Cool News
Jet Li's HERO images!!!
Hey folks, Harry here (like where else would I be) and currently I'm excited as can be, looks like I'll be headed to China in a few weeks and soon I'll be walking upon a really great wall.... This'll be great, I just hope I get to see a kung fu showdown when I'm there... something epic! Meanwhile, I'm very much looking forward to this film... everything I've seen from it looks very good. Check it out...
Hey Harry,
Its not like we ever get to scoop films here in England, so this is second hand information. I read AICN most days and havn't seen anything about his film so i thought i'd try and plug it a bit! So here goes............
I am a big fan of Hong Kong/Chinese films and try to follow the scene whenever I get a chance. Needless to say 90% of the stuff that gets imported to the US is destroyed by bad dubbing (does Miramax think American's are too stupid to read subtitles) and naf hip-hopped soundtracks. I loved Crouching Tiger because, at least in England, it was left pretty much intact.
Now there is a new Chinese period martial arts blockbuster on the horizon, which I am very excited about. Hero is directed by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, of The Road Home and Raise the Red Latin and features a cast that reads like a who's who of Hong Kong cinema ñ Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Maggie Cheung , Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung etcÖ
Anyway, this film looks like it could have it all. A solid script and fantastic cinematography courtisy of Zhang Yimou. An excellent soundtract featuring music by Tan Dun, who won an Oscar for his work on Crouching Tiger, and Itzhak Perlman who composed the unforgettable violin solo in Schindler's List. With Jet Li and Donnie Yen on board its unlikely the fight scenes will be anything less than inspired (aka thier battles in Once Upon A Time in China II).
Anyway you can read more about it all at MonkeyPeaches and This Other Place. if you are interested. Just thought it would be cool to hype this flick a bit on AICN and lets hope Miramax don't mess with it too much before it is released in the US!
Keep up the good work, sport!
Call me, TACPOT (hee, hee)
God ain't it cool writing that last bit!
p.s.
Harry, is AICN named after the whole John Woo catch phrase thing or is it a coincidence ;-) --- YES
oh and here are a few pics....
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+ Expand All
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Man, this is looking good.
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just kidding Harry. This sounds like a great movie .
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Okay, it's totally off subject, but that's never stopped anyone before. What the hell is with the animated Harry's constantly being mutilated or burned or horribly mauled? Is this Harry's attempt to get back on the good side of hateful talkbackers by a really impotent display of humility? All right, I know it's stupid to bitch about Harry (afterall, it's his goddamn site), but the one with the eyeball... and the razor... Ugh. That was just ill-advised.
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I think John Williams would be quite surprised to find that Itzhak had written the solos for Schindler - especially as JW won an Oscar for it. And deservedly too - he's a god.
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Well, the animations seem to be homages to pictures... for example, the latest one, I'm sure it's from El Espinazo del Diablo (THe Devil's Backbone). Sure, some of them are disgusting (I cant get over the gay 69 thing), but most of them are pretty cool, I think.
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I know they're homages, but do they have to be so... unpleasant? However, he can't portray the hero in these homages, or fanboys will just accuse him of being a rampant egotist. I guess getting your eyeball sliced open and eating Moriatry's ass is better than a rough fanboy lashing.
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anyway,This Hero has a great cast
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He did not compose the violin solos for Schindler's List...that honor belongs to John Williams.
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Looking good.
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I'm not big on grammar policing on AICN, but c'mon....that isn't even in the same hemisphere as "Lantern"
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HOW MANY PUNCHES ANDKICKS YOU CAN TOLERTATE DOLPHIN . BRUCE LEE IS DA BOMB!
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Aug 06, 2002 11:20:25 AM CDT
Yeah, 'cos cinema space in the U.S. is ALWAYS put into good
by curvespace
How much cinema space do you think this will take up Stouty? It's one in many films that gets released. It's not gonna invade your life; drink all your beer, run your credit card into the ground and sleep with ya ma'. I think it's great that Crouching Tiger helped open up American screens to world cinema a bit more. If it ain't your thing then thats cool, but don't go believing that the 'space' would be better used by 'indies' cos it wouldn't, it'd be poorly used by the big-timers. I wish that small films got more 'push' too, but I'd rather a Chinese film with a bit of passion then MIB3 or whatever the fuck other sequel we're gonna be subjected to.
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Being the die hard Jet Li fan that I am, I am looking foward to this more than TTT or anything else being released this year. Keep up the great work Jet!
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It's just got that look with the leaves falling and all that...very stylized stuff in Hero, which I can not wait to check out.
