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| NEWS ACHIEVES |
| 2002 | January February March |
| HERO News 58 - Zhang Yimou Interview (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| March 31, 2002 | |
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This interview was conducted on November 24, 2001 by Southern Daily. It is in this interview, director Zhang Yimou talked about HERO for the first time since the shooting started in August last year. Click here to read the whole interview Photos: SINA.COM |
| HERO News 57 - Zhang Ziyi Talked About Her HEROic Experience On Video (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| March 22, 2002 | ||
Here are two videos of Zhang Ziyi. The first one was recorded in last year (probably December) on the set for her Vogue Taiwan photo shots, in which she briefly talked about her experience with HERO. The second one was recorded on February 28 when she was honored as the Goodwill Ambassador of Tibet Development Fund. Click images to watch the videos.
The following is the transcript of the first video:
Hello, everyone! I am Zhang Ziyi. Haven't seen you for a long time.
Zhang Ziyi Rumors: Perhaps some are real and some are not. I prefer this way to chat with people face to face, to let the audiences see me only through a TV screen. Sometimes, I was very mad about those fabricated rumors, but tried to think about it again, perhaps they were just seasonings of life. Maybe (they are something) every entertainer will encounter. I think, slowly, be happy or be angry, I will have a very normal attitude to deal with them.
HEROic Experience: Spent five months with HERO to watch Maggie Cheung, to watch Leung Chiu-wai, and to watch Jet Li, I feel I have attended a very precious class. So, ... hope I can learn something.
Leon Lai: I went to Hong Kong for his concert, then we had a dinners and a chat. Because he is from Beijing too, I felt it was so hard to meet someone from your hometown in a strange land. We just talked about our memories of Beijing. So the root will never change.
WU YA (CROW)? My friends wanted to say this (rumor) was so loud. But no one has ever talked to me and invited me to join. Not even today. So I think it was the studio's misunderstanding or some kind of behavior of them. (note: this CROW is not related to the same name Hollywood franchise)
How to Manage Money I don't have much to buy. Just buying clothing, but many times they are provided by sponsors. Then , eh ... (reporter: all the money you earned was given to your mom) Right, all the money is in my mother's place. Don't know how much and (I) never ask.
Goes to the Hollywood? Not for me. (In there) I can't find fried source noodle (a popular Beijing local dish). (Laugh) Actually I think the working environment is just for to work there not for to live there. I just go there to ... eh ... work. I feel I cannot leave Beijing and cannot leave China. I hope the priority of my career in the future will be in China.
Plan for 2002 There are several projects for next year (2002) are still in talk. But I think next year will make me very ... eh .. very excited and ... very motivated. Photos: NetandTV.com |
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| HERO Fan Poster 3 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| March 21, 2002 | |
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Here is another poster designed by "God of
Sword". Zhang Ziyi's picture was from MUSA and her costume is at least
one millennium late. Jet Li's costume is almost two millennium late.
But, those are no big deal. What important is spending time and effort
to do something you really enjoy. Send in yours, scoops, previews, reviews, fan scripts, fan arts, audios, videos, ... Anything!
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| Another Donnie Yen Interview (KungFuCinema.com) | |
| March 12, 2002 | |
|
In this interview conducted by Jean Lukitsh
from KungFuCinema.com, Donnie Yen talked exclusively about his
involvement in BLADE II:
Click here for the complete interview (Left) Donnie Yen on the set of BLADE II. |
| Donnie Yen Talks About BLADE II And HERO (Upbeat Online) | |
| March 12, 2002 | |
|
|
In this interview conducted by Upbeat,
Donnie Yen talked about his involvement in BLADE II and HERO.
Click here for the complete interview (Left) Donnie Yen on the set of BLADE II. |
| HERO News 56 - | |
| Ching Siu-tung: HERO Will Be More Aesthetic And Romantic Than CROUCHING TIGER (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| March 6, 2002 | |
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Action director Ching Siu-tung has spoken
out about HERO for the first time. He said, "QIN YONG (A TERRA-COTTA
WARRIOR), XIAO AO JIANG HU ZHI DONG FANG BU BAI (EAST IS RED / SWORDSMAN
III) and SIN NUI YAU MAN (A CHINESE GHOST STORY) are my favorite. Scenes
from QIN YONG were designed in the style learned from Akira Kurosawa's
RAN. (QIN YONG and HERO) are all telling stories from the Qin Dynasty
(actually the time period from HERO is a little bit earlier), but after
more than a decade (since QIN YONG), the concept and style of the action
sequences in HERO are different. Visuals in HERO are designed to look
like ancient Chinese paintings and action sequences are more aesthetic
and rhythmic. There is a scene in which Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi
fighting and chasing among floating golden leaves in a woods. In another
scene Jet Li must jump of a cliff and we invited an athlete from Chinese
National Gymnastic Team to demonstrate just for making the sequence more
coherent and rhythmic. Watching the actions in HERO you can feel the
actors are dancing in the air. It will be more aesthetic and romantic
than CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON." When being asked whether more weapons have been used in HERO just like in the fight scene with Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi inside the escort company in CROUCHING TIGER, Ching said |
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"characters from HERO won't use more weapons, but we designed various
styles and moves for fights between same kind of weapons, to let the
audiences see styles can be different even though the weapons are the
same. Also, action sequences were designed to consist with the visuals
and the artistic climates. In different environments and atmospheres,
the actions sequences are in different forms and moves."
