Hollywood is always looking for high concept movies that can become franchises, dependent more on the premise or the character than the talent involved. In that same spirit, Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow started his own franchise. His kung fu comedy Shaolin Soccer was a huge success in 2001, but he resisted any direct sequels. Instead, he joined with Japanese producer Chihiro Kameyama to make a spin off: Shaolin Girl.

Reminiscent of the original, the titular character is trained in Shaolin-style kung fu and wants to share that training with others. (One minor change: instead of soccer, she plays lacrosse.) The lone warrior must learn to become a team player. The film was released in Japan in April and is still playing after seven weeks. Mark Schilling of The Japan Times was not impressed, though: "This sort of thing plays well in Japan, especially with the TV-watching masses who are Kameyama's main target, but the rest of the world has so far remained indifferent."

Now Shaolin Girl has been released in Singapore and the buzz is not good. Stefan S. at A Nutshell Review suggested that a cameo by Chow might have rescued the picture, "but alas, knowing that it would stink, he rightfully kept his distance. And so should you." Blogger/movie reviewer r3gular at The World Through Me was just as blunt: "It's draggy, long-winded and some scenes were almost painful to continue watching."

I'm disappointed. The trailer looked promising. And the world needs more Shaolin girls.

It is indeed happening. Entertainment Weekly has reported that Seth Rogen's Green Hornet movie has the go-ahead, even down to its release date: June 25th, 2010.

Rogen is still set to star as Britt Reid, the bored newspaper publisher by day, crimefighter by night. He is also still writing the script with his partner, Evan Goldberg. But no director has yet been named, nor has Kato been cast. (If you remember, Rogen favors Stephen Chow. Sounds like he still does.)

Rogen's attachment to the project was reported a year ago, but given how many Green Hornet movies have fallen apart, I don't think anyone was holding their breath.
Were they? I mean, this was once a property attached to everyone from George Clooney to Jake Gyllenhaal. Kevin Smith spent years trying to develop it. Who knew Rogen would be the one to finally do it?

This news comes on the heels of CHUD's brief chat with Rogen, where he was saying the film still hadn't been green lit. He discussed the tone they were trying to set with the film -- it isn't going to be bumbling humor, and it will feature some serious action. Rogen and Goldberg are hoping the comedy comes from the unconventional relationship between the Hornet and Kato. Perhaps that will soothe the doubts of our readers, who were quite furious when the news broke. Have you become more reconciled to it, or are you still wishing for what could have been?

Already a popular success in Asia, Stephen Chow's CJ7 arrives in the US, hailed as a Chinese version of ET. (It opens today in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco before expanding to other cities in the coming weeks.) Like its predecessor, CJ7 features a young boy who befriends a small alien creature, from whom the boy learns important life lessons. Instead of ET's Elliott, living in the lonely suburbs and pining for his father's return to patch up his divorced family, CJ7 features Dicky Chow (Xu Jiao), living in abject poverty and wishing that his widowed father had enough money to buy him a toy. But don't worry about the differences in the set-up: CJ7 is a gentle and sentimental fantasy, just like ET, filled to the brim with humor. It also casts a sharp eye on the true nature of modern children.

Poor Dicky Chow! The young lad doesn't mind so much going to school with dirt on his face. He doesn't mind so much that his mother is dead and his father can barely provide for the two of them. But what he does mind is when the other kids make fun of his dad. And, what finally sets him off is when he realizes that he can't have the same toy as the other boys in school.

Stephen Chow's still got it. Now in his mid 40's, the Chinese comic actor par excellence has slowed down his output since his prolific earlier days (i.e. the early 90s), when it wasn't unusual for him to appear in three, four or more flicks per year. Firmly in control of his own projects as star, writer, and director, his last two films (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) have been comedy gold and incredibly successful at the worldwide box office.

His latest, CJ7, a family-oriented fantasy comedy about a kid and a cute alien critter, opened a few days ago in Asia and is making ordinary moviegoers act like postal carriers. (You know, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night ...") Variety reports that thousands of people in mainland China "defied blizzards" just to see the film, pushing the box office take to 60 million yuan ($8.35 million) in just four days of release. It's been equally successful in Hong Kong, grossing HK$15.8 million ($2.03 million) on a massive 100 screens, according to Variety. A different source, Box Office Mojo, puts the gross at $2.11 million, which translates into $24,894 per screen at 85 locations. And in Taiwan, Variety says partial figures peg the total so far at NT$35 million ($1.09 million).

