ahahah! funny the photo of him with the handkerchief §@ªÌ:
mary ®É¶¡: 2013-7-7 00:24
In these days my fabulous pc has passed away unfortunately
so now I'm writing by my smartphone ... not easily, my fingertip is not so little
Besides, I haven't Google Translator on it, so understand absolutely nothing in Chinese and am able only to watch photos... I'm really looking forward to buying a new pc the next week!
my beloved friend, may I ask you a favour?
could you, please, write also in English the most important or interesting things you'll communicate? Only for a few days...pleeease §@ªÌ:
¶Âªe ®É¶¡: 2013-7-7 02:57
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mary ®É¶¡: 2013-7-7 22:12
Ohhh...dear friend I'm full of gratitude
am very happy for mr. Kaneshiro and find he looks really fine (also better than in 2010), in a very good form and with a beautiful haircut
besides, this clothes' style suits him a lot, I like it very much!! He seems 27 years old
very sorry for the high temperatures in Beijing
as mr. Kaneshiro is so thin, I hope he's eating a little more... otherwise his mum could worry about him :hug:
July 8, 2013 | 08:47AM PT
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief
Asian all-star cast assembled for 1949-set epic
HONG KONG ¡V Production got underway today on ¡§The Crossing,¡¨ the first film in over four years to be directed by ¡§A Better Tomorrow¡¨ and ¡§Face/Off¡¨ helmer John Woo.
Set against the upheavals of revolutionary China in 1949, the film is the story of three couples from different backgrounds who make a fateful voyage on a ship fleeing China to Taiwan. The screenplay is by Wang Huiling, who previously co-wrote ¡§Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon¡¨ and who adapted ¡§Lust Caution.¡¨
The $40 million two-part movie is backed by rising Chinese studio Beijing Galloping Horse, along with China Film Group and Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, with production by Woo and Terence Chang¡¦s Lion Rock Productions.
Woo and Chang have assembled a pan-Asian, all-star cast headed by Tong Dawei, Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, (South Korea¡¦s) Song Hye-kyo, (Taiwan¡¦s) Takeshi Kaneshiro and (Japan¡¦s) Masami Nagasawa.
Top technical crew includes cinematographer Zhao Fei (»¯«D); production designer Horace Ma (°¨¥ú荣); costume and makeup artist Chen Tongxun (陈¦P勋) and music composer Taro Iwashiro.
Woo has racked up numerous credits and accolades in the past years, but has not moved behind the camera since the $80 million historical epic ¡§Red Cliff,¡¨ released in two parts in 2008 and 2009 respectively. He is next scheduled to direct ¡§Flying Tigers¡¨ for Exclusive Media from 2014.§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2013-7-9 12:25
Female crew members swoon over Takeshi Kaneshiro
The heartthrob attended the prayer ceremony of John Woo¡¦s new film The Crossing
Casually dressed in a black T-shirt and khaki pants, Takeshi Kaneshiro turned up for the prayer ceremony of director John Woo¡¦s new film The Crossing (previously titled Pacific Wheel) in Beijing last Saturday. The Japanese-Taiwanese actor appeared to be in high spirits as he wore a huge smile throughout the event, sending the female crew¡¦s hearts aflutter.
Netizens, who previously mocked the heartthrob for ¡§losing his charm¡¨, also exclaimed that his ¡§good looks have returned¡¨. However, the actor¡¦s manager maintained that Takeshi Kaneshiro has ¡§always been the same¡¨. ¡§There is no change [in his appearance],¡¨ he said.
The Crossing is set to commence filming, following a five-year delay due to John Woo¡¦s health problems, the actors¡¦ conflicting schedules and copyright issues. Besides Takeshi Kaneshiro, the movie will also feature other A-listers such as Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiao Ming, Song Hye Kyo and Masami Nagasawa.
Set in the Sino-Japanese War period, the film depicts the entwining love stories of three couples who eventually find happiness after going through tumultuous times.