While talking about how to deal with actors with no martial art trainings, he said, "we tried to conceal their physical limitations and let them bring out their best. Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi are pretty good dancers. Based on their figures, the moves I designed for them do not have too much strength but can let them show their bodies and postures. Leung Chiu-wai never received any martial art training and his ability of doing actions is not very good. But he can show very rich facial expressions and and bring out a man's emotions during a fight. Therefore we just shot his moves from different Angles consisted with his facial expressions to help him do his action scenes. For different actors and characters, I designed different styles and moves for them." Ching said director Zhang Yimou is very
good at showing people's relations and creating characters. While
working on HERO, he tried to learn from Zhang Yimou on how to
design plots and how to handle dramatic scenes. He said he was admiring
Zhang Yimou's talent. Ching said HERO is a different kind of martial art
film with very unique storytelling style, visuals and color presents. He
said he had done his best. Because the post-production including CG
effects has yet started, he did not know what the final print really
looks like, but he said it will be better than CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN
DRAGON. |
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| HERO Fan Poster 2 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| March 4, 2002 |
|
Here is another fan poster by Edmond Chan Send in yours, like scoops, previews, reviews, fan scripts, fan arts, audios, videos, ... Anything. |
| HERO Fan Poster (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| March 3, 2002 | |
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John C just sent in a poster he designed.
Click to see it in full-size.
Send in yours, like scoops, previews, reviews, fan scripts, fan arts, audios, videos, ... Anything. |
| HERO News 55 - Cannes Thirsts For HERO And 2046 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| March 1, 2002 |
|
Taiwan's United News Net just reported the
organizer of this year's Cannes Film Festival is hoping to add Zhang
Yimou's HERO and Wong Kar-wai's 2046 to their list. However, filming of
HERO has just wrapped and the post-production, involving large amount of
CG works, may take months to complete. Can they really finish it before
May, in which the festival will be held? Two years ago, Ang Lee's crew
worked round the clock to try to make a rush delivery of CROUCHING
TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON to Cannes. They finally made it, but not without
some minor flaws, very minor of cause. One example can be seen in
the famous restaurant fight scenes. The wire holding Zhang Ziyi, which
was supposed to be removed digitally, was accidentally left behind on a
few frames. (Click
here to see the pictures). 2046 is even more hopeless because Wong
Kar-wai has planed to scrap everything he has shot so far and start it
all over again.
Several films have almost made to Cannes, including Steven Soderbergh's FULL FRONTAL, Mike Leigh's ALL OR NOTHING, an untitled film by Albas(?), David Cronenberg's SPIDER, Atom Egoyan's ARARAT, and Manoel de Oliveira's JOIA dE FAMILIA; several films are hopeful contenders, including Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang's XIAO CHENG ZHI CHUN (SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN), a remake of 1940's same name classic by Fei Mu, Dai Sijie's Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Oliver Assayas (Maggie Cheung's husband)'s DEMONLOVER, Roman Polanski's THE PIANIST, Woody Allen's HOLLYWOOD ENDING, Brian De Palma's FEMME FATALE and Gus Van Sant's GERRY; and a few might be admitted in the last minute including Sam Mendes' ROAD TO PERDITION and Philip Noyce's THE QUIET AMERICAN (photographed by Christopher Doyle who was also the director of cinematography of HERO). |
| HERO News 54 - Zhang Ziyi On The Cover Of GQ With Tobey "Spider-Man" Maguire (GQ Magazine) | |
| February 22, 2002 | |
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Zhang Ziyi just landed on the cover of March
issue of GQ Magazine, along with SPIDER-MAN star Tobey Maguire. The same
issue also featured two pictures of her photographed by Norman Jean Roy
and a very short interview conducted by James Ryan last month when she
was still attached to the production of HERO at Hengdian. When asked whether she kicked Jet Li's butt, she said, "I can't keep up with Jet Li. My dance training enables me to make the martial-art look real, but there's no power behind it. I mean, I can't break a table in two." She said her favorite scene in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAON was the restaurant fight, her most embarrassing on set moment was after she did a "fake kiss" with |
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CROUCHING TIGER's co-star Cheng Chen,
director Ang Lee asked her to go home and practice, and the bravest
thing she had done was challenging her schoolteachers when she thought
they were wrong. When talked about CROUCHING TIGER's disappointment
performance in mainland China, she said that was because there were "too
much drama and plot". When asked about her understanding of men, Ziyi
said men considered their faces the most precious and should she had a
boyfriend, she could never even scold him in public and would want to
wait until she got home. Photo: GQ Magazine |
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| HERO News 53 - Donnie Yen Talks About His Character (Kung Fu Cinema) | |
| February 19, 2002 | |
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KungFuCinema.Com just posted an article by Jean Lukitsh, in which Donnie Yen has revealed some secret of the character he played in HERO. The character Six Finger Iron Hand, one of the three assassins originally designed for James Pax, was scraped, possibly in October or November last year. Then director Zhang Yimou brought Donnie Yen on board, under the lobbying from Jet Li. A brand new character, Silver Spear Long Sky as one of the three assassins, was designed for him. Each character is represented by a color and Donnie's is color gold. (Note: Jet Li's color is black and Zhang Ziyi's is red. According to an early report, the color for both Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung is light green. However, from the on location photos leaked out so far, we can only see Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung wearing full white in one scene, and Leung Chiu-wai wearing light blue in another scene) Donnie |
| Donnie Yen plays Snowman in the upcoming BLADE II. | |
|
Yen said one of his eye was indeed injured
by Jet Li himself. When the crew operating the wires let Jet Li dropped
to fast, Li's sword slipped down and hit Yen's eyelid.
