slate includes 'Eat Drink'

day3_p1,15_n1 B 3/24/09 8:23 PM Page 1
WONG PHOTO: VICTOR FRAILE/GETTY IMAGES
I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H
Door opens
for Dai pic
from ‘Tibet’
By Jonathan Landreth
Q&As
Tsui Hark PAGE 4
Wei Te-sheng PAGE 13
Chinese director Dai Wei will
begin shooting “Once Upon a
Time in Tibet” outside Lhasa in
late April with Beijing production
company Stellar Megamodia
(“Nanking! Nanking!”), Romebased
producer Mark Holdom told
The Hollywood Reporter.
Holdom said he and Hong Kong
actress Charlie Yeung met with
investor Yang Yuen of Beijingbased
Forward Capital here at Filmart
and that the “Bangkok Dangerous”
star is “strongly
considering” starring in the film
opposite a Western male lead.
As a New Zealander, Holdom
thinks he could be the first Western
producer to gain permission to
shoot a feature film in the southwestern
Himalayan reaches of
China, where media are barred or
tightly controlled by Beijing
because of ethnic tensions that a
year ago erupted into anti-Chinese
riots.
(On Monday, Reporters Without
continued on page 15
REVIEW
‘Crazy Racer’
By Maggie Lee
Ning Hao’s “Crazy Racer” plays
with the velocity of an athlete
pumped up on steroids and
amphetamines.
Hysterical cartoon-like action competes
with thick vernacular humor that
operates on cerebral and sensory levels as
a spectacularly unlucky bicycle racer
becomes embroiled in all kinds of bungled
crimes in this madcap comedy. It’s a circus
act of pure cinematic showmanship that
loosely channels the Coen brothers.
continued on page 7
By Karen Chu
Despite the torrential
downpour that disrupted
meeting schedules and
market traffic Tuesday
morning, Fortissimo
Films managed to round up big
sales on the second day of Filmart,
with deals inked for six titles.
Robert Kenner’s documentary
“Food, Inc.” has been gobbled up
by Singapore’s Golden Village,
Japan’s Café Groove, A Films for
Benelux, United King Films for
Israel and Deltamac for Hong Kong
and Taiwan.
Fortissimo struck deals for
“Mishima,” Paul Schrader’s 1985
cult fictional biopic, with Scandinavia’s
NonStop Entertainment,
France’s Wild Side and Spain’s
Avalon Distribution.
America director Todd
Solondz’s “Forgiveness,” starring
Shirley Henderson and Ciarán
Hinds, was sold to Israel’s Shani
Films and Russia’s Maywin Media.
Fortissimo’s big push for a
Cannes hopeful, director Tsai
continued on page 15
daily
the
FILMART
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
FILMART news
from China’s Zong Yi
starts AFTER PAGE 15
THR.com/filmart
A Fortissimo flood
Films from Schrader, Solondz, Tsai go on busy day at market
Two Generations, One Next Gen
Raymond Wong, founder of Mandarin Films, accompanies his daughter, company exec
Alvina Wong, to The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen Asia event Tuesday night at the W
Hong Kong. Alvina is a member of the Next Gen Asia inaugural class. PAGE 14
Scary Shaw deal for
Celestial, ET channel
By Karen Chu
Celestial Pictures on Tuesday
announced a licensing deal for
a package that includes about a
dozen Shaw Brothers classic films
to ET Movie Channel of Taiwan’s
Eastern Multimedia Group, Celestial
Pictures executive vp Terry Mak
told The Hollywood Reporter.
It marks the third channel on
which Celestial’s Shaw classics
would be broadcast in Taiwan, after
the movie channels of Videoland
continued on page 15
WHAT’S INSIDE
>Reviews: PAGES 5-8
3
>Strength in numbers: The Asia
Pacific Alliance unveils new
members, impressive slate. PAGE 3
>What the pros say: Panels
examine the future of branding and
distribution for films. PAGE 3
WORLD REPORT
THEIR
GLASSES
ARE HALF
FULL:
The Asian
movie
industry is
rather optimistic about the prospects
of 3-D in the region. PAGE 9

Abu Dhabi D1 032309.indd 1 3/18/09 10:32:51 AM

day3_p3,14 n2 B 3/24/09 8:37 PM Page 1
CHOPRA PHOTO: VICTOR FRAILE/GETTY IMAGES
news Wednesday,
Placement
is paramount
By Gavin J. Blair
A panel of product placement
pioneers discussed how integral
the practice has become to the
financing of blockbusters Tuesday
during a “Brands or Bust:
Added Revenue Through Film
Branding” session.
After opening remarks and
introductions from The Hollywood
Reporter publisher
Eric Mika, the discussion was
kicked off by Norm Marshall,
CEO of NMA, explaining how
product placement can be
used to develop a character’s
image in the short two hours
available for a movie.
Marshall went on to point
out that destroying four Hummers
during the course of
shooting a film added a lot to
the budget without GM as a
willing sponsor on board to
replace them.
Chris Lee, executive producer
of “Valkyrie” and “Superman
Returns,” described the
continued on page 14
Free passes
to Locarno
By Jonathan Landreth
Upping their interest in Asian
cinema, organizers of the Locarno
International Film Festival will
present a new award for two projects
from China, Hong Kong or Taiwan
today at the closing ceremony
of the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing
Forum.
The winners of the 2009 Open
Doors HAF Awards will be fasttracked
into the co-production
workshop of the Swiss festival,
whose 62nd edition is set for Aug.
5-15.
Called the Open Doors Factory,
Locarno’s co-production workshop
will focus this year on films from
Greater China. Winners of the HAF
award will circumvent Locarno’s
usual selection procedure. ∂
By Karen Chu
Salon Films’ Asia Pacific
Alliance announced three
new partners — National
Arts Entertainment of
Hong Kong and Enlight
Pictures and Pearl River Film Co. of
China — and unveiled a new slate
on Tuesday.
With the help of the Access Asia
Fund and the alliance, Taiwan’s
Zoom Hunt International Production
said it is developing the $10
million “The Mermaid,” a special
effects-heavy retelling of the legend
about the underwater city in Yunnan
province by “Dim Sum Funeral”
scribe Anna Chi.
Li Shao-hung, director of the new
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
Asia Pacific Alliance swells
Three new members come on board; slate includes ‘Eat Drink’ sequel
By Gavin J. Blair
Panelists at a “Distribution of
Asian Product in the U.S. and International
Markets” event on Tuesday
emphasized the increasing
importance of revenue from online
channels and festival screenings.
Adam Dornbusch, head of acquisitions
for VOD portal Jaman, said
that in addition to the popularity of
Bollywood and Hong Kong action
films, art house and documentaries
from Asia are doing good business.
“It’s a way of delivering different
kinds of Asian content,” Dornbusch
said. Jaman offers a mix of PPV and
ad-supported free content, focusing
on international and indies.
Trophy life:
Indian film star
and former Miss World
Priyanka Chopra grasps
the Nielsen Box Office
Award Monday night at
the Asian Film Awards.
IFC Films vp acquisitions and
production Arianna Bocco suggested
that new digital delivery
channels, such as the company’s
day-and-date simultaneous theatrical
and VOD releases, were “not
to the exclusion of traditional distribution
but complementary to it.”
She noted that IFC continues to
pioneer VOD releases straight from
festival premiere screenings in
order to exploit the buzz the films’
generate.
The panel discussed how more film
festivals are being expected to pay for
prints and the growing importance of
those screenings becoming part of the
theatrical release.
“We’re lucky in that we feed
$14.6 million television adaptation
of literary classic “Dream of the Red
Chamber,” and Chi are in negotiations
to helm “Mermaid.” Chi will
bring husband Douglas Smith, visual
effects supervisor of Rhythm &
Hues, if set to direct, Zoom Hunt
president and veteran Taiwanese
producer Hsu Li-kong said.
continued on page 14
Pearl River springs
for high-tech camera
By Jonathan Landreth
In a sign that China’s provincial
film studios are pushing to produce
better movies for a growing market
in the face of increased competition
from technically sophisticated
international co-productions, Pearl
River Films on Tuesday spent
$340,000 at Filmart on a new Arriflex
D-21 digital camera.
