Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

[doug maverick]

read on jets official facebook(that he actually manages himself, and personal thank you to mr. jackie chan for recommending jets official page to me) he said he was finished shooting his scenes for this film. i cant wait to see how it turns out... i just wish that someone would give it a 3D screening here in the us.

[GeneChing]

...wasn't True Legend the first 3D kung fu flick?

Tsui Hark offers service for 3-D filmmaking
CRI, January 25, 2011


Director Tsui Hark (Picture 1: 3rd from left) leads cast members of "The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" in promoting the film in Beijing on Monday, January 24, 2011. [ CFP]

With his new film "The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" ("Long Men Fei Jia"), Chinese director Tsui Hark not only has made the world's first film combining 3-D and martial arts, but also has decided to offer a service that assists other 3-D filmmakers.

Tsui announced the formation of a company named D+ on Monday, January 24, 2011 in Beijing where he and his cast gathered to celebrate the wrap-up of shooting for "Dragon Gate".

D+, which Tsui co-founded with Shanghai Media Group and Bona Film Group, aims to provide service and assistance in 3-D filmmaking.

The company's staff consists of Tsui's 3-D crew which received training from Chuck Comisky, the visual-effects supervisor of James Cameron's "Avatar".

Tsui and his team shot "Dragon Gate" using 3-D cameras, unlike most films that claim to be in 3-D but in fact were converted from 2-D in post-production.

Tsui had searched for 3-D specialists for nearly a year before he started making "Dragon Gate". Prior to the shooting, he took another three months to make a short film to test the 3-D equipment.

Now that filming has wrapped up, Tsui said he would like to share his 3-D filmmaking experience with fellow directors.

"Dragon Gate" is loosely based on "Dragon Inn" ("Xin Long Men Ke Zhan"), a 1992 film classic which follows a Ming Dynasty general's confrontation with a power-hungry eunuch at a deserted inn.

The new film stars Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Kwai Lun-Mei, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun and Mavis Fan. Release is set for this year.

[GeneChing]

So True Legend wasn't 'native made'. Or perhaps it was post production 3D.

3D martial arts flick 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate' releases trailer
Source: Global Times
[20:39 May 24 2011]

Directed by Hark Tsui and starring Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, 3D martial arts film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate released its first 3D trailer at a press conference in Beijing Monday.

Swords is considered the first native-made Chinese 3D film – one in which Jet Li said he was proud to participate. "I thank Tsui for this opportunity – I'm getting old and I know I might not be able to do martial arts for much longer, and it's my first 3D film as well," Li said at the press conference.

"I want the film to have both an action-movie feel as well as impart a sense of the romance and passion of traditional Chinese culture," Tsui said.

According to Yu Dong, CEO of Bona Film Groups, distributor of the film, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is confirmed to hit screens around Christmas this year, the same time as other potential blockbusters Yee Tung-Shing's The Great Magician and Zhang Yimou's Heroes of Nanking.

[Brule]

Action and Romance in a Jet Li film? Ruined it right there for me. Romance and Jet Li is the definition of oxy-moron IMO.

[GeneChing]

More threads will be forthcoming from Tsui Hark...

Bringing a Wealth of Cinematic Knowledge to the Screen in 3-D
By JOYCE HOR-CHUNG LAU
Published: July 11, 2011

HONG KONG — Tsui Hark may be a 61-year-old industry veteran with more than 60 films under his belt, but he still has the heart of a young fan.

Comic books, figurines and action figures crowd Tsui Hark’s Hong Kong office.

Crammed onto his neat office shelves are Godzilla figurines, comic books, action figures, Asian deity statues and books on everything from Stanley Kubrick to Chinese travel.

It was a busy morning at Film Workshop, the production company he shares with his wife and longtime collaborator, Nansun Shi, at the Innocentre, a sleekly modern building dedicated to promoting Hong Kong’s creative industries.

A staff member handed him a sample poster for “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame,” a costume drama that was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last year. Another assistant set down a bowl of candy, which Mr. Tsui ate absentmindedly while he worked.

He had just flown in from the Shanghai International Film Festival, where he was the jury chairman for a festival of “mobile phone films” or super-shorts that run under 8 minutes and can be viewed on a cellphone.

He has also been jetting between Hong Kong and Beijing to finish post-production work on “The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate,” a 3-D action film that was promoted during the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is due for worldwide release at the end of the year. He will be working again with the action star Jet Li, who first gained wide attention through Mr. Tsui’s six-part “Once Upon A Time in China” (1991-1997) epic.