About the experience of working in HERO, Donnie Yen said, "(it) was just about the best experience I has ever had on a set and the film is going to blow everyone away." and his fight scenes with Jet Li are "even better than the scenes they did in 'Once Upon a Time in China II.'" Click here to read the article from Kung Fu Cinema. Photo courtesy: DonnieYen.COM |
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| Hong Kong Media's Coverage On The Top Ten List And The Petition (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| February 16, 2002 |
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Today's Hong Kong paper Oriental Daily just posted an article on MonkeyPeaches' list of Top Ten Ways Miramax Can Do To Destroy HERO as well as the petition (Appeal to Disney for Respectful Treatment of Asian films). Four out of ten from the list were mentioned in this article. They are: 10. Promote it as "from the people made Crouching Tiger", 9. Push the release date back until DVDs from Asia are everywhere, 8. Dub it with some Cantonese accent sound-like and 7. Change the title (to "Kung-fu Heroes from China"). It said the petition, asking Disney for "respectful treatment of Asian films", was initiated by a "fan of Hong Kong movies" and 444 signatures have been gathered (current number is over 800). It said the petition has listed many bad practices of Disney, like changing story and dialogue, removing footage, renaming films and replacing music scores. It also reported fans' disapproval of Miramax's decision of renaming SHAOLIN SOCCER to KUNGFU SOCCER. In fact the English title chose by the original filmmaker is already very Americanized, because only in two countries, the United States and Canada, soccer is called soccer. In the rest of the world, it is football. In addition, SHAOLIN SOCCER and Jackie Chan's THE ACCIDENTAL SPY will be released in North America on the same day, April 8th, by Miramax and its subsidiary Dimension. Here is the link of the original article by Oriental Daily (in Chinese): SHAOLIN SOCCER and THE ACCIDENTAL SPY Fighting Each Other, Releasing on the Same Day, April 8th, in the US If you want to read more top ten lists, they are available from the forums of Jetli.com and ZiyiForever.PrimeNova.com. |
| HERO News 52 - James Pax (Pak Chin-shek / Bai Shiqian) - The Least Known Hero (Corona's Coming Attractions) | |
| February 15, 2002 | |
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According to earlier reports, James Pax will
play Six Finger Iron Hand, one of the three assassins, along with Leung
Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung. His scenes were supposed to be shot in
December. However, when December came and the production had moved to
Hengdian, his name was not mentioned in any news article. This can only
means his role is really small. Born in Beijing and spent his childhood in Hong Kong, James later moved to America with his family. He chose James Pak as his name when started his acting career in the 1980's. James played many actions roles, sometimes very minor roles, more than a dozen movies, including BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. The only non-action role he played is Mr. Tung, a Chinese army officer, in 1989's Canadian TV movie BETHUNE: THE MAKING OF A HERO. In the early 1990's, James moved back to Hong Kong and continued his acting career. Known as James Pak, he was in six movies, including THE HEROIC TRIO, LOVE AMONG THE TRIAD, and DRAGON CHRONICLES. Then he moved to Japan and appeared in a TV series and a movie. After that, he was on the move again and stared in Chinese TV series TOU DU KE (people crossing the boarder illegally) last year. After finishing another TV series SHI JIE MEI YOU MO RI (translation: World Will Not End), he has planed another Chinese TV production AI DE XUAN LÜ (MELODY OF LOVE), in which he will play the lead along with Japanese actor Takashi Sorimachi (FULLTIME KILLER). Photo courtesy: SINA.COM |
| HERO News 51 - Petition To Save HERO and SHAOLIN SOCCER And Others (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| February 14, 2002 |
|
A petition to save HERO, SHAOLIN SOCCER and
other Asian films from being distorted by Miramax (a subsidiary of
Disney) is up. Please sign the petition and ask you friends and family
to do the same: Appeal to Disney for Respectful Treatment of Asian films Thanks to Phil Tong |
| HERO News 50 - Animal House Does HERO's FX Works (Corona's Coming Attractions) |
| February 14, 2002 |
| Corona just reported that Australian effects house Animal Logic is doing HERO's FX works. Animal Logic has done CG works for THE MATRIX Trilogy, THE THIN RED LINE, MOULIN ROUGE and LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy. This has explained why director Zhang Yimou wants to do the post-production in Australia. |
| HERO News 49 - Heroes Fighting On Green Screen (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| February 13, 2002 | |
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This picture was taken inside an auto
exhibit hall of Hengdian, which was used for some indoor shootings. Jet
Li and Leung Chiu-wai were fighting in front of the green screen while
being wired in mid air. Until now, no one was aware that green screen
was used. This is very unusual for Chinese movies and definitely the
first time ever for Zhang Yimou. What will replace the green? On the other side of the hall, a pile of book rolls fell down, dragged by several crewmembers using thin wires. Same kind of book rolls can be seen on pictures from the TIME ASIA's report (1, 2, 3, 4).
