Marco Polo - Netflix Original Series

[GeneChing]

Starz Picks Up Marco Polo Drama Series (http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/starz-picks-up-marco-polo-drama-series/)
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 13, 2012 @ 6:35am
Nellie Andreeva

Starz has greenlighted Marco Polo, a new 10-episode original scripted series about the 13th century explorer from the Weinstein Co. and Electus. Created by John Fusco (Hidalgo), Marco Polo is described as a fantastical martial arts epic chronicling the famous adventurer’s early years in the court of Kublai Khan. Acting as the ruler’s spy, ambassador and explorer, Marco treks across the Far East and returns with tales of his journeys. In a court filled with political betrayal and forbidden relationships, Marco must use his martial arts training to survive, but it is his ability to enchant Khan with imaginative tales of his kingdom that is often his best tool to stay alive. Fusco wrote the project and is executive producing with Harvey and Bob Weinstein and Ben Silverman. “Marco Polo has captivated imaginations for centuries, and John’s script brings this fantastical story to life,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said.

Starz Entertainment is receiving domestic premium pay TV rights and certain digital rights to the series for its flagship Starz network, while Starz’s Anchor Bay arm will distribute the property in the U.S. in home video. All remaining rights will be controlled by the Weinstein Co. and Electus’ global distribution arm Electus International. For Albrecht, this marks a return to his early days at Starz, when his first greenlighted series was costume drama Camelot. He has since stayed in the present or close to it with Boss and Magic City, in addition to the live-action adaptation of the anime series Noir.
John Fusco was the screenwriter for Forbidden Kingdom (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42599). He contributed our cover story on that - FORBIDDEN FIST: The Making of THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=761) in our 2008 May/June issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=758). He is also the author of the forthcoming children's book, Little Monk and the Mantis (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62825), featuring the artwork of our senior graphic designer, Patrick Lugo. John promised me that there will be kung fu in this new Marco Polo series. :cool:

[GeneChing]

Will Marco Polo be the new black...and orange (http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Orange_Is_the_New_Black/70242311?locale=en-US)? ;)


Netflix Eyes 'Marco Polo' Drama Series (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflix-eyes-marco-polo-drama-599772)
6:00 PM PDT 8/5/2013 by Lesley Goldberg

The streaming service is eyeing the drama series Marco Polo from Starz, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The drama was originally developed at Starz, who picked up the project straight to series in January 2012. Sources tell THR that the cable network released the drama back to producers the Weinstein Co. and Electus after its attempts to film the series in China fizzled. The Weinstein Co. is currently mulling whether to set up the series at Netflix as a nine-episode order or a feature film version of the project.

The series hails from creators John Fusco (Young Guns) and Dave Erikson (Sons of Anarchy, Low Winter Sun). The nine-chapter story chronicles the explorer's journey from the treachery surrounding him to his relationship with the tyrant Kublai Khan. Harveyand Bob Weinstein originally developed the idea alongside Electus' Ben Silverman, all of whom will serve as executive producers.

Marco Polo is the true story of the world’s greatest storyteller. It's described as an epic and cinematic adventure of high politics, masterful manipulation and deadly warfare. The drama is told from the young Marco Polo's point of view when he finds himself at the center of a brutal war between two empires in 13th century China, replete with close combat, romance and sexual intrigue, religious tension, political skullduggery and spectacular battles.

The series would join an original programming roster at Netflix that includes Orange Is the New Black, which in a move similar to Starz, was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere; horror-thriller Hemlock Grove, Emmy darling House of Cards;Arrested Development; Ricky Gervais' upcoming entry Derek; and the Wachowskis' Sense8.

The pickup comes as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has plans to double the company's original series in 2014.

[GeneChing]

...you know the one. You yell "Marco" with your eyes closed, and then everyone responds "Polo" and then you try to catch them based on what you heard. No peeking now.


Netflix’s Next Original Series Could Be Its Most Ambitious Yet (http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/netflixs-next-original-series-could-be-its-most-ambitious-yet.html/?a=viewall)
By Thomas Mentel
August 10, 2013

(NASDAQ:NFLX) next original series might be its most ambitious one to date. According to the The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is considering taking on the drama series Marco Polo, based on accounts of the young traveler, which was originally developed at Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA) before the cable network returned the series to The Weinstein Co.

In January 2012, Starz picked up the ambitious project but later released the drama back to The Weinstein Co. after attempts to film in China did not work out as planned, THR reports. The Weinstein Co. is reportedly deciding whether to set up the project as a nine-episode series at Netflix or produce a feature-length version.

The series was created by John Fusco of Young Guns and Dave Erikson of Sons of Anarchy, and was originally developed by Harvey and Bob Weinstein along with Ben Silverman of Electus; the three will serve as executive producers.

Marco Polo tells the story of a young Marco Polo as he becomes embroiled in a war between two empires in 13th century China. Described as epic with a focus on politics, manipulation, and warfare, the story also explores his relationship with Kublai Khan.

If the show ends up going to Netflix, it will be the latest in a surge of original content for the online streaming service. House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove and the latest season of Arrested Development were all released in 2013 and the company has no intention of slowing, with Ricky Gervais’s Derek on the way along with the Wachowskis’s Sense8, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Furthermore, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said he wants to double the company’s amount of original programming in 2014.

Ted Serandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, told The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive interview: ”It’s feasible that we would double the load that we did this year [with eight new shows]. People’s tastes are wildly diverse, and I want to be able to appeal to all of those tastes and across demos. Hemlock Grove is totally different from House of Cards. Orange is the New Black is a very different show. I think we can support a lot of specific tastes.”

Asked by the trade publication whether he felt Netflix was changing Hollywood in big ways, he responded: “There’s no question when we launched our series 13 episodes at a time that the one thing that everybody agreed on in this town was that it was insane. I got a call from every network executive I knew who said: ‘Don’t be crazy. You’ve got this huge investment, drag it out. Make ’em come back every week, and you could launch new things off of them.’ It just sounded to me like the same kind of managed dissatisfaction that is the entire entertainment business.”



Warner Bros Sets Stephanie Koff To Script ‘Marco Polo’ (http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/warner-bros-sets-stephanie-koff-to-script-marco-polo/)
By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday August 8, 2013 @ 2:21pm
Mike Fleming
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EXCLUSIVE: For a guy who lived in the 13th Century, Marco Polo has suddenly caught Hollywood’s fancy. Warner Bros has set Stephanie Koff to write Marco Polo, a film Erwin Stoff is producing. Koff, who most recently adapted Wither, based on the bestselling young adult novel series The Chemical Garden Trilogy. She’s a writer of science fiction action and fantasy and will take Marco Polo in a new direction. This comes as Netflix has emerged as frontrunner on a nine episode order on a series created by John Fusco backed by The Weinstein Company and Electus. Polo was the Venice merchant traveler and storyteller who ventured to China and opened up Asia for trade. Koff is repped by Gersh and New Wave Entertainment.

[GeneChing]

It’s Official: Netflix Orders Series ‘Marco Polo’ From Weinstein Co. With Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg Directing (http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/its-official-netflix-orders-series-marco-polo-from-weinsterin-co/)
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 14, 2014 @ 6:00am

After months of negotiations, Netflix has closed a deal for its newest original series Marco Polo, a nine-episode drama of politics, manipulation and deadly warfare among clashing empires. Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) are directing the first episode before they go off to helm Pirates Of The Caribbean 5. The project, originally set up at Starz, will premiere on Netflix in late 2014. It will be produced by The Weinstein Co. at the new Pinewood Studios, Malaysia. Originally developed by the Weinstein Co. and Electus, the project received a 10-episode straight-to-series order by Starz in January 2012. Seven scripts were written for the series, which was supposed to film in China, something no other U.S. show has done, which proved a complex and difficult proposition. A year and a half later, last August Starz released the project, and it was taken to Netflix, which made an offer for nine episodes to be filmed in Malaysia. Electus remains involved, serving as executive producer and distributing in all non-Netflix international territories. Ronning and Sandberg will also executive produce with Dan Minahan (Game Of Thrones). The series, created and executive produced by John Fusco (Hidalgo), set in 13th century China, a world replete with astonishing martial arts, sexual intrigue, political skullduggery and spectacular battles. “John Fusco and his team have created a timeless tale of power, adventure, betrayal and lust that combines deft storytelling and cinematic ambition,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer. Added TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein: “With the glowing success of series like House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, it’s clear that Netflix is breaking tremendous ground in the realm of streaming original content. We could not be more excited to partner with them on this project, along with the creative tour de force of John Fusco and his talented team.”

"astonishing martial arts"

bring it!

[GeneChing]

Saw this on John's fb.

‘Marco Polo’ Crew Mourns Ju Kun; Asst Martial Arts Choreographer Is Among Missing On Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/marco-polo-crew-mourns-ju-kun-asst-martial-arts-choreographer-among-missing-on-malaysia-airlines-flight-307/)
By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday March 10, 2014 @ 10:12am

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UPDATE: Netflix and The Weinstein Company have just sent a statement regarding Ju Kun: “We are deeply saddened by the news about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370,” they said in a joint statement. “Ju Kun, who was on board, was an integral part of our production team and a tremendous talent. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”

EARLIER: Among the passengers missing and believed to have perished on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is Ju Kun, the veteran martial arts expert and assistant martial arts choreographer on Marco Polo, the Netflix/The Weinstein Company series pilot that is scheduled to begin production in three weeks. The 35-year old stuntman had completed a day of training and choreography and made a quick trip from Pinewood Studios in Malaysia to his home in Beijing, which was why he boarded the flight that disappeared 35,000 feet over Vietnam.

This sad news comes to me from Marco Polo series creator John Fusco, who provided the below photo he took with Ju Kun the day he boarded the flight. Fusco first worked with Ju Kun on The Forbidden Kingdom and made sure that Ju Kun’s close friend, Marco Polo‘s head fight choreographer Brett Chan, brought him in for both choreography and stunt work on the ambitious series. He said Ju Kun has worked at Jet Li’s stunt double and been in films like Fearless, The Expendables, The Grandmaster and The Forbidden Kingdom, and Fusco said Ju Kun’s mastery of several martial arts styles made his choreography distinctive. Right now, they are all waiting for answers.

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“All of us on location in Malaysia are devastated as we go through this agonizing wait,” Fusco told me. “Ju Kun is an integral and beloved member of our Marco Polo family, and on behalf of Harvey Weinstein and Netflix, we are all profoundly shocked and saddened. Right now are are rallying around his wife, Li Ping as she awaits answers in Kuala Lumpur. Our hearts and prayers are also with all of the other missing passengers and their families.”

At present, Fusco said there are few concrete answers. “At this point, there is no confirmation of a crash, just a missing plane,” Fusco said. “We are staying close to Li Ping and supporting her in every way possible. We will be there for her and their two young sons, whatever the outcome may be. I first worked with Ju Kun on The Forbidden Kingdom in 2008 and recognized him then as an amazing martial arts performer. He has risen through the ranks of stunt men and fight choreographers to become one of the best and most sought after. He has worked closely with Master Yuen Woo-Ping and is currently a key member of Brett Chan’s stunt team on Marco Polo. Ju Kun’s skill-set encompasses a vast array of martial arts styles, yet he does each one of them, not just well, but at a supreme level. From the internal systems like Bagua to acrobatic wushu to the close combat system of Wing Chun, and beyond. But his true mastery is in bringing all of this knowledge together through his action choreography. Although we are still three weeks out from the start of principle photography, Ju Kun’s special footprint is already on many of our unique martial arts sequences that have been choreographed and prepared by Brett Chan’s stellar team.

“Ju Kun is a wonderful, caring soul whose disciplined work ethic inspires everyone around him to raise the bar on themselves,” Fusco said. “We love him dearly and can only pray and soldier on as he would want us to do at this time.”

[PalmStriker]

Such sad news for all the families of those who are missing under such mysterious circumstances, May Buddha watch over our Kungfu brother Master Ju Kun.

[GeneChing]

Netflix's 'Marco Polo' Sets Its Cast (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflixs-marco-polo-sets-cast-694375?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews&utm_campaign=THR+Breaking+News_2014-04-08+07%3A30%3A00+America%2FLos_Angeles_lgoldberg)
7:30 AM PDT 4/8/2014 by Lesley Goldberg
Lorenzo Richelmy will play the title role, leading an all-star international cast in the series set to bow in late 2014.

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Courtesy of Netflix
Lorenzo Richelmy
Netflix's Marco Polo has raised its sail and set its key cast ahead of its late 2014 bow.
Lorenzo Richelmy has been tapped to star as the famed explorer in the drama series based on the adventures of Marco Polo, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The 10-episode drama was created by John Fusco (Young Guns II) and focuses on the famed explorer's journey that takes him to the center of a brutal war in 13th century China -- a world replete with astonishing martial arts, sexual intrigue, political skullduggery and spectacular battles.
The native of Liguria, Italy, moved to Rome at age 4 and made his acting debut in a theatrical performance at age 8. In 2002, he starred in Il Pranzo della Domenica and counts TV roles including I Liceali. He was named best upcoming personality by the Italian Tourist Department in 2008 and was the youngest student admitted to Italy's top drama school CSC. In 2010, he starred in Fat Cat, which netted him a best actor at the Bruxelles International Film Festival as well as three other festivals in California.
Benedict Wong (Prometheus), Zhu Zhu(Cloud Atlas), Tom Wu (Skyfall), Remy Hii (Treading Water) and Rick Yune (Olympus Has Fallen) round out the cast.
Fusco and Harvey Weinstein will executive produce the drama. Dan Minahan (Gmae of Thrones, True Blood) will also exec produce and direct two episodes. Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) will direct the first two episodes. Patrick MacManus will co-exec produce, with Collin Creighton producing for TWC.
The 10-episode series will film in Italy, Kazakhstan and the new Pinewood Studios in Malaysia. Marco Polo will premiere in late 2014 on Netflix.
PHOTOS: From 'Arrested Development' to 'House of Cards,' Exclusive Portraits of Netflix's Stars
“Television audiences today are more discerning than ever before both in terms of character and the scope of the worlds those characters live in," Weinstein said. "We are proud to present a series that rivals some of the most successful films we’ve ever made. Marco Polo is a figure all have heard of, but few truly know, and we are excited to introduce him to the world. And we are shooting all over the world. From the sweeping vistas of Kazakhstan which act as backdrop for the wars and conquests of Kublai Khan to the intimate moments within the alleys and canals of Marco’s hometown of Venice, Italy, this is spectacle in the truest sense of the word."
Added Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos: "John, Dan, Joachim, Espen and our partners at The Weinstein Co. are elevating the art of storytelling and delivering cinematic quality that we’re certain our members will enjoy. In this commanding, epic story of Marco Polo, through the magnetic cast they’ve assembled, the spectacular martial arts work they are showcasing and the exotic locations that serve as a backdrop, they have really outdone themselves."
Richelmy is repped by Officine Artistiche in Italy; Wong is with Gordon and French in the U.K.; Zhu is with CAA and Larry Galper; Hii is with Innovative and RGM; Yune is with CAA, Evolution and Bloom Hergott.
Marco Polo has had a long road to the screen. The drama was originally developed at Starz, which picked up the drama straight to series in January 2012. The cabler released the project back to producers The Weinstein Co. -- and at the time, Electus -- after its attempts to film the series in China Fizzled.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit There's now a thread dedicated solely to the loss of Ju Kun (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67381-RIP-Ju-Kun).

[GeneChing]

First look at Netflix's ‘Marco Polo’ series (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/08/28/first-look-at-netflixs-marco-polo-series)
Upcoming 10-episode show promises to be epic
By Sean Fitzgerald, QMI Agency
First posted: Thursday, August 28, 2014 06:01 AM MDT | Updated: Thursday, August 28, 2014 08:25 AM MDT

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JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA - Netflix’s next phase of original content is going to be anchored by something pretty epic. And by a historical figure we’ve kind of forgotten about.

“When we say ‘Marco Polo’, we think of a swimming pool game,” says filmmaker John Fusco, sitting on the edge of a couch in a break room on the sprawling Pinewood Studios complex in the sweltering city of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. “So, in so many ways, I see Marco Polo as an untapped story, a really significant and relevant one….I think you need a long-form TV series to capture it all.”

This week, Netflix has announced its upcoming historical saga — called, you guessed it, Marco Polo — will be hitting the streaming service on December 12. And we’ve also been given a first look at the show’s characters and costumes through a series of images released from the show.

The upcoming 10-episode series will feature a large budget and a global cast, something that can be seen in the photos, which include Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role, Chinese performer Zhu Zhu (Cloud Atlas, The Man With the Iron Fists) as Marco’s love interest Kokachin, British actor Benedict Wong (Prometheus, Sunshine) as Emperor Kublai Khan and Chinese actress Joan Chen (Twin Peaks) as Khan’s wife Chabi Khatun.

The show will follow the Italian explorer’s journey as he travels from his home in Venice to the court of Kublai Khan, and finds himself in the middle of a war in 13th Century China. Along with a heavy dose of martial arts — creator Fusco holds a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu and is currently working on the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — the plot will also involve sexual intrigue, political manoeuvring and father-son drama.

Fusco, whose writing credits also include the movies Young Guns, The Babe, Hidalgo and The Forbidden Kingdom, says he has felt a long-time kinship with Marco Polo.

“I’m of Italian descent, I grew up with up with almost an obsession with Eastern culture and China, and I started studying martial arts at a very young age,” he says. “I remember having an uncle who came to visit one day, when I was 12. He came into my bedroom, and I had Chinese scrolls up, I had incense, and a veritable shrine to Bruce Lee. He came in, and he said, ‘You’re an Italian kid who thinks he’s Chinese. What are you, Marco Polo?’ And I remember thinking, after he left, ‘I’ve gotta look into Marco Polo.’ So, I’ve had pretty much a life-long interest in Marco Polo.”

Fusco says the idea for the project first developed in his head in 2007, while taking a trek across Mongolia on horseback with his 13-year-old son and a local guide.

“On that trail, while we were all talking about the history of the Khan Empire, every now and then Marco Polo’s name would come up. ‘Well, according to Marco Polo...’ And as I was on horseback, riding across, you have those long hours of riding across vast steppe, you daydream, you think. And it just all sort of came together. I felt, ‘This is the time to do Marco Polo.’ ”

Fusco’s vision was helped along by executive producer Harvey Weinstein, who has said that Marco Polo is “up there with Game of Thrones as the biggest series that’s ever been shot.”

Aside from filming at the 20-hectare complex in Malaysia, Fusco and the production team also travelled to Venice and Kazakhstan to shoot scenes for the show.

Netflix’s other upcoming original projects include the Wachowskis’ sci-fi series Sense8, a gritty show about drug lord Pablo Escobar, an untitled drama from the creators of Damages and a number of shows set inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Twitter: @SeanDFitzgerald
sean.fitzgerald@sunmedia.ca John Fusco is an old friend so we'll surely have more to come on this soon. ;)

[GeneChing]

The nice thing about NetFlix shows is you can watch them whenever you want.

Netflix's 'Marco Polo' Gets Premiere Date (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflixs-marco-polo-gets-premiere-728817?utm_source=twitter)
7:37 AM PDT 8/28/2014 by Hilary Lewis
The original series about the famed explorer stars Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy

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Netflix
'Marco Polo'

Netflix's Marco Polo will set sail in December, it was announced on Thursday.

The streaming service's new original series, about the explorer's adventures in Kublai Khan's court in 13th century China, will be available on Dec. 12, 2014 at 12:01 a.m. PT.

The 10-episode drama, created by John Fusco (Young Guns II), stars Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco and Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. Beijing-born Zhu Zhu (Cloud Atlas) plays Marco's love interest Kokachin. Joan Chen, Remy Hill, Olivia Cheng, Claudia Kim, Uli Latukefu, Chin Han and Tom Wu round out the cast.

Fusco and Harvey Weinstein are among those executive producing the drama along with Dan Minahan (Game of Thrones, True Blood), who will also direct two episodes. The Weinstein Company is producing.

Marco Polo has had a long journey to the small screen. It was originally developed at Starz, which picked up the drama straight to series in January 2012, but Starz released it back to The Weinstein Co. and Electus, which was then producing, when its attempts to film the series in China fizzled.

