Asian Entertainment News & Celebrity Gossip

As DaDump reported to you yesterday, Chow Yun-fat and John Woo didn’t harbor any grudges for Chow leaving the cast of Red Cliff at the last moment. Now the movie publicist is announcing that Chow has tentatively agreed to return to Woo’s new Chinese epic.

John Woo must be wondering: will the musical chairs ever end? That’s because the film has gone through a dizzying and embarrassing round of casting changes before a single reel has been shot.

At the outset, the two big stars of “Red Cliff,” about an ancient Chinese battle, were Chow and former Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who were slated to play the general Zhou Yu and strategist Zhuge Liang.

Leung first dropped out, saying “Red Cliff” came too closely to his last movie and was replaced by Taiwanese-Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro. Then Chow followed, saying he got the movie’s script late, an allegation Woo’s producer has disputed.

In the first unexpected development, Leung, sympathetic to Woo’s predicament, agreed to return to the movie to take Chow’s old role as general Zhou. Now Chow wants back in too, after a round of negative press that has given the impression that the Hong Kong actor was behaving like a prima donna.

Confused yet? Find out more about this continuing saga that is already infinitely more entertaining than any script can come up with! Read the rest of this entry »

Director John Woo led his star-studded crew from “The Battle of Red Cliff” to meet with the media for the first time on Thursday.

Most members from the film’s star-heavy cast, including Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chang Chen, Chiling Lin, and Zhao Wei, showed up at the press conference in Beijing to talk about their characters in the film.

The historical epic film keeps making headlines as filming encounters its own twists and turns.

At first, Cannes-winning actor Tony Leung announced his quitting before shooting had started in mid April, but later he returned to take on the role dropped by another Hong Kong big name, Chow Yun-Fat.

Chow Yun-Fat was reported to have left the cast just one day after shooting had begun, citing what reports describe as “various reasons.”

Besides its star-studded cast, the production team, led by John Woo and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” art director Timmy Yip, are also keeping movie-goers tantalized. [Cri]

He’s baaaack….

If the film is half as good as the behind the scenes goings on of the upcoming The Battle of Red Cliff, then this is going to be one heck of a film!

In the ongoing game of cinematic musical chairs, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, who quit director John Woo’s “The Battle of Red Cliff” last month, will rejoin the $70 million production following co-star Chow Yun-Fat’s sudden departure earlier this week, producer Terence Chang said on Thursday.

Leung previously was cast in the role of Zhuge Liang, but quit in March due to scheduling conflicts only to be replaced by actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

“Leung’s one of the best actors working in Chinese cinema today, I’m so glad that he’s coming back to the production,” said producer Terence Chang. Asked if the film’s shooting schedule had been affected by the rapid series of cast changes Chang said, “Nothing is affected because we have so many characters in the story and it’s so complicated, one actor will not affect the production.”

A two-part production based on a decisive battle fought in China’s Three Kingdoms period (220-280AD), the film is Woo’s first Chinese language film after more than a decade. [HollywoodReporter]

Back in the day when egos didn’t get in the way….

The stakes are higher, the production budgets are bigger and the competition for movie audiences is more intense. So what’s a studio to do? Get your biggest stars together to share screen time for your biggest hits. If you’re a gambling man, your odds for success have suddenly just increased. It works in the US and now Korea and Hong Kong are looking to replicate that with two new movies….

Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho and Jung Woo-sung, three of Korea’s top gun actors are set to star together in a film tentatively titlted Good Guy, Bad Guy and Weird Guy.

Hong Kong director Peter Chan wrapped shooting on his $40 million epic The Warlords and the war pic, which features three of Asia’s hottest male leads, Andy Lau, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro, is set for a December 13 release.

The Warlords is the biggest production in China this year, and also features rising mainland actress Xu Jinglei. It is a meaty tale of brotherly betrayal, revenge and murder set in China driven by civil war in 1860 during the Taiping rebellion (1851-64).

And, of course, there was last year’s The Departed which won the Oscar for Best Film and was a remake of Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs. Hollywood brought out the Big Boys for this one: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg to ensure box office and critical success.

Peek-a-boo, right behind you…

Fans of Hong Kong actor Tony Leung won’t be able to see him in the upcoming Battle of Red Cliffs or Chi Bi as the star has decided to step back from the lead in the film.

Chinese web portal Sina.com says the film’s director John Woo confirmed the Cannes Best Actor winner gave up playing Zhu-Ge Liang, a legendary military strategist in the ancient Three Kingdoms period, in the film.

Tony Leung has reportedly said the plot was attractive, but the six-month-long shoot was longer than he expected.

