Father Geek here and I've got Darius25's latest Asia-AICN Column for this Thursday, buuuut First there is this biy of interest to you all:
There is an upcoming Korean period action film titled MUSA that stars Zhang Ziyi. IT's a movie involving the battle between the Koreans and the Chinese during ancient times. The story-line is similar to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid except without the humor. It looks to be the next cross-over Asian film just as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was.
The recent news being that there has been a press junket of this film for American distributors and apparently they went ape shit over it. That sort of enthusiasm was bound to create a domino effect and got the Japanese interested in this film as well and now this film will go through a press junket in Japan as well in the coming month. I've included a direct link to the trailer for this beautiful looking film. I've seen a lot of Korean movies and this one looks like a stand-out. Forget Shiri, forget JSA, forget Christmas in August, forget Friend, and forget Ditto. This is the real deal.
http://www.musa.co.kr/asx/musa100k.asx
Best regards,
iLamnea_Co
Now on to Darius and AccSpy and their reports...
Asia-AICN
Hey all, hope you're all well and relaxing during this last month of
summer. There still isn't any Japanese news as Pigmon is on his
vacation, but we managed provide a rather packed column for you this
week including news on "American Chai", "All the Best", "Pyar Ishq Aur
Mohabbat (Love, Affection, and Desire)", director Corey Yuen's upcoming
films, "EPU", and "Always on my Mind". We also have some new pictures
from "Abhay", "Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat", "Hum Ho Gaye Aapke (I am
Yours), "The Legend of Zu", and "Always on my Mind". Now here's the
latest from Asia.
INDIA
To start things off, here's a little tidbit on an independent film titled "American Chai (Chai mean Tea in Hindi)". Thanks to the film's director, Anurag Mehta, for sending this info.
I wanted to tell you about my film, AMERICAN CHAI. It won the AUDIENCE AWARD at the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival this past January in Park City, Utah. Since then, it has gone on to win the AUDIENCE AWARD at the Gen Art Film Festival, and also the BEST FEATURE and TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS at the Philadelphia Festival of Independents.
The film is a coming of age comedy about an Indian-American college boy who can't bring himself to tell his strict immigrant parents that he's studying to be a musician, not a doctor...
It stars Bollywood great Paresh Rawal as the father, along with Indian-American actors Ajay Naidu (Office Space, Suburbia, the upcoming KPAX) and Aasif Mandvi (star of Ismail Merchant's next THE MYSTIC MASSUER). My own younger brother Aalok Mehta, plays the lead. He also did the score and 4 of his original songs are in the film.
I'm finalizing distribution right now, and I'll know in a week or so exactly what the deal is, but we expect the film to open here in the US in the fall, and then travel to the rest of the world early next year. We're also going to play at the San Diego Asian Film Festival in September.
Its a movie that I feel can cross-over to open minded audiences, as its very universal in style, sense of humor, and story (the festival audiences have been mostly made up of non-Indians).
Thanks.
Best Regards,
Anurag Mehta; Writer-Director; "American Chai"; www.americanchai.com
Now here's the latest news from India:
- Director Vipul Shah's "All the Best" has now been retitled "Aankhen (Eyes). Why they would choose the name of a really large hit (which was Govinda's breakthrough comedy film) is beyond me. Anyway, Preity Zinta has also been added to the cast albeit for a one-song appearance only. The action film features Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Sushmita Sen, and Paresh Rawal.
- After September's "Ehsaas (The Discovery)", Sunil Shetty will reteam with director Mahesh Manjrekar for an upcoming film. The film will also star Sanjay Dutt (a Manjrekar regular). The film, which does not yet have a title, will be filmed sometime this winter.
- Actress Manisha Koirala has now replaced Rinke Khanna for Director Ram Gopal Verma's "Company". The highly-anticipated Gangster film is being rushed for a December release as we speak. It stars Ajay Devgan, Vicky Oberoi, Antara Malli, and marks the Bollywood debut of Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal.