Liu Hongbing, president of
Guangzhou-based Pearl River, a
state-run studio that distributes
mostly inside China, bought the cutting-edge
camera from Hong Kong
continued on page 14
Asian pics count on VOD, fest funds
fairly high up the festival food
chain, but smaller festivals are
increasingly having to pay for
prints and that is now becoming
crucial to the revenue of independent
films,” said Cameron Bailey,
co-director of the Toronto
International Film Festival.
Piracy is a particular threat to
international distribution of Asian
content when the DVD release has
already occurred in the country of
origin, according to the panel.
“My mother-in-law is Chinese
and just about everyone in her
community (in Canada) had seen
‘Red Cliff’ on DVD, let’s just say,
long before the official release,”
Bailey said. ∂
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3

day3_p4_tsui 3/24/09 3:43 PM Page 1
q&a Wednesday,
Tsui Hark is the China-born writer, producer, director and actor behind Hong
Kong’s prolific Film Workshop, a wellspring of groundbreaking martial arts and action
films that got its start by bucking the Hong Kong action-comedy trend of the early ’80s
with “Shanghai Blues” (1984), the first film in the genre with a nearly all-female cast.
Some 10 years later, he cemented the West’s respect for the martial arts genre with “The
Blade.” Before he begins shooting his next movie in May, Tsui spoke with THR Asia
editor Jonathan Landreth about the past, present and his myriad ideas for the future.
Reflect for a minute on Film Workshop’s
beginnings.
Tsui Hark: “Shanghai Blues” was
the first film from the Film Workshop.
There was nothing really significant,
but it carries a certain
passion about why we established
this company. My thinking was
that we should try something else,
so we did a non-action comedy
with an all-female cast. Women
were rarely given significant roles
before this movie. But I said,
“This is quite a boring thought,
we should try something away
from the ideas that have been
established.” The film was not
greenlighted by the company
I was working for at that time
(New Cinema City), so that’s why
we formed Film Workshop.
“Shanghai Blues” was made well
before Hong Kong returned to China’s
vital stats
Tsui Hark
Nationality: Chinese
Born: Feb. 15, 1950
Selected filmography: “Seven
Swords” (2005), “Time and Tide”
(2000), “The Blade” (1995), “Twin
Dragons” (1992), “Once Upon a Time
in China” (1991), “Peking Opera
Blues” (1986), “Zu Warriors From the
Magic Mountain” (1983)
Notable Awards: Dubai International
Film Festival lifetime achievement
award (2008); Golden Horse
best screenplay nom and Hong Kong
Film Award directing nom for “Seven
Swords”; Venice Film Festival’s
Future Film Festival Digital Award for
“Time and Tide”; Hong Kong Film
Award best director for “Once Upon a
Time in China”; Hong Kong Film
Award best picture winner for “A Better
Tomorrow III” (1989)
rule in 1997. As migration for labor
continues to be a huge topic in China,
could you make a film with that as
the subject now?
Tsui: “Shanghai Blues” is quite connected
to that moment as the story
is about migration because of political
unrest. In 1948, the moment of
the civil war between the Nationalists
and Communists in China,
civilians were put into this polarization
of extreme politics. That’s why
some of them stayed and some of
them left. So this is sort of a
tragedy, which, when you look at it
nowadays, it’s not tragic in a way,
but it was kind of sad to look back
seeing that in late years of Chinese
history these things happened to a
few generations.
Last year, your film with Beijingbased
J.A. Media, “All About Women,”
was another all-female comedy. Do
you think women are particularly
funny?
Tsui: I think people are funny altogether.
Not just any single sex. I
think the funny part is that when
people are being serious about
something, there’s always another
side about being very funny.
Tell us more about “Detective D,” in
which the hero will be played by Andy
Lau in a Huayi Brothers film penned
by Chen Kuofu.
Tsui: He was a very intelligent
detective in the sixth or seventh
century in China. That was a time
where you had a mixed culture of
people around the world, even the
Italians, who had traveled from
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
Rome to China. That was like in
Xi’an, nowadays, and there was like
10% of the population from foreign
countries. Even the government
was a blended, mixed race between
the people from outside the border
and the midland people. It was
quite an interesting culture and an
interesting era.
Apart from Lau, have you hired your
cast?
Tsui: We’re still very busy casting,
because I have a very subjective
choice in casting all these people
because these are all real people
from history. The most important
character will be the empress.
She was the first and last empress
in China, who claimed to be
very iron-fisted, who used cruel
methods in handling her politics.
At the same time, she was very
smart. The story’s Detective
D was in prison for eight years
and then released to solve a case
for her. D later turned out to be
the prime minister for the
empress. They had such an interesting
relationship of hatred and
love and passion.
During your career, you’ve skipped
from one kind of film to another. Is
this a return to an earlier kind of film
for you, one based on the “wuxia” literary
tradition of warrior-philosophers?
Tsui: I hesitate to use the term
“return,” because when you say
return, you mean you’re going back
to the same stuff. Actually, you can
never return. It’s impossible
because of the kind of angle, the
viewpoint, your appreciation of the
style of telling a story, that changes
according to the times. I would say
that it’s trying to go into something
that is fresh for myself.
How do you focus?
Tsui: For a time, I wrote down
something I had in mind every time
I was creating a story, or after I
looked at a movie that inspired me.
Sometimes I talk; at dinnertime, I
discuss with friends who will not
steal my ideas. Recently, I had the
idea of making a movie about forgery.
The world is filled with forgery,
and I think it would be good
material to play with.
How will you overcome these tough
economic times?
Tsui: I don’t want to have to think
too much about what would happen
if somebody doesn’t give me
the money to make a film. I always
just wait. ∂
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4

day3_p5,6,7,8_revs1 B 3/24/09 6:22 PM Page 5
reviews Wednesday,
‘Glamorous Youth’
By Elizabeth Kerr
Hong Kong film critic
Philip Yung makes his
directorial debut with
“Glamorous Youth,” an
almost episodic drama
centering on three high school boys
and their families in a search for the
‘Imburnal’
By Elizabeth Kerr
Director Sherad Anthony
Sanchez (“The Last Priestess
of Buhi”) joins the burgeoning
ranks of epic Filipino filmmakers
with “Imburnal,” a long, nonlinear
examination of poverty and
violence and their influence on two
young boys.
Set in the slums of Davao City and
its nearby sewers, “Imburnal” could
be considered the anti-“Slumdog
Millionaire.” Initially rated X by the
Philippines’ Movie and Television
Review and Classification Board for
its “objectionable presentation” of
poverty (is there a pleasant way to
present it?), any lingering controversy
will increase the film’s profile.
perfect life after 1997.
Hong Kong’s relation to China is
becoming more and more common a
topic within the industry’s independent
scene, and here Yung tries to
bring a little social realism to the
game. The rambling, lackadaisical
pace suits the subject, and Yung is
almost guaranteed a slot in a wide
Asian, human rights and avant
garde-focused festivals are sure bets,
but theatrical release is almost out of
the question, even at home.
Allen (Allen Lumanog) and Joel
(Joel San Juan) spend their days
hanging out in the crevasses of
Punta Dumalog and witnessing all
manner of behavior — some of it
gruesome — that will eventually
shape their adulthood. They have a
surrogate mother of sorts in Gigi
range of film festivals. An art house
release at home is a distinct possibility,
but it’s too geographically specific
for limited release elsewhere in Asia.
Kin-hong (Nelson Yung) and his
friends Tai-hong (Kwok Hiu-fai)
and Spiderman (Cameron Lau) all
have teenage problems. Kin-hong is
mired in boredom and familial disillusionment,
Tai-hong is experiencing
early sexual problems and is
already reliant on masturbation and
hookers, and Spiderman is desperate
to break free of the apathy to
(Jelieta Ruca), who half-heartedly
offers advice when they’re not discovering
their own sexuality.
