Movie Box Review

courtesy of singtao.com

Jackie Chan's latest action film CHINESE ZODIAC (SUP YI SUN CHIU) will open this holiday season and complete production in May.  Currently only the 4 minute long climax has not been shot yet.  Jackie Chan said that this 4 minute long scene might take two months to finish and will shoot in Hong Kong and other locations.  It will have a very dangerous stunt, even more dangerous than Tom Cruise's Burj Khalifa jump in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL.

He revealed that at first he thought of shooting at Burj Khalifa in Dubai, but changed his mind when he remembered that the audience might misunderstand that he was imitating Tom Cruise.  Jackie Chan asked reporters if they thought Tom Cruise would really jump the tower?  In his past experience the insurance company absolutely would not permit him to jump; back then he too wanted to jump the Effiel Tower in Paris, France but the insurance company prohibited him from doing so.

Jackie Chan guaranteed in CHINESE ZODIAC he personally performed all the stunts.  In the past he was able to jump two stories but now he was able to jump only half a floor, at least he did it himself.  In comparison to many Hollywood stars, they could not jump even half a floor.

Earlier Jackie Chan attended an event to promote a Chinese wine that was named after him.  Karen Mok Man Wai, Li Bingbing and Coco Lee Man came in support; Jackie Chan praised Li Bingbing's tolerance.  Jackie Chan revealed that when they made 1911, he and Li Bingbing had an emotional scene.  Before the shoot she drank half a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Baiju before they were able to overcome their mental block and achieved battlefield romance.

Derek Yee feels pure Hong Kong films cannot find financing

John Chong feels Stephen Chow's NEW CHINESE ODYSSEY will be able to break the Chinese film Hong Kong box office record

Daneil Lam is less than optimistic about Stephen Chow's new film box office courtesy of mingpao.com

Co-Productions Drag Hong Kong Films Down

The Giddens Ko directed, Michelle Chen, Ko Chen-Tung starred Taiwan film YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE broke Stephen Chow Sing Chi's KUNG FU HUSTLE HK$61.27 million highest grossing Chinese film Hong Kong box office record with a total box office of 61,801,081 and left "Eastern Hollywood" Hong Kong film industry in shame.  Will Hong Kong film be able to fend off the competition and regain the box office championship?  Let's keep our eyes open and see.

John Chong Sees Sing Yeh As Favorite To Break YOU Record

In 2012 Hong Kong film market will have many giant production releases, including the Chow Yun Fat, Aaron Kwok Fu Sing and Donnie Yen Chi Tan starred THE MONKEY KING (DAI LAU TIN GUNG), Jackie Chan's CHINESE ZODIAC (SUP YI SUN CHIU), Andy Lau Tak Wa and Lin Chiling's DWELLING IN THE FUCHUN MOUNTAINS, and Stephen Chow Sing Chi's NEW CHINESE ODYSSEY (SAI YAU GEI ji CHUI MOR OI JUEN).  Sing fans have been starved for four years so his new film will have hope to regain the glory of Hong Kong.  Media Asia vice chair John Chong Ching favors the idea, but Derek Yee Tung Sing and Universe Entertainment company boss Daneil Lam Siu Ming disagree.  They deeply feel that Hong Kong film will have difficulty with creating another miracle locally.  Looking north to China gives Hong Kong film professionals a new direction, but when they accommodate Mainland viewer tastes Hong Kong audience's "co-production" resistance becomes a burden.  Hong Kong film is dying, you know?

Daneil Lam Is Less Optimistic About Stephen Chow

Many, including Giddens Ko, hope Chow Sing Chi's new film NEW CHINESE ODYSSEY will break YOU's record.  Chong Ching feels it will have a chance.  "Sing Yeh is so talented, with all the starving Sing fans the box office will have certain motivation."

Derek Yee: Non Co-Production Has Financing Difficulties

Lam Siu Ming does not feel that Chow Sing Chi's CHINESE ODYSSEY will be able to break YOU's record.  "Sing Yeh's last film CJ7 (CHEUNG GONG CHUT HO) struggled to pass 50 million at the box office.  Actually this isn't Chow Sing Chi's problem, but the overall market's problem.  This is the general trend, everyone have to 'co-productions'.  Hong Kong viewers want to see Hong Kong films, but don't want to see any 'co-production'.  Yet now basically everything is 'co-production'.  Without co-production movies don't have funding.  Film ultimately is a merchandise, if you make a Hong Kong film with a 10 million budget you can't even hire actors.  Now actors are used to making 'Yun Jai' (RMB), how can they be willing to accept 2 million in salary?  If you don't approach them, plenty of directors in the Mainland would; you can't make movies that cost more than 50 million either, with only the Hong Kong market it is impossible.  You can't go back.  Ultimately no one is willing to invest in a purely Hong Kong film, this is a problem of the chicken and the egg!  Even Chow Sing Chi has to make 'co-productions'.  CJ7 was a co-production, Universe this year will make a few movies, all of which will be 'co-productions'."

