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While Hong Kong filmmakers have a gift for action, they tend to overdo it in the melodrama department, at least when it comes to watching their films through Western eyes. Perhaps the worst Hong Kong film I've seen to date is Jackie Chan's Heart of Dragon (1985), which features Jackie caring for his developmentally disabled brother (played by goofball Sammo Hung, who co-directed). All the heartstring tugging made me want to claw my eyes out. Or take another look at a masterpiece like John Woo's The Killer and you'll see an operatic hugeness to the emotional scenes -- especially between men -- that an American would never even dream, much less dare. These folks have an extremely high tolerance level for sentimentality; it takes an enormous amount before their sap detectors begin going off.

The same goes for action director and one-man HK film industry Johnny To (also known as "Johnnie To Kei-Fung"). To was a fairly minor director during Hong Kong's exciting late 1980s/early 1990s heyday, when imported films began to tantalize American viewers bored with big explosions and Vietnam rescue flicks. His biggest credit was as co-director on the exceptional supernatural superhero movie The Heroic Trio (1992). But after the 1997 handover to China, when most other filmmakers withdrew or abandoned ship, To flourished and eventually became the country's most successful and exciting filmmaker. His action hits included: The Mission (1999), Running Out of Time (1999), Help!!! (2000), Fulltime Killer (2001), Running Out of Time 2 (2003), Running on Karma (2003), Breaking News (2004), Election (2005), Triad Election (2006) and Exiled (2007), along with some 40 other films.

The man behind Election might not be heading to Hollywood yet, but he is heading to Europe, and he has a certain pirate in his sights. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To is heading to France to take on Red Circle, a remake of the 1970 crime thriller Le Rouge Cercle, and Wai Ka-Fai is developing it. So far, so funky, until you imagine that he wants Orlando Bloom to star in it.

I want to like Bloom. Really, I do. But the man just kills me. Rather, he has in his post-Lord of the Rings work. He inspired people to hope for his demise in Pirates, sunk with Elizabethtown, and is now being eyed to lead a crime thriller? A crime thriller that would have him star as a cool thief straight out of prison, no less. I just don't see it; he doesn't have the charisma for a tough thieving heist.

At least it's far from definite. To is said to have sent an offer to the actor, but negotiations haven't happened yet. Meanwhile, Chow Yun-Fat and Liam Neeson are in negotiations to co-star. Those two -- they sound just about right, but it makes me even more nervous about Bloom, who couldn't even begin to battle the presence of Johnny Depp. So, I ask you -- do you agree with To's selection, or can you think of someone better?

Last year, there was a little show called Raines. It starred Jeff Goldblum as a detective who solved crimes by talking to himself. However, instead of just muttering inwards, he'd hallucinate and see the slain people he was investigating. When he saved them, so to speak, by finding their killers, the hallucinations would go away until the next murder was discovered.The show might not have made it to its second season on TV this year, but we're about to see some similar cinematic treatment.

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that IFC Entertainment is about to score the distribution rights to Hong Kong directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai's Mad Detective, which they call an "offbeat cop thriller." The film stars Lau Ching-wan as "a loopy police inspector who solves cases by seeing a suspect's inner 'ghosts.' After a long absence from the force for mental-health reasons, he is brought back to track down a missing officer." So it isn't quite murdered people, but the same general idea. The film has screened in Venice and Toronto, and Variety described one scene as such: "Lau Ching-wan plays Inspector Bun, who, in a witty intro, solves a murder by getting his sidekick, Ho Ka-on (Andy On), to zip him up inside a suitcase -- like the victim -- and chuck it downstairs. 'It was the ice cream seller,' he proudly announces as he's pulled out." If this sounds like your cup of cop tea, IFC is releasing it in theaters and VOD, if they seal the deal.

The American Film Market (AFM) got underway in Santa Monica, California yesterday with a small flurry of activity. As our own Eric D. Snider explained last month, AFM "is designed to be a place for film makers and film buyers to come together. Movies are sold, and deals are made for production of new films, too." I've attended AFM a couple of times in the past and I'd describe it as a madhouse of controlled chaos, with hotel suites converted into trade show booths and reams of printed material (posters, flyers and postcards) vying for attention.