Original report by Lang Yingxiu, photo by
Huo Weige |
| Here is Evuolo2's Top Ten List of what Miramax can do to destroy HERO: | |
| 10. Not giving the film the attention and publicity that is due to it. | |
| 9. Have any mention or comparison to Crouching Tiger or The Matrix in the advertising. | |
| 8. Have the movie trailer consist of only fight scenes. | |
| 7. Release the DVD with an English Language track option. It cheapens the film. | |
| 6. Use the usual ridiculous Miramax/Dimension Art Department Poster concepts that have nothing to do with the movie, ie Legend of Drunken Master and any of the Dimension Jet LI Video Release box art with the exception of Fist of Legend. | |
| 5. Credit the film as Miramax and Quentin Tarantino Present..... | |
| 4. Give the movie a Limited Release because it is a foreign film. | |
| 3. Retitle the film as Jet Li's Hero. | |
| 2. Replace Tan Dun score with music that we would find on the Def Jam label. | |
| 1. Bill the movie as the sequel to Crouching Tiger. | |
| E-mail me your top-ten list: monkeypeaches@yahoo.com | |
| HERO News 48 - Our HERO On The Hand Of Miramax? (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| February 12, 2002 | ||
|
T |
OP |
MonkeyPeaches Cannot Confirm Or Deny The
Following Report:
Berlin film fest honors helmer
Altman
By Adam Dawtrey and Andrea Vaucher ... Meanwhile, news also filtered through that Miramax Films has picked up Zhang Yimou's historical adventure "Hero," starring Jet Li and Maggie Cheung, for North and South America, the U.K. and Australia. The tale concerns three famous assassins who undertake the monumental task of confronting the King of Qin. Reuters/Variety |
| EN Ways Miramax Can Do to Destroy HERO: | ||
| 10. Promote it as "from the people made Crouching Tiger" | ||
| 9. Push the release date back until DVDs from Asia are everywhere | ||
| 8. Dub it with some Cantonese accent sound-like | ||
| 7. Replace the original score with some kung-fu music sound-like | ||
| 6. Replace the kung-fu music sound-like with some rap | ||
| 5. Cut scenes to make it an hour and half long | ||
| 4. Cut fighting scenes to get a PG-13 | ||
| 3. Cut dramatic scenes to "reduce boringness" | ||
| 2. Change the title to "Kung-fu Heroes from China" | ||
| 1. Go straight to video | ||
| E-mail me your top-ten list: monkeypeaches@yahoo.com | ||
| HERO News 47 - Heroes' Weapons (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| February 8, 2002 | ||
| The story HERO is set in the end of the 3rd Century B.C. Most weapons from that periods still remain today were excavated from the pits of the Terra-Cotta Army of the First Emperor's mausoleum near Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. Since the discovery of the Terra-Cotta Army in 1974, about 300,000 weapons of various kinds have been unearthed, including swords, sabers, dagger-axes, battle-axes, spears, halberds (a combination of dagger-axe and spear), long lances, crossbows, bows, arrows and shield. Most of them were made of bronze and a few of them were made of iron. There were standard issues of the Qin army for combat and ceremonial purposes. | ||
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Sword
22 bronze swords were unearthed from the
pits. The wooden shells were long gone, but 17 of them were still
intact. They contain 74% of copper, 22% of tin and 4% of over ten other
elements. High content of tin makes these sword as hard as tempered
carbon steel. Each one is coated with a thin layer of chromium, makes it
stainless for 2,200 years. This kind of technology was only re-invented
in 1937 by German scientists. Length of
these swords ranges from 81 cm (3.9 in.) to 95 cm (37.4 in.) with blades about
70 cm (27.6 in.) long, more than 3.2 - 3.4 cm (1.26 -1.34 in.) wide at
its widest part and about 2 cm (0.8 in.) wide near the tips. They
were issued to army officers not average foot solders.
