1949 (2009)

[utkim]

December 23, 2008

John Woo to Present Oriental Titanic in "1949"

Song Hye-kyo [File Photo: sina.com.cn]

Director John Woo plans to turn his new film '1949' into an 'oriental Titanic', cast member Mark Cheng has revealed.

The big-budget romantic epic is set on a cruise liner, which John Woo is spending a huge amount of money on to make more luxurious than the Titanic, Cheng said during an interview with the 'Shanghai Youth Daily'.

"The gigantic cruiser is equipped with all the facilities you could ever want. The director wants it to look dignified and at the same time vintage," he said.

The movie tells the love, life and death stories of three pairs of lovers. Actors Chen Chang, Patrick Tam and Mark Cheng have been cast as the male leads. Kungfu star Michelle Yeoh, and South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo will play two of the female leading roles, with the last one still to be decided.

Cheng will play opposite Michelle Yeoh.

The scheduled filming date has been postponed for half a year due to preparation of the movie sets. Hopefully lensing will start in June 2009, actor Patrick Tam has said earlier.

Source: CRIENGLISH.com

http://english.cri.cn/6666/2008/12/23/1221s435823.htm

@rubie

[Guest Janie Simply]

2009-01-07

Patrick Tam -- SHK "potential" reel husband in '1949'

Like Hye Kyo, in real life, Patrick also join Stellar Management

At the recent Hong Kong Variety Show, Patrick Tam shared about his married life and his new movie.

~ on Stellar Entertainment ~

Patrick has been in the show biz for close to 20 years and he doesn't seem to reach any stardorm image no breakthrough internationally. He won the best supporting actor in this famous HK cops movie "Beast Cops" in 1999. Through joining the new agency in last August, many see his potential to become high profile. The management challenges him to participate in more variety shows and other activities outside of acting to gain more exposure. Tam is thrilled to work under Producer Terrance Cheng & Michelle Yeoh and is pleased with their vision and dedication towards Asian Artists. He marvels Michelle for being such a capable woman & superb in acting esp skills at kung fu fighting. He said he first knew Michelle through his mentor, belated Anita Mui.

~ on Family life ~

Patrick said he has been happily married for 9 years, from dating present wife to marrying her to having a son. He said the secret to a successful marriage is loyalty; He is thankful that he is able to enjoy his careers freely because he has a loving wife who fully supports him. Often reporters like to know or curious about his wife (since she is not in the show-biz circle plus the family prefers to have their privacy in general), Patrick would always tell them that all they need to know is his Dear is a good wife and a caring mother.

~ on 1949 ~

Patrick shared that that he will play the role of a soldier in the movie. He said the film was supposed to start in Dec but due to the mega project and prep work for war scenes on land, sea and air, the filming will be postponed to June; At present he is busy practising his mandarin speaking and will be taking up some intensive physical training to build up the image of a soldier for his role in the film.

~ on Hye Kyo ~

Tam disclosed that he will play Hye Kyo's lover in '1949' but in the process there comes this prince charming, Zhang Zhen and, who knows, there might just be a triangle love arises Apparently he and SHK are members of the Stellar Entertainment. He said SHK is beautiful and that he has watched a few of her dramas recently and her acting is pretty good.

~ on Zhang Zhen ~

His impression on actor Zhang Zhen is that Zhang is a very talented actor and a deep thinker. Tam said he will have a lot of screen time with Zhang in the movie, hmm.. for better or for worse

Credit: taken from various sources in Baidu

*Rough translation so please do not repost, thank you

[Guest baby-swts]

SONG HYE GYO!?

is this like a chinese movie? wow im stoked for this heh

[Guest Janie Simply]

2009-01-07

Director John Woo shares his dream project '1949'

http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=523364625

Credit: xiaiqiao of baidu

*Very rough translation so pls do not repost*

After finishing his period epic on Red Cliff Sequel, Director John Woo is busy setting his hand on yet another mega project '1949' with the ensemble cast of bankable stars such as Song Hye Kyo, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Zhen, Patrick Tam, Mark Cheng and one actress yet to be selected. Woo shared that people seem to think he is only gifted in commercial filming, but deep down in his romantic heart, he always has the ambition to direct a LOVE film. He said he has invested countless hours thinking and developing this beautiful romantic epic on the lives of three lovers during 1949 war era. (romance based on true events at the end of WWII and the final years of the Chinese Civil War.)