10:26 a.m. An earlier version of this story mistakenly listed Ben Silverman's Electus as one of Marco Polo's executive producers. The Hollywood Reporter regrets the error.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWtv5Ht4YZE

On a side note, this mini-series inspired me to finally read Marco Polo's Travels. It was a great read - absolutely fascinating - and important to anyone interested in world history.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-ltNasHVw

[GeneChing]

I daresay there will be more... ;)


11.20.14
Netflix's New Original Series, Marco Polo (http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-blog/carry-on/2014/11/20/netflix-new-original-series-marco-polo?fb_ref=fbsharebar)
By Katie James Film, Arts + Culture Comments

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What inspired screenwriter John Fusco (of Hidalgo fame) to create Marco Polo, a new Netflix series based on the life of the 13th-century Venetian explorer? An epic journey of his own—guided by nomads through Central Asia on horse and camel. After that 2007 trek (and later trips to remote corners of China), Fusco resolved to turn the story of the world’s first globe-trotter into a TV drama.

With unknown 24-year-old Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role—“he reminded me of a young Brando,” Fusco says—shooting began in Venice in March. “And then, just like Marco Polo, we traveled east,” Fusco says. Kazakhstan stood in for ancient Constantinople, Karakorum, and other Silk Road stops, with hundreds of extras reenacting intense battles on the steppe. Later scenes, including those at Kublai Khan’s court, were shot on elaborate sets at a studio in Malaysia.

It’s said that with his last breath, Marco Polo whispered, “I did not tell half of what I saw.” Fusco’s series should help fill in the blanks. Dec. 12.

[GeneChing]

Now you see why I've been so interested in this...

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JAN+FEB 2015 Table of contents (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191)

[sanjuro_ronin]

Looking forward to seeing it.

[GeneChing]

In Travels, Polo does discuss fantastical beasts like unicorns and such. They don't play a major role in the narrative, just odd descriptions of things he's heard about.



Remote Patrol: Is Netflix's Marco Polo the new Game of Thrones? (http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/feature/a614637/remote-patrol-is-netflixs-marco-polo-the-new-game-of-thrones.html#~oXABv2i47jdDSy)
By Bruce Fretts
Friday, Dec 5 2014, 6:31am EST
Remote Patrol: Is Marco Polo the new Game of Thrones?

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© Netflix / Phil Bray

Tis the season for epics at the movies with Exodus: Gods and Kings and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies rolling out worldwide over the next few weeks. But if you're craving massive battle scenes and fancy costumes, you don't have to leave home, as Netflix offers its own large-scope historical opus, Marco Polo, which is set to conquer the globe starting December 12.

The sprawling 12-episode drama, executive-produced by Harvey Weinstein, follows the exploits of the titular Venetian adventurer (Lorenzo Richelmy) in the court of the 13th century tyrant Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong). With its majestic theme song, royal scheming and prodigious nudity, Marco Polo may remind you of another small-screen epic, Game of Thrones.

HBO went for it and won big with its pricey extravaganza, and Netflix is following suit. While Marco Polo may not have the fan base of George RR Martin's novels, he's still a recognizable brand name, and Netflix didn't skimp on hiring top-notch behind-the-camera talent, including veteran GoT directors Alik Sakharov and Daniel Minahan.

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© Netflix / Phil Bray

I've seen the first six episodes of Marco Polo, and while my tastes generally run to contemporary stories, I've gotta admit I got swept up in the pageantry of it all. I daresay it's Game of Thrones for people who don't like Game of Thrones - people like me, who lost interest once dragons and too many other fantastical elements removed it from the gritty, grimy realism of season one.

Richelmy's got real star quality, and his performance is even more impressive when you realize the Italian actor spoke very little English when he was cast in the role. He's supported by a stellar ensemble, including Prometheus's commandingly charismatic Wong, The Last Emperor's Joan Chen as his cunning wife (she's the cool yin to his hot-headed yang), and Kick-Ass 2's wicked-awesome Tom Wu as Marco's blind martial-arts trainer.

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© Netflix / Phil Bray

The fight sequences are exhilarating, and the sex scenes aren't entirely gratuitous (Kublai Khan did like his concubines). Creator John Fusco - who's also penning the Weinstein Co.'s reboot of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Green Legend, which will premiere on Netflix next year - keeps the story grounded in history. And he's hired seasoned scribes like Law & Order veteran Michael Chernuchin to maintain the just-the-facts tone.

The first two hours were expertly directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, the Norwegian duo behind 2012's rafting saga Kon Tiki and the next Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Blessedly, there's no Johnny Depp to chew Marco Polo's scenery - and what gorgeous scenery it is (the series was filmed in Italy, Kazakhstan and Malaysia).

So why not stay in, curl up, and binge-watch an episode or 10? After all, as Game of Thrones reminds us, Winter is coming...

Bruce Fretts is a veteran of both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide Magazine, where he penned the wildly popular 'Cheers & Jeers' column for ten years.

[GeneChing]

How to Build an Empire, the Netflix Way (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/business/media/how-to-build-an-empire-the-netflix-way-.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0)
By EMILY STEEL NOV. 29, 2014

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Anatomy of a Scene | ‘Marco Polo’

John Fusco, creator of the Netflix series ”Marco Polo,” narrates a scene in which the 13th-century traveler enters the court of Kublai Khan.
Publish Date November 29, 2014. Photo by Phil Bray for Netflix.

In the first episode of “Marco Polo,” Netflix’s coming original series, the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan sits on a throne in his gilded palace and plots the future conquests of his growing empire.

One adviser questions whether the ruler desires to be emperor of Mongolia or emperor of China. Khan rises from his throne, draws his sword and roars: “Emperor of China? Emperor of Mongolia? I want to be emperor of the world!”

Such an audacious declaration could very well have been written for Netflix itself as it pursues global expansion at breakneck speed. This streaming company has pushed aggressively into just over 50 countries and counts more than 50 million total global subscribers. Conquering foreign lands is now crucial as its growth slows in the United States.

“It is no secret that we want Netflix to be a global product,” said Ted Sarandos, its chief content officer. “That is the mission.”

As was the case with Kublai Khan’s 13th-century empire building, Netflix’s 21st-century mission will involve a series of battles as the company encounters vast cultural differences, fierce rivals and high costs, among other challenges.

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Olivia Cheng in a scene from “Marco Polo,” an original series on Netflix, which will be available for streaming on Dec. 12. Credit Phil Bray for Netflix

Already, Netflix has stumbled. Infrastructure issues like establishing payment systems for customers proved difficult in Latin America. And about a fifth of the company’s market value has evaporated since mid-October, after it disappointed investors with slower-than-expected subscriber growth that followed its September debut in France, Germany and other European markets. Some analysts have raised concerns that rapidly rising obligations tied to paying for content (totaling $8.9 billion as of September) could leave it in a precarious financial position in the long term.

Media executives and analysts predict that as Netflix pushes ahead with its global mission, it will face threats from local insurgents, as a growing number start streaming services of their own. It must also outmaneuver competitors like Time Warner’s HBO, which already has a robust international business and announced a streaming deal last week in China.

“Netflix is the one that everybody speaks about, but there are lots and lots and lots and lots of others,” said Keith LeGoy, president of international distribution at Sony Pictures Television. “New streaming services are launching every week.”

Netflix’s global ambitions mirror a quest across the media industry to offset slowing domestic growth by expanding abroad. “Some people have said that it is checkmate before it started,” said David Bank, a media analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “But it is really, really early days.”

Netflix is doubling down on its international bet, preparing to enter markets like Australia and New Zealand next March, and snapping up the global rights for original film and television programs. But perhaps its biggest content wager is “Marco Polo,” its series about the 13th-century traveler’s adventures in the court of Kublai Khan. Netflix owns the international rights for the show, which is produced by the Weinstein Company, an independent studio, and will be available for streaming on all of Netflix’s global outposts on Dec. 12.
Continue reading the main story

At about $90 million for the first season’s 10 episodes, according to industry executives, the East-meets-West epic is not only Netflix’s most expensive original production to date, but also one of the most expensive series today. Only “Game of Thrones,” on HBO, is said to surpass that steep budget.

While Netflix has a number of original programs in the pipeline, the success of “Marco Polo” will serve as a referendum on how well its original programming strategy performs on a global stage.

Some rivals and analysts said that replicating Netflix’s early success with the drama “House of Cards” and the dark comedy “Orange Is the New Black” for international audiences could prove challenging. The programs generated buzz, won awards and are credited with attracting subscribers. While Netflix did not own global rights to those productions — meaning “House of Cards” appeared on rival TV networks in France and Germany, for instance — executives say the shows helped bolster awareness and perception of Netflix abroad.

Executives and producers said they hoped that “Marco Polo” — filmed in Italy, Kazakhstan and Malaysia with an international cast of hundreds and filled with gory battles, sexual allure, adventure, martial arts and political intrigue — would resonate with viewers around the world.
continued next post

[GeneChing]

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The series, which cost $90 million for the first 10 episodes, used hundreds of extras in filming. Credit Phil Bray for Netflix

“At the heart of it is a universal story,” said John Fusco, the creator and an executive producer of the series. “The journey of Marco Polo is the hero’s journey, one that all cultures across the globe can relate to.”

Mr. Fusco is intimate with that journey. Known for his work on “The Forbidden Kingdom,” the martial-arts film, and on the thriller “Young Guns,” he said he was captivated as a child by Chinese culture and has been fascinated with Marco Polo’s story ever since. “You cannot read about that stuff without coming across the name Marco Polo,” Mr. Fusco said.

While shooting “Forbidden Kingdom” in 2007, he and his son, Giovanni, then 13, crossed Central Mongolia on horseback, following the Silk Road and tracing the Genghis Khan trail. Along the way, Mr. Fusco said they encountered story after story about Kublai Khan and Marco Polo and the missions the adventurer took to various Mongolian villages.

“It always circled back around to Marco Polo and Kublai Khan,” Mr. Fusco said. “That always fascinated me because so few people make the connection between the two. Marco Polo has been kind of buried under this cloud of rather banal historical dust when the true story is so much more exciting.”

After pitching the idea around Hollywood, Mr. Fusco eventually heard from Harvey Weinstein, whose company has been expanding its television business.

Ben Silverman, chairman of the multimedia studio Electus, recalled having lunch with Mr. Weinstein about five years ago at the rooftop garden of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, talking about great stories in the public domain that would intrigue viewers across cultures. The two brainstormed about how to create an East-meets-West drama that would include the appeal of a foreign land, but also a Western character who could connect it.
Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story

“Immediately, it was Marco Polo,” Mr. Silverman said. “There was genuine excitement about bringing the Asian storytelling style to the global audience.”

The Weinstein Company and Electus announced in 2012 that they had found a home for the series on Starz, the premium cable network, with Mr. Fusco as the writer. At the time, Mr. Weinstein boasted to the Hollywood publication Variety that the program would be “one of the most expensive shows ever done for pay TV.”

Production soon hit roadblocks. Executives wanted to shoot the series in China, but censors raised issues about the violence and sexual aspects of the story. Projected costs started escalating.

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Lorenzo Richelmy with Zhu Zhu in a scene from the new series; Mr. Richelmy was cast as Marco Polo after a global search. Credit Phil Bray for Netflix

Seeking a bigger budget, producers took the idea to Netflix, which had recently started pouring resources into its own original series. Mr. Sarandos said Netflix was not looking specifically for a show that would appeal to international audiences, but rather human stories that were rich and relatable. He picked up Mr. Fusco’s scripts, which had been inspired by Marco Polo’s own accounts, couldn’t put them down and signed on to the project.

“The characters that were created and the relationships that were created, you can lift them up from the time and the place and put them somewhere else, they would work just as well,” Mr. Sarandos said. “They were that well written.”

The resulting production is on a scale much larger than the series planned at Starz. The construction crew included 400 people, with an additional 160 in the art department. The team built 51 sets in Malaysia, including Kublai Khan’s opulent throne room. For battle scenes, hundreds of extras appeared costumed and on horseback.

A global search to cast the role of Marco Polo came down to the wire. Producers had looked at more than 100 actors, holding auditions in London, Australia and Los Angeles, but still hadn’t found their star. Mr. Fusco’s wife, an acting coach and a teacher of Shakespearean drama, stayed up one night, went through the audition tapes and found a little-known Italian actor named Lorenzo Richelmy.

Mr. Richelmy, 24, flew to Malaysia and landed the role. He started an intensive training program that included four hours in the gym, martial arts and horseback-riding lessons each day.

Producers brought on a team of cultural advisers and historians to ensure that the narrative would be authentic enough to hold up to viewers worldwide. They noted details, such as how men would bow before the emperor and how to hold shields when riding horses. Filming wrapped up in Malaysia in August after a five-month shoot that started in the canals of Venice.

“We just tried to make the most exciting, entertaining show we could about this very special world and hope that it would be accessible in a lot of different markets, in a lot of different regions,” said Dan Minahan, an executive producer of the series.

Netflix, which has said it would spend more than $600 million in 2014 to woo people to try the service, has an extensive marketing campaign for “Marco Polo.” It will take cast members to the Comic Con conference in Brazil, for example, and display costumes and props from the series at a mall in Mexico. Other promotions include television, print and digital ads. The tagline is “Worlds will collide.”

The buzz around the show will also serve as a promotional tool for Netflix as it enters new markets, Mr. Sarandos said. Although it doesn’t currently operate in Asia, it hasn’t ruled out the possibility.

Mr. Sarandos likened Netflix’s global expansion to Marco Polo himself. “At some point or another we have all been a stranger in a strange land,” he said. “Netflix is that stranger in a strange land.”

5 days to go....

[GeneChing]

Producer John Fusco Talks MARCO POLO, Hiring an Unknown Lead, Working With Netflix, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON 2, and More (http://collider.com/john-fusco-marco-polo-crouching-tiger-2-sequel/#53gxxfIK1RH4G7cg.01)
by Christina Radish Posted 5 hours ago

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Based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s ornate court in 13th century China, the 10-episode Netflix original series Marco Polo is set in a world filled with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry. Marco Polo (Lorenzo Richelmy) is a young Italian merchant who arrives in China with a father he barely knows, who then offers him to the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong) as a servant. Captivated by the traveler’s way with words, Kublai Khan and Marco Polo develop a deep trust and bond that leads to many tales of adventure and legend.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, show creator/writer/executive producer John Fusco talked about why he was compelled to tell the story of Marco Polo, why Netflix was ultimately the perfect home for the show, the approach they decided to take with the material, having an unknown Italian actor in the lead role of such an epic series, and that there’s a treasure trove of material for possible future seasons. He also talked about writing the sequel for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which will be available exclusively through Netflix and at IMAX theaters on August 28, 2015, basing it on the sequel to the source material, introducing a new generation of sword heroes and star-crossed lovers, the return of Michelle Yeoh, and bringing in Woo-ping Yuen as director. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Collider: What was it about this story that not only compelled you to tell it, but also made you feel like you could tell it?

JOHN FUSCO: What it was, really, was that I had an unlikely fascination with China when I was really young, and I became fascinated by Marco Polo. He was an Italian kid traveling in China, and I’m of Italian decent with a fascination for China. So, I always felt this connection to him and lived vicariously through the travels of Marco Polo. One of the things, in reading the travels, that always amazed me was to realize just how so few people know anything, at all, about Marco Polo. This amazing historical figure has been reduced to a hide-and-seek swimming pool game, or the myth that he brought noodles back to the West. When you read his accounts, it’s just so much more enthralling and dramatic and relevant. No one knows about this stuff. It’s one of the great untapped stories, certainly untapped in the long-form TV format, which is the only way I think you can tell the Marco Polo story.

And the reason why I felt that I could do it was because there are few things that I’m as passionate about, as I am about Marco Polo and his story. I have spent time in Mongolia, in China. I have read multiple translations of his book and cross-referenced those with Rashīd al-Dīn, who was the Persian historian of the time. I’ve also cross-referenced with Chinese dynasty accounts. I basically have done my homework and feel like I know the subject. There’s also this East meets West quality about it that’s in my wheelhouse.

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This series was originally set up at Starz, and now it’s at Netflix. Were you ever worried that the whole thing might fall apart and never get made, or were you always confident that it would somehow work itself out?

FUSCO: No, I was concerned because I love the show so much. We were going great guns and full steam ahead. When we hit that bump that had to do with a production plan in China, it momentarily stalled, and then it looked like it stalled in earnest, and I felt sick. When you believe in something so strongly, it was just like, “Oh, my god, we’ve gotten it to this point. I’ve had this amazing writers’ room. We’ve got these scripts that everyone just loves.” So, yeah, there was that moment that my heart sunk. But Harvey Weinstein, who’s been the driving force behind this, wasn’t going to let it die. In fact, he knew how to take it to the home that it actually belonged in. The incredible global home of Netflix just makes so much sense for this project, on so many levels. It’s amazing!

When you’re dealing with such a vast, epic tale, how do you decide what to include, where to put the focus, where you stay as close to history as possible, and where you deviate to make compelling TV?

FUSCO: We took an approach to the material that was based on the perception of Marco’s accounts. Most historians today acknowledge his accounts as mostly accurate, but definitely a blend of fact and legend, so we had that latitude. In some regards, the journey is still out on Marco Polo and his accounts. Because Marco has left us gaps in his storytelling, we felt that we could take license and use the historical signposts that Marco writes about, but also get creative. The lightbulb for that idea went off, for me, when I learned about Marco’s deathbed experience, which was recorded in Venetian history. And that was that, on his deathbed, on January 9, 1323, he was surrounded by his friends, his family, his relatives and his priest. They said, “Marco, you’re leaving this world now. This is your chance to recount your fabulous tales. If not all of them, at least come clean on the parts you made up. Take back what you made up.” And Marco is reputed to have gotten very angry, and sat himself up and said, “I haven’t told half of what I saw.” So, I put that story up on the writers’ room wall, on day one, and I said, “We are going to not only dramatize the accounts that Marco wrote about, but we’re going to explore the half he might have seen, all in the spirit on his voice and in the spirit of this rich world that he inspired.”

continued next post

[GeneChing]

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You have an unknown Italian actor in the lead of this big show. Was there ever any pressure to hire a known actor, or was it always just Lorenzo Richelmy?

FUSCO: Another thing that’s great about Netflix is, who else is going to allow you to go and cast an unknown Italian actor that brings such raw verisimilitude to the role. It’s such authentic casting. I always wanted it to be an Italian actor. We brought in Mongolian actors from Mongolia, and we were really striving for authenticity. But we searched around the globe and looked at well over a hundred Marco Polos, came down to the wire, and went back and looked at our Italy tapes, and we realized that we had overlooked someone. That was Lorenzo Richelmy. So, when it came down and we had some strong candidates, in the end, he won the day. Being Italian was surely a part of it, but it was also this uncanny blend of innocence and confidence. He could play this boyishness, but he’s also a man. He was our guy.

You had the scripts in place and you had your cast, but what was your relationship with the directors?

FUSCO: I worked very closely with the directors. Dan Minahan was great at finding the best directors and the best DPs, to unify the look and style of the show. They were all huge on preparation and research, so I was able to bond with each of them. I was on set with them and I was open to their great ideas. The directors all contributed so much. They kept the voice consistent, but they all brought their own unique signature to it.

When you tell a story like Marco Polo, that is so epic in scope and scale, do you have to have it fully detailed and planned out before it ever starts shooting, and do you also have to allow for some open doors for future seasons?

FUSCO: Everything is carefully planned out. I come out of the features world and I learned, very quickly, that TV is this run-and-gun approach to production. You have to measure three times and cut once. Everything needs to be planned out, very carefully. We had our scripts ready, well before production, so we were able to fine tune them. Of course, you make discoveries along the way and in rehearsals, and that’s all exciting. In terms of a future for the show, my focus is in doing the best Season 1 that we can. Marco Polo was in China for 17 years, so there’s a treasure trove of material. But at this point, I’m just focused on Season 1.

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You must have had a positive experience working with the Weinstein Company and Netflix, teaming up with them again to write the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon follow-up. Is that more of a companion film, or is it an actual sequel?