Sword used by Jet Li, Leung Chi-wai and
Maggie Cheung are shorter, wider and probably lighter. They were practical for personal use and were also not designed for heavy
fighting. |
| (Left) A stainless bronze sword from the 3rd Century B.C. (Right) Swords carried by Jet Li and Leung Chiu-wai. | ||
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Click here for the the
picture of Zhang Ziyi fighting Jet Li with her twin sabers, photographed
by Peter Steinhauer from TIME ASIA.
|
Saber
Two bronze sabers were discovered inside the
pits. One is 65.2 cm (25.7 in.) long, 2.2 - 3.5 cm (0.9 - 1.4 in.) wide
and weights 1.45 kg (3.2 lb.) (left). The other one is 71.2 cm (28.0
in.) long and 2.3 - 3.3 cm (0.9 - 1.3 in.) wide. Both edges were
sharpened, they were popular weapon during the middle of the first
millennium B.C.
The twin sabers carried by Zhang Ziyi are in much later design, probably centuries or even millennium after that time period. |
|
(Left) A bronze saber from the 3rd Century
B.C. (Right) Zhang Ziyi's twin sabers. |
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References: Zhang Wenli, The Qin Terracotta Army, Scala Books and Cultural Relics Publishing House, London, 1996 Chinese Cultural Research Institute, www.chiculture.net, 2001 |
Photo courtesy: SINA.COM and www.chiculture.net |
| HERO News 46 - Interviewing The Investor (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| February 7, 2002 |
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Who actually spent big bucks and financed
the film? Reporter Hao Yan from Chinese Business News just exposed the
studio has been hidden in behind until now. It is a Hong Kong company
called On Lok Film Ltd. (Asia Presentation? United China Vision
Production?), which also produced CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
President of the studio, Bill Kong, told the reporter that HERO was
not made for Chinese audiences at all and its real audiences were those
more familiar with Hollywood productions. Since the success of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. The western audiences and Hollywood studios started to feel interested in Chinese martial art movies. Then Gong got a copy of the first draft of Zhang Yimou's HERO. At that time, the plot and characters' fates were still "too Chinese". But the story and its artistic nature still deeply moved him. He thought a story of assassinating The First Emperor was very cliché to Chinese audiences, but can still attract people in the West. He said it was not just a martial art film, but also, in certain degree, like telling the westerners an oriental heroic fairytale, assassinations inside the royal palace, deep feeling of the history, and a tragic but beautiful story of love. All these are more exciting than those from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Once Jet Li signed on, HERO has started to knock the door of the world. When they were still working on the script, a Hollywood studio bid US$25 million for the International release right but was turned down. After they decided to aim HERO at the international market, Zhang Yimou did several big operations on the script based on "Hollywood standard" and the final edition of the script has been "internationalized". After watching some sample scenes, Gong felt they were better than expected. He said he felt several times better than watching CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and believed it would repeat CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON's fame. |
| HERO News 45 - Zhang Ziyi Talks To VOGUE (VOGUE TAIWAN) | |||
| February 6, 2002 | |||
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The February issue of VOGUE Magazine (Taiwan
Edition) features an article titled "Living in Reality Zhang Ziyi".
Ziyi said her role in HERO was a girl who was very loyal to his master and was willing to sacrifice herself for love and loyalty. Sometime during the shooting, she was stoke down by cold weather. Once got up, she just kept vomiting. But Ziyi fully enjoyed playing this supporting role. She said, "since CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, every |
| Vogue Taiwan Cover (February) | |||
| Photo courtesy: Vogue Taiwan | |||
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project offered to me got some fighting
scenes. But I really hoped to experience playing with my heart (not
fists)" There are some fighting scenes in HERO too, but her role is rich in layers and has distinct
personality. Suddenly, I realized, unconsciously I have learned how to
handle a role." She said, after HERO, she would become stronger.