Actor Mark Cheng revealed that most of the actions will take place on the ship. It is said that Woo has spent lavishly on constructing this gigantic dream boat. (the article on the first post above provides a better gist)

Woo states that the backdrop of '1949' is crucial in dipicting that period of war history thus his team has been busy scouting for suitable locations and Tianjin, Nanjing and Taiwan seems to fit the era best; since each place has its unique historical and cultural background, Woo will blend the richness of each beautifully in the film. Woo said he is satisfied with the progress on the preparation work so far and will be ready to roll the camera this coming Summer in Tianjin and the filming should be done by the end of the year.

Thanks to wiki... Now we know

*What is Romantic epic*

Romantic epics are romance films done on a large scale, usually in a historical setting. The romance itself is often portrayed in a counterpoint to war, conflict or political events in the background of the story. In these films, the romance and the main character's relationships are the centerpiece of the story, rather than a subplot. The archetypical romantic epic is Gone With the Wind (1939).[4] Other examples include Cleopatra (1963)[5], Doctor Zhivago (1965), Out of Africa (1985), The English Patient (1996), Titanic (1997)[6], Atonement (2007), and Australia (2008).[7]

perhaps wiki will include '1949' as the epic for (2009)

[Guest Janie Simply]

December 22, 2008

Michelle to star in Director John Woo's 1949

Michelle Yeoh

Credict:Jane@ http://michelleyeoh.info/news.html

The US$40 million project was first announced at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Scripted by Wang Hui-ling (Lust, Caution and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), the Chinese-language war epic/romance tells three love stories set against the back-drop of the final years of China's civil war which ended in 1949 with the Nationalist Party retreating to Taiwan and the Communist Party seizing the power, thus leading to the establishment of the two governments - the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The film will be produced by John Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Production, with Fortissimo Films handling worldwide rights outside China.

The project has been described by Chinese language media as "Eastern Titanic". According to the reports, an important sequence will feature the true event of the sinking of the ship Taiping. The tragedy happened in January 1949, when the Taiping, a ship which was carrying more than 1,000 people who were fleeing from Shanghai to Keelung, Taiwan, sailed on an icy night without lights due to a curfew and collided with a cargo boat, the Chienyuan. Only 38 people survived.

Although the background is on the historical topic recounting the communist takeover of China, it is not expected that the director will focus on political issues. The plan is to shoot in both Taiwan and Mainland China.

The cast will include Michelle, Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and several actors represented by Michelle and Terence Chang's Stellar Entertainment: South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, Hong Kong actor Mark Cheng, and Hong Kong actor and singer Patrick Tam Yiu Man.

The production was originally planned to start filming this month, but currently has been postponed to next June for a 2010 release.

~~

Mark is Michelle's Man in '1949'

credit:月萦福雅 of Baidu

Actor Mark Cheng was in this heated dancing competition recently in China sth like "Dancing with the Star" reality show; so is Patrick Tam. Hmm... there ought to be a dance floor in Oriental Titanic right?... 'cos I wanna see SHK... no... ALL the actors dance on the Loveboat

[Guest Janie Simply]

SONG HYE GYO!?

is this like a chinese movie? wow im stoked for this heh

Yes it is and SHK is in the dream team There is one actress yet to be revealed. My guess would be someone from China since it is a chinese movie :blush:

Not too familiar with the history of China aka 1949 nor geographical location on where's where, so just like to post some facts I discovered & continue to discover

According to Woo, the backdrop for '1949' are Tianjin, Nanjing and Taiwan and here are some facts on each city.

Thanks to wiki... Now we know

Tianjin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjin

Nanjing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing

Taiwan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan

[Guest tofu plushie]

That sounds so awesome! I am looking forward to seeing this when it's released. It's nice to see international film industries crossing^^

[Guest Janie Simply]

That sounds so awesome! I am looking forward to seeing this when it's released. It's nice to see international film industries crossing^^

Agreed! With this war background, I think we will not only see multiculturalism blended among Asian artists but Western as well in the movie.

HK actor Patrick Tam chosen to act as husband of SongHyeKyo in 1949, shooting starts in June 2009.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x30/utk...mg261324786.jpg

Here's more on Hye Kyo's possible reel husband; he seems to be very talented - singer cum actor.

