Casting problems on the set of the in-production mega Chinese movie Battle Of The Red Cliff (赤壁) seem almost as exciting and unpredictable as the plot of the film itself.
The latest news is that Tony Leung Chiu Wai has rejoined the cast and may be taking over Chow Yun-Fatt's role of Zhou Yu after Chow left the cast last week. Leung was originally slated to play Zhuge Liang but his role was handed over to Takeshi Kaneshiro when he quit early this year.
The latest cast as per news reports:
Tony Leung as Zhou Yu (?)
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang
Hu Jun as Zhao Yun
Zhang Fengyi as baddie Cao Cao
You Yong as Liu Bei
Chang Chen as Sun Quan
Chiling Lin as ancient hot babe Xiao Qiao
Vicky Zhao Wei as Sun Shang Xiang
Zhang Jing Chu as Da Qiao
This John Woo film will be divided into two parts, with the first part scheduled to be released before the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the second part at the end of 2008.
Hmm... hopefully the casting troubles will not affect the film too adversely...
Good luck to John Woo :-)
Also, check out this site below (in Chinese) for some nice pics of the cast and the characters in the movie: http://ent.tom.com/movie/f/chibi.html
And for some background info on the movie, check out my previous blog post here.
[information from articles in the following sites:
http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1294807.php/Tony_Leung_rejoins_Woos_The_Battle_of_Red_Cliff’_ http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/04/17/chow-yun-fat-drops-john-woos-battle-of-red-cliff/
http://ent.tom.com/movie/f/chibi.html]
Tags: Battle Of The Red Cliff, Chi Bi, John Woo, Chow Yun Fatt, Tony Leung, Lin Chiling, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chinese Movie, Chinese Film, Historical Movie.
Casting Troubles At The Red Cliff
The Two Versions Of Hwang Jin Yi
Korea's legendary gisaeng Hwang Jin Yi or Hwang Jini is moving from the small screen to the big screen this June. While the TV drama serial had Ha Ji Won (top pic) playing the beautiful and talented 16th century gisaeng (female entertainer), the movie will star sweetie pie Song Hye Kyo (bottom pic) in the title role.
It is certainly going to be a challenging role for Song as prior to this movie her roles have mostly been female leads in romantic comedies (e.g. Full House) or dramas that had relatively straightforward story lines and not all that much character development. But she will certainly need to exercise her acting chops this time round as Hwang Jini was a complex character and had a dramatic life story. Ha Ji Won managed to win the prestigious KBS Acting Awards' Dae Sang with her portrayal of Hwang Jin Yi.
Who will be the more memorable Hwang Jin Yi? Well, its too early to say as the movie is not out yet but I managed to find the trailer for Song Hye Kyo's Hwang Jini on You Tube and you can judge for yourself. Enjoy the trailer and watch out for the movie :-)
[Pictures from YesAsia and http://yummycelebrities.com/2007/03/01/song-hye-kyo-finished-filming-hwang-jin-i/]
Tags: Hwang Jin Yi, Hwang Jini, Korean Movie, Song Hye Kyo, Ha Ji Won, Korean Drama Serial.
The Host Wins Big At Asian Film Awards
The South Korean hit monster movie The Host
Best Director went to Jia Zhangke for his work in Still Life (which won the Golden Lion at the 2006 Venice Film Festival). And Nakatani Miki took home the Best Actress award for her role as a hopeless romantic in Memories of Matsuko.
And here is an interesting article on the goings on at the festival which was attended by superstars like Rain and Michelle Yeoh and director Luc Besson:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/179037.asp ;-)
Tags: Asian Film Awards, The Host, Still Life, Memories Of Matsuko, Rain, Nakatani Miki.
Endless Remakes of Louis Cha's Novels ... Sigh...
When I found out that there will be another remake of the swordfighting novel Legend Of The Condor Heroes (LOCH) by Louis Cha or Jin Yong, I shook my head in disbelief. Why? Because the novel was adapted into a 40+ episode mainland drama serial starring Li Ya Peng and Zhou Xun (of Perhaps Love fame) in 2003, just 4 years ago! And it was also made into drama serials in 1994 (with Athena Chu and Julian Cheung), in 1982 (with Barbara Yung and Felix Wong) and a long time ago in 1976 (with Michelle Yim in the title role of Wong Yung or Huang Rong).
A total of 5 times if I include the current remake which stars mainland actor Hu Ge as Guo Jing and Taiwanese sweetie pie Ariel Lin as Huang Rong, and this is not counting the movie and anime adaptations :-P
In fact, not only LOCH, practically all of Jin Yong's novels have been remade numerous times.