Suddenly caught her fame, she has expressed her feeling of loss and sadness, "I can no longer see the world through a naive view. After being cheated and hurt so many times, I have built a transparent screen around me. It makes me feel safe." Ziyi has started to feel unsecured even she is raising star. Today the question she asks herself the most is "how to continue building my acting career?" "I'm very lucky. Few persons are so well-known at the age of 22. The Heaven is favoring me." "I often think how to prevent all these from fading away like a shooting star." "I don't want to be a shooting star. I keep examining myself (and try to find out) what future belongs to Zhang Ziyi." "Nothing is unbearable. Pain, exhausting, the body is giving up, (I) just endure it." |
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| HERO News 44 - Our Wounded Heroes (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||||
| February 1, 2002 | ||||
| Getting wounded is routine when you are in an action movie, like HERO. Here are some "wounded" stories of our four heroes reported on Daily New. | ||||
 |
Jet Li: legs smashed to stone wall When he try to cross a stone wall in high speed with help from wires, probably because of the wire-operators' fault, he did not reach the sufficient altitude and his legs smashed to the wall. He cried out. After being lowered to the ground, he tightly held his swelling legs in the arms with face twitched. |
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Leung Chiu-wai: right foot twisted When they were still in Jiu Zhai Gou, during a fighting scene with Jet Li, while jumped to the ground, his right foot fell in between two mats, which were suppose to protect him. Although Leung Chiu-wai has made some action movies before, he has never done any action like those from HERO. |
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Maggie Cheung: haunted old wound Her left clavicle was wounded before and after repeating some same moves over and over again, her old wound stroke back. Maggie Cheung rarely takes action movies in recent years. One of the reason is her old wounds, including the cervical vertebras. She has said HERO would be her last action flick. |
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Zhang Ziyi: ligament torn When making a fighting scene with Maggie Cheung in Inner Mongolia, the ligament of her thigh was torn while doing the slits. Here is the good news, under the treated from Doctor Li Yongqing, the production's therapist, their wounds have healed. Photo courtesy: SINA.COM |
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| HERO News 43 - Phony HERO On VCD (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| January 31, 2002 | |
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A VCD titled HERO is currently available in
the market. Although it has Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi on the cover, the
inside is actually Jet Li's THE NEW LEGEND OF SHAOLIN, shot in 1994.
The real HERO is still under post-production and it will not be released until next Christmas. So please don't bother to look for a copy of it. Photo courtesy: Oriental Daily
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| HERO News 42 - Zhang Ziyi Interview (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| January 29, 2002 | |
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Yesterday afternoon, Beijing Times' Yang
Jinsong sit down and talked to Zhang Ziyi.
We have all paid close attention to the filming of HERO. A paper said, to achieve media blackout, before finishing the shooting and before could be paid, everyone (from the cast and crew) had to sign a mouth-tightening contract. (I) never heard of this. Really that serious? This film is operated completely under the rules of international distributors, therefore it is different from Zhang Yimou's previous films. Before you can be allowed to speak out, there will be few inside stories. On the contrary, there are so many rumors, and they are so not true. (I) heard Zhang Yimou kept adding scenes for you during the shooting and let you stuck with HERO for six months and not able to take any other project. (Highlight to read) What kind of character is Ru Yüe? She was a maid of Broken Sword (Leung Chiu-wai). Both Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and her were in love with Broken Sword. She was very loyal to her master. To release Flying Snow's emotion burden, he kissed Ru Yüe in front of her. (Then) Flying Snow pointed her sword at Broken Sword (...) To help Broken Sword assassinating No Name (Jet Li), Ru Yüe tried to kill herself in front No Name but was stopped by him. He said, "Miss, life is so precious. Is it really worth less than some love?" In the end, No Name, Broken Sword and Flying Snow all died. Leaving Ru Yüe on white ground, alone, crying his master's name (...) I know this is not the whole story of HERO. But I see you used red and white to tell the character's story. Actually HERO's four episodes are connected by red, green, blue and white and they are also used to tell four different stories. Green is flashback and blue is the fightings among them (No Name, Broken Sword, and Flying Snow). (It) has very unique structure and is not a traditional wuxia movie. It is a powerful drama with great momentum. The theme is also different from other wuxia movies. (There are no gratitude and resentment, sacred book of the martial brotherhood, killing and murdering ... It is about the hearts and feelings of heroes. (It's) very internationalist (not sure what that means). The costumes are also unique. Each character has his or her own style but are only in four colors. I think they are in the style of post-modernism*. |
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM | |
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Plenty and most are about acting. After done the final crying scene, I couldn't put myself together for over a day! (I don't have) too many scenes, but (I) was involved very deep, which has never happened to me before. I learned a lot from Maggie Cheung. She is very confident about her acting and is very willful. When shooting the scene of Flying Snow's death, she said her eyes should remain open but Zhang Yimou thought they should be closed. They argued for a while and later two versions of the scenes were shot. Also, for HERO, I practiced martial art for a month, but on day I still punched by Jet Li's double and left two scars on my right hand. Jet Li felt very sorry for that and gave me a string of Buddhist beads as a gift. I wear it on my hand all the time. Staying with HERO for six months, you must be knowing about Zhang Yimou even more. Honestly, he is my teacher and my big brother. (He) is the best director I have ever worked with. When we were still filming THE ROAD HOME, I saw him reading wuxia novels and he said he wanted to make a wuxia movie. Now the media say he is following the trend (of making martial art movies). They really know nothing about Zhang Yimou. But he is not bothered by these and just does what he wants. Time is the best witness for an artist. What advices has he given to you on your acting career? This time we had talked a lot. He advised me not only to make good martial art movies in Hollywood but also to take Chinese language drama films in China as well as overseas. Do both drama and action, be a good film actress, and be a good Chinese movie star. He said in recent years there were so few real movies stars in the mainland (China). So I will reconsider whether to take Lou Ye's PURPLE BUTTERFLY**. * post·mod·ern ** see Zhang Ziyi's Next - A PURPLE BUTTERFLY? (December 19, 2001) and Zhang Ziyi As Social Butterfly - Not A Done Deal (December 21, 2001) |
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| HERO News 41 - TIME ASIA Interviewing Donnie Yen (TIME ASIA) | |
| January 26, 2002 | |
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TIME ASIA.COM just
posted the third HERO related interview. This time, it is Donnie Yen's
turn. In the film, Donnie Yen is playing the king's last defense
against Silencer played by Jet Li. Jet Li said it was his idea to
bring Donnie Yen on board, because he
"wanted the fighting to look the way it
did 2,000 years ago, like real martial arts"*. In the interview,
Donnie Yen said for HERO, he gave directing actions for BULLETPROOF
MONK and a new Steven Seagal project.
