Chinese Zodiac: Armour of God 3

[GeneChing]

With Wanda/AMC distributing more Chinese films in the U.S., this has tremendous potential.
Chinese Zodiac - NEW Teaser Trailer Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan to kick off 101st flick
Updated: 2012-09-06 10:17

Jackie Chan's 101st film, Chinese Zodiac, recently released its first trailer in Beijing.

In the one-minute video, Chan wears a roller-blader's suit in a chase scene that takes place on zigzagging mountain roads, while leading a team on a treasure hunt.

The film features intense action, most of which is undertaken by the 58-year-old Chan, who promises the story is as hilarious as his previous works.

Known for his devotion to finding new actors, Chan brings two young actresses - Yao Xingtong and Zhang Lanxin - to public attention. They play two members of Chan's team, who respectively specialize in history and kung fu.

The film will premiere in China on Dec 12.

[GeneChing]

Jackie Chan Props Donated to Summer Palace
2012-10-31 22:58:04 Xinhua Web Editor: Wang Wei

Actor Jackie Chan has donated replicas of 12 fountainheads stolen from the Old Summer Palace during the 19th century to the attraction, and urged the return of all of the genuine articles.

The model heads of Chinese Zodiac animals were used as props in Chan's latest film, "Chinese Zodiac," which will debut in the Chinese mainland on Dec. 20.

Chan said the film, depicting the protagonist's efforts to repatriate the 12 animal heads to China, aims to tell people to respect cultural heritage and urge the real-life repatriation of these antiquities to their original owner.

"These cultural relics are the common property of human beings, and nobody should steal and loot these treasures for selfish desires," he said at a ceremony held on Tuesday.

The 12 bronze Zodiac statues were part of what is known as the Water Clock at Haiyantang in the Old Summer Palace, or Yuan Ming Yuan, the then imperial garden in the 19th century.

They represent 12 symbolic animals associated with the 12-year cycle of the Chinese lunar calendar. They were lost during the Second Opium War (1856-1860), when invading British and French troops looted artifacts and then destroyed the great garden.

Five of the 12 genuine Zodiac statues have been returned to China.

Where are the other seven? UK & France?

[Scott R. Brown]

Where are the other seven? UK & France?

Yeah! Who are we supposed to be mad at?

[SimonM]

Queen Victoria.

[Scott R. Brown]

Queen Victoria.

Yeah, Vicky sure could be a tyrant!

[GeneChing]

Let's keep our ears peeled for news on a U.S. release...

Jackie Chan heads to Singapore for "Chinese Zodiac 2012"
Posted: 15 November 2012 1407 hrs


Jackie Chan says "CZ12" will be his "last major action movie".


SINGAPORE: Action superstar Jackie Chan will head to Singapore on December 18 to promote his blockbuster film "CZ12", also known as "Chinese Zodiac 2012".

The 58-year-old film veteran will be attending a number of promotional activities during his Singapore stopover, which is part of his two-week, Asia-wide promotional tour for "CZ12".

"CZ12", which opens in Singapore and across Asia on December 20, sees Chan play Asian Hawk, a treasure hunter who travels the globe in search of a set of priceless Chinese sculptures.

Chan, who wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film, had previously described "CZ12" as his "last major action movie".

Eight years in the making, "CZ12" cost US$50 million (S$61.1 million) to shoot, and also stars Kwon Sang Woo, Yao Xingtong as well as Laura Weissbecker.

[doug maverick]

it probably will. the cast is international and well..its jackie!! no well go release for this film..its going to probably get a wider release.

[GeneChing]

But I've yet to see a listing on comingsoon.net or IMDB for a U.S. release.

Jackie Chan: upcoming film will be last big action movie
November 19, 2012|By Reuters Television | Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - Kung Fu superstar Jackie Chan said that while the upcoming film "Chinese Zodiac 2012" will be his last major action movie, citing his increasing age, he will still be packing punches in the world of philanthropy.