He has really good singing voice; Apparently, he was trained under the belated singer Anita Mui.

Here's his karaoke singing and drama in 'No Turning Back'

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=grf1gJg4bJU

Oh, he can dance too; Last month (Dec 27), Tam participated in this popular dancing competition in China, sth like Dancing with the Stars. This time to media's surprise, his beautiful wife came along to support him and very impressed with his dancing skill.

edit:

Here's his 3rd round competition on Jan 10 weekend dancing to the tune Love Story (Where Do I Begin)

http://tieba.baidu.com/%CE%E8%C1%D6%B4%F3%...c43c389678ac01b

Tam received the award for the Most Stylist dancer for the event on Jan 17 weekend.

谭耀文《舞林大会》夺得最佳舞林风采奖

tracy歌迷@baidu

[Guest Janie Simply]

Zhang to cast as medical doctor in '1949'

Recent picture of Zhang Zhen aka Chang Chen at the promo for Red Cliff II in Guangzhou, China (January 5, 2009)

Director John Woo spoke very highly of Chang and said he is very impressed with Chang's passionate acting in Cliff 2 esp in the life turmult circumstances. That is another reason why Woo cast Chang in '1949', in fact, according to one source, Woo loves to cast Chang Chen in all his productions. :blush:

According to earlier script, Chang Chen will be cast as a Taiwanese medical doctor and would develop a love relationship with SHK after her reel husband die in the war sth like that.

Woo stated that he chose SHK for '1949' is because she has this natural talent to express richly the various emotions needed in Hwang Ji Ni movie & Full House drama. Since one of the the characters in the movie calls for that kind of radiant and anguish element, SHK best suits the role.

[Guest laila85]

Thanks janie-hunnie, kekeke. A lot of great info . Chang Chen looks awesome..faints.

[Guest Janie Simply]

Korean actress SHK anticipates ‘1949’

Doesn't Hye Kyo looks gorgeous in this silk/satin top;

Fans said it's a mini-modernized Cheongsam aka qípáo.

Guess we will see her wearing more of these costumes in '1949'.

Hers might be more elegant & elaborated

since she is gong to be a General's daughter (upper-class woman) sth like that

During the interview yesterday in Hong Kong, Hye Kyo shares about her preparatory work for ‘1949’ & plan in 2009.

~ on Mandarin learning ~

SHK said at present she is diligently learning Mandarin. It’s not her mother-tongue so it’s a challenge. Thankfully she has a really good teacher and she progresses quite well and is enjoy learning. I think the tutor makes it fun to learn. Her main task right now is to wholeheartedly memorizing her lines required from the script. Reporter teased if she would like to show off a few Mandarin lines to impress the audience & Kyo said she will demonstrate it next time when she is near perfection

~ on director John Woo ~

When asked about her thought on Director John Woo and actor Chang Chen. Hye Kyo said she always fancy Director Woo’s work eversince she was young. As an actress, she often wondered if she would ever have the chance to work with Woo and when the offer came about, she was elated! She didn’t expect that her dream would come true so quickly and she is really looking forward to this movie and she said the script is very attractive.

~ on Chang Chen ~

Hyekyo also mentioned that she is thrilled to work with this popular actor, Mr. Chang Chen who is an outstanding actor and a heart-throb of Asia She feels humble that on her debut film into the Asia-Pacific market, she is able to collaborate with the rest of the mega stars in ‘1949’. She is thankful for all the opportunities that come along her way which motivates her to work even harder.

~ on contemplating a new korean movie ~

She also shared that since '1949' won't begin shooting until this Summer, so in between now and then she is considering doing another Korean movie. At present, she is skimming through several proposals/scripts and will go from there.

~~

Cheongsam/qípáo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qipao

[utkim]

^oh darling, thanks for make this thread alive dear. and so much of info you give us . Muackkk

[Guest dreamsicle]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a horrible idea for SHK to speak Mandarin in this movie? Chinese actors already come into a single movie with their own local Chinese accents (that's at least 3 accents per movie), then we have a Korean actress memorizing pinyin. I'm sorry but I just don't think SHK should torture herself with memorizing a language she doesn't know. It'll only distract her from acting. Takeshi Kaneshiro was dubbed in Red Cliff, and he's half Chinese.

