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JOHN WOO AND CHOW YUN-FAT TOGETHER AGAIN
From the Oriental Daily of January 30th. Many thanks to Sanney for translating and circulating the article! And as Sanney notes: "Be sceptical, folks".
After stepping on the Hollywood scene, Chow Yun-Fat has made a number of pictures in foreign markets. However, according to Fat-Gor's agent Cheung Ka-Jun, after Fat-Gor finishes working
on ANNA AND THE KING (which begins shooting next month in Malaysia on February 28th), Chow will most likely return to Hong Kong to make movies. This is because returning to Hong Kong to make films is what Fat-Gor wants to do in his heart of hearts.
Also, Fat-Gor's good friend director John Woo is reportedly ready to work with him again. Apparently, Woo is developing scripts for Fat-Gor after Fat-Gor has finished filming the Hong Kong films. Currently there are two scripts in consideration: SO NGOR JI MUN (lit. SO NGOR'S KISS) and SEUNG HOI MI SI (lit. SHANGHAI LOST THOUGHTS). The two scripts are said to be being revised by John Woo and that characters are being written for Fat-Gor.
For Cheung, his biggest hope is that Fat-Gor's magnetic precense in Asia will translate into America. He is hoping that these two films will show Chow's charms as they will be sculpted to let Chow show off the charisma he showed off playing the role of Hui Man-Keung in the television serial SHANGHAI BEACH (aka THE BUND).
RM50,000 rental talk of city folk
From the Malaysian paper The Star of January 28th, 1999. And many thanks to Tan Yee for circulating the URL!
IPOH: City folk here were agape when talks made the round that 20th Century Fox was forking out RM50,000 [RM3.80 = US$1, apparently] monthly in rental for a bungalow to accommodate the film director and his family.
The rental period is over six months and the bungalow sits on about 0.5ha piece of land belonging to local businessman Timmy Lee.
Lee's sister, Kathy Lee, was the fourth wife of Yul Brynner, the star who rose to international fame playing the bald autocrat monarch of Siam in the award-winning Hollywood production of THE KING AND I.
Kathy Lee, who married Brynner in April 1983, is said to be living in Switzerland after Brynner's death in 1985.
Another residential property--a Tudor-style colonial mansion in a rubber estate in Tanjung Rambutan--is said to be taken up for RM20,000 per month to accommodate one of the two superstars.
Hong Kong action star Chow Yun Fat will play the king in a remake of the film, renamed ANNA AND THE KING.
Oscar winner superstar Jodie Foster will play Englishwoman Anna Leonowens, on whose experiences as a language teacher in the court of Thailand's 19th Century the film is based.
Location shooting moved to Malaysia after Thailand rejected several draft scripts on the grounds that the movie was historically inaccurate and insulting to the revered monarchy.
Last month, Fox's executive producer Terence Clegg had said they were set to spend about US$20mil (RM76mil) during the 13 weeks of filming in Malaysia. He had said that the replica of Thailand's Grand Palace was being constructed at the Clearwater Golf Resort in Batu Gajah.
Other places selected for shooting were the Perak River, Gua Tempurong subterranean cave, riverine village houses in Parit and Tasek Chenderong where a replica of King Mongkut's Royal Barge and other smaller barges will be constructed.
Local artisans are involved in constructing the barges while seamstresses will be sewing thousands of period costumes needed in the making of the movie.
Since Tuesday, hundreds of people have turned up for audition during casting sessions held at the Hillcity Hotel and Condo for some 1,300 extras.
Real estate agent P. Ranganathan from Ranganathan Housing Agency said the RM50,000 monthly rental was a first for residential property and an isolated case.
He said his agency had recommended several bungalows for rent at RM1,800 per month for some members of the set and crew.
Others were said to have closed deals for apartments in Prema Condo and Regency Terrace in Jalan Tambun, Makhota Villa and Golf Condominium.
The full filming crew has yet to arrive.
ANNA AND THE KING Builds Palace in Malaysia;
Chow Yun-Fat Learning Thai Through English
From the Apple Daily of January 26th. And many thanks to Sanney for translating and circulating the article!
