S.M.A.R.T. Chase: Fire & Earth

[GeneChing]

Another Hollywood actor makes a play for China. This one has a really dumb title. I hope it'll have swordfights.

Orlando Bloom Joins Action Thriller ‘Smart Chase: Fire & Earth,’ Partners With Bliss Media On New Production Vehicle (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent @elsakeslassy


Orlando Bloom MATTEO PRANDONI/BFA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
JUNE 16, 2016 | 07:26PM PT

Orlando Bloom has joined the cast of “Smart Chase: Fire & Earth,” a Shanghai-set action-packed thriller that will be directed by French helmer Julien Seri (“Night Fare”).

“Smart Chase” is the first project produced by BlissBloom Productions, a joint production vehicle co-created by Chinese powerhouse Bliss Media and Bloom (under his Viddywell Productions banner).

Bloom is also co-producing via BlissBloom Productions will be headed by Bloom and Bliss Media CEO Wei Han.

Bliss Media will finance, produce and oversee the Chinese distribution for the action-adventure, with Jérôme Salle (Zulu, The Tourist) co-producing.

CAA packaged and arranged financing, and represents the film’s domestic rights.

Pic will start shooting in August.

Written by Kevin Bernhardt (“Elephant White”), “Smart Chase” centers on a washed-up private security agent who gets ambushed as he attempts to escort a pricey Chinese antique out of Shanghai.

Bloom will star alongside Jing Tian (“Great Wall”), Leo Wu (“The Wonder”), Cao Kefan (“The Flowers of War”) and up-and-comer Liu Enyou.

A sales agent has not yet been announced, although it will likely be Insiders, which counts Bliss Media as one of its shareholders.

Bliss Media’s slate also includes Michael Mann’s “Enzo Ferrari,” sold by Insiders. Based in Shanghai, Bliss Media recently bowed Yoozoo Bliss Film Fund, a $100 million equity fund aimed at bankrolling 10 international productions and Chinese co-productions over the next five years.

A genre specialist, Seri previously directed the thriller “Night Fare,” which was a sleeper hit in France, where Universal distributed, and sold worldwide.

Bloom and Seri presented the project today during the Bliss Media presser at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Seri is repped by Sophie Lemaitre, and Bloom by CAA and Lighthouse Management & Media. CAA also represents Bliss and BlissBloom Productions.

[GeneChing]

I've liked Orlando since he was spotted rocking Feiyues.

Newly blond Orlando Bloom flaunts his chiseled chest during kung fu session in China
By CASSIE CARPENTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:00 EST, 18 September 2016 | UPDATED: 18:00 EST, 18 September 2016

Orlando Bloom flaunted his chiseled chest in an Instagram video he shared from a choreographed kung fu session in China on Sunday.
In the clip, the 39-year-old Englishman stunt-punched, blocked, and wrestled with a 'Shaolin master' while inside a Shanghai gym.
The divorced father-of-one unveiled his newly bleached locks on Friday, which with the long pieces on top made him resemble his 'nemesis' Justin Bieber.


Posturing: Orlando Bloom flaunted his chiseled chest in an Instagram video he shared from a choreographed kung fu session in China on Sunday


All for the cameras! In the clip, the 39-year-old Englishman stunt-punched, blocked, and wrestled with a 'Shaolin master' while inside a Shanghai gym


Bieber fever? The divorced father-of-one unveiled his newly bleached locks on Friday, which with the long pieces on top made him resemble his 'nemesis' Justin Bieber

'He's a shaolin master imma have to practice lots to keep up,' Orlando wrote to his 159K followers.
Bloom's makeover and Chinese martial art stunt session was likely for his role in Smart Chase: Fire & Earth.
The Hobbit heartthrob - who wore a wig as Legolas - plays a washed-up private security agent transporting a valuable Chinese antique out of Shanghai.
The 2017 action flick is being helmed by Kevin Bernhardt and it will also feature Simon Yam.
Orlando Bloom demonstrates his battle prowess and blonde locks


Orlando wrote to his 159K followers: 'He's a shaolin master imma have to practice lots to keep up'


Action! Bloom's makeover and Chinese martial art stunt session was likely for his role in Smart Chase: Fire & Earth


Muscular back: The Hobbit heartthrob - who wore a wig as Legolas - plays a washed-up private security agent transporting a valuable Chinese antique out of Shanghai


Coming soon! The 2017 action flick is being helmed by Kevin Bernhardt and it will also feature Simon Yam
The Burning Man enthusiast was likely missing his girlfriend of seven months, American pop diva Katy Perry.
Meanwhile, Orlando's five-year-old son Flynn was likely with his ex-wife, Australian model Miranda Kerr.
The SAG Award winner can next be seen opposite Malin Akerman in Joe Swanberg's sexually-charged, eight-episode series Easy, which begins streaming Thursday on Netflix.


