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Thread: Star Wars: Rogue One

  1. #1
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    Star Wars: Rogue One

    shut. up.

    Star Wars: Episode 8 Wants To Cast Hong Kong Action Star As A Jedi
    By Joseph Baxter 23 hours ago



    By the time of the anticipated launch of the Star Wars sequel trilogy this December with Episode VII: The Force Awakens, we will have gotten to either love or hate a slew of new primary characters. However, rumors are circulating that the middle act might add some Force-powered chop-socky with the exciting addition of Hong Kong action star, Donnie Yen.

    A Hong Kong tabloid called Apple Daily has stoked the rumor fires with their report claiming that Donnie Yen, one of the most bankable stars in the lucrative China film market, has landed a role in the yet-to-be-titled Episode VIII, directed by Rian Johnson. As the sparse details of the report imply, Yen would prospectively play a Jedi, who, by some fateful set of circumstances, becomes a friend to Harrison Ford’s Han Solo in the battle against the neo-Imperial organization known as The First Order. The report goes so far to claim that the actor leaves for London early next month to begin shooting said role.

    This Jedi role could actually entail more than just a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo. The report implies that Yen beat out several notable peer candidates; some of whom have actually established themselves in the U.S., such as Jet Li, Stephen Chow, Tony Leung, Chang Chen, Daniel Wu and Wang Leehom. Apropos to such a casting call, the unnamed Jedi role will apparently see the actor embroiled in immense amounts of actions shots. However, it seems that this pool was whittled down rather quickly to Yen and Li, due to their ability to articulate lines in English; something that seems to further solidify the idea that this Jedi character could be rather important in the scheme of the new trilogy.

    Considering the tabloid source, the veracity of the report should be prudently questioned. After all, the mere idea that Han Solo would still be around for Episode VIII could be seen as either a spoiler or irresponsible soothsaying. However, sources from the news site Twitch claim that the report is awfully close in nature to "rumblings" they’ve been hearing that Gareth Edwards, director of next year’s spinoff Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, has been looking at a number of Chinese actors. Certainly, the increasing importance of China in helping to boost profitability (and in some cases, recover losses) for big-budget bonanzas, makes it reasonable to assume that there is a grain of truth to the idea that Episode VIII might be looking to make itself more palatable to Chinese moviegoers as it heads into that critical sop****re stage.

    While Donnie Yen’s lightsaber license may not yet carry an official stamp, the actor readies a slew of other big projects such as the follow-up film to one of the most successful mystical kung fu films of all time in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, which hits cinemas on August 28. Next year’s Noodle Man will see Yen as a retired Chinese-cop-turned New York City noodle shop owner, who confronts an old enemy. Additionally, next year’s Ip Man 3 will have the Hong Kong ass-kicker step into the ring with boxing legend Mike Tyson.

    In the meantime, the only thing we truly know about the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII is that Looper helmer, Rian Johnson will settle into a director’s chair still sporting the lens-flare-bleached ass groove of J.J. Abrams. The film is set to hit theaters on May 26, 2017.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #2
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    Well, well, would ya look at this...

    I've been writing off the Donnie/Star Wars buzz as just internet rumors. Glad to be proven wrong on this one. Jiang Wen too!

    Star Wars: Rogue One’ Releases First Photo; Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk Join Cast


    Jonathan Olley/Disney
    August 15, 2015 | 12:54PM PT
    Laura Prudom News Editor @lauinla

    “Star Wars: Rogue One” released the first image of the full cast at Disney’s D23 Expo, confirming the stars as Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Riz Ahmed.

    “Rogue One” has begun principal photography with “Godzilla’s” Gareth Edwards directing. The standalone film tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star. The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy.

    “‘Rogue One’ takes place before the events of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the ‘Star Wars’ universe,” said Kennedy in a statement. “It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential ‘Star Wars’ feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director, and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’”

    ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll originated the idea for the movie, with Chris Weitz penning the script. Allison Shearmur, Knoll, Simon Emanuel and Jason McGatlin are executive producers. Kiri Hart and John Swartz are co-producers.

    Greig Fraser (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Foxcatcher”) serves as director of photography and Neil Corbould (“Black Hawk Down,” “Gladiator,” “Saving Private Ryan”) is special effects supervisor. Doug Chiang (“Star Wars: Episodes I,” “Star Wars: Episodes II,” “Forrest Gump”) and Neil Lamont (supervising art director for the “Harry Potter” series, “Edge of Tomorrow”) will be the production designers. Additional crew members include stunt coordinator Rob Inch (“World War Z,” Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”), creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan (“Prometheus”) and co-costume designers Dave Crossman (costume supervisor for the “Harry Potter” series, “Saving Private Ryan”) and Glyn Dillon (costume concept artist for “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Jupiter Ascending”).

