Cinematical

Can a director best known for bloody bullet ballets pull off a historical action epic? We'll know later this week when John Woo's Red Cliff rolls out across Asia. The film's full-length running time of more than four hours has been split in two; the first part opens in China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan on Thursday, with a release in Malaysia next week and Japan in November, according to Variety. Part two is set to debut next January.

Red Cliff, based on the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which has been adapted for television and film multiple times), is the fulfillment of a dream for Woo, who first tried to make it nearly 20 years ago. The title refers to a battle involving more than a million soldiers that brought an end to the Han Dynasty in 208 AD, resulting in the division of China into three kingdoms. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen and Lin Chiling star.

Woo has been staging elaborate action sequences for many years, but hasn't tackled a project of this scale and historical sweep before. An international version, expected to run about two and a half hours, will be completed by January. No US distributor has yet been set. To get fully caught up on this sometimes-troubled production, reportedly budgeted at $80 million, read our previous reports from February 2006, September 2006, April 2007 (1), April 2007 (2), August 2007, February 2008 (trailer), and June 2008.

The world tragically lost another stuntman Monday morning, in northern Beijing, China. 23-year-old Lu Yanqing was killed in what is being reported as a "bizarre" fire involving two boats, which were being used for John Woo's latest, the historical epic Red Cliff. Woo was actually not around at the time of the accident -- he was in Hong Kong -- and has not yet been quoted with any official statement.

Under the direction of the film's second unit, the scene that resulted in tragedy featured a small, smoking boat that was to crash into a large ancient warship. Upon collision, when machines began emitting more smoke, an unexpected flame shot up, killing the one stuntman and injuring another three (or seven) people. The exact cause of the fire is being investigated, but one report says the current theory is that "the crew might have accidentally ignited a flame that came into contact with inflammable gas on a boat, setting off the fire from which Lu was unable to escape."

A famous Hong Kong action director is in an epic frame of mind. John Woo has not yet finished his two-part historical adventure Red Cliff, due out this year, but he has his next picture all ready to go. According to Variety, Woo will direct 1949, a romantic epic written by Wang Hui-ling (co-scripter of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Lust, Caution). Rising Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger, Blood Brothers) and Korean TV babe Song Hye-key (pictured) will star.

The film begins at the end of World War II and is based on real events that took place during the final years of the Chinese Civil War, right up to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Production is scheduled to begin in December, with release planned for December 2009 -- which is the 60th anniversary of the founding of a certain republic. The announcement was made in Cannes; Fortissimo Films will handle all rights outside China.

Woo stagnated in the studio system after a trio of entertaining action films (Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Face/Off ) that were much better than comparable Hollywood flicks. Having returned to Asia to make the epic Red Cliff, Woo appears ready to continue his career with more creative freedom, in partnership with producer Terence Chang. This sounds like the kind of film he should be making, with a quality screenwriter on board and two rising stars.

Variety reports that Virgin Comics will partner with Jonathan Mostow for a feature film version of his just-published comic, The Megas. Based off an idea from Mostow about a group of elites, it is part of Virgin's Directors Cut line of comics. Mostow is perhaps best known as the director of Terminator 3, but he is in good company at Virgin. Other directors who have signed up include John Woo, Guy Ritchie, Ed Burns, and Terry Gilliam.

The story "revolves around Detective Jack Madison and his race-against-the-clock investigation to uncover secrets behind the mysterious sex-fueled suicide of a Prince in The Megas royal family. Meanwhile, the King is on his deathbed at The White Palace (yes, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!), and society is bracing for the inevitable chaos that will surely ensue once he dies." Basically, it seems to be about a corrupted ruling class and the everyman who is forced to bring them down.

There is no word yet on whether Mostow will be involved with writing the script, or directing it for that matter. Mostow already has a remake of The Swiss Family Robinson, and the sci-fi thriller The Surrogates, with Bruce Willis, lined up for 2009. If Virgin wants to get this production going any time soon, they might have to start looking for someone else to take over. The original model for the Director's Cut series was to create comics that were tailor-made for film adaptations, so I would assume that we are going to start to see a lot of Virgin comic book movies in the near future.

Wonderful as the classic family Christmas movies can be, the overwhelming sugary sweetness in most of them can be a little off-putting to adult audiences. I know my friends tend to gravitate more towards the R-rated holiday fare -- Die Hard, Bad Santa, The Ref, etc. Lord knows Hollywood doesn't want to be bothered coming up with original ideas, so I'm proposing seven remakes of Christmas family classics -- souped up for 2008 and aimed at the 17+ crowd. I've set up the plots and even suggested a possible director for each. Enjoy...

