John Woo

Started by MacGuffin, March 18, 2004, 10:38:39 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MacGuffin

John Woo fires off 'Caliber'
Director to helm comicbook adaptation
Source: Variety

John Woo will direct comicbook adaptation "Caliber," to be unveiled at next week's Comic-Con in San Diego.

Pic looks likely to be a three-way co-production of Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil, Barry Levine's Radical Comics and Lion Rock, the U.S.-based shingle that Woo runs with longstanding partner Terence Chang.

Radical Comics' hit story sets King Arthur and his knights as 19th century gunslingers in the Pacific Northwest.

"Caliber" is unlikely to be Woo's next pic. He is editing part two of his epic "Red Cliff" for a January release in Asia and will deliver an international version shortly thereafter.

Part one of "Red Cliff" opened July 10 in six Asian territories and scored a $26 million weekend.

Woo previously announced that he will helm Lion Rock's $40 million pic "1949," a period romancer set against the tumultuous background of the Chinese Revolution. Production is skedded after completion of "Red Cliff" and is now casting.

Woo's other Stateside projects include a remake of 1969 French crime drama "The Sicilian Clan," which starred Alain Delon and Lino Ventura, and "The Divide," the story of a Chinese laborer working on America's transcontinental railroads in the 19th century.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

John Woo on a new mission: boosting Chinese films

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hollywood film director John Woo has returned to his roots to bring a traditional Chinese story to the big screen, and hopes this will garner new interest for Chinese films globally.

Woo, well known for his choreographed action movies such as "Mission: Impossible II," said "Red Cliff" aims to convince young Chinese that movies don't need a Hollywood stamp to be good and to prove the merits of Chinese films to Western audiences.

"Red Cliff," the most expensive Asian-financed movie made with a $80 million budget, is about the ancient Chinese battle of that name. It is Woo's first Chinese-language film since the 1992 thriller "Hard-Boiled" and his first U.S. release in six years.

Woo said the scale of the movie made it an epic with action and romance akin to "Troy," "Gladiator" or even "Lawrence of Arabia" that should appeal to an international audience.

"I wanted to prove that in China we have the ability and the talent to make big movies like Hollywood but adding something that's never been seen before," Woo told Reuters on the sidelines of the 56th Sydney Film Festival where "Red Cliff" is showing.

"I wanted to make a movie that would appeal to people all over the world, that would bring people together because even though we come from different cultures, we have a lot in common."

Woo, 63, who has directed over 26 films, is well known for his Hollywood movies such as "Face/Off" and "Broken Arrow." He is renowned in Asia for gangster dramas and action movies including "The Killer" and "A Better Tomorrow."

But Woo said he has struggled over the years to unite his two audiences, so with "Red Cliff" he set out to make a movie that rose above cultural and historical barriers.

However, the movie has had different versions released in Asia and elsewhere.

In Asia, the film was released in two parts, totally four hours in length, but for Western markets Woo cut the sub-titled movie back to a single film running for 2- hours.

"This was hard to do but trimming the movie has not changed the story or the spirit of the movie at all," said Woo. "But I would not do it that way again. It was too hard."

Woo said financing the film, despite its high price tag, had been easy and the movie had already made a good profit.

His own production company, Lion Rock Productions, was joined by China Film Group Corp, Taiwan's CMC Entertainment, Japan's Avex Entertainment, China's Chengtian Entertainment and Korea's Showbox.

"Everybody loves the story and most people in Asia have read the book ("Romance of the Three Kingdoms") on which it is based. They also had a lot of confidence in me," he said.

The film is set in the year 208 in the dying days of the Han dynasty, culminating in the battle of Red Cliff in which 2,000 ships were burned.

Woo said the movie had been a hit in Asia, breaking box office records in Japan and China where the film market is growing strongly but badly needs international exposure.

Woo said he wanted to make more Chinese movies although he also had some projects underway in Hollywood.

"No matter the movie, people will see the John Woo touches. When they see a single white dove flying, they will get excited," he said.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

pete

well, like Troy and Gladiator, the two "Red Cliff"s were cartoonishly bad.
too bad though, 'cause my friend Stu was the s f/x supervisor and he s f/x supervised the shit out of both films.

I think John Woo's movies are like musicals; the audience simply have lost the innocence and patience for them.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

MacGuffin

John Woo To Direct 'Day Of The Beast'
Source: Deadline

(Cannes) May 16, 2012 –– John Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Productions and Nikkatsu Corporation will co-produce DAY OF THE BEAST, a remake of Seijun Suzuki's 1963 classic Youth of the Beast centering on the dealings of Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Woo (Mission: Impossible II, Face/Off) will direct and produce the script by Rob Frisbee along with Terence Chang, and Nikkatsu's Naoki Sato. Lori Tilkin, Aki Sugihara and Yoko Asakura are executive producing. The English language production was announced as Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest major movie studio, celebrates its 100th Anniversary this year.

John Woo said, "This remake is my salute to the great films and filmmakers produced by Nikkatsu's 100 years in cinema history. It is exciting for me as well as an honor."

Nikkatsu president Naoki Sato said, "Among Nikkatsu's 6,000+ film library, this is one of our most revered titles. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Woo and are excited he is directing this film for the international market. We think this is a great way to start off the next 100 years of filmmaking history!"

Lion Rock's Terence Chang said, "Seijun Suzuki's Youth of the Beast is one of my favorite films, and I have been obsessed with remaking it for over 10 years! I have to thank Nikkatsu for this partnership and for making this dream come true!"

DAY OF THE BEAST follows a western outsider with a grim past as he becomes embroiled in a global turf war between a vicious new breed of Yakuza and old school Cold War Russian mobsters. It's an action-packed saga of loyalty, revenge and redemption which erupts in the heart of Tokyo.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

John Woo's 'Flying Tigers' to Be Released in Two Versions
The Hong Kong director's project about the Chinese Air Force's U.S. pilots during World War II will open in China as a two-part film and elsewhere as a six-hour TV miniseries.
Source: THR

BEIJING – John Woo's next project has become the latest film to be made with the aim of being released in different versions in and outside mainland China.

According to an announcement released Monday, Cyrte Investments and China Film Group will produce Woo's Flying Tigers, which revolves around a group of U.S. pilots who joined the Chinese Air Force during World War II to ward off Japanese attacks.

The film will be a released in China as a two-parter, the statement said, with international audiences getting a six-hour TV miniseries.

Woo's previous project, Red Cliff, also opened as two installments in Chinese-speaking markets but was condensed to one film when released abroad.

Principal photography will begin in early 2014, according to the announcement, with Woo and Terence Chang producing under their Lion Rock Productions banner. Cyrte's portfolio company, Exclusive Media, will assist the pair.

Cyrte CEO Frank Botman, China Film Group chairman Han Sanping and Woo inked the deal at the Beijing International Film Festival.

According to Woo – who has worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as Face/Off and Mission Impossible II -- Flying Tigers "is a project that I have always wanted to do because this is a story that expresses the courage, resourcefulness, friendship and spirit of both the Chinese and American people and pilots. It promotes friendship between the two nations."

Added Botman: "This is Woo's passion project, and we could not conceive of anyone more perfect to tell the story of the Flying Tigers. Like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, this heroic story of Chinese and American cooperation and their struggles in WWII needs to be retold to a new generation."

Han described Flying Tigers as "one of the most important films" for China Film Group in recent years and will "showcase the charm of Chinese-made films in a more diversified and appealing way to the global audience."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

pete

o word it's in the sky already so it makes sense that there'd be some doves hanging out
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton