Martial Arts

Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower Trailer

The first teaser trailer for Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower is up, and it looks sweet. Judging by Yimou’s previous efforts, which include House of Flying Daggers, Jet Li’s Hero and Raise the Red Lantern, I’d say he’s well qualified to bring a beautifully directed piece of action-art to the screen again. Curse of the Golden Flower focuses on the ….

Stephen Chow Starts Work on Yangtze River 7 (Long River 7)

Shooting on Stephen Chow’s (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) Long River 7 (Yangtze River 7) has started at an elementary school in Ningbo City in eastern China, according to several Chinese newspapers. Long River, also called the Yangtze River, is China’s longest and the world’s third longest river. Long River 7actually refers to a Chinese satellite, inspired by ….

Tony Jaa Appearing in New York

Martial Arts star Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector) will be signing posters and greeting fans on Tuesday, August 22nd at The Wat Gym, in New York City starting at 6PM in support of his new movie The Protectorwhich hits theaters in the U.S. on September 8, 2006. The Martial Arts studio is located at 31 Howard Street, on the ….

The Protector Trailer and Updates

The Protector is the highly anticipated full bodied action film starring International Martial Arts superstar, Tony Jaa (Ong Bak). The film revolves around a young Thai fighter (Jaa), who is shaped by ancient traditions, that is called to defend his people and their honor after outsiders ruin all that is sacred. Fueled by desire to protect a way ….

Bug, Foodfight! and More New Film Previews From Lions Gate

Lions Gate continues to be at the forefront of innovative horror film releases. But they also continue show their versatility and eagerness to promote and distribute off-center films that have the capability to enlighten and enact change. Below are synopses for some of their upcoming slate of films, including The U.S. Vs. John Lennon, about U.S. government ….

The Banquet (Ye Yan) Trailer

What do you get when mix the beauty of Zhang Ziyi, the fight choreography of Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix Trilogy, Kill Bill), and the direction of Xiaogang Feng (A World Without Thieves)… You get the Banquet. The Banquet is a loose adaptation of Hamlet, set in an empire in chaos. The film sounds like a Chinese soap opera, but with serious intentions, as an ….

Jet Li’s Fearless Trailer

Another film about ethnic identity… only Jet Li in Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) wears his cultural heritage with great pride. In Fearless, Jet Li plays a Martial Artist who dreams of continuing the legacy his father established as a world-class fighter in China. After reaching his goal, personal tragedy causes him to disappear for several years. He’s not heard from until ….

Weinstein’s to Build Huge Library of Asian Cinema

Bob and Harvey Weinstein recently announced the unveiling of Dragon Dynasty, a new label under which all The Weinstein Company’s Asian titles will be released, including “Ong Bak 2,” “The Protector” (aka “Tom Yum Goong”), “Born to Fight”, “SPL”, “Seven Swords” and “Dragon Squad”, as well as a package of high profile titles, which was licensed from Fortune Star Entertainment: the distribution division of News Corporation’s ….

District B13 U.S. Teaser Trailer

Paris isn’t the open, artistic city it is now in 2010, according to District B13. No… The ghettos of Paris have surrounded by concrete barriers, keeping people in… and out. That is, until a nuclear bomb gets hijacked by a drug gang, looking to sell it on the black market. The real strength of District B13 is the amazing ….

Seven Swords Arms The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Company (TWC) has acquired all theatrical and video rights in the U.S. to the martial arts epic Seven Swords directed by the master of kung-fu action films, Tsui Hark (Zu Warriors, Once Upon A Time In China). Cheung Chi–Sing and Chun Tin–Nam adapted the screenplay based on the original novel, Seven Swordsmen From Mt Tian, and it was produced by Lee Joo–Ick, ….

Updates on City of Golden Armor and Battle of Red Cliff

Zhang Yimou’s next epic film, The City of Golden Armor, which recently sold to more than 13 European countries, will soon complete filming in China. I have posted links to some set shots and video clips, in the Film Library. View the pics and footage in the Film Library RIGHT HERE John Woo gets back to basics with The Battle of Red Cliff ….

Rogue Gets Moving

Production is about to begin on Rogue, the screenplay Lionsgate acquired in January, written by Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley, with Jet Li and Jason Statham to star and music video director Philip G. Atwell set to direct with Cory Yuen as the Martial Arts Action designer. Filming will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Here’s the plot: After his partner is killed by “Rogue” (Li), the infamous assassin ….

Crouching Tiger Sequel and Theater Productions Planned

Bob and Harvey Weinstein are bringing martial arts to the stage and screen, by getting five novels including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and bringing them to life in theater, according to the trades. The Weinstein Company has acquired the rights to Crane—Iron Pentalogy, a series of five martial arts novels written by Wang Du Lu. They includeCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the fourth novel ….