However, the actor¡¦s manager maintained that Takeshi Kaneshiro has ¡§always been the same¡¨. ¡§There is no change [in his appearance],¡¨ he said.
a female manager .......she said.§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2013-7-9 12:53
The Crossing de John Woo : Titanic made in China ?
08/07/2013
John Woo se lance dans la tragédie navale avec Zhang Ziyi et Takeshi Kaneshiro.
John Woo tournerait-il le dos à Hollywood ? Après de vagues rumeurs sur une possible direction d¡¦Expendables 3 (à condition que le film soit tourné en terre chinoise), qui ont été démenties depuis puisque c¡¦est le réalisateur Patrick Hughes qui s¡¦y collera, il semblerait que l¡¦auteur hongkongais préfère rester en Chine.
Le metteur en scène de Volte/Face n¡¦a plus tourné de film américain depuis Paycheck (2003) avec Uma Thurman et Ben Affleck, exception faite des Enfants invisibles, un film à sketchs commandé par l¡¦Unicef co-réalisé avec Ridley Scott ou encore Spike Lee en 2005. Depuis, il a réalisé ou produit deux films chinois : une extraordinaire épopée d¡¦action historique (Les 3 royaumes, sorti en 2008) et Le Règne des Assassins (avec Michelle Yeoh, sorti directement en DVD en 2010). Son prochain long-métrage, The Crossing, dont le tournage débute ce mois-ci en Chine, ne déroge pas à la règle. Même si sur le papier, il a tout du blockbuster américain. A commencer par son histoire, qui n¡¦est pas sans rappeler une romance sur un gros bateau qui coule.
The Crossing suivra le destin croisé de trois couples issus de milieux différents à bord du Taipining, un ferry qui a coulé en janvier 1949 suite à une collision avec un cargo. Le récit d¡¦une traversée à la fois physique et psychologique pour des protagonistes en route vers une nouvelle vie et en proie à des questionnements existentiels.
Des histoires d¡¦amour, une traversée, différentes classes sociales, une catastrophe¡K La référence au Titanic de James Cameron saute aux yeux. Jusqu¡¦à l¡¦accroche de la première affiche, très mélodramatique : « Le moment n¡¦a jamais été aussi dangereux pour tomber amoureux ». Sont présents au casting l¡¦actrice chinoise internationale Zhang Ziyi (Tigre et Dragon), la coréenne Song Hye-Kyo (The Grandmaster) et la star japonaise Takeshi Kaneshiro (déjà dans Les Trois Royaumes). Scénario à l¡¦américaine, casting asiatique¡K The Crossing sera-t-il un tournant dans la carrière de John Woo ? Le communiqué officiel promet en tout cas que d¡¦autres noms d¡¦acteur « inattendus » seront donnés dans les semaines à venir. On sait aussi que le budget du film hors promo sera d¡¦environ 40 millions de dollars et que « tout sera fait pour que le film, avec John à la barre, soit un chef d¡¦œuvre. » De quoi faire trembler James Cameron¡K Ou pas.
John Woo's First Film in Four Years, 'The Crossing,' Begins Production in China
by David Chute
July 8, 2013 3:55 PM
Wonderful news for fans of one the greatest directors ever of heartfelt male-bonding action movies: Director John Woo has begun production in China and Taiwan on "The Crossing," his first film since the completion four years ago of the astonishing historical epic "Red Cliff."
A combination of health issues and some difficulties winning script approval from Chinese authorities partly account for the four year hiatus. "The Crossing," previously known as "1949," has subject matter that could certainly be sensitive in China: it depicts the voyage of three refugee couples from mainland China to Taiwan during the War of Liberation. Woo is working from a script by Wang Hui-ling, who co-wrote "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and ¡§Lust Caution¡¨ for Ang Lee. According to Variety's Patrick Frater:
"The $40 million two-part movie is backed by rising Chinese studio Beijing Galloping Horse, along with China FilmGroup and Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, with production by Woo and Terence Chang¡¦s Lion Rock Productions. Woo and Chang have assembled a pan-Asian, all-star cast headed by Tong Dawei, Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, South Korea¡¦s Song Hye-kyo, Taiwan¡¦s Takeshi Kaneshiro and Japan¡¦s Masami Nagasawa."