Chan wrote, directed and produced his latest film, set to premiere in cinemas in China next month. He also plays the lead role and said that he regarded it the "best film for myself" in the last ten years.

"I'm the director, I'm the writer, I'm the producer, I'm the action director, almost everything," the 58-year-old Hong Kong actor told Reuters while in Beijing to film a documentary.

"This really, really is my baby. You know, I've been writing the script for seven years," and the film took a year and half to make, he added.

In the film, Chan is a treasure hunter seeking to repatriate sculpture heads of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which were taken from Beijing's Summer Palace by French and British forces during the Opium Wars.

He said it was an important movie for him because it will be his last major action feature, although he insisted it is not the end of his action career.

"I'm not young any more, honestly," he said, noting that with special effects technology and doubles a lot can be done without physical risk.

"Why (do) I have to use my own life to still do these kind of things?" he said. "I will still do as much as I can. But I just don't want to risk my life to sit in a wheelchair, that's all."

Chan was recently awarded the Social Philanthropist of the Year award by Harpers Bazaar magazine. He said he wanted to increase time devoted to charitable work and hoped China's leagues of newly wealthy will follow his example - which he underlined by auctioning a Bentley 666 for around 6 million yuan ($961,837).

China now has more billionaires than any other Asian country, but very few philanthropic organizations, and giving to charity remains a relatively new phenomenon in the world's most populous country.

Chan said while Chinese philanthropists have made some encouraging strides, much more still needs to be done - a task made harder by the Internet, with netizens willing to leap on every perceived wrong move.

"Right now people (must) very, very be careful, but that doesn't stop them to want to do the charity. I think it's a good sign," Chan said.

(Editing by Elaine Lies and Christine Kearney)

[GeneChing]

That's not the U.S. release. When is the U.S. release?

Jackie Chan Glides Over A Volcano In Latest CHINESE ZODIAC Poster
Al Young

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Jackie Chan!?

The promotional train continues to chug away with the latest Chinese Zodiac poster that pits the flying action star against an erupting volcano.This looks like a major stunt sequence for the climax of the film. If the artwork is any indication, it seems Chan will make good on his promise to deliver an awe-inspiring swan song with a bang.

It will be released on December 20th in IMAX theaters.

[GeneChing]

...a really nice watch.

12/11/2012 @ 5:21AM
Jackie Chan, Kwon Sang-Woo and Urwerk Star in Chinese Zodiac


Good guys: Kwon Sang-Woo (wearing Urwerk) plays Simon, partner to Jackie Chan’s Asian Hawk

Tomorrow, Jackie Chan’s final action movie will open in China on 12/12/12. This auspicious date also sees the big-screen premier of boutique watch brand Urwerk on the wrist of the movie’s heroes. A sexy combination: both Chan and Korean actor Kwon Sang-Woo are wearing the UR-202 AlTiN in the Chan-directed blockbuster, which is a sequel to 1986’s Armor of God and 1991’s Armor of God II: Operation Condor.

Chan, known as much for his humor as his exquisitely choreographed fight scenes punctuated by dangerous stunts that have often caused him broken bones and more, contacted Urwerk out of the blue, according to the watch company’s spokesperson Yacine Sar. “It’s a nice story,” she relates. “Last year we received a phone call from our Hong Kong agent saying that Jackie Chan was preparing a new movie and wanted to wear an Urwerk in it. We were surprised, but of course we said yes to his request.”


Urwerk’s UR-202 AlTiN

Fifty-eight-year-old Chan, who reprises his role as adventurer and treasure hunter Asian Hawk in this film, also wears an Urwerk as one of the heroes. His character seeks to repatriate twelve bronze head artifacts representing the animals of the Chinese zodiac that were looted from the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War.

Urwerk lent Chan’s production four examples of the UR-202, which retails for $165,000. “Chan wanted all the ‘heroes’ in his movie to wear an Urwerk,” Sar relates.

The UR-202 AlTiN, released in 2008, features the brand’s futuristic, patented style of satellite time displays with “telescopic” extending and retracting minute hands that extend from the middle of three orbiting, revolving hour satellites is a head-turner. Additionally, the stainless steel case is coated with a technical titanium-based aluminum nitride alloy called AlTiN that lends it a coloring all its own and also makes it extra-resistant to scratching, shocks, oxidation and even acids.


The titanium case back of the UR-202 AlTiN displays the twin turbines

The watch’s Caliber UR 7.02 combines automatic winding with the world’s first twin turbine regulation and an innovative winding system regulated by compressed air – thus regulating the watch’s rate (how accurate it is) by use of fluid dynamics. Surprisingly, in the eighteenth century, horologists were already using air friction to regulate the speed of minute repeaters.

Taking this traditional idea of using air friction and refining it to control the speed of automatic winding, Urwerk has replaced the traditional rotating mechanisms of the past with miniature twin turbines that can be seen spinning on the back of the watch and are connected to the rotor. A selector lever varies three principal positions depending on the wearer’s daily kinetic habits: normal activity (turbines spinning freely); vigorous activity (the turbines reduce the winding rate by approximately 35%); and extreme activity (turbines and rotor fully blocked).

Chan has been known in watch circles for some time as a connoisseur and collector. Until now, he has been widely associated with luxury watchmaker Richard Mille, with whom he has created two watches for charity purposes. Sar confirms that the Geneva-based boutique brand “did not pay a cent” for the movie placement, leading one to believe that Chan’s interest in these charismatic mechanical timepieces is authentic.

Chinese Zodiac is scheduled for release in Korea next month, with the rest of the world following after that. Urwerk’s name and logo will appear in the credits.

[GeneChing]

Not quite as newsworthy as 48 fps.

Beijing—Dec 11, 2012
Dolby Atmos Adds New Dimension to Jackie Chan’s CZ12
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSELB) today announced that Jackie Chan’s latest action film, CZ12 (Release date: December 20, 2012), will be mixed and released in Dolby® Atmos™, the new audio platform that revolutionizes the experience of sound in entertainment.

“I am very excited to adopt Dolby Atmos, the latest innovation in cinema sound, for my 101st film project,” said Jackie Chan, internationally acclaimed actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. “For decades, I’ve been working to perfect every aspect of my movies, from the stunts and action sequences to storytelling and production. Dolby Atmos has proven to be a powerful tool that helps us achieve excellence and bring CZ12 to life with the most lifelike and immersive sound possible.”

CZ12 will be mixed in Dolby Atmos at MBS Studios in Hong Kong by widely acclaimed and multiple award-winning sound designer and sound mixer Kinson Tsang. “There is no doubt that Dolby Atmos has added a new dimension to storytelling, allowing the unparalleled creative control over the placement and movement of sounds,” said Kinson Tsang. “Whether Jackie is in a high-speed car chase on the highway or being pursued through a forest by a swarm of bees, Dolby Atmos allows me to draw the audience right into the action.”

“We are both thrilled and honored that Jackie Chan has selected Dolby Atmos for his latest action thriller, CZ12,” said Mike Chao, Managing Director, Greater China, Dolby Laboratories. “Dolby Atmos offers filmmakers a completely new level of creative freedom in storytelling. It brings a more natural and realistic soundtrack that matches the stunning visual effects today and in the future. In CZ12, Dolby Atmos will transport audiences directly into Jackie Chan’s latest adventure.”

CZ12 is written, directed, and produced by martial-arts veteran Jackie Chan, who also stars in the film as an adventurous treasure hunter traveling around the globe to recover stolen Chinese national treasures. The film is a production of China Hero (Asia) Ltd. Jackie and JJ International Limited is handling the film’s worldwide distribution, including the Taiwan and Singapore markets. Emperor Motion Pictures is handling distribution for the Hong Kong and Macau markets; Huayi Brothers Media Corporation is handling distribution in the Mainland China market.