Employing extreme extended
takes — endless scenes of the area’s
residents listening to the radio and
so on — discordant and/or absent
sound and a plethora of disturbing,
striking images (for the most part
nicely shot by a team of cinematographers),
Sanchez’s choices are
obscure and designed to provoke.
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
BOTTOM LINE
Sprawling social drama effectively
captures the nuance of
contemporary life.
PRODUCTION: Digital Jungle Production Ltd.
CAST: Nelson Yung, Kwok Hiu-fai, Cameron
Lau, Tai Bo, Louise Wong, Joey Leung, Pai
Piao, Sherry Lee. DIRECTOR: Philip Yung.
SCREENWRITER: Philip Yung. PRODUCER:
Chang Wen. Director of photography: Harry
Lee. SALES: InD Blue. No rating, 136 minutes
which Kin-hong seems resigned.
The adults that surround them
aren’t much better off: Kin-hong’s
parents exist in fantasy worlds, his
girlfriend Kaka’s (Louise Wong) single
mother is lost to depression, and
teacher Mr. Chong (Joey Leung) is
lonely despite his friendship with the
school’s principal (Pai Piao). The
characters flail about looking for
something, anything, they can latch
onto as a goal — love, success — feeling
lost when nothing materializes.
Yung, who also wrote the screenplay,
has a keen eye for small details
that have more of a cumulative
impact, though things could be
heightened with some tighter editing.
But his portrait of everyday life in
the shadow of expectation is vivid,
and the rhythms of the main characters’
decidedly unglamorous (yet
sweetly nostalgic) youth is a strength.
The camera work is unfussy (with
properly lit HD photography).
When Kin-hong meets Siu Yue
(Sherry Lee), a Shenzhen girl with
money problems, he packs up and
runs off with her, looking to the
newly accessible Mainland for
what’s missing at home. Whether
he finds it is the film’s final grace
note, ambiguously melancholic and
appropriately low-key. ∂
>Asian Digital Competition
BOTTOM LINE
Trying quasi-experimental comingof-age
film isn’t without merit, but
it ultimately alienates viewers.
PRODUCTION: Creative Programs Inc., Salida
Prods. CAST: Jelieta Ruca, Allen Lumanog,
Joel San Juan, Brian Monterola, Lawrence
Garrido, Maricel Rosello, Carmela de Guzman.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER/EDITOR:
Sherad Anthony Sanchez. PRODUCER:
Ronald Arguelles. SALES: Creative Programs
Inc. No rating, 209 minutes.
In yet another attempt at high
artistry, Sanchez inserts an intermission
at about the 90-minute
mark, with at least five minutes of
black screen scored with watery
music (water is the film’s defining
motif). “Imburnal” ultimately
crumbles under the weight of its own
importance. ∂
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5

day3_p5,6,7,8_revs1 B 3/24/09 6:22 PM Page 6
The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | reviews
‘High Kick Girl’
By Maggie Lee
Kick Girl” achieves what
last year’s “Shaolin Girl”
“High
failed to do at a fraction of
the cost — create a proper martial arts
vehicle for a hard-knuckled nymph
‘End of Love’
By Elizabeth Kerr
If there was a hallmark of queer
cinema in Asia, it would be its
never-ending and tired focus on
the angst involved in simply being
gay. One more gay high school student
with a crush on his straight
best friend, and buckets of requisite
I-wish-I-wasn’t-gay agony will be
one too many.
Hong Kong indie filmmaker
Simon Chung (“Innocent”) steers
clear of that ditch and turns in his
most assured film to date with “End
of Love,” a simple drama about a
young man trying to find his own
footing vis-à-vis personal morality
and the capacity for emotional connection.
Chung’s handling of Asian
homosexuality may be a little too
to kick ass in a mini-skirted uniform.
It is poised to high-kick its way into
genre film ancillary.
Producer-director Fuyuhiko
Nishi, who choreographed the
exemplary “Black Belt,” discovered
Rina Takeda, a virtuoso karate girl
mature and blunt for general release
in Asia, but broad spectrum and
niche (gay, Asian) festivals are sure
to be drawn to the film.
Ming (Lee Chi-kin) is an aimless
22-year-old when he enters into his
first serious relationship with Yan
(Alex Wong). After he and his
mother argue about him being gay,
she dies and he’s suddenly independent
and forced to find his own
way. Then conflict starts to seep
into the dynamic between he and
Yan; Ming falls in with the wrong
drug-positive crowd, starts turning
tricks and eventually winds up in a
Christian rehab. There he meets
Keung (Guthrie Yip), and though he
may not be as open to conversion as
Keung, his time in rehab brings him
personal clarity.
who performs all her own fights
with clean precision (and a dash of
fiery viciousness) and partners
with genuine karate master Tatsuya
Naka. This film is the real
deal for serious martial arts fans
who so often get short-changed by
genre films enslaved to visual
effects and wire-fu.
Where “High Kick Girl” stumbles
is the script’s inability to develop
genuine character or human interaction
and the near absence of
That Ming’s problems don’t stem
from his homosexuality is a breath
of fresh air in an industry that is
more comfortable using gay characters
in melodramatic tragedies —
almost as cautionary tales. Ming’s
comic relief. Plus, the noticeably
thrifty budget and Spartan production
design appear less flattering on
the big screen.
Kei Tsuchiya (Takeda) is a high
school girl whose hunger for a black
belt drives her to challenge and crush
her seniors like insects. Impatient
with her master Matsumura’s (Naka)
strict adherence to practicing “kata”
— detailed choreographed patterns of
movements — rather than teaching
her actual fighting, she undergoes
issues are not with being gay, but
with intimacy and trust. But Chung
doesn’t make any attempt to sugarcoat
some of the less glamorous
aspects of gay life in Hong Kong. He
captures the fleeting, surreptitious
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6

day3_p5,6,7,8_revs1 B 3/24/09 6:22 PM Page 7
The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | reviews
>Hong Kong Filmart Market
Screening
BOTTOM LINE
Hard-core martial arts fans will get a
rush out of this authentic karate film.
PRODUCTION: Nagoya TV/Digital Hollywood
Entertainment/Hexagon Pictures Cast: Rina
Takeda, Naka Tatsuya, Akihito Yagi.
DIRECTOR-SCREENWRITER-PRODUCER:
Fuyuhiko Nishi. SCREENWRITER: Yoshikatsu
Kimura. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Akira
Yoshida, Motoko Kimura, Yoichi Sakai.
PRODUCERS: Masaaki Mizuno, Kenji
Nakanishi. SALES: Hexagon Pictures.
No rating, 81 minutes
rigorous trials to become a member
of the Destroyers, a ruthless organization
of mercenary henchmen. It
has dangerous consequences.
Many action films from Asia like
to speed up the editing to make the
fight scenes look more dynamic.
“High Kick Girl” does the opposite,
playing all the moves in slow
motion so one can see the coordination
of the body and the continuity
of its movements.
Kata is rarely seen on screen. A
long, gracefully tracked sequence,
in which Naka applies perfect form,
is worth rewinding several times.
This authentic and beautiful representation
of karate is blended with
some pretty brutal infliction of
bodily harm. Nishi, himself a karate
pro, choreographs the action without
frills or fads.
In stark contrast to the elaborate
and elegant action choreography, the
plot is bare and mechanical. Sets are
not really visually or dramatically
integrated to the action.
Seventeen-year-old Takeda
may not be as cute and baby-faced
as “Chocolate’s” Muay Thai heroine
Jija. Nonetheless, given artist
management grooming, especially
in the acting department, her
skills can become an asset in bigger
pan-Asian action co-productions.
∂
>Filmart/HKIFF Hong Kong
Panorama
BOTTOM LINE
Imperfect but subtlely compelling
drama steers clear of the cliches that
define gay Asian cinema.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Heart Prods.
CAST: Lee Chi-kin, Alex Wong, Guthrie Yip,
Clifton Kwan, Joman Chiang. DIRECTOR/
SCREENWRITER: Simon Chung. PRODUCER:
Vincent Chui. MUSIC: Hau Kwong-mo. Editor:
Risky Liu. SALES: M-Appeal.
