News Links - 3/22/07
Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:09 amJet Li Unearths Role in "Mummy 3"
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/22/60@208126.htm
Lost in Beijing: Chinese producer, director unpunished so far after screening
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/00 ... 201654.htm
3 directors form a 'Triangle'
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111796 ... id=13&cs=1
The Old Barber
A barber’s everyday life makes for an unusual feature film set in rustic China
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstor ... sid=227442
Financial backing for new John Woo epic unaffected by cast change, producer says
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/ ... Change.php
Ang Lee is toughest
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archiv ... 105261.htm
Tony Leung: I'm a good "salesman"
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/21/ ... 59573.html
Jay Chou's Songs Likely to be Withdrawn from KTV Venues
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/22/1361@208024.htm
Hong Kong largely overlooked in Asian Film Awards
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 71/1/.html
Diversity Gets Animated
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articl ... ?id=116372
Malaysia: Kinta 1881
A period drama, with lots of martial arts action thrown in, is Malaysian film director C.L. Hor’s latest project.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies
Packed with a punch
By MICHAEL CHEANG
A period drama, with lots of martial arts action thrown in, is Malaysian film director C.L. Hor’s latest project.
Thanks to the wonders of technology, these days a martial arts film doesn’t necessarily require an actor to know how to fight. With a little CGI (computer- generated imagery), many wires and a good action choreographer, even the most stiff-jointed actor can fight like Bruce Lee.
Nevertheless, it is a proven fact that the best kung fu flicks ever made usually star actors who know how to wield the sword, or break a villain’s neck with a single punch. Think Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China, Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, or Tony Jaa in Ong Bak. The presence of these real-life martial arts exponents in these movies played a huge part in turning otherwise ordinary action flicks into legendary kung fu classics.
Bearing that in mind, Malaysian film director C.L. Hor can count himself lucky that when he starts filming Malaysia’s first-ever martial arts flick – Kinta 1881 – he will be able to boast not just one, but seven true-blue martial arts exponents. The stars include former world wushu champion Robin Ho, in the leading role; national wushu champions Michael Chin, Kuan Fei and Shawn Lee; as well as world champion tai chi exponent David Bao from China.
Set for action: C.L. Hor will soon start filming Kinta 1881, Malaysia’s first-ever martial arts flick.
Set in pre-Merdeka Perak, when gang wars were common in the tin mining colonies, the movie is slated for release in November.
To ensure that the action sequences can match the fighting ability of his actors, Hor has enlisted experienced Hong Kong stunt choreographer Chin Ka Lok. Chin is a former member of Hong Kong stunt and kung fu maestro Sammo Hung’s team. Chin used to stand in as a stunt double for international action superstar Jackie Chan, and has appeared in movies like Full Throttle, My Kung Fu Sweetheart, as well as Chan’s Thunderbolt and Drunken Master II.
As an action choreographer, Chin has garnered nominations in the best action choreography categories at the 2005 Golden Horse and the Hong Kong Film Awards for his work on the triad drama, One Nite in Mongkok.
According to Hor, Chin has met all the actors and seen what they can do; and is very impressed.
“Even the film distributors in China and Hong Kong were very impressed with the ability of the actors when they saw the trailer. They were amazed that we have so many talented martial arts exponents,” Hor says. “Our wushu athletes are among the best in the world – they are recognised, and some are world champions. I feel really proud as a Malaysian to be associated with them. This inspired me to try and fit them into a movie. Who knows? We may be able to push them into becoming bigger stars, like Jet Li and Jackie Chan.”
As for that small detail of their being relative newcomers in the world of filmmaking, Hor feels it’s not an issue at all. In fact, he enjoys working with new actors, because he reckons it is easier to mould them and give them a chance to shine.
“We are really lucky to have discovered this bunch of guys who are real performers cum athletes; and if no one gives them the chance (to act), then there is nowhere they can go.
“These guys have been training and training since they were kids, just to represent the country. But after they retire, what can they do? They can’t just rely on coaching alone. This is an area I would like to develop, to show them that besides being just a wushu coach, you can also apply your skills in other industries like filmmaking.”
As for their acting skills, he reckons that can be trained.
“We’ve taken into consideration their acting skills, and I believe that after they are trained by professionals, they can really go somewhere.”
Hor is also looking to add a bit of local martial arts flavour by having some scenes with silat exponents as well. “I am planning a scene where the main cast have to live in a kampung and are inspired by some silat exponent, and eventually apply silat into their own way of fighting.”