    “Star Wars: Rogue One” will hit theaters on December 16, 2016.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #3
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    A must see 3D for the big screen! http://chinesemartialstudies.com/201...wars-universe/
    Last edited by PalmStriker; 08-17-2015 at 01:12 PM.

  4. #4
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    Donnie leak

    'Star Wars: Rogue One': Actor Donnie Yen Posts (And Then Deletes) Photo Of New Stormtrooper Helmets
    By Robin Parrish, Tech Times | August 24, 3:55 PM


    Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen is one of the stars of 'Star Wars: Rogue One.' The actor today posted a picture of three Stormtrooper helmets from the film, two of which have never been seen before.
    (Photo : Donnie Yen)

    Donnie Yen is the Hong Kong actor and director best known for his starring role in Ip Man, but across the world he'll soon have a new claim to fame. Yen is one of the actors starring in Lucasfilm's Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One.

    But he seems to have made a faux pas.

    On his Instagram and Facebook accounts, Yen today posted a photo of three helmets belonging to different branches of Star Wars' villainous Empire. Less than two hours later, the photo had vanished from both accounts.

    Oops.

    Perhaps Yen didn't have permission to post the photo, or maybe he simply wasn't clear on the level of secrecy Lucasfilm employs for a Star Wars movie. Either way, someone from Disney or Lucasfilm obviously spoke to him, resulting in the photo's hasty deletion.

    Fortunately for the rest of us, two hours was more than enough time for a handful of followers to download the pic and then post it online.

    The photo shows the three helmets side-by-side on a shelf. Take a look.


    (Photo : Donnie Yen)

    The one in the middle is the instantly recognizable classic Stormtrooper helmet. On the left is something evocative of the helmets worn by the Empire's TIE Fighter pilots, though this appears to be a never-before seen variant.

    It's the one on the right that really catches your eye, though. That one is something that can't be easily compared to any Imperial armor we've seen before. It has overtones of the Scout Trooper helmets used by soldiers on Endor, in Return of the Jedi. But on the other hand, the yellow coloring could indicate its use in a desert environment.

    Are these all helmets that Yen's character will wear in the movie, perhaps in an undercover fashion? Are they trophies he keeps after victories? Or did Yen simply walk past these in the production offices one day and snap a quick photo?

    All we know for certain about Rogue One is that its storyline is a "ground-level war movie" about the band of Rebels who stole the Death Star plans shortly before the events of A New Hope.

    Felicity Jones leads the Star Wars: Rogue One cast, with Yen co-starring alongside Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna and Jiang Wen. It's rumored that Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin could both make appearances. Gareth Edwards is directing a script by Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz, based on an original idea by VFX guru John Knoll.

    Star Wars: Rogue One is scheduled to be in theaters on December 16, 2016.

    Elsewhere in Star Wars news, Empire Magazine posted a new photo of actor Adam Driver as villain Kylo Ren from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

    Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
    Oh man, Donnie don't blow this! Don't pull a Bai Ling!
    Gene Ching
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  5. #5
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    LOL! That should make for a good promo to hype Wars fans.

  6. #6
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    Set pix

    Star Wars 'Rogue One'
    Filming Begins ...
    May the Rebels Be with You
    9/15/2015 8:20 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

    Break time's over ... the 'Star Wars' crew is back to work on the next movie -- filming a destructive scene in London.
    "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" started shooting last week ... and looks like the first scene centers around a crash -- complete with dead storm troopers around the wreckage. Ummm ... spoiler alert?
    The movie is a spin-off from the main trilogy -- focusing on Rebel efforts to steal the Death Star plans, and it's due out in December 2016 ... right about the time fans finally start coming down from 'The Force Awakens.'





    There are more pix, but I cutout the redundant ones.
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  7. #7
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    Slightly OT

    Might as well post it here. We have several Star Wars threads but this will be the next fresh installment.

    January 23, 2016
    China’s secret plan to use the force of ‘Star Wars’

    This picture shows artist Song Feideng posing for a picture with his comic book showing a page with a drawing of Darth Vader in Guangzhou.

