Stephen Chow's New Film "Yangtze River VII" to Start Shooting

Hong Kong comic star and director Stephen Chow has announced that his next film, "Yangtze River VII," will begin shooting at the end of August in Ningbo, southeast China.

At a cost of 200 million RMB, the film is co-funded by Chow's Star Overseas Limited, the China Film Group Corporation and Beijing PolyBona Film Publishing.

The famous actor will play the lead, traveling to outer space with the help of a spaceship named "Yangtze River VII."

Young Chinese actress Zhang Yuqi has been chosen to play a robot in the film.

Although it will involve many stunts, rather than pure science fiction, "Yangtze River VII" centers on the love between a father and son. The astronaut played by Chow is the father, while the role of the son has yet to be filled.

Stephen Chow has expressed his desire to make full use of digital special effects this time around, as he also plans to continue to perfect his unique comedic style.

Special effects will be integral to the astronaut's launch into space, while stunt scenes represent 70% of the entire film.

Kicking up a fuss all over the world



Cynthia Rothrock and her 7-year-old daughter, Skyler.



Delaware has never been known as a bedrock for martial arts.

But the First State can lay claim to being the birthplace of one of the great all-time female martial arts fighters, Cynthia Rothrock, who has also starred in several flicks that boast flying fists, brutal chops and devastating kicks.

Rothrock was born at Wilmington Hospital in 1957 but spent her formative years in Scranton, Pa., where she fell in love with martial arts.

When she was 13, she would watch karate practice at a facility owned by her friend's parents. She was drawn to the uniforms and an intangible something else, so her mother, Ann Joy Markowski, who is from Delaware, signed her up.

At the time, she couldn't have known that this decision would lead to her earning six different black belts as well as roles in more than 30 films.

That's probably because she wasn't too good, or interested, after dipping her toe in.

"When I first started I didn't like it, because at that point there weren't many girls doing it," said Rothrock, 39, who lives in Santa Monica, Calif. "I had to shout, and I felt intimidated. I wanted to quit after four months."

Like Uma Thurman's character in "Kill Bill Vol. 2," her master at Scranton Karate School challenged her toward greatness by giving a speech to her class that if you weren't any good, it's probably because you weren't practicing.

And, so, she practiced. A lot. She placed second in her first karate competition, beating several black belts along the way.

"I thought, wow, maybe I can be pretty good."

After receiving her black belt, she started teaching and opened up her own school in Wilkes-Barre. When she was 21 she took part in a professional tournament at the Playboy club in New Jersey, where a woman convinced her to go to California to compete there.

She hasn't left since.

Oddly, Rothrock's first big break in Hollywood, which came in 1982, was for a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial. The chain wanted her to display her skills in weapons, since she was ranked No. 1 nationally in that field. The theme, she said, was "The Best of the Best" -- she was No. 1 in karate, and KFC was No. 1 in chicken.

"That really impressed me, because they built a KFC in the studio," Rothrock said. "They said, 'Here's $250, go have some dinner.'"

She landed her first film role in 1985. When she auditioned for "Yes, Madam," which was to be shot in Hong Kong, the casting people were looking for the Caucasian Bruce Lee, she said. They ended up signing her to play the part, even though they really wanted a guy.

That kicked off her long and fruitful film career, which has included performing in films with Jackie Chan and David Carradine (in 1990's "Martial Law") and took her to shoots in Greece, Tawain, Nepal and Russia.

"It took me to places that I might never have gone to," she said. "It's taken me around the world."

It's also taken her through a world of pain. She once got hit in the nose with a steel whip.

Another time, in the 1989 flick "Blonde Fury," a scene called for her to jump off a 30-foot building in high heels, carrying a fake baby, onto cardboard boxes, with an explosion raging behind her.

"If I didn't jump when they said jump, I would have gotten burned," she said. "That probably was the scariest thing I've ever done."

