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Partly backed by a state-controlled developer, one of China's star filmmakers plans to make two movies about a factory's relocation -- a timely topic amid the country's rapid construction spree.

Jia Zhangke will start shooting a documentary and a fictional movie about the relocation of an aircraft factory and its workers in the southwestern Chinese city Chengdu in April, producer Chow Keung told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday.

Chow said the developer, China Resources Land Ltd., which is controlled by state-owned China Resources Group, bought the land where the factory is located and will replace it with upscale housing. Jia was asked to make a movie about the relocation.

Set in a tiny mountain village in 16th century Italy, during the height of the Roman Catholic Inquisition, this is the true story of a hilarious heretic named Menocchio -- an eccentric miller who was one of the few commoners outside the Church who could read. And as he devoured his favorite books, his fertile imagination grew inflamed with loony yet enlightened ideas about Man, God, and Creation which he obsessively shared with everyone he met.

Whether warning fellow villagers about corruption in the clergy -- or asserting his wacky belief that the universe was made of cheese, from which came God and his angels disguised as worms -- Menocchio couldn't keep his mouth shut. With the Inquisition in full force, this was a huge problem. And the problem only grew worse when his widespread popularity made him mayor of his village. The all-powerful priests went to great lengths to silence Menocchio. But this was not a man to go down quietly.

And therein lies his tale.

David Mamet Writes and Directs Redbelt
Date: April 13, 2007

By: Garth Franklin
Source: Variety

David Mamet will direct his original screenplay "Redbelt," set in the Jiu-Jitsu fight world of West Los Angeles, for Sony Pictures Classics.

Set to start production in May in L.A., "Redbelt" is an American samurai film set in an underworld inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces operatives.

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as a Jiu-Jitsu master who has eschewed prizefighting tooperate a self-defense studio. When he is conned by a cabal of movie stars and fight promoters, he must enter the ring to fightin order to regain his honor.

The $10 million actioner marks a return to the indie film world for Mamet, who has lately been shepherding his CBS series "The Unit." A Summer 2008 release is planned.

Sony, Mamet put on 'Redbelt' Film set in Jiu-Jitsu fight world

ANNE THOMPSON, Variety

Sony Pictures Classics is back in business with David Mamet, who will direct his original screenplay "Redbelt," which is set in the Jiu-Jitsu fight world of West Los Angeles.

SPC will fully finance and globally distribute the $10 million actioner, which marks a return to the indie film world -- as well as the theme of con games -- for Mamet, who has lately been shepherding his CBS series "The Unit."

Set to start production in May in L.A., "Redbelt" is an American samurai film set in an underworld inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces operatives.

"Redbelt" stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a Jiu-Jitsu master who has eschewed prizefighting tooperate a self-defense studio. When he is conned by a cabal of movie stars and fight promoters, he must enter the ring to fightin order to regain his honor.

"Redbelt" will be produced by Chrisann Verges ("Warm Springs," "Mrs. Harris"). Ejiofor's credits include "Children of Men," "Kinky Boots" and the upcoming "American Gangster."

SPC co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard had been pushing Mamet for the past three years to bring his next low-budgeter to them. Mamet first worked with SPC on 1997 sleeper hit "The Spanish Prisoner," which Barker and Bernard acquired at the Toronto Film Festival. They also financed and distributed his 1999 pic "The Winslow Boy."

More casting is in the works; likely members include frequent Mamet collaborator magician Ricky Jay and Mamet's wife, actress Rebecca Pidgeon. SPC plans a summer 2008 release.

Chow drops out of John Woo's 'Red Cliff'
Star exits Woo epic three days into shooting
By PATRICK FRATER, CLIFFORD COONAN

HONG KONG -- Chinese superstar Chow Yun-fat has dropped out of John Woo's mega-budget "Red Cliff" only three days into shooting.

Producer and Woo's partner in Lion Rock Entertainment Terence Chang told Variety "We are reworking our schedule right now as we have to shoot around the absent leading man." Lensing began Saturday in Hebei Province near Beijing.

By way of explanation for the shock move Chang said: "We are replacing Chow Yun-fat since the bond company CineFinance would not approve his agreement."

Agency reports quoted a China Film Group source as saying that Chow had made "unreasonable demands" that exceeded industry standards. Chow is understood to have said that he only received a final script a few days ago and was not sure he would do justice to the character.

The $70 million budget picture is the biggest budget Chinese film ever made and one of the largest of the year to be made as an independent picture. It is Woo's first Chinese-language film in many years after a Hollywood career that has included "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible 2."

