See what else is happening in film & TV industries around the world.
Production begins on John Woo’s next film, ‘The Crossing’
Director John Woo, responsible for many ground-breaking Hong Kong action films such as ‘The Killer’ and ‘Hard Boiled’, recently began production on his next film, ‘The Crossing’, the first film in over four years from the veteran director. Dubbed ‘The Chinese Titanic’, the film is set against the upheavals of revolutionary China in 1949, and follows three couples from different backgrounds who make a fateful voyage on a ship fleeing China to Taiwan. The screenplay is by Wang Huiling, who previously co-wrote ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. According to Variety, the $40 million two-part movie is backed by rising Chinese studio Beijing Galloping Horse, along with China Film Group and Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, with production by Woo and Terence Chang’s Lion Rock Productions. Woo and Chang have assembled a pan-Asian, all-star cast headed by Tong Dawei, Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, (South Korea’s) Song Hye-kyo, (Taiwan’s) Takeshi Kaneshiro and (Japan’s) Masami Nagasawa. Famous for his highly-choreographed action scenes and for influencing a multitude of Hollywood directors, Woo has not stepped behind the camera since the historical epic ‘Red Cliff’, which was released in two parts in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
James Cameron to adapt ‘Battle Angel’ for the big screen
For at least a decade now, James Cameron has been talking about bringing the manga series ‘Battle Angel Alita’ to the big screen, and he’s finally announced a start date for the project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron told an audience at Mexico City's TagDF conference that he'll begin to develop his long-awaited ‘Battle Angel’ in 2017, following the completion of production for the next two Avatar movies. ‘Battle Angel’ is based on Yukito Kishiro's nine-volume manga ‘Battle Angel Alita’and focuses on a cyborg discovered in a local dump who subsequently becomes a crime fighter and an extreme sports celebrity. Cameron revealed three years ago that a year of pre-production had happened, and that a full script and test reels had been produced. But with the rapid advancements in technology and special effects since then, it can be only be assumed that much of the work is now out of date, and that Cameron will start from scratch in 2017.
In the meantime, Cameron’s highly anticipated sequel to 2009’s ‘Avatar’ is currently expected, at the earliest, in 2015.
Boston Marathon Bombing film currently in the works
Even though it hasn’t even been four months since the devastating Boston Marathon bombings, a film adaptation detailing the events is currently in the works. According to Deadline, screenwriters Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy, co-writers of David O. Russell's Academy Award-winning biopic ‘The Fighter’, have picked up feature rights to ‘Boston Strong’, the forthcoming book by Casey Sherman and Boston Herald reporter Dave Wedge. The book will aim to capture the city’s reaction to the bombings, which occurred on April 15th, and the subsequent hunt for the siblings suspecting of carrying out the bombings. Johnson, Tamasy and ‘The Fighter’ producer Dorothy Aufiero have an established professional relationship with Sherman, which might explain why they became attached to the project so early. However, they currently only have the rights to the project and it doesn’t mean the film will be rushed into theatres anytime soon.