FUSCO: I view it as a sequel because it’s actually based on the literary sequel to book 4 of the Wang Dulu pentalogy, which is the source material for Crouching Tiger. In fact, when Harvey first contacted me, I told him that the only way that I would do this would be if we could be true to that source material and base the sequel on book 5, which was called Iron Knight, Silver Vase. In that literary sequel, a new generation of sword heroes and star-crossed lovers is introduced, and Harvey was all for that. He agreed and felt that was the only way to do it, to be true to the DNA of the project, but also to bring Michelle Yeoh back and to bring in Master Woo-ping, who really created the Crouching Tiger fight vernacular. He’s a man that’s considered a pioneer of the genre that inspired Ang Lee, and he came in to direct. That’s what it is. We’re not out there trying to top anything, in a Hollywood fashion. We’re telling a sequel, based on the literary sequel to the book.

Even though it will be available through Netflix, which makes the viewing easier for people, would you recommend that people make the extra effort and spend the extra money to see the film in IMAX theaters, if possible?

FUSCO: I think that with the movie-going experience evolving the way it is, it’s really up to the viewer. Do you go to a sporting event, like a football game, or do you watch it at home? Some prefer to stay at home and watch it on the couch with their nachos, and they enjoy the game. Others want to go and have the stadium experience. I think it really comes down to the viewer, and that’s what’s great about Netflix. We’re all busy now, at this time in our lives, and viewers want to have the choice of how they’re going to see it.

Marco Polo is available on Netflix, starting on December 12th.

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I'm at the 50th Anniversary of Grandmaster Lau Fat Mang’s Passing Banquet tomorrow so I won't be able to tune in until the weekend.

[doug maverick]

I'm going to start watching it tomorrow, morning.. i planned it out as my weekend show to watch.

[PalmStriker]

:) Watched 3 episodes tonight. Excellent. TCMA Kung fu is honored in 3rd episode. Will be as big as CTHD.

[Oso]

in the middle of Ep. 2.
def liking it. some 'mantis' dialogue from the Chinese/Song dynasty chancellor character.
loving the staff work from marco's trainer.

lots and lots of eye candy as well ;)

[PalmStriker]

:)Finished watching all episodes, the unexpected at every corner all the way to the end. A Masterpiece!

[sanjuro_ronin]

Haven't watched it yet, watch the spoilers *****es !!

[GeneChing]

PalmStriker for the binge watching king of the KFM forum!!


Inside TV+Movies with Daniel Fienberg
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"Marco Polo"
Credit: Netflix

Interview: 'Marco Polo' producer Daniel Minahan talks naked kung fu, Netflix and spaghetti
'Game of Thrones' veteran comes Netflix's latest to his HBO favorite
By Daniel Fienberg @HitFixDaniel | Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 1:00 AM

The latest journey of Marco Polo has brought the 13th century Italian merchant into the world of 21st century digital entertainment with a dose of '70s kung fu and just a hint of premium cable fantasy.

"Marco Polo," which premiered on Friday (December 12) on Netflix, has been described as the streaming service's answer to "Game of Thrones," an expensive epic of warring armies, courtly intrigue and not-insignificant quantities of nudity.

Of course, I'm not making that comparison and neither is "Marco Polo" EP Daniel Minahan.

"The similarity is that there's court intrigue but I think that's about it," Minahan tells me. "I mean we're set in Mongolia and China; it's the story of a warlord rather than six different kingdoms vying for their throne. There's really big differences in the way 'Marco Polo,' the tone of it and the structure of it. I think the only thing that might be similar would be the scale of it, you know, the idea that we were creating this big spectacle. But that's just what it takes to re-create the Empire of the Kublai Khan."

But Minahan's presence as producer and director on "Marco Polo" pushes the comparison, since his directing credits including five "Game of Thrones" episodes, as well as installments of some of HBO's other acclaimed shows including "Six Feet Under" and "Deadwood."

"Marco Polo" represents Minahan's first time as an executive producer, as he's had the opportunity to help shape series creator John Fusco's vision on locations in Malaysia and Kazakhstan bringing, as he says, the Empire of Kublai Khan to life.

I chatted with Minahan this week about achieving the scope and realism of "Marco Polo," but also about the series' crazier moments, including a naked kung fu set piece that caps the second episode. We discussed the long process that led to the casting of Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy as Polo, plus the shaping of the 10-episode drama for Netflix's binge-friendly audience.

Check out the full Q&A below...

HitFix: What do you think that audiences come into this series knowing or thinking about Marco Polo? The guy, not the series.

Daniel Minahan: I have to be honest, when I came to this I knew absolutely nothing except that he was a historical figure who traveled as a merchant and brought back technologies and things. But I don't expect the average audience person to be any more educated than I was when I started this. I think part of what's really fun is just kind of being lured into this world, this really exotic world that they haven't seen before through his eyes. We kind of described him as an embedded journalist in the court of Kublai Khan.

HitFix: Along those lines, one of the things in the early episodes that defines who Marco Polo is and why he's special is that he's a great observer. And while that's very interesting it's not necessarily a sexy trait, dramatically speaking, so how do you sort of the dramatize that and make it exciting the fact that this guy can watch things very well?

Daniel Minahan: I know exactly what you're referring to that sequence where he's going to all the grain stores and you don't know what it is that he is on about at that point, but I think part of the fun of it is watching him absorb this and then watching how it pays off later. Like for example, he's compelled to tell the truth through his observations, and that has a big impact on him and the court. He kind it stirs up this whole court of Kublai Khan with his observations and Kublai Khan is kind of fascinated by him and entrusts him with certain things. So it's this really ultimate fish-out-of-water kind of story where this guy comes in and shakes up this whole scene.

HitFix: Now what is the balance in terms of treating Marco as on one hand a real person about whom there are actual historical documentations but also the idea that he's also at least a semi-mythological character figure to some degree?

Daniel Minahan: Yeah, I think John Fusco's idea is that we're sort of basing this loosely on "The Travels of Marco Polo," which are his journals, which are notoriously embellished to the point where he was known in Italy as Il Milione, The Million Lies. So working in this area of story where some of it's fact and some of it's embellishment and was he there or wasn't he there is really kind of fun and exciting for filmmakers because you can be as colorful as Marco Polo.

HitFix: This is a show that obviously aspires to a certain degree of seriousness but then at the end of the second episode there's a bananas naked kung fu scene, what is sort of the balance you wanted to set between semi-realism and kinda bat-s*** crazy, I guess?

Daniel Minahan: Well, I think like ultimately my goal for this show is to make the most entertaining show that I can. And the framework that we've set out is this very real world of the 13th century court of Kublai Khan, the most powerful warlord with the largest empire in the world at that point, seen through the eyes of Marco Polo. So we've got this great framework and then this kind of behind-the-scenes look at a family business with all the intrigue and jockeying for position between the sons. It just so happens that the family business is that they're warlords running a huge empire. So it's sort of a fun mix of history and fiction. I think happens whenever you try to tell a historical story.

HitFix: But then there's just the straight up craziness though that is also there. I mean... Was there historical evidence of the naked kung fu incident that's at the end of the second episode?

Daniel Minahan: No, but John Fusco had this great idea that this is China so there is some sort of early forms of martial arts and kung fu; it's a real tradition in China, so these people would have been fighting. I think the idea – the thought process is, "Okay here is this concubine; she is the favored concubine of the emperor of the Song Dynasty and she happens to be a kung fu master. I think in the original scripts there were fluttering robes and something very poetic about it and then we realized like, "Well, it's really going to be hard to fight in a robe; wouldn't it be great if this courtesan just dispatched these guys naked?" And that's kind of how it came about.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

HitFix: When you get down to sort of influences on stuff like that are you looking at the wu xia kind of thing or are you looking almost sort of back to Shaw Brothers to some degree?

Daniel Minahan: We tried to avoid Shaw Brothers movies as a reference, but certainly there we do have a blind monk who's a kung fu master but we tried to keep him as far away from that kind of like drunken monk stereotype as possible. And I think there's a lot of fun with him. He's also kind of badass. So we're playing in all the genres. One of the films that we studied a lot was "Dragon" and "Grandmaster" and we realized that we had this opportunity to do these kung fu sequences and the directors were are all gung ho to do it, but we also had the very real – for example in "Grandmaster," Master Ping would shoot those scenes for like a week, those type sequences and we had maybe three days. So the challenge was to do sort of like Hong Kong style fight sequences but with our own mark. In some instances you'll see as the season goes on there's definitely homage to other films and you'll feel the influence. We really wanted to work in the genre and reference Chinese cinema whenever possible.

HitFix: Now you come at this from a sort of interesting perspective wherein you have been a writer and a director and now a producer so you've worn all the sorts of hats, whereas John hasn't really done TV so much. How much is your role to sort of make sure that he knows what the limitations are? And what are the limitations at this point?

Daniel Minahan: Well, I try not to think of them as limitations. I feel like John comes at it with this incredible exuberance. He's been thinking about this project for a long time and Marco Polo and martial arts are two really big passions of his. So I just try to take his dream and make it real within the confines that we have, which can sometimes be time, sometimes be budget, other times it's just the practicality of what's possible. John comes from a feature background and it's a different kind of storytelling but he's fallen in. He's also a novelist so John right away clicked into this idea, like, "This is long form; it's a slow burn and it's not unlike the work that I've done as a novelist because I don't have to go back and re-explain every time in every hour, I don't have to re-explain everything with exposition in every hour, that it has a kind of a flow to it." And the way people watch it is actually like literature. It's like read one chapter, watch five chapters. The way Netflix distributes it is very freeing that way.

HitFix: With Netflix you can't talk about the model without talking about binge viewing. So how did you guys approach the balance of episode-to-episode storytelling versus a full season and the possibility that someone could watch this in a full block?

Daniel Minahan: Yeah. Our executives really made it really clear to us that the way they encouraged people to watch it is you could watch as little or as much as you want to at a time. So with that in mind we had to think of it as sort of like a 10-hour film. So you don't want to double back on yourself; you don't want to have to reiterate story lines; you are assuming that the audience is watching it in sequence, in order and you don't want to repeat, for example, musical themes. Like suppose The Blue Princess has a theme, you want to make sure that it's not repetitive. In a 90-minute film you could get away with doing that to great effect, but after 10 hours if people are watching three hours at a time, it can begin to feel repetitive and boring or cheap. So I think you really encourage the composers to change the instrumentation, transpose it in a different way so it feels the same but it feels fresh. There's a lot of considerations for things like that.


HitFix: You could have approached Marco Polo's story as sort of a globe-trotting family adventure and you guys didn't go down that road. You cut off sort of the younger portion of the audience, why did you decide that this was an adult story per se?

Daniel Minahan: When I came onto this project John had the majority of the scripts written with his team of writers. The idea was always to get as quickly to the court of Kublai Khan as possible. I think it's the most surprising part of the story. It's the most interesting part of the story. I think there's probably been a member of films and television movies about the journey of the Polo family across the Silk Road and the hardships they encountered. That just wasn't as interesting to us. It was really clear, especially when we started cutting it together, that Kublai Khan was going to be one of the major darlings of the story and it was really compelling and our idea was to focus it as much as possible in that world.

HitFix: Much has been made of sort of the difficulties of finding your Marco Polo. What was hard, what was the edict in casting and what made Lorenzo the right person?

Daniel Minahan: We had had a couple of near misses with other actors, one was a British, one was Australian, very fine actors, but when we got them in a room and started working with them and with the actresses that we were considering for the Blue Princess, there just wasn't this energy. And somehow like a British dialect always sounded strange to us. Then after like a month or two we realized that we need to go deeper and we asked our Nina Gold, our casting person, to get us the casting person in Rome and start putting people on tape for us. We said, "It's got to be someone Italian to give it some flavor." It's a very international world that we're depicting. Suddenly it becomes kind of theatrical if everyone has a British accent or doing a British dialect. We looked at a lot of people. No one really came forward right away and it's like one of those Lana Turner in Schwab stories. We thought we'd seeing everyone and then someone went through all the tapes again and we had overlooked this one guy and that was Lorenzo. And the next morning everybody looked at it and we were blown away. And he came down to meet with us in Malaysia like two days later and it was just one of those moments where it was so clear with him he was so witty, he was charming. He wasn't playing it like a guileless kind of ingénue, he was like this ambitious young man and we like that about him.

HitFix: And people have talked about this as a Netflix's attempt to do a "Game of Thrones" as it were. You obviously come from a perspective where you know what works and doesn't work on "Game of Thrones." How would you say this is similar and what sort of clear distinctions would you make other than one has dragons and one does not?

Daniel Minahan: I think there's a really different kind of story we're telling here, whereas "Game of Thrones" is a huge ensemble cast with many different worlds. We're pretty much in one world and experiencing it through the eyes of a single protagonist. And especially the first season is sort of about his coming of age in that court. The similarity is that there's court intrigue but I think that's about it. I mean we're set in Mongolia and China; it's the story of a warlord rather than six different kingdoms vying for their throne. There's really big differences in the way "Marco Polo," the tone of it and the structure of it. I think the only thing that might be similar would be the scale of it, you know, the idea that we were creating this big spectacle. But that's just what it takes to re-create the Empire of the Kublai Khan.

HitFix: This goes back to sort your role in knowing what you can and can't do. What have you sort of hit as the limitations like in terms of the number of extras you can have or in terms of the scale of the set? What can you not functionally depict at this point?

Daniel Minahan: We're pretty ambitious in this season and we even staged a battle, that was maybe the most challenging thing that we did and we staged in Southeast Asia. And that was a big challenge. There weren't a lot of horses; we were trying to use authentic horses that they would of had in Mongolia. So in Kazakhstan we had a huge number of background people and horses as you saw in the second episode where Kublai Khan challenges his brother Ariq and they go and they have their fight. I think it's hard to imagine. We managed to do a ship. We managed to create a sandstorm. I'm sure there were things – I'd say naval battle would be one place where I would draw the line. It's something that I would rather not do a naval battle anytime soon, that may be just beyond the scope of our possibility right now.
continued next post

[GeneChing]

HitFix: How does Netflix impose itself I guess in the process differently from how an HBO or whatever might?

Daniel Minahan: You know what, they are very encouraging. They give you a lot of creative freedom. This is my first time working as an executive producer on a show so I can't really compare how they relate to other, you know, how HBO maybe treats executive producers. I only worked as a director there. So I just think Netflix was great. They were there with us shoulder-to-shoulder like on location. They were in Malaysia with us, they were in Venice with us and they were very helpful when we needed it. They're really good filmmakers, they're smart.

HitFix: Had you been looking for the right project to get into on the executive producing side as you say?

Daniel Minahan: I'd been offered a number of times to work as an EP or producing director on different series, premium cable and network stuff and I resisted it until now because it wasn't the right thing for me and this one came forward and I just thought it was remarkable. I knew it was really ambitious and I knew it would be really hard but I was so blown away by the world it was depicting that I had to do it.

HitFix: Where does the first season take us historically and what is the multi-season plan if you guys had your sort of druthers?

Daniel Minahan: Wow. I'd rather not say what happens at the end of the first season. Kublai Khan, it's very clear in the beginning of the first episode he has his sights on unifying China, and in particular the final piece in the puzzle for him is Xiangyang and the Song Dynasty and this wall that his grandfather Genghis to wasn't able to defeat 30 years earlier. So it's clear we're leading in that direction at this season. What happens in other seasons, if we're lucky enough to get a second and a third season there are any number of stories and directions it can go. We have Kublai Khan who's on a mission to create this huge empire but we also have Marco Polo who lives in the court of the Kublai Khan for 17 years so there's a lot of story to tell.

HitFix: Did he invent spaghetti?

Daniel Minahan: [He laughs.] I would say no he did not, whether or not – the interesting thing about Marco Polo is that because he traveled that route of the Silk Road it was a very important route because it brought back artisans, technology, goods of course, but it linked all these different worlds. And these merchants kind of were like moving ideas back and forth so he would have been really influential and the people that traveled the Silk Road would have been very influential because they would of have access to the best architects in Damascus, the best whatever in China. It was a very rich resource and brought back important things and ideas to Europe, like paper money was something that came back from Mongolia and China to Europe.

HitFix: I just wasn't sure if Season 7 was going to be entirely dedicated to linguine and the swimming pool game?

Daniel Minahan: Exactly. You know, I still don't understand or know the genesis of that swimming pool game so that would be a really interesting thing to learn.

HitFix: Well, if you don't teach us who is going to teach us?

Daniel Minahan: Exactly.



I'm only two episodes in. I can totally see Fusco's influence as he's a mantis practitioner. Enjoyable so far...

[David Jamieson]

Started watching this series this past weekend.
It's really good!

HBO quality show.
Worth it.

No spoilers. You're welcome Paul. :D

[PalmStriker]

:) Not giving away anything about the series but will post this reference that helps gel some of the details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty

[GeneChing]

I'm almost done with episode 3 - luved the Kung Fu opening in this ep - unfortunately I'm too busy to be able to binge it all. What's more, my internet connection is messed up at home right now so my streaming keeps cutting out. But I'm finding the series very enjoyable overall - epic scale - the costumes, sets and panoramic scenery is spectacular. But most of all, I'm enjoying the sword fights. And the gratuitous nudity. ;)


Digital Audience Ratings: ‘Marco Polo’ Travels from Trending to Top (https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/digital-audience-ratings-marco-polo-travels-from-trending-to-top-1201380192/)
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/marco-polo-tv-review-netflix.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
December 16, 2014 | 09:00AM PT
Jason Klein @listenfirst

Provided by ListenFirst Media, DAR – TV measures what entertainment content is resonating most across Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and Wikipedia combined. For more on the methodology behind DAR – TV, scroll to the bottom of the article.
Digital Audience Ratings (DAR) – TV

Broadcast Monday Dec 8, 2014 – Sunday Dec 14, 2014
RANK LAST WEEK PROGRAM RATING(000)
1 1 The Voice 18,430
2 2 America’s Got Talent 4,581
3 3 America’s Funniest Home Videos 2,659
4 4 The Simpsons 2,240
5 8 The Vampire Diaries 2,083
6 5 The Flash 1,479
7 6 Dancing With The Stars 1,242
8 7 Arrow 1,169
9 9 Supernatural 1,047
10 - The Big Bang Theory 957
-
Cable/Streaming Monday Dec 8, 2014 – Sunday Dec 14, 2014
RANK LAST WEEK PROGRAM RATING(000)
1 1 Key and Peele 6,327
2 3 Pretty Little Liars 5,661
3 2 Top Gear 4,457
4 6 Sons of Anarchy 2,715
5 5 The Walking Dead 2,404
6 4 South Park 1,811
7 8 WWE Raw 1,375
8 - Naked and Afriad 1,279
9 - Marco Polo 1,085
10 - Beyond Scared Straight 1,078
-
Late Night Monday Dec 8, 2014 – Sunday Dec 14, 2014
RANK LAST WEEK PROGRAM RATING(000)
1 1 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 27,210
2 2 Jimmy Kimmel Live 13,780
3 3 Conan 8,642
4 - Late Show With David Letterman 2,645
5 4 The Graham Norton Show 2,511
Trending Monday Dec 8, 2014 – Sunday Dec 14, 2014
PROGRAM RATING(000) % CHANGE
Eye Candy 347 +6,094%
20/20 204 +857%
The Real Housewives of New Jersey 54 +854%



Insights:

“Late Show with David Letterman” made an appearance on this week’s Late Night leaderboard, thanks to two of his guests who put on quite a show, leading to 73% more YouTube views than last week. Actor Joaquin Phoenix announced his engagement in an interview with Letterman, and rapper J. Cole performed his new song “Be Free.”
“Pretty Little Liars” aired its much-anticipated Christmas special this week, landing it in the number two spot on the Cable/Streaming leaderboard. Promotion of the special episode across all of the show’s social channels led to over 2.6MM engagements on both Facebook and Instagram, more than any other TV shows this week across broadcast and cable.
MTV’s upcoming drama, “Eye Candy,” drummed up fan excitement ahead of its first official trailer release on 12/15. One week ahead of the full trailer, MTV posted a teaser trailer to YouTube, sending the show to the top of this week’s Trending leaderboard.
“Marco Polo” found its way from the Trending list to the Cable/Streaming leaderboard after premiering its first season on Netflix this week. The release drove more than 134k people to search for the show on Wikipedia, 443% more than last week.



Jason Klein is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of ListenFirst Media, a data and analytics company providing insights for brands. ListenFirst aggregates data streams from a wide range of digital, social, and traditional marketing sources to help brands optimize business performance.

Methodology:

Note: Twitter data has been removed from Digital Audience Ratings (DAR) for Television as of 10/7/2014.

ListenFirst Digital Audience Ratings (DAR) for Television are a raw aggregate of daily engagements based on owned, earned and organic consumer behavior on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Wikipedia and YouTube. These engagements encompass metrics pertaining to audience growth, page/profile views, page-level and post-level interactions, hashtag volume and Wikipedia page views for all television program pages (which provides a proxy for organic search volume).

Organic conversation volume is calculated based on the use of official hashtags, as well as those hashtags submitted directly from programmers and distributors. Only hashtags where conversation can be isolated to a specific television program are included in the rating.

The Variety weekly leaderboards for television represent the 7-day (Monday – Sunday) sum total of DAR – TV for all episodic programming, in and out of season, from the most popular programmers (Broadcast, Cable, & Streaming Services). Sports, live events, short-form content and other non-episodic programming are excluded from this ranking cohort but available to be rated directly by ListenFirst Media.

The Broadcast and Cable/Streaming Originals leaderboards each surface the respective top ten primetime programs. The Late Night leaderboard surfaces the top five late night / variety genre programs, from across the programming universe. Streaming Originals are considered primetime cable programming.

The Trending Leaderboard surfaces the three programs that tracked the largest relative growth in DAR – TV (from the previous 7-day measurement period), and are also in the top 25% based on absolute DAR – TV, from across the programming universe.

ListenFirst monitors the official digital account owned by the program on each aforementioned platform (except for Wikipedia, where the title-specific profile is considered official). Only the U.S. version of a program’s digital presence is monitored; for platforms that support regional profiles like Facebook, the “Global” profile is considered the U.S. profile. Only profiles that can be attributed to the specific program contribute to the rating (i.e. engagements that happen on the profile facebook.com/LouieFX are tracked, while engagements that happen on facebook.com/FX are not). For YouTube, in addition to any program-specific presence, content related to the program in question that originated on the parent company’s official YouTube channel is considered.

For other questions pertaining to methodology, contact ListenFirst Media.

[ghostexorcist]

The show has made me a big fan of Olivia Cheng.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Saw up to the 3rd last night, nice mantis work :)
Will probably see the whole series by weeks end.
The nudity is well done and I do like how they are NOT using women they would most certainly NOT look like that for that time period.
The casting is superb.

[GeneChing]

It's always a gamble when we go for a film based cover. Case and point, our last movie cover - The Man with the Iron Fists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1062). :o

Our JAN+FEB 2015 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191) was a huge gamble. It's Netflix and I didn't really know how Kung Fooey it would be. But I trust John when it comes to Kung Fu matters. He has good wude and he convinced me to go with it. The Kung Fu elements of this are great, especially Hundred Eyes lesson in episode 3.


12 December 2014 Last updated at 12:45 ET
Marco Polo brings Mongol empire to Netflix (http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30432201)
By Genevieve Hassan Entertainment reporter, BBC News

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677328_marco_s1_004_h.jpg
Marco Polo Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy stars as Marco Polo in the 10-part series

Following on from the success of its original dramas House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix is banking on its next series, Marco Polo, being a similar hit.

The adventures of famed explorer Marco Polo in 13th Century China are being told in a new series for Netflix.

Set in Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's court and with a rumoured $90m (£57m) budget, its epic nature, battle scenes and sexual content has inevitably drawn comparisons to Game of Thrones - although creator John Fusco points out Polo's books came first.

Starring British actor Benedict Wong as Kublai and unknown Italian star Lorenzo Richelmy - who had to learn English while on the job - as the explorer, the drama was filmed on location in Kazakhstan and a purpose-built set in Malaysia.

Best known for penning the Young Guns films, Fusco spoke to BBC News about bringing Kublai Khan's court back to life and his next project - writing the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677637_marco_s1_012_h.jpg
Marco Polo British actor Benedict Wong plays Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan

I hear you have a passion for Chinese culture and Marco Polo - this must have been the ideal project for you to work on.

Absolutely! For me it's a confluence of so many interests and passions I've had over the years, bringing together Chinese history and its philosophy, Mongolian culture, warrior horse culture, martial arts and particularly Marco - who I've always been fascinated with.

Where did the obsession come from?

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time reading about ancient China and was really fascinated. You can't dive into that material without encountering Marco and I liked to live vicariously through his accounts and travels.

Then in 2007 I did a horseback trip across part of central Mongolia with my 13-year-old son - we encountered Marco Polo at all these historical places where Mongolian nomads would reference his accounts and his relationship with Kublai Khan.

That's when everything crystallised for me and I thought it was time to explore Marco as a long arc TV series.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677326_marco_bts_009_h.jpg
Marco Polo John Fusco (left) has written the script for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel

This is the first drama series featuring mainly Chinese/Asian actors to be aimed at a Western audience - why do you think it has it taken so long?

It has taken too long really, but I think it's becoming more of a global family. What's interesting is Marco Polo was the earliest bridge between East and West, so I think it's wonderful this show is also bridging East and West in terms of casting.

One of the great things about doing this show with Netflix is they're bold - they allowed us the freedom to cast an unknown Italian in the role of Marco and a largely Asian cast with relatively unknown names. They supported that vision of not casting with names and casting with an authenticity to culture.
How has it been working with Netflix? Would you have had as much creative freedom if it had been made on network or cable TV?

I don't think so. We tried it with another network and the vision for the show wasn't coming to fruition, and so many of the other networks really do want names. There's this risk averse approach to everything out there, so it's a very different game with Netflix.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677635_marco_s1_006_h.jpg
Marco Polo The cast mainly features actors of south-east and central Asian descent

And you probably wouldn't have been able to include some of the graphic sex scenes...

On a lot of the premium US cable TV you can, but the sex in Marco Polo was never grafted onto the show just to follow any kind of trend. We didn't say 'let's throw in some sex now'.

When you read Marco accounts, he has almost an entire chapter about his sexual awakening during his travels and how Kublai Khan gave him a ringside seat to the pleasure dome.

Marco wrote about the tantric approach to sexuality and sexuality as an art form - which took him by surprise - and that's part of the information he brought back to the west.

With your martial arts background (Fusco is a black belt in Shaolin kung fu) was it important to have authentic choreographed fighting in the series?

It was always a part of the vision for the show. Myself and Harvey Weinstein (who executive produces the series) have a shared interest in Chinese cinema and the Wuxia literature that inspired Chinese martial arts films.

I thought we can explore that in a really organic way because Kublai Khan was so interested in bringing the treasures of China into his empire and absorbing it into his culture.

In his accounts Marco talked about being trained by Kublai's court in archery, horsemanship and warfare so it was never going to be a big stretch to incorporate authentic Chinese martial arts.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677639_marco_s1_020_h.jpg
Marco Polo The fight scenes in the series incorporate many elements of wushu kung fu

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677330_marco_s1_005_h.jpg
Marco Polo Hundreds of actors were used in the show's battle scenes, filmed in part in Kazakhstan

Was it always the plan to have real people on the battlefields rather than CGI fighters?

It was and what a difference it was to have 300 Kazakh horseman - it's quite an image. You hear the hoof thunder of those horses and it just informs the performance for everybody who's acting in those scenes.

Tell me a bit about the sets you built to create Kublai's court.

[Production designer] Lily Killvert created it from scratch at a studio lot carved out of 55 acres of jungle in Malaysia. We had crew from 27 countries build 51 lavish sets for the court, which was synonymous with luxury and excess.

Lilly did a brilliant job - every morning when I would walk through those sets I would feel like I was in Kublai Khan's world.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79677000/jpg/_79677322_marco_bts_002_h.jpg
Marco Polo A purpose-built studio recreating Kublai Khan's court was made in Malaysia

You've written the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - do you feel any pressure as people will inevitably compare it to the first film?

When Harvey Weinstein approached me about it I said creating a sequel out of whole cloth would never work and is something I would never want to pursue.

But being a student of Wuxia literature I was aware Crouching Tiger was book four in the Crane Iron Pentalogy. I said if we could take a hard look at book five and not try to be some sort of sensational Hollywood sequel, then I'm definitely interested. So that's what we did.

Book five - which is called Iron Knight, Silver Vase - introduces a new generation of sword heroes and star crossed lovers. I knew a little bit about it, but I had Chinese friends translate for me and then I created a treatment based on those elements.

But grounding it in the source material and with Michelle Yeoh coming back and have master [stunt choreographer] Woo-ping - who was one of the pioneers of the genre - direct it, I felt we were bringing back original elements.

Marco Polo is released on Netflix on 12 December.


I'm really enjoying the show. I love the scope of it. It's so massive and panoramic. It totally fills my big screen HDTV.

I just finished episode 5.

[PalmStriker]

The show has made me a big fan of Olivia Cheng. :D 100% Babe (BadAss): http://www.hypable.com/2014/12/08/marco-polos-olivia-cheng-talks-new-netflix-series/

[GeneChing]

Marco Polo’s Lorenzo Richelmy on Sudden Stardom: “Just Pretend It’s Easy” (http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/12/marco-polo-lorenzo-richelmy)
by Katey Rich
December 12, 2014 3:47 pm

http://photos.vanityfair.com/2014/12/12/548b47f298f2d00004ac9fcb_lorenzo-richelmy-marco-polo.jpg
Photograph by Chiara Marinai.

Netflix has bet big on their new series Marco Polo, to the tune of a reported $90 million budget for first season. But they’ve bet just as big on their leading man, Lorenzo Richelmy, a 24-year-old unknown outside of his native Italy before being cast as the titular explorer. In addition to the historical crash course, the role came with certain expectations. Netflix’s P.R. notes made available to journalists detailed Richelmy’s Marco Polo workout—“Bench Press - 5 x sets of 20 sec with a 20 sec rest in between each set.”

Visiting the Vanity Fair offices in New York last week, Richelmy brushed off the whole thing. “You Americans have such an obsession with this kind of thing,” he says, though somehow with the Italian accent it sounds less dismissive than utterly convincing. “It’s like ‘Whoah, he’s a great actor he can gain a lot of weight.’ For me, it’s part of the job, I did it, but it’s fine.”

The 10 episodes of Marco Polo span just five of the 20 years the Italian explorer spent in the Mongolian Empire (yes, there’s plenty of room for a Season 2). As a servant to the emperor Kublai Khan (played by Benedict Wong), Marco Polo travels throughout Mongolia, getting into the kind of adventures that even the most talented actors might not quite be prepared for. To take on the role, Richelmy had to do everything from learning kung fu and swordfighting to finally learning how to look good riding a horse—he’d done it once before in a movie, but, he noted, “I was supposed to be **** on the horse, so it was perfect.” For Marco Polo, which features many massive vistas and battle scenes, the same trainer who taught Russell Crowe in Gladiator instructed Richelmy—“I was like, ‘I give my body to you, do whatever you like.’ ”

Many of those stunning horseback scenes are courtesy of the landscape in Kazakhstan, once part of the Mongolian empire. These days much of it is as remote as what Marco Polo explored, which left Richelmy and his cast mates to their own devices when it came to post-work entertainment. “It was called the Premier Spa Hotel,” Richelmy explains of their living quarters. “The only thing was a big warm pool, like a thermal pool. Basically every Friday night and Saturday night, we had to get together and drink until we died, and then everybody in the pool. That was actually a pretty good moment to bond.”

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum were the scenes filmed in Venice, where Richelmy says the production blocked off “three squares, two bridges, and three canals”—the kind of interruption that’s normally “almost impossible” in the Italian city. It was that moment, Richelmy says, that “I realized what I was doing”—that is, starring in a massively expensive project intended as the new international face of Netflix. “The only way to face that,” Richelmy says, “is just to play. Pretend it’s easy.”

With the first season of Marco Polo wrapped and a second not yet in the works, Richelmy has returned to his home in Rome, and swears, “I would never come here to live.” And though he knows Hollywood may come calling soon, for now, Richelmy can remain as loyal to Marco Polo as he is to Rome. “This is the best thing for me, now,” he says. “I’m a storyteller, I [do] kung fu, I can do drama, I can do sex, whatever you want. I don’t want anything more, now.”

Also, I just had to add Olivia Cheng to our Sword-hotties (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?41007-Sword-hotties&p=1279433#post1279433)

[GeneChing]

This one is from last week but it's got Kung Fu in the title.

Marco Polo / 11 Dec 2014
Marco Polo: Lorenzo Richelmy's Crash Course in Kung Fu, Archery, and English (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/11/marco-polo-lorenzo-richelmys-crash-course-in-kung-fu-archery-and-english)
IGN spoke to the star of Netflix's new series, Marco Polo, about being trained in Kung Fu by the team from The Matrix and his favorite video games.
By Matt Fowler

Netflix is going grand with its new original series, Marco Polo - a soaring $90 million dollar production about the legendary explorer's early years in the court of conqueror Kublai Khan.

Launching with a 10-episode first season on Friday, December 12th, Marco Polo stars relative newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as a young version of Polo who finds himself both a prisoner and an honored guest in the complex kingdom of the ruling Khan. Discovering danger, deception, love and war, Polo navigates his way through a foreign land with an open heart and a fresh face, ready for adventure.

I spoke with the enthusiastic Richelmy about being chosen to play the lead role on such a huge project, for which he not only had to learn Kung Fu, archery, and horseback riding, but also English. And - wouldn't you know it? - our chat eventually turned to video games.

IGN: What was your reaction to getting the lead role in such a large-scale project?

Lorenzo Richelmy: [shouts] WOOOO HOOOO! [laughs] That was basically it. It's the biggest production I've ever seen in my life. I mean as an actor, I'm 24, I never expected this type of thing, you know. I was doing well in Italy. I had my position there. And it was so wonderful because I had only heard about the project and I decided by myself to try out for it. And it's not that it's a big, massive production. It's something new. It's something that's changing the way TV shows are made and changing the system. It's something you've never seen before. I mean, I watched it for the first time just a few days ago and it's just huge. People from 27 countries, from all over he world, traveling through valleys and deserts in Malaysia. And working with the best stunt people ever, who worked on The Matrix. We learned regular Crouching Tiger. I had to learn everything, including English. It was just a beautiful ride.

IGN: Let's talk about the Kung Fu. You have some incredible training sequences with Tom Wu, who plays Bayan the Hundred Eyes.

Richelmy: It was incredible. We worked for two months before we started shooting. And we had this tent in the middle of production in Malaysia where everybody was training. And I had these Chinese guys teaching me Kung Fu, some Japanese guys teaching me sword fighting, and the Bulgarians teaching me wrestling, and again others teaching me horseback riding and archery. The first week was fun because according to choreographer Brett Chan, he called my first week of training the "body shocking." So it was 10 hours of training every day and then at the end, deep in a bathtub with salts otherwise the next day I wouldn't be able to move a finger.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/12/marco-polo-from-netflix.jpg
Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco Polo.

So it was intense. But at the same time I found a wonderful team of people who were very nice. But for me, everything was difficult. It was all from scratch. I felt like the a black sheep among all of this. But it was the atmosphere of something new that kept me going. Even when you were working with Acadamy Award-winners or Emmy Award-winners, everyone was still trying and coming together to make something unique and different. So it was good for me. It was like an indie movie with a massive production.

IGN: What is the Khan's relationship like with Marco? How would you describe it?

Richelmy: At the beginning, Marco is just a puppet for him. Then, eventually, he becomes a clown. And I'm talking about the truthful relationship between the clown and the king. The king is surrounded by a bunch of "Yes Men" and people who tell him what he wants to hear so he needs fresh eyes and someone to tell him the truth. And someone to have a strong and different point of view about things. And Marco's young. He's a curious and honest guy. He never judges anyone either. And because of that he's been recognized as the first modern man and the guy who built the bridge between the East and West. He was over there for twenty years. He's very open-minded and that helped him fit in with this new world.

IGN: At first, Marco resents being left behind there by his father. So what eventually draws him to the Mongolian world?

Richelmy: First of all, we start with Marco as a boy. As a kid. And then by the last episode of the season, he's a young man. So he's at a point in his life when he starts to fix things within himself and discover who he is as a man. And thought he wanted to be like his father. But then he meets his father and discovers that he's not what he thought he'd be. And so he comes to want to stay with the Khan because at that time, that was the center of the world. He starts to grow into it and become a part of the court. He's not interested in trade. He's not interested in money like his father. Or being a merchant. He wants to be in the center of the world.

IGN: There are also some beautiful woman who catch his eye - Kokachin and Khutulun.

Richelmy: Yes. [laughs] Kokachin and Khutulun. [Actresses] Zhu Zhu and Claudia Kim. We're telling the story of a great explorer, but he's also young now. And so we're on the way to showing how this legendary man became a legend. And so yes, he's a kid. And now he's in Mongolian culture and he loves women. So he starts off his exploring there. Because you can explore in many different ways.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/12/1marco-polo-tv-review-netflix.jpg
Benedict Wong (as Kublai Khan) and Lorenzo Richelmy.

IGN: Marco doesn't seem to have an easy time with the Khan's son, Prince Jingim.

Richelmy: Marco becomes a confident of the Khan. And Jingim's problem with Marco isn't about Marco really. It's all about him. Because Marco isn't trying to bother anyone. And the show's great because the scope of it is massive but it's still a family drama. And Jingim will understand that his anger toward Marco is part of his own weakness. So their relationship changes a lot. And there will be some fights, of course. Jingim is afraid of Marco because he's afraid of himself as a son. So when he becomes more confident in that he won't see Marco as a threat anymore and will eventually see him as a friend.

IGN: This is an interesting time period to explore. Not many films or shows are made about Mongolian/Chinese history.

Richelmy: That's the first thing that I loved about this part. Because we have the chance to entertain a lot of people while also teaching them about this time in history. It's a period that not many people know about. And it's a little strange that we don't know all that much about one of the biggest empires ever. So we want to see how people react to this, because we put all the best into something new. There is an end to the first season, and we'll be telling the story of five years in Marco's life. And so there's more stories to tell should we come back for a Season 2. And I would of course be happy and amazed to return.

IGN: What's your favorite memory from shooting Season 1?

Richelmy: The biggest one comes from one of the last days of shooting. It was a battle scene. And I was on a horse on the top of a hill and I had to ride through three hundred extras fighting each other. With smoke, fire, craziness all around. Arrows, catapults. Two square kilometers of fighting. And my action was basically "ride as fast as you can inside it." And so, you know, I play video games so it felt like a dream to do.

IGN: What are your favorite games?

Richelmy: My favorite game of all time would be Civilization. And then I also love others. I have the new Xbox so I have Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty. Almost everything. I have a holiday after the next few weeks for about a month and I'm going to spend the whole time playing video games.

IGN: They could make an Assassin's Creed game using your show, I think.

Richelmy: That is actually amazing. That would be the biggest dream of my life. I'm not kidding. I don't need the Oscar. I don't care about the Oscar. I want to be on my couch, in Rome, playing as myself in Assassin's Creed. I can die after that.

All 10 episodes of Netflix's Marco Polo will be available to stream on Friday, December 12th.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/Showrenity.


I've been hearing lots of criticisms about the nudity in this show. That's actually a lot like the book. In Travels, Polo goes into great detail about Kubalai's harem and concubine selection process. In fact, there are several descriptions of unusual sexual practices of different regions and rulers. I imagine that it was pretty risque back in the day, and I suspect that a lot of the popularity and longevity of Travels over the centuries might have stemmed from this.

Anyone else here ever read Marco Polo's Travels?

[PalmStriker]

Characters: :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNt-GsKoJZY

[doug maverick]

Finished Marco Polo took me a while but it was worth it... and it was awesome Benedict Wong deserves a Emmy or a golden globe for his performance as kublai Khan it was brilliant, John Fusco Created a fantastic revisionist ancient china, and created some awesome characters, has lots of good action and Kung Fu in the mix, there are some great little nods, too kung fu movies, and even caught a little Sex and Fury nod. all and all..def worth the watch.

[sanjuro_ronin]

This one is from last week but it's got Kung Fu in the title.