Rothrock still does movies, but not as often as before because the independent industry is smaller than it was before. She focuses most of her time on her 7-year-old daughter, Skyler, and a comic book in production now, "Cyn," in which she stars.

Any idea which Jackie Chan film/films she was in?

Crazy Stone: Crazy like a fox?



With the release of its first joint-venture film in China, Warner Bros. is taking an aggressive and (we believe) unique approach in trying to minimize the effect piracy has on the release. Could it actually be working?

Warner released the low-budget (US$400,000) Crazy Stone (疯狂石头) in Chinese theaters on June 30. Less than two weeks later, the studio released legit copies of Crazy Stone on DVD, and they are reportedly selling for as little as 10 kuai in DVD shops throughout China.

The heist comedy from 28-year-old writer/director Ning Hao (one if its producers is Andy Lau) has become a surprise hit this year, earning US$1.5 million to date, despite the fact that much of the movie is delivered in a Chongqing dialect with no subtitles. Reports claim that the movie's weekly box office take actually rose in its second week, uncommon in China, and that the movie benefited from being released during a month-long halt on foreign film releases in China. Stories also said that somehow no black market DVDs of Crazy Stone were available during its first week of release (the real story here would be how they managed that). Bootleg DVDs are no doubt available now, what with perfect studio versions to copy from. We saw Crazy Stone at our local DVD shop yesterday for 7 kuai.

So, how is the movie? We haven't seen it yet. But, for what it's worth, SH magazine gives it four out of five stars.

Crazy Stone is supposed to be released in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore later this summer.

Snake In Eagles Shadow, Police Story 2 and JSA (Joint Security Area) are all winging their way to my doorstep. Really looking forward to Snake In Eagles shadow, I've heard great things about the fight choreography.

Same. I shall be borrowing that one from you post haste good sir.

Anyway, here are some Asian films you *need* to see, most if not all can be brought from play for 6 quid or so. (also, most of them have probably come up, just didn't want to have to go through 20 pages )

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - Easily the best of Park's Vengeance, the fact that Old Boy got so much more media recognition than the title that started the trilogy makes me cry myself to sleep every night.

9 Souls - I believe I heard Blue Spring was mentioned so I certainly hope this has been, what with both coming from the same director, the former being cack (sorry, in my own opinion) and the later being one of the greatest pieces of Asian cinema ever concieved. About a group of escaped convics, is a comedy/so much more and I don't want to say anything else as I'd probably spoil it.

Save the Green Planet - It's crazy, it's zaney, it was dubbed as a comedy through PR, but it's so not a comedy! Follows a schitzophrenic (albeit not the most positive steriotype of one), and is really quite amazing.

Sky High - Note this is purely due to my insane Kitamari fanboyism (minus Azumi, I hate the vast majority of the flick) and the copious amount of alcohol I had before/whilst watching it. Needless to say if you watch it with at least 50% of your bodily fluids being booze you'll marvel at the titles sense of nobility, justice and faith. Also there's plenty o' kick-ass "Versus" sparks flying aplenty sword fighting at the end.

Wild Zero - Guitar Wolf + Zombies + script relying solely on comedy expressed and Rock ‘N Roll poses = fried gold in it's purest form.

Aye, but the hottness of Jessica will push it to being the first remake that's better than the original.

Sky High - Note this is purely due to my insane Kitamari fanboyism (minus Azumi, I hate the vast majority of the flick) and the copious amount of alcohol I had before/whilst watching it. Needless to say if you watch it with at least 50% of your bodily fluids being booze you'll marvel at the titles sense of nobility, justice and faith. Also there's plenty o' kick-ass "Versus" sparks flying aplenty sword fighting at the end.

Wild Zero - Guitar Wolf + Zombies + script relying solely on comedy expressed and Rock ‘N Roll poses = fried gold in it's purest form.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - Easily the best of Park's Vengeance, the fact that Old Boy got so much more media recognition than the title that started the trilogy makes me cry myself to sleep every night.