Even without the added logistical headache of setting up the action scenes, making Kinta 1881 is turning out to be five times harder than his previous movie, The 3rd Generation. And they haven’t even started filming yet!
“This is a very ambitious film, because we chose to set it in the 1880s. We had to do a lot of research and make creative set designs to recreate the era. But I’m glad to say that the movie will be quite believable in terms of historical facts, as well as designs of the costumes and sets.” Hor adds that while it would have been far simpler to make a modern action flick, the point of Kinta 1881 was extraordinary.
“The scope of this movie reflects the Chinese society in Malaysia, just like The 3rd Generation in which I talked about how the local Chinese have evolved from generation to generation,” he says.
With the new movie, Hor wants to go further. “I want to show people outside Malaysia the roots of the Malaysian-Chinese.
“The main story is about how the Chinese came here, how they moved on and continued living in this country after 1881. This is also one important part of Malaysian history. The martial arts and action is merely there to increase the entertainment value of the movie.”
As the title suggests, the movie will be set in the Kinta Valley in the 1880s, when tin ore was discovered in the area, and Chinese immigrants flooded the valley in hopes of making their fortune.
Several locations, including Kampar and Gua Tempurung, have been earmarked for shooting.
“The main location is at the original and first-ever tin mine in Kampar, which is still operational,” says Hor.
“During 1883 and 1884, Malaysia was the largest producer of tin in the world, and most of it came from the Kinta Valley.
“The beauty of the Kampar and Taiping areas is these areas still have operational tin dredges. For those of us who had never seen one, it was fantastic to see how they actually mine the tin at these dredges,” he says, adding that not many people actually know what tin mining is like, and people outside Malaysia don’t even know what tin ore is.
“Some of my friends in Hong Kong thought that the movie is about a type of rice! (The term for tin is sek mai in Cantonese, which literally means tin rice.) Even the stunt director was planning fights set in rice mills!
“That’s another thing we want to introduce to the world – that Malaysia produces tin ore, and it is a very important part of our history.”
Filming of Kinta 1881 is set to begin in April, and its tentative release date is November this year. It is the first film to be made under the newly-formed film production company Absolutely Black – a collaboration between Hor’s Blackbox Pictures and event management company CMG Absolute.
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/22/60@208126.htm
Lost in Beijing: Chinese producer, director unpunished so far after screening
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/00 ... 201654.htm
3 directors form a 'Triangle'
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111796 ... id=13&cs=1
The Old Barber
A barber’s everyday life makes for an unusual feature film set in rustic China
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstor ... sid=227442
Financial backing for new John Woo epic unaffected by cast change, producer says
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/ ... Change.php
Ang Lee is toughest
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archiv ... 105261.htm
Tony Leung: I'm a good "salesman"
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/21/ ... 59573.html
Jay Chou's Songs Likely to be Withdrawn from KTV Venues
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/22/1361@208024.htm
Hong Kong largely overlooked in Asian Film Awards
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 71/1/.html
Diversity Gets Animated
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articl ... ?id=116372
Malaysia: Kinta 1881
A period drama, with lots of martial arts action thrown in, is Malaysian film director C.L. Hor’s latest project.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story ... sec=movies
Packed with a punch
By MICHAEL CHEANG
A period drama, with lots of martial arts action thrown in, is Malaysian film director C.L. Hor’s latest project.
Thanks to the wonders of technology, these days a martial arts film doesn’t necessarily require an actor to know how to fight. With a little CGI (computer- generated imagery), many wires and a good action choreographer, even the most stiff-jointed actor can fight like Bruce Lee.
Nevertheless, it is a proven fact that the best kung fu flicks ever made usually star actors who know how to wield the sword, or break a villain’s neck with a single punch. Think Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China, Jackie Chan in Drunken Master, or Tony Jaa in Ong Bak. The presence of these real-life martial arts exponents in these movies played a huge part in turning otherwise ordinary action flicks into legendary kung fu classics.
Bearing that in mind, Malaysian film director C.L. Hor can count himself lucky that when he starts filming Malaysia’s first-ever martial arts flick – Kinta 1881 – he will be able to boast not just one, but seven true-blue martial arts exponents. The stars include former world wushu champion Robin Ho, in the leading role; national wushu champions Michael Chin, Kuan Fei and Shawn Lee; as well as world champion tai chi exponent David Bao from China.
Set for action: C.L. Hor will soon start filming Kinta 1881, Malaysia’s first-ever martial arts flick.
