News

Chinese director, screenwriter and producer He Ping, best known internationally for his hybrid ‘Chinese Westerns’, has died aged 65. Local press reported that he died of illness in Beijing on January 10.

He Ping was well known on the international film festival circuit and was one of the first Chinese filmmakers to work with a U.S. studio, directing Warriors Of Heaven And Earth with backing from the now defunct Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia (Cpfpa) in 2003. Similar to two award-winning films he made in the 1990s, the film was shot in the Western deserts of China and combined elements of classic Westerns and Chinese wuxia (swordplay) movies.

Born in Shanxi province, He started his career in the 1980s, initially directing stage productions and documentaries, and later transferring to the state-owned Xian Film Studio, where acclaimed directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige had also started their careers. His early fiction...

Author: Tom Jolliffe

“The Longest Day In Chang’an is an immersive and unforgettable show that, despite its frenetic storytelling, is in no hurry to reach its epic conclusion.”

Historical dramas made for television rarely reach the ambitious heights that The Longest Day In Chang’an scales throughout its epic 48-episode running time. Indeed, few dare to. Director Cao Dun has crafted a sumptuous adaptation of Ma Boyong’s sprawling novel of the same name for the small screen that has captivated audiences in China since its initial release in 2019.

Chang’an, the glittering beacon of the Tang Dynasty, is the location for a pulsating drama that feels distinctly modern in tone, despite its 8th-century setting. Chang’an has been brought to life with unwavering attention to detail – from each silk-woven fiber worn by its actors to the lavish sets constructed by a production team who spent more than seven...

Leading actresses Zhao Wei and Zheng Shuang are the latest victims of the Chinese government’s ongoing crackdown on the entertainment industry and the excesses of celebrity fan culture.

On Thursday, all entries related to Zhao on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo were removed, her name was scrubbed from the credits of films and TV shows and all content featuring her, including film, TV, chat show appearances and more was removed from major streaming sites like Tencent Video and iQiyi.

All discussion of Zhao on social media was also censored.

Zhao, who is also known as Vicky or Vicki ...

"I swore to never fight again. But now, I will fight for your legacy." Well Go USA has released an official US trailer for Chinese action film tiled Crazy Fist, marking the feature directorial debut of actor Guo Qing. A mixed martial arts (Mma) champion is forced out of retirement for one last fight in order to unravel a major conspiracy. When his best friend dies under suspicious circumstances during a tournament, he has no choice but to step back in the ring to help uncover the truth. First-time feature film director Guo Qing stars with Steve Yoo and Wang Wei, plus Collin Chou, Xiaoming Huang, Wei Zhao, Liu Mengke, with retired professional bodybuilder Kai Greene as one of the fighters in the final showdown. This looks like it borrows a lot from Mortal Kombat and other fight tournament movies / games. The coolest part about this trailer is the big...

Asian multihyphenate Zhao Wei is bringing some Chinese star power to the Tokyo International Film Festival this year.

The actress turned filmmaker — beloved in the Middle Kingdom for her starring roles in the films of Stephen Chow, John Woo, Johnny To and others; as well as her smash-hit directorial debut, So Young — is serving on the main competition jury at the Tokyo festival's 30th edition.

She spoke with THR about the vital role film festivals play in the global film industry and the encouraging signs of collaboration between the world's second- and third-largest movie markets — China and Japan.

...

A persistent drizzle and the impending arrival of Japan's second typhoon in one week couldn't dampen the enthusiasm Wednesday at the Tokyo International Film Festival's star-studded opening ceremony.

Tommy Lee Jones, Chinese actress Zhao Wei and big-name talent from across the Japanese and broader Asian star firmament walked the red carpet at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex, where the festival rang in its 30th anniversary edition.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the Tokyo festival on its 30th anniversary," said Japanese auteur and Cannes favorite Naomi Kawase, who walked the red carpet in a shimmering black sleeveless dress. "This...

Tommy Lee Jones will head the jury at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff), organizers announced Tuesday at the lineup press conference.

Jones will be joined on the jury by Chinese actress Zhao Wei, Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi, French director/writer Martin Provost and local actor Masatoshi Nagase to judge the 15 features in the main competition. 

