The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| Posted: 25 May 2011 02:00 AM PDT Three Chinese superstars come together in Let The Bullets Fly. CHINA'S biggest domestic box office hit Let The Bullets Fly has finally made it to Malaysian shores. The critically-acclaimed China-Hong Kong action comedy helmed by Jiang Wen was last year's highest grossing Chinese film in China at 730mil yuan (RM300mil), beating the record previously set by Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock. Based on a story by famed Sichuan writer Ma Shitu, the movie is set in China during the warring 1920s and tells of a bandit chief who hijacks a conman's idea of posing as the new mayor of a remote town but has to contend with the local mobster. The movie has confirmed a Hollywood remake and is set to hit Japan, Australia and Britain in the coming months. Written and directed by Jiang, Let The Bullets Fly (Mandarin title Rang Zi Dan Fei) features the top three leading men in Chinese entertainment – Chow Yun-fat, Ge You and Jiang himself – alongside fellow filmmaker Feng and recent Best Actress winner Carina Lau. The US$18mil (RM54mil) film also competed with other Asian films in six categories at the Asian Film Awards 2011 held in Hong Kong in March, where it won the best costume design award for William Chang Suk-pin. The nominations included best film, best director and best screenplay for Jiang, best actor for Chow and best supporting actress for Lau. Playing the notorious bandit chief Zhang Mazi is writer-director Jiang, who is best known for the award-winning arthouse movies he helmed like Devils On The Doorstep (2000) and In The Heat Of The Sun. Let The Bullets Fly has been described as a parody of China's contemporary social and political phenomena but Jiang, 48, who was recently seen as Cao Cao in The Lost Bladesman, says everybody perceives the film differently. Cannes best actor Ge plays conman Ma Bangde posing as a new mayor of a remote town but gets his identity hijacked. "It's a meaningful script for an amusing film set in chaotic times. My character is a confidence trickster who begins as the train master but changes his identity to mayor after a robbery," said Ge in a recorded interview. The 54-year-old Beijing native recalled one of his most memorable scenes was being submerged in water for three hours at a stretch in freezing cold weather. "The train derailed and flipped so we were thrown into a body of water. That scene took two days to film as some technical problems required a retake. The container was leaking so heated water had to be pumped in to keep the temperature bearable." Hong Kong-born Chow plays a tyrannical gentry, Huang, who tries to manipulate the townsfolk for his own gains. "The character has had some western influence due to his dealings with American traders so he even speaks English and carries himself differently from other townsfolk," said Chow. On why his gangster character does not join bandit Zhang and conman Ma in pursuit of a courtesan, played by Lau, Chow, 54, offered: "The director told me that the character was somewhat peculiar because of the fact that he had five mothers in his youth." Suzhou-born Hong Kong-based Lau plays an opinionated courtesan who rides into town as conman Ma Bangde's wife. "She wanted to do things that men could do but women during her time were neither accorded appropriate social standing nor similar privileges. Hence, she had to resort to using a man to achieve her ideals." Lau, 45, is now enjoying a renewed surge in popularity after finally nabbing best actress for her portrayal of Empress Wu Ze Tian in Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in March. She has been nominated five times (1989, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2003) for the same award. Let The Bullets Fly opens in local cinemas tomorrow, exclusively at GSC International Screens at GSC Mid Valley, GSC 1 Utama and GSC Pavilion KL in the Klang Valley. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 25 May 2011 01:57 AM PDT The world of movies comes to Singapore next month in a big way via ScreenSingapore. SINGAPORE is all set to launch its international inaugural cinema event, ScreenSingapore, on June 5. The event offers policy makers, industry buyers, sellers, producers and creative talent from all over the world a platform to exchange ideas and opportunities, and will feature both international and Asia-Pacific premieres of prominent Hollywood, European and Aisan films through a series of red carpet gala and film previews. The one-week event opens with a special presentation of Zhang Qi's film called The Devil Inside Me, which stars Tony Leung Ka-Fai. To officiate the screening, an entourage of Chinese celebrities are scheduled to walk the red carpet including Yan Ni, Colin Chou, Liu Yan, Zheng Shuang, Xie Nan and Bao Bei-Er. Other highlights during ScreenSingapore include the premieres of Paradise Kiss (a film from Japan based on a popular manga series starring Keiko Kitagawa and Osamu Mukai) and May'n The Movie – Phonic Nation (a feature revolving around the Japanese singing sensation May'n). Also in the programme are two Hollywood films: J.J. Abrams' Super 8 and Mr Popper's Penguins featuring Jim Carrey and digital/real penguins. Bollywood's favourite son Shah Rukh Khan will also put in an appearance to present his upcoming sci-fi superhero film titled Ra One. Naturally Singaporean filmmakers are not forgotten. The closing night for ScreenSingapore will feature the Asia-Pacific premiere of the film Larry Crowne, starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks. Two-time Academy Award winner Hanks will grace the event scheduled to be held at the recently refurbished Shaw Lido Theatre. The public can catch the screening of some of these films at Golden Village, Shaw and Cathay cinemas around Singapore from June 5 to June 12. Among the preview titles available for public viewing are The City Of Your Final Destination (Britain), A Beautiful Life (China), Brighton Rock (Britain), The New Daughter (US) and Haunters (South Korea). Besides the big fanfare, ScreenSingapore is also celebrating the art of short films. On June 5, the Asian Short Film Awards will be held to provide filmmakers with a platform to showcase their work to a global audience. The top 20 finalists have already been identified with entries from Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, China, New Zealand and Hong Kong. From June 7 to 9, a trade exhibition will also be held so suppliers, service providers, buyers and entertainment media professionals can meet under one roof. There will also be conferences, forums and the "In Conversation" series which see some of the movers and the shakers in the industry sharing their insights, addressing issues regarding the media platforms and touching on other entertainment-related topics. Among the highlights are Ashok Amritraj on "The Art of Film Producing" (June 10), Shekhar Kapur on "Directing In the East And West" (June 9) and Michael J. Werner and Daniel Yun on the "Changing Landscape of Film Distribution" (June 10). Details, visit www.screensingapore.com.sg Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| 'Planet of Apes' actress arrested in Los Angeles Posted: 24 May 2011 09:29 PM PDT LOS ANGELES: "Planet of the Apes" actress and former model Estella Warren was arrested after a late-night crash that led to her allegedly assaulting a police officer then trying to flee from custody, officials said Tuesday. Warren was driving down Harper Avenue near West Hollywood when she crashed into three parked cars, Los Angeles police Officer Sarah Faden said. Someone heard the noise of the crashes and came to see what was going on. That person called police then pursued Warren when it was clear she wasn't going to stop and leave her information, Faden said. The person then forced Warren to stop, though it was unclear how. Police arrived and arrested Warren on suspicion of driving under the influence, but she assaulted one of the officers, Faden said. The 32-year-old actress was then immediately re-arrested for felony battery on an officer. Police took Warren to Wilshire station, where she was detained in a holding room. Exactly how she managed it was unclear, but Faden said Warren slipped out her handcuffs then burst through a door to the police station and briefly escaped. She was immediately recaptured and booked on a felony escape charge. Warren was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. A call to Warren's manager was not immediately returned. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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