"Battle of Red Cliff" Split in Two

[summertime]

"Battle of Red Cliff" Split in Two


2007-02-12 21:31:37 CRIENGLISH.com

Asian moviegoers can expect to catch an exclusive version of John Woo's next big blockbuster "The Battle of Red Cliff," which is set to release in two segments.

Beijing Youth Daily reported Patrick Wachsberger, president and CEO of Summit Entertainment which holds the film's rights outside Asia and North America, revealed the possibility of two editions.

Producer Terence Chang explained the film is based on events during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China, which is well known among Asian audiences. He said there is "too much difficulty to condense all the stuff into two hours" and splitting the film will "allow more room for character development."

Each part will last two hours, making the Asian version a four-hour epic, while the release outside Asia will be two and a half hours.

The project was reported to have just secured more investment to a total of US$75 million.

Veteran actors Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung are among the star-studded cast.

The film is scheduled to start shooting in March, with the first episode being screened next summer and the second in late 2008.


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[summertime]

Woo epic budget grows


Thursday, February 15, 2007


The budget for John Woo's new Chinese historical epic has grown from US$50 million (HK$390 million) to more than US$80 million, Woo's production partner said Wednesday.

The movie's title, previously called Battle of Red Cliff, has been shortened to Red Cliff, said the producer, Terence Chang.

Red Cliff is based on a war of the same name in AD208 that determined the geography of the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three separate rulers.

It stars Chow Yun-fat, Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Taiwanese model Lin Chi-ling.

Chang said shooting will start in late March near Beijing.

The producer said earlier the Chinese government regarded Red Cliff, a co-production between state-owned China Film Group and Woo's Los Angeles-based Lion Rock Productions, as a showcase of Chinese history.

He said the government would like the film to be released before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chang said Wednesday the movie will be split into two installments for Asian audiences and screened as one film in the rest of the world.

He added that he had failed to land South Korean movie star Jung Woo Sung for a part in the film.

Chang said earlier he had approached the actor. ASSOCIATED PRESS

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