By Chi Tung
Mission probable in China; Asian films make a mark at Cannes; a double dose of Chow; Ziyi does it again. All this and more in the May 26th edition of News From Abroad.
MI3 in China?
One is the land of the rising sun, the other is slated to host the most resplendent Olympics in recent memory. But the real million dollar question is: who gets Mission Impossible 3? According to the Beijing news, China has been pegged as an ideal filming spot for the cast and crew of MI3, which will this time be auteured by TV bigshot J.J. Abrams. Originally, the film's production team had designated Japan as an ideal backdrop for Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise)'s latest exploits, but when alerted that it would cost less to shoot in China, well, you can be sure that the eyes of Paramount execs immediately lit up. The only question that remains: will the Chinese government allow it? Stay tuned.
Asian invasion at Cannes
With Asian films currently holding the title of cinema du jour, it comes of little surprise that this year's edition of the Cannes Festival is brimming with Asian selections. Master of minimalism Hou Hsiao-Hsien is back with his Three Times, which as the title suggests, chronicles three different periods and inexplicably only features the smoking-hot Shu Qi in one of them. Sixth Generation stalwart Wang Xiaoshuai offers his err, dreamy Shanghai Dreams while Cannes first-timer Johnny To explodes onto the scene with the Tony Leung-led Election. From Japan comes Masahiro Kobayashi's heart-wrenching Bashing and South Korea gets in on the action with its last-minute entry, Tale of Cinema, by Cannes returnee Hong Sangsoo. And the Palme D'Jour (that's French for best picture) goes to...? Sadly, none of the above, as Belgian bros took home the whole kit n' kaboodle with their well-received The Child.
See APA's review of Hou Hsiao Hsien's Cafe Lumiere
Virtual Chow
And from the world of gaming comes...a Chow Yun Fat video game? Actually, to be more specific, a Chow Yun Fat/John Woo/Inspector Tequilla (Chow's character in the gun-fu essential Hard Boiled) shoot-em-up video game, which makes perfect sense given that Chow, with his plethora of gravity-defying gun-flips and slip-and-slide manuevers, is one slick son of a gun. Gun metaphors notwithstanding, the X-box product entitled "Stranglehold" is scheduled for a 2006 release. Here's a tip on how to master the moves: watch Hard Boiled again.
...And more Chow
He's back. No, not the gubernator, but the aforementioned Chowster, who is back to his gun-toting, cigarette-smoking ways again with the cop caper-flick Deadly Deception, also starring John Leguizamo as the principal baddy and Roselyn Sanchez as his -- dare we say it -- love interest? Well, at least she's his partner, which maybe gives him an outside chance of sharing his first onscreen kiss in the States. (And no, I'm not counting Anna and the King because A) Jodie Foster's in it and B) Chow may be a lot of things, but he most certainly isn't the King of Siam.) Still haven't satisfied your Chow fix? Then check for the upcoming The Wretched, in which Chow plays a zombie marksman named Rellik. As for his long-awaited reunion with Mr. Woo? No dice...yet.
Today on AZN TV...
AZN Television is causing more than a few ripples with its inspired, eclectic lineup of Asian programming. The latest addition? Greg Pak's Robot Stories, an edgy sci-fi love story (the only kind that exists, right?) that has made the rounds in various film festivals -- and collected some hardware too. In celebration of APA Heritage month, AZN TV is also airing a series of documentaries that are muy importante in enlightening Asian (and non-Asian) audiences -- Christine Choy and Renee Tajima's must-see Who Killed Vincent Chin, along with the award-winning A.K.A. Don Bonus, which documents the struggles of a Cambodian immigrant in high school and Bittersweet Survival, the incendiary chronicle of post-Vietnam refugee fallout.
See: APA interview with Greg Pak
Seeing Red
It's official: China has arrived. This according to Newsweek, which, in their May 9 issue, plants a smiling Ziyi Zhang on its cover page. Although it's the state of the nation which receives the lion's share of attention -- its burgeoning economy, technological advancements, a potential superpower adversary -- it's the feature article written about Chinese cinema -- and its most recognizable face -- that illustrates precisely how deeply imbedded in the national consciousness the Jet Lis, Ang Lees, the Jackie Chans and yes, the Ziyi Zhangs, have become. Then again, maybe Newsweek just needed an excuse to put Ziyi on its cover...
Take a wild guess where she is on our best of 2004 female entertainers?
Published: Thursday, May 26, 2005
