TUESDAY, MARCH 22 2011
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Editorial (852) 2582 8958 Tianjin sets Rabbit cast, distribution
BY JEAN NOH Tianjin Film Studio has recruited comedy star Fan Wei and Yan Ni to head the voice dubbing of its 3D kung-fu animated fi lm Legend Of A Rabbit. The company has also sold the fi lm to Sahamongkol for Thai- land and confirmed China Film Group as local distributor in the mainland. The Thai deal was closed
between Sahamongkol executive vice-president Gilbert Lim and Tianjin Film Studio’s head of inter- national distribution Elliot Tong. “We’re very excited because Sahamongkol is such a great dis-
tributor, one of our best,” said Tong. “China Film Group is plan- ning a targeted wide release and they have given us very good pro- jections. We’re looking at a day- and-date release in Korea and other Asian territories,” he added. Directed by Sun Li Jun, the
$12m Legend Of A Rabbit is in post- production for a summer release. A hit at last month’s European Film Market in Berlin, the fi lm sold to Noori for Korea, Luxor Film for Russia/CIS, Ram Indo for Singa- pore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Horizon International for Turkey and AB Groupe for France.
Yim floats City for Mandarin
Production begins this week on Mandarin Films’ historical epic, Hundred Years Of A Floating City, to be directed by Yim Ho. Set in Hong Kong in the 1980s,
the film follows a fisherman’s son who rises to become a powerful ‘tai pan’ or businessman. Aaron Kwok, Charlie Yeung and Nina Paw Hee-
ching head the cast. Paw won the best actress prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2009 for her role in Ann Hui’s The Way We Are. Mandarin is financing and
handling international sales on the film and may bring in a mainland Chinese production and distribution partner. Shooting will begin in the next
few weeks with release tentatively scheduled for the end of the year. Yim was one of Hong Kong’s
leading directors in the 1980s and a leader of the Hong Kong New Wave. His credits include award- winning titles such as Homecoming in 1984 and Red Dust in 1990. More recently he directed A West Lake Moment, starring Chen Kun, in 2004.
Aaron Kwok Liz Shackleton Henan tunes Violin, Generals
BY SCREEN STAFF China’s Henan Film & Television Production Group Corporation (Henan Film Group) is ramping up its big-budget fi lm production with $30m US-China co-pro Mela- nie’s Violin and $22.5m historic epic Generals Of The Yang Family. Melanie’s Violin follows the story
of 30,000 Jews fl eeing Europe for Shanghai during the Second World War. US producer Branko Lustig (Schindler’s List, Gladiator) and media entrepreneur Phil
Blazer will serve as producers. The fi lm will be co-produced by Henan Film Group, Shanghai West Coast Sheng Bao Cultural Communica- tions and Los Angeles-based Six Points Film, a fi rm co-founded by Lustig and Blazer. US writer Larry Ramin will
write the screenplay. The fi lm will be budgeted at $30m, according to Lan Lixin, vice-chairman of Henan Film Group, with shooting set to begin at the end of the year. The story is adapted from Chi-
Apichatpong Weerasethakul arrives at the Asian Film Awards last night
Uncle Boonmee takes top Asian Film Award
BY LIZ SHACKLETON Thai director Apichatpong Weera- sethakul echoed his Cannes Palme d’Or victory at the Asian Film Awards last night, winning best film for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Korea’s Lee Chang-dong was
awarded best director and best screenplay for Poetry, also repeat- ing its win for best screenplay at Cannes last year. Best actor went to Ha Jung-woo
for Korean thriller The Yellow Sea, directed by Na Hong-jin, while China’s Xu Fan took best actress for her husband Feng Xiaogang’s disaster movie Aftershock. Mark Chao You-ting was named best newcomer for his role in Taiwan- ese gangster drama Monga. Best supporting actor went to
Hong Kong’s Sammo Hung for Ip Man 2 and best supporting actress to Korea’s Yoon Yeo-jeong for The Housemaid. Taiwan’s Mark Lee Ping-bin was
nese novelist He Ning’s book of the same title. The director and cast are yet to be announced, but Lan said the producers plan to recruit a US fi lm-maker. Meanwhile, Henan Film Group
is producing Generals Of The Yang Family, directed by Ronnie Yu (Fearless). Louis Koo, Taiwanese actor Vic Chou, Wu Chun (My Kingdom), Raymond Lam and Asian Film Awards winner Xu Fan (Aftershock) will star. Set during the Song dynasty, the
epic tells of the legendary Yang family, who sacrifi ced two genera- tions in service of their country.
Branko Lustig
Shooting is scheduled to begin in August. Raymond Wong’s Beijing-based
Tianma United Film will handle international sales while Huayi Brothers Media will distribute in the Greater China region.
awarded best cinematographer for his work on Tran Anh Hung’s Nor- wegian Wood, while Hayashida Yuji took best production designer for 13 Assassins. Indian rock band Indian Ocean scooped the award for best music score for Peepli Live. Aftershock also took the best vis-
ual effects prize for the work of Phil Jones, along with the Asian Film Award for top grossing film of 2010. Best editing went to Nam Na- young for Korean thriller I Saw The Devil, while Hong Kong’s William Chang Suk-ping was best costume designer for Let The Bullets Fly. Kim Dong-ho, the former direc-
tor of the Busan International Film Festival, was presented with the Asian Film Award for outstanding contribution to Asian cinema, while Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow took the Asian Film Award for lifetime achievement. Special prizes also included the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award presented to Fortissimo Films.
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SCREENINGS » START PAGE 20
Media Asia preps To, Wai romance
BY SCREEN STAFF Hong Kong studio Media Asia has unveiled Hong Kong-China co- production Romancing In Thin Air, to be directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai, and star Sammi Cheng, Louis Koo and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan. Koo plays a superstar who is
dumped by his girlfriend and fl ies off to scenic Shangri-la in Yunnan province in search of solitude, only to fall in love. Shooting began in early March
and the fi lm will wrap towards the end of May. Media Asia is yet to confirm its China co-production partner and the film’s mainland China distributor, but has set its Hong Kong and mainland China release date at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, Media Asia also
announced the Andrew Lau- directed romantic drama A Beauti- ful Life will be released in both mainland China and Hong Kong on May 19. The Beijing-set story, about a
romance between a Hong Kong girl (Shu Qi) and a Beijing police offi cer (Liu Ye), is co-produced by Beijing-based Bona Film Group. Bona is also distributing in main- land China. Also in Media Asia’s 2011 release
slate is To-produced title Punished. Directed by Law Wing-cheong, the action thriller stars Anthony Wong, Richie Jen and Janice Man. Its Hong Kong release date is May 5.
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