    A long time ago in a country far, far away, Chinese authorities managed to obtain a copy of America’s ultimate cultural weapon, a blockbuster movie with enough special effects to wow an entire planet. Summoned to a small theater in the southern city of Guangzhou in 1980, artist Song Feideng was shown “Star Wars” and instructed to transform it into a traditional Chinese comic book, known as a “lianhuanhua”, to promote scientific achievement to China.

    Song was one of the first people in China to see George Lucas’ magnum opus, at a time when it was still banned — a marked contrast to the status of the series’ most recent instalment in a market Hollywood increasingly sees as crucial to success.

    “The objective was to take the world’s advanced science and popularize it in China,” Song, who worked for a state-owned publisher at the time, told AFP. He replaced the movie’s X-wing spacecraft with Soviet rockets and jet fighters. In one illustration, Luke Skywalker wears a cosmonaut’s bulky spacesuit, while rebel leaders are dressed in Western business suits. Darth Vader appears alongside a triceratops.

    At the time, China was emerging from the isolation of the Mao Zedong era and “Star Wars” had still not been granted a release by Communist authorities, three years after it hit Western cinemas. The movie “was very novel, very exciting”, Song said, adding that he felt as if he had seen a “glimpse of the world”.

    The project came amid a brief flowering of Chinese science fiction following Mao’s decade-long Cultural Revolution, when the arts were reduced to glorifying the Communist Party. Mao’s decision to send intellectuals to work in the countryside had badly affected basic scientific research.

    Song spent the period on the then poverty-stricken Hainan island, producing propaganda slideshows. Science fiction has had a fraught history in China, where genre pioneer Ye Yonglie once called it “one of the barometers of the political climate”.

    Shortly after the 1977 US release of “Star Wars”, the Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily attacked it as a fantasy that demonstrated how Americans’ “dissatisfaction with reality” had pushed them to “seek comfort in an illusory fairyland”.

    But the following year, as China began to reopen to the world, Beijing declared sci-fi critical to rehabilitating the country’s sciences, releasing a flood of almost 1,000 new titles. A translated “Star Wars” script appeared on the mainland as early as March 1979, while Song’s comic is believed to be the first illustrated standalone.

    It sold briskly, he recalled. “I could buy a TV, a stereo… it was just unimaginable.”

    But the initial hopes of the country’s “reform and opening” quickly soured as artists began to criticize the government.

    Speculative stories imagining a China without communism were not the plotlines authorities were looking for, and they moved to ban science fiction again.

    Song’s own works — he had moved into hard-boiled noir comics featuring private eyes, femme fatales, and a keen appreciation for the female form — were criticized for “spiritual pollution”.

    It was not until 1985 that “Star Wars” first appeared on Chinese screens, at a multi-city American film festival that drew millions of viewers. By the late 1980s, it was airing on local television stations, while pirate copies circulated on video. But the movies never developed the broad, devoted fan base they have enjoyed elsewhere, and most Chinese learned of the franchise through the prequels — much maligned in the West.

    Song’s comic went viral ahead of the release of the latest instalment, “The Force Awakens”, but a midnight premiere in Beijing this month had a mostly foreign audience. Even so the movie raked in $90 million in its first week, according to film data website China Box Office.

    The world’s second-largest economy is also its second-biggest film market and Hollywood is keen to satisfy its moviegoers, who have shown a deep appetite for Western science fiction such as Avatar or the Transformers series.

    But Beijing has shown signs of resistance to that hunger, part of a wider pushback against the influence of “foreign culture”.

    In 2011, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued an edict discouraging movies featuring “fantasy” and “time travel” among other “bizarre plots”. More recently, President Xi Jinping instructed artists to abandon “naive sensual amusement” and instead use “true-to-life images to tell people what they should affirm and praise”.

    Song has split the difference: his latest paintings of scantily-clad models incorporate Party-friendly themes.

    An illustration of a mostly naked woman, he says, symbolizes the beauty of the South China Sea. The traditional Chinese junk boat in the background, he adds, shows that the region has been Chinese since ancient times, echoing the party line on a bitter territorial dispute.

    “As long as you don’t oppose the state, don’t oppose the Communist Party”, he said, “there’s no problem with whatever you draw.”
    Gene Ching
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    Donnie Awakens

    I know this interview is more about Ip Man 3, but it'll be Rogue One that Americans are really interested in...actually, the whole world will be watching this one.

