"The One Armed Swordsman is considered a classic of the genre, an important Chinese cultural touchstone, and if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s a good deal of fun."
This week Chen Kaige commences principle photography on Mei Lan Fang a 15 million project with Zhang Ziyi headlining and a popstar by the name of Leon Lai being showcased as well.
As committees from each individual country select their respective submissions for the Best Foreign Picture Academy Award derby, folks like myself have the arduous task of trying to keep score. Without a doubt the early favorite is Germany’s selection which has already picked up seven German Film Awards this year.
Prolific (understatement) director Johnnie To is back, again. The actioneer's latest film, Exiled, has been picked up Magnolia Pictures for distribution in North American. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received high marks and standing O's. Expected to be a major hit in Asia, the film showcases To's trademark skills at making gangster films with an action glean.
The thrill of meeting Marjane Satrapi reminded me of being 6 years old at Disney Land when I met the living, breathing Cinderella. Except Cinderella was an actress with a blond wig and Marjane is the real woman behind her autobiographical graphic novel, turned movie, “Persepolis”. The distinctive mole on her nose and her dark sultry eyes rose off the page and appeared in front of me, smoking and speaking with a French accent.