No rating, 97 minutes
nature of some gay interactions with
a nonjudgmental camera that makes
Ming’s epiphanies stark by contrast.
Lee turns in a naturalistic performance
as a man coming to
understand himself that is grounded
in reality (Chung claims the
character was based on a friend of
his), and it proves to be the foundation
that keeps the sporadically
predictable story engaging. ∂
‘Crazy Racer’
continued from page 1
Some will say Ning’s too clever
by half, but his satire on the rampant
greed driving China’s market
economy is spot on.
In China, ticket revenue
exceeded $19 million — a huge
turnover from the $1.75 million
production budget. Overseas sales
could initially gain a foothold in
territories that enthusiastically
received Ning’s “Crazy Stone,” his
last runaway hit, and the film
could make inroads into non-Chinese
markets.
In “Crazy Racer,” three plot lines
overlap and collide at multiple narrative
junctions. The unified motif
driving them — money makes the
world go round, or go crazy.
Bicycling silver medalist Geng
Hao was disqualified for using
prohibited drugs. He blames
sponsor Li Fala for giving him a
virility drink. When his coach
dies, he pesters Li to pay for the
funeral as compensation. Two
clueless crooks unable to foot
their wedding bills are hired by Li
to bump off his wife, but they
succumb to her counter-bid. A
gang of drug dealers from Taiwan
arrange to buy heroin from a Thai
trafficker who comes disguised
as a bicycle racer, but at some
point, he turns into an icicle.
Like a switchboard operator,
Ning turns tangled lines on and
off at will, then connects them to
each other with clarity in a tour de
force chase scene that pedals furiously
toward a rollicking finale.
However, the extremely rich narrative
only holds together if one
accepts poetic license for the outrageous
coincidences written into
the script as part of the joke.
Ning’s visual arabesque reaches
new heights as he crams every
frame with fancy shots and
wacky compositions. On first
viewing, the breakneck editing
makes it hard to take in the
cacophony of flavorsome dialects
and accents, Ning’s mastery of
ambiance and the wickedly
twisted dialogue.
His characters are grotesque
and psychotic, yet they pursue
their goals with fascinating animalistic
gusto.
>Hong Kong Filmart HIS
Screening.
BOTTOM LINE
An exhilarating crime caper in
perpetual motion.
PRODUCTION: China Film Group,
Warner China Film HG, Beijing Guoli
Changsheng. CAST: Huang Bo, Jiu Kong,
Rong, Xiang, Gao Jie. DIRECTOR/
SCREENWRITER: Ning Hao.
PRODUCER: Han Sanping, Zhang Guoli.
EDITOR: Zhang Yifan. SALES: Warner
Bros. No rating, 104 minutes
‘Soul’s Code’
By Elizabeth Kerr
If you took the Thai horror hit
“Shutter” and mated it with
“CSI,” the product might be
something like “Soul’s Code.” And
what an ugly child it would be. Even
taking into consideration the suspension
of disbelief demanded of
the genre, director Adsajun
Sattagovit’s “Code” can’t make a
case for itself as either a procedural
thriller or as a horror pic, lacking as
it is in both thrills and frights.
Genre festivals may take a look,
and the subject matter might give it
some traction in ghost-friendly
Asia.
After blowing a major high-profile
bust when he thinks he sees a
hostage, police inspector Garnont
(the unblinking M.L. Nattakorn
Devakula) is demoted to standard
homicides. His first case with new
>Filmart
BOTTOM LINE
Baffling and often ridiculous horrorthriller
stretches credibility, even for
the form.
PRODUCTION: Alangkarn Studio CAST: M.L.
Nattakorn Devakula, Patiwat Ruangsri,
Premsinee Ratanasopar, Suttikan
Wangjaroentaweekul, Napat Banchongchitpaisal,
Arucha Chatkaew. DIRECTOR:
Adsajun Sattagovit. SCREENWRITER: Karn
Hongthong, Jaturong Prasongsuk.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Presom Raungsri.
PRODUCER: Benchaporn Punyaing,
Wuttipong Sirwahwiwat. SALES: Five Star
Production Co. No rating, 103 minutes
partner Nicha (Premsinee Ratanasopar)
is one involving the death of
budding pop star Cee’s (Patiwat
Ruangsri) ex-girlfriend Ning (Napat
Banchongchitpaisal).
Cee’s continued devotion to
her is the source of constant irritation
to his current supermodel
squeeze Prae (Suttikan Wangjaroentaweekul),
which should be a
warning to anyone awake enough to
follow the story. Eventually, the
prime suspects boil down to Cee
and high-profile gangster X Fargo
(Watcharakiat Boonpakoee), and
soon Ning’s spirit shows up to lend
a hand in solving her murder.
“Code’s” biggest crimes are
being obvious and ludicrous. How
ludicrous? The forensics team identifies
the victim because a tattoo on
her bound ankles transferred to a
piece of cloth that was soaked when
she was dumped in the water (it can
be assumed it’s a stick-on tat).
Need more? Garnont brilliantly
states — some 60 minutes into the
film — that the victim “either traveled
to Chiang Mai and was killed
there or was killed elsewhere and
dumped in Chiang Mai.” You don’t
say? Throw in some poor sound
quality, stilted performances and
forced visual flourishes, and you’ve
got the makings of a stinker. ∂
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7

day3_p5,6,7,8_revs1 B 3/24/09 6:22 PM Page 8
THR | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | reviews
‘Hello Schoolgirl’
By Maggie Lee
Ryu Jang-ha’s film may have a
tantalizing title that suggests
it’s a typical Korean bubblegum
teen rom-com, but “Hello
Schoolgirl” is actually a down-toearth,
personal work that explores
the issues of a big age gap between
lovers.
Producer CJ Entertainment could
market this as an alternative coming-of-age
film with prospects in
ancillary and perhaps some Asian
releases.
Eighteen-year-old Soo-young
(Lee Yun-hee) strikes up a casual
friendship with 30-year-old neighbor
Yun-woo (Yoo Ji-tae) when she
boldly borrows his tie while taking
the subway. A slow-burning,
touchy-feely closeness develops,
even though they get no further
than holding hands. Even so, Sooyoung’s
single mother is alarmed,
and the pair have to re-assess their
situation.
Yoo makes a visible effort to
downplay his romantic (“Ditto”) or
ice-cool (“Old Boy”) screen images
here with an unostentatious turn as
a square but easy-going civil servant
who’s shy about expressing his
feelings but forthcoming about his
>REVIEW
CORRECTION
An incorrect credit box for “The
Equation of Love and Death” ran in
Tuesday’s Show Daily. Here is the
correct version:
PRODUCTION: Huayi Brothers Media
Corp./Sundream Motion Pictures Ltd.
CAST: Zhou Xu, Zhang Hanyu, Deng Chao,
Wang Baoqiang. DIRECTOR-
SCREENWRITER: Cao Baoping. EXECUTIVE
PRODUCERS: Fu Jia. Producers: Wang
Zhongjun, Tsui Siu-ming, Chen Kuo-fu.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Yang Shu.
ART DIRECTOR: Wei Xinhua. Music: Bi Xiaodi,
Douwei. COSTUME DESIGNER: Zhang
Hongyan. EDITOR: Mo Xiaojie. SALES: Huayi
Brothers Media Corp. No rating, 96 minutes
>Hong Kong Filmart Market
Screening
BOTTOM LINE
Intimate drama explores age
difference in love.
PRODUCTION: M&FC presents in
association with CJ Entertainment a Let's
Film Production. CAST: Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Yunhee,
Chae Yun-an, Kang In. DIRECTOR-
SCREENWRITER: Ryu Jang-ha.
BASED ON A WEBCOMIC BY: Kang Full.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Cho Sung-woo.
PRODUCER: Kim Soon-ho.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Jo Sangyoon.
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Hwang Injoon.
MUSIC: Choi Yong-rak. COSTUME
DESIGNER: Ko Seo-jung. Editor: Moon Indae.
Sales: CJ Entertainment Inc. No rating,
113 minutes
loneliness. Meanwhile, Lee’s gentle
performance pitches Sooyoung’s
sensibility somewhere
between naive and precocious.