    25 JAN 2016
    DONNIE YEN TALKS IP MAN 3 AND ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
    The first Chinese star to join the Lucasfilm franchise.
    BY JIM VEJVODA

    We recently spoke with action icon and Chinese box office star Donnie Yen about his new film, Ip Man 3 (now playing; see our positive review), as well as his role in the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

    Yen had initially been somewhat reluctant to reprise his role as Ip Man, the legendary real-life Wing Chun Kung Fu master who mentored Bruce Lee, for a third film, but changed his mind with time. "After the first two were so successful, I wanted to top those as an actor. Also I was waiting for the director to come up with the right direction and the right idea," said Yen. Five years would eventually pass between Ip Man 2 and the third installment.


    Donnie Yen reprises the title role in Ip Man 3.

    Without getting into spoilerish territory, Ip Man 3 may ostensibly be about Ip Man facing down a thuggish American property developer (played by Mike Tyson!) encroaching on his community, but it's also an intensely personal tale for Ip Man as he also faces a dilemma at home that all his fighting prowess is powerless against.

    "The first one was about survival during the Japanese occupation. The second one was about a particular time in China when we overcame a lot of obstacles," recalled Yen. "I think the audiences will like this because it’s about the problems that surround us every day. It’s not just a martial arts movie. It can be enjoyed that way, but it’s also got a lot of heart and soul. Hopefully you’ll come out of the theater feeling a lot of grounded values."

    Yen did boast, however, that he and Tyson "have a great fight scene onscreen."

    What will arguably be Yen's most high-profile role for Western audiences is yet to come. He's a part of the ensemble cast of the forthcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Gareth Edwards-directed prequel to A New Hope that chronicles how the Rebel spies stole the plans to the first Death Star.

    Yen was understandably reluctant to say much about the highly secretive film. "I’m very excited to be the first Chinese actor to ever be in the biggest movie franchise in the world, Star Wars. My children love Star Wars and I saw Star Wars as a kid [Editor's note: Yen spent part of his youth in America]. It’s so great to be a part of it and I’m sure it’s going to be great."

    Star Wars, though, is a largely new phenomenon to China. Indeed, younger Chinese audiences reportedly aren't flocking in droves to see the film the way they did other Hollywood imports such as Furious 7 or the Transformers sequels.

    Yen dodged the question of how much of a role he will play in helping to promote Rogue One specifically to Chinese audiences. "How they’re going to sell it and how they’re going to market it I think is best for Disney to answer that," said Yen. "They’re the best marketing company in the world and I would imagine they’re going to pick out the best parts of it. Everyone knows China’s this big market now. It’s going to be overtaking Hollywood so that’s just business sense, right?"