Michael Moore's A Christmas Carol

In Michael Moore's return to narrative filmmaking, George W. Bush plays with his shiny new train set, sets out cookies for Santa Claus, and falls asleep in his footie pajamas while watching Power Rangers. He is awoken in the middle of the night by The Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes Georgie through his days of frat parties, draft dodging, drunk driving, and cocaine abuse. Even faced with hard evidence, Bush denies any involvement. The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Bush deep into a post-Katrina New Orleans, where Bush cracks jokes and enjoys some caramel corn. Stunned by Bush's lack of feeling, the ghost takes him to Iraq, where he sees what Christmas is like for U.S. soldiers. Bush yawns. He is sleepy. The Ghost of Christmas Future shows Bush a world ravaged by the effects of global warming and America hated by countries all across the globe. "Not real concerned about my legacy, Future Dude" chuckles Bush, and he falls asleep safe in his bed. Bush wakes up twelve hours later, having learned absolutely nothing. As the movie ends, he runs over a homosexual couple with his truck and kicks a sick orphan in the face.

I'm actually fine with this, because who cares about Spy Hunter? Yes, I hung around enough bowling alleys when I was a kid to have played Spy Hunter many times. I remember the oil slick, the smokescreen, and that's pretty much it. It seems almost appropriate that the only person they could find to turn that into a movie is the auteur who brought us Alien vs. Predator and Resident Evil. Variety reports that in addition to directing the re-launched project for Universal, Paul Anderson will also be tackling writing duties along with another scribe. This move comes after many bumps in the road for the property -- among the writers who have already come and gone from Spy Hunter are Zak Penn, Derek Haas, Stuart Beattie and Michael Brandt. Director John Woo was also set to make a Spy Hunter film in 2004, but that deal fell through. The Rock has long been attached to play the lead role in the film, but there's currently no word on whether or not he's still on board.

Up next for Anderson is Death Race, a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000, starring Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe and David Carradine as Frankstein. Jason Stratham is currently attached to that one. Anderson is also attached to direct Man With the Football, a film about a group of terrorists who steal the President's nuclear football -- a briefcase he can use to send nukes wherever. That one actually sounds more promising to me than this Spy Hunter business -- maybe Anderson will be too busy with Spy Hunter and a good director will take over the Football project.

Usually, video games spark movies or movies spark video games. One establishes itself, gains popularity (or, at least a great marketing department) and then sends itself across other formats. Harry Potter spreads like wildfire and the games inevitably follow, especially since kids have no other way to play quidditch. Lara Croft allows lots of geekboys to shoot things, and then Angelina Jolie finds herself in a pair of short shorts. Now things a changing a bit. The latest news from The Hollywood Reporter is that John Woo has teamed up with Warren Spector (video game creator) to mould a hero and world together. As Spector describes it: "This was an attempt to create a concept that would work in, and be developed for, a variety of media simultaneously. That's something new for games -- and for movies."

The concept, called Ninja Gold, is about "a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old legacy and bloodline, forced to confront the reality of cover warfare in the modern world." Woo collaborator and producer Terrence Chang says: "The game concept is actually based on facts that the Yakuza and the Russian mob are involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa." Apparently, this whole idea came from Woo, who Spector says wanted to have some "traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting," and the duo created the cast of characters and hero, along with some basic plot lines and themes. Damn television. As I type this, I keep seeing Hiro pop into my head with his smiling face, but I don't think that's the image this team is hoping to create.

Chang is hoping to get the film into production next year, but first they've got to find someone to pen the script. As for the game -- there's no word of release dates or a publisher yet. While I'm not a ninja fiend, the idea sounds pretty cool to me. One of the problems with video game/movie adaptations these days is that you lose things when you switch between media. I would imagine that collaborating on an idea for both simultaneously will allow Woo and Spector to create a seamless jump between the big screen and our eager, game-playing fingers. What say you?

It isn't uncommon for an actor to drop completely out of a movie, but how often does it happen that an actor drops out and then is later re-cast in a different role? That seems to be what is going on with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and the Chinese epic The Battle of Red Cliff. Leung left the project a month ago claiming he didn't have time to prepare for his role (though there were other rumors), but now he's returned to the John Woo film, which has already begun shooting. Because his original part ended up going to another actor, Takeshi Kaneshiro, he is now likely attached to a different character than the one he abandoned.