The opening film will be Fullmetal Alchemist, a live-action take on a popular manga/anime franchise, the first local production to open the event in a decade. Organizers were aiming for a big international film for the 30th edition of the festival, having settled for Florence...

The film tells the story of a young ramen chef from Japan.

Japanese stars Takumi Saitoh and Seiko Matsuda have joined the cast of Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo’s upcoming foodie drama Ramen Teh.

Singapore’s Mark Lee and Jeanette Aw also star in the film, which will be co-produced by Khoo’s Zhao Wei Films and Wild Orange Artists. Also joining the ensemble cast are Tsuyoshi Ihara, Tetsuya Bessho and Singaporean theatre actress Beatrice Chien.

The film, which has started shooting in Singapore, tells the story of a young ramen chef from Japan who travels to Singapore to learn more about his Singaporean mother who died when he was ten years old.

Japanese chef Keisuke Takeda and Singapore food blogger Dr Leslie Tay have been tapped to consult on the culinary scenes in the film.

Singapore’s Clover Films will distribute the film locally. Theatrical release is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.

Katie Smith-Wong May 31, 2017

With plans afoot for a live action take on Mulan, we look at the challenges facing Disney...

After more than 50 years of making animated features, Disney have now turned their attention to live-action adaptations of their famous films. After releases such as 101 Dalmatians (1996), Maleficent (2014) and Cinderella (2015), the studio's new creative direction has earned critical acclaim and financial success. It is also making its mark on the global box office, as the recently released Beauty And The Beast remake has earned small change in the region of $1.2bn and counting.

Among the upcoming remakes planned is Mulan, which already has fans of the 1998 Disney film debating about its faithfulness to the animated feature. That's especially so given reports about director Niki Caro's indecisiveness regarding the inclusion of songs such as Honour To Us All and I'll Make A Man Out Of You, as well as the...

Three

Stars: Louis Koo, Wei Zhao, Wallace Chung, Siu-Fai Cheung, Suet Lam, Hoi-Pang Lo, Michael Tse, Adrian Wong, Kathy Wu | Written by Ho Leung Lau, Tin Shu Mak | Directed by Johnnie To

When a cop, a wounded crime boss and a doctor are thrown together in the hustle and bustle of an emergency room, a hospital descends from a pristine sanctuary to an explosive battleground. Bullets fly in a when the crime boss’s gang turn up to try and rescue him, and the cop must prevent innocent lives from being caught in the crossfire.

Johnny To’s hospital-set thriller is a Die Hard-esque tale that instantly recalls the John Woo classic Hard Boiled and yet is in no way similar in story and action. Like a number of his films before this, To takes his time building his film – introducing his characters, exploring their motivations etc. – before finally getting...

When Well Go USA released Three on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 4,2017, I expected it to be all about the fellas. I was in for a shock. In the midst of a mental tug-of-war between a band of bank robbers and a group of police detectives, Vicki Zhao quietly steals the show. I’ve heard that if you truly dislike a character that was intended to spark rage, the actor or actress did a good job. Vicki Zhao was truly beautiful and truly enraging. I could not be more pleased with the fantastic job she did. It goes without saying that Louis Koo and Wallace Chung delivered stellar performances as well, but today I want to focus on Vicki Zhao. She was the heat that melted the glue and didn’t give a damn about keeping anything together.

Director Johnnie To yet again shows his brilliance in the directing of Three.

Well Go USA will be releasing Johnnie To’s action-packed suspense film Three on Blu-ray on April 4.

Three stars Louis Koo, Wei Zhao, and Wallace Chung

When a police sting goes bad, a master criminal (Wallace Chung, Drug War) makes a desperate choice: he forces the cops to shoot him. Once there, he refuses treatment, instead waiting for his cohorts to break him out. Caught between an obsessed cop (Louis Koo, Triad Election) and the troubled surgeon assigned to save his life (Zhao Wei, Red Cliff), the hospital is now a taught-and-tense situation that could turn into a bloody battleground at any moment.

Now, you can own the Johnnie To’s Three Blu-ray. Wamg has two copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie with a number in the title? (mine is Triple 9). It’s so easy!