    This is our first look at the resistance fighters at the heart of Rogue One, the group who band together to steal the plans to the Death Star.
    Felicity Jones will star in Rogue One, which is the first Star Wars stand-alone film. She was nominated for an Oscar for 2014’s The Theory of Everything, where she played Jane Wilde Hawking, Stephen Hawking's wife (seen here on the right). While it is not currently known who she is playing in Rogue One, some rumors have pegged her character to be Boba Fett’s daughter. No disintegration!
    Jones also played a supporting role in 2014 in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Felicia Hardy (seen here). While Hardy is the Black Cat in the comics, Jones never got the chance to don that feline anti-hero’s costume and claws. She also won a special jury prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for the movie Like Crazy, has appeared in films like The Tempest, The Invisible Woman, and Cheri, and even showed up in a 2008 Doctor Who episode (‘The Unicorn and the Wasp’).
    Diego Luna is also part of the Rogue One team. He's been in Elysium, Milk and the upcoming Blood Father (alongside Mel Gibson). He's also a filmmaker in his own right, having directed films such as Cesar Chavez.
    A crazy but fun fan theory floating around at the moment pegs Luna’s Rogue One character as Biggs Darklighter, Luke Skywalker’s friend from A New Hope. Hey, the timeline makes sense -- as does that mustache!
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    Riz Ahmed was most recently seen as Jake Gyllenhaal's unlucky partner Rick in Nightcrawler. He’s also appeared in the films The Road to Guantanamo, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and the BAFTA-winning Four Lions, among others. Reportedly it was his 'chemistry' screen test with Felicity Jones which won him the part in Rogue One.
    Chinese actor and filmmaker Jiang Wen looks to be a particularly fearsome, armor-wearing member of this resistance group. He’s co-written, directed and starred in films such as Let the Bullets Fly, Devils on the Doorstep, and The Sun Also Rises.
    Hong Kong action maestro Donnie Yen would appear to be playing one of the more intriguing characters in the Star Wars universe. It looks as though his character is blind in the Rogue One group photo, and is that a walking stick that he carries with him… or something much deadlier? Yen will forever be remembered for his Ip Man films, based on the Wing Chun master who taught Bruce Lee.
    Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the Netflix series Bloodline, also stars in Rogue One -- but his character is apparently not a part of the resistance. Word has it that he’s one of the film’s villains, in fact. Mendelsohn has also made his mark in films like Animal Kingdom, Killing Them Softly, The Place Beyond the Pines and The Dark Knight Rises. In the latter film, you may recall that things did not go well between Mendelsohn's character and Bane.
    Forest Whitaker surely needs no introduction, especially if you’re a Fast Times fan. And while we’ll never forget Charles Jefferson’s football field rampage from that classic, Whitaker of course has been a constant presence onscreen ever since. He won an Academy Award for his turn as dictator Idi Amin in 2006’s The Last King of Scotland.
    These days Mads Mikkelsen is Dr. Hannibal Lecter on NBC's Hannibal, but soon the Danish actor will be making the jump to a galaxy far, far away for Rogue One. While Mikkelsen got his start in Danish films, making a mark in the great Pusher series for director Nicolas Winding Refn, he eventually went on to find Hollywood success after playing the villainous Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. And let’s face it: He’s probably not playing the nicest guy in Rogue One either.
    Alan Tudyk is no stranger to space, having piloted the titular Firefly spaceship Serenity in that Joss Whedon TV series and movie. He’ll be playing a performance-capture character in Rogue One, something which he did previously in the good old days of motion-capture... in 2004, when he appeared as Sonny the robot in I, Robot. He's also an experienced voice actor, having provided character tones for the Disney films Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and Big Hero 6. Only time will tell what creature, monster or droid he’ll bring to life in Rogue One…

    And what about those colored contact lenses we see his character's wearing in the only officially released Rogue One cast photo? Was it difficult to do action scenes wearing them? Did they obscure his vision at all? "I can’t really talk about that because of the arrangement between Disney and I, but I’m sure in a few months we’ll be able to talk about it."

    Ip Man 3 is now playing. Rogue One opens December 16.
    Gene Ching
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    ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Official Teaser Trailer

    Donnie @ 1:14

    Gene Ching
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    We all know this already

    ...but it's probably news to a lot of THR readers.

    'Rogue One': 5 Things to Know About the Chinese Supporting Stars
    4:49 AM PDT 4/12/2016 by Patrick Brzeski


    Donnie Yen in 'Rogue One'
    Lucasfilm

    Two of greater China's biggest stars — Jiang Wen and Hong Kong's Donnie Yen — have been cast in the 'Star Wars' prequel.

    J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015's biggest film by far, grossed $125.4 million at the Chinese box office when it was released there earlier this year.

    That's a lot of money. But it's a much smaller share of the blockbuster's worldwide total — just 6 percent of its $2.06 billion global haul — than many other Disney blockbusters have achieved in the booming Chinese movie market, which is on track to surpass North America as the world's biggest box office territory in 2017.

    Disney-Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, for example, grossed $240.1 million in China of its $1.4 billion total, or 17 percent. Disney Animation's Zootopia has done one better, earning 27 percent of its worldwide gross so far — $231.5 million of $852.5 million — in China.

    As THR reported in the lead up to Force Awakens' release, due to unique historical and cultural factors, the Star Wars saga doesn't have the same deep nostalgic draw in China as it does in most other places of the world.

    Disney is trying to change that. Having blitzed Chinese media for Force Awakens with a multifaceted marketing campaign designed to bring a galaxy far, far away a little closer to the hearts of Chinese filmgoers, the studio's natural next step is to welcome some of China's cinematic universe into the Star Wars fold. To that end, Disney cast two of the country's biggest stars — Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen — in supporting roles in Gareth Edwards' forthcoming spin-off prequel, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

    Fans everywhere got a brief glimpse of the actors in action — both wielding some pretty bad-ass weaponry — when the first Rogue One teaser trailer dropped last week.

    Here are five things to know about the two Chinese additions to the expanding Star Wars roster.

    1) Donnie Yen is today's standard bearer of Hong Kong kung fu flicks.