I've been hearing lots of criticisms about the nudity in this show. That's actually a lot like the book. In Travels, Polo goes into great detail about Kubalai's harem and concubine selection process. In fact, there are several descriptions of unusual sexual practices of different regions and rulers. I imagine that it was pretty risque back in the day, and I suspect that a lot of the popularity and longevity of Travels over the centuries might have stemmed from this.

Anyone else here ever read Marco Polo's Travels?

Yep, years ago.
Funny how people are more quick to criticize nudity than they are violence.
Quite the statement when you think of it.

[GeneChing]

Clearly a tease for Season 2. :rolleyes: Well, that's cool. I'd totally watch Season 2. I enjoyed Season 1 immensely.


Yep, years ago.
Funny how people are more quick to criticize nudity than they are violence.

I read it for the first time a few months ago, when I heard this was coming. As I said in my JAN+FEB 2015 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191) Pub Note, it's "a must for any serious sinophile". I'm glad I finally read it as it was very illuminating. I've been reading a lot of comments on the series. You get those haters of course, who just gotta complain that it's not historically accurate. That criticism could be leveled at any Kung Fu flick or similar show like The Tudors. Clearly, this is historical fiction. But at the same time, I like how Fusco took Travels and history and twisted it to tell his story. Hundred Eyes is a great example. Hundred Eyes is in Travels, but he's not a blind Wudang monk. He was one of the Kubilai's generals, a Tartar, instrumental in taking Facfur in Manzi (medieval name of southern China). Bayan is literally taken to mean '100 eyes' (baiyan 百眼) but the editor's note in my edition questions the validity of the translation.

[GeneChing]

Wednesday, December 24th, 2014 | Posted by The UB Post
B.Amarsaikhan: I specifically wore deel to promote Mongolian traditional clothing (http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=12891)

Trans. by B.DULGUUN

http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2.jpg

The following is an interview with B.Amarsaikhan, who is the first Mongolian actor to set foot into Hollywood by starring in the 90 million USD drama series “Marco Polo”.

He signed a contract with Netflix Inc. for the role of Arig Bukh in the currently ongoing drama series created by John Fusco, “Marco Polo”. Netflix is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media available to viewers in North and South America, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.

Congratulations on becoming the first Mongolian actor to enter Hollywood. How was the premier of “Marco Polo”?

The premier of “Marco Polo” original series took place in New York on December 2. Actors from many different countries gathered at the red carpet and attended a huge party in the evening after the premier.

The red carpet is focused on photographing stars. Photographers ask you to look here and there and make different poses. I felt as if I had become a model. You often see actors and entertainers talking about their outfit at the red carpet. It can be said that this event has become a large custom or tradition.

How is the red carpet of Mongolia different from Hollywood’s?

In Mongolia, people can walk on the red carpet and enter a building straight away. In Hollywood, you get specific directions on where to pose and get photographed. Sometimes, I had to pose alone and sometimes, with my wife. At the premier, only the author and director stood on the stage while actors sat down. In Mongolia, everyone has to stand on the stage.

There were many aspects that should be focused on in the future. The Executive Director of Netflix Inc. took photos individually with the actors.

After the premier, I went to Los Angeles to meet and report on my work to my agency.

Can you tell us about your agency? How did you get connected to the agency?

My agency is called UNEW, abbreviated for United Nations East West. The agency helps actors from Asia step into Europe and Hollywood, and vice-versa. Many entertainers from South Korea and China were introduced to Hollywood by UNEW, such as Lee Byung Hun (G.I. Joe series). I devoted an immense amount of time and effort to connect with this agency. Actors from all around the world try to enter this large organization. I did everything I could do to get their attention. After drawing up an acting contract, the agency recommended “Marco Polo” series.

UNEW worked hard to get me Arig Bukh’s role and I had to travel back and forth to Malaysia for four months to pass several auditions. It may seem like a simple audition from the outside, but it’s actually a fierce competition full of rivalry.

After hearing that I got the role, the agency celebrated in Los Angeles while I celebrated in Mongolia. A few weeks ago, the agency congratulated me on successfully performing in the role and I made an official report of my work.

At the red carpet, you wore a traditional Mongolian deel. Who did you consult about your outfit and why did you choose that specific outfit?

Besides including actors from over 30 countries, the series is about the history of Mongolia. It was only right that I wore a traditional deel and my Mongolian representative agency, Amin Shiidel PR, recommended I do so. Considerable consideration, effort, and participation from many people lies behind my appearance on the red carpet. I wanted to promote Mongolian deel and the best Mongolian brand by wearing a deel made of cashmere from Gobi Cashmere, hat from Burkh Company, shoes from Best Shoes Company, and accessories from Mongol Costumes Company. The outfit I wore at the evening reception was prepared by a B.Bayarmaa from Monsonics Company. She is a talented designer, globally recognized by her Bayarmaa Brand. Designer of Gobi Cashmere E.Battsetseg, who designed our deels, became the best designer at a Goyol fashion show in Mongolia. Mongolian model working in the USA as a stylist S.Ijiltsetseg worked as our stylist.

Many Mongolians living in the USA welcomed us at the airport, including President of Mongolian Democratic Socialist Youth Association L.Oyun-Erdene and designer Nomin. I was warmly received by Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the U.N. O.Och and his spouse J.Tsolmon, as well as S.Aruinaa, working at one of the largest museums of the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They all attended the premier. Everyone gave a lot of attention to my participation at the red carpet and supported me considerably so that I could prove that Mongolia is as great as any other country.

From the many actors from different countries, did anyone else wear traditional clothing? Deel wasn’t very interesting to fellow actors since they’re wearing them in the series, right?

My wife and I were the only ones wearing traditional clothing. Fellow actors must’ve been fascinated to see modern designs of Mongolian deel they’ve been wearing during filming. I would’ve probably worn a suit if I played in an action or adventure film. As it is a series about the history of Mongolia, I felt wearing deel was the best choice.

Is it true that your introduction at the premier was more special than other actors’? How are premiers for drama series different from film premiers?

Actors were introduced by their roles. When they introduced me, they said they were very happy to introduce me and that I was Amaraa, an actor from Mongolia. Mongolians who were present mentioned that my introduction was special, but it’s probably because it was a series about Mongolia.

As for the premier, just like a film premier, the first two episodes of the series was shown in the cinema.

Most foreign historic films about Mongolia received criticism. Do you think “Marco Polo” will also receive negative comments?

Everything depends on how the artist wants to portray their work. I don’t know how this film will continue. I know for a fact that John Fusco wrote his script after researching in detail. Sometimes, I complained that some events and costumes weren’t accurate but he said that he’s portraying how Marco Polo saw Mongolia and the rulers. So, the series will be filmed in that manner.

The series is an artistic and commercial script so there will be some exaggerations and imaginative aspects. I can notice that John Fusco did a lot of research for some of the scenes. For instance, he noticed that Mongolians communicates and expresses their agreement or disagreement through words like “thh”, “hnn”, and “mmm”. He tried to display this in the series. I think “Marco Polo” will be different from other films since it was created by a person who did heavy research.

Watching the first few episodes, the Mongolian music, costumes, headwear, and other accessories seem very accurate. Is there a Mongolian advisor for the series?

A president of a travel company, Byambaa, is working as a cultural advisor. John Fusco met him many years ago during his trip to Mongolia. Fusco focuses on portraying Mongolia’s traditions and customs properly. He even dedicates a day of the week as “Mongolian Day” for introducing necessary information about Mongolia to actors. No wonder the series is different from other films.

Do actors researching about their roles ask you about Mongolia?

Of course. During my stay there, I tried to teach even the littlest details to as many people as possible, starting from how to properly sit in gers, how to play Mongolian traditional games with angle-bones. I helped with the pronunciation of words that aren’t translated to foreign languages such as airag and borts. Foreigners pronounce Chinggis Khaan as Jinghis or Genghis, but in the film it will be pronounced properly as “Chinggis”. This is all because a Mongolian actor starred in the series. It was awkward at first but later, the crew got closer and they started inquiring about small things.

You are only in the first two episodes. Don’t you think your role ended too soon?

The first antagonist in the series is the enemy of Khubilai, Arig Bukh. Script writers also said that Arig Bukh’s role ended too soon and wanted to find ways to bring him out again. They even talked about making him appear in Khubilai’s nightmare. I don’t know how the script will continue. Currently, the script for the third season has been completed.
The series is struggling financially and critically now. $90 million is a lot to recoup.

[sanjuro_ronin]

90 million?
Well, they say that is what any decent production will cost nowadays.
Movies are over 100 million easy.
I don't see how netflix can get the coin with subscribers only...

[doug maverick]

90 mil for a tv series isnt bad not the highest thou(most tv shows on major networks average about 200mil a season).. and movies dont cost 100million..100million is still considered a huge budget. most movies are budgeted around 45-50mil. some even lower. the show will recoup its budget, netflix makes its money not just from subscribers but selling the rights to the show in markets where netflix is not available.. and vod-dvd sales. not to mention its stock. so no real telling if the show was a financial success or not.

[sanjuro_ronin]

90 mil for a tv series isnt bad not the highest thou(most tv shows on major networks average about 200mil a season).. and movies dont cost 100million..100million is still considered a huge budget. most movies are budgeted around 45-50mil. some even lower. the show will recoup its budget, netflix makes its money not just from subscribers but selling the rights to the show in markets where netflix is not available.. and vod-dvd sales. not to mention its stock. so no real telling if the show was a financial success or not.

Hmmm, I'll take your word for it Doug.
Just seems to me that every time I hear a budget for a movie it is over 100 million.

[GeneChing]

The thing that most American critics aren't factoring in about Marco Polo is that, being typically American-centric, this isn't about the U.S. market at all. It's about the European market, where Marco Polo is leading the charge for Netflix. Netflix is aspiring to stream to the whole planet. While their U.S. subscribers aren't growing, and their European subscribers have yet to pay out, there's a lot of potential there.

When it comes to the U.S. market, they've still got all those exclusive Marvel shows tucked up their sleeve.



Marco Polo: Netflix's Critical Flop That Dared to Be Diverse (http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/in-defense-of-marco-polo/383905/)
Viewers don’t have to like the streaming giant's new medieval epic series to acknowledge its significant, if flawed, representation of Asian characters in television.
Lenika Cruz Dec 20 2014, 8:00 AM ET

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/newsroom/img/mt/2014/12/marco_polo/lead.jpg?ngzpyh
Netflix/The Atlantic

Since the first season of Marco Polo dropped on Netflix a week ago, the 13th-century medieval epic has suffered a critical pile-on that feels almost gleeful in its disdain. It’s “the most gorgeous thing you’ll ever fall asleep to,” “meh,” “ludicrous,” and “binge-proof,” which may be the worst insult of all to level at a show created by the streaming service that popularized the habit of binge-watching.

Chief among the series' redeeming qualities is its impeccable and accordingly expensive production and ambitious subject matter. Netflix is trying to appeal to a more global audience, so its choice of story was strategic from a business perspective. But a big budget, high hopes, and good intentions it seems wasn't enough to buoy a boring protagonist and flaccid story for many critics and viewers, myself included (despite a suspiciously high Netflix rating boosted by PR-y sounding reviews).

Another unavoidable criticism: When deconstructed, Marco Polo is like a blander, trying-too-hard, real-life version of a certain HBO hit show adapted from an as-yet incomplete series of fantasy novels.*

But among the first key problems sensed upon the initial release of the show's trailer was its apparent embodiment of that tired storytelling trope, the "white-guy-in-Asia adventure." As Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man wrote back in October:

Ooh. Lots of swords and gongs and mysticism and opium and sexy Asian ladies on silk sheets and ****. And dude, did I just see a naked person doing some kung fu?

After the series debuted, Salon's TV critic Sonia Soraiya also offered a sharp but fair take-down of the show's many flaws, pointing out that:

It feels like a terrible disservice to the strong source material to fall into such well-charted pitfalls about storytelling about other cultures, and a disservice to that $90 million, which apparently could have been better spent.

Mic's Zak Cheney-Rice similarly called on Netflix to "do better" in its portrayal of Asian characters, criticizing Marco Polo for leaning on ludicrous Orientalist stereotypes and privileging the white, Western point-of-view. He also noted that Netflix must have "missed the memo," referring to a list released by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans in 2008 on ways good-intentioned media-makers can bust stereotypes.

But the truth is, despite its many, many flaws, Marco Polo actually does follow many of MANAA's suggestions, including the following:

Asian names or racial features as no more "unusual" than those of whites.
More Asian and Asian American lead roles.
Until the proverbial playing field is truly level, Asian roles—especially lead roles—should be reserved for Asian actors.

Yes, it privileges the point of view of the good-looking, wide-eyed Westerner in a world of "others," but remember another based-on-a-true-story Netflix show that did that but received critical acclaim?

To be fair, Orange Is the New Black did a phenomenal job of following through on creator Jenji Kohan's plan to use Piper as a Trojan horse into the stories of non-white characters who were far more complex and compelling than the ones Marco Polo conjured up. But it's a little disingenuous to write off the show for attempting something similar through the character of Marco Polo, who was meant as a bridge into a story set on another continent hundreds of years ago.

In the grander scheme, the not-so-well-reviewed Marco Polo does more for the overall goal of increasing the representation of Asian characters and breaking down some stereotypes (even as it perpetuates others) than other highly acclaimed Western shows that ignore such characters altogether. Recall that Marco Polo's cast is more than 90 percent Asian; how many other big-budget Western shows can say that?

It would behoove critics and TV viewers alike to acknowledge these kinds of efforts to hire more Asian actors and place them in lead roles. Yes, Olivia Cheng may do many of her scenes naked, and there are ridiculous scenes that feel like fetishization-of-Asian-women-for-the-fetishization-of-Asian-women's-sake, but the female characters also eventually achieve more than a degree of depth.
Marco Polo's cast is more than 90 percent Asian; how many other big-budget Western shows can say that?

As Imran Siddiquee wrote for The Atlantic, having more characters of color on television (or on Western screens in general) isn't just a matter of metrics, just as "representation" isn't just some noble abstraction. Movies and shows can engender empathy for the people they portray. And in a time when the foibles of a brutal North Korean dictator make for good comedy (seemingly to the exclusion of anger at the appalling treatment of an entire country), some extra empathy for Asian faces is a good thing.

So I'll suffer the existence of a show with ridiculous orgies and stuffy dialogue if that show that tries to fix an entrenched problem in Western television, even if it falls short (and hey, I have the February debut of ABC's Fresh off the Boat to look forward to!). Certainly, the end goal is a program that is both lauded and progressive in its portrayal of characters of Asian descent, such as Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, Elementary, and The Walking Dead. And on the whole, television is getting much better at the whole diversity thing, even if it's not even quite there yet.

But the Mongolian empire, as it were, wasn't built in a day.

*As someone who owns a Night's Watch shirt, I couldn't get through the first episode, "The Wayfarer" without experiencing a kind of uncanny valley effect from all the disorienting, almost-but-not-quite Game of Thrones similarities. Sample train of thought: Kublai Khan is King Robert Baratheon; Oh hey, it's like Littlefinger's brothel; Marco Polo is Jon Snow; Hundred Eyes is like Syrio Forel; the Chancellor Jia Sidao is kind of like Viserys Targaryen in his ambition and creepy sister-pimping; the opening scene of the pilot episode is totally like the pilot episode of Game of Thrones.

[doug maverick]

i honestly dont get the bad press this is getting, it feel engineered to be quite honest, its very rare that the press says one thing and pretty much everybody who has watched it says another. right now netflix is a very clear and present danger, so alot of animosity is aimed at the company so i wouldnt be surprised if more of their stuff gets poorly reviewed by professional critics...its all engineered that way.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Every person I now that has seen it has loved it.
Everyone.
I can tell you that was NOT the case with Games of Thrones for example.

Honestly, it looks like the critics are going out of their way to find something to pick on.

[GeneChing]

Read Creating the World of the Warrior: John Fusco and Marco Polo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1196) By Lori Ann White

[sanjuro_ronin]

Nice article Gene.
I really enjoyed the kung fu in this series.
It was nicely done with just the right hint of "silliness".
The praying mantis was nice and the final fight between Ji Dao and 100 eyes was sweet :)

[David Jamieson]

Just finished watching this series first season.

Lot's a Kung Fu used in the show, old weapons, stylistic fighting like Praying Mantis in particular.

I really liked it and look forward to the next season.

Good choice of character to adapt in Marco Polo. There are so many diverse versions of his story that it's pretty much a prompt for great fiction.

Anyone else watch it?

[PalmStriker]

:):D:) Just us guys: http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62877-Marco-Polo-Netflix-Original-Series

[GeneChing]

JAN 7 2 HRS
Netflix's 'Marco Polo' Renewed for Second Season (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflixs-marco-polo-renewed-second-761550?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews&utm_campaign=THR+Breaking+News_now_2015-01-07+09%3A08%3A28_lgoldberg)
9:07 AM PST 1/7/2015 by Lesley Goldberg

The streaming service also sets premiere dates for 'Daredevil,' 'Grace and Frankie' and more

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/thumbnail_570x321/2014/12/lorenzo_richelmy_marco_polo_a_l.jpg

Netflix opened the semi-annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour with a bit of breaking news: Period drama Marco Polo will be back for a second season.
The drama, originally developed for Starz, will return for a second round of 10 episodes, with production returning later this year.
The series launched in December to mixed reviews — THR's chief TV critic Tim Goodman was not kind to it — but Marco Polo represents a major international push for the streaming platform.
The drama, produced by the Weinstein Co. and Electus, stars Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco and features a cast that includes Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Zhu Zhu, Chin Han, Olivia Cheng, Tom Wu, Remy Hii, Uli Latukefu, Mahesh Jadu, Claudia Kim and Rick Yune. The drama was created by John Fusco and counts exec producers including Dan Minahan, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.
Netflix on Wednesday also announced premiere dates for new series including Marvel's Daredevil (April 10), Bloodline (March 20), The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (March 6) as well as Grace and Frankie (May 8).
Marco Polo joins a roster of originals at Netflix including BoJack Horseman, The Crown, House of Cards, Longmire, Love, Narcos, Orange Is the New Black and more.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
John Fusco had whispered to me that Season 2 was a go a few weeks ago, but he told me to keep it secret until the announcement was made.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Swweeetttt :P

[PalmStriker]

Most Excellent ! :)

[MasterKiller]

I finished the first season. I thought it was pretty good. The kung fu stuff is really not necessary, but they do a good job with it. The "blind" Wu Dang monk is a bit much, but he's such a bad ass that I don't care how cheesy the concept is....I think Kublai Khan steals the show. He's my favorite character.

Plus.....tons of hot Asian tittays.

[GeneChing]

With some fb memes from our JAN+FEB 2015 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191) cover story

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10917345_10153086843839363_3726797529850765842_n.j pg?oh=9d60dc80ab385a639cb9ce304af11d92&oe=552D7C22
https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10277171_10153105920024363_7373182294919284897_n.j pg?oh=66de7842b34de361b4dc97d7b2a47e85&oe=552F75C6

[GeneChing]

The series really is a gamechanger on so many levels.


12/29/2014 @ 1:38PM 2,958 views
Why Growing Content Costs Are A Necessary Evil For Netflix (http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/12/29/why-growing-content-costs-are-a-necessary-evil-for-netflix/)
Trefis Team , Contributor

Marco Polo premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2014. The company reportedly spent $90 million on the production of the first season (10 episodes) of the series and the show was supposed to be Netflix’s answer to HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones. However, the response towards the show has been tepid. Marco Polo might get a second chance to impress the audience as Netflix has a tendency of ordering second seasons for its shows regardless of the response they generate. But in its current state, it seems unlikely that Marco Polo will be able to captivate the audience in the way that Game of Thrones has done. This is not the only big bet that Netflix is making in terms of the original content. It has also announced a five-season deal with Marvel Television (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) to produce four live action series and a mini-series focused on four Marvel superheroes – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. According to Wall Street Journal, the production of these shows will cost Disney around $200 million. Both these deals are part of a roster of 30+ upcoming original series that Netflix plans to broadcast in 2015 and 2016. The spending does not end with original content either. Netflix has been shelling out some serious cash to acquire the rights to various popular TV series shown on other channels. According to Deadline, Netflix signed a deal with Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution to broadcast the show Gotham for a reported $1.75 million per episode. It reportedly signed similar deals for other shows such as The Blacklist ($2 million per episode) and AMC’s The Walking Dead ($1.35 million per episode) among others. Increasing content costs are putting pressure on Netflix’s margins but this spending holds merit and is vital to Netflix’s success in the coming years.