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Aug 06, 2002 12:00:38 PM CDT
Aw, and I was hoping this would be based on Yashitaka Amano'
by empyreal0
But seriously, if nothing else, the imagery looks fantastic here. Looks like they got someone who KNOWS how to shoot a movie. I'll probably want to check this out.
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Aug 06, 2002 12:18:44 PM CDT
Harry, people in China don't have "showdowns" anymore in Chi
by monkey_king
Hope the Great Wall can withstand that weight. It's not Japan you know. Harry tai Gojira tai Gamera. Yep! Now there's a movie.
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Both these guys are great. THey make anything there in fun.All i have to say is that I cant wait to see this movie, probably blow CTHD out of the water. There is one thing that pisses me off, however. Have you noticed that DOnnie is always killed off way too easy in AMERICAN movies.. look at HIGHLANDER:ENDGAME and BLADE II, what the SHIT is up with that???
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Does anyone else find Jet Li unappealing on film? I will give him credit all day long on his martial arts skills, but he just seems to lack screen presence to me. It keeps me away from his movies. "The One" actually looked like a good premise too. I dunno, i guess it's just me. He just seems kind of weaselly to me.
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These pics are old news. I check Mnnkey Peaches every other day and see this stuff too but don't bother sending it in to AICN because I figure everyone here already has seen it. AICN regulars already know everything this post has said and then some from previous HERO posts. Zhang Yimou isn't doing the inspired camara work... I recall it was Chris Doyle. All this "it stars the who's who of HK", "the films hyped to be the next Crouching Tiger killer", and "cast reads like HK's A-list" is last years old HYPE!!!! I mean last year Time Asia magazine posted a huge cover story on the film which ended up on AICN with better pics/interviews than this silly "I'm so excited to see this movie so I'll steal some pics from Monkey Peaches and write about it to Harry". Granted the fight will be cool, but lets not forget who's more exciting than Jet Li and Donnie Yen in this movie as well. The beautiful goddess Zhang Ziyi and Maggie Chung are also in it! Tony Leung is in it too! Not to mention all the action scenes are all done by Shaolin Soccer's Tony Ching (Bride With White Hair, Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman films).
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I see the Harry character in the mouth of a big fish, which didn't happen in Devil's Backbone. But I'll be damned if I know what it is from, I usually never do. Except the Chien Andalou tribute, I got that one right away. Of course it's hard to forget the image of someones eyeball being sliced. Frickin' Salvador Dali, or Bunuel, whoever thought of it. Seriously demented. But why can't I look away?
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yes, shark tied up, with a rope going from his tail down to who-knows-what, and in his mouth is an image of a profusely bleeding... is that even harry? this looks like quint territory. perhaps payback from the geeks for having his picture taken with asia
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I'll have to add this one to my extensive collection, put it in between "Kiss of the Dragon" and "The One". Oh, has anyone seen the extra footage on the "Romeo Must Die" special edition two-discs DVD? Theres a scene in which he bends over every member of the movie theater audience and fucks them up their asses!
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I've heard his name twice - Someone fill me in - whoa, not like that, more gently. Anyhoo - Stouty, hey, its been fun - you'll be banned now - But I enjoyed reading your rants, mostly because it amuses me to great lengths to see someone think that a free talkback is a gateway to celebrity. I guess you got tired of being ignored and moved on to sheer racism. You've made my day fucko, bye-bye.
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You should know the difference. This sounds extremely promising. Just hope the production is not rushed like HK flick tend to be, and hopefully the budget is decent. The talent of the crew is something exceptional. Yimou, Doyle, Tan Dun in the same movie? And that cast... Wow.
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Aug 06, 2002 4:28:54 PM CDT
Director of cinematography: Chris Doyle! Action director: Ching
by virkku
If those names are not getting you drooling along with Yimou, Tan Dun and the impressive cast, then nothing can help you. And the budget is very big for a HK flick. It pretty much equals a 50-70 million USA film when it comes to production values. CTHD cost 15 million. If I remember correctly, Jet Li is basicly working without salary on this one, because he believes in it so much.
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Interesting note on subtitles. I think most companies are very hesitant to release a picture with subtitles because there is a common perception that they are a turn-off to audiences. Most people who read these boards are obviously interested in cinema enough to deal with them, but the Industry's perceptions of Middle America are such that if they have a picture without subtitles and one with dubbing, they'll probably opt for dubbing. A secondary point of interest: subtitles are often a curse in other territories, as well. I know of a production company/sales agent that has a very cool mixed language film (Chinese and English) whose trailer looks great, but when people in other territories find out there's subtitled Chinese, they pass. It's not just us. Though, I often wonder if the reticence has more to do with the cost of putting on subtitles in several different languages, versus the US assumption that the audience is mainly comprised of illiterate morons. I would rather have subtitles, but I actually read. -- SPYder, out.