He is at the 10th New York Asian Film Festival, which gave him a lifetime achievement award on Monday.

“No other director combines his technical mastery, his passionate desire to do something new every time he rolls film, and his intellectual curiosity,” said Goran Topalovic, a co-founder of the festival, who added that one of his organization’s first events was a Tsui retrospective in 2001.

The festival highlighted some of his older films, like the original “New Dragon Gate Inn” (1992).

Some news reports have hyped the new “Dragon Gate” (2011) as the world’s first 3-D martial arts film. (That is, unless you count “Kung Fu Panda 2,” and most devotees of the genre do not.) But Mr. Tsui, who is known for drawing heavily on cinematic history, was hesitant to call it a real first.

“There were 3-D films around when I was a kid,” he said. “Remember those red and blue glasses? Of course, it’s very different now. The old one made you feel kind of dizzy. But I’m very careful saying that anything is entirely new.”

Most new generation 3-D films have relied heavily on animation or computer effects, but Mr. Tsui wanted to preserve the live action and outdoor shoots of traditional martial arts epics when they began shooting in Beijing late last year. The delicate new digital cameras struggled to keep up with him. “The sand storms of Northern China blew dust into the rigs and cameras. Also, the low temperatures froze up the batteries and the lubricants inside the machines.” Mr. Tsui said. “At one point, we had to wrap the cameras in layers of cloth.”

Particular attention was paid to the fight scenes. “If the action is too fast, it can look flattened on the screen,” Mr. Tsui explained. “With 3-D, it’s even more important that the action is seen moving through a particular depth and space.”

Mr. Tsui said that he did not want the technology to overwhelm or dictate the choreography.

“People say, ‘Hey — 3-D! Let’s make the guy punch toward the screen! And it’s such a cliché, kind of like the Chinese warrior girl spinning her long hair in slow-motion,” Mr. Tsui added. “Of course, we’ll still have some of that, but we will also be playing with new moves, taking advantage of how someone moves through a particular 3-D space. We don’t want it to be predictable.”

Mr. Tsui would not reveal the storyline, except to say that it will star Mr. Li as a rebel swordsman and Zhou Xun as his lover, Jade.

“It’s full of twists and turns, but I don’t want to give them away,” he said. “After all, the story is more important than the action or the effects.”

Mr. Tsui was born into a large family in China’s Guangdong Province, and lived in Vietnam as a child before moving to Hong Kong as a teenager.

“Hong Kong was opening up to foreign influences then, and I read and watched everything,” he said. “I loved comic books. My first contact was through Japanese manga and then American superheroes, like Superman, Spiderman and Batman.”

At the same time, Mr. Tsui’s mother instilled in him an interest in Chinese history, myth and folklore by taking him to traditional Peking opera performances, even when they lived in Vietnam.

“I was surprised when I came to Hong Kong, because people didn’t seem interested in their own history, maybe because it was a British colony,” he said. “It’s like people didn’t want to face their own backgrounds and roots. Copying Western culture was considered the ultimate good.”

When Mr. Tsui emerged as a leading name in the Hong Kong New Wave in the late 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the few to do historic martial arts films, like “Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain” (1983), which was also screened at the New York festival this month.

“People would ask me, ‘Isn’t the New Wave supposed to about films with modern subjects?’ But I felt that Chinese culture, art and history were amazing, and filled with wonderful stories,” he said. “Maybe some people thought I was old-fashioned, but I did it because nobody else was doing it.”

Still, Mr. Tsui directed and co-wrote an iconic work of the New Wave, which was defined by vernacular Hong Kong Cantonese slang, gritty urban backdrops and an unblinking look at modern society.

“Dangerous Encounter of the First Kind” (1980) was censored by the then-British government for its graphic depictions of youth violence. It is about a criminally insane schoolgirl and three hapless Hong Kong schoolboys who become tangled in a web of terrorism, bombings, animal abuse and a final encounter with gun-wielding Western bad guys.

“It was banned because the students did such terrible things, like bombings,” Mr. Tsui said.

More than 30 years later, the full, uncut version was screened publicly in Hong Kong for the first time on June 4, during the Noir film festival.

Censorship is a hot topic in Hong Kong, as local moviemakers increasingly work on productions on the Chinese mainland.

“There are restrictions everywhere,” Mr. Tsui said. “I was banned in Hong Kong all those years ago. Every society has its taboos. But China has more limits than most and some topics that you can’t talk about.