The Flying Tigers circa 1941
Woo was already a veteran Hong Kong director with fourteen mostly comic films to his credit when he rejuvenated his career and attracted an international fan following in the 1980s, collaborating with actor Chow Yun-fat on hugely influential and super-violent gangster/gunplay films such as "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "The Killer" (1989) and "Hard-Boiled" (1992). Woo made his Hollywood debut in 1993 with the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle "Hard Target," followed by "Broken Arrow" (1996), "Face/Off" (1997), "Mission: Impossible II" (2000) and "Windtalkers" (2002).
The filmmaker returned to China to make "Red Cliff," released in two parts in 2008 and 2009, an epic adaptation of the Chinese literary classic "Three Kingdoms," which was widely regarded as a return to form for the director and as one of his best films. "Crossing" star Takeshi Kaneshiro played one of the three leading roles, along with Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("In the Mood for Love") and Zhang Feng-yi ("The Emperor and the Assassin").
Woo already has his next production underway, the long-in-the-works World War II drama "Flying Tigers." Subject is the famed 1st American Volunteer group, a collection of US flyers from three branches of the service who aided China's defense against the Japanese from a base in Kunming, in the Southwestern province of Yunnan.
According Terence Chang, "The Crossing" began shooting July 8 on the Scenic Studios stages in Chang Ping, near Beijing. Later this month the production will move to the CFG stages in the Huairou district in northern Beijing. The film's two major battle scenes, one from World War II and the other from the War of Liberation, will be shot in Tianmu in August and October. The production will then move to Shanghai in November and Taiwan in December.
1. July 8 on the Scenic Studios stages in Chang Ping, near Beijing.
2. Huairou district in northern Beijing.
3. Tianmu in August and October.
4. Shanghai in November
5. Taiwan in December.§@ªÌ:
¤p¨| ®É¶¡: 2013-7-9 15:19
please, mr. Kaneshiro, pay attention: mr. Woo needs the female crew members alive
how many months of work!! It will be hard, but in the end really satisfactory, I'm sure
the article in French is rather dubitative it often happens... because of the typical Western air of superiority
in my opinion, this is another good reason for everyone to do his/her best
a little notice:
today I've bought a new notebook ... the purchase price was also inclusive of a new smartphone ... a real bargain for me
now have only to set my Internet connection
please, still a little patience, my dear friend §@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2013-7-17 23:10
no media on the movie set? it seems to me a good idea in this moment
Even if there is a lot of curiosity, maybe waiting for a while is the best choice, as there are many months of work for this movie
well, I really believe it is a wonderful opportunity for mr. Kaneshiro and a successful movie requires a hard work!!
Meanwhile, though Mr Kaneshiro is a really private person and still some circulating rumors. Rumors created because the people who spread them do so in order to gain media spotlight and benefiting from it. Quite simply, they use Mr Kaneshiro's name to promote themselves and their film. HOW rubbish! ...I don't even give a damn.
Mr Kaneshiro is a consummate professional actor; focused, committed, fully prepared, punctual and with respect for the work. To balance life as a famous actor is difficult enough. Yes. he's managed to remain unaffected by the attention and keep his personal life private.
Quite an achievement.
a hearty hug to everyone, friends!! and many thanks, beloved friend ªüºÞ!
yes, in these days I've seen and read oddities, but we all fully confide in Mr. Kaneshiro's capabilities and open eyes
To be honest, I think this is a promotional strategy, more than for a movie, for someone who's trying to gain popularity in the whole Asia and even to 'enter the European market'... so probably feels this could be the perfect occasion Such behaviour leaves me really in disgust
however, in my opinion, we shouldn't care about what happens on the social networks, we have to concentrate on the movie now!