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I saw my earlier comments deleted, wanted to see if I had been banned. Jet Li, still not good. NOT complaining, just checking...
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I saw my earlier comments deleted, wanted to see if I had been banned. Jet Li, still not good. NOT complaining, just checking...
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Aug 06, 2002 7:49:19 PM CDT
The Great Wall has survived hundreds of years but will it surviv
by fatal discharge
I think Raise The Red Latin was a spanish porno flic but Raise The Red Lantern is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. I'm really looking forward to Hero to see if Zhang Yimou can combine his gorgeous and deeply moving films with the martial arts genre. As for the corner animations...I think they're great animation and hilarious also. Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor??!!?? They're supposed to be sick and gross and sly loving winks at genre classics. And NO, Harry doesn't do them (thank you Cartuna) so why are people carping at him if they don't like them? Check out a nice big archive of them by clicking on the multimedia box.
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Why do people bitch about too much kung fu in kung fu movies?You either like this stuff or you don't.I loveit!And can't wait for this movie.
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Do you even know what martial arts means? It refers to a huge variety of fighting styles. Since the resurgence of martial arts in cinema, the fights in American films have gotten a LOT better, whether it be the pure fantasy stuff like Charlie's Angels to the brutal Kali-based fights in Bourne Identity. The one thing that unifies all of them is that they look better than anything that came before them in Hollywood. So precisely what do you mean by "be creative"? Go back to the nondescript SAME OLD SHIT fistfights that Hollywood had been using since before John Wayne? Because that's basically all that's left when you take away "martial arts". Creative my ass. And by the way, exactly what kind of fighting do you expect to see in a fantasy film set in ancient China? Moron. If you guys don't like this style of film, don't watch it. It's not like American cinemas are overrun with Chinese martial arts fantasy flicks.
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Aug 06, 2002 11:39:08 PM CDT
I didn't realize Jet Li and Donnie Yen had a fight in Once A
by thematarife
I've seen Fist of Legend, Body Guard from Bejing, and a bunch of other Jet Li films, but I've never ended up seeing Once Apon a Time.
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People: a martial arts movie is just a simple sub-genre amongst action films. Some people don't like horror, and some people don't like drama. Don't go see it, then! Don't preach that it's not good, because you said so. It's not about bad-ass. Even Jet Li tells people that he's only an actor and that he can't take on guys like his characters. Same with Jackie Chan. It's just entertainment folks. Stop it with your ignorant remarks.
Now I have a few friends who don't like Jet Li, and I guess that's cool (I'm a huge Jet Li fan, myself), but in terms of not having a "film presence", I think it's because of the directors. Find some of his earlier films, like "Once Upon a Time in China". You may (or may not) get why he's such a big star, afterwards.
I'm just feeling agitated, because of certain remarks that I don't agree with. Ignore me, if you want. -
"Hero" won't be a one time martial arts gig for Zhang Yimou. He says he'll be making martial arts films for a little while. This guy has worked in so many different genres and styles, I would expect each of his martial arts films to be completely different.
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i know this is going to sound like i'm splitting hairs to some of you, but let's stop call ing this a hong kong film.was la confidential an australian film because it had a couple of australians in it?
geographically, visually, aesthetically, emotionally, thematically and texturely there is usually (wong kar wai perhaps the exception) quite a difference between movies from china and hong kong.
mainland films tend to have a bit more to them in terms of subject, narrative and performance.
and this is definitely a mainland production. -
has made some fucking awful films and I can see why anyone could think he was uncharismatic, but you can't judge him til you've seen Once Upon A Time In China. 100% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, if that means anything around here.. hey WeedyMcSmokey... Mercier (KingofTalkBack) was one of the funniest, most irreverent trolls ever. His best schtick was giving himself sound effects and an honour guard, eg FZZISSCCCHHH! YODA and MACE WINDU ignite lightsabers in honour of MY departure!
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Aug 07, 2002 5:49:37 AM CDT
The cast is awesome and those images kick my butt. I prayed tha
by virgilhilts
he does, and so does donnie yen
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Runty, but that's part of his appeal. Every fight becomes David v. Goliath. Work on the English, Jet, and ditch Silver.
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ain't he the guy that films all of WKW's work? if so, it should be a visually breathe taking movie. and OUTICII's fight scene between Jet and Donnie is some of the best fight sequences put on film. Jet was REALLY fast back then...hahah..anyway, we've been waiting for this film to come out since finding out about it. This movie's even got a past Cannes film festival Best actor working in it..Tony Leung! it's an interesting mixture of art film and action. With ZZM's record of making thoughtful films, this movie should be a blast of eye candies and and emotional voyage.