- Some really good stills were released from actor Kamal Haasan's next film, "Abhay". The film, based on the book by the star, stars Haasan in a dual role of a military officer and his psycho twin (the title character). The cast includes Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, and Milind Gunaji.
Click here to see a pic of Haasan vs. himself: Go There Now
Raveena in a catsuit!!: Just Click
Haasan and Manisha Koirala: Click Here
- There were two films released last week. The first film is director Raajiv Rai's "Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat (Love, Affection and Desire)" which stars Kirty Reddy, Sunil Shetty, Arjun Rampal and Aaftab Shivdasani. I am happy to say that despite various rumours floating around, the film is NOT a remake of "There's Something About Mary" even though both films focus on a similar theme. Sunil Shetty plays the wealthy industrialist Yash Sabharwal smitten by a college student, Isha (Kirty Reddy). He proposes to her but gets rejected right away. Not one to quit, he pretends to be her friend and sends her off on a scholarship to scenic Scotland (just another excuse for a higher budget and to show off some beautiful locations). He follows her of course, but not before hiring a con-man, Gaurav (Arjun Rampal), to woo and dump the young lass thereby increasing his own chances. You can tell what happens next right??? Well, while Gaurav romances Isha for real, Yash shows up. To further complicate things, Isha also has a best friend lusting after her (Aaftab Shivdasani). The three leads basically fight for Isha's affections and the girl makes the right (or wrong) decision at the end. Raajiv Rai has drastically changed gears from his previous films (which were all action/thrillers) and the results are still entertaining. As far as rankings go, this isn't as good as "Gupt (Secret)" or "Tridev (The Trinity)" but it is better than "Vishwaatma (The Great One)". The film also features some excellent music by Viju Shah and there are enough laughs in the plot to keep things from ending up too soppy. Arjun Rampal is the main showcase and he doesn't disappoint. His dialogue delivery is fine and he handles the comedy and romance scenes adequately enough. He does seem a little too self-conscious (he IS a model, after all) but that's the main point of his character. Aaftab continues on his quest to be one of the next biggies, and he's in fine form here. He manages to make his mark even in a limited role. Sunil Shetty is good as usual - nothing special but now that he has so many films under his belt, nothing horrible either. Kirty Reddy, in her second Bollywood film, has improved slightly from last year but that South Indian accent is still noticeable (she probably needs some more time). She still can't act that well and is NOT that hot for these guys to fight over her. Aishwarya Rai would have been a much better choice, but that's just my opinion. All in all, "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" is a fun film that won't disappoint Raajiv Rai fans.
Click here to see a pic of Aaftab and Kirty Reddy: Just Click
Here's one of Arjun Rampal and Kirty: Click
And here's a pic of Sunil Shetty and Isha Koppikar: Click Here
- Last week's other release is the more serious "Hum Ho Gaye Aapke (I am Yours)", directed by Ahathiyan. Fardeen Khan stars as the typical rich brat/Casanova Rishi Oberoi who goes around romancing one girl after another and spends life using his father's money to get whatever he wants. Of course he has an ideal best friend, Mohan (Apurva Agnihotri), who's the exact opposite. Both fall in love with the same girl, Chandni (Reema Sen) and Rishi orders Mohan to help him woo her. Going along with the cliché-ridden story, Chandni falls in love with Mohan but the guy's loyal to his best friend. The couple break up and a new romance starts between Rishi and Chandni. Rishi mends his way to become a "good" guy but Mohan is still hanging around. What happens next? Do you really care?? You've seen this film a thousand times and so have I, and you know that plot isn't the major attraction of this film (or many others). The acting is decent - Fardeen is pretty decent as the spoiled rich guy but he isn't convincing enough in the latter half after he reforms. There's a reason that Apoorva Agnihotri didn't make it big after Subhash Ghai's "Pardes (Foreign Land)" and you'll know why. He overacts constantly and his character is so horribly written that nobody would ever give a damn about him. Reema Sen makes her debut in Bollywood and she isn't too disappointing. Playing a quiet meekish girl doesn't look like a stretch for her and she does ok in the drama department. The songs sound decent while you're watching the film but you won't remember most of them after the end. The standard direction and an uneven script doesn't help the film in the long end - the pace slows down to a halt at some points while some major turns come out of nowhere. Overall, this a below average fare which would make a decent viewing - on video. With so many blockbusters releasing week after week, "Hum Ho Gaye Aapke" just isn't able to compete, quality or entertainment wise.