“The government is very sensitive about history,” he added. “Five experts look over your script, and then you have to explain your interpretation. Of course, there are things you can’t film. But this is your choice: Do you want to go where the market is? If Bertolucci could go to China to make ‘The Last Emperor,’ why can’t we?”

In November, he will begin filming “The Taking of Tiger Mountain.” He has begun to write the screenplay for another “Detective Dee” movie.

He brushed away concerns that Hong Kong’s distinct cinematic style would be lost as it integrated more with China.

“Hong Kong cinema is already a global phenomenon,” he said. “The China market is opening up. In the near future, it will be open to the world, so it’s only natural that we go there, too.”

[SPJ]

hip hip hoo raaay.

wu xia in 3 D

must see.

but need to buy 3 D TV and 3 D dvd player

to be able to watch it at home.

talking about production of many 3 D films or 3 D DVD ahead of consumer's having the 3 D thingy to play and watch.


yah, jet li early film was with big smile and happy go easy figures

then he was protrayed as avenger or cold blooded cop (kiss of dragon), bad guy (the one) or cold blooded fighter (leash)

once you are set in the mind of audience, it is hard to play other type of figures

john wayen is a cowbody

clint eastwood is dirty harry

charles brownson is --

--

jet li is like fight them all and kill them all as in "romeo must die"

--

[GeneChing]

Asian Filmmaker of the Year: Tsui Hark
9:19 AM PDT 10/7/2011 by Karen Chu

As he readies his next blockbuster, Tsui Hark talks about his respect for Korean cinema, looking to the past for inspiration and why he won’t be retiring any time soon.

The most commercially successful filmmaker to come out of the late 1970s cinema movement known as the Hong Kong New Wave, Tsui Hark has established himself as that rare auteur who can deliver at the box office. Lauded for revolutionizing the martial arts genre in hits like Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) and the Once Upon a Time In China series(1991-7),Tsui kept his winning streak alive with last year’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, an effects-heavy period epic that grossed 300 million yuan ($46.9 million) in China. Named Asian Filmmaker of the Year by the Busan International Film Festival for 2011, Tsui recently took time out from post-production on his upcoming 3D release, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, to discuss his career.

Q&A: Tsui Hark

The Hollywood Reporter (THR): How do you feel about being named Asian Filmmaker of the Year by BIFF?

Tsui Hark (Tsui): Three years ago BIFF asked me to come and teach a master class, to share my experience in filmmaking. Since then we’ve established a relationship with the festival organizers. I’ve stayed in Korea for longer periods of time and got to know more about the film industry, the historical background and development of the film culture here. My impression of Busan is quite different from the other places I’ve been to. I also talked to Korean filmmakers during the post-produc- tion process of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. I appreciate the Korean filmmakers’ discipline, working style, and fighting spirit, all of which are qualities that not only I share, but are valuable factors when I consider future collaborations.

For BIFF to give me this award, I’m very honored and delighted. I feel it draws me closer to the Korean film industry and establishes between us a closer relationship as friends.

THR: Why are you so attracted to new technology?

Tsui: Part of my motivation at the beginning was affected by the historical factors of Hong Kong filmmaking. Because of the circumstantial constraints in Hong Kong, when we wanted to pursue stories set in a historical context or related to the geographic environment in China, we had little choice but to film in the few studio sets available. If there were problems during filming, we had to fix them during post-production. So I’ve established a closer relationship with the technical departments. But in view of the technological advancement of the international film industry, there has been a great deal of research and development that gave us a new approach to design, subject matter and mode of expression, which I find interesting. To me, film and technology are indivisibly entangled — film is an experiment of telling a story through technological means.

THR: What, specifically, has technology allowed you accomplish?

Tsui: If I want to shoot a dangerous action sequence, I can achieve it through visual effects technology without putting people in harm’s way. That’s one of the main reasons we use technology in filmmaking. The other way it inspires me is the information we can get through technological means. The internet helps us know more about the world, beyond the confines of our geographical existence. In the long run, that affects our worldview. In other words, ourworldview is now different from before. For instance, we weren’t as familiar with Asian cinema in the past, but now we make films with an Asian crew, and deal with subject matter relevant or familiar to Asia. In this sense, technol- ogy obviously enhances development. It not only gives us convenience, but also provides uswithreferencesandcomparisons. Inthe past, there were many instances of copying or replicating foreign films; nowadays with the international distribution network, there is less chance of copying, so that we can focus more on expanding our creativity.

