Photos of Taiwan's "Number One Beauty" Chiling Lin in costume as the major female lead character Xiao Qiao in John Woo's epic movie Red Cliff have been released recently and it seems that reactions to her "new look" in the film have generally been pretty good.
Here are the photos of Lin Chiling as Xiao Qiao: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/28/content_6807931.htm
My take: She exudes a classic beauty and looks really demure but still... I feel that she looks like she belongs in a Japanese Samurai-era movie instead of an ancient Chinese historical pic... Hey, but what do I know maybe that is exactly how Chinese women in that period should look like ;-P For a picture of how she looks like in modern day clothing and some background info on the movie, click here.
And here are some candid camera moments of the other actors in costume on the set of the movie:
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2007-08-08/12081668206.shtml
3rd picture from the top: Tony Leung - last seen in Lust, Caution, as General Zhou Yu (the pic only shows him with the hairpiece :-P wonder how he looks like in full costume...) and
4th picture: Hu Jun as Zhao Yun
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/p/2007-08-08/12021668195.shtml
1st picture from the top: You Yong as Liu Bei,
2nd picture: Guan Yu, 3rd picture: Zhang Fei
(Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were major characters in the saga of the The Three Kingdoms but it seems that they may not play such a big role in John Woo's Red Cliff...?)
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2007-08-08/13191668321.shtml
A series of pictures of Vicky Zhao Wei as Sun Shang Xiang (clicking on each of the pics opens up a bigger image). Hmm, she looks pretty manly...
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2007-08-08/12121668209.shtml
Hou Yong as Lu Xiao (3rd and 4th picture from the top)
Interesting...
Filming for the move is still ongoing and the movie is set to be released in July 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Technorati tags: Red Cliff, John Woo, Tony Leung, Chinese historical movie, Three Kingdoms, Chiling Lin, Vicky Zhao.
Characters In Costume On John Woo's Red Cliff
A Behind The Scenes Look At The Making Of A Chinese Gongfu Drama Series
I found this interesting clip on the Chinese video site Tudou.com that shows a behind the scenes look at the making of the latest Jin Yong (Louis Cha) remake - Legend Of The Condor Heroes starring Hu Ge and Ariel Lin Yi Chen.
Although the 15-minute clip is in Chinese with no English subtitles, it is still a really interesting video clip that is worth watching as it shows how incredibly difficult it is to make a gongfu drama serial in China and the sacrifices that the actors have to go through while filming.
The first half shows mostly some scenes from the drama and the actors talking about their roles but the most interesting parts are in the second half of the video - there are scenes of the actors strapped to wire harnesses rehersing their gongfu sequences, having their wigs and shoes fall off while somersaulting in mid-air (quite funny actually ;-P), cycling like crazy to build up their physical stamina, and filming in scorching hot summer temperatures outdoor.
Wow... after watching this, I have even more respect for the actors who act in such dramas and the whole process of making a martial arts period drama...
The link to the video clip: here
Till next time :-)
Technorati tags: Legend Of The Condor Heroes, Condor Heroes, LOCH, period dramas, costume dramas, gongfu dramas, drama serial, Chinese drama series, Hu Ge, Ariel Lin.
Lust, Caution Wins The Golden Lion!
This just in, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution has won the coveted Golden Lion for Best Film award at the 64th Venice Film Festival. This is the second time that Ang Lee has taken home the Golden Lion after Brokeback Mountain in 2005. Lust, Caution also won the Osella for Best Cinematography award.
Congratulations to Ang Lee!
It seems that films from East Asia are truly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the international film circuit, last year's winner - mainland Chinese movie Still Life directed by Jia Zhangke, was also made in East Asia...
For a full list of the winners, check out this site.
And check out the trailer for Lust, Caution from Youtube.
Technorati tags: Ang Lee, Golden Lion, Lust, Caution, Venice Film Festival, Tony Leung, Tang Wei, Wang Lee Hom, Joan Chen.