Yee Tung Sing agrees with Lam Siu Ming, "co-production" is at fault for Hong Kong film market's fall.  "'Co-productions' have subject restrictions, many subjects can't be made and movies can't speak freely.  The results often lack power and become terrible to watch.  Helplessly non 'co-productions' have difficulties with financing.  If you spend 10 million on a purely Hong Kong film, it will be very hard to make and won't be attractive.  I want to make PROTEGE (MOON TOH) sequel and ONE NITE IN MONGKOK (WONG GOK HAK YEH) continuation, but when the subjects get to the Mainland market I don't want to accommodate the Mainland market and change the concept and certain plots."  He feels that the world goes round and round, Taiwan film has fallen for 20 years and now finally has shaken itself off.  Hong Kong films look north and accommodating the Mainland market has become an inevitable fact.  Because the Mainland population the box office return is strong.  Last year the box office reached 13 billion yuan RMB, naturally it has more investors as funding floods in; he believes after a few battles the film industry will look completely different.

Although Chow Sing Chi's NEW CHINESE ODYSSEY is a 'co-production', everyone still is waiting for Hong Kong film to return to glory.  The film costs over 100 million yuan and finally has completed production after more than three months.  Currently it is conducting massive post production special effect production in Korea.  It should be able to be released this year.

Media Asia Invades the Mainland

Chong Ching feels that YOU was a coincidence, only a movie that is suitable for young people.  He also believes that Giddens Ko will not deliberately make a movie to break a record.  "If he deliberately makes a movie to break YOU's box office, the movie may not be good.  Thus Media Asia's future big films first have to be good movies.  Future movies will still target the Mainland market, including the 100 million Johnnie To Kei Fung directed, Andy Lau Tak Wa and Sammi Cheng Sau Man starred BLIND DETECTIVE (MAN TAM), Lin Chiling and Lau Tak Wa starred DWELLING ON THE FUCHUN MOUNTAINS.  Both are 'co-productions' because minding only the Hong Kong market truly is very dangerous."

Film in order to accommodate the Mainland market, will Hong Kong film have difficulty recovering its lost ground?  Chong Ching says, "This is a return rate issue, Mainland return rate is high.  In 2011 top ten Hong Kong film box office, 3 movies THE LOST BLADESMAN (GUAN WON CHEUNG), MR. AND MRS. INCREDIBLE (SUN KEI HUP NUI) and LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (DUET MING GUM) only made 8 million.  With Hong Kong releases, anything less than 10 million at the box office is a failure."

2012 ANTICIPATED FILM RELEASES
FilM: ROMANCING IN THIN AIR (GO HOI BUT JI LUEN II)
Cast: Louis Koo Tin Lok, Sammi Cheng Sau Man
Release Date: Mid February

Film: LOVE IN THE BUFF (CHUN GIU YU JI MING)
Cast: Miriam Yeung Chin Wa, Shawn Yue Man Lok
Release Date: March

Film: A SIMPLE LIFE (TOH JEH)
Cast: Andy Lau Tak Wa, Deanie Ip Tak Han
Release Date: Mid March

Film: FIRST TIME
Cast: Angelababy, Mark Chao (Chiu Yau Ting)
Release Date: March

Film: NIGHTFALL (DAI JUI BO)
Cast: Nick Cheung Ka Fai, Simon Yam Tat Wa, Kay Tse On Kay
Release Date: Mid March

Film: MOTORWAY (CHEH SAU)
Cast: Anthony Wong Chau Sun, Shawn Yue Man Lok
Release Date: Tentatively May

Film: DIVA
Cast: Joey Yung Cho Yi, Mag Lam Yun Tung, Chapman To Man Jat
Release Date: June

Film: THE LAST SUPPER
Cast: Daniel Wu (Ng Yin Cho), Liu Ye, Chang Chen
Release Date: Mid June

Film: THE GUILLOTINES (HUET DIK JI)
Cast: Huang Xiaoming, Ethan Juan (Yuen King Tin), Shawn Yue Man Lok
Release Date: Tentatively July

Film: VANISHING BULLET (SIU SUT DIK JI DAN)
Cast: Nicholas Tse Ting Fung, Lau Ching Wan, Mini Yang Mi
Release Date: Mid July