Actually I cannot understand why the directors and TV stations keep remaking the same novels time and time again, don't they understand the law of diminishing returns? I know a good story is hard to come by but I am not sure if viewers like to watch the same story over and over again...
Anyway, here are pics of the the latest incarnation of the main characters of LOCH, the super smart Huang Rong (Ariel Lin) and the dumb but upright Guo Jing (Hu Ge).
[pictures from spcnet forum: http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=15272&page=1&pp=20]
Tags: Chinese drama serial, swordfighting drama series, condor heroes, LOCH, gongfu drama, Jin Yong, Louis Cha, Wuxia.
Clip From The Departed's Asian Cousin - Infernal Affairs
After watching Oscar Best Picture The Departed a few days ago, I can't help but notice the striking similarities between this movie and the Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs. But of course they are similar -The Departed is an adaptation of Infernal Affairs. Silly me haha.
I think The Departed is a really fantastic movie but since I watched it after I watched Infernal Affairs, the remake can never really match up to the original... Because while I was watching Leonardo DiCaprio acting as the undercover cop, I was thinking of Tony Leung and while I was watching Matt Damon, I can't help comparing him with Andy Lau... Especially in the second half of the movie when many of the scenes were so similar.
For example, this scene (one of the most powerful moments in the movie) that I found from Youtube:
Remember how it was shot in The Departed? I actually preferred this version over the one in The Departed, somehow I just felt more pathos here especially with the great background score and the flashbacks.
Enjoy the clip. And watch Infernal Affairs if you have not done so, it really is a great movie :-)
Technorati tags: The Departed, Infernal Affairs, Best Picture, Oscar, Academy Award, Hong Kong movie, Tony Leung.
Asian Films In 57th Berlin Film Festival
Five movies from East Asia won awards in the 57th Berlin Film Festival held from February 8 to February 17 this year. Most notable being Tuya's Marraige or Tuya's Wedding (图雅的婚事) by director Wang Quan-an and starring Chinese actress Yu Nan in the title role which won the most prestigious Golden Bear For Best Film Award. This movie looks really good and I hope that I will have a chance to watch it soon... You can find screen shots from the movie and Yu Nan and director Wang Quan-an at the Berlinale here.
Other East Asian films that won awards included:
South Korean film I'm A Cyborg But That's OK by director Park Chan-Wook and starring superstar Rain won the Alfred Bauer Prize (awarded to the most innovative film). Here's the trailer (unfortunately no subtitles) from Youtube (definitely looks like a quirky movie...):
Taiwanese film Spider Lilies (刺青) by director Zero Zhou Mei-ling and starring teen idols Rainie Yang & Isabella Leung won the Teddy Award for Feature Film. You can find a rather interesting short 3-minute clip of the movie with English subtitles here.
Hong Kong /China film Getting Home (落叶归根) by director Zhang Yang won the Ecumenical Jury Panorama Prize. Screen shots of the movie can be found here.
Japanese film Faces of A Fig Tree (Ichijiku no kao 無花果の顔) by director Momoi Kaori won the NETPAC Prize. You can find the official website of the movie here (in Japanese).
One thing that I noticed was that many of the expensive big-budgeted movies from China like Curse Of The Golden Flower and The Banquet were conspicuously absent from many prestigious award ceremonies (including the upcoming Oscars). Hmmm maybe this should signal something to the directors and producers there that its still the story that counts in a film and not the bombastic effects and lavish costumes ...
Tags: Berlin Film Festival, Berlin Film Awards, Berlinale, Golden Bear, Tuya's Marraige, Tuya's Wedding, East Asian Films, I'm A Cyborg But That's OK, Rain, Spider Lilies, Rainie Yang, Isabella Leung, Getting Home, Faces Of A Fig Tree.
From Manga To Idol Drama
Japanese anime and manga have always been extremely popular in East Asia, especially Taiwan and Hong Kong. Popular manga titles in Japanese have been known to fly off the shelves of bookstores faster than books published by local authors in the local language. Many people flock to language schools to learn Japanese for the sole purpose of reading untranslated manga and watching Japanese anime and drama. In fact, I personally feel that anime and manga have a greater cultural impact in East Asia than cartoons from Disney or Warner Bros.
