hong kong Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Four of the most exciting movie stars in the world are currently appearing in two of the least interesting new movies, taking a back seat to less interesting stars. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are master martial artists, Chan with a comedian's touch and Li with an appealing stoic quality. They team up for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom (105 screens), a movie about a white kid and his attempt to beat up some bullies. Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh team up for the second time in The Children of Huang Shi (43 screens), about a British journalist (not played by Chow) and an Australian nurse (not played by Yeoh) saving some orphans.

Chow had a suave, cool quality that could have turned him into the next James Bond or Cary Grant, and Yeoh is a beautiful martial artist who could have become a groundbreaking feminist action star. It's a sad state of affairs, but I guess these films are the final proof of the cold, dead corpse of the Hong Kong New Wave.

So much for Batman's first official trip outside of Gotham City. Some folks are all up in arms over production on The Dark Knight currently taking place in Hong Kong. Apparently, producers on the film sent a letter to tenants and management companies in 60 buildings asking everyone to keep their lights on while filming was taking place to, ya know, make the scene prettier. Of course, environmentalists are all ticked off, claiming this isn't the right message to send when the entire world (including Hong Kong) are trying to reduce energy consumption. A project manager for a conservation group had this to say: "We welcome the filming of Batman in Hong Kong, but why do we need to keep the lights on to make the backdrop? It seems like film-making is coming before environmental protection."

Cinematical was unable to reach anyone from The Dark Knight, so we'll speculate and imagine their answer might come in the form of: "Yeah, but don't you want the city to look pretty? It's sooooo pretty when all the lights are on." The light issue is just one of many that have plagued production overseas. Just recently, a scene which was supposed to feature Batman dropping from a plane into a harbor was cut after producers learned the water could pose a health risk. Sounds fairly reasonable, but isn't the Bat-Suit supposed to protect Batman from bullets, punches, kicks -- you're telling me the dude can't get wet? The Dark Knight is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 18 ... with or without the lights on.

Jessica Alba's latest, The Eye, is about a blind woman who has an eye transplant that enables her to see into the supernatural world. It's a remake of twin brothers' Oxide Pang Chung and Danny Pang's 2002 Hong Kong horror film Gin Gwai. The new film was directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, with re-shoots (uh-oh) by Patrick Lussier. It was written by Sebastian Gutierrez, who scripted Gothika and Snakes on a Plane (uh-oh again). The trailer is up online over at Yahoo Movies, and you've probably got some questions. Will this one be any better than the average crappy horror flick? Are we talking more The Ring or more The Grudge 2? If Jessica Alba were really blind, could she learn to love a monster like me? Maybe you should take your pretty little eyes over there and check out that trailer, Mogambo!

The trailer feels like more of a long teaser. There is no dialogue, just some pulsing music, and quick flashes telling the story in images. It's nicely done but not mind-blowing. A few moments stood out, like the floating feet and the nice little jump at the end. I also like the bit where she appears to be painfully squeezing fluid out of her eye. It reminded me of trying to put in my contact lenses while hung over. The Eye co-stars Alessandro Nivola (Junebug) and the always delightful Parker Posey. I saw Posey for a half second in the trailer, and no Nivola, but I guess when you've got one of the most beautiful women in the world in your movie, you want to put her front and center. Cinematical visited the set of The Eye back in April, and if you'd like to read a discussion with Miss Alba regarding the film, you can find it here. The Eye is due in theaters on February 1st, 2008.

It's been more than five months since The Dark Knight began shooting in Chicago, but the Batman Begins sequel is very far from being completed. Currently the movie is filming in England, and according to Variety, the production is on its way to Hong Kong, where it will film a number of scenes this fall. Locations will include Central District, which is the city's business district, and Western District, which is ironically the least Westernized part of Hong Kong. The movie may also feature the Symphony of Lights, a touristy light and laser show that occurs nightly around Victoria Harbor. The shoot is scheduled to last nine days, and will happen in November.