"True creative excess." Well Go USA recently released another new trailer for the action film Three, from Hong Kong director Johnnie To. We already featured a trailer for this film last year when it was about to hit theaters, but this new trailer is awesome and worth checking out. Johnnie To's latest film is an action-thriller set almost entirely inside of a hospital where the lives of three people intersect. When a police sting goes bad, a master criminal makes a desperate choice: he forces the cops to shoot him. Once in the hospital, he refuses treatment, instead waiting for his cohorts to break him out. The tension builds between the cop and a surgeon assigned to save his life. The cast features Louis Koo, Wallace Chung, and Vicki Zhao. Here's the newest official Us trailer (+ original poster) for Johnnie To's Three, direct from YouTube: Realizing that he...

This past year was a strong one for film. One title that ended up flying under the radar was Three, a dazzling and fantastically entertaining thriller by Johnnie To (Drug War, Election), one of the most confident stylists working anywhere today. Set over six hours in the wards and waiting rooms of Hong Kong hospital, it pits a morally compromised cop (Louis Koo) and an overworked neurosurgeon (Vicki Zhao) against a criminal ringleader (Wallace Chung) who has taken a bullet to the head, but refuses to consent for treatment, stalling for time while his gang plans to break him out. It’s an expertly coordinated chamber piece of action and suspense, executed with virtuosic camerawork, theatrical flair, and a control of color and composition that sets it apart even in To’s impressive body of work.

Those who missed seeing Three in the theater will be happy to learn that...

Johnnie To uses his favorite theme of cops and criminals, adds some doctors, and places all the action in a hospital, as he directs a truly agonizing thriller.

Suspense is the key word

Dr Tong Qian is one of the youngest neurosurgeons in the country, but seems to have stumbled upon a wall, as she has made some mistakes lately, particularly because she was overconfident. Eventually, a team of policemen headed by Chief Inspector Ken bring in a criminal with a head injury, Shun. While Dr Qian tries to operate on him, he wakes up, as it is proven that the bullet in his head has not hit anything crucial, and Shun does not give permission to operate on him. Furthermore, Inspector Ken seems to be trying to cover up the events that led to his injury and, at the same time, to discover the whereabouts of the rest of his gang.

The strand will be bookended by Alice Lowe’s Prevenge and Xander Robin’s Are We Not Cats [pictured].Scroll down for line-up

The Venice International Film Festival’s (Aug 31 - Sept 10) 2016 Critics’ Week line-up has been revealed.

The independent section of the festival – dedicated to features from debut directors – includes seven titles from five continents.

Opening the strand with be UK director Alice Lowe’s Prevenge (out of competition), which stars Lowe as a pregnant woman on a killing spree and will have its world premiere at the festival.

Lowe was co-writer and co-star of Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers. The film is a Western Edge Pictures/Gennaker production and was shot in Wales last year.

Closing will be Xander Robin’s Are We Not Cats, which was one of three genre titles to screen as a work-in-progress at the Cannes Marche this year as part of an inaugural partnership between genre market Frontières and the Cannes Film Festival...

Ahead of its official lineup being released last week (and amid rumors of what said lineup will consist of), the Venice Film Festival has announced the filmmakers and actors who will be on jury duty beginning late next month. Laurie Anderson, Gemma Arterton, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Nina Hoss, Chiara Mastroianni, Joshua Oppenheimer, Lorenzo Vigas and Zhao Wei will be heading the Competition jury alongside Sam Mendes, who’s serving as president this year.

Read More: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’ and Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’ Are ‘Virtually Assured’ to Premiere at the Venice Film Festival

Heading the Orizzonti section, meanwhile, is French director Robert Guédiguian. He’ll be joined by J. Hoberman, Nelly Karim, Valentina Lodovini, Moon So-ri, José Maria (Chema) Prado and Chaitanya Tamhane. Kim Rossi Stuart is leading the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film — Lion of the Future jury with Rosa Bosch, Brady Corbet,...

Johnnie To’s Three Should Be Subtitled ‘Out of Ten’Fantasia Film Festival 2016

Steven Spielberg’s 1941. Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. William Friedkin’s Deal of the Century. Dario Argento’s entire post-Opera filmography.

Great directors sometimes make mediocre or downright awful films. It happens to the best, and with the release of Johnnie To’s Three the director of Election, Mad Detective, Drug War, and countless other action gems has joined the club.