THR: Your recent films are set in specific historical periods. What do they reveal about the times we live in now?

Tsui: I believe that period dramas have a special significance to the Chinese people. For instance, when I did Once Upon a Time in China, the central character, Wong Fei-hung, was my childhood hero. By the time I was 30, I realized times had changed and people had forgotten about or overlooked this heroic figure. I began to wonder whether it was worthy to retell his stories, and to see

if the younger generation would appreciate him as much as we did. So out of curiosity, I tried to project the sense of excitement of my childhood on screen. I always want to know how I relate to the present time, to the young generation. The period setting was only a means; it represents mypersonal likes and dislikes when I was growing up. To the Chinese people, history, or the idea of ancient China, is something that we would encounter since childhood. I wanted to see if we could find ourselves in that world of history or historical fiction; to find the link between that world and our world today.

THR: What kind of challenges have you encoun- tered while making your first 3D film, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate?

Tsui: The 3D filmmaking that I know now is simpler than I imagined. I’ve heard a lot of people with technical expertise telling me all kinds of stories about 3D filmmaking. But now I know only some of them are true. Working on it dispelled a lot of my worries. I used to hear that there needs to be a digital expert onset to do calcula- tions, but now I know that’s not necessary.

THR: How excited are you to fulfill your childhood dream of making a 3D film??

Tsui: (Laughs) The feeling is more than a sense of excitement – I’ve also learned something new about myself. Before, my enthusiasm was based on my susceptibility to 3D as an audience member.

Now that I’ve learned about the technology behind 3D, I feel that I’ve gotten to know another side of me — someone who might have a lot of opinions about the technology. I think it’s worthwhile for me.

THR: What was it like to witness how Hong Kong cinema influenced global cinema in the 90s?

Tsui: In the history of cinema, there had never been so many Chinese filmmakers working in foreign countries as it was in the late 1990s to early 2000s. For a time, there was a strong influence of Hong Kong cinema in foreign films. HongKong is a place highly susceptible to foreign cultures, and in turn the filmmakers, including directors and action choreographers, were in demand in the international film industry. We’re very fortunate that we had the opportunities to work on an international stage, then go to China to explore a new world. When the Chinese market opened, we realized we could make films in China. But since there’s not a rating system in China, everyone, regardless of age, sees the same films, there is a limitation on the subject matter and content. We’d experienced something similar in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, when investors posed certain control on subject and content. There is still a lot of to be improved in the Chinese film industry in order to fulfill its full potential, but in the long run, I hope it would grow to be a counterpart of comparable influence as Hollywood in the international marketplace.

THR: You’re reuniting with your Once Upon a Time in China lead Jet Li on Flying Swords. How is it different this time?

Tsui: It’s been so long since Jet Li and I worked together, he brought along a lot of new perspectives, whether it was for the film itself or for his character. We have a deeper exchange of ideas in terms of choices.

After more than three decades, how do you view the present stage of your career? At this stage I’m still looking for opportunities to make more films. I love making films; it’s not as if there’s something else I want to do and I’d have to wait until I retire to do it. Even if I retire, I’d still want to make movies.



Tsui Hark's Top 5 Box Office Hits

Aces Go Places 3 (1984)

The Aces Go Places series first landed in Hong Kong cinemas during the Chinese New Year of 1982, but Tsui took the helm in 1984 for the series’ third installment, which raked in HK$29.3 million ($3.8 million) to become the highest-grossing film of the year.

A Better Tomorrow trilogy (1986-9) Tsui produced the iconic John Woo-directed 1980s film series of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, which took in a combined gross of HK$76.2 million.

Once Upon a Time in China (1991-7) Tsui turned Jet Li into a superstar with this franchise about his child- hood hero, martial arts master Wong Fei-hung. The six installments grossed HK$133.7 million in Hong Kong.

Seven Swords (2005) Tsui’s first major release in China grossed a respectable 87 million yuan in 2005, coming in third at the Chinese box office for the year.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) The 300 million yuan-grossing blockbuster won Tsui his third best director award at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards.

Should I change this thread title to The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate?