    First off, Donnie Yen is considered a Hong Kong star, not a mainland Chinese one — a distinction that is increasingly important to some film figures in the former British colony. Yen, now 52, spent his youth in Hong Kong and later attended high school in Boston, before dropping out to focus on studying the Wushu martial arts tradition, with a two-year stint in China training with the Beijing Wushu Team. He later studied taekwondo, Wing Chun, Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, Muayi Thai, karate and further fighting styles. After returning to Hong Kong, Yen landed small action and stunt parts in kung fu movies throughout the 1980s. His big breakthrough came in 1992, when he scored a lead role facing off in a fight scene against Jet Li in Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China. Li and Yen later reprised their rivalry in Zhang Yimou's Oscar-nominated Hero, in which Yen memorably wields a spear in a beautiful fight sequence against the unnamed sword fighter played by Li. In recent years, Yen has become one of the biggest box office draws in mainland China, thanks to his leading role in fight franchise Ip Man, a biographical kung fu series about Bruce Lee's teacher Yip Man, along with starring parts in major Chinese fantasy hits, such as The Monkey King, which earned $181.9 million in 2014.

    2) Yen's presence probably means Wushu meets Stars Wars.

    Although the hints in the teaser trailer are thin, it looks like Yen will be putting his many martial arts skills to good use in Rogue One. In the brief glimpse we get of him, he's dressed like a galactic Ronin and carrying some sort of metal-tipped staff, which he promptly brandishes to chop down a Storm Trooper with a sweet one-two move. Rumors suggest Yen's character is an update on the kung fu archetype of the "blind swordsman." If you look closely, he does seem to have his eyes closed in the trailer.

    3) Yen's fight skills have already won him praise from two of North America's most formidable fighters — Iron Man and Iron Mike Tyson.

    In Ip Man 3, the latest and third installment of his fan boy-beloved franchise, Yen trades blows with none less than former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Iron Mike Tyson. The two fighters were brought together for the project by mutual respect: "I've seen every one of his boxing matches. It's my pleasure to be able to make a film with him, and we became friends," Yen told THR in December, adding: "He said the reason why he took on the role in Ip Man 3 was because he enjoyed watching the first two Ip Man films." Tyson reportedly broke a finger during stunt fighting but the pair remained pals.

    Yen's moves in Ip Man have also won him the admiration of avid Wing Chun practitioner Robert Downey Jr., aka Tony Stark aka Iron Man. "I received a phone call last year from Robert Downey Jr.," Yen said. "He has been practicing Wing Chun for 10 years. We talked for half an hour about Wing Chun. From that moment onwards, I realized the range of influence of Ip Man."

    4) Actor/director Jiang Wen is a pillar of the Chinese film industry.

    Jiang Wen has a few seconds in the trailer, too. The revered Chinese actor-director can be seen sporting dreadlocks and firing some sort of heavy artillery. The word from the geeks is that he plays a rogue weapons expert of some kind, but no character sketch has has been officially confirmed.

    Jiang played a lead part in Hibiscus Town, Xie Jin's 1987 drama, which was nominated for a best foreign language film Oscar. He became even better known to international film lovers for his leading performance in Zhang Yimou's now classic Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1987. He's written and directed artful dramas of his own (In the Heat of the Sun, 1994), but in recent years he's achieved much larger exposure by directing and starring in the hit period action-comedy pictures, Let the Bullets Fly (2010) and Gone with the Bullets (2014). Aside from appearing in Rogue One, he is said to be in discussions with the Russo Brothers, the directors behind Marvel's Captain America franchise, about directing a Chinese-language project backed by their new Anthem & Song studio venture.

    5) Disney's China play has had a mixed reception in the Middle Kingdom.

    Around the same time that it was trending everywhere else in the world via YouTube, the Rogue One teaser trailer hit the internet in China on local online video services, like Youku Tudou and Tencent's QQ Video (YouTube is blocked in China). On Tencent, the video has received just shy of 1 million views.

    The comments section beneath the video — like comments sections in most languages — is a mixture of enthusiasm, cynicism and snark.

    "I support Brother Donnie for marching into Hollywood!" wrote a user named Shalewo Zhiyuwo.

    Another named Shui Zhao appeared more sensitive about being pandered to: "This is the typical approach, adding Chinese elements to make money in China."

    User Gu Dou Shuo was harsher: "Hollywood probably paid these Chinese actors only so they can get the Chinese film market. We can clearly see from the trailer that they are not the leading actors. Why are they so silly to take these roles that aren't even necessary for the story? They should learn from Bruce Lee and shoot their own movies."
    Gene Ching
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  11. #11
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    uh oh...