About CZ12
Megastar Jackie Chan returns triumphantly to the action genre with CZ12, in which he plays a modern-day treasure hunter who is tracking down the missing pieces of the 12 zodiac bronze heads—real-life national treasures stolen from China in the 19th century during an Anglo-French invasion. This spectacular new adventure takes Jackie from the chateaux and vineyards of France and the hidden dangers of a jungle on a South Seas island to the terrors of a fight in free fall above an active volcano. CZ12 will be released in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore theatres on December 20, 2012.

About Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos brings a powerful new listening experience to the cinema with more natural, realistic sound that truly envelops the audience. It is an end-to-end solution that helps mixers, studios, and distributors dramatically improve the audio experience. The Dolby Atmos platform makes it easy for content creators to create immersive soundscapes, and it ensures the best possible audience experience, regardless of theatre configuration or the number of speakers.

Hollywood studios including Disney/Pixar (Brave), Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Animation (Rise of the Guardians), Twentieth Century Fox (Taken 2, Chasing Mavericks, Life of Pi), and Warner Bros. (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) have adopted the Dolby Atmos format, increasing the count of 2012 Dolby Atmos titles to six.

In 2013, three Hollywood studio titles, including Gravity and Pacific Rim from Warner Bros. and Star Trek into Darkness from Paramount Pictures, are already scheduled to receive the Dolby Atmos treatment, with additional studio titles to follow.

International movie productions are currently in the works or will be started in 2013 by movie studios in China, France, Germany, India, Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Acclaimed Singapore director Jack Neo’s Ah Boys to Men and renowned Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s 1942 were recently released in Dolby Atmos. Jackie Chan’s CZ12, celebrated Chinese director Andrew Lau’s The Guillotines, and famous Chinese director Jing Wong’s The Last Tycoon join the growing list of international titles soon to be released.

[GeneChing]

I had high hopes for this (but then I have high hopes for almost every film project). The initial reviews are poor.

CZ12 (2012)
Action, Thriller
124 Min
release date: 12/20/2012

CZ12: Film Review
2:22 PM PST 12/20/2012 by Elizabeth Kerr
The Bottom Line
The alleged final action film from martial arts star Jackie Chan is a hideous ****tail of cynicism, sanctimony and pedestrian filmmaking.

Cast
Jackie Chan, Yao Xingtong, Kwong Sang-woo, Zhang Lanxin, Laura Weissbecker, Oliver Platt


The latest globetrotting romp from martial arts star Jackie Chan.

The latest globetrotting romp by martial arts action star Jackie Chan, opening Dec. 20 in Hong Kong, is the kind of mindless, silly romp the multi-hyphenate has become known for. CZ12 (sometimes Chinese Zodiac) couldn’t be a more inauspicious swan song if he tried, if such rumors are to be believed. As a mercenary tomb raider looking for ancient Chinese sculptures Chan’s age is starting to show; with the exception of one key fight sequence he leaves the heavy lifting to his younger costars and resorts to either greenscreen for his big moments -- or does them from the comfort of a horizontal position. This isn’t what you pay for when lining up for a Chan film.

Clocking in at just over two hours and with a remarkable dearth of the martial acrobatics Chan is known for, there’s little to recommend the film for anyone other than Chan completists. The film is hitting screens in Hong Kong the same week as the superior family fare of Wreck-It Ralph, popular box office nonsense of the last Twilight film, and only days ahead of Les Misérables. It’s going to be an uphill battle for this vehicle, particularly in light of recent comments in the press (“taken out of context” naturally) where Chan whined about Hongkongers being too quick to exert their right to free speech. It hasn’t endeared him to the public and a backlash wouldn’t be at all surprising.

