Financial backing for new John Woo epic unaffected by cast change, producer says
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Source: International Herald Tribune
URL: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/22/arts/AS-A-E-MOV-
John-Woo-Casting-Change.php
Financial backing for new John Woo epic unaffected by cast change, producer says
The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Click here to find out more!
HONG KONG: Financial backing for director John Woo's new Chinese epic has not been affected by the pullout of Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Woo's business partner said Thursday.
Woo's US$80 million (€60.2 million) movie "Red Cliff" hit a snag earlier when Leung, one of Hong Kong's biggest stars, dropped out.
But producer Terence Chang said Leung has been replaced by another prominent actor, Taiwanese-Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro, and that the movie's investors are not rattled by the casting change.
"All buyers welcome that decision," Chang said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Kaneshiro's credits include Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" and Wong Kar-wai's "Chungking Express."
Chang wouldn't say if the casting change would affect the movie's shooting schedule.
"Red Cliff" is based on a war of the same name in 208 A.D. that determined the geography of the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three separate rulers. It also stars Chow Yun-fat and Taiwanese Lin Chi-ling.
Chang said earlier shooting will start in late March in and near the Chinese capital Beijing.
The producer also said the Chinese government considers "Red Cliff" — a co-production between state-owned China Film Group and Woo's Los Angeles-based Lion Rock Productions — a showcase of Chinese history, and wants it released before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The movie will be split into two installments for Asian audiences, while a single version will be released to the rest of the world.
Leung told the AP earlier this week that he quit Woo's movie because he felt he didn't have enough time to prepare for his role of master strategist Zhuge Liang.
The actor just finished shooting Ang Lee's spy thriller "Lust, Caution." He also recently played a police officer who avenges his family's murder in "Confession of Pain."
"I think I need some time to recover. You can't remove yourself from a character in a day or two once you've immersed in it," Leung said.
"I feel a bit of regret, but I didn't know the timing would be this tight. After thinking about the matter for a long time, after discussing it with John Woo for a long time, I decided it's worse if I delayed the whole team," he said.
Woo has also faced production difficulties in preparing for "Red Cliff," which marks his return to Chinese movies after a stint in Hollywood. The Hong Kong native made his name in Hong Kong before moving to the U.S., where he made movies such as "Broken Arrow", "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible 2."
The director said earlier he could not shoot at China's largest river, the Yangtze, and had to create a similar backdrop with special effects.
Woo's art director, Tim Yip, said earlier this week the movie's production design posed a big challenge.
"It's very difficult because the scale is big. The things Woo wants to shoot are very big and the artistry is complicated," Yip told the AP on the sidelines of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong Tuesday.
But Yip, who won an Oscar for his art work on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," said he had resolved most of his problems, which included funding and location issues.
Source: International Herald Tribune
URL: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/22/arts/AS-A-E-MOV-
John-Woo-Casting-Change.php
Financial backing for new John Woo epic unaffected by cast change, producer says
The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Click here to find out more!
HONG KONG: Financial backing for director John Woo's new Chinese epic has not been affected by the pullout of Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Woo's business partner said Thursday.
Woo's US$80 million (€60.2 million) movie "Red Cliff" hit a snag earlier when Leung, one of Hong Kong's biggest stars, dropped out.
But producer Terence Chang said Leung has been replaced by another prominent actor, Taiwanese-Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro, and that the movie's investors are not rattled by the casting change.
"All buyers welcome that decision," Chang said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Kaneshiro's credits include Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" and Wong Kar-wai's "Chungking Express."
Chang wouldn't say if the casting change would affect the movie's shooting schedule.
"Red Cliff" is based on a war of the same name in 208 A.D. that determined the geography of the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three separate rulers. It also stars Chow Yun-fat and Taiwanese Lin Chi-ling.
Chang said earlier shooting will start in late March in and near the Chinese capital Beijing.
The producer also said the Chinese government considers "Red Cliff" — a co-production between state-owned China Film Group and Woo's Los Angeles-based Lion Rock Productions — a showcase of Chinese history, and wants it released before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The movie will be split into two installments for Asian audiences, while a single version will be released to the rest of the world.
Leung told the AP earlier this week that he quit Woo's movie because he felt he didn't have enough time to prepare for his role of master strategist Zhuge Liang.
The actor just finished shooting Ang Lee's spy thriller "Lust, Caution." He also recently played a police officer who avenges his family's murder in "Confession of Pain."
"I think I need some time to recover. You can't remove yourself from a character in a day or two once you've immersed in it," Leung said.
"I feel a bit of regret, but I didn't know the timing would be this tight. After thinking about the matter for a long time, after discussing it with John Woo for a long time, I decided it's worse if I delayed the whole team," he said.
Woo has also faced production difficulties in preparing for "Red Cliff," which marks his return to Chinese movies after a stint in Hollywood. The Hong Kong native made his name in Hong Kong before moving to the U.S., where he made movies such as "Broken Arrow", "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible 2."
The director said earlier he could not shoot at China's largest river, the Yangtze, and had to create a similar backdrop with special effects.
Woo's art director, Tim Yip, said earlier this week the movie's production design posed a big challenge.
"It's very difficult because the scale is big. The things Woo wants to shoot are very big and the artistry is complicated," Yip told the AP on the sidelines of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong Tuesday.
But Yip, who won an Oscar for his art work on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," said he had resolved most of his problems, which included funding and location issues.
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