Mike Leeder brings another action digest round-up of the news-stories from the world of eastern action that you may have overlooked in the last few weeks…
Andy Lau & Herman Yau create a ‘Shock Wave‘…
Andy Lau not only stars in Herman Yau’s Shock Wave, but also serves as one of the film’s producers and investors. The film, which also stars Ron Ng, Philip Keung, Louis Cheung and Babyjohn Choi, seems to be riffing on s similar theme to that of the Jeff Bridges Tommy Lee Jones thriller Blown Away. Lau plays one of Hong Kong’s elite Bomb Disposal Squad who finds himself forced to play a deadly game when a bomber brings his war to the streets of Hong Kong.
Lau has been literally sweating it out on set in Hong Kong’s heat and humidity in a 70 pound bomb safety suit, having also attended training with the real Bomb Disposal Team in Hong Kong. Several familiar Hong Kong landmarks look to have been targeted for destruction by the film – including one of the Cross Harbour tunnels and a close-to-full-scale replica has been built to help the team stage some epic action sequences.
The Count of (Modern) Monte Cristo…
The Alexander Dumas classic tale of revenge and payback has served as the inspiration for a number of official big-screen and TV adaptations, the most recent direct adaptation being the Jim Cavaziel / Guy Pierce version from 2002. The story tells of a man, Edmond Dantès, betrayed by his supposed friend, Fernando Modego who secretly wants the woman Edmond loves. Dantès is framed and wrongfully imprisoned… and eventually escapes his island prison to returs with a new identity to reclaim the heart of the woman he once loved and and take revenge on the man he once called brother. The recent show Revenge played with a similar idea, albeit with more soapy twists.
Now the original swashbuckling tale looks set to be getting a modern day update at Warner Bros., with Safehouse Pictures‘ Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold producing from a script by Underground creator Joe Polaski. The project will see the story of Dantès and Modego transition into a modern day setting with The Signal’s William Eubank directing. There’s no word yet on casting.
Netflix to play some Sacred Games in Mumbai…
Netflix continues its plans for small screen domination with their latest original content project: Sacred Games. Set in Mumbai, the crime series will be based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Indian author Vikram Chandra. The Hindi-English language series will be shot on location in India with Netflix working with one of India’s leading production houses, Phantom Films, on the project.
The series explores the intricate web of organised crime and corruption, politics and espionage that hides behind India’s economic renaissance. A world of exceptional wealth and power attracts and affects the lives of the privileged, the famous, the wannabes, the wretched and the blood-thirsty…
In a series of statements, those involved expressed their excitement…
“Over the last few years, I’ve watched with great excitement and pleasure as Netflix has transformed narrative television with its ground-breaking, genre-bending shows, I’m confident that all the colour and vitality and music of the fictional world I’ve lived with for so long will come fully alive on the large-scale canvas provided by Netflix. I’m thrilled to be working with Netflix and Phantom Films,” Vikram Chandra noted
“We are very happy to start this journey with Netflix by producing Vikram’s outstanding story, set in Mumbai ” said Madhu Mantena of Phantom Films. “And we are extremely confident that, together we will create some exciting and groundbreaking Television content from hereon.”
“We are delighted to partner with creative powerhouse, Phantom Films, to bring Vikram Chandra’s epic novel to life with the best Indian and global film talent available today,” said Erik Barmack, vice president of international original series at Netflix. “Sacred Games reinforces our commitment to bring the authenticity of local stories to Netflix members across 190 countries worldwide…”
Dave Bautista & Bruce Willis go Marauding…
It seems as if Bruce Willis may well be trying to give Steven Seagal a run for his money in regards to prolific B-movie output at the moment. Just as every week seems to bring a new Seagal movie announcement or two… every month we seem guaranteed at least one Bruce Willis movie, though not necessarily destined to dominate the multiplexes. And in most of them he seems to be giving Seagal a run for his money performance wise… seemingly a case of cash the paycheck and run.
One of the exceptions was Stephen Miller’s Extraction which saw Willis starring with Kellen Lutz and Gina Carano. Now Miller returns with another Willis outing – with Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Crime Scene Investigation), Dave Bautista (Spectre, Guardians of the Galaxy)and Adrien Grenier from Entourage along for the ride.