Variety claims the HK sequences will be the first time Batman is depicted on-screen fighting crime outside Gotham. But it isn't likely the trade really knows the plot or what scenes will actually be filmed in the Chinese city. Anyway, Batman Begins did already show us Bruce Wayne in China, of course it was prior to becoming the Caped Crusader and he wasn't exactly fighting crime. The trade does point out that it is also unknown whether Hong Kong will be called Hong Kong in the movie, or if it will have a fictional name, a la Gotham. However, considering there's an actual graphic novel titled Batman: Hong Kong, I assume the DC Universe's acknowledgment of the city will extend to the movie franchise. In any case, The Dark Knight will reportedly be the highest profile film to shoot in the former British colony in many years.

In other, more tragic Dark Knight news, a crew member was killed on the set yesterday afternoon when he drove a 4x4 camera truck into a tree. According to BBC News, the sequel was doing a test run for a sequence involving the Batmobile near Chertsey, Surrey, England. The unnamed crew member, a special effects technician, was pronounced on the scene, an effects facility in Longcross. Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

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.

Although I missed it somehow, there were apparently rumors of the new Batman flick filming in Hong Kong floating around the internet a few weeks ago. Speculation has lead to rumors of a "Batman goes to Hong Kong" plot, because speculation isn't kept in check by sanity or anything resembling it. As always, the good folks over at Batman-on-Film are right at the point of the Bat-rumors, and have come through with some clarification. Chris Nolan has indeed been scouting locations in Hong Kong, but worry not -- Batman is not taking his show on the road. An anonymous scooper tells BOF not to expect action in Hong Kong; any exterior set work shot there will likely be used either for areas of Gotham or for flashback purposes.

In other Bat-news, writer Jonah Nolan has revealed that there is "a squad of ninjas" which follows him around ready to cut his throat should he ever reveal even the smallest of plot details. To many of us, this would seem like a serious career danger, but those are the risks you must take if you want to be a famous Hollywood writer, I suppose.

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.

The 30th Hong Kong International Film Festival is in full swing, torturing all of us from afar. In addition to a broad slate of premieres and other new films, this year's festival also features a 20-film tribute to the Hong Kong industry's greatest action choreographers, including the work of people like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Woo-ping. The tribute is being seen as bittersweet because, as GreenCine Daily contributor Saul Symonds put it in his first report for the site, the "blood and sweat [of these men] literally built up Hong Kong cinema into one of the world's most vibrant and productive industries...and now Hong Kong cinema is dying, and everything they've worked towards is being sadly swept away." Yeah, that's depressing.

On a more positive note, also at the festival is the always-reliable Grady Hendrix, who is posting reviews and reactions over at Kaiju Shakedown. Among his reviews is one of Johnnie To's eagerly-awaited Election 2 (he really, really digs it), as well as looks at Simon Yam's fashion sense, and Black Night, a horror anthology featuring segments from Japan, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

If you're interested in Asian film and, like me, wish you were in Hong Kong right now, keep checking in with Grady and the folks at GreenCine Daily for your fixes on the fest until it closes, on April 19.

According to Johnnie To (Election, The Mission) three of Hong Kong's big-name directors are going to collaborate on what he calls a "jigsaw" thriller. To will be joining forces with Ringo Lam (City on Fire) and Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China, Time and Tide) to create an unconventional, multi-part film. Instead of each directing a segment of the same screenplay, or directing segments based on the same loose theme, the three will write and direct their segments based on the work of the director who precedes them in the film's chronology. In other words, knowing only that he is to make a cop thriller, Hark will write and direct a 30 minute film. When he's finished, he'll hand the result over to Lam. Based on Hark's segment, Lam will then write and direct another 30 minutes; the completed hour will go to To, who is responsible for crafting a conclusion. Got it?

To me, this sounds awesome. That said, however, as a vaguely pathetic fan of HK films, I tend to look kindly on pretty much anything coming out of that (sadly faltering) industry, only giving up hope when people I trust tell me the film I've been waiting for is, in fact, a disaster. So, here I am again with my blind optimism, praying that this project is not a mess and, instead, does what the directors hope it will and gives HK cinema a kick in the proverbial pants.

[via Twitch]