You were right to have expected these to come up. I've got all of them bar 9 souls, though by the sounds of things I'll be getting a copy if it's that cheap.
Going by those choices of film I'd say you'll fit right in here. Welcome.

You are all wrong.  The Eye is great.  It may have lost a certain magic due to similar films that followed, but when it came out I thought it outstanding

But her hottness will be outweighed by her shitness.

Personally I thought Kitamura peaked with Versus.  SKy High was OK but still a major let down

It can't lose.... Best Live Band Ever + zombies + transexuals...all movies should work by that formula

I'd actually put Lady Vengeance ahead of Mr. vengeance, and Oldboy ahead of that.

Also,I need to get some Guitar wolf music

Can’t wait for the sequel, don’t think they can go wrong with that cast and with how much they enjoyed making the first.

Kung Fu Movies Come Out Fighting 

2006-08-01 10:13:56      Chinadaily.com.cn 

A masked man in black bursts out of the water, brandishing a sword. An emerald bamboo forest sways as a warrior in white soars through the air. 　　　

These images were broadcast before the kick-off of every World Cup game on China's sports TV channel, promoting The Banquet (Ye Yan), the latest offering from Feng Xiaogang, one of the most popular directors on the Chinese mainland.

Despite a one-minute trailer packed with power kicks, Feng denied he has made a martial arts film. The Banquet, he says, is a serious historical tragedy with Zhang Ziyi playing the leading role as an oriental Hamlet. 　　　　

Until The Banquet, Feng was better known for a series of well-received wry comedies about modern urban life that earned him massive domestic box office success. 　　　　

The action trailer, it would seem, was therefore a conscious decision about packaging the product not just for the domestic audience, but also for an international audience. Of the Chinese films that earned more than US$200 million in the US last year, 60 percent were martial-arts flicks, notably The Promise (Wu Ji) by Chen Kaige and Seven Swords (Qi Jian) by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, according to the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. 　　　　

The revival of martial arts films in recent years is the result of increasing commercialism in the Chinese film industry, says Jia Leilei, director of the culture strategy research center at the China Academy of Art. There were only a handful of martial arts films among the total 260 produced on the Chinese mainland last year. But all attracted big budgets, and involved grand spectacles and sizeable box office takings. 　　　　

Directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, who made their names through internationally acclaimed works such as To Live (Huozhe) and Farewell My Concubine (Bawang Bieji), have attempted to change their style to meet market demand, says Gao Jun, general manager of the Beijing New Film Association Company. 　　　　

Martial arts films are preferred by foreign distributors and therefore have more chance of being screened in mainstream cinemas abroad, he added. 　　　　

"Big budgets, the hottest stars and luxurious production values conform to the tastes of global audiences," says Gao. 　

For the moment, the special effects have replaced the actual fighting, says Jia. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he says, is famed as a "dance drama without any actual dance," because of its arty fighting style. 　　　　

Ang Lee agrees his martial arts action film involved more dance than actual martial arts. The ritual comes from Peking Opera, he says. Hong Kong action choreographers have rich experience in the choreographed violence of Peking Opera, Lee told the Guangzhou-based newspaper Southern Weekend in June. 　　　　

"Such a style of martial arts, like body language, poses fewer cultural differences and earns greater acceptance from overseas audiences." 　　　　

Nobody disputes the visual spectacle is important. But for Jia Leilei, the soul of martial arts films is its traditional Chinese moral philosophy. For instance, the father is nearly always placed in an authoritative position. Plotlines tend to focus on filial piety: a son taking revenge for his family. Battle strategy is rarely pre-emptive, but restrained until the last unbearable moment when violence becomes as inevitable as it is unavoidable. 　　　　

"The plot should be the core," says Ding Jie, an office worker and movie buff. "Dazzling martial arts and grand scenes are pleasing to the eye, but if the story is not well-constructed or the characters unimpressive, I will forget the entire thing as soon as I walk out of the cinema." 　　　　