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Get the 'Hitman' DVD, a previous release of a Jet Li film defaced with dubbing and a lame hip-hop soundtrack tacked on, as 'Contract Killer.' The subtitled original is fantastic, and it is cool to hear the actors speaking in their own voices in several (I counted seven) languages and dialects, instead of delivering their lines lifelessly in Iron Chef accents.
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Hero has an all-star cast with JET LI(SWORDSMAN 2),DONNIE YEN(IRON MONKEY), MAGGIE CHEUNG(DRAGON INN),TONY LEUNG(THE LOVER,also in DRAGON INN)and ZHANG ZIYI(CROUCHING TIGER) all I got to say is WOW!!!!! With the fight director being CHING SUI-TUNG of DRAGON INN and SWORDSMAN SERIES fame you know the action is going to be spectacular. I can't wait to see the JET LI-DONNIE YEN showdown. I think this movie will be one of the top 5 martial arts movies of all time.FYI here's the top 5:--------1)BLADE OF FURY 2)CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON 3)FIRE DRAGON 4)IRON MONKEY 5)SWORDSMAN 2
For those who like to talk shit about kung-fu movies- why are you even here posting on a martial arts topic- either you enjoy creative action or you don't. If you don't go back to your bar room brawls and stupid explosions for no reason movies. Don't waste our time and posting space. I believe there is a CON-AIR website waiting for you. -
Minimal dialogue and the heavily conceptual structure featuring showcase confrontations mean this might accidentally turn into some dismal arthouse version of Streetfighter Turbo. Hope that's just me being cynical. * Here's my personal top five history trips out of what I've seen so far: 1) A Chinese Ghost Story 2) Once Upon a Time in China 3) Dragon Inn 4) Bride with White Hair 5) Iron Monkey. Special mentions to Project A and Mr Vampire.
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Just to say, Jet Li's US flicks stink (as do quite a few of his HK films) but watch Fist of Legend, the Legend of Fong Si Yuk and Once Upon a Time in China and you will see the real Jet Li. Remember Ang Lee originally wanted him for Chow Yen Fat's role, but Jet did not take it because he promised his wife he would stay by her whilst she was pregnant, and apparently he is still Ang's number one choice to play that role in the prequel!
As for subtitles, here in England at least, Crouching Tiger did so well specifically because it was publicised as a Chinese film and shown without being dubbed. People did not go to see it because it was a martial arts film! They wanted a bit of original oriental cinema so they could sample the culture. The number of middle class (we have a class system in the UK) women in their 40s who went to see it is amazing! Tai Chi has really taken off as of late and the strong female characters were a big hit with them.
If CTHD had been dubbed it would not have done so well because it would have stopped being Chinese and started being western. I buy all my foreign language films with subtitles (even if it means importing them) and once you get used to reading them you just watch the films and the words somehow just sink into your head. It is really weird! You are listening to this language you don't understand but at the same time you know what they are saying. Sometimes I actually forget they aren't talking in English!
Hero will rock. Mark my words!
Tacpot
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Where did you get the "Hero" stills, and where can I see more? ** Since Crouching Tiger is being dredged up yet again, here's some more input to add to the previous talback. CTHD got hyped quite heavily by critics because Ang Lee was already the darling of the cultural mafia for that insipid Jane Austen adaptation. Kerrist, even my parents went to see it and have been totally resistant to any other Chinese film ever since.
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sure jet li has one world martial arts championships, but deniro can hold a gun and shoot it. he's the real bad ass.
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Those pics look awesome! I'm looking forward to this one!
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Beside send petition to Miramax
I think we should send petition
to China gavernment. We ask them to BAN miramax from China. -
http://www.monkeypeaches.com/0208M.html
Chinese paper Nanfang Daily has reported the news that Miramax might delay HERO for a year and the report has quickly spread to other news websites in China. Both the Beijing company and the Hong Kong based production company Edko have refused to comment further on the fate of HERO, when being contacted by Nanfang Daily. -
I read a news somehere...
that in Mt. Emei, China,
3 Chinese Martial Art School
Emei, Shaolin & Wudang
will gather in Mt Emei for festival to celebrate the inclusion of Mt. Emei as world heritage site. the last time these 3 school gether was in 50's or 40's -
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?SID=3468254
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you are right that deniro can hold and shoot a gun. In fact he is probably pretty good. But you shouldnt forget the fact that Jet Li can use a gun just as well as deniro. Its just that Jet probably prefers to not use a gun.
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