Still, it’s a Jackie Chan movie and his fans around the world are legion. CZ12 is aggressively multi-national and designed for maximum market appeal: the cast hails form South Korea, China, the USA and France, is spoken in four languages and was shot in Paris, Taiwan and the South Pacific among others. Chan is still a brand even if it is a diminished one, and he broadened his reach when he went down the slapstick road with 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx (complete with Canada Post mailboxes visible in the background). The kids in the audience rarely stopped giggling, and so reasonably healthy box office returns should be expected in Asia where slapstick plays well, and the content will make it an enormous hit in China. Overseas the film is going to have to rely on viewer goodwill and brand loyalty. CZ12 should fade to the background of Chan’s oeuvre sooner rather than later.

As the leader of a wily band of Indiana Jones-type archeological thieves, JC (Chan) has made a good living swiping rare antiquities from long abandoned corners of the globe and handing them over to auction houses. When the nefarious president of the MP Corporation (Oliver Platt, slumming it) hires him to find the last of the missing bronze zodiac animal heads from the old Summer Palace in Beijing, he meets the irritating, sanctimonious Coco (Yao Xingtong), a member of an irritating, sanctimonious activist group dedicated to returning national treasures to their rightful owners—which is mostly China. They wind up on an island where a French woman that’s fallen on hard times, Katherine (Laura Weissbecker), claims her grandfather’s ship ran aground coming back from China. Great, more stolen treasure for Coco to get indignant about! After about five minutes of introspection JC finds his soul and decides to steal for the right reasons.

Regardless of what one believes about historical propriety and national rights, CZ12 is not the place to debate them, and after the third lecture on the foreign raiders and auction houses that profit from 19th century pillages, the subject simply becomes exhausting. No matter how valid the argument, it’s cocooned inside some truly awful paint-by-numbers filmmaking with dull characters, wooden acting and at least two moments of dreadful compositing. No one expects Chan to crank out the next Citizen Kane, but we do expect him to meet a standard of fun. This is mostly lazy, with frequent lapses in logic and continuity. A final warehouse confrontation with Lawrence’s henchman Vulture (Alaa Safi) in and around a sofa set and then a horde of thugs is the creative high point, however JC’s right hand Bonnie (Zhang Lanxin) and her opponent (Caitlin Dechelle) is far more interesting. If Chan were half the patriot he claims he is, he’d put his considerable resources as a producer into finding the next Jackie Chan; Jet Li is only slightly younger, leaving Donnie Yen as Hong Kong’s sole marital star. If this does turn out to be Chan’s last picture it’s easy to see why. Not even the closing credit out takes are fun anymore.

Producer Stanley Tong, Barbie Tung, Jackie Chan
Director Jackie Chan
Cast Jackie Chan, Yao Xingtong, Kwong Sang-woo, Zhang Lanxin, Laura Weissbecker, Oliver Platt
Screenwriter Frankie Chan, Edward Tang, Stanley Tong, Jackie Chan
Executive producer Brett Ratner, Wang Zhongjun, Albert Yeung, Jackie Chan
Director of Photography Ng Man-ching, Jackie Chan
Music Roc Chen, Nathan Wang
Costume designer Kitty Chen, Kwok Big Yan
No rating, 124 minutes

[doug maverick]

from jackie chans website...plus us release update.

http://jackiechan.com/news/2935829--...--Heads-for-US

Jackie's latest action thriller, Chinese Zodiac, is scheduled to be released in the US in the spring or summer of 2013. The movie opened to record breaking box office receipts in China, earning USD $7 million on its first day. The film also topped the charts in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Over the past several days, Jackie has continued on his promotional tour for the movie, visiting Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Xi'an.

[Jimbo]

In the review it says that Jet Li is only slightly younger than Jackie. Wrong. There's a nine-year difference between them. And both Jet Li and Donnie Yen were born in 1963. Donnie Yen has simply aged better, screen-wise, than Jet Li.