Shun (Wallace Chung) is a master criminal whose most recent clash with the law leaves him rushed to a hospital with a bullet in his brain. Inspector Chan (Louis Koo) has been after the thief and his violent gang for a while, and now that he has him he wants Shun to spill details of their next target. Dr. Tong (Vicki Zhao) couldn’t care less about Chan’s needs though as Shun’s condition requires...

Veteran Taiwanese actor Leon Dai has been dropped from Chinese film No Other Love because of his alleged support for Taiwanese independence. The film is the second directorial effort of actress Zhao Wei, one of China's biggest stars. It is partially financed by Alibaba Pictures Group, the filmmaking arm of Jack Ma's global e-commerce giant. Beijing-based Max Film is the leading production company behind the project.  Trouble began brewing around the film last last month, when the Communist Youth League, a junior training ground of sorts for the Chinese Communist Party elite, began a coordinated social media

read more...

The latest Chinese film to sneak into North American theatres with little fanfare, targeting immigrant communities with single multiplex screens in a handful of major metropolitan markets, is the new film from prolific Hong Kong director Johnnie To. His first crime film since 2013’s Blind Detective (yet to see a Us release) and his first film set in a hospital since his 2000 farce Help!!!, To’s latest is a bottle episode, a side-swipe at a psychological thriller about a cop, a crook and a doctor battling to see who can best exemplify humanity’s hubris in the face of chance and fate. This conflict between free will and universal randomness lies at the heart of most of the films To has made in the twenty years since he established the Milkyway Image studio, uniting both his crime thrillers and his romances, though rarely has it been stated so explicitly.Taking...

I was immediately drawn to Three for two reasons — the first being director Johnnie To, easily the most renowned action director in Hong Kong today, and second is the fact that the hospital setting with gun play gave me instant tones of John Woo’s Hard Boiled, one of my very favorite action films. Three is nothing like Hard Boiled aside from the hospital setting and gun play, but it’s a rockin’ good time all the same.

Three focuses on, well, three main roles: Inspector Chen (Louis Koo), brain surgeon Doctor Tong Qian (Vicki Zhao), and a criminal (Wallace Chung) on one fateful evening. The criminal has been shot in the head, the bullet lodged and potentially fatal. Dr. Qian has him prepped for surgery, but when he suddenly becomes alert right before anesthesia, he declares that he doesn’t to be operated on. Given his medical condition, they...

God bless Johnnie To. A prolific formalist whose lyrical flair for stories of cops and robbers regularly embarrasses the work of his Western contemporaries, the maverick Hong Kong auteur behind the likes of “Election” and “Running on Karma” is 36 years (and almost 70 features) into his career and he’s still making movies without a safety net.

“Three” is decidedly minor stuff for such a major filmmaker, but there’s nevertheless something remarkable about watching a master like To reverse-engineer an entire thriller from a single idea that he just had to try — in this case, a climactic shootout unlike anything you’ve seen before.

The raison d’être for To’s latest doesn’t become apparent until the final movements of this meticulously arranged 87-minute chamber piece, but the patient build-up to it is part of the fun. Confining the action to the crowded guts of a big Hong Kong hospital,...

With over fifty films to his name ranging from crime epics to romantic melodramas to anti-capitalist musicals, prolific Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To has long had a reputation for unpredictability. Three, his latest film, appears to be a return to his favorite theme of cops and robbers, but, true to To’s eccentric sensibilities it’s much more about the setting of a hospital and a suffering doctor than a prevailing interest in the main conflict.

The director is clear about his emotional crux from the first shot as the camera zooms in through an operating room window and fluidly pans around a frazzled doctor (Wei Zhao) performing brain surgery. A subsequent conversation with her superiors underlines the extent of this doctor’s stress, but To’s camerawork is perfectly fluent in communicating fraying nerves, panning slowly as her hand slightly shakes and, as she pushes forward in vain, the...

To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.

Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list here, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.

See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, June 24. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.

Wide

Free State of Jones

Director: Gary Ross

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland

Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”

Independence Day: Resurgence...

