It appears that there’s a little bit of the old Weinstein mentality left over from the Miramax days in today’s pick up. The Weinsteins have bought the North American and South African rights to the martial arts pic stamped with John Woo’s name on it. Reign of Assassins, a set in 428AD pic that may recall of Crouching Tiger days – as Michelle Yeoh toplines this project currently in post-production which will be ripe for a Winter release.
Here’s a portion of the synopsis: a Southern India prince became a Buddhist monk and set off for China, earning a hallowed reputation as a mystical martial artist. Following his death, his remains mysteriously disappeared. Hundreds of years later, Zhang, a high-ranking court official, is assassinated by Drizzle. Zhang’s son Jingxiu, whilst mourning his father’s death, is assailed by a group assassins. They leave him for dead, but somehow he survives and escapes their clutches.
Drizzle, a talented warrior herself, finds herself in possession of Bodhi’s remains, and begins her quest to return them to their rightful resting place at Yunhe Temple. The Black Stone, a team of deadly assassins who employed Drizzle, are also after the remains and the powerful secret they hold. To hide from The Black Stone, Drizzle undergoes drastic facial surgery and changes her name to Zeng Jing (Yeoh). She flees to Beijing, where she meets and falls in love with Jiang, soon to become her husband.