According to Apple sources in Malaysia, ANNA AND THE KING starring Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster will begin shooting in Malaysia in the beginning of March. After making some local appearances during the Lunar New Year Holiday, Chow Yun-Fat will head to Malaysia with skills in both Thai and English. Although for his attack on Hollywood Chow Yun-Fat has mastered a good deal of English, he still needs to practice as he is using English phoneticisms to master the pharses in Thai that will be used in the movie.
ANNA AND THE KING has selected a location near a golf course to build its palace for the film. The studio will spend about HK$10 million to build a replica of the Thai palace. In related news, the movie will also employ about 1000 Malaysian extras for the film. The exact number will be determined by local economic conditions.
Local Artisans Work on Movie Set
By V.P. Sujata for the Malaysian paper The Star of January 23rd, 1999. And many thanks to Tan Yee for circulating the URL!
IPOH: A replica of King Mongkut's royal barge is being built at the Chenderoh Lake, about 80km from here, for the making of Hollywood's 20th Century Fox's coming movie Anna and The King.
The 44m-long barge is being constructed by local craftsmen with designs drawn by the movie-maker's production team.
It is learnt that the lake will be used to depict the Chao Phraya River which was the mode of transport during the 18th century in Thailand.
Even the costumes for the movie--designed by the production team--will be sewn locally.
Apart from the royal barge, several other smaller barges will also be constructed before the movie is filmed in the state beginning Feb 28.
Twentieth Century Fox moved its shooting to Malaysia after Thailand rejected several draft scripts on the grounds that the movie was historically inaccurate and insulting to the revered monarchy.
Last month Fox's executive producer Terence Clegg had said that they were set to spend about US$20mil (RM76mil) during the 13 weeks of filming in Malaysia.
He also said the replica of Thailand's Grand Palace was being constructed at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah.
Other places in the state selected for the shooting are the Perak River, Gua Tempurung, and village houses in Parit located by the river.
Meanwhile, the production house is seeking children and adults with Thai looks aged between three and 60 from Perak to play extras in the movie.
Successful candidates will be paid RM100 per day and provided with meals, refreshments and transport during the shooting at various towns in the state.
Walk-in casting will be held from Jan 26 to Feb 6 at the Cameron Room (Level 2) of the Hillcity Hotel and Condo between 9am and 8pm (Monday to Saturday).
Apart from the Hillcity Hotel and Condo, the production house will also set up a booth at a shopping complex in Ipoh for the casting session.
Perak-based production house Farang Films Ltd (FFL) has been appointed by the movie producers to organise the casting sessions in search of 1,300 extras.
"Extras make up the background of the movie and are expected to show up at the set on time, stay for the entire period of shooting and move as directed by the crew," said FLL local first assistant director Mahathir Tahir.
Those with enquiries on the casting can call Tel: 05-3124155.
Mahathir also said that three sessions of the shooting for the film would take place in Penang, Perak and Langkawi.
Penang was chosen for its port, colonial buildings, and its resemblance of old Bangkok while Langkawi was chosen for its vast padi fields, he said.
"Perak was chosen for its village houses, lake and the river," he added.
CHOW YUN-FAT'S NEW FILM TO TAKE MEASURES AGAINST PIRACY
From the Oriental Daily of January 20th. Many thanks to Sanney for translating and circulating the article!
Chow Yun-Fat's second Hollywood film THE CORRUPTOR will soon have its debut in Hong Kong. However, the film's distributor in Hong Kong On Lok Film Company, in order to fight pirated copies appearing before the date of release, will have special midnight sneak previews in five theatres in Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the New Territories on the night of February 6th. Proceeds from the screenings will go to the Anti-Piracy fund.
When Fat-Gor heard of the news, he expressed full support for the idea. However, due to work preparing for his new film, he was too busy to appear at the event announcing the screenings. However, on the night of the previews, he will return to Hong Kong to make an appearance.
The reason only five theatres will have special screenings is because it will make it easier for the studio to have adequate security personnel to watch for any pirates making unauthorized copies of the film. Otherwise, the point of the night would be lost. The studio hopes to raise sixty to eighty thousand on the previews.
JOHN WOO WANTS TO USE BIG STARS; KING'S RANSOM TO USE CHOW YUN-FAT AND BRAD PITT
By Chan Yuet Mei, from the Apple Daily of January 16th. And many thanks to Sanney for translating and circulating the article!