Budget was put together by China Film Group, Japan's Avex Entertainment, China's Chengtian Entertainment, Taiwan's CMC Entertainment and Korea's Showbox. Int'l sales are handled by LA-based Summit Entertainment.

The heavyweight script by Woo Chan Khan, Guo Zheng and Sheng Heyu weighs in at a four hour film. For Asian territories pic is to be split into two parts. North American and other int'l auds will receive a single movie, possibly weighing in at close to three hours.

Remaining cast is now confirmed as including Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chiling Lin, Chang Chen, Vicky Zhao and Hu Jun.

Chow reportedly said that he had effectively taken a pay cut, by not asking for a raise after the decision to make the movie a two-parter.

Chow's ankling is the second high profile departure for "Red Cliff". A few weeks back Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("Bullet In The Head," "In The Mood For Love") quit, suggesting that he could not make a commitment for the whole of the massive six month-long lensing.

Chow departure, however, is a psychological blow. Chow was the iconic star of many early Woo films including "A Better Tomorrow" and "Hard Boiled."

Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963210.html

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will co-star in the indie film Righteous Kill from Nu Image's Millennium Films and Emmett Furla Films, Daily Variety reported from the Cannes Film Festival today (Thursday). The trade publication quoted Nu Image chief Avi Lerner as saying, "This is an event in world history." Lerner pointed out that De Niro and Pacino had appeared together only once before in a film. "They were in two scenes in Heat. In this movie, they are in the whole thing together," he said.

The three Mexican directors who shook up Hollywood last February with 16 Academy Award nominations have formed a moviemaking partnership with Universal Pictures worth a reported $100 million.

Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will produce five movies, some of them in Spanish, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"These filmmakers truly represent the importance of cultural diversity for the global audience," said David Linde, co-chairman of Universal Pictures.

The trio, who individually directed "Pan's Labyrinth", "Babel" and "Children of Men," will call their production company Cha Cha Cha.

Universal plans to distribute the trio's films abroad. A U.S.-Canadian distributor was not named. The total cost of the films could reach $100 million, according to the Times.

The three have marketed themselves together since their stunning Oscar success.

Del Toro directed "Pan's Labyrinth," which won three Oscars and was nominated for six. Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel" was nominated in seven categories, including best picture and best director, and won for best original score. Cuaron's "Children of Men" was nominated in three categories.

Venezuela giving Danny Glover $18m to direct film on epic slave revolt

· Chávez hopes venture will aid anti-imperialist fight
· Actor wants to educate US on Toussaint Louverture
Rory Carroll in Caracas
Monday May 21, 2007

Guardian
Venezuela is to give the American actor Danny Glover almost $18m (£9m) to make a film about a slave uprising in Haiti, with President Hugo Chávez hoping the historical epic will sprinkle Hollywood stardust on his effort to mobilise world public opinion against imperialism and western oppression.

The Venezuelan congress said it would use the proceeds from a recent bond sale with Argentina to finance Glover's biopic of Toussaint Louverture, an iconic figure in the Caribbean who led an 18th-century revolt in Haiti.

It will also give seed money for a film version of The General in His Labyrinth, Gabriel García Márquez's novel about the last days of Simón Bolívar, who liberated much of South America from Spanish colonialism.

Glover, 60, who starred with Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon series, and more recently with Eddie Murphy in the film DreamGirls, is a civil rights activist and supporter of Mr Chávez's radical leftwing policies.

A document from the congress's finance commission said the culture ministry would be a partner with Glover and give $17.8m for "scripts, production costs, wardrobe, lighting, transport, makeup and the creation of the whole creative and administrative platform".

The project could mark a breakthrough for Villa del Cine, a new government-funded studio outside the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, which is part of Mr Chávez's effort to combat what he sees as American cultural hegemony.

Glover, who visited Caracas at the weekend, told the Guardian that he would direct the film, titled Toussaint. "It's so advanced that you can taste it. We've scouted locations within 75km [45 miles] of Caracas. I can do everything I need to do with this film from here." He said he had been in talks with the government, but was unaware that a decision had been made until journalists tipped him off about the congress's announcement. "That's the first I've heard of it," he said.

He suggested that there was still some uncertainty over whether the venture would go ahead. "One of the major axioms in theatre is never talk about anything until the deal is signed. There's a lot of deliberation that goes on before something actually happens."

It appeared that the congress timed the announcement to coincide with a media conference in Caracas hosted by the television network Telesur, a Venezuela-funded regional answer to CNN. Glover is on the board.