* Photo courtesy: DonnieYen.COM |
| HERO News 40 - Angry Boss Tightens The Security (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| January 25, 2002 | |
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Before the shooting ended, a big boss from
the film's Hong Kong investor arrived Hengdian. Apparently he was so
upset by some pictures, like the one on the left, being leaked to the
net, a new and more restricted contract was imposed on everyone. This
contract prohibit anyone from leaking anything related to the movie to
the outsiders. Cast and crew members have to surrender everything,
including pictures, videos and witting materials.
(Detail description of filming style ahead. Highlight to read) Meanwhile some report has suggested this film is distantly different from ordinary kung-fu movies. It is a "psychological martial art film", according to someone from the inside, and the way to tell the story is a bit similar to that of Akira Kurosawa's classic RASHOMON. It deeply explores each characters' psychological journey and fate, with lots of flashbacks. Its fighting style is not as same as that of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. There are very few one on one fighting scenes but more war scenes. Also, every characters, not just Zhang Ziyi, got more scenes than planned. |
| Leung Chiu-wai plays Broken Sword | |
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM | |
| HERO News 39 - Shooting Completed MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| January 22, 2002 |
| On last Sunday January 19, shooting of HERO, which lasted for more than five months, has finally ended. According to a local paper, Chinese Business View, representatives from several foreign movie distributors, have watched some sample scenes and have concluded the production and actors' performance were better than they expected. One unidentified US distributor has bid US$25 million for the International distribution right, which is more than enough to cover the production cost (no less than US$12), but was turned down. The right will very likely fall into a Japanese distributor's hands. SONY? After the Chinese New Year in February, director Zhang Yimou will go to Australia and start to work on the post-production, which will last ten months according to some report. Be patient. HERO has been aimed at Christmas release. |
| HERO News 38 - Yu Rongguang Missed HERO For A BEAUTIFUL TALE (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| January 21, 2002 | |
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Chinese star Yu Rongguang has reportedly
missed his chance of joining Zhang Yimou's HERO for his commitment to
Tsui Hark's MEI LI CHUAN SHUO (A BEAUTIFUL TALE). Both films were shot
during approximately the same time and he signed on for the later one
first. Now filming of A BEAUTIFUL TALE just ended and he has started to
work on his next project, TV series ZHEN QING MEI GUI (TRUE FEELING
ROSE). Yu Rongguang said he would not regret for missing HERO because
Tsui Hark was the one he always greatly indebted to. Since his movie
début in 1985's MU MIAN JIA SHA (HOLY ROBES OF SHAOLIN; US title:
SHAOLIN AND WU TANG 2: WU TANG INVASION), he has starred in more than
thirty feature films and over fifty TV series. International audiences
are more familiar with him as the Captain of the Imperial Guard in
SHANGHAI NOON and the Iron Monkey in IRON MONKEY.
Yesterday he told the media, "I fully respect Jackie Chan and Jet Li's achievement. They too have been through many hard times. Before today's fame in Hollywood, Jet Li had been ignored for many years. I'm not the kind of person who enjoys blaming everyone. I just keep working harder." When being asked whether he had considered to go to the Hollywood, he showed his sense of humor. "I won't go to ask them, they should come to ask me. I have advantage in martial skills. Neither Jackie Chan nor Jet Li can rival me. I'm a meter eight and so handsome! Of course they will come to me!" |
| Photo courtesy: SINA.COM | |
| HERO News 37 - Zhang Yimou Interview By TIME ASIA (TIME ASIA) |
| January 20, 2002 |
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Zhang Yimou 'This Film Was My Boyhood Dream' Critically acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou on the making of his star-studded martial-arts flick |
| HERO News 36 - Large Size Of The TIME ASIA Cover (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | |
| January 16, 2002 | |
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Clike here for the larger print of the TIME ASIA cover |
| To
answer many people's question: those pictures featured on TIME
ASIA were taken on the set of a library, possibly the royal library.
You can see the material used to build the library is stone rather
than timber, probably for fire-preventing purpose. Those "logs"
are actually scrolls. At that time (the Third Century BC), wooden
or bamboo strips with writings, were tied together in parallel
to form scrolls. Paper, which was invented as early as just decades
after, completely replaced bamboo and wood as the primary material
of making scrolls by the turn of the Fourth Century. Book, with
individual pages made from paper and other materials, was invented
several centuries later.