For a pic of Reema Sen: Go To This Location
And to see another one, this time with Fardeen: Just Click Right Here
CHINA / HK
Here's the latest report from "AccSpy":
- Director Corey Yuen is currently in HK for the post-production of the "once-TEKKEN-now God-knows-what" movie. The movie, co-directed by Andrew Lau, is scheduled to release in HK this Christmas. Later he will direct Columbia studio's "Angel in the Dust (temp. title)" starring Shu Qi, Karen mok and Vikki Zhou (now well-known from Shaolin Soccer). Next fall Corey Yuen will team up with "Kiss of the Dragon" filmmaker Luc Besson again to direct a English-language action flick which again is written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Corey didn't know he was credited as second director in Jet Li's new sci-fi thriller "The One" until recently. About Jet's fighting style in the film, Corey said that the "good" Jet Li is the "Yin" and his style is more like Tai Chi but faster, while the "bad" Jet Li's style is more brutal and he is the "Yang". Audiences will surely be able to tell the differences.
- Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Soccer" is starting to conquer the world as the film is invited to become the opening film in this year's Syndey Film Festival next month. The film has now grossed more than $53 million HKD in HK, thanks to a new 111-minute extended version with 2 deleted scenes and a few minutes of outtakes. It is looking forward to replace "Jackie Chan's First Strike"($57 million) as the highest-grossing local film ever.
- Before Shooting "Running out of Time 2" in October with Ekin Cheng, Lau Ching Wan will team up with 'Expect the Unexpected" co-star Simon Yam for the police force thriller "EPU", which will again be directed by filmmaker team Johnnie To and Wai Kar-fai.
- You may have seen these photos from "The Legend of Zu", which opens this weekend in HK, but here's a more detailed look at how they combine the CGI onto the films:
Louis Koo with his wings: Just Click
Ekin Cheng with his weapon:Click
Cecilia Cheung in a magical moment: Click Here
- After two blockbusters "Feel 100% II" and "Fighting for Love", director Joe Ma takes a serious turn to direct a tearjerker drama literally titled "Always on my Mind", starring Eason Chan, Candy Lo ("Time & Tide") and newcomer Charlene Choi, who debuted in this year's indie flick "Heroes in Love". The film, which tells a romantic relationship between a coffin salesman (Eason Chan) and a cancer patient (Charlene Choi), hopes to capture the 1993's surprising hit "C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri", starring Lau Ching Wan and the then relatively unknown Anita Yuen.
Here's some pictures of the next "it" girl in HK, Charlene Choi:
Picture 1: Go Right Here
Picture 2: Just Click Here
Picture 3: Click Now
- As expected, "Fulltime Killer" kicked off "Shaolin Soccer" to debut at no.1 with $8.4 million in first three days, an astonishing number for this genre thanks to the star appeal of Andy Lau. Jet Li's "Kiss of the Dragon" debuted second with $3.3 million. "Shaolin Soccer" was at no.3, "Planet of the Apes" fell two steps to no.4 with total grossing of $9.2 million so far. Aaron Kwok's "Para Para Sakura" was at no.5, grabbing $6.1 million in 11 days. This week, "Legend of Zu" will open and faces off against "Fulltime Killer", while "Shaolin Soccer" is still eyeing to breaking the record kept by Jackie Chan.
- Last but not least, I recommend you guys to see director Ann Hui's "Visible Secret" starring Shu Qi, Eason Chan and Sam Lee, which is out now on DVD. It's a terrific horror drama which every "The Sixth Sense" fans should check out.
