The Happenings

-- A Day at Shaw Brothers Studios --
David Vivier had the chance to visit the Shaw Studios in Clearwater Bay. It has never really changed since the reign of Sir Run Run, the 100-year-old mogul who left his entire cinema heritage into the hands of Celestial. To set up the context, here is a quick outline of the Shaw Brothers history.

- In 1957, Sir Run Run Shaw came to Hong Kong from Singapore and founded the new company, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd.

- In 1958, Shaw Movietown (a literal translation of the Chinese name of Shaw Studio), a new and large studio built in Clearwater Bay (Kowloon) went into operation in 1960.

- In 2000, Shaw sold its entire film library (more than 750 films) to Celestial Pictures, a subsidiary of Malaysian Conglomerate, Astro All Asian Networks. Celestial Pictures rented the legendary Shaw Building as its headquarters.

David met also with William Pfeiffer, Chief Executive Officer at Celestial, whom we warmly thank for the opportunity. Below is an exceptional guided tour within the wall of the mythic film studio.  HK Cinemagic >>More<<

-- From Wong Fei Hung to Wushu Champion --
As a child, Angie Tsang Tze-Man idolized wushu champion turned action film star Jet Li. While barely in her teens, she followed in her hero’s footsteps by taking on the part of martial arts legend Wong Fei Hung in the Yuen Woo Ping-directed Iron Monkey (1993). And doing so, the vivacious female made cinematic history, since it’s not every day the Cantonese folk hero – portrayed by well-known men like Li, the late Kwan Tak Hing (in an astounding 99 films) and Jackie Chan (who made Wong Fei Hung a drunken boxing expert in Drunken Master (1978) and Drunken Master II (1994)) – gets played by a girl.  bc Magazine >>More<<

-- The Mummy 3--

Production of The Mummy 3 has already started in Montreal, Canada. Jet Li, who's playing the first Emperor of China, will join the production in September when they move location to China. Jet Li is currently in production of The Forbidden Kingdom. Portions of The Mummy 3 will be shot inside the Terracotta Warriors museum in Xi'an, the first for a Hollywood film. In addition to Brenden Fraiser, Russel Wong, Jet Li will also face Michelle Yeoh this time. Filming is set to complete by November and the film is aiming for an August 2008 release.  Alive Not Dead

-- Operation Condor 3: Chinese Zodiac --
"Next year, April the 1st, I start a new movie," Chan revealed. "I direct, I write my own script. It's called Operation Condor 3: Chinese Zodiac. Big action." The Armor of God/Operation Condor series features Chan as an Indiana Jones-style adventurer pursuing mythical artifacts, with Chan's trademark style of action scenes. Perhaps the biggest find in part three will be Chan's return to directing. "I haven't been directing for more than 10 years, even though I'm helping all my directors on the set. But now this time I'm totally in control. I write my own script. You'll see what happens. This may be the most personal Jackie Chan movie in a decade. "Directing you can do a lot of things. I can put all my messages inside, I can put all my ideas inside. It's the feeling I create something."

Meanwhile, Chan is currently filming The Forbidden Kingdom, a Western take on the classic Chinese "Journey to the West" tale, with Jet Li and Collin Chou. He can also be seen soon in Brett Ratner's Rush Hour 3, out this August 10.  Rotten Tomatoes