Things are going south in a Hong Kong hospital when a criminal (Wallace Chung), hit by a bullet in the head, is brought for an urgent operation but refuses treatment. Tension rises between a tough cop (Louis Koo) and an ethical yet troubled surgeon (Zhao Wei) when they must decide how to handle the problem. Taking advantage of the situation, the thug will do his best to gain time so that his pals can break him out. Given the concept and the filmmaker, is it clear that the viewers are in for a treat. Using the closed premises of a hospital, Johnnie To is back to what he does best: in a handful of scenes, the Hong Kong director skillfully sets up the highly tensed...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"We're professionals, but not everything is within our control." Well Go USA has debuted a short trailer for the pending Us release of the new Johnnie To film titled Three. His new film is another action-thriller set almost entirely inside of a hospital where the lives of three people intersect. When a police sting goes bad, a master criminal makes a desperate choice: he forces the cops to shoot him. Once in the hospital, he refuses treatment, instead waiting for his cohorts to break him out. The tension builds between the cop and a surgeon assigned to save his life. The cast features Louis Koo, Wallace Chung, Vicki Zhao and others. This Us trailer doesn't have any of the dialogue, but I like the music. I just wonder if it's actually any good. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Johnnie To's Three, direct from Well Go USA's YouTube:...

Just last week we brought you the first teaser for Three, the latest effort from Hong Kong action maestro Johnnie To. And today another effort arrives, one that doesn't exclude the kinetic action but which certainly has a bit more focus on the characters. The paths of a criminal with a bullet in his head, a policeman about to turn rogue, and a surgeon from China get crossed during a showdown in a hospital. Louis Koo, Wallace Chung and Vicki Zhao star. Check out the new teaser below.    ...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Exclusive: Three stars Louis Koo, Wallace Chung and Vicki Zhao Wei.

Well Go USA has pounced on Johnnie To’s upcoming crime thriller Three, acquiring rights for North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Hong Kong-based Media Asia is handling sales on the film, which stars Louis Koo, Wallace Chung and Vicki Zhao Wei and is in post-production.

Well Go is planning a theatrical release in North America day-and-date with China on June 24, 2016.

Produced by Media Asia, Milkyway Image and Shanghai Hairun Film & TV, Three revolves around a showdown in a hospital involving a criminal with a bullet in his head, a policeman and a surgeon.

Media Asia is screening a 45-minute documentary about the making of the film in the Cannes market, which is being sold as a stand-alone programme.

Media Asia’s Cannes slate also includes John Woo’s action thriller Manhunt, starring Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu and Japan’s Masaharu Fukuyama, which is scheduled...

Cast:

Louis Koo

Wallace Chung

Zhao Wei

Lam Suet

Lo Hoi-Pang

Timmy Hung

Michael Tse

Director: Johnnie To

Plot:

Da Yi (Wallace Chung) has just been released from prison and he re-encountered brother Le who he worked with eight years ago. They decided to work together to do an assignment again. Meanwhile, in order to trace the mastermind behind the crime eight years ago, policeman Yong (Louis Koo), has been tracking down Da Yi. After Da Yi and gang managed to seize some narcotics, the police began to chase after them. Vicki Zhao’s role is a doctor who finds herself in a crossfire between the police and gangsters. Currently it is still unknown how her character will play out in the story. (Vicki was rumoured to be an assassin before the official conference. Guess they’ve changed the script? Because even now the script is still in the process of being finalised.

Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.

The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.

A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.

Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.

The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...

Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.

The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.

A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.

Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.

The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...

Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.

The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.

A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.

Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.

The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...

Exclusive: A Really Happy Film Company is being launched by N&J Enterprises and Cmc Magnetics.

Nansun Shi and Jeffrey Chan’s N&J Enterprises is teaming with Taiwan’s Cmc Magnetics to launch a distribution company in Taiwan.

The new outfit, A Really Happy Film Company, will release Eric Khoo’s In The Room [pictured] in Taiwan on March 18. The erotic drama is a co-production between A Really Good Film Company, which is 100% owned by N&J Enterprises, and Singapore’s Zhao Wei Films.

N&J Enterprises also owns 60% of international sales company Distribution Workshop, with Bona Film Group holding the other 40%.

“This Taiwan joint venture is part of an expansion and re-positioning strategy we have beyond the existing international sales business of Distribution Workshop,” Chan told Screen.