On one tag appeared on the third on-set picture, two characters "Zhuang Zi" were written on. Zhuang Zi (Chung Tzu or Chunag Tse), was a great philosopher lived in the Fourth and Third Century B.C. Along with Lao Zi (Lao Tzu or Lao Tse), Zhuang Zi was one of the founding figures of Taoism, and the book he wrote, which bears his own name, is one of the most important classic Chinese philosophical texts. Photo courtesy: International Dunhuang Project |
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| HERO News 35 - Sequel On The Way (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| January 16, 2002 |
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Ok! The following is a bit too good to be true: THE SEQUEL IS IN DEVELOPMENT!!! According to Daily New, a local Chinese paper, Zhang Yimou has reached an agreement with one of the film's producing studio, Hong Kong Jing Ying Entertainment, on making a sequel next year and the script is almost done. Here are the plan
for Zhang Yimou for the next several years: |
| HERO News 34 - What's Left (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
| January 16, 2002 |
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Shooting of HERO
will wrap up next Wednesday (January 23) and according to some reporter,
several scenes with Maggie Cheung and Leung Chiu-wai are the only
things left. Next month, Zhang Yimou will travel to the States for
the post-production. There are lots of CG works to be done. For everyone
around the world, it won't be available until next Christmas. Luck of everybody's favored girl Zhang Ziyi is just getting better and better. Her role has been upgraded from some sort of cameo to one of the major roles and Zhang Yimou is keeping adding her scenes. That's a lot of eyeballs! Some people had worried that Chen Daoming, who replaced Jiang Wen to play the king, was too "soft". But some insider said his performance had surprised everyone. Zhang Yimou even added some scenes specifically for him. In one scene involving the assassin(s) chasing the king, not only the actors moving around, the camera lens is also on the run. When the filming is half-way through, Zhang Yimou fired the original action director Dung Wai because they could not communicate with each other well. His replacement, Ching Siu-tung (Tony) has directed Zhang Yimou in THE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR (1989) and choreographed many movies like SHAOLIN SOCCER and PBS's INVINCIBLE. There relationship has turned out to be just perfect. |
| HERO News 33 - TIME Magazine Discovers HERO (TIME ASIA) |
| January 15, 2002 |
| The newest issue of TIME ASIA Magazine just published an exclusive coverage on the production of HERO. The is the first time the media were allowed to enter the set and talk to someone without being harassed by the security. While shooting has almost reached to the end, Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Jet Li have already left. |
| Story: Making of a Hero |
| Photo |
| Interviews |
| Jet Li 'Violence Doesn't Solve Anything' TIME talks exclusively to martial-arts master Jet Li on the set of Hero |
| December
5, 2000 Zhang Yimou 'She Has a Quality That Sets Her Apart From Others' Chinese director Zhang Yimou waxes lyrical on star actress Zhang Ziyi |
| December
5, 2000 Zhang Ziyi 'I Want to Prove to Everyone That I Have Talent' Chinese director Zhang Yimou waxes lyrical on star actress Zhang Ziyi |
| October
11, 2000 Tony Leung 'I Told Kar-wai I Couldn't Move, Couldn't Breathe' Web-only interview with Hong Kong's leading actor Tony Leung, star of Wong Kar-wai's movie In the Mood for Love |
| May 15,
2000 Maggie Cheung Marrying The Director Actress Maggie Cheung on life, love and meeting Steven Spielberg |
| April
12, 2000 Jet Li 'The World Is My Oyster' Hong Kong action hero Jet Li is set for stardom in his first big Hollywood role in Romeo Must Die |
| HERO News 32 - Donnie Yen Hurt His Eye (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) | ||
| January 12, 2002 | ||
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According to the action director Ching Siu-tung, it happened approximately two weeks ago, during the rehearsal with a deputy action director, one of Donnie Yen's eyes was hit by a sword by accident. Though his eyeball is intact, six stitches were required to close the wound but he was only given one day off. Now completed his scenes, Donnie Yen has gone back home in Hong Kong. Like Bruce Lee and Jet Li, Donnie Yen is one of the handful actors who have received formal and systematic martial art training before starting their acting careers. Yen's character in HERO, ex-boyfriend of Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) according to some rumor, was added when the shooting is almost half-way through. In the upcoming BLADE II: BLOODHUNT, you can see Donnie Yen as Snowman, who teams up with Blade (Wesley Snipes) to fight off the half-human-half-vampire Rippers. Donnie Yen also choreographed the entire movie. |
| Donnie Yen in THE IRON MONKEY | Donnie Yen in BLADE II: BLOODHUNT | |
| Photo courtesy: DonnieYen.COM | ||
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HERO News 31 - Leung Chiu-wai Interview (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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January 12, 2002 |
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A short interview was conducted on the set of TIN HA MOU SEUNG. Here is the portion related to HERO: Reporter: You have made another movie, HERO, this year. Are you satisfied by it?
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