Our price estimate for Netflix stands at $299, implying a discount of about 12% to the market.

Increased Costs Mean More Pressure On Margins

Content costs have been rising steadily for Netflix. According to its third quarter 2014 results, streaming content obligations increased from around $7.2 billion at the end of 2013 to more than $8.8 billion as of September 30, 2014, an increase of more than $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2014. Content expenses, which include the amortization of the streaming content library and other expenses associated with the licensing and acquisition of streaming content, are the largest cost component for Netflix and account for over 70% of the total expenses. The cost of revenues came in at $2.73 billion, an increase of around $430 million year over year. This increase was mainly due to content expenses increasing by more than $376 million, from $1.6 billion to $1.97 billion, in the same period. The effect of increasing content costs can be felt in the contribution margins of both the domestic and international streaming segments. This is especially true for the international segment which has not been profitable on a contribution basis until now. We expect the contribution margin for the international segment to be around -14.5% for the year 2014 and to break even in 2015. However, the continued pressure from increasing content costs, along with the high marketing costs incurred for international operations, could result in lower margins for the next couple of years.

An Unavoidable Exercise

Improvement in Netflix’s online content has been the cornerstone of its subscriber growth for the past two years. Improving content quality has helped Netflix retain its top position in online streaming, keeping competitors such as Amazon and Hulu at bay. The focus on original programming has been paying off and the success of original series such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black has added an extra dimension to the company’s online content. Now not only does Netflix have quality programming sourced from other studios, but it has quality programming of its own which is available nowhere else. But it needs to keep on dishing out quality original programming in the future too if it wants to maintain the air of exclusivity that it has acquired. Even if Marco Polo does not live up to expectations, Netflix needs to find another hit in the group of shows it has lined up in 2015 to keep the audience hooked. Netflix also needs to keep faith in its selection process. It chooses its content based on the meticulous analysis of its customers’ watching habits, and this strategy has yielded results in the past. The negative reaction to Marco Polo is not unprecedented either. HBO has cancelled six shows after only one season in the last three years and such cancellations are common and more widespread for traditional pay-TV networks. The advantage that Netflix has over pay-TV content providers is that it has lesser opportunity cost. If a customer does not like a TV show on Netflix, he can always move on to another show. A pay-TV channel by contrast dedicates a time slot to a TV show and faces a much bigger opportunity cost. This allows Netflix to take more chances with its content. In the end, Netflix needs to keep investing and continue buying original content, renewing content and acquiring international rights in order to produce enough quality material to keep its subscriber base interested.

[GeneChing]

....on Twitter no less.


Netflix US ‏ (https://twitter.com/netflix/status/556139118732660737/photo/1)@netflix

Follow @MarcoPoloMP Monday 11EST/8PST for a Q&A with Tom Wu, aka Hundred Eyes! Submit Qs using #AskHundredEyes

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7fNlN8CcAAs8Hx.jpg

[PalmStriker]

:) Morin Khuur, the soundtrack instrument featured in the Marco Polo Series: https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=mongolian+horse+head+instrument%2C+youtube&vid=867332bdf33fcdd78dd992a662b175fd&l=1%3A47&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.6 08020073646656762%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dd GR5pkLTNCc&tit=Sound+of+the+Morin+Khuur+%28Horsehead+Fiddle%2 9&c=16&sigr=11bpeka5t&sigt=11bg9sc6i&sigi=11rb2ct3v&ct=p&age%5B0%5D=1409773488&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&b=31&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

[GeneChing]

NOT

Hulu is offering an earlier mini-series based on Marco Polo for free now. The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo (http://www.hulu.com/watch/678913)(2000), originally the The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo on His Journeys to the Ends of the Earth (1998). it's a Ukrainian production, more of a sword-and-sorcery fantasy flick than anything historical. The amusing thing is that when you view the icon on Hulu+, they've titled it just 'Marco Polo' with a red font that emulates the Netflix logo. Alas, Hulu+. We love the Criterion collection, but so many knock-offs... :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

'Gotham', 'Marco Polo' Lead TV Nominees For 30th ASC Awards
By Erik Pedersen
November 18, 2015
10:23am

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/marco-polo-netflix.jpg?w=446&h=299&crop=1

Fox’s Gotham and Netflix’s Marco Polo are the only double nominees as the American Society of Cinematographers tuned in the TV nominations its 30th annual ASC Awards today. Streaming services landed four of the 10 slots across two categories, and more than half of the noms went to freshman shows: Marco Polo, NBC’s Blindspot, Amazon’s The Man In The High Castle and Casanova and Syfy’s 12 Monkeys.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/asc-awards.jpg?w=970

“These talented individuals have earned the admiration of their fellow cinematographers for their tremendous artistry,” said Daryn Okada, who chairs the ASC’s Awards Committee. “There is a lot of truly outstanding and innovative imagery being created for television, and the work of these directors of photography exemplifies the high standards being set.”

Here are the TV noms for the trophy show, which is set for February 14 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza:

Episode of a Regular Series:
Vanja Cernjul, ASC, HFS for MARCO POLO, “The Fourth Step” (NETFLIX)
David Greene, CSC for 12 MONKEYS, “Mentally Divergent” (SYFY)
Christopher Norr for GOTHAM, “Strike Force” (FOX)
Crescenzo Notarile, ASC, AIC for GOTHAM, “Scarification” (FOX)
Fabian Wagner, BSC for GAME OF THRONES, “Hardhome” (HBO)

Television Movie, Miniseries, or Pilot:
Martin Ahlgren for BLINDSPOT pilot (NBC)
Pierre Gill, CSC for CASANOVA (AMAZON)
James Hawkinson for THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE pilot (AMAZON)
Jeffrey Jur, ASC for BESSIE (HBO)
Romain Lacourbas for MARCO POLO pilot (NETFLIX)



heh. called it. ;)

[Oso]

man, I hope Marco Polo makes it...great stuff. but, their story is reading like the HBO show 'Rome' ...good stuff but too big a budget to continue.

[GeneChing]

It's also on the Netflix twitter feed.


See his side of the story. The special, #MarcoPolo: One Hundred Eyes, arrives December 26, only on Netflix.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVaPIiwUYAEjUaL.jpg

RETWEETS 58
LIKES 137
12:58 PM - 4 Dec 2015

[boxerbilly]

This series I did like and will continue to watch as long as they make them.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeUhXYmGKU4

[-N-]

Lol. Fake Mantis fighting :rolleyes:


http://youtu.be/RHbwJi1L0HY

[sanjuro_ronin]

Lol. Fake Mantis fighting :rolleyes:


http://youtu.be/RHbwJi1L0HY

Cinematic fighting doesn't mean fake fighting.
What it does is take the forms (bits and pieces) and put them into action in a highly artistic rendering of what combat would be IF forms were "real".
In short, it is good clean fun and it is as fake as any other type of cinematic fighting.
Of course if you look CLOSE, you will see some "real" mantis.

[-N-]

What it does is take the forms (bits and pieces) and put them into action in a highly artistic rendering of what combat would be IF forms were "real".


Sure, I get that.

Just that in this case, the artistic rendering demonstrated Mantis in ways that were both superficial and incorrect.

Same issue like in an action movie when someone breaks into a room through an air duct that is totally clean, lit, and quiet.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sure, I get that.

Just that in this case, the artistic rendering demonstrated Mantis in ways that were both superficial and incorrect.

Same issue like in an action movie when someone breaks into a room through an air duct that is totally clean, lit, and quiet.

It wasn't THAT bad dude.

[-N-]

It wasn't THAT bad dude.

Ok, I'm being picky.

But:

Weird @ss elbow break at :32. Mantis has some legit preferred techniques for that situation, but not like what was shown.

Mantis posing from :56-:59. Maybe looks cool in a Wushu kind of way, but his transitions and intent comes across like he doesn't know how to use Mantis hands. When and how a person uses the Mantis claws and the intent behind the movement is a big tell when people fake that they know Mantis.

Mantis claw hand holding at 1:05-1:12. No reason to hook hands together like that, and definately makes no sense to do that for 7 seconds. The guy in black had a legit Mantis response to the situation, but it came about 6.9 seconds too late. We yell at beginners all the time for fixating on holding the grab.

More posing at 1:24. Takes more than that to be Mantis.

[-N-]

Some legit movie-fu Mantis at :32.

Several properly choreographed Mantis hooks in series.

Only fault is that it was all defensive with no counter-attack. But that is fitting with the plot for that scene.


http://youtu.be/n2ut9G-AXjk

[Jimbo]

-N-

What do you think of the Mantis fighting in the end fight in Warriors Two? Watch the arch-villain played by Fung Hak-On (who removes the mask at the beginning). Of course, he overuses the hook, holds on too long, and there is wirework as he does his purely cinematic "Di Tanglang/Ground Mantis", but IMO it's a better onscreen representation of Mantis than the "wushu" versions. What impresses me about his scenes, especially as the fight progresses, is he fluidly combines his upper and lower body, hands/legs, kicks/sweeps, etc. Most Mantis in the movies only uses either the hands or the feet at a time, but doesn't smoothly combine them together like Fung. He looks to me like someone who actually had some Mantis background and was obviously heavily "cinemizing" it for effect.

From 0:00 - 0:53, and again from 3:51 onwards.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vt0pqdbW1o&sns=em

[-N-]

-N-

What do you think of the Mantis fighting in the end fight in Warriors Two? Watch the arch-villain played by Fung Hak-On (who removes the mask at the beginning). Of course, he overuses the hook, holds on too long, and there is wirework as he does his purely cinematic "Di Tanglang/Ground Mantis", but IMO it's a better onscreen representation of Mantis than the "wushu" versions. What impresses me about his scenes, especially as the fight progresses, is he fluidly combines his upper and lower body, hands/legs, kicks/sweeps, etc. Most Mantis in the movies only uses either the hands or the feet at a time, but doesn't smoothly combine them together like Fung. He looks to me like someone who actually had some Mantis background and was obviously heavily "cinemizing" it for effect.

From 0:00 - 0:53, and again from 3:51 onwards.


Not bad for 70's style movie-fu.

He does look like he has some Mantis background. But the 70's style choreography and "artistic license" kind of mess it up for me. Too much posing, misrepresented stereotype techniques, and no real flow.

Yes, better integration of handwork and legwork in the choreography though.

More of him in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow.


http://youtu.be/X7mWKer_L_c

[-N-]

And here.


http://youtu.be/8es6Jyygsqw

[-N-]

Check out the part where Sifu Tsui Siu Ming talks about movie-fu and Mantis.

4:05

Also, check out as he demos Mantis applications while casually explaining what to look for.

6:00


http://youtu.be/IT_eUKOhnT8

[sanjuro_ronin]

Movie Fu ALWAYS exaggerates, ALWAYS poses and ALWAYS slows things down for the audience to see.
I hear you N, everytime I see messed up Hung Kuen in the movies I roll my eyes too.
That said, what I have come to realize is that, regardless of style, what you get is 90% show moves that all audience can recognise as "cool" and 10% of legit "poses" from whatever MA style is being represented.

[-N-]

I get that.

Sometimes we get spoiled by this type of filmwork.


http://youtu.be/YKAWUGH_qhs

Great choreography, cinematography, and true to kf and styles on both physical and mental level.

Even more impressive with some of these actors like Tony Leung and Zhang Zi Yi having no kf training aside from for the their movie roles.

There's kung fu in film making too.

[Jimbo]

Movie Fu ALWAYS exaggerates, ALWAYS poses and ALWAYS slows things down for the audience to see.
I hear you N, everytime I see messed up Hung Kuen in the movies I roll my eyes too.
That said, what I have come to realize is that, regardless of style, what you get is 90% show moves that all audience can recognise as "cool" and 10% of legit "poses" from whatever MA style is being represented.

IMO, both Hung Kuen and Mantis have had far more (and better) representation onscreen than CLF. In comparison, CLF has hardly been represented in movies at all, which is incredible, considering it's one of the major CMA styles, at least in HK, SE Asia and in the West. When it is shown, it's usually only briefly. IMO, New Shaolin Boxers was the best overall onscreen presentation of stylized CLF. As you can see, it is full of posing in stereotypical CLF posture that are not on guard positions, but are merely shown for stylistic effect. In this film, they are taking the form movements literally:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KgIaHM9y9U&sns=em

The stylization and sometimes inaccurate application interpretations don't bother me, as I long ago reconciled the suspension of disbelief required for the movies and the reality of MA. Just like real-life shootouts are nothing like the gunfights in Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns or the 'bullet ballets' of old John Woo gangster movies.

[Jimbo]

Check out the part where Sifu Tsui Siu Ming talks about movie-fu and Mantis.

4:05

Also, check out as he demos Mantis applications while casually explaining what to look for.

6:00


http://youtu.be/IT_eUKOhnT8

Tsui Siu-Ming's stuff looks very good. Much preferable to me than the young guy's wushu mantis perfemance that precedes Tsui's demo. Tsui shows considerable knowledge of traditional NPM.

[-N-]

Check out the part where Sifu Tsui Siu Ming talks about movie-fu and Mantis.

4:05

Also, check out as he demos Mantis applications while casually explaining what to look for.

6:00


About the movie in that clip.

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/527-Duo-Biao-Fiendish-Training-from-Devil-Coach-Tsui-Siu-Ming.html

Lol. Devil Coach.

Put him on the crew of Marco Polo.


Duo Biao: Fiendish Training from Devil Coach Tsui Siu Ming

-- Duo Biao --

《夺标》 Duo Biao's martial arts choreography, which is 70% traditional and 30% innovation, shows the art of attack and defence of traditional Chinese kungfu, while carrying modern elements at the same time. Tsui Siu Ming and his team also dissected every move in the film, in order to spark sufficient interests from the jaded audiences.

3 months before filming, ****y Cheung was dragged to Hengdian for training, and the director specifically assigned a martial arts expert to watch over him practising Praying Mantis Boxing as well as retraining in wireworks.

However, even martial artists like Xu Xiang Dong and Xie Miao were not spared of training.

"I didn't understand back then. Why? We've been shooting films for so many years, I've been teaching as well as training in martial arts for 20 to 30 years, yet I was still required to go there for training." says the puzzled Xu Xiang Dong

"I've been training in martial arts in Beijing since the age of 7, the director kept asking what I had been learning. He told me where the faults of my moves were, admonished me for clenching my fists too tight, for keeping my legs too straight... He kept telling me all these." says Xie Miao.

Owing to his strictness and demands, director Tsui Siu Ming, who is a practitioner of Praying Mantis Boxing, earned himself the nickname of devil coach. Tsui Siu Ming sees this as a compliment: "I felt it an honour. For, this is a way to honour someone." Movie Report

Duo Biao is in post-production right now and Tsui Siu Ming is taking pains to ensure that the fights are shown in unadulterated form. Tsui Siu Ming believes that the audience's love for wushu movies lies in wushu per se, and exhilarating wushu is not represented by trickeries or rapid editing. So, the editing must let the audience witness the realism of wushu, rather than often abused modern techniques.

[-N-]

Btw, Tsui Siu Ming was senior classmate to Brendan Lai.

[Jimbo]

Btw, Tsui Siu Ming was senior classmate to Brendan Lai.

Interesting. I had not been aware that Tsui Siu Ming was a NPM practitioner. I always had the impression that he was from a Beijing (or Cantonese) opera background.

So he was senior to Brendan Lai? I only ask because Tsui was over a decade younger than Brendan Lai (although I know that age doesn't always have to do with KF seniority).

Sorry, Gene, for going OT.

[-N-]

Jimbo, I think I may have gotten two different Siu Mings confused.

So vs. Tsui.

I'll double check.

[-N-]

Interesting. I had not been aware that Tsui Siu Ming was a NPM practitioner. I always had the impression that he was from a Beijing (or Cantonese) opera background.


Jimbo, I think I may have gotten two different Siu Mings confused.

So vs. Tsui.

I'll double check.

Ok, the one I had in mind was So Siu Ming, 蘇小明.

Tsui Siu Ming is 徐小明.

Tsui Siu Ming does have NPM background though.

1:37


http://youtu.be/ZYEf1mMP1bg

[GeneChing]

Frankly, I'm pleased to see any Kung Fu in anything. As to authenticity, I'm lenient with my criticisms because I know how difficult composing fight choreography is. It must be both cinematic and dramatic first for every viewer, and only authentic for a few select practitioners of the art. Very difficult indeed.

That being said, check this out: Marco Polo and Hundred Eyes: EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK: THE MARTIAL ARTS OF MARCO POLO (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1273) by Gene Ching. :cool:

[-N-]

As to authenticity, I'm lenient with my criticisms because I know how difficult composing fight choreography is. It must be both cinematic and dramatic first for every viewer, and only authentic for a few select practitioners of the art. Very difficult indeed.


Yep, that is the issue. Sorry for getting off on tangents.

[-N-]

I hadn't been paying attention to this program until Gene posted the clip recently and the Mantis discussion came up.

Looking into things more, I see that John Fusco's background is in Wahlum Mantis. Tom Wu's background is Hung Gar and Wushu. Chin Han had 5 months Mantis training for the program. Chin Han talks about it a little on Reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2w3r90/hi_im_chin_han_i_play_the_guy_only_a_mother_could/

Kind of explains things.

[-N-]

That being said, check this out: Marco Polo and Hundred Eyes: EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK: THE MARTIAL ARTS OF MARCO POLO (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1273) by Gene Ching. :cool:

:43 Mantis claw to the top of head with simultaneous fortune cookie quote :rolleyes:

At least it's not David Carradine :D

Well, all this talk got me to start watching a few episodes.

Best part so far is the Mongolian wrestling girl in the third episode.

She's hot and feisty!

[GeneChing]

Enter to win KungFuMagazine.com's contest for MARCO POLO Season 1 on DVD (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/sweepstakes-marco-polo.php)! Contest ends 5:30 p.m. PST on 12/28/2015



Sorry for getting off on tangents. No need to apologize. Tangents doth this forum make. Been enjoying the vids you've been posting here. Indeed, Fusco is an earnest Mantis practitioner, which is one of many reasons why Marco Polo has such a mantis influence.

[GeneChing]

Anyone else see it? What was up with that Michelle Yeoh cameo? A teaser for next season, no doubt.

It struck me as a sort of homage to Carradine's Kung Fu (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62248-Kung-Fu-REMAKE) series of the 70s - blind master espouses Kung Fu philosophy to a bald kid student. I was disappointed to see Jingim practicing Shaolin Qixing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?54037-Qixing-lyrics) when the Hundred Eyes is from Wudang in this tale. :rolleyes:

[boxerbilly]

Anyone else see it? What was up with that Michelle Yeoh cameo? A teaser for next season, no doubt.

It struck me as a sort of homage to Carradine's Kung Fu (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62248-Kung-Fu-REMAKE) series of the 70s - blind master espouses Kung Fu philosophy to a bald kid student. I was disappointed to see Jingim practicing Shaolin Qixing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?54037-Qixing-lyrics) when the Hundred Eyes is from Wudang in this tale. :rolleyes:


No. I just noticed yesterday it was on Netflix. I think it is only like 30 minutes long.

[boxerbilly]

Saw it. Not bad but not good either. Seemed sort of pointless and something that could have been included in the normal series like a 5 minute flashback but then the fight scenes would be much shorter I guess. If you blink you miss Michelle.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf1VlpYhaMg

[Oso]

I hope it lasts and doesn't go the way of "Rome"

[GeneChing]

Marco Polo and Darecevil are two main Netflix series that we follow here. :cool:

Too bad I don't have a Sony Android 4K TV. But then, if I had that, I'd probably never leave home again. :o


Netflix Originals ‘Marco Polo’ Streams In HDR, 4K (http://techstory.in/15042016-netflix-originals-marco-polo-airs-hdr-4k/)
Chinmay Bidkar April 15, 2016

http://techstory.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/netflix-cloud-composite-640x360-600x338.jpg

15 April 2016, USA :
Netflix has confirmed it has begun streaming HDR content, but at the moment only Sony Android 4K TVs are compatible.
Marco Polo is the first Netflix show to be streamed in HDR, with Netflix dropping the Ultra HD 4K labeling on compatible shows in favour of a single HDR badge. It’s claimed that compatible Sony TVs will automatically switch to its default HDR setting when a show is selected, and will switch back when you exit an HDR show.
As with its 4K content, you’ll need to pay extra to access the Netflix HDR shows – it’s £8.99/month to watch 4K HDR content on up to four screens simultaneously. Netflix has also confirmed it will be increasing the price of its full HD subscription to £7.49/month later this month.