"Don't care about them, but look and overpass" (Dante, 'Divine Comedy')
I'm happy for the support his manager and assistants give him Hope everyone is well and mr. Kaneshiro is enjoying this beautiful opportunity of work and also friendship (I hope) with some colleagues
I perfectly understand the need of keeping everything confidential, and also of respecting the right timing about the movie Well, everyone is trustworthy and faithful, so the boss can sleep quietly, the lips are and will be sealed
At present, this is the situation (on the movie set, I mean)
In these days I've also watched 'Heidi, the girl from the Alps', probably you all know this 'anime' about a little child with a nice goatling
1. July 8 on the Scenic Studios stages in Chang Ping, near Beijing.
2. Huairou district in northern Beijing.
3. Tianmu in August and October.
4. Shanghai in November
5. Taiwan in December.
Berlinale is a true international film festival with a smaller percentage of American journalists and movies than most festivals and really focusing on the cinema of the world, particularly Germany, Asia and everywhere in between. I also learned that they have an entirely separate market festival, which is just for showing movies to potential buyers without having public screenings with tickets, etc. and there were other movies like John Woo's new one The Crossing playing just for buyers.
With lensing done on The Crossing, John Woo¡¦s return to movies after a four-year break, the legendary Hong Kong director is keen to show he is just as comfortable with a big love story as he is with violent shootouts.
Beijing Galloping Horse, the Chinese studio behind the $40 million feature, dubbed ¡§the Chinese Titanic¡¨ by local media, is doing advance sales in Berlin.
The two-part feature, which is based on a true story, is a love story about three couples fleeing China for Taiwan on a steamer during the 1949 revolution. The ship sank after colliding with a freighter, claiming about 1,000 lives. ¡§I¡¦ve wanted to make this movie for a long time, because people always see me as an action director, but they don¡¦t realize that I can make romantic love stories, too,¡¨ the Face/Off director tells THR. ¡§I wanted to make a film that showed a turbulent period in modern history, to show how love can survive and overcome all difficulties.¡¨
The film marks his return after a long time off, during which he had surgery to remove a tumor.
Woo says Wang Hui-Ling, who wrote Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, told him about the story during the shooting of Red Cliff in 2008. China Film Group and Zhejiang Huace Film & TV are backing the movie, with Woo and Terence Chang¡¦s Lion Rock Productions banner attached. The movie, previously called 1949 and Love and Let Love, has been planned since 2009 but has run into script approval delays -- not surprising given that films about the revolutionary era tend to be extremely politically sensitive.
¡§This movie has several themes: It is firstly about fate, which means that in life, many things happen for reasons beyond your control,¡¨ Woo says. ¡§You can make the best of plans, but ultimately what happens is not up to you. It is also about humanity, about how suffering brings out the best and worst in people. More importantly, this movie is also about hope. No matter what happens to you, no matter how difficult things become, things will always get better in the end.¡¨
Woo is busy again after his illness, working on several projects, including Flying Tigers, a co-production between China Film Group and Netherlands-based Cyrte Investments about U.S. fighter pilots in WWII China, and a remake of Jean-Pierre Melville¡¦s 1967 French classic Le Samourai.
He also is working on Day of the Beast, a remake of Seijun Suzuki¡¦s 1963 yakuza movie. The movie features a pan-Asian cast, including China¡¦s Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei, Qin Hailu and Wang Qianyuan, South Korea¡¦s Song Hye-kyo, Taiwan¡¦s Chang Chen and Japan¡¦s Masami Nagasawa and Takeshi Kaneshiro.§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2014-2-12 18:52
The director says his next feature, dubbed the "Chinese Titanic" and starring Zhang Ziyi, "celebrates the power of love" during a difficult period in Chinese history.
Hong Kong director John Woo shared a little about his much anticipated Chinese-language feature, The Crossing, at a press conference in Taipei organized by Beijing Galloping Horse, the Chinese studio behind the feature.
Woo described the period film as "an anthem of love." Set during the revolutionary period of 1949, The Crossing tells the story of three doomed couples from Mainland China who board Taiping, an ill-fated ship bound for Taiwan. The movie has a $40-million budget and has already been dubbed the "Chinese Titanic." It stars Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Masami Nagasawa, and Song Hye-kyo
"I have always wanted to make an epic, as well as a romantic drama about China and Taiwan," Woo said.