[utkim]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a horrible idea for SHK to speak Mandarin in this movie? Chinese actors already come into a single movie with their own local Chinese accents (that's at least 3 accents per movie), then we have a Korean actress memorizing pinyin. I'm sorry but I just don't think SHK should torture herself with memorizing a language she doesn't know. It'll only distract her from acting. Takeshi Kaneshiro was dubbed in Red Cliff, and he's half Chinese.

You might be right. Let's see what happens then. She probaly needs dubbing and it was talked about that too.

[Guest Janie Simply]

Chang Chen loves teasing SHK

Ever since the collaboration of Chang Chen and Song Hye Kyo in 1949 was announced, question about their thought on each other is unavoidable. At the recent promo of Red Cliff II, the question was posed to Chang again about his future co-star. He wittily replied that SHK is very adorable, beautiful and makes him drool all the times

http://gall.dcinside.com/list.php?id=songh...3186&page=1

his comment causes a chuckle among his Cliff team

~~

Last May in Cannes, when the media knew that '1949' is a romantic epic, they asked Zhang exactly where is the boundary for initmacy. He playfully replied that he hopes Director Woo would be generous enough to create more kissing scenes for him and SHK... the more the merrier

the reaction when Song understood what Chang was saying...

~~

Chang Chen said that he first met SHK in March of 2008. His first impression of her was she is very beautiful and radiant. He teased that SHK has the charm to generate electricity on guys sth like that

Chang-Song first encounter in March 2008

edit:

Did you know... Sohu did an online survey last year on who were the 50 most attractive celebrities in the World and Chang Chen was one of them. The gist of the write-up stated that they couldn't pin-point exactly how attractive this man is but he is just that charming... with an untamed heart!

http://pic.yule.sohu.com/911450/group-1425...37&p=973389

[Guest Janie Simply]

Who will be the 3rd lady in '1949'?

This space is reserved for that special actress later

[Guest SweetKYO]

http://in.nen.com.cn/in/414/3216914.shtml

今年对宋慧乔很重要,和吴宇森合作电影《1949》，一次次亮相，宋慧乔不断刷新着人们的印象，而她的精致造型也成为众多女性争相模仿的范本，让我们学习她最经典的15款发型吧！

Song this year is very important, and John Woo cooperation movie "1949", the first time appearance, Song constantly refresh people's impression, and her exquisite style of many women has also become a model to imitate each other, let us learn from her classic 15 Let hairstyle!

[Guest SweetKYO]

http://in.nen.com.cn/in/414/3216914.shtml

今年对宋慧乔很重要,和吴宇森合作电影《1949》，一次次亮相，宋慧乔不断刷新着人们的印象，而她的精致造型也成为众多女性争相模仿的范本，让我们学习她最经典的15款发型吧！

Song this year is very important, and John Woo cooperation movie "1949", the first time appearance, Song constantly refresh people's impression, and her exquisite style of many women has also become a model to imitate each other, let us learn from her classic 15 Let hairstyle!

[Guest Janie Simply]

Financial Tsunami swept away Oriental Titanic dream

(Feb 2) Yesterday at Stellar Entertainment's press conference in Taiwan, producer Terence Chang said the planned film 1949 may have to be canceled. Chang mentioned a copyright issue with the script, and expressed his disappointment with an investor. The China Film Group Corporation, the state-run film enterprise in China, and Taiwan's Ling I-Jun were supposed to be the main financial investors of the project. Hong Kong "Oriental Daily" reported that Terence Chang and director John Woo may choose to abandon the project since they don't want to be controlled by the investor company. Woo may direct a Hollywood film instead.

Stellar Entertainment currently has another 4 productions lined up. Last week Michelle said she and producer Terence Chang are preparing a martial arts film.

credit: Jane @ http://michelleyeoh.info/news.html

[Guest Janie Simply]

Potential OT stars embarking on different voyages

Since there is problem with copyright issue and investors crisis on '1949', the ensemble of stars thus decided to embarked on their own separate voyage...

Stellar boss Michelle Yeoh & PD Terrence are working on a martial art film where Michelle will be the main cast and the project will be revealed in April;

Director Woo might direct a Hollywood movie sometimes in June;

"Reel husband-to-be" Patrick Tam is busy debuting his Mandarin music CD;

Chang Chen will be taking up a martial art film under Director Wong Kar Wei in June;

Song Hye Kyo most likely will choose a Korean movie as several proposals have been offered to her since January.