kind of light green silk coat. Then they started to practice sword skill with each other. A small piece of the edge of Leung Chiu-wai's sword was missing. That is why his the name of his character is called Broken Sword. Leung was wearing big moustache, like what he was in ASHES OF TIME. By 12:30 Maggie Cheung finished her shooting and was escorted away. Two days ago, snow started to fall. If they ever want to finish the shooting, time is quickly running out, unless they want to make some snowy scenes. This film seams to be sponsored by GM and several brand new Chevies with word "Exploring Hero" are used by the crew all the time. |
| Nuorilang Falls | |
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| Autumn in Jiuzhaigou | |
| Photo courtesy: www.ctrip.com | |
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HERO News 20 - Maggie Cheung Returns (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 6, 2001 |
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Maggie Cheung will arrive Jiuzhaigou today where everyone is waiting for her to finish the shooting in there. She will only stay in Jiuzhaigou for two days and will only show up in two shots. Production in Jiuzhaigou is almost wrapped up and without Maggie Cheung, so far all her scenes were done by her double. Yesterday, the crew has moved to the grassy marshland near Chang Hai (Long Sea), another lake in Jiuzhaigou. Jet Li and Leung Chiu-wai are still fighting and are still wired. This scene was added in the last minute, after Zhang Yimou saw the grassy marshland sharing the same color with many scenes he has shot - yellow.
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| Chang Hai (Long Sea) | |
| Photo courtesy: www.ctrip.com | |
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HERO News 19 - Some Larger Pictures (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| November 1, 2001 |
| Not much new, but some larger version of pictures previously posted plus one with director Zhang Yimou. | |
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Photo courtesy: Chengdu Daily |
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In Jiuzhaigou (Nine Villages Valley) of the
south-western province Sichuan, on the lakeshore of Jianzhuhai (Cold
Bamboo Sea), a moss-covered pavilion was built. Silencer (Jet Li) and
Broken Sword (Leung Chiu-wai) were in battle while wounded Flying Snow
(Maggie Cheung) lying inside the pavilion. With help from two cranes,
they were doing dangerous stuns, flying through the lake surface,
fighting in the sky, or jumping into the lake. The entire scene may last
only several minutes on screen but has cost them three days to make. To
catch the right sunlight, they can do nothing but wait for two hours.
Jet Li dressed in full black, Leung Chiu-wai was in blue and Maggie
Cheung was wearing white dress and blue coat. Some shots were filled by doubles, including the one with Jet Li and Leung Chiu-wai jumping into the lake. Even the wounded Flying Snow was played by a locally cast double, who closely assembles Maggie Cheung. The real Maggie Cheung will arrive on November 5th to finish the scene. Director Zhang Yimou was wearing green military jacket and a blue baseball hat and Christopher Doyle, the director of Cinematography was spotted drinking beer on duty. There was even a diver standing by to recover swords. The set was "harassed" by tourists and undercover reporters had successfully taken some pictures. Despite the security provided by the Paramilitary Police, many fans still attempted to get autography from the stars. They will stay in Jiuzhaigou for another half month and then will move to Hengdian Studio to finish the shooting.
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| Photo courtesy: Chengdu Daily | ||||
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HERO News 17- HERO GETS NEW ACTION DIRECTOR (The Jet Lee (Li) Homepage) |
| October 29, 2001 |
| A Chinese newspaper has reported that Hero director Zhang Yimou had problems with his action director Tung Wei, which led to the pulling out of Tung Wei and his whole action support team from the production of Hero. Because of this, Zhang Yimou immediately got hold of Ching Siu Tung (action director of Swordsman 2 and part of Dr. Wai) to take over the job. Hopefully, Ching Siu Tung will do a good job here. [Thanks to SKL Chan for this!!!] |
| HERO NEWS 16 - The Set Might Be Used (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| October 25, 2001 | ||
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The set, located in Hengdian Studio (aka.
Orient Hollywood) of Zhejiang Province, is originally built for Chen
Kaige's THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. The architect style is from
Warring States Period (771 - 221 BC and Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC). The
set compound include palaces and city walls. All buildings from those
periods have been destroyed long times ago and the buildings were
designed only partially based on archeological discoveries and
historical records.
THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN was based on the true event of an attempted assassination of the First Emperor and the story of HERO is completed fictional although it is definitely inspired by the failed assassination. |
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| Photo courtesy: Dongyang Government and Zhejiang Travel. | ||
| HERO News 15 – What Are They Doing Now? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 23, 2001 |
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A letter from director Zhang Yimou to the Secretary General of Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Awards Ceremony Pan Shengli has revealed the current condition of the movie. In the letter dated October 12th he wrote, “(I am) very sorry. Because (I will) be shooting scenes with Zhang Ziyi and Maggie Cheung in Inner Mongolia, (I) will not be able to attend.” Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers are two top film awards in China. The first one is voted by a special committee and the latter one is voted by the public. |
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HERO News 14 - Mystery Surrounding The Script Patent (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 18, 2001 |
| Someone from Chinese National Bureau of Patent has dismissed the report that the script of HERO has been patented. She said a film script was not protected by patent law but rather, copyright law. However, she did not deny that director Zhang Yimou had tried to let the script patented. |
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HERO News 13 - Next Destination: Jiu Zhai Gou (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| October 15, 2001 | |
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| Chengdu Business News has reported the production will move to Jiu Zhai Gou by the end of October. According to Yang Shudong, the character designer, shooting in Dunhuang has completed last week. Now Zhang Yimou and his gang are shooting war scenes in Inner Mongolia (in China not Mongolia). Dead grasses and withered poplar trees seem perfect for such bloody scenes. A week ago, some crewmembers have arrived in Jiu Zhai Gou and started to build some structure for the film. Jiu Zhai Gou (Nine Villages Valley) is a popular tourist destination in the southwest province of Sichuang. Zhang Yimou has chosen Jian Zhu Hai to make fighting scenes between two lead characters. Jian Zhu Hai (Cold Bamboo Sea) is a lake, 2,618 meters (8,589 feet) above the sea level. Arrow bamboo, also known as cold arrow bamboo (Gelidocalamus fangianus), is the only kind of bamboo favored by giant pandas. Jian Zhu Hai is surrounded by seas of cold arrow bamboos and China fir trees. Jet Li, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are expected to show up in Jiu Zhai Gou. |
| Photo courtesy: www.ctrip.com | |
| HERO News 12 - Mucis of HERO (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 14, 2001 |
| Academy Award winner Tan Dun has discussed some proposal for score of the film. After "discovered" an ancient Chinese music instrument, danao, he told the media that some of the music will be performed by danao, accompanied by a symphony orchestra. The art director (Huo Tingxiao) has also decided to add it in the set he designed. Danao is kind of percussion instrument made of bronze. It was invented more than two thousands years ago, at or proceed the time of the story of film. |
| HERO News 11 - Script Patented (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 14, 2001 |
| According to a recent newspaper report from Daily News in China, one of the producers had briefly talked about the background of the script. The storyline was initiated by Zhang Yimou and the script was written by Li Feng. After more than a year and being rewritten several times mixed with some ideas from Jet Li, the script was finally ready right before the shooting started. However, some report has suggested that the script is being altered regularly. To prevent the storyline being stolen, Zhang Yimou has applied patent for the script. |
| HERO News 10 - “Price Tags” For Stars (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 14, 2001 |
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Jet Li has reported to take a pay cut for the film. He will only receive $3 million US, about one third of what he was paid before. Leung Chiu-Wai and Maggie Cheung each will receive $1 million at the level of the “minimum payment”. Zhang Ziyi, playing a very minor role will get $200 thousand and Chen Daoming, playing the The First Emperor, will get $100 thousand. The offer to Jiang Wen, has turned down the role of The First Eemperor, is $700 thousand. Investment for the film is, at least partially, from Columbia with record breaking figure and exceeding the number of HERO OF THE HEAVEN AND EARTH, another film it invested which is under production in China. |
| HERO News 09 - News On "The Emperor" (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| October 4, 2001 |
| Chen Daoming, who will play The First Emperor, told Goat City Evening News that shooting of his scene would not start until November and Zhang Yimou and his gangs are currently working on big scenes in a desert (Gansu or Inner Mongolia?). |