Especially in Taiwan, the Japanese love of all things "kawaii" (cute) have so successfully taken root that many of the pop stars or actresses that have became famous in the last 4 to 5 years look very much like shojo manga (young girl's manga) characters themselves - big round eyes, long hair, peachy complexions, super sweet smiles and slim girlish figures... Classic examples include Jolin Tsai, Cyndi Wang and Rainie Yang...
Adaptations of popular Japanese manga into Taiwanese "idol" dramas are also extremely common. The only "localization" done is usually that the setting of the story is changed to Taipei instead of Tokyo. The names of the characters are more often than not the same... even if the Japanese names sound strange in Chinese. A good example is Meteor Garden's "Dao Ming Si", in the Taiwanese adaptation, the character's surname becomes "Dao Ming" and his given name becomes "Ah Si" which is a direct translation of the character's surname Domyoji in the manga.
Examples of manga that have been made into Taiwanese idol dramas include:
Meteor Garden 流星花園 (2001)
Based on manga Hana Yori Dango
Starring Barbie Hsu and pop group F4 (Jerry Yen, Vic Zhou, Ken Zhu and Vanness Wu)
Peach Girl 蜜桃女孩 (2002)
Based on manga Peach Girl
Starring Annie Wu and Vanness Wu
Marmalade Boy 橘子醬男孩 (2002)
Based on manga Marmalade Boy
Starring Stella Huang Xiangyi and Ken Zhu
The Rose 薔薇之戀 (2003)
Based on manga Bara No Tame Ni (薔薇のために) by Yoshimura Akemi
Starring Ella (from pop group S.H.E), Zheng Yuan Chang and Jerry Huang
Mars 戰神 (2004)
Based on manga Mars
Starring Vic Zhou and Barbie Hsu
It Started With A Kiss 惡作劇之吻 (2005)
Based on manga Itazura Na Kiss (イタズラなKiss) by Kaoru Tada
Starring Ariel Lin Yichen and Joe Cheng
Devil Beside You 惡魔在身邊 (2005)
Based on manga Akuma de Soro
Starring Rainie Yang and Mike He
Tokyo Juliet 東方茱麗葉 (2006)
Based on manga Tokyo Juliet
Hanazakarino Kimitachihe 花樣少年少女 (2006/07) (picture)
Based on manga Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Starring Ella (S.H.E), Wu Zun and Jiro Wang
As you can see, creating idol dramas based on manga is really common. One reason could be that the ratings for such dramas are usually pretty good as there exists a ready audience from fans of the popular manga and also because the boy-girl relationship issues in manga suit the Taiwanese idol drama genre to a tee.
So... expect more such manga/anime based drama serials in the years to come...
Tags: idol drama, Taiwanese drama, Chinese drama series, drama serial, manga, anime, shojo manga
Goong Theme Song From Radio.Blog.Club
Just a short post...
I know I am really slow in catching up with things :-P but its only today that I came across a really great website Radio.Blog.Club that has lots of music from East Asian movies and TV dramas. Just click on the Play button below and you will hear one of the theme songs from popular Korean drama Goong that is from this website (a personal favorite of mine).
Will be back with more substantial posts soon :O)
Cheers!
Tags: Goong, princess hours, theme song, soundtrack, korean drama, drama serial, drama series, radio blog club.
Curse Of The Golden Flower - My Thoughts
Just watched Curse Of The Golden Flower... Well what can I say, the sets and costumes were truly made of "gold", practically everyone and everything were nicely color coordinated BUT I admit that I don't like the movie that much...
Why? Actually I don't really know why just that at some places where I am supposed to be terrified or touched I just had the urge to laugh instead. Its not that the acting was bad, on the contrary it was really good for the most parts (Chow Yun-Fatt and Gong Li were truly amazing). But the movie just feels emotionally empty. Most of the time I was admiring the actors' clothes and the lovely scenery instead of being focused on what the actors were actually saying.
But still ... although the sets and costumes look gorgeous, I kept thinking that the palace looks more like some swanky Vegas casino hotel since everything was so bright and shiny, honestly I did not know that the Tang dynasty had spotlights haha. And not forgetting the "unbelievably" buxomy palace maids. Whew... how can any guy (even eunuchs!) work in a place like that without going a little ... :-P In other words, I think in trying to create a gorgeous and elaborate palace setting, the director seemed to have forgotten that a touch of realism would have helped a lot.