The simple script provides a
foil and counterpoint to their
predicament through another
encounter, also inside the subway,
between Yun-woo’s 22-year-old
co-worker Sook (Kang In) and a
29-year-old woman, Ha-kyung
(Chae Yun-an). Sook is more
expressive about his instant infatuation,
but Ha-kyung is cold and
distant. Age is not as much as
issue, because they carry other
emotional baggage — of someone
close gone missing.
The subject could have been
treated in a lurid way, but Ryu
chooses to avoid any trace of Lolita
complex and instead observes
the characters as individuals honest
to their feelings, whatever
social pressure they encounter.
The rhythm is unhurried, with the
two couples’ friendship-cumattraction
running its natural
course, as in real life.
Only the soft pop score, and a
prettified scene of Yun-woo
showering Soo-young with artificial
snow, keep the film within the
boundaries of commercial filmmaking.
∂
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8
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Boxoffice Numbers First.
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day3_3-D Cinema_d 3/24/09 11:29 AM Page 9
world Wednesday,
A
New
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop
Dimension
Despite tough economic
times, Asian producers
are betting that costly
3-D technology will reach
out and grab moviegoers
Special Report:
3-D CINEMA
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
It’s fitting that the man behind the “Re-Animator”
films is leading the charge into a new era in 3-D technology.
Brian Yuzna, the managing director with Jakarta-based
Komodo Films, has produced all the screen adaptations of
H.P. Lovecraft’s popular horror series, and now he’s hoping
to breathe new life into the medium with a slate of lowbudget
horror and science-fiction films made with stereoscopic
3-D technology.
Yuzna is one of an increasing number of filmmakers in Asia
who, despite a significant bump in production costs and a
troubled global economy, is embracing 3-D technology.
“Yes, it’s a risk and it does seem to be a paradox given that
it’s low-budget, but this increased cost may be a better risk;
the upside should be bigger because we’re going in a more
progressive direction,” says Yuzna, adding that shooting in
stereoscopic 3-D typically adds 20% to a film’s budget.
Komodo has three stereoscopic films set to be shot during
the next 18 months: “Amphibious,” about a giant sea scorpion,
to be directed by Yuzna, will start shooting in April; the
sci-fi pic “Necronauts,” based on a novel by Terry Bisson, and
“Cold Blooded,” a film about man-eating komodo dragons
threatening stranded vacationers on an island.
“Our aim is to make a line of low-budget genre films for
the international market,” explains Yuzna, who believes
releasing films with this technology will help production
companies ride out the economic downturn. “It feels right
now like stereoscopic is a recession-resistant area in the
entertainment business, and I think this technology will give
us a chance of getting more theatrical releases for our movies,
giving them a longer shelf life and generating more interest.”
While the adoption of stereoscopic 3-D technology still is
in its infancy in Asia, a number of production companies are
working on stereoscopic content development. Japanese animation
shingle Madhouse is scheduled to release its first 3-D
CGI film, “Yona Yona Penguin,” at year’s end; the Hong Kong
animation studio Imagi plans to release the “Gatchaman” in
November 2010; and India’s IDream Production also just
announced plan to work on a 3-D horror film titled “Fired.”
“It is very encouraging to see the good response to the 3-D
films that came up on the big screen in the last year, like
‘Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ ” says John Chu, CEO and
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9

day3_3-D Cinema_d 3/24/09 11:29 AM Page 10
The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 special world report | 3-D Cinema
“Moviegoing is very
popular in Asia,
(so) it’s important
that we’re ahead of
the curve, not
behind in terms of
our digital transformation.Sometime
in the next
five years, Asia, 3-D
exhibitors and content
creation will
converge and
explode in a way
that we’re all very
excited about.”
— Greg Foster, Imax
founder of Centro Digital Pictures, the first Hong Kong
digital effects and animation studio to introduce stereoscopic
3-D filming and postproduction services. “In the
case of ‘Journey,’ it was the highest-grossing film during
a three-month period in Hong Kong. This is a very good
start. That shows there is a market for these films here,
as it really outdid the expectations of the distributor.”
“Consumers in Asia are embracing the RealD 3-D
experience,” adds Michael Lewis, RealD chairman and
CEO. “Digital 3-D is a bright spot for the entertainment
industry, with some films shown in RealD
3-D performing up to six times better than the 2-D
versions of the same film.”
China now has about 210 3-D screens, with plenty
more on the way. “China wants to be the largest 3-D
market outside the USA,” notes Jimmy Wu, chairman
and CEO of Beijing-based exhibitor ChinaPlex, which
will open its first 3-D screens in May in Hangzhou and
plans to have 22-25 3-D screens in its cinemas
throughout the country by year’s end.
“The current 3-D screens have already showed good
results — 3-D movies can typically exhibit longer than
ordinary movies,” Wu says. “Given that at this stage 3-D
movies can only be enjoyed in cinemas and not at home,
it is definitely a good thing for countries suffering heavy
financial losses due to piracy.”
Elsewhere in the region, the number of 3-D screens
remains small — Singapore, a small but affluent market,
has six, Malaysia five and Hong Kong 25 — but the market
has the potential to develop quickly. Imax has been
active in the region in recent months to prepare for the
slate of big-budget 3-D movies set
for release this year and next,
including James Cameron’s
“Avatar” and DreamWorks Animation’s
“Shrek Goes Fourth” and
“How to Train Your Dragon.”
“Moviegoing is very popular in
Asia, (so) it’s important that we’re
ahead of the curve, not behind in
terms of our digital transformation,”
notes Greg Foster, Imax’s
chairman and president of filmed
entertainment. “Sometime in the
next five years, Asia, 3-D exhibitors
and content creation will converge
and explode in a way that we’re all
very excited about.”
While Imax has 19 commercial
screens in Asia, the number should
rise to 30 by year’s end and 80 by
10
“Yona Yona Penguin”
the end of 2011, Foster says. “It’s definitely a market
that we’re highly focused on,” he adds, pointing to the
recent three-theater deal with VieShow Cinemas, the
leading exhibitor in Taiwan, a four-theater deal with
Tokyu Recreation, one of Japan’s largest exhibition
chains, and a three-theater deal with Hoyts Cinemas,
one of the largest exhibitors in Australia.
While moviegoers throughout Asia are pinching
pennies, distributors have been encouraged by the surprisingly
strong response to recent 3-D releases. In
Singapore, Disney’s “Bolt” made 18% of its boxoffice
sales in 3-D despite a roughly 30% increase in the ticket
price and the fact that the film only screened on four
out of a total 51 screens.
“People today really don’t mind paying more for 3-D
movies,” Wu says.
Spotting the potential, Singapore authorities are promoting
the country’s capabilities for all aspects of 3-D
filmmaking. To help strengthen local filmmakers’ skills
in stereoscopic 3-D production, the Singapore Film
Commission recently set up a $1.3 million fund to seed
the production of feature films in Singapore.
Under the Stereoscopic 3-D Film Development
Fund, Singapore companies can receive up to 80% of
the incremental production budget capped at
$226,000 in investment for a feature film of any genre
including documentaries. The government also has
plans to create permanent facilities for 3-D production
with soundstages, digital production, audio and video
postproduction labs, visual effects facilities and rendering
farms.
However, Mark Shaw, executive vp
at Shaw Organization in Singapore,
isn’t completely sold on the idea that
3-D can really sustain itself in a small
country like Singapore. “Don’t get me
wrong, I love 3-D,” Shaw says. “But
our market is not particularly big. …
The decision to invest in more screens
is really dependent on the digital rollout
model that we eventually adopt in
Singapore. Yes, there seems to be
plenty of content slated for the next
two years, but the question is whether
this will be a fad or something audiences
are willing to accept as the norm
for the foreseeable future; 3-D has
only been in Singapore for three
months, and I would just like to see if
the early success of the format can be
sustained.” ∂
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day3_p11,12_ribs B 3/24/09 4:32 PM Page 11
reviews
in brief Wednesday,
John Rabe
BOTTOM LINE: A credible and
entertaining portrait of a “good Nazi”
whose heroism has only recently come
to light.