"There are many touching stories involving [the ship] Taiping, which was brought to my attention by Wang Hui-Ling [the screenwriter of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon], during the shooting of Red Cliff (2008)," he added. "She gave me the idea of the film, and I was fascinated ever since the very first draft. This is a film that celebrates the power of love in the age of turbulence.¡¨§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2014-2-12 19:01
.....they are about people who never give up hope, faith, or the desire to keep on living, despite all the odds against them. Ultimately, they find happiness, or a way to move on.
----By John Woo
Award-winning director John Woo (§d¦t´Ë) first began directing films in 1974, though fame eluded him until 1986, when A Better Tomorrow <^¶¯¥»¦â> broke the Hong Kong box office record and became one of the most well-known movies in Chinese cinema.
Since then, Woo has enjoyed both critical and commercial success, helming well-known movies such as Once a Thief <Áa¾î¥|®ü> and The Killer <³ã¦åÂù¶¯>, as well as Hollywood films like Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II. As a respected director, he is always looking for ways to improve the Chinese film industry and occasionally serves as a guest lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University¡¦s Academy of Film.
Production of The Crossing, which is Woo¡¦s first movie in four years, was originally scheduled to begin in late 2008, but preparations were brought to a halt due to screenplay issues. In 2012, Woo was diagnosed with a tonsillar tumor, forcing him to take some time off to undergo surgery and recuperate. The Crossing finally began filming in July 2013.
Like Woo¡¦s 2008 war epic Red Cliff <¨ª¾À>, The Crossing will have a two-part release and is expected to open in theaters at the end of the year. In the meantime, JayneStars caught up with director John Woo to discuss some of The Crossing¡¦s behind-the-scenes action, as well as his future film projects.
[EXCLUSIVE] Director John Woo Discusses the Making of ¡§The Crossing¡¨
By Joanna on April 24, 2014
JayneStars: The Crossing has sometimes been called ¡§the Chinese Titanic.¡¨ Do you agree with this comparison?
John Woo: I do not agree with this comparison. Although I enjoyed James Cameron¡¦s film tremendously, the sinking ship is only one part of The Crossing. My film spans over sixty years, and covers two wars! It is a sweeping epic about the lives of three couples who are caught up in the wars and revolutions of 20th century Chinese history. A better comparison would be Doctor Zhivago or Gone With The Wind.
JayneStars: You described The Crossing as a testament to love and loyalty amidst turbulent times. Which love story in the film do you find to be the most inspirational?
John Woo: They are all inspirational in different ways. The general and the banker¡¦s daughter is about a woman whose husband goes to war and never returns. The soldier and the prostitute is about a couple who are brought together by fate. And the doctor and the Japanese girl are lovers who are torn apart by politics and war. I think the first two stories are inspiring because they are about people who never give up hope, faith, or the desire to keep on living, despite all the odds against them. Ultimately, they find happiness, or a way to move on.
JayneStars: What was it like working with a pan-Asian cast?
John Woo: It was great. Our cast is very talented and everyone brought something special and unique to the set. Their different perspectives and opinions all helped to make the movie better.
JayneStars: The making of The Crossing was delayed due to script revisions and your health condition. Did your directorial vision for the film change in any way due to the delay?
John Woo: Not really. While I was recuperating, I had more time to think about the story and what I wanted to say.
JayneStars: What were the most challenging aspects in filming The Crossing? How were the shipwreck scenes filmed?
John Woo: The Crossing was challenging in many respects. We had to shoot two different kinds of wars, one in summer and one in winter, which required traveling to remote locations and shooting in extreme heat and cold. This is even before coordinating the hundreds of extras with multiple moving cameras!
We filmed the shipwreck scenes by combining a live set built on a moving gimbal with intensive CG work. It was probably the most complex CG shoot in China today.
JayneStars: How has your work in Hollywood influenced your work in Chinese cinema?