Former Hong Kong director John Woo has become one of Hollywood's most powerful directors. In March he will start work with Tom Cruise on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II. Following that, he will be working with other big international superstars, maybe even with hunk Brad Pitt.
John Woo has been preparing to shoot MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II for the past year. Currently, it has been revealed that shooting will start on March 8th in Sydney, Australia. The most important factor in the film will be its leading man Tom Cruise. After MISSION, Woo's next film will be KING'S RANSOM. Apart from Chow Yun-Fat, the movie will likely co-star Brad Pitt. As for actresses in the film, Sandra Bullock from SPEED and Cameron Diaz are being considered.
John Woo's agent Cheung Ka-Jun, in a telephone interview from Los Angeles revealed, "we've been in discussions with Tom Cruise. We've got an understanding. The reason the film has been delayed for so long is because the script has not been finalized. We wanted to make sure the script was all right before we started shooting. After that movie, the next two films will be KING'S RANSOM and TSUI HAU WAI YU (lit. THE FINAL WORD). At the time we'll consider the actors' availability and the progress of the script and decide which one to shoot first."
John Woo has always admired Brad Pitt. Because KING'S has two leading roles for men, apart from Fat-Jai, Woo hopes to work with Brad Pitt, Cheung Ka-Jun commented, "John feels that Brad Pitt is a good actor. He hopes that Pitt and Fat-Jai can work together on this film. For the actresses, we hope to pick from either Sandra Bullock or Cameron Diaz."
THE FINAL WORD is slated to be a top flight, powerful production. John Woo hopes to cast Harrison Ford as the male lead. Ford's agent has seen the script and has expressed interest. The other male role will either be filled by Paul Newman or Matt Damon. (SANNEY: Boy, this sure doesn't sound right, how could Paul Newman and Matt Damon be right for the same role?
What is there, forty or fifty years difference in their ages?)
Yesterday, Apple reporters contacted Fat-So for confirmation on the story, "John has spoken to me about getting Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock for KING'S RANSOM. But because Fat-Jai has not signed for the movie, I can't comment any further."
Hollywood film needs locals to act as extras
From the Malaysian paper The Star of January 15th. And many thanks to Tan Yee for forwarding the URL!
PENANG: The production house of Hollywood's 20th Century Fox's upcoming movie Anna and The King are looking for toddlers and toothless senior citizens as extras.
Casting of movie extras of various races, religion and gender which started at the Penang Municipal Council's Town Hall in Padang Kota yesterday will be held until Jan 30.
A Perak-based production house, Farang Films Ltd (FFL) had been appointed by the movie producers to organise the casting sessions in search of 1,300 extras a day for 11 days' shooting in Penang.
FFL's local first assistant director Mahathir Tahir said the extras would be paid RM100 per day and costumes, food and refreshments would be provided on the movie set.
"Casting sessions will begin at 9am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday," he said at a press conference by state Tourism, Culture, Art and Women Development Committee chairman Datuk Kee Phaik Cheen at Komtar yesterday.
Mahathir said the Hollywood production crew was expected to cast 1,300 extras for the first three to four days and for the remaining days, the number of extras may vary between 60 and 100 people.
He added that extras were expected to show up at the set on time, stay for the entire period of the shooting and move as directed.
Those interested in becoming extras should call Tel: 04-2641432.
Apart from Penang, shooting will also be held in Perak and Langkawi.
News From Malaysia
From the Malaysian papers, as courteously summarized by Tan Yee!
A source from the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah, Ipoh in which a major portion of the movie will be shot, said at least half of the total US$45 million budget for the movie has been allocated for its shooting in Malaysia. (By the way, Ipoh is to the north of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.) Principal shooting for the epic is scheduled for 4 months, between February and June.
The film is expected to boost local tourism,at least in the next several months,when shooting takes place. Several local contractors are also expected to take a big share of the cake as some of the sets to be constructed are said to be among the largest ever in the history of the
film industry. Among them are the mock versions of the Royal Palace and the barges, with the many man-made lakes in the resort to be used as natural backdrops for Thailand's canals and waterways.
It is also learnt that Lina Teoh, the Malaysian who was second runner-up in the recent Miss World 98 may be one of the few locals to secure a somewhat 'significant' role in the movie, whilst at least some 2,000 other locals will be used mostly as extras.
Back to Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors....
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