MiramAxe just released the design of a promotional teaser poster. (Thanks to the webmaster THE QUENTIN TARANTINO ARCHIVES) It shows the right hand of the Bride holding a Japanese sword upside-down and handkerchief bearing the word "Kill Bill - Fall 2003". On the back, there is the film's title written in Katakana, a kind of Japanese alphabet, sort of. It is pronounced as "ki-ru-bi-ru".

Now, the Volume 1/ Volume 2 issue: Once again, the folks form MiramAxe have proved their promises to film art has been erodes by concerning for profit.

Several new shots from EmpireMoives.com are up at The Quentin Tarantino Archives. The first, third, fifth and sixth are shot at Beijing Film Studio.

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Thanks to the webmaster THE QUENTIN TARANTINO ARCHIVES

We all know the story of KILL BILL takes place in the present days, but the Chinese scenes do not look like from the present days. Sure, those scenes are flashback, but they got flashbacked too much. Based on the costumes, the street setting and others, the film has been flashbacked to no later than the 1940's!

Click here and here for two shots taken on the backlot of Beijing Film Studio.

Thanks to Mark Singh for the links

Yesterday at an event promoting the video release of Show Brothers' films, action star Liu Chia-Hui (Gordon) told Hong Kong papers he had been asked to go to the States to shoot more scenes for KILL BILL. Gordon Liu played two roles in the film, the over-a-hundred-year-old Chinese kung-fu master master Pei Mei and the leader of Japanese gang called Crazy 88 (thanks to Jason Powell for reminding me this). Scenes of bother characters were done last summer in Beijing, but somehow Quentin Tarantino has decided more scenes of Gordon Liu is needed. However, Gordon Liu has signed up for three TV productions with Hong Kong's TVB. Though he has not talked with TVB yet, he is hoping he can be let go.

Photo: Sing Pao

Review: KILL BILL (early rough cut) (Negative, Major Spoilers) by "The Facer"

It is a fake review, thanks to the webmaster THE QUENTIN TARANTINO ARCHIVES

Q: Why is the plane flying so low?

A: The city looks like Tokyo but the shot was probably inspired by what used to happen in Hong Kong. Back then the old airport was surrounded by buildings and planes were flying just above those buildings when landing and taking off.

Q: What is the name of the club?

A: House of Blue Leaves, a high-class Japanese club. Uma Thurman is fighting with a gang called "Crazy 88". The set was built inside Beijing Film Studio.

Q: Who is the man pulling out of his sword?

A: Sonny Chiba. He is playing Hattori Hanzo.

Q: Why there is a tractor behind Michael Jay White?

A: I don't know. But since the film was partially inspired by the old Shaw Brothers' kung-fu flicks, Quentin Tarantino might throw all kinds of old stuffs into this film. By the way, it was shot at Beijing Film Studio as well.

Q: Who is the long white beard man fighting with Uma Thurman?

A: Liu Chia-Hui (Gordon), who is playing Pei Mei. His beard, eyebrows and hair are just as fake as those of the original Pei Mei from the old Shaw Brothers' films. The scenes were shot at Qi Wang Fen (Tomb of the Seventh Prince - the seventh son of Emperor Daoguang (1840-1891)). It was used to double Pei Mei's temple and the dome like structure behind those trees is the tomb of one of the seventh prince's concubines.

Check out this KILL BILL teaser. It speaks for itself.

A website has posted a detail description of a just-under-two-minute teaser trailer for KILL BILL, written by someone anonymous:

"It opens with a shot of an airplane flying overhead. Then the music kicks in (wish I could tell you where it’s from because it does ad quite a bit to the kick-ass nature of the whole thing). Screen goes black and in big, red block letters it reads "MIRAMAX FILMS PRESENTS". Fade out. "THE 4TH FILM". Fade out. "BY QUENTIN TARINTINO". Fade out. Then you hear Quentin say "Action!" in the background as a figure wearing motorcycle leathers opens a car trunk. Quick cut to Lucy Liu walking down a hallway with what looks to be her badass entourage behind her (including pre-teen girls in sailor outfits). Cut to Uma on the back of a motorcycle riding through the streets of Japan/China. Cut to an extremely brief shot from some sort of soirée. Cut to Uma, with her back to the camera, sitting at a bar. Another card comes up; it reads: "UMA THURMAN".