Ding says she was a little disappointed by the trailer for The Banquet. "The costumes resemble those in The Promise and the action reminded me too much of Crouching Tiger. Is it original?" 　　　　

The Banquet, which is to be screened in September, was choreographed by Yuan Heping, who earned fame for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix series. Although Feng is well-respected in China he has yet to conquer Hollywood; The Banquet might be his best shot. 　　　　

Martial arts films embody Chinese culture and diffuse it to the world, says Jia. Take Shaolin kung fu as an example: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Shaolin Temple this March. And the abbot of Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, was the only Chinese invited by FIFA President Joseph Blatter to watch the World Cup final in Germany. 　　　　

"It's a sort of a dream of China, a China that probably never existed, except in my boyhood fantasies in Taiwan," says Ang Lee of his epic. 　　　　

"His fantasies may have been triggered by the kung fu movies of his youth, but he has turned them into a world of dreams, richer and more satisfying," says Jia. 　　　　

Following Lee, Zhang Yimou made Hero (Yingxiong) in 2002 and House of Flying Daggers (Shimian Maifu) in 2003. Chen Kaige in 2005 made The Promise. All enjoyed no small measure of box office success, but none earned the lasting critical acclaim of the groundbreaking Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 　　　　

A milestone in kung fu film history, Lee added haunting beauty, poetic grace and astonishing power to the medium. His martial arts movie was not merely the product of Chinese popular culture, but a more thoughtful exploration of Chinese mythology and Taoist philosophy, ultimately embracing a gentle romantic humanism. 　　　

But despite all his innovation, Lee never let slip his grasp on the Chinese storytelling tradition of wuxia fiction. Wuxia is a chivalrous type of Chinese folk hero, a wandering warrior who lives apart from ordinary society and above the law, bringing justice according to his own moral code. 　　　　

The tradition can be traced back directly to Bruce Lee, the legendary Hong Kong hero whose mixture of charisma and versatile kung fu wowed the world in the 1970s: Fists of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon broke kung fu into Hollywood.

Since Bruce Lee, kung fu has invaded mainstream Hollywood, most noticeably through Jackie Chan in Rush Hour, Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies, Jet Li in The One, and even Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels. 　　　　

And so it is fashionable for purists to complain that "genuine" kung fu fighting of the kind pioneered by Bruce Lee in the 1970s and Jet Li in the 1980s has been replaced by trickery special effects, stunts and lavish production. 　　　　

"This is the spirit of advancing with time," says Gao Jun. "On the one hand, technology facilitates production. On the other, most audiences are no longer interested in real fighting with fists and swords." 　　

Jackie Chan: Movie deal with Jet Li near By MIN LEE, AP Entertainment Writer - Tue Aug 1, 9:21 AM ET



HONG KONG - A movie costarring two of the biggest names in kung fu cinema — Jackie Chan and Jet Li — is nearly a sealed deal, with the only outstanding issue being the script, Chan said Tuesday.



"All the hurdles have been overcome. The only problem left is the script," Chan told The Associated Press after a press conference to promote his new action comedy, "Rob-B-Hood."

"We need a script that he approves and I approve. If that goes well, shooting will start in March or April in Shanghai," he said.

Asked about the plot, Chan suggested it will be action-oriented fare, saying he and Li must defer to the movie's Hollywood backers.

"It will be more American-style. It will be more suited to foreign audiences than Chinese audiences," he said. "If you make a Hollywood movie, of course you have to follow their wishes. They're paying us so much money."

He also revealed he will soon start shooting the third installment of the popular action comedy series "Rush Hour" with        Chris Tucker, spending about a dozen days in France starting in September, followed by 10 days of shooting in New York and further filming in Los Angeles. He said the movie will wrap by March or April next year.

To cap off a busy filming schedule, Chan said he is also due to shoot a film in Japan that translates as "Shinjuku Incident" with Hong Kong director Derek Yee. He declined to reveal the plot, only saying it is based on a true story.