    It is a dark time for the Rebellion.

    MAY 31, 2016 4:47pm PT by Borys Kit
    Disney Orders Reshoots for 'Star Wars' Stand-Alone 'Rogue One' This Summer


    'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Courtesy of Disney

    Executives felt it was tonally off with what a “classic” 'Star Wars' movie should feel like.

    Star Wars stand-alone movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will undergo several weeks’ worth of additional shooting, sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Much of the cast and director Gareth Edwards will regroup in mid-June for another round of shooting. The move is happening after execs screened the film and felt it was tonally off with what a “classic” Star Wars movie should feel like. The pic has not yet been tested before audiences, but one source describes the cut as having the feel of a war movie.

    The goal of the reshoots will be to lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure.

    Rogue One focuses on the fabled mission hinted at in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, that of a group of rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star. The plans later end up in the hands of Princess Leia, who transfers them to R2-D2.

    “This is the closest thing to a prequel ever,” a source tells THR. “This takes place just before A New Hope and leads up to the 10 minutes before that classic film begins. You have to match the tone!”

    And while it’s not confirmed, some suggest that the new shooting could pave the way for an appearance of Han Solo as played by Alden Ehrenreich. The actor only recently nabbed the role of the spice smuggler and was not involved in Rogue One’s principal photography, which ran from last August to February.

    Disney re-introduced audiences to Star Wars with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which garnered excellent reviews and grossed over $2 billion worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing movie of all time. Sources say that while Edwards’ first cut was a solid showing, it didn’t measure up to the bar set in terms of four-quadrant appeal.

    “Anything less than extraordinary won’t do,” says a studio insider.

    Reshoots or additional shooting are practically a given in this decade of tentpole comic book, fantasy and sci-fi moviemaking. The films are massive productions, filled with so much green-screen and fit together in a way that, more often than not, demands for shooting to fill in holes or clarify plots. Even acting deals have the shoots in mind when contracts call for “run of show” appearances, which include not just shooting anytime during production but even during postproduction, say several agency sources.

    The New York Post first reported about the Star Wars reshoots.
    Gene Ching
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  12. #12
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    Vader

    Star Wars Rogue One: Darth Vader confirmed to appear
    The iconic character will not play the main villain in the spin-off

    EMMA POWELL 2 hours ago


    Villainous: Darth Vader will star in Rogue One

    Darth Vader will star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story it has been confirmed.

    The announcement, from Entertainment Weekly, ends months of speculation about an appearance from the Dark Lord of the Sith who was helping the Empire to rule the galaxy at the time the spin-off is set.

    Details on his involvement are minor, but he will not be the main villain, which will instead be played by Bloodline actor Ben Mendelsohn.

    Speaking about the relationship between the two characters Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican told Good Morning America: "Darth Vader kind of looms large over the plot even when he's not necessarily on screen.

    “[Mendleson’s] trying to fulfill the wishes of the emperor and he's got Vader looming in the background over his shoulder, making sure that he gets the job done."

    Diego Luna, Jiang Wen, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, and Alan Tudyk have also been confirmed for the Gareth Edwards directed film which is set prior to the events of Episode 4 and will follow a group of rebels as they try to steal the plans to the Death Star.

    Previously confirmed names include Felicity Jones, who will play outlaw Jyn Erso, and Mads Mikkelsen who will star as her scientist father.

    Entertainment Weekly Verified account
    ‏@EW
    Darth Vader is BACK! 😱 Here’s everything you need to know about ‘@StarWars: #RogueOne': http://share.ew.com/EqtxJDu
    Mikkelsen recently teased the appearance of iconic characters in the spin-off film.

    When asked if Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) or members of the original trilogy had joined the cast on set, he told Standard Online: “Some of them – but I would reveal too much. There are iconic characters in our film and also characters you have never heard of. It’s a mix.”

    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for UK cinema release on December 16.
    I was hoping for Maul.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #13
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    The EW cover story



    ‘Rogue One’ rundown
    Spies are everywhere. Although some of the names of the characters from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story have leaked out, their exact histories and descriptions have remained mostly under wraps. With EW’s new cover story, we’re revealing the official dossier on each of the new heroes – and the galaxy’s shrewd new villain.

