Tony came back RED CLIFF for friendship.

[summertime]

Chow Yun-Fat Won't Return to John Woo's 'Red Cliff'


11/07/2007 In: News Buzz

John Woo and Chow Yun-fat won't be able to make up after all. Two of Hong Kong cinema's biggest names were recently caught up in a public spat over Chow's last-minute withdrawal from Woo's Chinese historical epic ``Red Cliff.''

The dispute appeared to be headed toward a happy ending when a publicist for the movie said two months ago that Chow will return to the cast.


But Woo's producer, Terence Chang, told The Associated Press in an e-mail Tuesday that Chow won't be rejoining the lineup for ``Red Cliff'' after all.

``Chow is definitely out. His dropping out of our film caused us tremendous scheduling problems ... If he rejoins us, I am afraid he might create ill feelings among all the crew and all the other main actors,'' Chang said.

The dispute between Woo and Chow, who appeared in the recent ``Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,'' drew attention because the two formed one of Hong Kong film's most famous partnerships.

Woo made Chow an icon after casting him as a trench-coat wearing, gun-toting gangster in the 1986 Hong Kong classic ``A Better Tomorrow.'' Both eventually moved on to Hollywood.

The director said earlier while Chow's withdrawal from ``Red Cliff'' dealt him a heavy blow, he still considers the actor a friend.

``Red Cliff'' marks Woo's return to Chinese-language cinema after a stint in Hollywood, where he made movies like ``Broken Arrow,'' ``Face/Off'' and ``Mission: Impossible 2.''

Woo's Chinese comeback has been a bumpy journey, however. The massively expensive ``Red Cliff,'' which Chang says is viewed by the Chinese government as an important showcase of Chinese history before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has been plagued by casting problems.

Besides Chow's withdrawal, Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai also pulled out earlier, although he has since returned to the cast.

Chang earlier said the budget for ``Red Cliff'' was more than US$80 million (euro58.7 million) _ huge by Chinese standards _ although Woo later claimed that figure was overstated.

In one bright spot, Woo's second major new Chinese project has been selected as the closing film of the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

Chinese action thriller ``Blood Brothers,'' a Woo-produced story of friendship set in 1930s Shanghai, will close the 64th Venice Film Festival, scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 8, but it won't compete for the top Golden Lion prize, organizers said on the festival's official Web site.

The film is the directorial debut of Alexi Tan, who caught the attention of Woo and Chang with his 2003 15-minute short ``Double Blade,'' which starred Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou.

Chang told The Associated Press last year he was impressed with Tan's ability to tell a story quickly.

``Blood Brothers'' is a Chinese-Taiwanese-Hong Kong co-production about the breakdown of friendship between three young men who move to Shanghai from the countryside in the 1930s.

Tan, schooled in London and at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, started out as a photographer before moving on to directing TV commercials and music videos.

He is ethnic Chinese but grew up in the Philippines.

http://www.asianpopcorn.com/default.asp?Display=822

http://goldsea.com/Asiagate/707/10chow.html - original source

[summertime]

John Woo’s “Red Cliff”

Posted by Sam on Thursday, 13 Sep 2007

“Red Cliff” aka “The Battle of Red Cliff,” helmed by renowned director John Woo and a film based on actual events that took place in ancient China during the period of the Three Great Kingdoms is finally wrapping up production after several delays due mostly to severe adverse weather conditions. The other major hit to the film was the early departure of its main star, Chow Yun-fat. He departed from the project just three days before shooting was to begin.

Now Woo has another major hurtle to jump and one that could prove to be more formidable than the dry intense heat of China’s desert region or Fat’s departure, and that is finding a U.S. distributor that will get official Chinese approval.

“Red Cliff” has the highest budget of any previous Chinese film, reaching over $80 million and according to Variety, the film faced some very tough scrutiny from Chinese officials due to its subject matter.

The story centers on early third century China at a time when the province of Wu is invaded by the great warlord called Cao Cao and his vast army of highly trained martial arts militia and foot soldiers numbering in the millions. Ruler Sun Quan asks for the aid of Liu Bei, Cao Cao’s rival warlord. However, even with these two forces joined together, their numbers fall short of coming close to those of Cao Cao’s.

Approaching his master, Zhou Yu, a master of military strategy for the Wu forces, believes that if the front for the battle can be shifted and moved from land to sea, then the naval forces of both Quan and Bei could outmatch and overtake Cao Cao’s less sea-worthy forces. It is this ingenious ploy that makes for one of the most epic battles, not only in Chinese history, but in the history of humankind, and for a film that has become the biggest and most grandiose movies in China’s history.

The film wraps up full production in November of this year and it currently seeking out a U.S. distributor that will meet the Chinese government’s high expectations.

“Red Cliff” is hoping for a release in the West in 2008 sometime before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Koyuki, Zhang Fengyi, Chiling Lin, Chang Chen (”Green Mansions”), Vicky Zhao and Hu Jun.

Koyuki is becoming a prominent star in Western films and will be seen in the fanger “Blood: The Last Vampire,” also due out sometime in 2008.



http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2007/09/13/john-woos-red-cliff/