“We hope there will be more international co-production and co-investment projects coming out of A Really Good Film Company for distribution through A Really Happy Film Company.”

The Taiwanese...

Zhao Wei. Photograph by Chinese Aladdin distributed under a Cc- By-sa 3.0

Zhao Wei and My Fair Princess fans, rejoice! The hit TV series will be brought to life on the big screen with the reboot of the beloved show under the helm of Zhao Wei on the directorial seat.

The animated film is a departure from convention as the new version of ‘My Fair Princess’ will be made to appeal to a new generation of audience and will be produced by Alibaba Pictures under the Alibaba Group.

Zhao Wei first appeared on the limelight as Xiao Yan Zi, the brash, clever, and fearless orphan and lead character in My Fair Princess along with then-newcomers and future superstars Ruby Lin, Fan Bingbing, Alex Su, and Zhao Jie.

The series was created by Taiwan-based Chiung Yao and enjoyed high ratings during its initial release in mainland China and Taiwan in 1998. It held...

Guy Maddin with Kim Morgan in photo booth in Yves Montmayeur's The 1000 Eyes Of Dr Maddin

The director of Michael H - Profession: Director, the documentary about Michael Haneke which features Jean-Louis Trintignant, Susanne Lothar, Josef Bierbichler, Béatrice Dalle, Juliette Binoche, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert, is off to Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo. Yves Montmayeur has his sights on Shu Qi (Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin), Michelle Yeoh and Cheng Pei-Pei (Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Zhao Wei (Ma Jingle and Dong Wei's Mulan: Rise Of A Warrior) and Eihi Shiina (Audition, Tokyo Gore Police) for his "new documentary film on 'Amazons in the Asian Pop Culture'! Or how Asian warrior women are dealing with martial arts and feminism."

The 1000 Eyes Of Dr Maddin director Yves Montmayeur Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

His latest film, The 1000 Eyes Of Dr Maddin, which stars Isabella Rossellini, Udo Kier, Kenneth Anger, John Waters,...

The annual awards which close China’s Hundred Flowers Film Festival, were held this year in Changchun, Jilin Province. Here is the list of winners:

Best Original Screenplay: Li Qiang (The Golden Era)

Best Editing: Yu Boyang (The Taking of Tiger Mountain)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Ang Xu, Yujiao Li, Jinglong Han (12 Citizens)

Best Sound: Jing Tao (Coming Home)

Best Chinese Opera Film: Female Governor in the Tang Dynasty

Best Cinematography: Zeng Jian (Phurbu & Tenzin)

Award for Low Budget Feature: Nuo Ri Ji Ma

Best Music: Hao Weiya (Phurbu & Tenzin)

Best Animation: Monkey King: Hero is Back

Best Art Direction: Quan Rongzhe (Wolf Totem)

Best Director: Tsui Hark (The Taking of Tiger Mountain)

Best Directorial Debut: Jianbin Chen (A Fool)

Best Supporting Actor: Yi Zhang (Dearest)

Best Actor: Zhang Hanyu (The Taking of Tiger Mountain)

Best Picture: Wolf Totem (Jean-Jacques Annaud)

Best Supporting Actress: Deng Jiajia (Silent Witness)

Best Actress:...

Following the recent successful theatrical runs for Raman Hui's Monster Hunt and Dong Cheng Peng's Jian Bing Man, Australian distributor Magnum Films will next be releasing actor / director Xu Zheng's Lost In Hong Kong. It is the follow-up film to the massive 2012 hit Lost In Thailand, which was the highest grossing local film at the Chinese box office until it was recently dethroned by Monster Hunt (now the all-time box office champion at the Chinese box office). Starring Xu himself and Zhao Wei, Lost In Hong Kong is set to become the next Chinese mega-blockbuster.  Thanks to Magnum Films, we have Five double passes to give away to our readers. For a chance to win, all you have to do is to follow these two steps:1)...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Read More: Well Go USA Acquires Western Thriller 'The Timber' Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to Xu Zheng's "Lost in Hong Kong." The company will roll out the comedy film in a day-and-date release plan for China and the U.S. starting Friday, September 25. "Lost in Hong Kong" stars Zheng as Xu Lai, a former artist living out a mediocre lifestyle with his wife, Cai Bo (Zhao Wei). Planning to reunite with his first love on an upcoming trip, Xu's life gets thrown into disarray when he finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation that proves to be stranger than fiction. The film's predecessor, "Lost in Thailand," was the highest grossing film released in China in 2012, and it is currently the second highest grossing Chinese-language film in history, so expectations are quite high for the sequel.  "We're very pleased to bring 'Lost...