Germans don’t have many feelgood
movie stories about World
War II, so “John Rabe” is certainly
cause for local celebration. Even
though he was a member of the
Nazi Party, John Rabe was, as the
German title of his published
diaries suggests, “The Good German
of Nanking.” The middle-aged,
balding Rabe is his country’s Oskar
Schindler, a man who could not
abandon his conscience. In following
that conscience and helping to
bring thousands of Chinese civilians
into a sprawling International
Safety Zone during the rape of
Nanking by the Japanese army in
1937, the German businessman
saved many lives. Estimates go as
high as 250,000. In “John Rabe,”
German writer-director Florian
Gallenberger naturally assigns him
the lead role in this movement. He
then constructed a lavishly mounted,
essentially old-fashioned war
melodrama around the events of
1937, bringing in moments of comedy,
danger, intrigue, fury, horror
and even a slight hint — barely a
whiff, really — of romance on a couple
of occasions.
— Kirk Honeycutt
Camino
BOTTOM LINE: A daring, compulsively
watchable melodrama against religious
fundamentalism.
A rather extraordinary movie
about an 11-year-old girl who falls
in love while dying of cancer,
“Camino” is raptly fascinating for
more than two hours, as Spanish
director Javier Fesser intertwines
melodrama, horror and animation
in outrageous new ways. It is earmarked
for media attention thanks
“I’ve Loved
You So Long”
to its biting criticism of the controversial
Opus Dei movement and
Catholic fundamentalism in general.
Widely acclaimed at its San
Sebastian bow, it has already been
sold to Latin America. Fesser’s
uncompromising script is not antireligious,
though it condemns the
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
dehumanizing effects of religious
extremism with great conviction.
Negative fallout might be anticipated
from conservative circles in the
Catholic church, but if the Opus Dei
put-downs in “The Da Vinci Code”
didn’t harm that film’s boxoffice,
they’re unlikely to do much commercial
damage here, either.
— Deborah Young
I’ve Loved You So Long
BOTTOM LINE: A scintillating drama
about pain and healing made with
intelligence and compassion.
Rarely do head and heart coalesce
to such sublime effect in film as in
“I’ve Loved You So Long,” the debut
feature by Philippe Claudel, who
directs like a veteran. Drawing from
his background as a novelist and
screenwriter, Claudel put his heart
and soul into the script to ensure
that no scene is gratuitous, no shot
continued on page 12
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11

day3_p11,12_ribs B 3/24/09 3:32 PM Page 12
THR | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | reviews in brief
Reviews in brief
continued from page 11
is sloppily composed, and every line
from the key characters is nuanced
to shed light on the past and future
of their development. Kristin Scott
Thomas deserves an award for her
stupendous turn as a woman
released from prison trying to
rebuild her relationship with her
estranged sister and regain her
place in society. The rest of the cast
provide solid support in enhancing
her performance. The film’s tasteful,
continental flavor should play
to discerning audiences in and outside
of European art houses. Festivals
ignore this at their loss.
— Maggie Lee
Night Bus
BOTTOM LINE: An accessible slice of
Iranian cinema with a straightforward
pacifist message.
Kiomars Pourahmad’s spare,
masculine “Night Bus,” taking place
during a single night on a dangerous
desert road, has a realism that aids
in punching home its anti-war sentiments.
The film will reach audiences
via festivals and DVDs. During
the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, 18year-old
Essa (Mehrdad Seddiqiyan)
is charged with transporting 38
POWs back to Iran on a rickety bus
barely kept functional by a grizzled
driver (Khosrow Shakiba’ee). Traveling
across an almost surreal desert
landscape (beautifully shot in hard
black-and-white by Mehdi Ja’fari),
calamities befall the vehicle.
Pourahmad refrains from any serious
criticisms of the Iranian state or
its previous ayatollahs, but his message
of the insanity and inanity of
war — especially when the combatants
are so tightly related historically
and culturally — is amply clear.
— Elizabeth Kerr
Ping Pong Playa
BOTTOM LINE: A winning comedy that
entertainingly elevates a low-profile
sport.
Oscar-winning documentarian
Jessica Yu's narrative debut “Ping
Pong Playa” upends any highbrow
expectations created by her intense
nonfiction films. Yu adeptly parlays
her incisive filmmaking style into an
urban yarn about a Chinese-American
wannabe basketball star who
discovers his inner champion while
coaching a kids' table tennis league.
Although formulaic, "Ping Pong
Playa" will continue to delight on the
fest circuit. An adventurous specialty
distributor could score crossover
points in multicultural venues.
— Justin Lowe
The Burning Plain
BOTTOM LINE: The burning is mostly on
the plain, not in this labyrinthine story.
Exploring the tangled emotional
threads that link, and at times
strangle, Mexico and the U.S.
through a complex cast of characters
matched by an equally complicated
storyline, “The Burning
Plain” is an ambitious, visually
handsome production that fails to
ignite. The star power of Charlize
Theron and Kim Basinger may
attract initial business for the
directing bow of Guillermo Arriaga,
the screenwriter who accompanied
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
to fame on “Amores Perros,”
“Babel” and “21 Grams” before
their artistic break-up. But the
actresses’ sensitive performances
don’t make the emotional connection
to audiences that the story
yearns for. This is a film that
makes viewers work hard to
understand what’s going on — so
hard, in fact, that there’s little time
to get emotionally involved with
the characters or their woes.
— Deborah Young
The Other Man
BOTTOM LINE: A-line cast is wasted on a
silly script.
Seldom has such great star
power been marshaled in the service
of a sillier movie than “The
Other Man.” The A-list cast of
Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Antonio
Banderas and Romola Garai
founders in this undoubtedly very
intricate short story by Bernhard
Schlink (“The Reader”) that has
been pumped-up, to ill effect, into
an implausible full-length movie
adaptation. The film starts out
promisingly enough, with Harris
Zambarloukos’s cinematography
creating an eerie, forbidding sense
of atmospherics by emphasizing
the cool metallic interiors of the
characters’ London world. Soon
enough, though, some very mistaken
script decisions take the film
straight south. Despite the superb
cast, commercial prospects seem
shaky, and this one may indeed go
straight to DVD.
— Peter Brunette
My Dear Enemy
BOTTOM LINE: Enemies, a love story -
told with intelligence and pizzazz.
“My Dear Enemy” is a road
movie that keeps halting in search
of parking space — a debt-collecting
trip that brings together old
flames whose love is put on indefinite
slow burn. Lee Yoon-ki (“This
Charming Girl”), the guru of transient
modern love and master
raconteur, has directed his best film
yet. Eloquently scripted, with finely
tuned dialogue, immaculate characterization
and emotions that are
brewed like coffee until the aroma
comes out, this cinematic rendezvous
will be savored by a
mature, sophisticated audience.
Korea’s hottest actors, Jeon Doyoun
and Ha Jung-woo, display
fabulous rapport. They’ll certainly
drive up local and niche international
sales.
— Maggie Lee
Presented
by
Jonas Brothers
Wednesday, 25 March
7:00 p.m.
3D SUN
Thursday 26th, March
11:00 a.m.
Sharks 3D
Thursday, 26 March
12:00 p.m.
Mummies 3D
Thursday, 26 March
2:00 p.m.
Wild Ocean
Thursday, 26 March
4:00 p.m.
Call of the Wild
Thursday, 26 March
6:00 p.m.
Coraline
Thursday, 26 March
8:00 p.m.
Screenings will be held in conjunction with Chabin Partners.
All Screenings will be at The Grand Hall Cinema, Hall 6.