And the storyline... the familial breakdown and the violence that ensued could have made for a impactful and absorbing story .. if only it was handled a little better. I felt that more scenes should be given to explaining what the main characters were feeling and how the events happened instead of focusing so much on the scenes of the palace staff getting ready for the day etc... although these scenes were interesting too in their own way... seeing how efficient the palace staff were really puts me to shame ;-)
All in all, I feel that the movie is worth watching for 3 things: the costumes, the sets and Chow Yun-Fatt's and Gong Li's superb acting.
Tags: Curse Of The Golden Flower, Chinese Movie, Zhang Yi-Mou, Chow Yun-Fatt, Gong Li, Jay Chou.
Curse Of The Golden Flower Makes It To Time Magazine's 10 Best Films Of 2006
The Chinese hit movie Curse Of The Golden Flower has made it into Time Magazine's 10 Best Films of 2006 sharing the honour with prestigious films like Borat and Letters from Iwo Jima. It is the only Asian film to have made it to this prestigious list.
However, reviews for the movie have been mixed. The movie only managed to obtain a 57% rating in the Rotten Tomatoes critic ratings. This is very much lower than other recent Zhang Yimou movies with similar themes like House of Flying Daggers
The harsh reviews did not seem to have any adverse effect on the movie's box office though... Golden Flower broke the opening week box office record previously set by super blockbuster Titanic in China. Till date, its box-office takings in China alone have exceeded the $200 million renminbi (approximately US$13 million) mark and the movie also performed above expectations in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
I have not watched the movie yet.. will post my thoughts on the movie here once I have watched it. Check out my earlier post for more interesting info on this hotly debated film of the moment.
Tags: Curse Of The Golden Flower, Chinese Movie, Zhang Yi-Mou, Chow Yun-Fatt, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Time Magazine, Best Film, Time Best Films Of 2006.
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Golden Horse & Asia-Pacific Film Festival Awards
Two major film award ceremonies for Asian films have just been held over the last 2 days in Taipei, Taiwan - The Golden Horse Awards and the Asia Pacific Film Festival Awards.
Hong Kong films again reigned at the 43rd Golden Horse Awards, which some regard as the Chinese language equivalent of the Oscars - After This Our Exile (父子) from Hong Kong took home the Best Picture award. The movie's lead actor, Aaron Kwok, won the Best Actor award the 2nd time in a row for his portrayal of an abusive single parent. Nine-year old Goum Ian Iskandar, who played Aaron's son in the film became the youngest winner of a Golden Horse Best Supporting Actor Award.
The hugely popular muscial Perhaps Love (also from Hong Kong) won 4 awards - Best Director (Peter Chan), Best Actress (Zhou Xun), Best Cinematography and Best Original Film Song.
The mainland Chinese film Crazy Stone (a personal favorite of mine) won the Best Original Screenplay award.
Check out the videos of the ceremony here (videos are in Mandarin):
Best Picture (presented by John Woo and Takeshi Kanshiro): http://www.im.tv/vlog/personal/452795/853619
Best Actor (presented by Chang Chen [who was nominated for Best Actor but unfortunately the film he was nominated for The Go Master was withdrawn at the last minute] & Karen Mok): http://www.im.tv/vlog/personal/452795/853611
Best Actress (presented by Aaron Kwok and Charlie Young): http://www.im.tv/vlog/personal/452795/853607
Over at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival, South Korean films reigned supreme, winning 6 awards in total. However, the Best Feature Film award went to Iranian film The Unwanted Woman, which also won the Best Director (Tahimeh Milani) and Best Screenplay awards.
15-year old South Korean actor Lee Jae-eung won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a teenager's growing up pains in Bravo, My Life. Son Ye-jin took home the Best Actress award for her role in April Snow (which also starred South Korean mega hunk Bae Yong-jun). And South Korean box-office champ The Host clinched 3 awards as well for Best Supporting Actor (Byun Hee-bong), Best Sound Effects and Best Editing.
Congragulations to all the winners :-)
[Compiled from news articles: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/detail.asp?ID=96083&GRP=B, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-11/26/content_742945.htm, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/243523/1/.html]
Tags: Golden Horse Awards, Asia-Pacific Film Festival, Hong Kong Films, Chinese Films, Movie Awards, Asian Films, Aaron Kwok, Zhou Xun, Perhaps Love, After This Our Exile, The Host, April Snow, Son Ye-Jin, Bravo My Life, The Unwanted Woman, South Korean Movies.
My Thoughts On Made-In-Japan Horror Movies
The release of The Grudge 2 recently made me realise what an impact Japanese horror movies have made on the horror movie genre this last decade or so.
