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[30.08.2000] News
- M:I-2 international Box Office
- Windtalkers - shooting begins in Hawaii
- Mission: Impossible 2 DVD announced, first real special edition from Paramount
- Other long-waited DVD releases, The Killer, Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow 1
& 2
- The Killer remake - are they really going to do that?!!
The Killer remake, are they really going to make it?
For years American film makers had several plans to remake
John Woo's classic The Killer. Main role was planned for Richard Gere and at
some point Michelle Yeoh was dreamed to cast with him. American distributors saw
some problems in relationship between Danny Lee's and Chow Yun-fat's characters
being afraid tha American audience could see it homoerotic in nature. How come?
Isnt it more like brotherhood of two souls, friendship doesn't always have to be
sexual does it? But project was left alone and remake was never filmed. Not too
bad thing I 'd say. Script for intented remake was very much the same as
original one but with happy ending. As a reall Finnish I hate happy endings...
heh
Anyway now Gordon Chan is dreaming to film the remake in Hong
Kong trying to bring back Woo style action to Hong Kong. Hopefully it is not
that bad if and when they do it in Hong Kong but honestly I can't see why it
should be done. Also Anthony Wong seems to be interested about the project.
Gordon Chan, the director of the excellent Hong Kong gangster film Beast
Cops, is looking to do a remake of The Killer. Here's a
snippet from an interview from the Asian edition of "Time" (thanks
to Thomas Gaschler from passing the info along):
TIME: What is your next project?
Chan: I want to remake John Woo's The Killer. I'm trying to write it now
and I'm trying to get Leon Lai to star in it.
TIME: Really, that seems odd!
Chan: It is a strange choice, as he' never done any action before, but he
might be interesting for that very reason. Anthony Wong is also a possibility,
maybe as his sidekick.
TIME: When will the movie be finished?
Chan: Maybe in six months. I want to take my time with this film. The thing
that always distinguished John Woo's films was the quality of the production.
In fact, that's why he went to Hollywood. Hong Kong couldn't afford him. He
was too good for Hong Kong. Directors would be amazed at how long he would
take to film individual gun-fighting scenes. Where most directors took one
day, he took two weeks. I want to bring back the John Woo attitude to
production, his influence to Hong Kong film, and all the people working within
it. It's like a mission for me.
Tribute
to John Woo
-
[In reference to Anthony Wong, who had a rocky relationship with Woo on the
set of Hard-Boiled and has criticized him in interviews, working on the
remake] "I know. But Woo is not involved in the project. He phoned me up
last night, and told me nobody has asked him [about the remake], but that
Gordon Chan is a good friend of his and that it will not be an exact remake.
But Chan says it is. What he wants to do is to bring Woo's action style back
to Hong Kong.
Tribute
to John Woo
Forthcoming DVD releases
An update on the upcoming US DVD releases of The Killer and Hard-Boiled
from http://www.dvdshelf.com/.
Combined with the releases of A Better Tomorrow 1 and 2, this
fall loks to be good for John Woo fans: "With the Criterion editions of
John Woo's Hard Boiled and The Killer now out of print, WinStar (aka Fox
Lorber) announced a while back that they obtained the rights to these major
cult favorites, and have now set a street date of 10/3 for their own new
special editions of these titles. Featuring non-anamorphic widescreen
transfers and the original Cantonese language tracks as well as English dubs,
each disc also features a newly-recorded John Woo commentary new to these DVDs.
Retail is $29.95 each, and their will also be a two-pack called The John Woo
Collection for $49.95 (same features as the individual discs.)"
Tribute
to John Woo
-A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2 - Anchor Bay releases were delayed. Now these
discs are scheduled for early 2001. These DVDs are supposed to include most
complete versions available and other extras like audio commentaries by John Woo
himself. But I still haven't seen final confirmed content listing. Also Anchor
Bay is going to find out if they could release Bullet in the Head. Now that
would be great if they released complete uncut version with Woo's comments and
hopefully some behind the scene footage or what ever they could find.
A chat with Anchor Bay
From the Digital Bits:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/072600htfchat.html
[Brook_K] Can you tell me your plans for A BetterTomorrow I&II and will
you beable to acquire the rights to other non-Winstar Woo titles like Bullet
in the Head?
[Michael_Felsher] We are hoping to get John Woo involved in the releases,
however we haven't been able to get with him yet. He is currently involved in
his next film. The releases are now scheduled for early 2001 and we will have
the best looking and sounding TOMORROWs in any case. Bullet in the Head is
being looked into. Thanks, Brook.
-
Mission: Impossible 2 DVD announced - Paramount producing
their first real special edition.
Thursday August 24 3:24 AM ET
Paramount packs punch with ``M:I-2'' DVD
By Scott Hettrick
 HOLLYWOOD
(Variety) - Tom Cruise pulled off another seemingly impossible mission in
getting Paramount Home Video to create its most elaborate special DVD edition
ever, for ''Mission:
Impossible 2.''
The studio has been among the slowest to fully embrace the DVD platform and
only recently has introduced a few titles that have more than a couple of
extra features. But Paramount is riding the enthusiastic support and
encouragement of Cruise and ``M:I-2'' director John Woo in creating what
Paramount Pictures Worldwide Home Entertainment president Eric Doctorow called
the studio's ``most ambitious project we've ever done.''