Cherry on the cake, Superhit series Daredevil will follow the footsteps and will be shown in HDR, 4K quality as well.

Yann Lafargue, manager of corporate communications at Netflix, said the new HDR content works with compatible TVs and in both Dolby Vision and HDR10.

“As of mid-March, we have been providing both Dolby Vision and HDR10 streams to supported TVs, giving Netflix members and even more visually stunning experience.”

http://techstory.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/netflixmarco-768x432.jpg

Marco Polo is an American drama series inspired by Marco Polo’s early years in the court of Kublai Khan, the Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty. A Netflix original, rife with warfare and political/sexual intrigue, spotlights the years at the Chinese court and the journeys.

Image : Netflix

[GeneChing]

Irish actor Gabriel Byrne set to star in hit Netflix show (http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/irish-actor-gabriel-byrne-set-to-star-in-hit-netflix-show-34739549.html)
Amy Mulvaney 23/05/2016 | 16:520

http://cdn-04.independent.ie/life/article34407644.ece/a7b3c/AUTOCROP/h342/2016-01-31_lif_16425793_I1.JPG
Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel Byrne is set to star as Pope Gregory X in the second season of Marco Polo on Netflix.

The Dublin-born star has played roles as the devil and as a priest, but never before as a Pope.
Expanding his religious know-how even further, Byrne trained for five years to be a Catholic priest.

"I’ve always been kind of fascinated by Papal history, and the Janiston play, the Pope doesn’t come up everyday,” he said of the new role.
“I mean I’ve played the devil, played a priest but you know to play the Pope is an interesting segway. So I was very happy to be part of it. And it’s a huge production, a gigantic crew, so the idea of joining a huge enterprise like this, was interesting.”

The series is based on explorer Marco Polo’s adventures in 13th Century China.
Marco Polo Season 1 is available to watch on Netflix now. Season 2 launches on July 1st.
Online Editors

This ups the cred of the show a notch.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXfgvcJ5T8E

[GeneChing]

Michelle Yeoh flies from 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2' to 'Marco Polo' (http://www.torontosun.com/2016/06/30/michelle-yeoh-flies-from-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-2-to-marco-polo)
BY JIM SLOTEK, POSTMEDIA NETWORK
FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016 11:02 AM EDT | UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016 11:15 AM EDT

http://storage.torontosun.com/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297852197415_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=420x
Malaysia actress Michelle Yeoh poses on the red carpet for the fundraising gala organized by amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) in Hong Kong, Saturday, March 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Michelle Yeoh is calling from Paris about her introduction to the Netflix series Marco Polo, as a mysterious, vengeful martial arts master known simply as The Hand Maiden.

Why Paris? Appropriately enough – given the connection between the two acting jobs – it’s to take a bow for the sequel Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny at the Chinese Film Festival in France.

“It’s a great excuse to be in Paris,” she says. “The weather is good, but the city is on strike. Just for today, thank God.”

The connection? John Fusco, the creator of Marco Polo is also the writer of Sword of Destiny. And he had the entire shoot of the feature film to sell her on joining his TV series.

Fusco was so confident he could land her that he ended Season 1 with a scene involving her character, played by a double. “He was hoping I would play this part but it was not a definite yes.

“When he ended Season 1, where the little emperor was handed over to the Hand Maiden, you never saw her face. So that was a very good set-up.”

I suggest to Yeoh that Marco Polo should be called Kublai Khan, since it’s all about the intrigue in the Mongol court and the unification of China taking place in front of Polo (Lorenzo Richelmy). They named the show after the only non-Asian in it, even though very little of it is about him.

Yeoh laughs at the observation. “It’s true, Marco Polo is just a fly on the wall who’s reporting all these amazing things he’s seeing. But reporting is an important job, as you know,” she says, playfully to her interviewer.

“But of course, it can only be about Kublai Khan. Ben (Benedict Wong who plays Kublai) is such an amazing force.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvK0iUS5bR4

“Marco Polo deserves credit, because if he hadn’t brought all these tales to the West, the West wouldn’t have understood this incredible dynamic leader who managed to break through the Great Wall of China and start a new dynasty.”

The Hand Maiden, however, is on the other side of the fence. After failing in her task to protect the little emperor, she sets out to either retrieve him or exact vengeance on the Mongols. En route, she fights with Polo and discovers he has kung fu skills that could only have been taught to him by her ex-lover, the blind master Hundred Eyes (Tom Wu).

(We never said this was a documentary, folks).

“She has one mission, and then she has another,” Yeoh says of the Hand Maiden. “She suddenly discovered that there was someone else in the Mongolian court, which was Hundred Eyes, the love of her life. Why would he still remain working for Kublai? He shouldn’t be there, he should be helping us and the rebellion.”

It’s a set-up that Fusco apparently has been working towards since the first season. “The greatest fight scene of the series. In his mind, it was me and Hundred Eyes. The action sequences we have together are not just about fighting. It’s very, very deeply emotionally bonded. It’s not about wanting to take the life of the other person, but to subdue the other person and bring them back to the truth, which is more powerful.”

So Yeoh went from one martial arts role to another. In Sword of Destiny, she was working with legendary director and fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, with whom she has worked since the early ‘90s in Hong Kong action films.

“Working with Master Yuen is something I’ve been doing on and off for 20 or 30 years, so we have a rhythm,” the ballet-trained Yeoh says. “But every time you have to adjust to a new dance partner who’ll bring you a spring in your step and joy.

“When you’re working with somebody new like Brett (Marco Polo stunt coordinator Brett Chan) and his team, you discover a whole new sensuality, which is a lot of fun.

“And Tom, who plays Hundred Eyes, is just brilliant to spar with and fight with.”

Yeoh, a sometime Bond girl and one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World, admits her action career has not been a typical actress’s journey.

“When I first started out, I don’t think anybody (in Hollywood), thought a woman should be doing things I was doing,” she says. “But the history of Chinese filmmaking, they’ve always had the woman warrior.

“But I think in Hollywood you have stronger women roles now, and they’re getting more physical – like Charlize Theron in Mad Max.”

Season 2 of Marco Polo hits Netflix on July 1.

Twitter: @jimslotek
JSlotek@postmedia.com

I can hardly wait to binge MP Season 2. :cool:

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxfGUpsSJJY&list=PLvahqwMqN4M00DwMWL7RFgWI-0hNgHj7C

[GeneChing]

I was away last week on a Zen retreat. No TV, no cell, no eyes, no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind...a no Netflix. :)


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Beauty And Brains: Actress Olivia Cheng Is As “Kick-Ass” As Her Netflix Marco Polo Alter Ego, Mei Lin (http://mashumashu.com/netflix-marco-polo-olivia-cheng/)
by Laura Goldstein - July 1, 2016

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Canadian actress, Olivia Cheng stars in “Marco Polo”. Photo: Red Management Inc

Wearing only a diaphanous silk robe, her provocative foreplay is conveyed through a graceful, mesmerizing dance; a spider spinning her web. Her prey – three leering soldiers, sent by her corrupt brother Chancellor Jia Sidao to attack her, are hypnotized by her sexual innuendo. And that’s when Mei Lin, favourite Imperial concubine, drops her robe and strikes. Throwing a large dagger disguised as a hairpin into the throat of one, she cartwheels into martial-arts mode, a whirling Dervish, spearing the second soldier, then, brandishing his sword, beheads the third.

She’s one tough cookie!

“That’s what I love about playing Mei Lin,” laughs the charming, down-to-earth Vancouver actress, Olivia Cheng, who is one of the stars of Netflix’s $90 million dollar epic TV series, Marco Polo, written by John Fusco and produced by The Weinstein Company.

The 2nd Season of Marco Polo premieres July 1st, 2016 on Netflix.

“She’s such a great kick-ass character. She’s so fierce, so smart and tenacious and has so much inner strength. Her love for her daughter drives everything. That’s what drew me to the role in the first place,” Cheng confides.

Wielding only a fork to eat a salad at Homer St. Café and Bar, one of her favourite downtown Vancouver eateries, Cheng, 36, is articulate and spontaneous, skills garnered, no doubt from conducting interviews herself as a correspondent for ET Canada. Now that the proverbial shoe is on the other foot, she expounds on the grueling training at Pinewood Malaysia Studios, where the 13th century Chinese court of Kublai Kahn was re-created with lavish and authentic detail.

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In “Marco Polo’s” Olivia Cheng plays the royal concubine, Mai Lin. The training for her role took place in Malaysia was grueling “We were all individually trained for two months by amazing stunt teams because all of us had to learn different fighting styles,” says Cheng. Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix.

“Believe me, no amount of jogging along the seawall could prepare me for the intensity of our training!” she jokes. “We were all individually trained for two months by amazing stunt teams because all of us had to learn different fighting styles. On one hand it was like going to a really cool summer camp in an outdoor dojo because they had to acclimatize us to the incredible heat. Everything from strength conditioning, wushu marshal arts, high-wire work, sword training (we practiced with wood sticks, she grins,) tai chi, and then stunt choreography. And I’m really proud to say that I did all my own stunts! Then we started filming for six months, 10 hours a day. It was just crazy.”

Born in Edmonton to Cantonese-speaking immigrants, Cheng’s natural spunk, curiosity and determination found a perfect outlet in acting classes and gymnastics at age six and later in commercials. Her parents encouraged her to pursue commerce at the University of Alberta but she just wasn’t happy there and switched to NAIT’s Radio and Television Arts. After graduating she went on to a successful media career as videographer then reporter at Global TV Lethbridge . “I was even considering becoming a war correspondent,” she admits. That’s when serendipity turned the tide and she was asked to open-audition for an AMC mini-series, starring and executive produced by veteran actor, Robert Duvall. Five young Chinese actresses were cast (ironically playing prostitutes sold into slavery in San Francisco.) Out of 100 auditioning, Duval cast her in Broken Trail and it went on to win four Primetime Emmy Awards. That really ignited the acting bug for Cheng and she moved to Vancouver, playing roles in USA’s Psych, Fox’s Fringe, CTV’s Flashpoint, The CW’s Arrow and Supernatural and CBC’s Arctic Air.

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Behind the scenes with Olivia Cheng in “Marco Polo”. The Netflix series was shot on location in Malaysia and Italy. Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix

Marco Polo is set in 13th century China in the court of the Song Dynasty’s Kublai Kahn. Mei Lin is forced into spying as a double agent by her conniving brother, who holds Mei Lin’s young daughter hostage. A much deadlier precursor of the 19th century’s Mata Hari, Cheng’s character was actually based on a real but unheralded concubine who helped her ruthless brother rise to power. His incompetence led to the Dynasty’s downfall.

“I did a lot of research – I read about the history and the conflict between the dynasties, watched documentaries, read about the sex trade and I learned so much about my own culture. I certainly knew about the concubine in Chinese history – both celebrated like rock stars and reviled at the time. But to read about thousands of Chinese women who were shuffled into this systemized institution of prostitution and objectified, with no legal rights and were traded like chattel, used like bargaining chips in wars, was an eye-opener.”

“But let’s face it,” Cheng admits laughing, “Netflix Marco Polo is so intriguing because what holds it together are the really authentic relationships between family members – that’s as topical today as then – everyone has a dysfunctional family in some respects!”

GETTING PERSONAL WITH OLIVIA CHENG:

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Royal concubine-warrier, Olivia Cheng stars in “Marco Polo”. Photo Phil Bray/Netflix

I Read That As A Kid, You Wanted To Be A Marvel Comics Super Hero! The Character Of Mei Lin Seems To Get Pretty Close To That Wish

Oh that’s so funny! Yes, I loved the strength and magical powers of all those super heroes who were mostly guys. As Mei Lin I got to fly around using high wires for some of my martial arts scenes so that was pretty close. Actually, for one really big scene when I confront the Imperial Family, I swung my sword and shattered a camera by mistake. It will end up in the ‘blooper’ reel!

There Was A Lot Of Controversy Over The Amount Of Nudity In The Series. How Did You Overcome That Especially In Your Pivitol Fight Scene?

Before I said yes to the role, I had a conversation with John Fusco (writer/creator) that I didn’t want to be exploited the way Mei Lin was as a character. Artistically and from reading about the period extensively, I understood that the nudity was to show the dehumanizing situations Mei Lin had to overcome. I was nervous at first but after a while the nudity became a sort of costume in itself.

What Does Netflix’s Marco Polo Epic Mean To You In Terms Of Casting Asians In Great Roles?

The show really pushes boundaries because Hollywood has opened up the genre for English-speaking Asian actors to really dig their teeth into roles that are authentic and complex. So I say – hell yah! If I wasn’t in the show, I’d be counting down the days to watch it!

What Does That Little Tattoo Mean On Your Ankle?

The character is the Mandarin character for beauty combined with my Chinese birth sign, the lamb. Hey, this is my year! I got it done when I was 18 and I’m glad it’s so small so I have no regrets about it now.

TOP PHOTO: Actress, Olivia Cheng in a scene from Netflix’s Marco Polo Season 2. Photo, Phil Bray/Netflix.

[PalmStriker]

As you would expect, I binge watched the entire second season the first evening of the NETFLIX Release! :) Tonight I have started my re-watch. 2nd Season will not disappoint ! Filled with intrigue and suspense at every curve of the road, the story-line further develops where we were left hanging from Season 1 with more than enough of the unsuspected, deep-fried in rice flour spiked with Sichuan peppercorns. Mei Li , Olivia Cheng is sultry, sexy , efficient. * Will not give away any of the plot, Order Out and commence !

[GeneChing]

I guess you like it then. :D I'm only 3 episodes in now. I'm really liking Benedict Wong and Joan Chen in this. I still haven't quite warmed up to Richelmy, but despite having the titular role, he isn't so much the focus so far. The sets, scenery and costumes are gorgeous.


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Michelle Yeoh stars as the Handmaiden in Netflix's "Marco Polo." (Phil Bray/Netflix)

MICHELLE YEOH FIGHTS BACK IN ‘MARCO POLO’ (http://tvshowpatrol.com/interviews/michelle-yeoh-marco-polo-netflix/)
CURT WAGNER JULY 7, 2016
INTERVIEWS

Michelle Yeoh didn’t appear in the first season of Netflix’s Marco Polo, but her character did. Now she’s filling the role creator John Fusco saved for her.

“John was saying to me, ‘I’ve always wanted you to be in my series and I’ve written this role for you,’ ” Yeoh said during a recent phone interview from Paris.

Fusco explained to her that he made sure not to show the face of her future character, called the Handmaiden, in the Season 1 finale in hopes Yeoh would take the role. In the Handmaiden’s only scene, Chinese Chancellor Jia Sidao (Chin Han) commands her to escape with the child emperor as the Mongolian hordes advance on the royal palace.

It’s hard to say no to that kind of “deep persuasion,” the actress said, adding, “I loved what he wanted to do with the character.”

In the new season currently streaming on Netflix, the Handmaiden continues her noble mission to protect the little emperor from Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong). Early in the season she fights Marco Polo (Lorenzo Richelmy) and Mei Lin (Olivia Cheng) with fists, feet and swords.

Those fight scenes have become standard for the Malaysian-born Yeoh, who began her career in Hong Kong action films in the 1990s before Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” made her an international superstar in 2000.

Although she hadn’t starred in a martial arts film since 2010, Yeoh was eager to get back into action movies. Earlier this year, the 53-year-old reprised the role of Yu Shu Lien in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.”

She once again did her own stunts for both Netflix projects, from highly choreographed sword duels to the fabulous wire work that has her flying through the air.

“Oh, I was so happy to come back to it,” she said, adding that she works hard to stay in great shape. “One day when I feel I can’t lift my leg to touch the tip of my nose then maybe that’s the time to sit down. But until then I’m just going to have a good time.”

Yeoh and I discussed her career, including her guest role last year in “Strike Back.” We also talked about the Handmaiden’s mission, her deep connection to Hundred Eyes (Tom Wu) and empathy for Mei Lin. There are some light “Marco Polo” spoilers, so maybe read this after viewing the fourth episode of the new season.

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I was surprised to read in your bio that you’re not a trained martial artist.

Michelle Yeoh: I’m a good actress who managed to mimic them really, really well. [Laughs.] That’s the truth. I did not start off my career as a martial artist. I was a ballerina. I did ballet and contemporary ballet, but it’s one kind of movement that goes into another kind of movement—and looking kind of cool on the big screen. … I never trained for years on end like Jet Li or Jackie [Chan]. I really just transformed my dance skills into more active action looks.

Preparing for your famous fight roles, did you do any training of actual martial arts?

Yes, since I had to do martial arts films and it’s a very specific technique. You have to use certain kinds of weapons that have a certain style that cannot be faked. You just don’t pick up swords and knives and pretend that you can do it. Because of that I have been in training. I’ve learned all different ways [of fighting]. I am like the jack of all trades, master of none. I pretend—unlike Jet Li or Jackie, who have been training since they were four or five.

You make it look absolutely real.

It’s a certain kind of movement along with the dance training. At the end of the day we have two arms and two legs. It’s knowing how to follow movements that make it look like what it is supposed to be. So that’s why I have my own little style which is a little different from Jackie’s or Jet’s and the usual suspects.

Earlier this year you starred in “Sword of Destiny” and now you’re kicking some butt in “Marco Polo.” What persuaded you to get back into martial arts films?

I’ve been given opportunities to explore different characters. I have been not stereotyped into just doing action films. I must say I’m very, very blessed, because otherwise I would be doing only action movies. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had the chance to go back into doing action with “Destiny” and then immediately “Marco Polo.” In between I was doing “Sunshine” and “Memoirs of a Geisha,” so as an actor it’s been fulfilling.

But I love the martial arts. I really do. It was so much fun getting back into it, especially with “Marco Polo 2.” Because that was more action. In “Sword of Destiny” there was action, but it was a movie. That’s one-and-a-half hours versus when you’re doing a TV series, which is 10 episodes. The stretch of the action sequences are much longer, which gives you this amazing period where you are training and you’re hanging out with your stuntmen and with Brett Chan and his whole group, Little Jet. It was joy.

That was how I started in my first action movie. So for the last year it was a lot of fun when I was working on “Marco Polo 2.”

Last summer you did “Strike Back,” your first TV series. Now you’ve done “Marco Polo” …

Now I’ve been bitten by the bug very bad.

Are you ready for more TV?

I am so totally ready. It’s a different kind of lifestyle and it’s really nice because you work on something and it’s like a big family. If you’re lucky you’re working on it not just for a few months; … it could be a few years or three years or four years, which is nice. When you work on a movie chances are you work with that group once or twice if you’re lucky, but never years consecutively. I like that family camaraderie that you have on a TV series.

You often play strong but sort of elegant roles. I was wondering what kind of characters you like to play and what roles do you try to avoid?

I think it’s very easy. The very stereotypical types of roles about what it is to be Chinese I really try to avoid. If you have to make an excuse for a Chinese character to be in a movie it’s a really no-go for me.

I love flawed characters. I think all actors do because then it really challenges you to be who you are not. You don’t want to be walking into a role that is you; you want to be exploring. You want to be able to learn or challenge yourself on every single different level—emotionally, intellectually, etc. And that is the thing that actors always feel a little insecure about, but you thrive on that. Acting is a passion or a career that keeps you on your toes. You’re always continuously learning.
continued next post

[GeneChing]

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Mei Foster (Michelle Yeoh) reveals her true identity of North Korean spy Li-Na in “Strike Back.” (Cinemax)

In “Strike Back” you played the duplicitous spy Li-Na. I thought you were great.

Thank you. That was my first evil role. I kept saying to my director, “I’m not evil.” She has intention, I believe. She’s very passionate about what she is.

That role and even this role as the Handmaiden, people could say you’re the bad guy because you’re working against the “hero” of the story.

