Two pictures have been posted today. The first one shows the crew making preparation for the next shot. You can see director of cinematography Christopher Doyle (wearing light grey jacket) was adjusting the camera. The other picture shows action director Ching Siu-tung and Jet Li taking a rest. Both pictures were taken last fall in Jiuzhaigou National Park.

Photo: Official Jet Li Website

Today's picture shows a lake in Jiuzhaigou National Park. The first video report from the set of CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE is up on Extra. Early November last year, snow started to fall when much of the shooting in Jiuzhaigou was done.

Photo: Official Jet Li Website

	Countdown to HERO

HERO has been set to be released in China on December 20. Since in China the exact release dates have rarely been given this early, I would guess this is probably the date people in Asia, North America or even Europe are waiting for. In North America, it probably will have a gradually expanding type of release just like what SONY did for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

Today's photo	Two Terra-Cotta warrior figures with distinctive hairstyles

Today's photo shows Jet Li with his "hair" ready to go. The other two pictures shows two Terra-Cotta warrior figures from the The First Emperor's mausoleum. Though their hairstyles are not exactly same as the one on Jet Li's head, they do proof our hero's hair is done very historically accurately.

Follow-up Report

Another photo has just been posted on the Official Japan site, which showing the shooting location in Jiuzhaigou National Park was crowed with crew members and bystanders. Click here

Photos: Official Jet Li Website and TravelChinaGuide.COM

Click here for today's photo. It is another shot of Jiuzhaigou National Park.

Click here for today's photo.

(Top) Today's photo (Right) From another angle

Today's photo shows the set has been used during the filming on the far side. Closer to the camera is a small southern Chinese town in the architectural style from the Ming and Qing Dynasty (at last 1,500 hundred years after the time in the film). It was not used during the filming.

The other picture shows the same set from a different angle. The king's palace compound in the middle and on the left and the right, are two city scenes from different kingdoms. The picture was taken from the main gate of the king's palace, which can been seen from three previews photos (see May 17's report).

Photo: Official Jet Li Website and Zhejiang Travel 

(Spoiler Alert! Highlight to Read)

While in Los Angeles promoting his HAPPY TIME early this month, director Zhang Yimou told Taiwan's International Daily that every major character has wire scenes, including the king, played by Chen Daoming. In the movie, when Jet Li killed all three assassins, Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung and Donnie Yen (Zhang Ziyi lives), he turned against the king. Then he was surprised to see something very deadly was stopping him from killing the king. What was so deadly? It must be the king's fighting skill. And after he found out the king was a hero ambitiously to unify the nation, he let the king go. We know in the end the king did not die and Jet Li fell under hails of arrows.

(Left) Chen Daoming played the king of Qin, later The First Emperor.                                        Photo: SINA.COM

Today's photo	Yesterday's photo	One of May 3's photos	A close-up shot

Today's photo is the third shot of the same location. 

Photo: Official Jet Li Website and Hengdian Film & TV City

Today's photo	One of May 3's photos	A close-up shot of four dragons right in front of the king's main hall

Today's photo is another shot of filming at the main gate of the king's palace (or the main gate of the capital of Qin, Xianyang - really up to the director). It was take on the steps of the king's main hall, which located on the other side of the square. They are all part of the set compound inside Hengdian Film & TV City.

Photo: Official Jet Li Website and Dongyang Municipal Government

(Left) Director Zhang Yimou on location in Dangjin Mountains of the Silk Road.

Zhang studied cinematography at Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980's and worked as the cinematographer on four movies directed by China's "fifth generation directors", including Cheng Kaige's directing début YELLOW EARTH. Even with Christopher Doyle on board to control the camera, Zhang still obsessed on controlling every single frame would be printed on celluloid.

Photo: Official South Africa Jet Li Website

Today's photo, posted at the official France site, shows a pavilion (not a pagoda!) built on  Cold Bamboo Sea (lake) in Jiuzhaigou National Park of Sichuan Province. The other picture, from Chengdu Daily, shows the same pavilion with doubles of Jet Li (right), Leung Chiu-wai (middle) and Maggie Cheung (left). Don't bother to go there looking for the pavilion. It has been torn down right after the shooting wrapped up.

Photos: Official Jet Li Website and Chengdu Daily

Variety reports California based company The Orphanage and Tweak have been hired to do CG works for HERO, in addition to Australia firm Animal House. The Orphanage, started by three former ILM artists, is creating about 133 f/x shots for the film.

Click here to read the Variety article

Today's photo, posted at the official site, features a wooden screen carved with writings (sorry, don't have translation yet). It is part of the king's office, built inside Hengdian Film & TV City. The other picture is from SINA.COM, which shows a corner of the office with two other wooden screens.

(Left) the 10th photo

(Right) Another picture of the same set

Photos: Official Jet Li Website and SINA.COM

(Top) the 9th photo
(Right) Same location from another angle.

Today's photo, posted at the official Japan site, shows a narrow path along the shore of Cold Bamboo Sea (lake) in Jiuzhaigou National Park of Sichuan Province. A small portion of a half bridge can been seen at the bottom-left corner of the picture. The other picture, from Chengdu Daily, shows the rest of the half bridge and a pavilion built by the crew. You can see Jet Li (left) and Leung Chiu-wai (right) (or their doubles) were "wired" while Maggie Cheung's double lying "wounded" inside the pavalion.

Photos: Official Jet Li Website and Chengdu Daily

(Top) the 8th photo
The other three were posted on the sites of Xinhua News Agency and Nanfang Daily last year.

