Happy 48th Birthday to Tony Leung

Tony Leung celebrated his 48th birthday on the 27th June.

http://t.sina.com.cn/tonyleung0627

Casting call for The Grand Master

As I suspected filming on "The Grand Master" continues.
Credit to: http://www.soompi.com/

Here's a casting call for hiring supporting actors/actresses for the film:

*Auditions for a maid, to start filming end June / early July, accommodation will be provided.
Audition to be held on 9 June.
Age: either 13-18 or 25-30.

*4 replacements for Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Song Hye-kyo, as well as a number of actors for portraying students.
The audition is on 13 June.

http://www.gzucjob.com.cn/showjob.asp?id=1425
http://www.soompi.com/

Julian Cheung in The Grand Master

Actress Anita Yuen Wing-yi spoke about her husband Julian Cheung Chi-lam's involvement in "The Grand Master".
She said that he has become much thinner because he was busy with Wong Kar-wai's new film.
She said, "I don't know what Wong Kar-wai told him. Now whatever he eats he has to weigh first and always work out until very late. His weight loss process seems to reach obsession level. He shrinks down day by day and I swell up day by day. I don't even know what role he is playing. When I called the film company to ask, they said it was none of my business."

http://ent.zjol.com.cn/05ent/system/2010/06/26/016711781.shtml

ITMFL on Empire’s 100 Best Films of World Cinema

British magazine Empire picked the 100 Best films not in the english language.
Wong Kar-wai's "In The Mood For Love" was ranked at number 42.

The entry:

Why so great?
Wong Kar-wai's achingly romantic account of star-cross'd lovers has a strong claim to be the best-looking film you'll ever see. The '60s costumes, neon cinematography from genius DoP Christopher Doyle and unspeakably gorgeous cast will catch the eyes while the tale of two neighbours, who discover that their spouses are cheating on them and fall in love with one another while trying to deal with the revelation, tugs the heartstrings. Melancholic, perhaps, but as inspirational as Yo-yo Ma's bittersweet performance of the score. 

Hollywood remake?
Not quite, but the film has been riffed on in Lost in Translation, which lifted its famous whispered goodbye from a similar scene here. 

Prizes
No Oscar nomination, but a BAFTA nod and wins at the Césars and Cannes to soften the blow.
http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=42

The top 10:
1. Seven Samurai
2. Amelie
3. Battleship Potemkin
4. Bicycle Thieves
5. Pan's Labyrinth
6. Battle of Algiers
7. City of God
8. The Seventh Seal
9. The Wages of Fear
10. Spirited Away


The full list: http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/

Happy Together and Fallen Angels double feature in Tribeca

To celebrate the Blu-ray and digital re-releases of Happy Together and Fallen Angels, courtesy of Kino Lorber, 35mm prints of these two films will be screened back-to-back in downtown Manhattan on Thursday July 22 at the 92Y Tribeca.
Two-for-one tickets.
Apparently there will be freebies and giveaways included as well.

More details:
http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?category=92Tri+92YTribeca+Film888&productid=T-MM5FJ44

Lunar New Year release for The Grand Master?

Wong Kar-wai's "The Grand Master" is said to have completed filming and is now entered the editing phase. Ultimately, Brigitte Lin did not make a comeback appearance. Zhang Ziyi's role is said to be that of a female killer/assassin. Zhao Benshan and Song Hye-kyo also appear.
The film began shooting in Guangdong last November and has been shrouded in secrecy. A Lunar New Year opening is still anticipated despite some delays.

It will compete against four powerhouse films: Chen Kaige's Zhao's Orphan, Zhang Yimou's Love Under the Hawthorne Tree, Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly and Feng Xiaogang's You Are the One 2.

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-06-22/10312994107.shtml

Tony Leung's latest Weibo message

Tony Leung posted a message on his Weibo account regarding The Grand Master.
When asked when filming will be completed, his answer was "hope we can finish be4 christmas".

http://t.sina.com.cn/n/梁朝偉

New publicity photos

Not directly connected to The Grand Master, but here are a couple of new publicity stills released by Jet Tone Films (Wong Kar-wai's production company):

Tony Leung

Chang Chen

Carina Lau

http://t.sina.com.cn/projecthouse