End of (one fan-fucking-tastic) trailer ."

Thanks to the webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives

The Quentin Tarantino Archives just posted some pictures taken inside Beijing Film Studios They only show the small alley KILL BILL was shot, which is only a very small portion of the huge production compound. I am not sure it was built specifically for KILL BILL. I guess not. It is an exact replica of a typical alley, called Hu Tong in Chinese, from the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). Such kind of alleys can be easily found in Beijing, but are filled with many modern stuffs of cause. Hundreds of movies and TV productions have been shot on the set showing the old Beijing. Some of the most known are THE LAST EMPEROR, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. 

Thanks to Alex Ward and the webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives

The Quentin Tarantino Archives just had new update on the production of KILL BILL: shooting will last about another 9 weeks and, Quentin Tarantino and the editor Sally Menke have started editing early footage. Also, an interview with Bo Svenson, playing "The Preacher" has been posted.

Thanks to the webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives

The Flik Spot just posted four shots from the location of KILL BILL

Click here

For the most complete and the most recent update on KILL BILL, please visit this site: www.tarantino.info

Entertainment Weekly has another on-location report: click here

IMDB has the following report:

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino insisted that only one set of musicians would do for the soundtrack of his upcoming martial arts flick Kill Bill - rappers the Wu-tang Clan. The acclaimed director believes the Staten Island, New York-based rappers are among the best suited for the project, so he called a meeting with the collective's mastermind and producer Rza to perfect his ideas. Tarantino says, "The Wu-Tang Clan, their whole thing is kung fu. I had Rza over to hang out. We watched kung fu movies in my screening room and came up with ideas." The rapper, who produced the critically acclaimed score for Jim Jarmusch's 2000 neo-samurai film Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, was happy to help a fellow kung fu connoisseur. Rza explains, "We started talking about kung fu, and every movie I named, Quentin knew what it was and what was going on in it. I was like, 'Wow, I kinda met my match.'" While Rza will produce, Tarantino has asked Metallica's Lars Ulrich to help compose the score.

Thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives

Several pictures taken in Pasadena, including the exterior of a hospital.

Click here

Thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives

Time magazine Asia edition just featured an article on KILL BILL's production in Beijing with five pictures taken on the set (Click here). Meanwhile, Harry Knowles, with his inside knowledge, has told us what we are looking at on these pictures and has added two more of his own (Click here).

Thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives

Click here for day four of Harry's KILL BILL adventures

Click here for day three of Harry's KILL BILL adventures

Harry's adventures continue in Beijing. In the second report, he called The Forbidden City, the imperial palace for emperors of Ming and Qin dynasties, "the set of THE LAST EMPEROR". Harry, have you been forgetting your medication or you really don't know? Anyway, he has written down every bit of detail from his staying on the set built inside Beijing Film Studio. He said the set, a "Beijing Backlot", was used for RAISE THE RED LANTERN (not true), THE TAI CHI MASTER and many more. Harry, you forgot CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. He has met truckloads of stars for the first time - Michael Jai White, Dee Dee, Sonny Chiba, and Zhang Ziyi (Don't get excited. She was just dropping by). One more thing - both Quentin Tarantino and Yuen Wo-Ping have denied that they were fighting on the set over the choreography and Harry has found not evidence to prove that they had been fighting.

