June 2004

Head down to kungfucinema.com for a great interview which they did with Tony Ching Siu-tung, director of the A CHINESE GHOST STORY trilogy, SWORDSMAN II and martial arts choreographer for Tsui Hark's DRAGON-INN, Zhang Yi Mou's HERO and the upcoming HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS.

For John Woo fans living in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong, stand a chance to win a JOHN WOO DVD GIFT SET, comprising CROSSINGS: JOHN WOO (Discovery Channel documentary) and two of his greatest hits, A BETTER TOMORROW and FACE/OFF.

Check out the Discovery Channel Asia website for contest details. Contest closes on 31 July, 2004.

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Found this info at thestar online:

"The life of the 58-year-old Guangzhou-born auteur will be shown in the upcoming Discovery Channel feature entitled Crossings: John Woo on June 20. This is a unique biography series which celebrates the lives of 12 Asian personalities from different walks of life. Among those that have been featured are Chinese actress-director Joan Chen, international star Jackie Chan..."

For details, click here.

Scooped the following info from ent.sina.com:

Hong Kong actress Kelly Chen has freely admitted her resemblance to Taiwanese actress Lin Ching Hsia and very much desires to pair up with Cecilia Cheung to star in Tsui Hark's biopic of the actress. Kelly expressed her interest (or rather volunteered herself) to play the older Lin Ching Hsia while Cecilia will portray the actress in her youth. We shall see...

Variety reports that Paramount has signed the Hong Kong director to direct a film based on the Tom Clancy game and book.

For details, check out:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/03/news_6099854.html

Thanks to Randall Mosby for the info.

May 2004

Directors Ridley Scott and John Woo have joined forces to make a new film for children's charity Unicef.

ALL THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN is a unique project featuring seven short films (each around 15 - 20 minutes in duration) about the plight of children around the world.

Scott, director of Gladiator, Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down, has teamed up with his daughter Jordan to make Britain's contribution, the story of a British photo-journalist worn down by the horrors of what he has seen.

John Woo hasn't come up with his story yet but he mentioned it would involve 'lots of doves'. Woo said he's participating in his capacity as a 'China movie director', hence he's headed off to the western regions of China to shoot his film. During his trip, he will seek to better understand the plight of the children there and at the same time develop the story with a script-writer.

March 2004

Scooped the following info from ent.sina.com.cn:

A sequel to Tsui Hark/Raymond Lee's DRAGON INN is in the works. The script writer for the 1992 DRAGON INN, Ho Yi Ping, will also script the sequel. Ho has apparently conceptualised the sequel while scripting the first movie. Tsui Hark has been approached to produce the movie and a director has not been appointed. Shooting will commence in the later half of 2004. We shall see...

More information at the following site:

http://comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3966

According to the Chengdu Daily, Tsui Hark is out of the Initial D project after a conflict with the producers of the film, Media Asia Group. Andrew Lau, the director of The Stormriders and Infernal Affairs is taking over as the new director.

January 2004

I found an article at sina.com.cn which carries an interview with director Jacob Cheung Chi Leung (CageMan, Returning). Jacob Cheung is currently producing a 30 part TV series in Shanghai. In the interview, he talks about the status of the SEVEN SWORDS DESCENDING TIAN MOUNTAIN TV series and movie which he and Tsui Hark are developing. I've translated the relevant portions into English for the benefit of readers:

Reporter: What is the current status of SEVEN SWORDS?

Jacob: We spent considerable time adapting the novel for a TV series and I think we have a good script on hand. We've expanded the series from 40 episodes to 60. I'm scouting for locations and will continue to do so at the end of January. Tsui Hark is filming the movie version of SEVEN SWORDS while I'll helm the TV series. We have NOT finalised on the cast but two-thirds of the cast should be from Mainland China while one third would be from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The choice for the cast isn't important. What matters most is we find good actors.

Reporter: How will production of the SEVEN SWORDS TV series and movie influence one another?

Jacob: The premise differs for the TV series and the movie. The cast will be entirely DIFFERENT too. Production for the TV series will be tight as we have a schedule to follow. On the other hand, there isn't so much of a time constraint imposed on the production of the movie. We can afford to seek perfection.

Hmm...looks like it's gonna be awhile before we see any production photos from either SEVEN SWORDS TV series or the movie. And we can also take Tony Leung Kar Fai and Charlie Young's involvement with a pinch of salt. I shall remain a doubting Thomas until I get visual confirmation.