Today's photo, posted at the official Russia site, features hundreds of foot soldiers standing on the battlefield. Some war scenes were shot in Danjin Mountain of Akesay County (Gansu Province) last August and September.

Photos: Official Jet Li Website and Nanfang Daily

The seventh HERO photo has been released at the official Jet Li Website. This time it is director Zhang Yimou's turn. Judging from the sky, and the hat and sunglasses he was wearing, I say the picture was taken either in Dunhuang of Gansu Province or the Inner Mongolia. Someone is behind Zhang Yimou wearing full costume. I guess it was Jet Li!

Photos: Official Jet Li Website

Jet Li wearing a head band bearing the name of the kingdom - "Qin"*.	(Left) Close-up of the character "Qin" (Middle) "Qin" in Xiao Zhuan (Right) "Qin" in modern Chinese.

The sixth HERO photo has been released at the official Australia Jet Li Website. It is a close-up shot of Jet Li wearing a head band with the name of the kingdom "Qin" on the forehead. The Chinese character is written in an ancient style called Xiao Zhuan, which appeared in the state of Qin during the 3rd Century B.C. "Qin" sometimes is translated as "Chin" although the character is not quite pronounced as "Chin". Some historians believe the word "China" actually originated from "Qin".

Photos: Official Jet Li Website

Goats along side of a highway. Either on location of Dunhuang of Gansu Province or the Inner Mongolia.	Scenery of Jiuzhaigou (Nine Villages Valley) National Park of Sichuan Province. It is probably Jianzhuhai (Cold Bamboo Sea), one of dozens lakes of Jiuzhaigou. (click here for more)	Christopher Doyle (Director of Cinematography) in the middle. (Location: Jiuzhaigou)	Christopher Doyle (middle), action Director Ching Siu-tung (?) (right) and an unidentified crewmember (left). (Location: Jiuzhaigou)	Main entrance of the king's palace. Located in Hengdian FIlm & TV City of Zhejiang Province, the set was originally built for THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. (IT IS NOT A CASTLE) (Click here for a closer shot)

The official Jet Li website just posted the first five pictures as promised. Unfortunately, the original commentary attached to each picture is either incomplete or incorrect. I have added my own commentaries to them (see the above) and since more pictures are coming each week, please make sure to check back to my site.

Photos: Official Jet Li Website

Jet Li on location of Jiuzhaigou National Park

Onset of CRADLE TO THE GRAVE, Jet Li briefly talked about his understanding of HERO:

So, how did "Hero" come together? "My last movie, which I just finished – 'Hero' – was my dream movie," Jet effused. "When I read the script, I cried twice. I think, in my career of making movies for twenty-two years, it's the first script where I was reading and crying. It's a very, very incredible story. It's a different kind. One kind has drama first, story first – the action helps the story. But some movies, the actions are very important. It's for the young audience and it's not as necessary with the story because they want to watch fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!"

Can you tell us anymore? "It's very emotional," Jet went on to say. "The character in the story, I have very strong feelings about his story. The name is 'Hero' and it's about what kind of person we can call a 'hero.' When I was young, you say, ah, the football player is a hero. Michael Jordan is my hero. But when you get to a different age, you will change your mind on, 'who is my hero?' So, we always talk about an action film – a lot of heroes, a lot of bad guys – but I don't think there is a hero, I just think it's a character like Superman who beats the bad guys and saves the world. It's a story, it's not true...(laughs). I never think I'm the hero. I think the character might have a strong character, I 'played' a hero or I 'played' a bad guy, but I'm just a normal guy."

By Smilin' Jack Ruby
Photos: SINA.COM

Snapshots on the set of HERO
Still from THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN	Real weapons from that period

From the pictures taken on the set (top-left), we can see the armors and weapons look almost exactly the same as what in THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN (bottom-left), directed by Chen Kaige. This should not be a surprise, because both movies share the same art director, Huo Tingxiao.

Without the extra blade close to the middle section, the weapon is called "Ji" (right). Four set of bronze ji was discovered inside the pit containing the terra-cotta figures of the First Emperor's mausoleum. Each ji is about 2.9 meters (9.5 feet) long and consists of a spear head, a double-blade prong, and a wooden shaft.

Photos: Hengdian Film & TV City and www.chiculture.net

		These pictures were taken during some rehearsal inside Hengdian Film & TV City. The set was originally built for Chen Kaige's historical epic THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. Both HERO and this one are talking about attempted assassinations of the same King of Qin during the late 3rd Century B.C., but unlike HERO, story of THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN is based on a true event.
One of the king's palaces. Pieced together from two pictures (see below)		(Below) Main gate of the palace compound
Photos: Hengdian Film & TV City
Thanks to Elhcay

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	Donnie Yen on one of the set, the king's palace, built inside Hengdian Film & TV City.
	He played Long Sky or Silver Spear, one of the three assassins, who had a big fight with Wu Yan (Silencer) played by Jet Li.
	Don't think this is the real clapperboard used the shooting of HERO.
	Taking a break on the set. See what's on the left chest of his coat? Looks like some kind of official logo?
	After the shooting completed, director Zhang Yimou asked Donnie Yen signed the spearhead Donnie used.

I just gathered several pictures of Donnie Yen on the set of HERO from some two Donnie Yen fan sites.

Here are two more pictures:

a - Dinner with the crew (Zhang Zimou on his left)

b - Party probably with extras from a local school. 

Photos: DFAN'S CLUB

& Donnie Yen!