The story: When a bank is hit by a brutal heist, all evidence points to the owner (Bruce Willis) and his high-powered clients. But as a group of FBI agents (Meloni, Bautista and Grenier dig deeper into the case, but the deadly heists continue, it becomes clear that a larger conspiracy is at play.
The trailer gives us a Michael Mann’esque / HEAT feel and Willis can still deliver when he wants to. Meloni always delivers, Grenier has always hinted at being capable of so much more than he gives us, and we’re very big fans of Bautista. He’s always had the physical presence from appearances in WWE, Chuck and Man with the Iron Fists, but he’s consistently proven how much of a dramatic presence he can be with solid turns in Guardians of the Galaxy, Spectre, the under-rated Heist. We also look forward to seeing him in Warriors Gate, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, the Blade Runner sequel and of course Kickboxer: Vengeance where he plays the villainous Tong Po.
Does reboot mean ‘Once A Thief ‘always a thief… ?
I’ve always been a big fan of John Woo’s 1991 action comedy Once A Thief.( A lot of international fans seemed to miss the point when it first came out… Yes, its not as dark and nihilistic as The Killer, A Better Tomorrow or a Bullet in the Head, and it was never meant to be! It’s a light hearted action comedy that still contains some very epic action and great performances by Chow Yun-fatt, Cherie Chung and the late Leslie Cheung) In the mid-90’s, as Woo was at the height of his American success, the film was rebooted as a TV series starring Ivan Sergei, Sandrine Holt and The X-Files‘ Nicholas Lea. The pilot rejigged the movie (although was bizarrely re-titled Violent Tradition for its UK release). The subsequent series was a lot of fun, even if it, unfortunately only really found its feet at the end of its first and only season.
Now comes the word that Once A Thief will ride again as a China/French co-production with Woo’s long time partner Terence Chang producing. Actor/director Stephen Fung (House of Fury, Into the Badlands) helms the film and plays the Chow Yun-fatt role. The Assassin’s Shu Qi and Monkey King 2 star William Feng will round out the cast as the three light-fingered proteges of a powerful crime boss.
Fung was previously attached to the Hardboiled sequel, an adaptation of the video game sequel Stranglehold (which Woo and Chang produced). Woo’s A Better Tomorrow got an official Korean remake a few years back and word has it that The Killer will be getting a remake too. Woo is serving as Exec-Producer on the upcoming Hard Target 2 starring Scott Adkins and is currently helming his remake of Sato Junya’s Hot Pursuit, now known as Manhunt.
Infernal Affairs to return…
Andrew Lau’s original Infernal Affairs movie (starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai) was a huge success both locally and internationally, spawning two sequels and, of course, an Oscar winning American reboot The Departed (directed by Martin Scorsese). Now the original producers behind the film, Media Asia, have announced that – in association with China’s iQiYi – it will be collaborating on an epic web series based on the film. It is scheduled for three 12-episode seasons, shooting in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Thailand. No word on who will be playing the lead characters, but according to the producers the new version will be exploring the story from multiple angles… with both the under-cover police and the Triad’s undercover agents getting plenty of screen time. And, yes, Eric Tsang – who made such a memorable villain – will be returning…
Charles Bronson: Caboblanco to hit blu-ray…
Kino Lorber will be releasing Charles Bronson’s Caboblanco on blu-ray later this year, with a wealth of special features…
The story: Offshore near Caboblanco, Peru, an explorer of sea wrecks is murdered. However, local authorities decide that the official cause of death is “accidental drowning.” Among the skeptics is Giff Hoyt, an expatriate American, longtime Caboblanco resident and popular innkeeper. Giff’s interest is further piqued when Marie arrives in town.
Her passport is confiscated by the corrupt authority, and Giff protests. Furthermore, a Nazi named Beckdorff lives in a well-fortified compound near town, and he might be responsible for the explorer’s death. Beckdorff himself seeks sunken treasure in the area, as well as protection from local interference. Can Giff Hoyt stifle the evil Beckdorff, save the lovely Marie, and possibly even locate sunken treasure?
Kino Lorber’s release will also include The Making of Cabo Blanco, an audio commentary by Paul Talbot, the author of Bronson’s Loose and Bronson’s Loose Again, and interview with Producer Lance Hool and a selection of classic Bronson trailers.
