Movies and DVDs

If you saw Iron Monkey, you may remember that the little boy Wong Fei-Hung was actually played by a little girl, named Angie Tsang Sze-Man.

She was never seen in another film after than, but the learned scholars at Kung Fu Fandom have found her alive and well, all grown up and representing for the Hong Kong wushu team on this video. Please click the link if you are a casting director.

Jet Li's talents have mostly gone to waste since he came to America, but maybe working with these HK vets will break the slump?

Focus Features Aboard New Jet Li Actioner

Focus Features will handle international sales, excluding Asia, on Jet Li's latest project, a martial arts actioner produced by Bill Kong (House of Flying Daggers, Hero), reports Variety.

The untitled film is being directed by Freddy vs. Jason helmer Ronny Yu, with action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping ("The Matrix" trilogy) on board.

Li stars as real life kung fu legend Fok Yuanjia, the son of a boxing champ who dreams of following in his father's footsteps. After becoming the most famous fighter in China, he disappears for years when personal tragedy strikes. Ultimately, Li's character must come out of hiding to defend the honor of his country in an international tournament.

Bootleg and import DVDs have already made "Ong Bak" an all time fave for martial arts movie fans. But if who haven't seen it yet you'll get your chance this friday, when it finally gets a US theatrical release. I beseech you, do not miss this film.

Click here for footage of Ong Bak's star Tony Jaa, giving a martial arts demonstration here in NY a few days ago. I've actually seen much iller demo clips of Tony than this one, but if you've never seen him, those last few kicks at the end will let you know what you're working with here.

Jackie Chan announced he's working on a new project that he hopes to film in Cambodia, according to the good people at Monkey Peaches:

Jackie Chan Will Do Something in Cambodia Soon

Jackie Chan just announced a new untitled project in Cambodia a few days during a charity tour. At least part of the movie will be made in the country. He said, "the movie will contain four elements - a story, some action, some explosion and some educational meaning. I think it won't be just an an action movie but a movie with some impact." He said he had already come out a storyline and his next task would be writing and casting

Gotta love Jackie's breakdown of the formula. That is a man who knows what kind of movies we want to see.

Hopefully getting out of Hollywood will let John Woo regain his stride. The cast can't hurt either.

The upcoming historical drama Battle Of Red Cliff is by John Woo's most ambitious so far. It will be based on one part of classic Chinese novel Romance Of The Three Kingdom. It will depict the battle fought with over one million men in 208 AD. During the battle the joint force of two warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated the much stronger invading army led by warlord Cao Cao. Shortly after the battle, the Han dynasty officially ended and China split to three kingdoms. According to Chinese newspaper Chinese Businessmen, the Beijing based Asian Union Film and Media, which is co-producing the project with John Woo's Lion Rock Production, has a wish list for the stars it wants. Chow Yun-Fat to play Liu Bei; Jet Li to play Zhou Yu, the favorite general of Sun Quan; Leung Chiu-Wai to play Zhuge Liang, the top advisor to Liu Bei; Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi to play the Qiao Sisters (the elder sister was married to Sun Ce, the elder brother of Sun Quan, and the younger sister was married to Zhou Yu).

...Reportedly, Ken Watanabe will play Cao Cao, the northern warlord chased Liu Bei... Screenwriter Zou Jingzhi has completed the third draft of the script, which has yet got John Woo's final approval.

...John Woo just made another trip to Beijing for the preproduction of US$ 50 million historical drama Battle of Red Cliff. During his staying in the city, Woo talked to screenwriter Zou Jingzhi (Qian Li Zou Dan Ji), cinematographer Gu Changwei (Farewell My Concubine, Ju Dou), costume and production designer Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), according to Chinese paper Nanfang Daily. Dong Ping, the president of Beijing based Asian Union Film and Media, told Beijing News that the score will be composed by Tan Dun (Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Su Cong (The Last Emperor) or Ryuichi Sakamoto (Femme Fatale, The Last Emperor), and cinematographer Lee Ping-Bing (In the Mood for Love) may also get on board. Dong has assured that Chow Yun-Fat and Jet Li would be in the project. The script will be done in March and the shooting might begin by the end of this year. Battle Of Red Cliff is co-produced by Asian Union Film and Media and John Woo's Lion Rock Production.

(via monkeypeaches)