When Ringu
But when The Ring
Actually I feel that the Japanese approach to horror movies is very different from Hollywood. There is usually very little special effects if you compare it with horror films from Hollywood but there is always a sense that something mysterious and terrifying is lurking beneath the surface. The atmosphere is almost always very still and quiet, with a minimum of dialogue which makes the horror, when it comes, even more shocking and unexpected.
When I first watched The Ring at the cinema, I had such a shock from the infamous TV scene that I left the cinema shivering with fright. And I was actually worried that something will happen to me on the seventh day :-P Some people even shifted their TV sets out of their bedroom after watching the film... haha...
However, with more and more directors churning out Ringu style horror movies like a production line, I feel that the quality of horror movies these days have really fallen tremendously. For me, even Hollywood remakes of movies like The Ring and Ju-on really cannot compare to the original versions. I guess movie goers are tired of seeing the same techniques being used again and again... Could a horror movie slump be on the horizon again?
Technorati tags: horror movie, scary movie, Japanese movie, Japanese film, The Ring, Ringu, Ju-on, The Grudge, The Grudge 2.
Princess Hours - Goong
After watching the very popular Korean drama Princess Hours (Goong), I can't help but think that this drama series was created for maximum viewer ratings because it caters to both viewers who like historical drama serials like Dae Jang Geum (with its palace intrigues) and viewers who are into trendy modern comedies like My Girl or My Lovely Samsoon (complete with a spunky and cute heroine in tow).
Princess Hours, which recreates a fictional modern Korean monarchy has some of the most beautiful costumes and elaborately built sets that I have seen in an Asian drama series. It is one of the most expensive Korean drama serials ever produced, the production cost for each episode is 230 million won (about US$245,000)!
The gamble paid off handsomely for the producers as Goong performed very well, garnering almost 30% in viewer ratings when it was shown in South Korea at the beginning of this year. It was so popular that a sequel of sorts Goong 2 (Prince Hours) is currently being made but unfortunately none of the 4 major characters in Goong will be appearing in the sequel.
Although Princess Hours was based on a South Korean comic book series, to a certain extent the story reminded me of another extremely popular Chinese drama serial that was shown a couple of years ago - Princess Returning Pearl or Huan Zhu Ge Ge. The character of Shin Chae-gyung (played by Yoon Eun-hye) resembled very closely the personality of Xiao Yan-zi (played by Zhao Wei). Both characters were lively and mischievious teenagers who entered the repressed and dreary royal palace by a twist of fate but somehow not only survived the experience but even brought a breath of fresh air into the stifling environment in the palace.
It also made major stars out of the 4 fresh-faced youths who played the main characters in the drama: Yoon Eun-hye (Shin Chae-gyung), Joo Ji-hoon (Crown Prince Lee Shin), Song Ji Hyo (Min Hyo-rin) and Kim Jeong-hoon (Prince Lee Yul). Even Prince Lee Shin's best friend "Alfred" the teddy bear (see picture) has become a hit :0)
This is definitely a drama that is well worth watching.... Although the storyline is a bit too fairy-tale like and unrealistic, the effort that was put into creating the show is nothing short of spectacular and the chemistry between the 4 lead actors is also a major attraction!
Tags: Princess Hours, Goong, Palace, Korean Drama Series, Drama Serial, Korean Mini Series, Princess Returing Pearl, Huan Zhu Ge Ge.
Curse Of The Golden Flower Is Really Made Of Gold
The new Zhang Yi Mou movie Curse Of The Golden Flower which stars Chow Yun-Fatt and Gong Li is proving to be as expensive as gold...
With a budget of US$45 million - equivalent to about 2430 kg (5350 pounds) of gold - it is the most expensive movie ever made in the history of Chinese cinema.
Even the actors' costumes are as heavy as "gold", the "dragon suits" of the Emporer (Chow Yun-Fatt) and Empress (Gong Li) are about 36kilograms or 79 pounds respectively. However, they still don't have it so bad... because the Prince's (pop-star Jay Chou) costume armor is over 100 pounds (46kg), about the weight of a very slim lady :-P I wonder how anyone can move with that kind of weight on their body, much less go into battle ....
However, although the movie seems to be made of gold, it still remains to be seen if the box office will also turn out to be a golden feast although it looks likely as the other much talked about and similarly lavish Chinese period movie, The Banquet, starring Zhang Ziyi, had a sparkling run at the Chinese box-office.
Curse Of The Golden Flower will be released worldwide around Christmas.