John Woo: Film crews in Hollywood are very professional and disciplined, which increases the pressure on being a director because you have to live up to their expectations of being a good leader. I try to maintain that professional standard here, so that our local film crews can improve and develop their talents.§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2014-4-26 02:07
JayneStars: Tell us about your upcoming projects, Flying Tigers and Day of the Beast.
John Woo: Flying Tigers is about how the mercenary pilots of the American Volunteer Group, and later on, the 14th Air Force, consisting of both American and Chinese pilots, take on the Empire of Japan. It is about my favorite themes of friendship, loyalty, and overcoming differences to achieve a greater goal.
Day of the Beast will be a remake of Seijun Suzuki¡¦s 1963 gangster film Youth of the Beast.
JayneStars: You mentioned that you intend to collaborate with director Tsui Hark on two films similar to A Better Tomorrow. Can you tell us more about the vision for these films? When will production start?
John Woo: Tsui Hark and I both cherish the times when we used to work together and would like to rekindle our working relationship. We¡¦d like to make two films together, in the spirit of A Better Tomorrow. At this point, we¡¦re just thinking about the script and have no concrete dates for shooting. But this is something we¡¦re both looking forward to.
JayneStars: In an earlier interview, you mentioned that although the Chinese film industry is developing quickly, there are few genuinely good films made today. Why do you think there is such a lack in the Chinese film industry? What are areas of improvement that you think are necessary?
John Woo: Filmmaking is the art of storytelling. There are few good films because there are few good scripts and even fewer good writers. I think there needs to be more film education, to teach screenwriters about story structure and directors about film grammar. Hollywood has over a hundred years of film history, whereas the Chinese film market has only taken off in the past few years, so if you put things in context, it¡¦s not a bad start.
JayneStars would like to thank Ray Chin at Flaskingtree.com for setting up our exclusive interview with director John Woo.
Terence CHANG ±i®a®¶, the longtime producing partner of John WOO §d¦t´Ë, talks to Film Business Asia about his personal history behind The Crossing ¤Ó¥½ü, censorship and converting the film to 3-D.
Because of the sinking of the Taiping in the film, the film has been called the Chinese Titanic. Do you mind?
I don't mind the comparison, because Titanic (1997) is not the only film with a ship sinking. Life of Pi (2012) also has a ship sinking. Our film's [Chinese] title may be named after the boat, but it's not literal. The Taiping serves as a symbol of something. The boat used to travel back and forth between Mainland China and Taiwan. When the boat sank in 1949, that link was separated.
The boat is meant to bring out a story about Chinese people. Not just those in the Mainland or in Taiwan, but all Chinese people in the generation before me. The boat is a symbol. The story doesn't entirely take place on the boat, because the boat actually sank soon after it left Shanghai. It's just the story of the people on it. It's about why these people got on the boat and why it was overloaded. The sinking doesn't occupy much of the story.
About the "link" you mentioned, did you want to say something about the modern link between Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong?
Actually, I developed the story with my writer WANG Hui-ling ¤ý¿·¬Â because I have a family member who died during the sinking of the Taiping. So, when Wang told me that she wanted to write about this story, I said yes immediately. My parents also fled Shanghai at that time, but they went to Hong Kong instead. This is a very typical story for people in that generation.
The scale of the film seems very much like a classical Hollywood film. Is that something John Woo was aiming for?
This is a Chinese story, but the director's way of expression is very much an international one, as in he's not just making it for a Chinese audience. Since this is a story about love and hope, it has universally accepted values. He wasn't just aiming for a Chinese audience, nor is he trying to imitate Hollywood.
Will you be creating a two-and-a-half hour version of the film for international markets again, as you had done for Red Cliff?
The film is still in the editing room, but we have three love stories in the film, so it can't be told in just two hours. The Asian market and even some European markets have asked for the film to be released in two parts. Some regions have also requested a shorter, single-film version.