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12
3d_THR_ad_Dailys.indd 1 3/20/09 5:06:08 PM

day3_p13_wei B 3/24/09 12:04 PM Page 13
q&a Wednesday,
In Wei Te-sheng’s “Cape No. 7” — only his second film as a director — a motley crew
of goofballs and eccentrics form a band to perform in their hometown’s biggest gig. The
film’s colorful character sketches, grassroots sentimentality, local vernacular and light,
cheery score so appealed to local tastes that the little film became a huge boxoffice hit,
becoming the island’s top-grossing 2008 film, surpassing even “The Dark Knight” and
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” It also went on to win the Grand Prize
at the Taipei International Film Festival. The film’s themes project how a lot of people in
Taiwan are feeling about Wei these days — he’s a local hero. The dual love plots — between
a local rocker and an over-the-hill Japanese model and a Japanese teacher in colonial Taiwan
and the local girl he abandoned at the end of World War II — also struck chords with Taiwanese
viewers pondering their history. Asia editor Jonathan Landreth spoke with Wei in
the run-up to his trip to the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum with his next movie, a
film about Taiwan’s indigenous people fighting the invading Japanese in the 1930s.
Who is the hero of “Seediq Bale” and
why is the story important today?
Wei Te-sheng: In the beginning, I
learned about the “Seediq Bale”
story, or the Wushe Incident, in elementary
school. In 1997, I got a
book that tells the whole story. I
came to the conclusion that Taiwan
has heroes. Seediq Bale is sort of
your archetypal tragic hero, even
though he’s little known. The question
is, why did the Taiwan people
fight when they were bound to lose?
Usually, when you see people fighting
throughout history, they are
fighting against slavery, they’re
fighting for the freedom of their
bodies. So why fight if they were
going to lose anyway? These
indigenous people were looking for
freedom of spirit, freedom of mind.
They wanted something beyond
this life. I was especially moved that
they were so committed to this
freedom of thought that if they
weren’t killed then they committed
suicide rather than be held captive.
With a reported budget of NT$300
million (in the neighborhood of “Cape
No. 7’s” boxoffice earnings of $9.3
million), your next film will be an epic
by Taiwan standards. How will you
use the money? What’s your strategy
to make sure this film succeeds?
Wei: Mostly, the money will be
spent on production. There will be
lots of indigenous actors. The
budget will be roughly $10 million.
We’ll need many actors to create the
cinematic effect of battle. The
vital stats
Wei Te-sheng
Nationality: Taiwanese
Born: Aug. 16, 1969
Selected filmography: “Cape No.
7” (2008); “About July” (1999)
money will go to getting the right
cameras and equipment to shoot
the scenes properly.
You’ve made only two films as a director.
How come it took you almost 10
years since “About July” (“Qiyue
Tian”) to make “Cape No. 7”? What
were you doing in that time?
Wei: I had a lot of work directing
television and working as an assistant
to director Chen Kuo-fu on
“Shuang Tong” (Double Vision).
Besides that, I spent loads of my
time writing scripts and waiting.
The success of “Cape No. 7” has cast a
new light on Taiwanese cinema. Why
do you think the film was a success?
Wei: We all believed that we had a
really good script. We’d seen good
scripts before, but this time we never
compromised. We didn’t believe in
being limited by money. We didn’t
say, “Well, we don’t have the budget
for this.” Instead, we figured out how
to get the money to shoot it the right
way. This was the model of the entire
production. We believed the audience
would feel our commitment. At the
same time, a lot of things came
together to help make the film a great
success. I wanted to show that there
could be a movie with a big boxoffice
in Taiwan because I want the overseas
market to be curious about our films,
about this little homemade movie
that could make a big bang. Lastly, I
believe that the average audience in
Taiwan identified with a lot of the
characters. They noticed that their
fellow audience members were
moved by the characters, so there was
a lot of connection among audience
members themselves.
Some observers say it will take some
time before the industry can see
the lasting effect of “Cape No. 7” on
Taiwan cinema. What do you hope
the film’s legacy will be?
Wei: “Cape No. 7” is not a masterpiece
by any stretch. What it did was
act as a test balloon to see if there’s a
potential market for this kind of film.
In the past, Taiwanese made movies
with as little money as possible
because they didn’t feel it was possible
to get their money back. But now,
in 2009, there are a lot of films going
into production spending a lot more
money. They used to spend NT$1
million-NT$2 million ($30,000-
$60,000), which is a very tiny budget,
but now we’re seeing NT$4 million
($120,000) budgets. This is still
not great, but it’s better. If anything,
this film showed us the market is
there and suggested the potential for
more creative Taiwan films.
If you’re an Asian director making
movies outside of India and China,
chances are your home country is too
small to support your films. How does
this affect your creative process? How
do you have confidence to keep going?
Wei: Thinking about the market
when you’re making a movie is sort
of like dressing for other people,
worrying about what others think
you look like. How can you dress to
impress other people? When I think
about making a movie, I prefer to
think about the story and whether I
can make a good movie. After I’ve
finished writing a movie, I’ll con-
sider some changes, thus consider
the market a little, but very minimally.
I think that even though I’ve
had a blockbuster, it’s a local Taiwan
blockbuster. Now I’m confident
about the
local market, but
outside Taiwan,
I’m still getting to
know the market.
Audiences don’t
always know what
they want. It’s up
THR.com/filmart
March 25, 2009
More Q&A with
Wei Te-sheng at
THR.com/filmart
to us filmmakers to show the audience
the stories they want to see.
What’s the greatest challenge facing
Asian and specifically Taiwan
moviemakers today, and how’s that
different from 10 and 20 years ago?
Wei: People like listening to stories
from the moment we’re born to the
moment we die. Films are always
made to appeal to the people of a
certain time and place. This was
true 10 and 20 and 30 years ago in
Taiwan. An early example is the
director Hsing Lee, whose work
captured small-town feelings.
Similarly, Hou Hsiao Hsien’s films
capture the basics of society in a
certain time and place. Movies will
always capture the zeitgeist with the
tradition.
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13

day3_p3,14 n2 B 3/24/09 8:37 PM Page 15
CAMERA PHOTO: JONATHAN LANDRETH
The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | news
Alliance
continued from page 3
Also in the pipeline is the sequel to
“Eat Drink Man Woman,” tentatively
named “Far Away but Close,” to begin
shooting in August by director Tsao
Jui-yuan (“Love’s Lone Flower”).
Newly crowned Asian Film Awards
best actress Zhou Xun and “Eternal
Summer” star Joseph Chang are in
negotiation for the leads.
Producer Hsu Li-kong, also
known as Ang Lee’s mentor, said
that the company is also shaping a
wuxia martial arts project told
through Chinese poetry that is
intended for Lee.
Likewise developed by the $300
million Access Asia Fund is Singapore’s
MediaCorp Raintree Pictures’
“1965,” a $15 million snapshot
of Singapore’s political history from
1945-60 by “Maid in Manhattan”
Chinese-American director Wayne
Wang, who is in talks with Peter
Morgan, the Oscar-winning
screenwriter of “The Queen,” to
write the script.
National Arts Entertainment is
developing a prequel biopic of “Ip
Man.” Production starts in October
with Hong Kong Wushu champion
To Yu-Hang as the young Ip Man.
National Arts chairman Checkley
Sin is also involved with Mandarin
Films to make “Ip Man 2.”
Also announced by the Alliance
was China’s Zhejiang Hengdian
Film Production’s development of a
theatrical chain in China, which
would complete the studio’s industry
value chain. The company started
as a production facility before
moving into film financing, filmmaking
and distribution.
The Asia Pacific Alliance initiative
aims to promote the collective
development of the Asian film
industry.
“We can’t call ourselves the ‘Hollywood
of the East’ and then just
compete with other film industries,”
Salon chairman Fred Wang
said. ”That’s counterproductive.
It should be a collaborative process
for the whole region.” ∂
Branding panel
continued from page 3
difficulties involved in arranging
product placement when it was
impossible to guarantee to sponsors,
prior to production, that a
picture would be delivered exactly
as written in a script.
Other panelists were: Mike
DaSilva, CEO of MDSA Promotion
Marketing; Kellie Belle and
Emily Wood, co-founders of Bellwood
Media; and Reiko Kunieda
of Dentsu Japan.
The panelists agreed that putting
a figure on the dollar value of
product placement is key. NMA
THR Next Gen Asia class saluted
Rising young stars of Asia’s
media and entertainment business
were honored Tuesday as
members of The Hollywood
Reporter’s Next Generation Asia
inaugural class.