Click here for day two of Harry's KILL BILL adventures

Thanks to Sebastian Haselbeck, webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives

BTW, New York Times just featured an article on KILL BILL: click here

Thanks to Jean

Part one of Harry Knowles' visit to Beijing has been posted. He talked about how different it was between the China he was told and the China he had seen, the endless bar street, the cops who never bothered anyone, how he conquered the gazillion steps up to Pei Mei's temple, and finally how he met Quentin Tarantino and the rest... Click here

Harry from Aintitcool.com reports Liu Chia-Hui (Gordon) has replaced Quentin Tarantino as Pei Mei (White Eyebrows). The role was originally went to Yuen Wo-Ping, and then Quentin Tarantino. But QT has been overwhelmed by the enormous amount of works and finally decided to pass it to Liu Chia-Hui. As one of the legendary Liu brothers, Liu Chia-Hui has stared in around fifty films by Show Bros. He recently co-produced  DRUNKEN MONKEY with his brother Lau Kar-Leung in attempt to bring back the glory days of Show Bros.

Now Harry should already in Beijing starting his own investigation on the truth of KILL BILL and QT.

Click for the original article by Harry

More: The character Sofie Fatale will be played by Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine).

Thanks to Sebastian Haselbeck, webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives for the tip

Here is a very interesting article about how foreign studios go to China to shoot stories never set in China. Two-month shoot inside Beijing Film Studios is all for scenes set in Japan; a back lot at Shanghai Film Studios will be used to double 1942's Manila in the WWII flick THE GREAT RAID and "they will also use aerial shots of the city's colonial-era Bund to fill in for wartime Manila"; set inside Hengdian Film & TV City will be leased for a movie set in ancient Korea.

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Thanks to Phil Tong

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Thanks to Sebastian Haselbeck, webmaster of The Quentin Tarantino Archives

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Thanks to Alex Ward

The 222-page draft of KILL BILL written script by Quentin Tarantino has shown up on the net.

Click here

Thanks to Cass

Looks like yesterday's report is false. According to China's Mei Ri Xin Bao, the wrapping up date of Beijing shoot has been pushed back to September 2nd.

The paper reports Quentin Tarantino and Yuen Wo-Ping have run into argument several times over how to handle the fight scenes. Tarantino is doing the fights scenes in his own way - a kind of "music video" style, i.e. fight moves must follow some sort of "music". Tarantino has "slaughtered" many moves designed by Yuen Wo-Ping  and Yuen thought many moves designed by Tarantino were "ridiculous". Someone working inside told the paper that Tarantino was inexperienced in making martial-art movies and had under-estimated the complexity of big fight scenes. What have been made inside Beijing Film Studios are almost exclusively fight scenes. He said quite often, actors are "wired" to make the same shot over an over again. Miramax has tight control of any expense outside the budget and has asked Tarantino to delete some scenes several time.

In the movie, The Bride is taking on a gang called "Crazy 88" and members of the gang are played by many Hong Kong stuntmen and wushu athletes hired from the mainland. Much of the fight scenes of Uma Thurman are done by two doubles, one male and one female. She only shows up for the close-up scenes. Even though, they have taken a double-day off twice for the last two weeks because Uma Thurman needed some break. Everyday, there are an ambulance, there doctors and one massage therapist are standing by, just in case anyone being injured on the set.

According to China's Southern City, KILL BILL's Beijing shoot is finally over and the production has moved to Japan a few days ago. Shooting in Japan will include the remaining scenes of the now famous "Showdown at House of Blue Leaves" sequence.

A four page long review which will be updated with more tidbits of dialogue and critique in the upcoming days.

Thanks to Sprite

Script Review: KILL BILL (Positive, Massive Spoilers) by Sebastian Haselbeck

Thanks to Sebastian Haselbeck

Script Review: KILL BILL (Positive, Major Spoilers) by Spongebob Durden

Script Review: KILL BILL (Positive, Minor Spoilers) by Honest Abe

Quentin Tarantino told Harry Knowles from AICN that the one playing Go Go Yubari was Chiaki Kuriyama not Aki Maeda. Three shots of The 5,6,7,8 on the set was posted on AICN.

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China's New Daily reports KILL BILL's production in Beijing has been very slow and the producer even  suggested Quentin Tarantino to delete some scenes. They just find out making some actions scenes was harder than expected and needed more time to complete.