Asked about a recent Hong Kong pop concert that Chan disrupted with a surprise, somewhat drunken appearance on stage, he said he's resigned to the fact that his actions generate news.

"I'm used to it. I'll definitely be written about. I don't blame the writers," he said.

Chan appeared unannounced on stage at Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee's concert in Hong Kong last month. He then insulted the band and replied to heckles from the audience with a coarse insult.

But Chan, who has apologized for the incident, expressed frustration at the level of attention it drew.

"Everyone in the world has made mistakes, but it's just that we're celebrities. TV station managers, magazine editors, who doesn't drink, who doesn't get drunk?" Chan said.

Chan on stage, swearing and heckling people whilst drunk. Never would have figured him to do that. Wonder if there's any footage floating around.

HONG KONG - A movie costarring two of the biggest names in kung fu cinema — Jackie Chan and Jet Li — is nearly a sealed deal, with the only outstanding issue being the script, Chan said Tuesday.

Only problem (apart from securing all the talent) would be deciding who should win to appease the fanbase...

Bruce Lee returns from the grave and 1" punches them all to death. 

Chan on stage, swearing and heckling people whilst drunk. Never would have figured him to do that. Wonder if there's any footage floating around.

i don't particularly enjoy bruce lee's films. there, i've said it.

just got back from the cinema.


wow, this is probably the best asian , nay cinema in general perhaps has to offer in the year 2006.

this is not a monster film.well it is, but this is just. this movie is absolutely indescribable. it is nothing like you've seen before yet it is evrything you wished you would have seen evrytime you watch a disaster film.

i think in its core, this film is a family film, in the sense that it is abt what being a family means, its abt what makes us human and the length we'll go thru to protect our family. the story revolves around a semi-functional family that owns a snack stall next to the han river. song kang ho plays an apparently slow 30 sumthing who sleeps alot and steals from customers orders.

he has basically got only one thing going for him thats his daughter . to remain spoiler free, monster comes and snatches daughter away. what we witness next is a full representation of how we as humans will react under such circumstances, evrything including mistakes we'll make under such situations are developed fully to create a thoroughly engaging narrative experience.

unflinchingly brutal at times, lol inducing humours at other. and there are scenes which are just absolutely edge of your seat adrenalin rush and finally a thrid act that really lets us celebrate the heroism of humanity. this fillm pretty much has it all.


the SFX were convincing, i would say its top of the line but not the exact cream of the crop. but ultimately, the monster is not the focus of this film. its the family.

fuck, if anyone on this board decides not to watch it, you're fucked up. thats all i can say. i might want to write a more comprehensive review later, right now my brain is all jumbled up.

one more advise, please by all means try to watch this movie in a cinema with your loved ones.

Meanwhile, the Hua Shang Bao newspaper reported that Chan is making preparations to film the third installment of his "Armor of God" series.

Chan plans to direct and cast mainland Chinese actors, the newspaper said.

The first two installments of "Armor of God" revolved around an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunter called Asian Hawk.

So said he couldn't immediately confirm Chan's interest in filming "Armor of God III."

yep, seen both the extended version and the shorter one that appears on the second 'three' disc.

it looks nice, as it's got christopher doyle as the cinematographer, but that's about the best that i can say about it. it's okay, but pretty predicatble and i'm sure that most reviews probably contain information that would act as minor spoilers.

all in all, it's not really worth it...

nana - cats and dogs...

based on the manga, that sold over 22 million copies in japan, 'nana' is the story of two girls who meet by chance on the train to tokyo. they discover that they are both called 'nana' and keep each other company for the long journey.

nana komatsu (aoi miyazaki) is a sweet natured romantic who has saved up so that she can move to tokyo to be near her boyfriend who is studying art there. nana osaki (mika nakashima) is a budding rock vocalist, who is moving to tokyo with dreams of forging a career, after the collapse of her last band.