[GeneChing]

Jackie Chan's 'Chinese Zodiac' to Hit U.S. Screens by Summer 2013
9:26 AM PST 12/22/2012 by Clarence Tsui

The Hong Kong star’s action comedy, which topped opening-day box-office rankings across Asia, is slated for a wide release during the first or second quarter next year.

HONG KONG – Jackie Chan’s Chinese Zodiac will unspool in “a few hundred screens” in the U.S. upon its release in North America in either spring or summer next year, said Ramy Choi, director of distribution and acquisition of the Hong Kong actor’s company, Jackie & JJ International Limited.

The heist caper, revolving around a Chan-led team hunting down Chinese national treasures auctioned off to international speculators, will also be released in Europe at the same time, Choi said.

The film, which also stars Korean actor Kwon Sang-woo and young Chinese actors Zhang Lanxin and Liao Fan as the relic-hunters and Oliver Platt as a villainous tycoon, took its bow in Chinese-speaking territories and also major Southeast Asian markets on Dec. 20.

Choi declined to reveal the identity of the film’s U.S. distributors, with whom she is finalizing details of a deal, but she confirmed partners for other markets include Splendid Film (Germany and Benelux), International Movies Distribution (Russia), Italia Film International SAL (Greece, Cyprus and the Middle East) and IFI Dagitim (Turkey).

Choi said Chinese Zodiac topped box-office listings on mainland China (where the film’s co-producers, Huayi Brothers, are distributing the film) on its opening day with earnings of 43.5 million yuan (US$7 million). She said the film’s first-day gross also topped charts in Singapore (handled by Clover Films and Golden Village), Malaysia (Golden Screen Cinemas) and Thailand (Sahamongkolfilm International).

The one territory which Chinese Zodiac failed to come out on top is Chan’s hometown: in Hong Kong, the film only secured HK$0.5 million (US$64,516), trailing behind both The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two (HK$2.2 million; US$283,870) and Wreck-it-Ralph (HKS1.7 million; US$219,355).

Beaten by Bella & Ralph in HK. Ouch. In contrast, see below...

Chan's Zodiac reclaims BO
By Patrick Frater
Wed, 26 December 2012, 10:48 AM (HKT)
Box Office News

Jackie Chan's Chinese Zodiac (aka CZ12), which features a global hunt for stolen Chinese treasures, ruled the box office in much of Asia in the weekend before Christmas.

Figures for its opening weekend to the end of Sunday 23 Dec show it scoring a massive $37.1 million.

The vast majority of that came from China, where it scored $33.9 million (RMB214 million) according to producer Jackie and JJ International. It also managed to break the record for a single day gross with $6.8 million (RMB43 million) on its opening day, on Thursday.

CZ12's wide opening by Huayi Bros (and the ongoing success of another local Chinese film Lost in Thailand), was enough for 20th Century Fox's Life of Pi to have its run halted. It finished with a huge $90.8 million after five weeks.

In Thailand, CZ12 took $526,000 (THB16.5 million) for distributor Sahamongkolfilm, and was the top new opener, beating local challenger Countdown. But it may be topped by another Thai opener Mrs Ho, which opens next week.

In Malaysia, where distribution is by Golden Screen Cinemas, CZ12 grossed $1.64 million (RM5.16 million) and may be able to hold as the IMAX version becomes available in the coming weeks.

In Singapore, where it is distributed by Clover Films and Golden Village, it managed $1.067 million (S$1.35 million) and was the top film of the week.

The film also opened in Vietnam, where it is handled by Galaxy Studio JSC, scoring $61,900 for the opening day and making it the top film in the charts, ahead of local and Hollywood competition. Full weekend figures were not available.

CZ12 was presented by Jackie and JJ International, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation,
Emperor Film Production, In association with Shanghai Film Group, Beijing Sparkle Roll International Culture Industry, Talent International Film and One House Production Company.