The most simple speculation is that Leung is taking over for Chow Yun-Fat, who this week suddenly departed from the project, similarly claiming an inability to sufficiently prepare. For some reason Red Cliff producer Terence Chang won't specify which character Leung will play nor will he confirm that the actor is replacing Chow. The only things he will say is that all these casting changes are not affecting the shoot and that Chow's absence is not affecting the financing of the film. Hopefully more will be revealed about Leung's involvement when he arrives on set next week -- unless, of course, he drops back out. Maybe the next thing we hear will be that Ken Watanabe is back on the film, too, as a replacement for the replacement.

It made perfect sense: John Woo's return to Chinese-language cinema was to star Chow Yun-Fat, who last collaborated with the director on the Hong Kong action classic Hard Boiled. The new film (or films, as it might be too long for just one), titled The Battle of Red Cliff, is an historical war epic set in the year 208, and Chow was to play Zhou Yu, the chief strategist for the Kingdom of Wu. But Chow has just walked off the production, which has already begun shooting, and the actor and the producers have different interpretations of why he has left so abruptly.

According to Chow, his departure was due to his inability to prepare for the role; he claims he only last week received the script. Producer Terence Chang, on the other hand, says that Chow's demands were too high and that he walked because he didn't get what he wanted. The script handed to Chow last week was merely a revision to one the actor had been given last year. Another topic of conflict is Chow's salary. According to the actor, he took a pay cut and was being paid in installments. Chang says the actor was to be paid $5 million plus royalties.

Chow also pointed out that his contract followed the model he uses on Hollywood films and implied that Red Cliff's producers need to get used to the way things are done in Hollywood. As if abandoning the director who made him an international star wasn't enough, he had to go and confirm that he's now too important to go back to his roots. Of course, anyone familiar with Bulletproof Monk and Anna and the King can attest to Chow's true significance to Hollywood's audiences. Chow is now the third big name to be removed from Red Cliff; previously Ken Watanabe and Tony Leung were also involved, but each dropped out for different reasons. Anyway, if you were really dying to see another collaboration between Woo and Chow, there's always the new video game Stranglehold, which hits stores this summer.

Virgin Comics is relatively new to the comic book game. The brainchild of Richard Branson, Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth), they have a unique vision of bringing comic books with Asian myths and mystical folklore to a growing Indian youth market -- and with the typical Branson flair for business, these comics are custom made with adaptations into other mediums (film, TV, etc.) in mind. The Director's Cut series is one of Virgin's new ideas to get movie directors to create comic books; one of their first will be the John Woo series 7 Brothers, and now Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) is next on board.

There was an announcement on comic book writer Andy Diggle's blog that he will be writing Ritchie's 10-part series The Gamekeeper for Virgin. Diggle is based in the UK and has written for Batman Confidential and Green Arrow. The series, conceived by Ritchie, is about a nature-loving killer. Sounds fun, I wonder if it will be chock full of Kabballah and Cockney thugs? There aren't many publishing details yet, but considering that Ritchie will not be writing or storyboarding the illustrations, you have to wonder why they even bothered calling it a Guy Ritchie comic in the first place. I guess they'll give him a call when they do the movie version.

[via Film Ick]

Related Ritchie:

Guy Ritchie's Career Not Dead Yet

The last we heard about John Woo's long-simmering The Battle of Red Cliff was back in February, at which point there were rumors that it actually might be moving forward. And now, a mere seven months later, the project finally has financing lined up, a cast in place, and a confirmed start date. Woo (if you will) hoo! For those of you who have forgotten, the movie is based on a classic Chinese novel, and tells the true story of "the final days of the Han Dynasty in the year 208, ... [covering] the war that established the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three rulers." The central battle of that war took place, as you might have guessed, at Red Cliffs, and involved as many as a million soldiers. Damn.

Surprisingly, the mutterings about the cast have turned out to be mostly true: This morning's Variety reports that the film will star frequent Woo collaborator (back in the Hong Kong days) Chow Yun-Fat, as well as Ken Watanabe, Tony Leung and Lin Chi-Ling, who apparently is a Taiwanese model. The IMDb also lists Andy Lau in the cast, but his presence is unconfirmed.

Production is expected to begin next March, with release planned for early 2008.