Gathered around cocktails at the
W Hong Kong in Kowloon, THR
publisher Eric Mika and THR Asia
editor Jonathan Landreth congratulated
the 20 honorees from across
the region — all 35 years old or
younger — whose early career
Camera
continued from page 3
Liu Hongbing of
Pearl River and
Jessica Choy of
Arri Asia Ltd.
distributor Jebsen Industrial, a Danish
trading firm with a 100-plus-year history
in Hong Kong selling mostly German
technical equipment into Asia.
“There’s a huge increase in Chinese
demand for the latest cameras and
postproduction equipment,” said June
Fung, senior sales manager for Jebsen
in Hong Kong, where the annual film
industry trade fair was host to more
than 100 Chinese film and television
companies — by far the largest contingent
from any one country.
Zhou Tiedong, president of China
Film Promotion International, the
overseas sales arm of China’s leading
has been developing a formula to
do exactly that, and Marshall
pointed out that it has to take into
account the recurring future value
of a film that will be watched for
decades after its release. He gave
the prominent placement of Dr
Pepper in “Forrest Gump” as an
example.
The tie-in between Samsung
and the “Matrix” film franchise
was acknowledged to be a
ground-breaking venture in the
field backed by a $100 million
global ad campaign that helped
reposition the brand of the Korean
electronics giant.
The digitalization of movies has
provided further opportunities for
accomplishments recommended
them to their elders and peers as
future industry leaders.
Nielsen Entertainment Group senior
vp Gerry Byrne and Hong Kong
International Film Festival Society
executive director Soo-wei Shaw
also welcomed the honorees.
Those able to attend in the middle
of a busy week of business
included Lewis Kim from Next
Media Works in Seoul; David Lee
from Xinhua Media Entertainment
state-run film company, the China
Film Group, said that Chinese films
were having a tough time selling — at
home and overseas.
“We have 11 pictures in the market,
but they don’t stand much of a
chance against the Hong Kong coproductions,”
Zhou said.
China’s domestic boxoffice
jumped 27% last year led by Chineselanguage
films, many of which were
made with Hong Kong partners.
Jessica Choy, Asia regional marketing
manager for ARRI, maker of
the lightweight D-21 model, said that
the Munich-based company sells
about 100 units a year worldwide and
can maintain its price in the face of
increased competition from cheaper
digital video cameras. ∂
product placement, allowing
branding to be inserted into pictures
during the postproduction
process when the situation
requires. Placement can also be
localized for different territories far
more easily with digital technology.
With films now regularly costing
more than $100 million, placement
has become an essential part
of budgeting, one that begins at
the earliest stages of project planning,
the panelists said.
There are limits even in the digital
age, however. “For ‘Valkyrie,’ we had
a lot of Mercedes and great uniforms
by Hugo Boss in the movie,
but nobody wanted to be associated
with Nazi Germany,” Lee said.
in Beijing; Alvina
Wong from Mandarin
Films in
Hong Kong; Grace
Chen from
William Morris
Asia in Shanghai;
and Chen Jie from
Hong Kong
Daily Edition
Office:Room G14
Hall 1, Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition
Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai,
Hong Kong, China
ERIC MIKA
Publisher
ELIZABETH GUIDER
Editor
E D I T O R I A L
DAVID MORGAN
Deputy Editor
MIKE BARNES
Managing Editor
JONATHAN LANDRETH
Asia Editor
GAVIN BLAIR
Japan Correspondent
KAREN CHU
Hong Kong Correspondent
R E V I E W S
MAGGIE LEE
Reviewer
ELIZABETH KERR
Reviewer
A R T + D E S I G N
DEEANN J. HOFF
Director — Art
JACKIE VUONG
Senior Designer
For a full list of
the 2009 Next
Gen Asia class
thr.com/asia
Creative Artists Agency in Beijing.
Accepting the honor for South
Korea pop sensation BoA was S.M.
Lee from SM Entertainment in
Seoul. ∂
A D V E R T I S I N G
ALISON SMITH
International Sales Manager
IVY LAM
Asia Sales & Marketing Manager
TOMMASO CAMPIONE
International Executive Director
O P E R A T I O N S
GREGG EDWARDS
Production Manager, Features
Copyright ©2008 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or
by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise — without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
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14

day3_p1,15_n1 B 3/24/09 8:24 PM Page 15
The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | news
Fortissimo
continued from page 1
Ming-liang’s “Face”, starring
Laetitia Casta, Fanny Ardent and
Jeanne Moreau, has been snatched
up by Colombus Film of Switzer-
Celestial
continued from page 1
Television Network and Chinese
movies.
Celestial, the subsidiary of
Malaysia’s Astro All Asia Networks
that owns the rights to the 700-title
library of Shaw Brothers Mandarin
films, has also renewed its two-year
deal of more than 100 titles with
Malaysia’s NTV7
“The ratings of the Shaw classic
program, called ‘Hong Retro,’ has
doubled over the past two years,”
Mak said. “In this economic climate,
these deals are like water in a desert.”
Celestial is going to change its
sales strategy in time for the
upcoming MIPTV, Mak said,
switching its focus from Shaw
Brothers kung fu classics to pushing
Shaw’s horror slate to target the
“The Ghost Story”;
above, “Hex”
land and Maywin Media.
The rights of Majid Majidi’s
“Song of Sparrow,” which won
Mohammad Amir Naji a best actor
award at the Berlin International
Film Fest, has been acquired by
Taiwan’s Cineplex Entertainment
and Germany’s ARD Degeto, which
horror channels in Europe.
“American and European horror
films tend to be more gory and
bloody, but the Shaw horror relied
more on atmosphere, so the European
audience might find them
refreshing,” Mak said.
The titles highlighted include
“The Ghost Story” and “Hex.” ∂
Two scenes from
Tsai Ming-liang’s
Cannes hopeful
“Face”
also closed a deal for Benjamin
Gilmour’s “Son of a Lion.”
“Business is always good for us
here,” Fortissimo founder and cochairman
Wouter Barendrecht told
The Hollywood Reporter. “We need
Asian buyers for our U.S. or American
films and also European buyers
‘Tibet’
continued from page 1
Borders condemned the arrest
without charges of 20-year-old
Tibetan writer Kunga Tseyang, who
last year helped make the documentary
“Leaving Fear Behind,”
which interviews 100 Tibetans
about Chinese oppression.)
“We’re starting shooting on April
27,” said Holdom, confident that he
could also raise funding from
Schmidt & Katze in Germany and
Channel Four in the U.K. “I’m going
to show up at a press conference in
Beijing on April 20 with equipment
and cash in hand.”
Holdom, who boasts a varied
background — he’s worked for
Frank Zappa and Tommy Mottola
in the music world — said Beijing’s
Film Bureau granted permission
for the film about “romantic miscommunication”
in February. It
will employ Tibetan cast and crew,
he said.
UP TO THE MINUTE
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
who have a taste for Asian films.
But the business this year reflects
the economy worldwide.”
Business “has been down since
AFM,” he added. “But it doesn’t
make sense for us to drive distributors
out of business; we have to
help each other at this time.”∂
“It’s a great opportunity to make an
internationally crafted film in a stunning
natural setting,” Holdom said.
Dai’s last film, “Ganglamedo” —
made in 2008 by the state-run
China Film Group — is about a
Tibetan folk song that haunts and
connects a Tibetan bride to a Chinese
singer who, 60 years after the
bride’s disappearance, grows passionate
about the same song.
This year, which marks the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China, Beijing
is ratcheting up broadcast messages
of ethnic harmony in programs
from the Spring Festival gala in
February to the annual legislative
meeting a few weeks ago.
Zarshi Dhawa, who wrote
“Ganglamedo,” also penned “Once
Upon a Time in Tibet.”
“Once Upon a Time in Tibet” will
be investor Yang’s first involvement
in films. He said he and Stellar
Megamedia executive Yue Xiaomei
discussed an ongoing production
relationship. ∂
24/7
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15

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