We've reported a couple of times here about an intriguing-sounding, unnamed collaboration between Hong Kong superstars Johnnie To, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam. Referred to as a "puzzle film," the movie is expected to be a 90 minute crime feature, with 30 minutes directed by each man, based on what has occurred in the previous section (there is not a screenplay for the film; each bit is being made independently, according to the desires and ideas of its director).

A couple of weeks ago it was revealed to the surprised of no one that To's long-time collaborator Simon Yam would star in his segment, and now further details about the film are starting to leak out. Though no cast members apart from Yam have been confirmed, it's expected that Louis Koo, Kelly Lin and Sun Honglei will also star in one or more segment. In addition, the film -- currently called Triangle -- now has a vague plotline from which Hark, who is at the helm of the first segment, will work. According to people at Twitch who can read the Chinese media, the film will start with "a few guys with little money and a lot to worry about [who] gather together to chat about how to get rich. Then a mysterious man sitting in the same room approaches them with a treasure map. ... To get their hand on the treasure, the map is only the first of a series puzzles they have to solve."

Frustratingly, there's still no reliable info available about shooting or release dates. Rest assured, however, that whether you like it or not, we'll let you know when those details emerge.

Well, hell. I've been all excited (and, hopefully, the few of you interested in Hong Kong film have, as well) about the fact that Simon Yam is part of the ever-expanding cast for Olivier Assayas' multi-cultural Boarding Gate, and now it turns out that Yam isn't going to be able to do the film. Which, you know, sort of sucks. The good news, though, is that Yam pulled out of the project because he's committed to playing a part in Johnnie To, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam's "puzzle film." In case you've forgotten, the film will be directed in thirds, with each section being completed before the next is made. The three will reportedly tell a single story, but each director will have to write his segment based on what the director before him does with his own piece -- for example, if Hark, who is going first, kills off his main character at the end of his segment, To, who comes next, will have to come up with a way to deal with that event.

As a frequent collaborator with To, Yam apparently felt he had to make the puzzle film a priority (plus, it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun); because it was likely to shoot at the same time as Boarding Gate, he was forced to pull out of Assayas' project.

Just last week, I shared the exciting news that Hong Kong superstar (and a pretty good actor, to boot) Andy Lau was going to appear in Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, assuming the film fit into his schedule. It now appears, unfortunately, that despite the fact that Assayas reportedly flew all the way to Hong Kong (From Paris, I assume. It's less impressive if he was in Beijing before making the trip.) to make the request in person, Lau won't be able to take part in the project. Before you fans of HK film get too depressed, however, check this out: Both Kelly Lin and Simon Yam (aka one of the most wonderful supporting actors the world has ever known) will now be appearing in the film. Yay! As long as this sucker doesn't turn into an HK-stars-making-cameos mess (which, since we're talking about Assayas, seems very unlikely), it's sounding more exciting by the second.

In other news from Hong Kong, Johnnie To has announced that he recently signed a deal with Meridian Pictures. Under the terms of the deal, To will reportedly direct 3-4 "big budget" films for the studio over the next six years. What's interesting about this news is that the first project has already been revealed: It's called Butterfly Flies and will star Li Bing-bing and Vic Chow in a story about "a girl who has a fight with her boyfriend right before he dies in an accident. She gets depressed, and then she meets his ghost." (A far cry from To's output for Milky Way, huh?) There's no word on the timeframe for this one (the script is yet to be written), but things happens fast in Hong Kong, so it could easily be out sometime next year.