'Promise' leads hot Asian pix

Abstract

* Ready for fall fests will be new pics by directors who went head to head in competition at Cannes last year: Park Chanwook ("Old Boy") and Hong Sang-soo ("Woman Is the Future of Man"). Still shooting is Park's final seg of revenge trilogy "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," starring Lee Yeong-ae ("JSA"). Hong's relationships movie "A Tale of the Cinema," again co-produced by France's MK2, wrapped in late February.

Starring some of East Asia's biggest female names, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh, Dream Works' "Memoirs of a Geisha," skedded for a December release, looks to keep awareness of the territory's industry at a high pitch throughout 2005. And there's plenty of product from established Asian directors to keep fest programmers on their toes.

The region's biggest production, Chen Kaige's $35 million historical magical saga "The Promise," shot in China, finally wrapped in September. But 14 months of post-production makes this a contender for Cannes or Venice in 2006.

Meanwhile, John Woo, who's in pre-production on his first feature in China, $50 million historical drama "The Battle of Red Cliff," with Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li, recently shot a UNICEF short in Beijing that will preem at Venice this fall.

CHINA

* After wrapping Chinese locations in Yunnan province in January, Zhang Yimou has moved to Japan for the remaining scenes on a small-scale drama about a Nipponese father who travels to southern China to help out his dying son. Starring Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai and Shinobu Terajima, and produced by Bill Kong of Hong Kong's Edko Films, the Chinese-Japanese co-production has no official English title yet. Direct translation is "Riding Alone for a Thousand Li."

* Helmer Tian Zhuangzhuang ("Springtime in a Small Town," "The Blue Kite") recently wrapped a biopic of famed Japanese go player "Wu Qingyuan," starring Taiwanese actor Chang Chen in a role that stretches from 17 years old to 70.

* Ready for delivery is Joan Chen starrer "Sunflower," centered on a courtyard family in Beijing from the '70s to the present. Zhang Yang ("Shower") is director of the China-H.K. co-production.

* Skedded to start shooting in May/June is "Noble," the latest comedy from mainland hitmeister Feng Xiaogang ("A World Without Thieves," "Big Shot's Funeral"), with thesps Ge You and Maggie Cheung penciled in as leads.

* On the action front, Ronny Yu will start in March on "Huo Yuanjia," with Jet Li heading a pan-Asian and U.S. cast as the eponymous Qing dynasty patriot. Co-producer Columbia is putting up $19 million, and Focus Features is handling non-Asian sales.

* Director Lu Chuan, doing the fest rounds with "Kekexili," is to shoot "The Rape of Nanjing," set in the Japanese-occupied city in 1937.

* On a much smaller scale, actor Jiang Wen will return to the helming chair for the first time since Cannes competitor "Devils on the Doorstep" (2000) with "Little Women," a contemporary drama unrelated to the Louisa May Alcott classic.

HONG KONG

* Wong Kar Wai's English-lingo debut, "The Lady From Shanghai," is skedded to start shooting in July, with Nicole Kidman in the title role. As of late February, no screenplay existed and a production source told Variety: "We cannot confirm the story, where the film will be shot (China and/or Europe) or even the film's title."

* Biggest martial arts fantasy of the year is the Tsui Harkhelmed "Seven Swords," the first film in a planned hexalogy. The Donnie Yen, Léon Lai and Charlie Yeung starrer, shot in Xinjiang province, is in post.

* The prolific Johnnie To is in the final stages of production on "Election," a hard-hitting look at triad history in Hong Kong. China Star produces.

* Stanley Kwan is shooting Shanghai-set (1928-81) meller "Everlasting Regret," with Sammi Cheng and Tony Leung Kar-fai. Co-production teams Jackie Chan's JCE Movies with Shanghai Film Group.

* The Pang brothers return with "The Eye 10," the third pic in the hot-selling horror series, starring Taiwan actor-singer Chen Pao-lin. Film bows March 24 in Hong Kong.

TAIWAN

* Local auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien is in a leisurely shoot on "The Best of Our Time," with local-born actress Shu Qi ("Millennium Mambo") playing different women in three time frames, from the Qing dynasty to the present. Chang Chen takes the male lead, and Hou's d.p. is again Mark Lee.

* Also in the Taiwan art-house hopper is "The Moon Also Rises," by fest fave Lin Chengsheng ("Betemut Beauty"). For her perf as a divorcee trying to reconnect with her teen daughter, Yang Kuei-mei won the actress laurel at December's local Golden Horse Awards.

SOUTH KOREA

* Ready for fall fests will be new pics by directors who went head to head in competition at Cannes last year: Park Chanwook ("Old Boy") and Hong Sang-soo ("Woman Is the Future of Man"). Still shooting is Park's final seg of revenge trilogy "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," starring Lee Yeong-ae ("JSA"). Hong's relationships movie "A Tale of the Cinema," again co-produced by France's MK2, wrapped in late February.

* Another potential fall contender is "Duelist," first feature by director Lee Myung-se since 1999 actioner "Nowhere to Hide." The $8 million Chosun dynasty whodunit, centered on a female detective, is set for an August release locally.

* Also in the fall release frame is "Wichul" (Korean title), the latest drama by helmer Hur Jin-ho ("Christmas in August"), about a man who falls in love while his wife is in a coma.

* Shooting for a summer fest slot is action noir "A Bittersweet Life," from helmer Kim Jeewoon ("A Tale of Two Sisters"). A hot seller at Berlin's EFM, film bows April in South Korea.

* At the quieter end of the scale, Song Il-gon's gentle 70-minute "Feather in the Wind" (originally commissioned for a DV three-parter) may have more fest success than his last feature, "Spider Forest."