[GeneChing]

'New Dragon Gate Inn' to 'Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate'

Jet Li and Tsui Hark Reunite for Their New Wuxia Drama
2011-10-21 10:00:09 Chinese Films

Kongfu megastar Jet Li and renowned Hong Kong director Tsui Hark reunited at Peking University for their upcoming 3D Wuxia blockbuster "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" yesterday. [Photo: Mtime.com]

Kongfu megastar Jet Li and renowned Hong Kong director Tsui Hark reunited at Peking University for their upcoming 3D Wuxia blockbuster "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" yesterday.

After their last collaboration 14 years ago, the two old friends got together and reminisced at the event.

Wuxia films are historical martial-arts movies, which usually follow a chivalrous swordsman. For Jet Li and Tsui Hark, the world of Wuxia is dream.

"I like wuxia films, because in the real world, we sometimes can't express ourselves through words. However, things in the world of Wuxia can be revealed freely and romantically." Tsui was quoted as saying. "Call me curious or crazy, what I really want is to put my Wuxia fantasies on the big silver screens. With 3D technology, a sense of realism is finally being achieved."

During their 20-year-long friendship, a series of classic films have been made, including the acclaimed "Once upon a Time in China" series.

"Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" as the first of a new incarnation of 3D Wuxia drama, will be screened in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D formats in December.


By Liu Shuai

[GeneChing]

There are photos of the leads too, if you follow the link.

Three Leads' Posters for "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 3D" Out
2011-11-02 09:02:47

Produced by Bona Film Group, Tsui Hark's imminent wuxia drama "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 3D" has had its new posters released. The posters features three leads Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun. The film will greet the audiences on 18, December. [Photo: Mtime.com]

[GeneChing]

Posters out for "Dragon Gate 3D"
2011-11-09 09:20:25 Chinese Films


Produced by Bona Film Group, director Tsui Hark's imminent action blockbuster "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" unveiled a new batch of character posters in the run up of its release in December. Featuring the Kung Fu megastar Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Gui Lunmei, Li Yuchun and Mavis Fan, the movie plans to steal some thunder from Zhang Yimou's war epic movie, "The Flowers of War." [Photo:mtime.com]

five more if you follow the link.

[GeneChing]

Tsui Hark to Compete with Zhang Yimou
2011-11-24 10:50:26 Chinese Films

Tsui Hark, director of the wuxia martial arts flick "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate", which is due to hit cinema screens on the same day as Zhang Yimou's epic war blockbuster "The Flowers of War", is confident of being able to compete with Zhang's highly anticipated feature, chinesefilms.cn reports.

Yu Dong, producer of "The Dragon Gate" and CEO of the Bona Film Group announced yesterday at the movie's premiere ceremony that they will not raise prices and will partake in any form of smear campaign. Dong's made these comments following the actions of Zhang Weiping, CEO of the production company responsible for "The Flowers of War" who was able to force eight large cinemas to increase the price of their cheapest tickets.

Joining hands for only the second time in 20 years, Jet Li and Tsui's partnership is a symbol of their desire to present wuxia martial arts on a major stage. With two years of preparation leading up to the project, and with a total investment of over $ 70 million, Tsui put together his own 3D production team for the movie.

"Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate 3D" will be the first home-grown action flick released in 3D/IMAX form.

This year's fiercest competition for box office revenues will kick off on December 16.

More pix if you follow the link below

Leading Actors Promote "Flying Swords"
2011-11-23 09:28:34 Chinese Films

Bona Film Group, the company behind the film "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" held a news conference for its wuxia martial arts blockbuster yeaterday in Beijing. Five of the leading roles including Jet Li, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Guey Lun-mei and Mavis Fan made an appearance at the event. [Photo: Mtime.com]

Bona Film Group, the company behind the film "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" held a press conference to promote its upcoming wuxia martial arts blockbuster yesterday in Beijing.

Five of the leading roles including Jet Li, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Guey Lun-mei and Mavis Fan made an appearance at the event. However, director Tsui Hark and another lead actress Zhou Xun were absent. Tsui is said to be busy with the post-production stages of the film.

Directed by Tsui Hark, the project is dubbed 'the first global wuxia blockbuster made especially for IMAX 3D'.

The film is slated to hit cinemas nationwide on December 16, the same release date as Zhang Yimou's war epic "The Flowers of War."

Recently, tensions between the production company responsible for "The Flowers of War" - New Picture, and domestic cinemas flared, resulting in an increase of the lowest ticket prices available.

Yu Dong, General Manager of Bona Film Group, expressed his hope at the press conference that "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" would be able to bag at least 600 million yuan in box office revenues and clearly stated that the company would not attempt to drive ticket prices upwards.