Although Paramount declined to discuss costs for the release, set for Nov.
7, it is believed to be on the higher end of the expensive special editions,
costs of which have climbed dramatically this year to $250,000-$500,000.
But the money spent on production is expected to return dividends: The DVD
has the potential to become one of the first titles (if not the first) to
crack the 2 million-unit sales mark, and it opens the possibility of Paramount
working with Cruise and Woo on additional DVD titles as well as the studio
developing special editions of catalog titles.
Although elaborate editions that take months to create are starting to be
produced as movies go into production -- something Cruise told Paramount he
wants to do with his next film -- Paramount did not begin work on the
``M:I-2'' DVD until the opening of the theatrical release just three months
ago.
Woo recorded video and audio interviews for the DVD from the set of another
motion picture he's shooting in Hawaii, ''Windtalkers,'' and Cruise not only
did the same while promoting the picture's theatrical release overseas, but
also made suggestions and approved all aspects of the menus and special
features on the disc. He served as a producer on the film.
``M:I-2'' features more than 60 minutes of behind-the-scenes features --
most of which have never been seen before and some of which were recorded
specifically for the DVD -- and hours of interactive programming playable on
computers with DVD-ROM drives and links to Web sites accessible only through
the disc.
Also included is an alternate title sequence and the MTV Movie Awards show
parody ``Mission Improbable,'' featuring Cruise, Woo and Ben Stiller as
Cruise's stunt double.
The VHS version of the movie, being released the same day, will be priced
for rental only and will include two featurettes.
Pre-order
M:I-2 DVD - save 40% from Amazon.com
Reuters/Variety
REUTERS
dvdtown.com
Paramount
Home Video
Windtalkers - shooting begins in Hawaii
‘Windtalkers’ finds bonds in wartime
The film, being shot on Kualoa Ranch, has
its battle scenery prepared
By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin
August 26 2000
"Windtalkers" will not be another "Mission:
Impossible II," promises director John Woo, who also directed the hugely
successful Tom Cruise film.
"This film is about friendship, how people of different cultures can
still come together to form a common bond," said Woo, who was attending a
Hawaiian blessing yesterday at Kualoa Ranch, which is where the bulk of
"Windtalkers" will be filmed. "The story is not about enemies,
but of understanding and the tremendous contributions people make for their
countries."
Nicholas Cage and Christian Slater are teaming up with the action-oriented
filmmaker as two World War II soldiers guarding Navajo Indians. The Navajo
language was used as a code by the U.S. military during the war, and Axis
powers couldn't break it. Cage and Slater's characters have orders to kill the
men they're guarding if any danger, like threat of capture, arises.
Both actors have worked in Woo films before -- Slater in "Broken
Arrow" and Cage in "Face/Off."
The valley on the Kahuku side of Kualoa Ranch has been turned into a Saipan
battlefield. Dozens of eight-foot diameter, three-foot deep foxholes are
spread over several acres. Some of the nearly perfectly round holes have
American flags standing next to them.
Next to each foxhole, tiny pink streamers sit next to smaller holes where
Woo said explosives will be ignited. A few hundred yards along a valley slope
are larger white markers indicating where an enormous fireball special effect
will occur, Woo said.
In that one shot, which will feature a helicopter strafing the landscape,
there will be 200 explosions, Woo said.
Several WWII Japanese tanks sit on the Kualoa battlefield. Dozens of palm
trees have been planted here, and fronds lying on the ground have been
deliberately burned to show the effects of battle.
A few hundred extras attended the blessing in soldier uniform costume, with
canteens, rifles and bayonets. The film will use as many as 1,000 extras, with
700 appearing frequently in the film. About 200 extras will portray Japanese
soldiers.
Woo said the action scenes in "Windtalkers" will be
"realistic" and appear "like a documentary" in the film.
"I want to tell a true story," he said.
And that's the main reason Woo said he wanted to film in Hawaii rather than
in other, perhaps less costly, locations like Australia.
"Hawaii looks like Saipan," he said. "And there's
experienced crew here and creative people.
"Good crew, good story and good food make for a good movie."
Though MGM officials aren't talking about the budget for
"Windtalkers," published reports say the picture is costing about
$100 million. The Academy Award-winning Cage's salary of late is about $20
million.
MGM has hired about eight Honolulu firemen and paramedics to ensure safety
during filming. And there are at least that many security personnel watching
the valley, the dirt road leading to the battlefield, and the valley
perimeter.
"The security is as much to prevent people wandering into areas where
they could get hurt as it is to keep the curious out," said a crew member
who requested anonymity.
Filming begins Monday and is scheduled to last seven weeks.
Star-Bulletin
August 26 2000
M:I-2 Domestic & International Box Office
Now Mission: Impossible 2has became number one hit in this
year Internationally and Domestically (in US).
Word Wide Box Office 2000, Aug 30.
RANK DOMESTIC OVERSEAS WORLD
0001 -- -$ 213.0 - - - - -$ 279.9 - - - -$ 492.9 Mission:
Impossible II (2000)
------ -- -$ 181.0 - - -- -$ 286.0- - - -$ 467.0 Mission:
Impossible (1996)
WorldwideBoxOffice
(30.08.2000)
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