As Monika reported, Chow talked up the film at a recent press conference. The reviews so far has been mixed to good, but not ecstatic (see Variety, Twitch, LoveHKFilm). CJ7 opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 7, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics; hopefully the rest of us won't have to wait much longer to see it. To get an early taste, check out the trailer.

He created a cult following with Kung Fu Hustle, he might play Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid remake, and now, along with Kung Fu Hustle 2, Stephen Chow has another big flick on the way -- CJ7. If his descriptions are anything to go by, this should be one heck of a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chow had great things to say about the movie at a press conference yesterday, claiming that the film's locally-produced state-of-the-art digital effects are "up to international standards that will withstand comparison." Of course, such effects are pretty pricey, and Chow says the flick "the most expensive in my career." While he won't give an exact number, the budget is rumored to be about $20 million.

This is a pretty big deal for both Chow and China -- CJ7 will have the country's first cinematic creature that is completely digitally produced. What sort of creature? The flick is a "sci-fi comedy about how the sudden arrival of a strange new pet shakes the lives of a poor laborer father and his young son." Apparently, this creature is some sort of alien in the shape of a dog. If you think this has a bit of an ET feel to it, you'd be right. The director has admitted that Steven Spielberg's alien heavily inspired the story, being a favorite film of the actor/director.

While it is hitting Chinese screens at the end of the month, we won't have very much longer to wait -- the film is set to be released in the US on March 7.

When am I gonna learn how to punch?

AICN is posting a nutty rumor today with regards to the new Justice League flick. Remember how director George Miller had said recently during the AFI Awards that when it goes before cameras, Justice League would have a different name? Well, according to a tipster, that name may have already been leaked by Batman. No, not the rumored-to-be-playing-Batman, Armie Hammer, but the other Batman, Christian Bale. Here's what they claim: "Christian Bale was on Nova (FM) today in an interview (pre-recorded I assume) for "Yuma" and said he has "nothing to do with AMERICAN HEROES, and their Batman will be different to our Batman." Wait, so are they calling it American Heroes? WTF? Personally, not only do I think it's a horrible title, but there's no way Warner Bros. will go with a title that could potentially hinder box office sales worldwide. This is the same issue G.I. Joe was having; how they're apparently going out of their way to include a wide array of characters from different countries in order to make it less American and more world-friendly. I doubt this is the title, but if it was, what do you think?

Remember that Karate Kid remake? The one that was supposedly being handled by Will Smith, starring his son Jaden? Well, MoviesOnline claims that according to "production notes," Will Smith will indeed direct the Karate Kid remake and son Jaden will indeed star. Yes, Will Smith will make his feature directorial debut with a remake of a film that no one in their right mind wanted remade in the first place. Why, Will? Why? Can't you just get jiggy with something else and save us the pain? Additionally, Moviehole reports that actor Stephen Chow has confirmed internet rumors that he is considering playing Mr. Miyagi in the remake. According to Chow, he'd love to take on the role, but it depends on whether his schedule can handle it. I can't even think of something funny to write here. I'm at a loss. A loss. My childhood is officially lost. [via The Movie Blog]

Finally, new photos from this month's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem have arrived online, and they appear to show the Predators' home planet. Ya know, in case you were wondering if the Predator's had TIVO and/or watched American Idol in their spare time. Alongside the home planet pic, Yahoo also has a bunch more for you peruse through. There's a shot of an Alien. And a Predator. And both. And they're fighting each other. What's this film about again?

Programming a film series or festival inevitably requires a degree of compromise, depending as it does on the oft-indecipherable whims of distributors, producers and sales agents. In recognition of the challenges and frustrations involved, I prefer to give programmers the benefit of the doubt. Yet I can't help but wonder what the Film Society of Lincoln Center had in mind with "10 Years and Running: Recent Hong Kong Cinema," a retrospective series that begins tonight in New York City.

Ostensibly, the program is intended "to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" with a "series of cinematic highlights." That sounds good, but the program lacks any balance. If the aim was to provide the very best of Hong Kong cinema since 1997, then why include Initial D and Confession of Pain, two moderately enjoyable yet ultimately inconsequential films by the directing team of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak (their much better collaboration Infernal Affairs is also screening). If the goal was to provide historical perspective on the decade, why ignore completely the wave of proto-Hollywood thrillers (Downtown Torpedoes, 2000 A.D.) that flooded theaters in the late 1990's, or the plethora of romantic comedies that followed in the wake of Needing You in 2000, or recent attempts -- by directors other than Johnny To -- to reawaken the action film (Flash Point, Invisible Target)? If the goal was to highlight popular hits, where are the films of Stephen Chow (The King of Comedy, Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle)?