The deal has triggered a September 25 day-and-date release that will see the distributor open the film in North America on the same day as its Chinese launch.

Xu Zheng’s comedy, a sequel to the 2012 release Lost In Thailand, centres on an aspiring artist who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation before a vacation.

Zheng wrote, produced and stars alongside Zhao Wei and Du Juan.

Well Go USA president and CEO Doris Pfardrescher brokered the Lost In Hong Kong deal with Enlight Pictures.

The distributor holds Us rights to Toronto Midnight Madness selection Spl 2: A Time For Consequences.

Rlj Entertainment has acquired all non-theatrical North American rights to Thomas K Phillips’ The North Star, about two slaves who escape to freedom from a Virginia plantation in the mid-19th century. Production company LuckPig Studios will release in theatres in September, while Rlj will air the feature on its digital channel Urban Movie Channel. Jeremiah Trotter andThomas...

Fox International Channels (Fic) unit Star Chinese Movies (Scm) has acquired TV and digital media rights to three of Beijing-based Enlight Media’s biggest current titles.

The three titles are action comedy Hollywood Adventures, written and produced by Justin Lin (Star Trek 3), coming-of-age drama The Left Ear, based on Rao Zueman’s popular novel; and comedy Lost In Hong Kong, which stars Zhao Wei and Xu Zheng.

Zhao Wei also stars in Hollywood Adventures along with Huang Xiaoming and Tong Dawei. The film is scheduled for wide China release on June 26. The Left Ear was a hit when it was released in China earlier this year and Lost In Hong Kong is scheduled for release in September/October.

The three titles will be available on Star Chinese Movies (Scm) linear, VOD and online catch-up service (Scm Play) after their theatrical releases in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

“We are excited to work with Enlight Pictures and thrilled...

This story first appeared in the June 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. On June 3, Justin Lin placed his hands in cement alongside Chinese superstars Zhao Wei and Huang Xiaoming at Hollywood's Tcl Chinese Theatre, marking a milestone that the filmmaker didn't take lightly. "As an Asian- American, representation has always been a big issue," said Lin, whose parents are Chinese and who grew up in Orange County. He talked to THR before the ceremony, which also celebrated the Chinese production Hollywood Adventures, starring the two actors (Lin produced).

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Exclusive: Three weeks out from starting production on Star Trek 3, director Justin Lin took time away to drop his hands in cement at the Tcl Chinese Theater in Hollywood, alongside Huang Xiaoming and Zhao Wei, to celebrate the iconic movie house's 88th anniversary. Lin took a few moments to reflect on a career that began with maxing out 10 credit cards to help fund his debut Better Luck Tomorrow, a gamble that has left him in an enviable place. After directing four Fast…...

Exclusive: Three weeks out from starting production on Star Trek 3, director Justin Lin took time away to drop his hands in cement at the Tcl Chinese Theater in Hollywood, alongside Huang Xiaoming and Zhao Wei, to celebrate the iconic movie house's 88th anniversary. Lin took a few moments to reflect on a career that began with maxing out 10 credit cards to help fund his debut Better Luck Tomorrow, a gamble that has left him in an enviable place. After directing four Fast…...

Justin Lin, the Taiwan-born director of Fast & Furious instalments 3 through 6, has been hard at work steering his Chinese language debut - the Us-set, star-studded action comedy Hollywood Adventures to the screen. Lin writes and produces the film, which stars Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei and Vicky Zhao Wei, as well as F&F's Sung Kang, and a host of cameos from the likes of Missi Pyle and Stephen Tobolowsky. In the director's chair is Timothy Kendall, whose prominent credits appear to be directing episodes of TV shows like The Book Club and Dick Fowler, Pi. The plot centres around Yu Ming (Huang), who heads to Los Angeles to propose to his girlfriend (Sarah Li). Along the way he inadvertently teams up with another Chinese tourist...