Red Cliff ¨ª¾À (2008) was based on history, with a lot of well-known characters. I personally had wanted some of the story or characters to be taken out of the film, because I was dealing with audiences who were not familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. If I had put everything and everyone into a two-and-a-half-hour film, that would've exhausted the audience. Some international audience didn't fully understand the film because they weren't familiar with the history.
The Crossing is different. It's an emotional, humanistic story, so it's much easier to edit it down.
The director said in an interview that the censorship authorities requested certain changes to characters, is that true?
John had already been working on the script for a year before he fell ill, but that script had trouble passing censorship because there was a difference in perspectives. To those of us in Hong Kong and Taiwan, people fled Mainland China due to the civil war between the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. However, the Chinese officials disagreed with that point of view. They didn't see it as a civil war, but rather a war of liberation that needed to be fought. So, the people should've stayed to support the new government. This difference in ideology caused the censorship process to drag on for a year.
At the same time, there are some events in the film that were put in because they really happened, not because of censorship. For example, there really were Nationalist Party members who converted to the Communist Party because of corruption in the Nationalist Party. In the end, the script passed.
What were some of the new challenges you faced in making this film?
This film was far more difficult to make than Red Cliff. That film was based on a story many people were familiar with, and we shot the whole film in Hebei Province. This film took us to a lot of locations. We went to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, and we shot in several places in Taiwan as well. We also had more than 1,000 special effect shots.
We hired a foreign crew for special effects because we needed to work at an international standard. We've hired the German company who did Hugo (2011) and Oblivion for the ship sinking sequence.
We're also converting the film to 3-D. We think that this film is a natural fit because the shots are not quick to the point of making people dizzy. The director has created very complex, lyrical shots that would look fantastic in 3-D. A lot of people think action looks great in 3-D, but the editing is so quick that the films actually make people feel exhausted.
With so many locations, was the filming process smooth?
It actually wasn't so smooth due to weather issues. When we were shooting in Taiwan last December, we ran into constant rain in Taipei. So we were not able to get much footage. When we were shooting in the south, the wind was so heavy that people couldn't stand still. So the weather really hurt us.
We had a two-month break for New Year holidays in January and February. If you take out those two months, the production period was about nine to ten months.
What changes in the Chinese film industry has you seen over the years?
The market has grown considerably compared to the time of Red Cliff. The two films made a combined RMB600 million (US$96.1 million). That figure would be a lot bigger now. Also, with the market becoming bigger, we've had to rely less on foreign crew members since local crew members are now very competent.
Would you or Woo consider returning to Hong Kong?
I don't think Woo will return. The stories he wants to tell are mainly for the Chinese-speaking markets now because his films cost more. The Hong Kong film industry can't bear the cost. But I know that many people miss his Hong Kong gunplay films. As for myself, my expertise is making Chinese-language films that can travel to the rest of the world. Quite frankly, I wouldn't know how to make a film for China. Red Cliff, The Crossing and even Reign of Assassins ¼C«B (2010) traveled abroad. But if there are region-specific stories that I'm really interested in, I would be interested in doing them. But most of the time, I'm going to make Chinese films for the world.
And Hollywood?
I still have a company in Los Angeles. There are a few projects in development there. I've worked really hard to build that company up, so I'm not going to give it up.
Is there a huge difference between working in Hollywood and China?
Of course there is a huge difference. Hollywood has a very sound, robust system, so it's more relaxing. Each studio has a department for everything, so I didn't have to handle everything myself. They're more professional. I had a harder time on The Crossing.
What's next for Woo?
He has a few films planned. Flying Tigers ¸ªê¸s^ is still in script stage, but the financing is already secured. There's also a western crime film that's mostly set in Japan. Those are the two most likely projects at the moment.
Do you have any advice for Asian film-makers looking to go to Hollywood?
I think the most important thing is to make sure you make the film in the most suitable place. Don't just go to Hollywood for the sake of going to Hollywood. It's good if you have the ability to go to Hollywood, but the most important thing is to just make a good film.§@ªÌ:
ªüºÞ ®É¶¡: 2014-5-30 19:38
30 May 2014 John Woo's 'The Crossing' Has Finished Shooting ...
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