'Back to blond...rolling to set!' The Burning Man enthusiast was likely missing his girlfriend of seven months, American pop diva Katy Perry


Horsing around: Meanwhile, Orlando's five-year-old son Flynn was likely with his ex-wife, Australian model Miranda Kerr


Begins streaming Thursday on Netflix! The SAG Award winner can next be seen opposite Malin Akerman in Joe Swanberg's sexually-charged, eight-episode series Easy

[GeneChing]

My old friend Shi Yanneng is in this. Now I'm in.

[GeneChing]

‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase’ Set for Global Premiere on September 30
BY FERGUS RYAN AUG 23, 2017

Star Orlando Bloom will join his mostly Chinese cast members to promote the film in five Chinese cities ahead of the film’s premiere.



British-Chinese action thriller ‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase: Fire & Earth’ has been set for a global release on September 30, Chinese financier-producer Bliss Media announced on Tuesday.

The Shanghai-set action movie, which stars English actor Orlando Bloom, was made in an alliance between Bliss and London-based production company 42. It’s directed by Charles Martin, best known for the TV series ‘Skins’. ‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase’ is Martin’s feature film directorial debut.



Set in Shanghai, the story centers upon private security agent Danny Stratton and his Security Management Action Recovery Team or S.M.A.R.T., as they go on a special mission to escort a rare Chinese antique out of the city, only to be ambushed en route. While Danny battles with betrayals of his teammates and a broken relationship, a dreadful conspiracy starts to unfold.

In addition to Bloom, ‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase’ features a lineup that includes Hong Kong-based Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, and Taiwanese star Hannah Quinlivan.

In a statement released on Chinese social media Tuesday, Bliss Media announced that Bloom and the rest of the cast will meet with fans in five Chinese cities ahead of the film’s premiere.

In October 2016, the Chinese film production company was embroiled in a legal dispute with its American producer from Das Films. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Das Films was suing Bliss for ‘fraud and breach of contract’, claiming it had unreasonably cut them out of the production process. The company said Bliss also blocked them from hiring lead actors for the film. Bliss Media denied the claims.

The Superior Court of Los Angeles, California ordered arbitration for the parties involved as of November 30, 2016.

Additional reporting Amber Ziye Wang

You know what bugs me about this film? The title. The title strikes me as dumb.

[GeneChing]

I got nothing on Never Say Die but it beat out both Jackie's The Foreigner and Donnie's Chasing the Dragon (and Orlando's S.M.A.R.T. Chase, which we do care about because Orlando is cool and rocks Feiyues) for the Moon Fest movie rush, so I guess I should check it out.

China Box Office: Martial Arts Comedy Opens to $46M, Topping Jackie Chan's 'The Foreigner'
2:46 AM PDT 10/2/2017 by Patrick Brzeski


'The Foreigner'

Local comedy 'Never Say Die' outperformed Chan's STX-backed action thriller, which earned $21.9 million on Saturday and Sunday.
Martial arts comedy Never Say Die came out swinging at the Chinese box office over the weekend, opening with $46.2 million on Saturday and Sunday.

The slapstick hit relegated Jackie Chan to a rare second-place finish, as his STX-produced action thriller The Foreigner opened with $21.9 million over the same two days.

Sunday was the start of one of China's so-called "Golden Weeks," a lucky succession of national holidays that results in most Chinese employees getting a full seven days off work. In recent years, this reprieve has translated into brisk business at Chinese multiplexes. In response, Chinese regulators have taken to blocking Hollywood movie openings during the holiday, putting the focus on Chinese culture while giving local studios a boost.

Never Say Die was produced by Beijing theater group Mahua Fun Age, the creative force behind last year's comedy smash Goodbye Mr. Loser ($226 million). Never Say Die tells the story of a boxer and a journalist who mysteriously swap bodies after they are zapped by electricity, sending the duo spinning through a series of slapstick misadventures. The film is an adaptation of a hit Mahua stage comedy of the same name. Directed by Song Yang and Zhang Chiyu (the director pair behind the play), the film stars Ai Lun and Ma Li, two of the leads from Mr. Loser.

Directed by Martin Campbell and co-starring Pierce Brosnan, The Foreigner finds Chan in "serious Jackie Chan" mode, playing a humble London businessman whose mysterious past erupts in a revenge-fuelled vendetta when his teenage daughter dies in a terrorist attack. The English-language film earned just shy of $2 million on Imax screens over the weekend. Respectable word of mouth suggests the movie will hold onto second place throughout the week. A U.K.-China co-production, The Foreigner is set to open in North America on Oct. 13.

Chasing the Dragon, a slick martial arts drama starring Hong Kong favorites Donnie Yen and Andy Lau, landed in third place with $14.2 million. It was followed by Sky Hunter, a patriotic air force action flick directed by and starring Li Chen, which earned $13 million. Fan Bingbing, Li's real-life fiance, co-stars as the romantic lead.

Although Hollywood movies are blocked from opening over National Day, one other familiar Western face did pop up on Chinese screens over the weekend. S.M.A.R.T. Chase, a Chinese road race thriller produced by Shanghai-based Bliss Media and starring Orlando Bloom, also debuted Saturday. The film hit the track with a sputter, however, taking just $1.5 million for the frame.

[GeneChing]