    Thursday, we’ll showcase new images from the film. Now, enjoy this rundown of who’s who …


    Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones)
    A streetwise delinquent who has been on her own since 15, she has fighting skills and a knowledge of the galactic underworld that the Rebel Alliance desperately needs. “She’s got a checkered past,” says Lucasfilm president and Rogue One producer Kathleen Kennedy. “She has been detained [by the Rebellion] and is being given an opportunity to be useful. And by being useful, it may commute her sentence… She’s a real survivor. She becomes a kind of Joan of Arc in the story.”


    Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna)
    Andor is a by-the-book Rebel intelligence officer, brought in to steady the volatile Erso, but he’s no square. He’s committed, steady, and practical, and has seen more than his share of combat. “He conveys a fair amount of experience and the reality of what it’s like to do this every day, to try to figure out how to resist the Empire effectively and intelligently,” says Kiri Hart, Lucasfilm’s chief of story development. “It’s not easy.”


    Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen)
    Pronounced chi-RUT, he’s no Jedi, but he’s devoted to their ways and has used his spirituality to overcome his blindness and become a formidable warrior. “Chirrut falls into the category of being a warrior monk,” says Kennedy. “He very much still believes in everything the Jedi were about.” He maintains that belief even though the Jedi are no longer there to protect the galaxy. As director Gareth Edwards puts it: "This idea that magical beings are going to come and save us is going away, and it’s up to normal, everyday people to take a stand to stop evil from dominating the world.”


    Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen)
    Heavily armored, Baze prefers a blaster to hokey religions and ancient weapons, but he is devoted to protecting his friend Chirrut at all costs. “He understands Chirrut’s spiritual centeredness, but he doesn’t necessarily support it,” Kennedy says. Baze goes along with this Force business because “it’s what his friend deeply believes,” she adds. Think of them as a little like the galactic version of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.


    Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed)
    Bodhi is this Rebel squad’s lead pilot. He tends to be hot-headed, but any abrasiveness is overshadowed by his skills in the air — and the void of space. “He flies a lot of cargo, one of his key jobs,” Kennedy says. “And he tends to be a little tense, a little volatile, but everybody in the group really relies on his technical skills.”


    K-2SO (Alan Tudyk)
    This towering, powerful security droid is described by Edwards as “the antithesis of C-3PO.” In other words, he’s tough, confident, not especially interested in "human/cyborg relations," and the complete opposite of a neurotic fussbudget. “Kaytoo is a little bit like Chewbacca's personality in a droid’s body,” Edwards says. “He doesn’t give a s--- about what you think. He doesn't fully check himself before he says things and does things. He just speaks the truth.” Like Jyn, he’s also seeking a bit of redemption for past wrongs. Droids, too, can have regret.


    Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen)
    Jyn’s estranged father is like the galactic version of nuclear pioneer J. Robert Oppenheimer, with doomsday knowledge that is sought by both the Empire and the Rebellion. “He’s one of those people that has insight into you know specific aspects of just how the universe works,” says Hart. Where has Galen been, if Jyn has been on her own for years? “The circumstances of how the family got to the state that it’s in is something that we probably don’t want to share right now,” Hart says. (Lucasfilm isn't revealing his image yet, so this is file picture. Don't worry -- the button-down isn't retro galactic fashion.)


    Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn)
    On the opposing side, this villain is an ambitious Imperial apparatchik who intends to use his squad of Deathtroopers to pulverize the Rebel uprising and ascend into the Emperor’s graces – while hopefully avoiding the wrath of his enforcer, Darth Vader. “The bad guy is a lot more terrifying when he’s really smart, and really effective,” says Knoll. “There is a lot of palace intrigue going on in the Empire, with people conspiring to move up the ranks and sabotaging each other. There’s not a lot of loyalty there.”


    Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker)
    This character has a past that Star Wars completists will recognize immediately when they see his name, even if he looks very different than the way they've seen him before. (He even looks different from when we saw him in the teaser trailer.) There's so much to say about this character, we’re going to break out a separate on him and his history in The Clone Wars.

    Image Credit: Jules Heath/2016 Lucasfilm Ltd. & tm, All Rights Reserved
    Published by Anthony Breznican • @Breznican
    June 22 2016 — 11:16 AM EDT
    Chirrut Imwe = new entry in Blind-Masters
    Gene Ching
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  14. #14
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    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Celebration Reel



    I trust you've all been following our own little Star Wars tribute with the release of our most recent cover story and now today, with the first part of the Ray Park interview extras.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  15. #15
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    ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY TV Spot #1

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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