Film: CHINESE ZODIAC (SUP YI SUN CHIU)
Cast: Jackie Chan
Release Date: December 12

Film: NEW CHINESE ODYSSEY (SAI YAU GEI ji CHUI MOR OI JUEN)
Cast: Stephen Chow Sing Chi, Shu Qi, Wen Zhang
Release Date: Tentatively Year End

Film: THE MONKEY KING (DAI LAU TIN GUNG)
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Aaron Kwok Fu Sing, Donnie Yen Chi Tan
Release Date: Tenatively Year End

Film: WINDSEEKER (TING FUNG JEH)
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Zhou Xun, Wang Xueqi
Release Date: To Be Determined

Film: BAUHINIA WOMAN (JI GAING HUP)
Cast: Chrissie Chau Sau Na
Release Date: To Be Determined

Film: 3D THE ICEMAN COMETH (3D GUP DUNG KEI HUP)
Cast: Donnie Yen Chi Tan
Release Date: To Be Determined

Film: SAVING GENERAL YANG (JUNG LIT YEUNG GA JEUNG)
Cast: Dior Cheng Yi Kin, Wu Chun, Raymond Lam Fung
Release Date: To Be Determined

courtesy of on.cc

courtesy of mingpao.com

courtesy of takungpao.com

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, the film 1911 came to life.  The film not only described key figure and Father of the Nation Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Revolutionary martyrs Huang Xing and Xu Zonghan's romance gave the audience further understanding of love in a revolution.  Jackie Chan and Li Bingbing played these historical figures for the first time and both admitted that they suffered.  Bingbing had to shoot in the battle trenches that were made from coal pits and had her fill of sandstorm.  Jackie Chan even said that the shoot made his urine turn black.  He joked that if the shoot kept going he would have died from inhaling too much coal.

1911's three leads Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing and Winston Chao (Chiu Man Suen) earlier came to promote the film in Hong Kong.  Li Bingbing in the film played female revolutionary martyr Xu Zonghan, a heroine at the end of the Qing Dynasty.  Bingbing honestly said that she did not have much understanding of this character but knew that Xu back then was married to someone else.  Later she fell in love with Huang Xing and developed her revolutionary career, she could be considered ahead of her time.  Bingbing said, "Xu came from a wealthy family and was a lady.  She spent her family's money on the women liberation movement, she was a new school heroine of the Xinhai Revolution!"

In history, Xu Zonghan participated in the Revolution as a nurse.  Bingbing in the film did not need to play pretty.  Most of the time she had no make up.  On the other hand her battle trench scene was bitter beyond words.  She said, "Although this time most were ensemble scenes, I had many scenes and suffered too!"  She revealed that because they shot in a Shenyang coal pit, she had to wear a nurse hat in a two meter wide battle trench during an explosion scene.  With all the shrapnel and the dust, the wind machine covered her entire body with coal.  When she opened her mouth to breathe all she got was sand.  However, her co-star Big Brother Jackie Chan in the film also had to be in the battle trench.  Big Brother who has been through many fight scenes did not have an easy time either.  He said, "I worked until my urine was black too.  At the time if I kept going I would've died very soon, because all the coal would have turned into stones in the lung.  In addition the location had a lot of dust and explosion everywhere!"

Big Brother admitted that this was the first time that he played a historical figure.  He joked that playing a general was a lot of fun.  "Under Huang Xing were all young men between the ages of 16 to 24, during the character I was in character too!  Xu Zonghan was a widow and had to carry bullets to help out, these few were the people who brought an end to the Qing Dynasty!"  Bingbing also said that the Huang Xing and Xu Zonghan romance was very romantic.  She said, "Xu Zongha spent her life taking care of and supporting Huang Xing.  She also took him to Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital to treat his finger, which told that this person aside from the Revolution also had humanity and real feelings."  Jackie Chan revealed that to be even more in character, he thought about gaining weight to be closer to the real Huang Xing.  He said, "During the shoot I only gained three pounds.  I once planned to add a belly, but because later I would
have to work on CHINESE ZODIAC I didn't dare to."

In addition, Li Bingbing stressed that this film absolutely had the strength to break 200 million RMB at the Mainland box office.  She said, "Now the times are changing.  FOUNDING OF A REPUBLIC made several hundred million, so 1911 can make 200 million!"  Big Brother also felt that this year happened to be the Xinhai Revolution's 100th anniversary, breaking the 200 million RMB box office in the Mainland should not be a big problem.

courtesy of singtao.com