[Information derived from http://news.yam.com/udn/entertain/200610/20061013438417.html, http://english.people.com.cn/200610/06/eng20061006_309302.html]
Tags: Curse Of The Golden Flower, Chinese Movie, Zhang Yi-Mou, Chow Yun-Fatt, Gong Li.
Heroines In Modern Korean TV Dramas
When the Korean Wave first exploded from 2001 to 2003, the heroines in the most popular dramas during that period were usually sweet and gentle girl-next-door types that somehow had extremely tragic destinies. However, they still maintained their sweet smiles and stoic optimisim even in the most difficult circumstances, which of course made the situation look even more tragic in the audience's eye. Classic examples include Eun-Suh (played by Song Hye-Gyo) from Autumn In My Heart AKA Endless Love, Yun-Hee (Kim Hyun-Ju) from Glass Slippers and Han Jung-Suh (Choi Ji-Woo) from Stairway To Heaven. If you want to enjoy a good cry, try watching these dramas, especially Autumn :-P
The success of these light-hearted dramas in terms of ratings showed that perhaps this is the road to TV drama land success for Korean drama serials at the moment. However, who knows, there may come a time in the near future when weepy dramas launch a comeback with a new vengence haha....
Technorati Tags: Korean Drama, TV Drama, Korean Drama Serials, Modern Korean Drama.
South Korean Blockbuster The Host
Just watched the South Korean blockbuster The Host (Goemul),- the movie that is currently the highest grossing movie in South Korea of all time with 12.3 million tickets sold in South Korea alone.
Its a really exciting film that brings to mind other monster movies like Jaws and Godzilla, especially in the opening scences when we see the beachgoers running frantically away from the horrific river monster that suddenly appears on the banks of the Han River.
But The Host is not a normal Hollywood style monster movie, as the movie progresses, you realise that the director (Bong Joon-ho) is not trying to convey a simple story of how an ordinary family overcome tremendous odds to rescue a little girl captured by the monster... in fact the movie is a satire on the selfishness of ordinary people and the inefficiencies and gross corruption of the authorities during emergency situations. Besides the captured girl's immediate family, everyone else in the movie behaved in a most deplorable manner...
Telling examples include the scenes when bystanders (or reporters?) start snapping pictures of the family grieving for the little girl at the mass funeral or the scences when the ex-classmates of the uncle of the little girl try to capture him to collect the bounty that the authorities have placed on the family.
But, the human-like fobiles of the family's heroic attempts to save the girl brings a tear to my eyes... and provide an added dose of realism to the film, as the protagonists do not suddenly turn into superheroes when faced with danger... unlike Hollywood movies of the same ilk.
However, some parts of the movie were not explained at all, like why in the world is the mutant monster bringing human beings to its sewer lair? Why doesn't it just gobble them up? Is it in fact lonely for company or it is a one-monster cleaning crew trying to clean the river of the pollutants in the river, of which humans are a part?
Check out the great trailer from Youtube:
[Picture from http://www.solaceincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/hostt_poster.jpg]
Tags: The Host, Korean Movie, Asian Blockbuster, Asian Movie, Monster Movie.Chinese Film Still Life Wins Golden Lion!
Curse of The Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower looks like its going to be a hit when it has its worldwide release in Chirstmas this year :-) This Zhang Yimou movie stars Chow Yun-Fatt, Gong Li, Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou and Liu Ye.
Check out the trailer from Youtube:
Another (longer) version of the trailer can be found on the Official Site.
Tags: Curse of The Golden Flower, Zhang Yi Mou, Chow Yun-Fatt, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Chinese Movie, December Movies.
Battle of the Red Cliff All Set for 2009 Oscars
The highly anticipated historical movie Battle of the Red Cliff (赤壁) will begin principal shooting next March and its planned world-wide release will be just 3 weeks before the Beijing Olympics in 2008! The Chinese mainland regards this movie as the most important Chinese film during the next 3 years and an Oscar contender for 2009!
The confirmed cast include Chow Yun-Fatt as Sun Yu, Lin Chi-Ling as Xiao Qiao and Tony Leung as Zhuge Liang. And it will be directed by John Woo.
Wow, this movie is set to become an epic! I am pretty sure the producers and the Chinese authorities will be putting in much resources to ensure its success so it should really be a visual feast when its shown :-)
More info about the movie can be found in my earlier post here.
[Info from news article http://times.hinet.net/news/20060828/entertainment/ab3d647a61c7.htm]
Tags: Chinese Movie, Battle of The Red Cliff, Chi Bi, John Woo.