[Brule]

What's with the MC Hammer pants? I won't say that they're back in as i never thought they were in the first time around

[GeneChing]

That's about what we pay here for matinee price.

Exhibitors Make Peace with Flowers
2011-11-28 14:59:12 Chinese Films

A still photo of the movie 'The Flowers of War' [Photo: chinesefilms.cn]
Going to the cinema in China will become more expensive in December after exhibitors agreed to raise the minimum ticket price of ZHANG Yimou's war epic 'The Flowers of War' to RMB40 ($6.29) in major cities. Previously, the highest minimum price for a local film was RMB35 ($5.50).

December is set to be a crucial month at the Chinese box office after the disappointing National Day Holiday takings two months ago. As budgets soar, Chinese producers are putting increasing pressure on cinemas to return higher box office income to cover their investment risks.

Flowers is one of the year's most-anticipated films in China. It has an official budget of RMB600 million ($94.4 million), the largest in Chinese film history, and stars Christian BALE as a foreigner who saves Chinese lives in wartime Nanjing in December 1937.

In an interview with web portal sina.com in October, producer ZHANG Weipin stated, "In the past, we had to beg the theaters to play our films. But this is a different time now. I will let them beg me to screen the movie because I can guarantee that their screening rooms will be crowded."

But local exhibitors balked at Zhang's demands that they set the minimum ticket price to RMB40 and reduce their after-tax share from 57% to 55%. It was claimed by a media commentator on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog, that the top eight cinema chains had threatened to boycott the film in response to the demands.

After the film was screened to exhibitors last Wednesday, they agreed to the RMB40 minimum ticket price in major cities but maintained their 57% share after tax. It is estimated that tickets to Flowers will cost as much as RMB100 ($15.71), in what is already one of the world's most expensive cinema-going countries.

Earlier last week, Zhang told sina.com, "First of all, we only raised the minimum ticket price by RMB5, so where is the RMB100 price coming from? Second, in terms of revenue sharing, the distributor is taking 45% and the cinemas are taking 55% after taxes. They're taking the majority, yet the risk lies with me."

Zhang argued that audiences should support the ambitions of the local industry with higher ticket prices: "The Flowers of War is the most expensive film in Chinese history. It's 145 minutes long, 40-50 minutes longer than a typical local film. That means this is an enhanced product, which naturally means a higher ticket price."

Producers of TSUI Hark's 3-D action fantasy Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, who have moved its release two days forward to open head-to-head with Flowers, have themselves asked cinemas in China to return a minimum of RMB35 ($5.50) per admission, a precedent set by local blockbuster Aftershock.

Also opening next month is XU Jinglei's thriller Dear Enemy, currently scheduled on 23 Dec. Xu starred in Eternal Moment, the third highest-grossing local film of the year. Her most recent film as a director, romantic comedy Go! Lala Go!, made RMB124.5 million ($19.6 million).

There has been a series of surprises at the Chinese box office in 2011 that has increased producer uncertainty. The number one film at the box office last week is comedy Love is Not Blind. It has taken US$45 million in 13 days, outperforming Real Steel and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Other unexpected hits at the box office this year include drama Buddha Mountain and horror Mysterious Island, starring FAN Bingbing and Mini YANG respectively, that made RMB69.3 million ($10.9 million) and RMB90.0 million ($14.2 million) on release in March and July.

[GeneChing]

There are 9 pics if you follow the link.

Tsui Hark and Jet Li: Perfect Kung Fu Duo in "GQ"
2011-12-01 16:38:34 Photo:sina.com

The perfect kung fu duo—Tsui Hark and Jet Li—pose for a photo shoot for "GQ" magazine to promote their new wuxia martial arts flick "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate 3D" slated for release on December 16. The film is the first home-grown action flick to be released in 3D/IMAX format. Yu Dong, the film's producer and CEO of the Bona Film Group, said he is confident that the movie will steal some thunder from Zhang Yimou's $100 million project "The Flowers of War" which will be released on the same day. [Photo: sina.com]

[GeneChing]

10 pix total at the other end of the link below.

"Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate" Trio in Esquire Magazine
2011-12-06 10:08:40 Photo:sina.com

Actor Chen Kun, Guey Lunmei and Mavis Fan, cast members of director Tsui Hark's soon-to-be-released 3D costume action flick "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate," posed for a photo shoot for Hong Kong's Esquire Magazine in promoting their new movie. The film is slated for release on December 16. [Photo: sina.com]