Even though it's called the American Film Market and many domestic deals are made, the emphasis is really on international territories. For example, here are three deals making news on ScreenDaily.com, the online arm of UK trade publication Screen International: (1) The Weinstein Co. "closes major AFM pre-sales on Richard Kelly's The Box," with deals covering the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea; (2) Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) "to produce trilogy based on Chinese classic" Water Margin, "with directing duties split between Lau and Johnnie To [Election]"; (3) "Korean distributor Showbox has acquired Andrei Konchalovsky's Nutcracker: The True Story."

But AFM wouldn't be AFM if it didn't offer, shall we say, more mainstream movies alongside the foreign and arthouse flicks. What can one make of indie comedy Heavy Petting, whose plot is described in the online AFM catalogue thusly: "When Charlie meets Daphne he never expects he'll have to battle past her dog to woo her. When Charlie begins to fall in love with the dog, he scrambles to keep the relationship going." Wait a minute: he falls in love with the dog?! The film stars Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid). Is Heavy Petting a hidden gem? Or headed straight to video? (Watch the trailer at the official site and decide for yourself.) Look for more coverage from Cinematical on the wild, wacky and completely essential AFM in the next few days.

The October 1 deadline looms large, and the countries that have not yet submitted their candidates for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Oscars are hurrying to do so. Three nations announced their choices over the weekend: Hong Kong, Estonia, and Macedonia.

Hong Kong's pick is Exiled, from the much-buzzed-about action director Johnnie To (whose Triad Election played in a few U.S. cities earlier this year). It's an underworld crime caper full of shooting and double-crosses and associated mayhem. Not typical Oscar fare, maybe -- but then again, The Departed won Best Picture this year. Scott Weinberg reviewed Exiled mostly favorably at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April.

Two Hong Kong films have earned nominations in this category before -- Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine -- but the country has no wins so far.

Estonia chose The Class, a disturbing drama about high school students who takes revenge against bullies. Directed by Ilmar Raag, the film has played at film festivals in Cannes, Karlovy Vary, and Copenhagen. This is only the fifth time Estonia has submitted a film for Oscar consideration; before 1991, the country was part of the Soviet Union.

Macedonia's candidate is Milcho Manchevski's Shadows, a drama about a doctor whose life changes after he survives what should have been a fatal car accident. Macedonia -- which you'll find wedged between Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Greece -- broke off from Yugoslavia in 1991. This is the country's sixth Oscar submission since then.

Major players such as Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and China haven't announced their submissions yet, so watch for that news in the next few days.

Alright, I'm officially excited about the Toronto Film Festival now. The lineup for the Fest's new Vanguard sidebar -- a group of 11 "risky, more challenging" films -- was announced yesterday, and there's some great stuff included. Personally, I'm most looking forward to finally seeing John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, which James (and everyone else) loved at Cannes, as well as Johnnie To's award-winning Election and Election 2, both of which are are being featured in the Vanguard program. Also on the list are 2:37, an Australian, Elephant-style movie about a suicide (that almost drove James to off himself), Renaissance, the black and white French animated flick we've told you about a couple of times, and Macbeth, a modern, Melbourne-set adaptation of the play, which will be making its world premiere.

The TIFF runs September 7-16 this year, and we'll be driving you nuts with lots and lots of reviews from there.

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.

Ok, so everyone in the US who wanted to see Johnnie To's Election already has a region-free DVD player and the disc from Hong Kong. Me too -- but the thought of it actually getting distribution here remains pretty exciting, if only because it's a sign of respect for the film and maybe, just maybe, a hint that more quality from HK and its sister Asian indistustries will find its way to American screens. No, you're right -- I'm dreaming. Still, though, the news that Tartan has stepped up and acquired US distribution rights to not only Election but also its sequel (which reportedly had a very successful screening at Cannes) is heartening to fans of quality Asian films. I mean, when is it NOT better to see a movie on the big screen?

That said, it's unclear whether Tartan's plans for Election include a theatrical run or only a DVD release. The company does, however, fully intend to get Election 2 into theaters later this year, a run that will be supported (they say) by "a strong publicity campaign."

[via Kaiju Shakedown]