Set in pre-Merdeka Perak, when gang wars were common in the tin mining colonies, the movie is slated for release in November.
To ensure that the action sequences can match the fighting ability of his actors, Hor has enlisted experienced Hong Kong stunt choreographer Chin Ka Lok. Chin is a former member of Hong Kong stunt and kung fu maestro Sammo Hung’s team. Chin used to stand in as a stunt double for international action superstar Jackie Chan, and has appeared in movies like Full Throttle, My Kung Fu Sweetheart, as well as Chan’s Thunderbolt and Drunken Master II.
As an action choreographer, Chin has garnered nominations in the best action choreography categories at the 2005 Golden Horse and the Hong Kong Film Awards for his work on the triad drama, One Nite in Mongkok.
According to Hor, Chin has met all the actors and seen what they can do; and is very impressed.
“Even the film distributors in China and Hong Kong were very impressed with the ability of the actors when they saw the trailer. They were amazed that we have so many talented martial arts exponents,” Hor says. “Our wushu athletes are among the best in the world – they are recognised, and some are world champions. I feel really proud as a Malaysian to be associated with them. This inspired me to try and fit them into a movie. Who knows? We may be able to push them into becoming bigger stars, like Jet Li and Jackie Chan.”
As for that small detail of their being relative newcomers in the world of filmmaking, Hor feels it’s not an issue at all. In fact, he enjoys working with new actors, because he reckons it is easier to mould them and give them a chance to shine.
“We are really lucky to have discovered this bunch of guys who are real performers cum athletes; and if no one gives them the chance (to act), then there is nowhere they can go.
“These guys have been training and training since they were kids, just to represent the country. But after they retire, what can they do? They can’t just rely on coaching alone. This is an area I would like to develop, to show them that besides being just a wushu coach, you can also apply your skills in other industries like filmmaking.”
As for their acting skills, he reckons that can be trained.
“We’ve taken into consideration their acting skills, and I believe that after they are trained by professionals, they can really go somewhere.”
Hor is also looking to add a bit of local martial arts flavour by having some scenes with silat exponents as well. “I am planning a scene where the main cast have to live in a kampung and are inspired by some silat exponent, and eventually apply silat into their own way of fighting.”
Even without the added logistical headache of setting up the action scenes, making Kinta 1881 is turning out to be five times harder than his previous movie, The 3rd Generation. And they haven’t even started filming yet!
“This is a very ambitious film, because we chose to set it in the 1880s. We had to do a lot of research and make creative set designs to recreate the era. But I’m glad to say that the movie will be quite believable in terms of historical facts, as well as designs of the costumes and sets.” Hor adds that while it would have been far simpler to make a modern action flick, the point of Kinta 1881 was extraordinary.
“The scope of this movie reflects the Chinese society in Malaysia, just like The 3rd Generation in which I talked about how the local Chinese have evolved from generation to generation,” he says.
With the new movie, Hor wants to go further. “I want to show people outside Malaysia the roots of the Malaysian-Chinese.
“The main story is about how the Chinese came here, how they moved on and continued living in this country after 1881. This is also one important part of Malaysian history. The martial arts and action is merely there to increase the entertainment value of the movie.”
As the title suggests, the movie will be set in the Kinta Valley in the 1880s, when tin ore was discovered in the area, and Chinese immigrants flooded the valley in hopes of making their fortune.
Several locations, including Kampar and Gua Tempurung, have been earmarked for shooting.
“The main location is at the original and first-ever tin mine in Kampar, which is still operational,” says Hor.
“During 1883 and 1884, Malaysia was the largest producer of tin in the world, and most of it came from the Kinta Valley.
“The beauty of the Kampar and Taiping areas is these areas still have operational tin dredges. For those of us who had never seen one, it was fantastic to see how they actually mine the tin at these dredges,” he says, adding that not many people actually know what tin mining is like, and people outside Malaysia don’t even know what tin ore is.
“Some of my friends in Hong Kong thought that the movie is about a type of rice! (The term for tin is sek mai in Cantonese, which literally means tin rice.) Even the stunt director was planning fights set in rice mills!
“That’s another thing we want to introduce to the world – that Malaysia produces tin ore, and it is a very important part of our history.”
Filming of Kinta 1881 is set to begin in April, and its tentative release date is November this year. It is the first film to be made under the newly-formed film production company Absolutely Black – a collaboration between Hor’s Blackbox Pictures and event management company CMG Absolute.