the two part when they arrive in tokyo, but meet by chance whilst viewing an apartment and, despite their differences, decide to share an apartment. as one nana struggles to keep up her relationship with her boyfriend, the other forms a new band, but still harbours feelings for her ex-boyfriend, who left her band when he was recruited by hit band 'trapnest'...

i suppose this is a 'chick-flick'; the magazine it appeared in - cookie - is japan's most popular weekly girl's comic. still, i loved it. it's just made with such genuine sentiment, that i wasn't even bothered by the crappy music that both bands churn out. i think the director (kentaro ohtani) shared my opinion as they frequently faded to some, much preferred, classical fare.

the relationship between miyazaki's fluffy, puppy dog like nana and nakashima's independent, cat like nana is completely believable and, along with the quietly observed narrative of the film, make it a little gem.

oh, and aoi miyazaki is thoroughly charming...

dumplings - as i advised zoe on another thread...

it's okay, but that's about it. christopher doyle is the cinematographer, so it looks pretty, but it's a pretty run of the mill, 'tales of the unexpected' style yarn. i wouldn't recommend it...
are you looking for something to bulk up an order from hong kong?

Hmmm... Nana could be promising...but doesn't sound quite as "mad" as Kamikaze Girls.  Thanks Dan.
Has been a while since I did a bulk order (though I still have to watch the last lot I got), but I think Yes Asia may well get some custome this weekend.  Any essential purchases I should be getting?

the last blood - occassionally labelled 'hard boiled 2', this has just had a nice cheap re-release. essentially it's a good solid slice of action related fun with andy lau, alan tam, eric tsang and a plot to kill the daka lama.

'nana' isn't mad, it's just a similar tale of friendship, between two girls with very different backgrounds. it does get compared to 'kamikaze girls', but that's pretty much the only connection.

oh, i should have recommended you some iwai shunji stuff. a lot of his stuff is getting cheap hong kong releases; try 'april story', 'hana and alice' or 'love letter' for starters.
hmm, recent hong kong releases...

the last blood - occassionally labelled 'hard boiled 2', this has just had a nice cheap re-release. essentially it's a good solid slice of action related fun with andy lau, alan tam, eric tsang and a plot to kill the daka lama.

travellers and magicans - the new film from the bloke who made 'the cup'. just ordered it, but not sure what it's about...

shinobi : heart under blade - japanese popcorn ninja fluff, with a bit of 'romeo and juliet' for good measure.

daisy - the new andrew 'infernal affairs' lau film is out; it stars jeon 'my sassy girl' ji-hyun. not seen it, but it's meant to be okay.

tony takitani - is recommended.

isabella - the latest from pang ho cheung is good, but you probably want to start with his comedies before you watch this. highly recommended  'men suddenly in black' - a film about four men who are trying to get some 'action' whilst their ladies are out of town. essentially, it's a spoof of 'infernal affairs' style hong kong cop / triad films. very good it is too. his first film - you shoot, i shoot is a cracker too. it's about a hitman who gets employed to film his hits; he's not very good at it, but he hires a budding john woo / martin scorsese wannabe and they soon become highly sought after...

Weird. The first movie I came across carrying the Hard Boiled 2 name was Full Contact. Unrepentant trash, but highly watchable.

Brilliant. If I get my broadband up and running this weekend I'll get some (all!) af thjose. Thanks again

Takashi Miike has probably already been mentioned but it helps not to let it slip. Itch is obviously a cracker, What do you think of "the happiness of the katakuris" film with the singing zombies and the like?

Takashi Miike has probably already been mentioned but it helps not to let it slip. Itch is obviously a cracker, What do you think of "the happiness of the katakuris" film with the singing zombies and the like? Visitor Q is one of the funniest things i have seen for time. "the mysteries of death, she's still wet!" oh dear

Miike has rarely disappointed me,

Meh I like miikes films because they are such a far seperation from any Western cinema. A lot of things in his films you will never see in Western cinema and it intrigues me. And makes me laugh.