Welcome back to the never-ending saga of bringing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe back to the big screen. When we last left our intrepid hero, it looked like he was doomed to yet another slide back into Nowheresville after John Woo (the man presumed to be behind the most recent attempt to bring He-Man back) declared he had no interest in the project. Honestly, at this point I just shrugged my shoulders and forgot about it, because a He-Man movie, while sorta cool, is not really high on my priorities list. If it happened, I'd happily watch it ... but I don't care if it continues to not exist.

Nonetheless, the He-Man movie rumors have roared to life yet again in an outright refusal to die. The Gossip Monkey over at Moviehole: "John Woo paces out of Spy Hunter AND He-Man? Only kinda true. He was never going to direct He-Man, and he is been off Spy-Hunter for a while now." Apparently the game is still on, with script work being done by Adam Rifkin. It may not happen particularly soon, but as for now at least it is still moving forward.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: It always amazes me where some movie news comes from and how fast said news travels around the internet. According to CanMag.com via a tip from a guy named "Black Belt Hopeful," two of director John Woo's upcoming projects have been shelved ... for now.

Supposedly the tipster was working out alongside a casting agent in his karate class when he was told Woo's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run projects are no longer moving ahead as planned. Now, we're not sure if one led to the other or if both happened at the same time but, apparently, the studio got cold feet and John Woo decided to pursue other projects (see: The Battle of Red Cliff and The Red Circle).

Not long after the story broke, Spy Hunter producer Adrian Askarieh popped in to Coming Soon and let folks know the film was indeed alive and well, saying Woo had been off the project for more than a year. Askarieh also noted they're real close to attaching a new writer/director, with an announcement expected soon. Right now, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is still signed on to play the lead role in the film.

As far as He-Man goes, well, that one is up in the air. Everyone from Paul Walker to professional wrestler Triple H were reported to have been up for the role of 80's superhero. Personally, I could do without another He-Man flick. Besides the fact that it does not, at all, seem like John Woo material, the last He-Man film was, well, bad. Real bad. As bad as they come. On the other hand, a Spy Hunter movie sounds cool, so I'm happy to hear its still got legs. 

[via AICN]

A whole lot has happened to Hong Kong action director Johnnie To in the past 24 hours, and the likelihood is that he didn't even notice. To start things off, a small item appeared in a Hong Kong tabloid yesterday, announcing that To was going to direct a remake of John Woo's seminal Hard-Boiled. In the US. With its original star, Chow Yun-Fat, on board. Needless to say, certain Asian-film-loving corners of the internet erupted in a vivid mixture of disgust and disbelief. But, before anyone even had a chance to get really worked up, To's denial to the Hong Kong Sun was reported everywhere this morning (he also took the opportunity to make it clear that he's considering lots and lots of projects in Hollywood, thanks very much). So it's all cleared up, right?

Not so fast. It turns out that the quotes in the Chinese-language Sun actually came from an assistant, not from To himself. Not only that, but the assistant ended his statement with what is surely one of the top 10 most cryptic "denials" in film history: "There are still no answers about those questions: when will the Hard-Boiled remake begin filming, which US actor will star in the Hard-Boiled remake, which company will finance the Hard Boiled remake...Because the script of the Hard-Boiled remake is still not finished." Got it. So it's not happening, the non-script isn't done, and the non-movie isn't cast yet. Er, what?

First reports of John Woo's The Battle of the Red Cliff surfaced as much as 18 months ago, and details have been few and far between since then - in fact, some have wondered if, like a lot other announced Woo projects, this one might never advance beyond the discussion stages.

Based on a portion of a 14th century novel about a real-life battle in 208AD (got that?) involving over a million soldiers, the story of the film is wildly complicated. To sum up, "During the battle the joint force of two warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated the much stronger invading army led by warlord Cao Cao. Shortly after the battle, the Han dynasty officially ended and China split to three kingdoms." Needless to say, there are a whole lot of details not included there, and Woo claimed from the very beginning that the movie would be sprawling and expensive; current speculation puts the budget at about $50 million, which would make it the most expensive film ever produced on the Chinese mainland.

The fact that the movie was originally slated to shoot last year makes it hard to believe any start dates at this point, but a target of September 2006 has been pretty consistent as of late, so the production just might finally be getting off the ground. There is also a fleet of stars supposedly in negotiations to appear in the film, among them Chow yun-Fat, Tony Leung (the one from Chungking Express and 2046, not the other one), and Ken Watanabe. Man, if this movie ever comes out, I am so there.

[via Twitch]