Instead, the showcase is limited to the tried and true: Lau and Mak (three films), Wong Kar Wai (two films) and Johnny To (three and 1/3, counting his contribution to Triangle) fill eight of the 13 slots. That's not to denigrate the quality of the selections nor to discourage anyone from attending, but it looks like a lost opportunity to showcase less-heralded gems of recent Hong Kong cinema. All that being said, if I lived in New York I'd park myself in the theater for the entire series, which runs through October 25; I've seen most of them, but not on the big screen.

"Are you f*cking kidding me?" After Erik Davis reported on the claim that Knocked Up's Seth Rogen had "entered a deal to write and likely star" in The Green Hornet., one of our readers could barely contain himself in the comments section. But I bet he spoke for a lot of you -- I know my reaction was only slightly less profane. Sheigh Crabtree of the Los Angeles Times originally broke the story, which was amended after first publication to read that Rogen "has entered into final negotiations to write and star" in the project. So definitely take the following as a rumor: Crabtree now hears word that Rogen's "first choice to play Kato, Green Hornet's masked and martial arts-enabled sidekick, is none other than Kung Fu Hustle director and star Stephen Chow."

Commenting on what Rogen might do with the material, Erik asked, "Does that mean we should expect a real comedic Apatow-style take on the classic crime-fighter?" Well, Crabtree mentions that the Sony executives liked Rogen's "comedic take," so that answers that. Starting in the 1990's, Chow became a huge box sensation in Asia thanks to a prolific string of well-made comedies notable for his mo lei tau (nonsense) style of humor. His last two films (Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle) have relied more on visual humor; Hustle was a veritable tour de force of martial arts gags. Chow is a trained martial artist, so he's capable of playing the part. Miramax botched the Soccer release, but Sony's specialty division Sony Pictures Classics did a classy job with Hustle. Chow's next is A Hope, set for release later this year, and a Hustle sequel may be on the way. Sony reportedly hopes for a 2009 release for The Green Hornet.

This is me on the weekends: I sit around twiddling my thumbs and waiting for a new Stephen Chow movie. (It used to be Terry Gilliam, but that's over between us until I hear he's really doing Good Omens.) It seems like ages and ages since I laughed my way through Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. I've been grabbing eagerly at any crumbs of news about Long River 7, aka A Hope, the film Chow is currently shooting in China. The film has been described as "the Stephen Chow astronaut movie" and "the Stephen Chow sci-fi film" and "whatever we have to wait for him to finish before he does Kung Fu Hustle 2."

So you know, I jumped like a rabbit when MonkeyPeaches posted a photo from the set of A Hope (MonkeyPeaches isn't very good about linking to individual entries -- you'll have to scroll down the page to find the story and picture). It's not even a picture of Chow, but of a spaceship that's part of the movie. MonkeyPeaches also quoted a summary of the plot that appeared in a Chinese newspaper: Chow plays a single dad who loses his job and gives his son a toy he found in the trash ... except the toy turns out to be a powerful object from another planet. Compare this summary to the one MonkeyPeaches reported in September (which also includes a few pictures of Chow on the set of the film). Then compare it to the storyline that Martha heard about back in July. It's like one of those group games where you whisper something from one person to another down a long line and it keeps changing in weird ways. All these slightly varying stories are making me even more curious and eager about the film. At least it's stopped sounding frighteningly like a heartwarming family drama, and more like something with potential for some goofy comedy. That spaceship does look wonderfully cheesy. We'll just have to wait, and wait, and wait to find out for sure.

[via Twitch]

The rumors that Stephen Chow would be putting off his planned sequel to international hit Kung Fu Hustle were finally confirmed yesterday, when it was announced that Chow's next project will be the sci-fi flick the internet has been muttering about for weeks. The film, which is currently called A Hope, will star Chow as a wayward astronaut who "accidentally lands on another planet." But it doesn't stop there -- get this: "Through the help of a robot who communicates with aliens, the astronaut develops a father-son relationship with a young alien." Whoa. The role of the alien has yet to be cast (and there's no truth to the rumor that Chow is looking for green-skinned youngsters whose eyes grow on stalks), but Zhang Yuqi will play an android, and Chow regulars Yuen Qiu, Danny Kwok-kwan Chan and Tin Kai-man are also confirmed.

So is Chow moving into tear-jerkingly sincere family films? My experience with him is limited to fantastic, utter insanity (of which God of Cookery is the best example); has he done anything like this -- or at least like this sounds -- before? It'll be interesting to see how this one shakes out, when we finally get to see it next year. Kung Fu Hustle 2, meanwhile, will be pushed back from its 2006 release date, reportedly to allow Chow time to work on the script.