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Exclusive: Im Global has picked up international rights outside the Us and South-East Asia to Chinese action comedy Hollywood Adventures, produced by Justin Lin.

Directed by Timothy Kendall, the Chinese and English-language film was mostly shot in Los Angeles and stars Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei and Vicky Zhao Wei. It was backed by Beijing-based Enlight Pictures and Bruno Wu’s Seven Stars Entertainment. A wide Chinese release has been scheduled for June 26.

In addition to Lin, producers on the film include Anne Clements, John Pierson and Lin’s partner in Perfect Storm Entertainment, Troy Craig Poon.

Im Global is also selling Wuershan’s big-budget adventure The Ghouls, co-produced by Wanda Pictures, Huayi Brothers and Enlight Pictures, at Cannes. “We’re seeing more of these big Chinese movies that in terms of production values and visual sophistication can compete with anything out there,” said Im Global chief Stuart Ford.

Under its output deal with Huayi Brothers, Im Global is also...

Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.

The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.

Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.

Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.

As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...

Ann Hui’s The Golden Era continued its awards sweep at the Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night, winning five prizes including best film and best director.

The biopic of writer Xiao Hong also won best cinematography, best art direction and best costume and make-up. It recently won best director and best supporting actor at the Asian Film Awards in Macau.

Overheard 3 was also a multiple winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, clinching best actor for Lau Ching-wan, best supporting actor for Kenneth Tsang and best screenplay for Alan Mak and Felix Chong’s script.

Best actress went to Vicky Zhao Wei for Peter Ho-sun Chan’s child abduction drama Dearest, while Ivana Wong picked up both best supporting actress and best new performer for her role in comedy Golden Chickensss.

David Lee won the best new director award for Derek Yee-produced thriller Insanity. Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home won the award for best...

The 34th Hong Kong Film Awards have named Ann Hui's epic drama The Golden Era Best Film of the year, with Hui taking the Best Director prize. The film, which stars Tang Wei as famed Chinese writer Xiao Hong, won five awards on the night, including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costumes & Make-Up.Tang missed out on the Best Actress prize, which went to Zhao Wei for Peter Chan's Dearest, while Lau Ching Wan was named Best Actor for his turn in Overheard 3, one of three awards for Alan Mak and Felix Chong's surveillance threequel. It also won in the Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (for Kenneth Tsang) categories. Meanwhile, Ivana Wong scored an impressive double, winning both the Best Supporting Actress...

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Following Alice In Wonderland, Maleficent, the just-released Cinderella and the currently-filming Beauty And The Beast, Disney are heading east for their next live-action fairytale. The Mouse House are now putting together a new retelling of the Chinese legend Mulan. Newcoming team Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek are at work on the screenplay.Disney, you'll recall, previously tackled Mulan with a classic animation in 1998, hence most of the internet this morning referring to the new iteration as a remake. Since the legend dates back to the sixth century, however, it seems a bit much to be calling the one with the proto-Donkey Eddie Murphy comedy dragon the "original version", as many are. The first film adaptation was a Chinese silent in 1927.Whatever, in any telling, the thrust is a peasant girl who disguises herself as a man and takes her father's place in the army to go off and fight dastardly invading forces.

Media Asia launched its new slate at Filmart yesterday, which includes Johnnie To’s heist movie Three and Adam Wong’s He Remembers, She Forgets, starring Miriam Yeung and Jan Lamb.

To’s heist drama Three stars Louis Koo, Vicki Zhao Wei and Wallace Chung in the story of doctor who finds herself in a crossfire between the police and gangsters.

To has also teamed with Yau Nai-hoi to produce Trivisa, directed by three up-and-coming filmmakers, about three notorious mainland gangsters who come together for their latest heist.

Wong’s new Media Asia project is nostalgic romantic drama He Remembers, She Forgets, produced by Teddy Robin and Svaille Chan.

Wong won best new director at last year’s Hong Kong Film Awards for his independently-produced street dance movie, The Way We Dance.

Media Asia’s 2015 slate also includes two romantic comedies: All You Need Is Love, starring Richie Jen and Shu Qi; and An Office And A Panderer...