Rumors say the star may take the break to concentrate on his relationship with fellow actress Carina Lau. Some suspect he wants to take a rest after finishing shooting Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution.

No comments were available from Tony Leung’s agent.

In the wake of the star’s withdrawal, heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro has been confirmed to take on the role and join the star-heavy cast, including Chow Yun-Fat, Taiwan supermodel Chiling Lin, and mainland actress Vicki Zhao. Battle of Red Cliffs will begin shooting later this month, and is slated to premiere next year. [Cri]

I’m not that innocent…

Hong Kong fans may adore Ayumi Hamasaki, but not two of the country’s top hotels. According to Japan’s Flash magazine, the 29 year old J-pop queen was blacklisted for two incidents.

When she was in Hong Kong in 2002 to shoot a pictorial book, Ayumi apparently organised wild parties in her hotel suite. She even broke a glass panel inside the room and refused to pay - until her record label had to step in and apologise. In December during her visit for the premiere of the Takeshi Kaneshiro film Confession Of Pain, she stayed in another hotel and created more trouble with more wild parties.

Ayumi is also quite the spender. Not only does she travel with 10 bodyguards, but she once flew her five pet dogs with her to Korea for a job, together with their own entourage of 12 pet groomers. She also reportedly employs five personal masseurs to take charge of different parts of her aching body.

And Ayumi can turn nasty at times. While shooting in New York last year, she reportedly fell out with a hair stylist and insisted on this person leaving her entourage. As all flights were full, she herself forked out more than $127,000 to charter a plane to fly the stylist back to Japan. [Electric]

American film companies are negotiating the rights to remake “Confession of Pain” by Hong Kong directing duo Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, after the success of the US version of “Infernal Affairs”. 　　

Andrew Lau revealed that several American companies have offered to buy the rights for a remake and invited him to direct their version. 　　

The director said the offer is still under negotiation, but he won’t accept a bid under US$1.75 million, the price he charged for the “Infernal Affairs” remake. 　　

American director Martin Scorsese received critical acclaim for his remake of “Infernal Affairs”, which was called “The Departed”. But Lau was not entirely satisfied with the script for the American adaptation, saying “It loses the spirit of my original movie.”

Lau also revealed he will direct a Hollywood action flick with an English language script and American cast in June. 　　　

Xu Jinglei

Shu Qi

Carina Lau and Tony Leung

Takeshi Kaneshiro

Ayumi Hamasaki

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Shu Qi

Shu Qi

Tony Leung and Xu Jinglei

Ayumi Hamasaki wrote and sang the theme song, Secret, in English for the film

Check out the larger versions of these pics after the jump!

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Best Feature Film
After This Our Exile, Hong Kong

Best Short Film
The Secret In The Wind, Taiwan

Best Documentary
My Football Summer, Taiwan

Best Director
Peter CHAN Ho Sun, Perhaps Love, Hong Kong / Taiwan

Best Leading Actor
KWOK Fu Shing, After This Our Exile, Hong Kong

Best Leading Actress
ZHOU Xun, Perhaps Love, Hong Kong / China

Best Supporting Actor
GOUM Ian Iskandar, After This Our Exile, Hong Kong

Best Supporting Actress
Nikki SHIE, Reflections

Best New Performer
Bryant CHANG, Eternal Summer, Taiwan

Best Original Screenplay
NING Hao, Crazy Stone, China / Hong Kong

Best Screenplay Adaptation
NING Dai, ZHANG Yuan, Little Red Flowers, China

Best Cinematography
Peter PAU, Perhaps Love, Hong Kong / China

Best Visual Effects
FOO Sing Choong, Silk, Taiwan

Best Art Direction
Tim YIP, The Banquet, China / Hong Kong

Best Makeup & Costume Design
Tim YIP, The Banquet, China / Hong Kong

Best Action Choreography
LING Chun Pong, WONG Chi Wai, Exiled, Hong Kong

Best Original Film Score
LIM Giong, Do Over, Taiwan

Best Original Film Song
Crossroad (from Perhaps Love)
Lyric: Chris SHUM, Song: Leon KO, Singer: Takeshi Kaneshiro, ZHOU Xun

Best Film Editing
CHEN Po Wen, Liu Chun-hsiu, Do Over, Taiwan

Best Sound Effect
TU Du Chi,GUO Li Chi,KE Yi Jun, Amour- Legende, Taiwan

Formoz Film Award
Do Over, Top Film Company, Leader Entertainment Company Ltd.

Formoz Filmmaker Award
KUO Lichi

Lifetime Achievement Award
Cheng Tzu-Fu (Taiwanese movie poster artist)

Best Feature Film Chosen by the Audience
Exiled Read the rest of this entry »