It would not be the first declaration to run ahead of reality. Mr Chávez once said the director Oliver Stone planned to make a film about him, but it came to nothing. However at the president's request, Villa del Cine, which was inaugurated last year, is making a film about Francisco Miranda, who lit the fuse of South America's liberation. A lavish production with hundreds of extras and battle scenes, its costumes and sets could work for the Haiti film.

Toussaint Louverture is a towering figure in the region's history. A freed slave of African descent, he led thousands of slaves in successful campaigns against British, Spanish and French troops before being betrayed, captured and exiled. He died in 1803, just before his followers succeeded in establishing the island's independence. William Wordsworth wrote a sonnet about him.

Glover said he wanted to educate the US about the story. "It's been essentially wiped out of our historic memory, it's been wiped clean."

The actor is chairman of the TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group for African Americans and other members of Africa's diaspora, and a vocal critic of the Bush administration. Along with the singer Harry Belafonte, Glover is the best known celebrity supporter of Mr Chávez, whom he considers "remarkable". He is a regular visitor to Venezuela.

Venezuela's congress, which consists entirely of Chávez supporters, also said it would give $1.8m to develop a screen treatment of The General in His Labyrinth, by a Venezuela-born director, Alberto Arvelo. Some rate Gabriel García Márquez's account of the final days of Bolívar along with the Colombian writer's better known novels, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.

To build consciousness of what Mr Chávez calls "21st-century socialism", the government has funded nationwide screenings of Charlie Chaplin's classic film Modern Times, about the exploitation of US factory workers during the depression.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

Woo logs on to "Ninja Gold" movie, video game

Action filmmaker John Woo is attached to direct and produce "Ninja Gold," a new property from the creator of such video games as "Deus Ex," "Thief: Deadly Shadows" and "System Shock."

Fox Atomic, the nascent genre arm of 20th Century Fox, will release the eventual film; Warren Spector, the video game creator, will executive produce.

"Ninja" centers on a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old legacy and bloodline, forced to confront the reality of covert warfare in the modern world.

"The game concept is actually based on facts that the Yakuza and the Russian mob are involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa," said Terrence Chang, Woo's production partner.

Added Spector: "The idea actually started with John Woo. He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me. I was intrigued with the idea of what happens when the traditional and the contemporary come into conflict."

Spector said Woo was intimately involved in the creation of the "Ninja" cast of characters, especially the hero. He said Woo's input on the basic situations and thematic underpinnings of the story puts him in a great position to develop the film property without a lot of assistance from the game creators.

Chang said the film will be more reality-based but still will have fantastic elements from the game. He said the hope is to put the film into production next year, but that requires a script to be completed by then. No timetable or publisher has been announced for the game.

Woo has been at the forefront of the collaboration, creating his own game studio, Tiger Hill Games, in May 2003. Through a publishing deal with Midway Games, its first title, "John Woo's Stranglehold," ships in August for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is a virtual sequel to Woo's "Hard Boiled" and features Chow Yun-Fat reprising his role digitally for the game. Woo directed the game's motion capture and was involved in the game's creation.

The PS3 "Stranglehold" Blu-ray Disc will have the game and the original "Hard Boiled" movie on the same disc. Once the game has launched, there's the potential for a film based on the new story.

"We would definitely bring 'Stranglehold' to the big screen," Chang said. "We want to be very selective about producing games. We would like game titles to have all kinds of possibility. Having a movie made from them is certainly a major consideration for deciding on a title."

dadaistnun wrote:More on Blindness

Daniel Craig looks set to join Julianne Moore on the set of Blindness, an adaptation of the novel by Portuguese author Jose Saramago. The Focus Features production will be shot by Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian film-maker behind City of God and The Constant Gardener.

Cosmic Bus wrote:Craig has now reportedly dropped out of the picture due to scheduling conflicts.

Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover and Alice Braga are set to join Fernando Meirelles' apocalyptic drama "Blindness" for Focus Features International.

Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo already have joined the project, which is based on Jose Saramago's acclaimed novel that is set in motion when an epidemic of blindness sweeps through a contemporary city and pushes society to the brink of breakdown. Bernal will play the King of Ward 3, and Glover will narrate the story. Braga will portray the girl with the dark glasses.

My friend Scott Heim, who authored Mysterious Skin, just notified me that he's scripting the remake of Suspiria to be directed by David Gordon Green next year. There are bits of news about this. But according to Scott, it's still so completely up in the air right now.

I have faith in Scott though.