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May 11, 2007: News From Abroad
Ping Guo wins in the Big Apple, Tran Anh Hung returns, while Johnnie To departs. All this and more on the latest edition of News from Abroad.
Tribeca: Chinese film Lost in Beijing receives honorable mention
At the Tribeca film festival this year, the Chinese film Lost in Beijing received honorable mention for its screenplay written by Li Yu and Fang Li. The movie is directed by Li Yu and is set in present-day China. Ping Guo, played by Fan Bingbing, is struggling in Beijing to make a living and gets caught in a four-way love square with her husband, her boss, and her boss's wife. The movie also features veterans like Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Elaine Jin, and provides a depiction of a modern-day China in conflict with its old traditions and morals. --My Thanh Mac
Jang Joon-hwan to Shoot War of Flowers Sequel
Director Jang Joon Hwan is set to shoot the sequel to Choi Dong Hoon's Tazza: The High Rollers a.k.a. War of Flowers. Choi Dong Hoon's critically acclaimed film is about a man (Cho Seung Woo) who plays a dangerous game with gambling as he loses a fortune from playing "hwatoo" and tries to win it back with the guidance of a gambling master (Baek Yun Shik). When the original film was released, it was the winner of the Daesang Film Big Prize and sold 6.8 million tickets. Jang Joon Hwan's sequel is scheduled to be released in late 2008. The director is known for his genre-blending, cult film Save the Green Planet (2003) and for his engagement with famous actress Moon So Ri. --Julie Hong
Hartnett Stars in Rain
The Scent of Green Papaya's Tran Anh Hung has hired Josh Hartnett for his new drama titled, I Come with the Rain. The film is also written by Tran and centers on a private detective plagued with past memories and is searching for a missing heir with healing powers. Set to be filmed in Hong Kong, I Come with the Rain will also star Tran Anh Hung regular Tran Nu Yen Khe, and will be produced by Canal Plus, Fernando Sulichin, and Jon Kilik. --My Thanh Mac
Johnnie To to Milkyway Image: running out of time
Director Johnnie To, who is known for gritty, smart films such as Election and Exiled, bought out Milkyway Image, the stock-market listed company he has been an integral part of. To paid Hong Kong $26 million for two subsidiaries (Milky Way Image and Luminous Star) in order to create his own production team. The listed group will continue producing films through subsidiaries owned by Dennis Law Sau-yiu: Inspire Film Distribution and Point of View Movie Production. Once the split is approved and confirmed by independent shareholders, the listed group will be called by its new name, Brilliant Arts Multi-Media Holding Ltd. These four subsidiaries seemed to have been going different ways as they have been running as two teams under different supervision. According to Milkway, it was a cost-effective decision to split because of To's high overhead costs. --Julie Hong
Hong Kong's Indiana Jones
Star Group and Qin Jia Yuan Media Services Co. (QJY) have decided to produce a 30-episode TV series based on popular novel Wesley, labeled as a Hong Kong answer to Indiana Jones. The shooting will start in September and is expected to finish next year July, coming on the air in summer 2008 in China, and later in Taiwan. The team of Star's SGL Entertainment and QJY's Hangwai enterprises is working hard to develop the script as well as find a cast, director, and production crew. Presently each company's investment budget is undecided. QJY will oversee the filming in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Star will have exclusive rights to air the drama on its Star Chinese Channel in Taiwan for five years, as well as exclusive worldwide distribution rights outside of China during that period. The Hong Kong-listed company also will hold exclusive worldwide perpetual rights. --Haining Ren
Singapore arts festival
The theme of this year's festival is "Metamorphosis," which is supposed to capture the festival's progressive approach to art by merging of art forms. According to Director Goh Ching Lee, their attempt is to create cutting-edge, contemporary art by breaking down genres and barriers. One example of this feat is "Optical Identity," which is a hybrid of music from Singapore's Tang Quartet and digital technology from Scotland's Theater Cryptic. There will be a wide range of music, fusion ballet, Indian dance, installation art, and drama. There will be 1,900 artists visiting from 27 different countries, and 600,000 people are likely to attend. Partnered with the renown Edinburgh Festival, the Singapore Arts Festival will feature commissioned works that will be shown at Edinburgh as well. Lee recognizes that the Singapore government has traditionally emphasized economic development, but now there seems to be a gradual shift to the arts. The festival will be celebrating its 30th anniversary and will run from May 25th to June 24th. --Julie Hong
Danny Glover triumphs in Bollywood
Danny Glover, best known for his roles in the Lethal Weapon series as L.A. police officer Sgt. Roger Murtaugh and The Color Purple opposite Whoopi Golberg, will be honored for his outstanding contribution to global cinema at the ninth annual Bollywood Awards to be held on May 26. The fifty year-old San Francisco native has also made appearances in recent films Dreamgirls and Shooter. "Danny Glover has promoted various meaningful causes for the betterment of mankind. We are delighted that he will now be conferred with of one of our celebrated honors," says Kamal Dandona, chairman of the Bollywood Group. --Haining Ren
Spider-Man in Asia
They say three time's a charm. At least it was for the new Spider-Man installment, which broke records over the first two Spider-Man films in almost all of its Asia openings. The film, though only in its first week, has already grossed over 50% of the foreign grosses for Spider-Man ($403 million) and Spider-Man 2 ($418 million). In Japan, the film made $26.5 million at 822 theaters, and in South Korea, it made $18.3 million in 683 theaters -- in merely six days, it created three times more at the box office than its native blockbuster The Host. The film made well over $7.9 million in both Australia and China while boasting the biggest opening days for Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Jay Sands, the senior VP for Sony Pictures Releasing International, attributes the success of the film to the actors' foreign visitations and the creative publicity. According to distribution executives, franchises such as Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter are appealing to foreign markets. Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is scheduled to open on May 23 in nine foreign markets, and the latest installment of Harry Potter will be released on the second weekend of July. --Julie Hong
Date Posted: 5/11/2007