The Happenings

-- Interview with Brandon Rhea (with additional comments by Mike Leeder) --

Continuing our exploration of the Hong Kong movie world through the eyes of westerners involved in the industry, we had the chance to discuss with German actor Brandon Rhea. Down to earth and extremely nice, the man has been involved in a few of the biggest Chinese productions of this last 3 to 4 years (Silverhawk, Star Runner, Infernal Affairs 2, Fearless). Joining him for the interview is English journalist and Fearless casting director, Mike Leeder, always ready to share his great knowledge of HK movie industry.  HK Cinemagic >>More<<

-- Wushu --

Jackie Chan is busy preparing 《武术》Wushu (tentative), a movie about 3 young men and 2 women in their twenties learning wushu. Jackie Chan is rather strict about casting as the film stresses real martial arts as opposed to special effects. Jackie Chan is currently scouting for wushu graduates or wushu athletes to star in the movie.

Out of the 5, only Mao Jun Jie, who completed her studies at Central Academy of Drama in 2002, is a fulltime actress. Mao Jun Jie has also taken up Tae Kwan Do in her schooldays. Incidentally, she is going to play a girl learning Tae Kwan Do. She'll be undergoing some training starting from October 27. Jackie Chan, who produces Wushu, will also be appearing in the film. He also intends to rope in the help of Sammo Hung and Michelle Yeoh, and take part in next year's Cannes Film Festival.  Shanghai Morning Post

-- Painted Skin Remake --

Production of Wilson Yip's Painted Skin remake has been delayed until December. The role of female lead has unfortunately been changed from Fan Bing Bing to Zhou Xun. Chang Zhou will also have a part in the film, playing opposite Zhou Xun. Chang Zhou is a wushu champion from Shenzhen who graduated from Beijing Film Academy. Recently, he took part in Kungfu Star 2007 Contest. While Chang Zhou failed to win the contest, he impressed Donnie Yen greatly that he promised him movie collaboration. Chang Zhou has now joined the same management as Donnie Yen, Star Union International Media Group, with the chance of being groomed by Donnie Yen.  DQ Daily

Update: Unfortunately, Wilson Yip, who conceived the project, has been replaced. The production thought that Gordon Chan will be more suited to this genre. Filming might begin in mid November in Ningxia, after which it will move location to Hengdian. Apparently, Fan Bing Bing couldn't make it due to schedule conflict. Zhou Xun's role has not been confirmed.  The Beijing News

-- Yip Man vs Yip Man --

Wong Kar Wai announced a project on Bruce Lee's master Yip Man, a legendary practitioner of Wing Chun, 5 years back, with Tony Leung being cast as Yip Man. The project, tentatively called Grandmaster, traces Yip Man from leaving his hometown of Foshan in China's Guangdong province to teach Wing Chun in Hong Kong, to taking Bruce Lee as a disciple when he was in his 60s. Tony Leung has already started learning Wing Chun for the role. However, so far, there has been no sign of the film beginning production.

Now, another studio, Mandarin Films, is also planning to make a biopic based on the same person, with Donnie Yen being invited to play Yip Man. Raymond Wong confirms that Mandarin Films has just decided to shoot this movie and is in initial stage of production, gathering information on the life of Yip Man, and in coming up with a script. Raymond Wong says that there won't be any conflict of interests between Wong Kar Wai's Grandmaster and his version for they would be taking a different approach. The main focus of Mandarin Films version would be martial arts.

Donnie Yen whose schedule is tightly packed, has not confirmed his role. He's still considering about it as, among other reasons, Flash Point has taxed him physically. 10 years back, Jeff Lau teamed up with Corey Yuen to bring the story of Yip Man on the screen, with Donnie Yen as Yip Man and Stephen Chow as Bruce Lee. Donnie Yen had signed the contract and received part of the acting fee. However, the studio folded resulting in the project being abandoned.  Information Times, Straits Times

Global Chinese Kungfu Jubilee 2007

Sohu, 13 October 2007

Global Chinese Kungfu Jubilee, organised by Shenzhen Satellite TV, Shaolin Culture, TVB, China Wushu Association, was held at Shenzhen Bao-an Stadium on the October 12 evening and was graced by various luminaries in the film industry who's involved in martial arts productions. The evening kicked off with red carpet walk by Jackie Chan, wuxia novelist Jin Yong, Liu Chia Liang, Ching Siu Ting. Cheung Sing Yim, Peter Pau, Yuen Biao, Cheng Pei Pei, Anthena Chu, Jay Leung, Josie Ho, David Chiang, Gordon Liu, Wu Jing, Tony Jaa, Yasuaki Kurata etc.

-- Interview with the Golden Boy Jerry Trimble --

Jerry Trimble is one of the great kickboxing champions who managed to make the transition from the ring to the cinema big screen. Based in Hollywood, he has mostly worked for US films but has also participated in several HK productions such as Tsui Hark's The Master. He kindly agreed to talk with us of his career and his involvement in HK films.  HK Cinemagic >>More<<

-- Li Feng's Directorial Debut --

Li Feng's commercial kungfu movie was originally planned to start production in July. However, this has been delayed as the script is still being worked on. Li Feng, who is currently revising the script, hopes to begin filming by end of the year. He confirms that Yuan Quan, Tong Yao and Tiger Chen will star in the film. Tiger Chen, Yuen Wo Ping's protege, who will also be choreographing the movie, is giving Tong Yao demanding training in preparation for the movie. Li Feng would neither reveal the script nor the title of film until filming begins, "You could think of it as a Korean romance meets Hong Kong martial arts film. We intend to name the film after a martial arts style or move."  Nanguo Morning Post

-- Seven Samurai --

Weinstein Co's retelling of Seven Samurai, written by John Fusco, will feature a contemporary setting with Golden Triangle serving as the backdrop. The seven warriors or mercenaries, none of whom are Samurai, hail from various countries such as US, UK, Africa, etc. In this version, drug kingpin Khun Lao will kill a kid for every poppy that fails to bloom as a punishment to the farmers. To fight against Khun Lao, the village sends Tasanee and two other representatives to seek help from Charlie, who eventually relents and gathers six other mercenaries to help the villagers drive away Khun Lao. In talks to appear in Seven Samurai-less Samurai are George Clooney, Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi, with speculations that they'd be assigned the roles of Charlie, Khun Lao and Tasanee respectively.  Shanghai Daily, Chud

-- Project D --
Huayi Brothers is investing US$20m on a movie based on Judge Di Ren Jie of Tang Dynasty. The movie with a working title of Project D, will be directed by Tsui Hark, produced by Chen Kuo Fu and written by Zhang Jia Lu. While Tsui Hark's wish of making Journey to the West, with intention of having Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia shaving her head to play Tripitaka, has yet to be realised, his research into Tang Dynasty led him to stories relating to real life character Di Ren Jie. This sparked his interest on the person and hence the film Project D. Tsui Hark had mentioned in December 2005 that Di Ren Jie would be his main focus after completing Seven Swords.

Di Ren Jie was a prime minister in Tang Dynasty when Wu Ze Tian was the female ruler. When he held office at the Board of Justice for a year, he cracked all cases left over by the previous officer, leaving no more grievances and appeals from the people unresolved, a testament to his wise, upright and just character. Shi Nan Sun says that Tsui Hark is designing Di Ren Jie as a detective in the movie. The cast has not been determined. Production may begin in March 2008.  Beijing Youth Daily