For anybody who supports them, they’re the good guys. At the end of the day, if you want to risk your life you have to believe in what you’re doing. It translates into the character that you’re playing. I think unfortunately it reflects in real life as well.

Tell me about the Handmaiden. How did you come to the character and how do you approach her?

I would have loved to have been in Season 1 as well, because I really thought the world needed to see a series about China. You have so many TV series out there. I think this is probably the first serious one about ancient China, the culture and history. And about Kublai Khan, who managed to break through the walls facing Mongolia and set up the Yuan dynasty.

And we see it through a foreigner’s eyes. … Telling history from our own [Chinese] point of view sometimes can be a little bit difficult for others to understand, because you did not grow up in this culture. But here we have an Italian who comes into this whole new world and is able to express to his people—his part of the world—what he was encountering and why these people were doing what they were doing. For me that was completely fascinating. …

She was the one who was going to protect the future of China, the little emperor. That was the biggest mission, which she obviously failed. But with a character like that you don’t fail. And if you have, you need to redeem yourself. That’s what she is trying to do. In the process she discovers [Marco Polo], who is this foreigner who’s able to use martial arts moves that were only privy to our clan. So she had to find out more.

It started her on this big journey where it was not just about the little emperor who was murdered, but who was this mysterious character who would have taught Marco Polo moves that were a secret.

What is her connection to Hundred Eyes?

Oh, the connection is very, very deep. On her journey to redeem herself, she discovers the love of her life, whom she thought was dead. I thought that tragic. That big, controversial fight to draw him back into what she believed was the right thing for him and for her—for the both of them. That was a very tragic swan dance for them. I think the more you realize and you see these two great warriors battling it out and then you realize why they are battling it out it’s very powerful.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxfGUpsSJJY

Your character and Mei Lin have an awesome fight, but then it looks like the Handmaiden and Mei Lin might work together. Is that possible?

She has the biggest connection with Mei Lin because obviously she’s Chinese. She’s Han and she is in the Mongolian court. [The Handmaiden] believes that this girl is not there out of choice. She has her own issues as well, so there is a connection. … She feels she can use Mei Lin to find out more about what is going on within the court.

Mei Lin is in a tough situation, having to do things she’d rather not for Kublai Khan. Does the Handmaiden sympathize?

Mei Lin is a very, very tragic character. The poor thing; everybody has her as their hostage. Everyone. Because of [her concern for] the well-being of her daughter, she’s at the mercy of Chabi, of Khan, of Ahmad. She has no choice but to be torn in all these different directions.

I think for Mei Lin it was almost like a life buoy that the Handmaiden has come. Maybe she is able to help her run away, help her to face her fears and do what she needs to do with the comfort of knowing that her daughter is going to be OK. Right now she’s just lost, the poor thing. She has no choice.

At this point in your career, what do you look for in a project? Are you going to be fighting until you can’t kick your leg up in the air anymore?

[Laughs.] I think you just hit it on the button. I always said I would just do it until I don’t find the joy in doing it anymore. That’s where I’m very, very lucky. I’m so thoroughly enjoying it—whether it’s the physical, the mental, all the challenges, the travels and the excitement of being with such smart, creative people.

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Michelle Yeoh stars as the Handmaiden in Netflix’s “Marco Polo.” (Phil Bray/Netflix)

Michelle is still a sword hottie. :cool:

[David Jamieson]

Just a heads up if you haven't noticed yet, but Marco Polo season 2 is out on Netflix and as well there is a separate show about 100 eyes on there as well.

It stands up to the quality of season 1 easily.

Binged watched it last saturday. very satisfied. :)

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao16aarAmM0

[GeneChing]

Still one classy lady. :cool:


Michelle Yeoh on Inspiring Marco Polo Role: 'It's Very Important to Empower Women to Believe They Can Do Things Without Men' (http://www.people.com/article/michelle-yeoh-talks-inspiring-role-marco-polo)

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VCG/GETTY
BY JESSICA FECTEAU @jessfect 07/22/2016 AT 07:00 PM EDT

Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh isn't arm candy any longer.

The 53-year-old, who joined Netflix's Marco Polo's second season this year, has her own leading role and continues to kick butt on screen.

Yeoh tells PEOPLE her role involves a lot of stunts, which she "loves every moment of."

"In the past, the action sequences that we do, we work very closely with the stunt people," she says. "It was fabulous because I had some amazing stunt people from China, of course, and all the Mongolian stunt people, from Germany, from Kazakhstan. It was fascinating to be part of the group and working so closely with them."

While working with the crew was fun, Yeoh says the best part was the adrenaline rush that came from performing stunts on camera.

"You get to do that only in the movies or only when you're doing something crazy like this," she says. "In real life I'm not going to walk around trying to beat up five to seven guys. It was so cool because my godchildren wrote to me and said, 'You beat up Marco Polo! That's so cool!' "

For Yeoh, kicking butt – for real or not – doesn't come without staying in great shape.

The actress says that even when she isn't filming, she maintains a consistent workout routine.

"Doing martial arts, kung fu, learning tai chi ... it's like your hygiene," she says. "You don't wake up and not do it. I go through the whole process. It's part of my well being, exercising and being in shape, so when I jump on to something like Marco Polo to where it's very physical, it's not so difficult because I've been riding the bicycle. It's just learning new routines, learning new movements. It's not hard. In fact, it's very enjoyable."

Embracing the role has also been a source of empowerment for her to inspire women around the world that females are not the weaker sex.

"I think it's very important to empower women to believe that they can do things without men," she says. "For me, personally, it is a message. It is a mission that I would like especially the young girls to be able to see and to feel that nothing should hold them back."

The actress says the Marco Polo series has quite a few women characters who demonstrate this strength.

"Some of them are very flawed but at the end of the day they fight. They truly fight for what they believe," she says. "For love, for family, for country. For me to be part of that message is ... I think it's a necessity. We are so blessed we can choose the kind of roles and the messages we can impart to our audiences. I prefer to take on roles that are much more challenging on this kind of level."

Yeoh says she has also developed new fans since starring in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Reign of Assassins.

"I believe when I first started out it was always the girls who came up to me and said, 'Yes! It's about time women kick ass and do all these kind of things!' But today I get a lot of the feedback from the men as well," she admits. "That is very important because the empowerment of women don't just come from the women themselves, but from our other halves. From the men. They have to believe with us."

The empowerment of women is not only shown on Marco Polo but also growing in more recent Bond films, Yeoh adds.

"The girls are getting prettier and sexier and really, really, stronger," she says. "In the old days they were more these sex idols rather than a strong, feminine role. Now you see even with the partners, the other girls that he partners up with, are not just there for the candy on his arm. They have a very strong, powerful physical role … not just in bed."

The iconic film series has had to change with the times of society.

"To get it right, that takes a lot of effort, understanding of how Bond has to evolve as well – how our society has changed," Yeoh says. "They want the audience to be girls as much as the guys. I remember in the old days it was always the guys that said, 'Oh, let's go watch a Bond movie.' Now the girls are like 'No! We think it's pretty cool, too!' I think that's very important."

Marco Polo season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

[GeneChing]

$200 million loss. Bummer. :(


DECEMBER 12, 2016 6:00pm PT by Lesley Goldberg
'Marco Polo' Canceled at Netflix After Two Seasons (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/marco-polo-canceled-at-netflix-two-seasons-955561)

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Netflix
'Marco Polo'

The drama from The Weinstein Co. joins a short list of series dropped by the streaming giant.
Netflix's Marco Polo has reached the end of its road.

The streaming giant has opted to cancel the scripted drama after two seasons, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. It becomes the first Netflix original scripted series to not be renewed for a third season.

Originally developed with a straight-to-series order at Starz back in 2012, Marco Polo debuted to dismal reviews — THR chief TV critic Tim Goodman called it "a middling mess, complete with random accents, slow story and kung fu" — and little buzz.

The drama, produced by The Weinstein Co., featured a global cast that included Lorenzo Richelmy in the title role with Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. The second season launched quietly July 1, with options on the cast set to expire at year's end. Sources tell THR that the series, across both seasons, was responsible for a $200 million loss to the streaming giant. Sources say the decision to not move forward with a third season of Marco Polo was a joint one between Netflix and TWC.

"We want to thank and are grateful to our partners on Marco Polo from the actors, whose performances were enthralling and top-notch; to the committed producers, including John Fusco, Dan Minahan, Patrick Macmanus, and their crew, who poured their hearts into the series; and of course Harvey [Weinstein], David [Glasser] and our friends at TWC, who were great collaborators from start to finish," Netflix vp original content Cindy Holland said Monday in a statement.

Added Weinstein Co. co-chairman Weinstein, who with showrunner Fusco suggested they would soon be reteaming for another similarly themed drama in the works: "Netflix has been incredible to give us the room to make a series with a cast true to every principle of diversity. It’s a bold network that allows you to do that and support us in the way that Netflix did. As many people know, Asian history and the world of martial arts have fascinated me for all of my career — I’ve made many movies around these topics and this genre, and now this TV show I’m so proud of. John has been a great partner and we're both fascinated to continue exploring this exciting period in history on future projects together."

Noted Fusco: "Harvey and I have a love for this kind of history — we had a fantastic cast, fantastic creative team and crew, and shooting in Malaysia was a privilege. We're working on an idea right now in a similar space that we're very excited about."

The news comes months after Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos told THR in a roundtable discussion with other executives that Marco Polo had done "what it was supposed to do." "Marco Polo is one of those shows for us [where viewership doesn't matter to international audiences]," he said. "It's hugely popular all throughout Asia and Europe, and there's a lot of focus on if your neighbors might be watching it. And it's really irrelevant because it's doing what it's supposed to do."

Marco Polo joins a short list of series that have been canceled at the streaming giant that also includes Bloodline, which will end with its upcoming third season, as well as Hemlock Grove, which also wrapped after three seasons.

Other shows awaiting word on their future at Netflix include The Get Down, which still needs to air the second half of its freshman season, Easy and Between.

For The Weinstein Co., Marco Polo marks a far cry of where the independent studio is with its television arm right now. The studio has focused more recently on high-level projects from big-name directors including Amazon's David O. Russell drama starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore as well as Matthew Weiner's follow-up to Mad Men. Both projects were picked up straight to series.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I actually liked the series, though the second season suffered a bit with being far to "windy" ( too much talking).
Historical pieces tend to have a selective audience and must either be addressed to them OR, like Spartacus, go on the sex and gore train.

[GeneChing]

...but $200M is $200M. So cancelled. :(


Netflix's original shows are crushing Amazon and Hulu in demand (https://www.yahoo.com/news/netflixs-original-shows-crushing-amazon-155531236.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma)
Business Insider
Gus Lubin
Business InsiderDecember 27, 2016

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ZQl1wSvIjNsAm1E1gWPI0g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NjUwO2g9MzI1/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/US_AFTP_SILICONALLEY_H_LIVE/Netflixs_original_shows_are_crushing-c4fdab63890baf49e0d4a06d12f536b9
Stranger Things

("Stranger Things" was Q3's hottest digital original by far.Netflix)
Netflix has around 10 original shows that beat the demand for anything put out by Amazon, Hulu, and other digital competitors, according to a new report.

Parrot Analytics, a company that estimates online demand for shows by tracking social chatter, file sharing, and (where available) streaming data, found that Netflix’s "Stranger Things" was by far the hottest digital original in the US in Q3.

The next ten shows also belonged to Netflix: "Orange Is the New Black," "The Get Down," "Narcos," "Marco Polo," "House of Cards," "Fuller House," "BoJack Horseman," "Marvel’s Jessica Jones," "Bloodline," and "Marvel’s Daredevil." Amazon original "The Man in the High Castle" snuck into 12th place, followed by Hulu’s "11.22.63."

Netflix also crushed it in other markets measured by Parrot. So did "Stranger Things," owning the top slot everywhere except for some reason in Russia, where "BoJack" was extremely popular.

Netflix's apparent dominance follows the company’s heavy investment in original content and stated goal of having that content account for 50% of its catalog.

Parrot is one of a few firms trying to gauge digital viewership, which streaming companies tend not to share publicly.

Here are the top 30 digital originals for the US in Q3:

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Wpnw4byDUfjiV0rPFyPH7g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NjUwO2g9Njgx/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/US_AFTP_SILICONALLEY_H_LIVE/Netflixs_original_shows_are_crushing-584413adaaecf39a865e493548523406
parrot originals
(parrotanalytics.com)

It’s worth noting that syndicated shows are still hotter than digital originals. In Parrot’s November ranking of global demand for all shows, AMC’s "The Walking Dead" took first place, followed by HBO’s "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld." Netflix didn’t appear on the list until 24th place with "Black Mirror."


#11 DareDevil (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?19985-DareDevil)
#14 Sense8 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68638-Sense8)

[GeneChing]

And one was even a cover story (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191). :o


7 Netflix Shows Cancelled For Ridiculous Reasons (And 8 That Are Next) (http://www.therichest.com/world-entertainment/7-netflix-shows-cancelled-for-ridiculous-reasons-and-8-that-are-next/?utm_source=TR-FB-B&utm_medium=Facebook-Distribution&utm_campaign=TR-FB-B&view=list)
James Scrawler 06.19.17 Entertainment

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-18-at-2.31.53-PM-e1497810759625.png?q=50&w=780&h=410&fit=crop

There was a long stretch of time when Netflix was the greener pastures of television productions. Really, it still is, but things are a changing. For a while, no shows got cancelled. These days, it’s still rare that a show gets cancelled once they’ve been started on the streaming platform. But, we should expect more soon. According to Netflix’s CEO, Reid Hastings, the platform’s cancel rate is too low. This statement has several meanings. For one, he believes that the cancel rate is bound to increase, which will force them to cancel more shows. He also wants his team to take more chances with the material that gets green-lit. Yes, the other side of that coin means more failures and more cancelled shows, but it also means bigger successes.

Lately, we’ve seen some Netflix shows go down. This is a new turn for the company, but we should start to get used to it. At this point, seven shows have gone down. We wanted to explore the reasons why these seven shows in particular got the axe. There are also some shows that haven’t been renewed that we’ll discuss. Lastly, we want to look at which shows are next in line for cancellation. We know the axe is going to fall again and probably soon. We listed the six shows that we’re sure are next. Sure, we could be wrong on these predictions, but we’d be surprised if any of these shows last for their entire runs. If you’re a fan of one of the shows on this list, any reasons for it being cancelled would sound ridiculous. Depending on your perspective, the reasons for cancellation may be ridiculous. Or, the reason the show was cancelled was because it was ridiculous. Here are 7 Netflix Shows Cancelled for Ridiculous Reasons and 8 Others That Are Next.

15. Marco Polo – Cancelled

http://static0.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/marco-polo-e1497667006851.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=552&fit=crop

After a first season that was plagued with poor reviews, Marco Polo had a very steep uphill climb to try and make it work on Netflix. When the show was greenlit, everyone expected big things. Harvey Weinstein, one of the producers, bragged that the show would be “one of the most expensive shows ever done for pay TV.” It was. The budget was incredible. Yet, after spending at least $180 million over two years and shooting all over the world, Marco Polo was struck down after two disappointing seasons. Actually, most who stuck around for season two were more pleased, but the show had lost too many viewers by that point. Truthfully, the show was just boring. The most successful shows in the historical drama realm are successful because they infuse a strong and powerful narrative into a historical setting. Marco Polo seemed intent on focusing on history and forgot about story and character. The result was one of the most dreadful efforts put forth by Netflix.

...

10. Sense8 – Cancelled

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/sense8feat.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=562&fit=crop

Since we don’t get to see a detailed report of Netflix’s viewership numbers, we can never be sure about who watches what. By the loud outcry of fans that voiced their displeasure with the recent cancelling of Sense8, it would seem that there are plenty of viewers, but that’s not what Netflix makes it sound like. Call it ridiculous all you like, but the real reason that Sense8 was cancelled is because it was a niche show with an enormous cost. It’s been reported that it cost $9 million per episode to make. That’s insane. Plus, if you’ve ever seen Sense8, you would know that the first season dangerously borders on being incomprehensible and mind-numbingly boring. While this show is one that would really benefit from multiple seasons, it lost far too many viewers between the start of the first season and the second season to be ever be considered worth the exorbitant price tag. Just to be clear, we’re not saying that the show’s cancellation is ridiculous. We’re saying the reason it was cancelled—the cost—was ridiculous.

9. The Get Down – Cancelled

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/the_get_down_casting_shot-1.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=563&fit=crop

Much like Sense8, Baz Luhrmann‘s The Get Down was axed because it had a ridiculous budget. Estimated at around $12 million per episode, the shooting budget for this show is something usually set aside for major shows with incredible special effects. The budget for Game of Thrones season six, for example, was roughly $10 million per episode. The Get Down was a musical drama. Sure, it was incredibly stylish and vibrant, and, at times, it’s almost brilliant. But again, like Sense8, it’s a mess. It’s narrative bounds all over the place, and, even aided by binge-watching, this is troubling for audiences. There’s no doubt that if the production costs were a fraction of what they were in reality, this show would find a suitable audience and thrive. At the ridiculous price tag of $12 million an episode, this show would need to be one of the most popular on television to make it worthwhile for any business.

...

6. Iron Fist – Prediction: Cancelled After Second Season

http://static2.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1200-6.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=562&fit=crop

It would shock us greatly if Iron Fist was actually cancelled outright. That would require a lot of effort from Netflix, so we’re going to suggest something else. While the other shows in the Defenders series will likely get several independent seasons, we think that Iron Fist will only get two. Even now, the second season for Iron Fist hasn’t been greenlit, but we’re certain the announcement will come soon. The show will get a second season. It will be better than the first, which will be easy considering that the first was one of the worst seasons in Netflix history. But, it won’t be enough to make a third season make sense. There’s just too many good shows on television, Netflix included, for people to waste time watching bad shows too.


Marco Polo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62877-Marco-Polo-Netflix-Original-Series)
The Get Down (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69690-The-Get-Down)
Sense8 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68638-Sense8)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

[Vash]

I loved Marco Polo.

I demand a show with Tom Wu just running around and ruining peoples ****.

And Benedict Wong is always there to give him hell.

[GeneChing]

Former 'Marco Polo' Producer Hits Harvey Weinstein, TWC With $10M Sexual Harassment Suit (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marco-polo-producer-hits-harvey-weinstein-twc-10m-sexual-harassment-suit-1069855)
7:45 PM PST 12/20/2017 by Patrick Shanley

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/11/harvey_weinstein.jpg
Getty Images

The suit, filed on Wednesday, cites "sexual harassment," "battery" and "assault," among other violations by the disgraced former mogul.
Harvey Weinstein and his former production company, The Weinstein Co., have been hit with an sexual harassment suit worth $10 million by Alexandra Canosa, a former associate producer on the Netflix show Marco Polo.

The suit, filed on Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, cites "sexual harassment," "battery" and "assault," among other violations by the disgraced former mogul.

"The foregoing events and actions of Harvey Weinstein took place in conjunction with Plaintiff's employment, in various capacities, for Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company. Over the course of his misconduct, up to September 2017, Harvey Weinstein threatened Plaintiff and made it clear that if she did not succumb to his demands or if she exposed his unwanted conduct there would be retaliation, including humiliation, the loss of her job and any ability to work in the entertainment business," the suit reads.

It goes on to further address TWC's complacency with Weinstein's actions: "The Weinstein Company and the members of its Board of Directors, knew or should have known about Harvey Weinstein's conduct, and did not act to correct or curtail such activity. Instead, The Weinstein Company facilitated, hid, and supported his unlawful conduct. Harvey Weinstein acted as an executive, agent, management employee and officer of The Weinstein Company. As a result of the foregoing unlawful conduct, Plaintiff incurred substantial physical injury, pain, suffering, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress."

Weinstein is currently facing several other lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and from various productions that were shut down following the revelation of allegations against him.

My only experience of Weinstein was chatting with John Fusco when Marco Polo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62877-Marco-Polo-Netflix-Original-Series) was in development. John told me about how he got a call from Weinstein and made some comment to the effect that when Harvey calls, you answer. That conversation stuck out in my mind because John conveyed how much power Weinstein had in the industry. Of course, this was long before the Hollywood Open Secret (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70520-An-Open-Secret-Hollywood-Please-Watch) exposed him.