Member teako170 Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 Weinstein Co. Leaps Aboard Remakes of Shaw Bros. Classics http://variety.com/2013/film/news/weinstein-co-leaps-aboard-remakes-of-shaw-bros-classics-1200563921/ Martial arts titles to get English-lingo retread Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief HONG KONG — The Weinstein Co. has struck a two-picture deal with Celestial Pictures to remake a pair of classic martial-arts action films from the Golden Era of Hong Kong cinema. The two companies will develop and produce English-language versions of “Come Drink With Me” and “Avenging Eagle.” John Fusco, writer of TWC’s recent “Marco Polo” TV series and co-scripter of the upcoming “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny,” will pen both adapted screenplays. Production on both is expected to start in 2014 with Harvey Weinstein and David Thwaites set as producers. Celestial Pictures is the Hong Kong-based company that was established in 2002 around the library of 760 Shaw Bros. films. It is controlled by Malaysian media conglomerate Astro Overseas. TWC has been the North American home entertainment distributor of a large number of Shaw titles since Celestial started restoring, remastering and relicensing its back catalog. TWC has held remake rights to the pair since 2006, but has not moved far forward on development until recently. Celestial says it is in similar discussions with other A-list producers for remakes of other Shaw pics. “There is a fan base for these films which we hope to increase [through the remakes],” said Celestial’s head of business and legal affairs, Kristen Tong. “We’ve always been very careful, but now we’ve finally met the writer who understands the Chinese dynamics of the stories. Their integrity is very important, these are our crown jewels.” TWC will be the lead creative partner, though Celestial is to be involved throughout development and production and retain an undefined back-end participation. Tong said it is “most likely” that Celestial will also be involved in the movies’ financing. Budgets are currently unspecified. “They are not some cheap interpretation, but neither will they be tentpole scale,” she said. Originally directed by King Hu and released in 1966, “Come Drink With Me” involves an against-the-odds-fight by a female martial arts expert and a kung fu master disguised as a beggar who take on a band of outlaws that have taken prisoner a young official. It was the model for numerous other “wu xia pian” (heroic martial arts) films and the springboard to fame for the young Cheng Pei Pei, who later reprised a similar role in Ang Lee’s 2000 wu xia tribute “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” “Avenging Eagle,” a 1978 thriller, sees a cabal leader raising orphans to be his own personal thugs in an outlaw band called the Thirteen Eagles. But one of the orphans rebels, causing the rest of the gang to hunt him down. The original was directed by Sun Chung. Celestial, which under previous management expanded into numerous other business sectors, has undergone a significant downsizing in the past two years, which Tong describes as a “strategic shake-up.” The company has hived off its four TV channels into the Saban-backed joint venture Celestial Tiger Entertainment. It has also halted production of TV drama and has eliminated distribution of third party titles. “We were never really ready till now,” she said. The deal was negotiated by TWC’s David Glasser and Celestial’s Tong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member sifu44 Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/weinstein-co-shaw-bros-remake-avenging-eagle-come-drink-with-me/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hands up who would rather see the original Shaw Classics given optimum releases? Thought so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member odioustrident Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 This John Fusco is clearly some backpacking culture-maven before being any type of genre fan. Did Forbidden Kingdom reflect the "Chinese dynamics" of anything besides name dropping Journey to the West? It was more like Warriors of Virtue than anything else to me. English language is another interesting choice. Are they banking on this trend of Mainlanders eating up Western films focused on Chinese culture? These projects may fall apart before we hear too much more about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member the moose Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 I don't know if I should be excited or skeptical about this. But I'm definately interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 While I love both the originals, I have no problem with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Run Run Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hands up who would rather see the original Shaw Classics given optimum releases? Thought so... Oh man, no doubt about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Run Run Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 While I love both the originals, I have no problem with this. I don't have a "problem" with it, but I would rather see them ramp up original releases. If anything, maybe this will generate interest in classic Shaws, and maybe get some long-time-coming R1 releases of more of the classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hands up who would rather see the original Shaw Classics given optimum releases? Thought so... Here, here. (raises hands) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted July 24, 2013 Member Share Posted July 24, 2013 Yeah, a huge part of why I love Shaw movies are the stars, the sets, the costumes, the filming techniques, the fight choreography, the sound effects, the music, etc.. These new ones could end up being good movies on their own merits, but there's pretty much no way they're going to capture the vibe and charm of the originals. Shaw films are like Hammer films, or Universal monster movies of the 30s, or 50s Hollywood westerns---they're the product of a certain place, time and group of people, and you just can't recreate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member RogueWarrior Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 I had hopes I would have liked the 14 Amazon remake. I didnt enjoy it. Doubt if I would enjoy these remakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shaolin Patriot Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 Let's see if Weinstein has Tarantino direct Come Drink With Me, as he mentioned several years ago. The Hollywood Reporter also mentions: Celestial Pictures director Ralph Marshall said there are "further productions in development," and this new deal goes alongside the company’s "imminent" global release of its Shaw Brothers titles on digital platforms to showcase the studio's back catalogue in "new and innovative ways." Time will tell.... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weinstein-remake-1970s-shaw-brothers-590791 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mpm74 Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 According to Variety, The Weinstein Company has a deal with Celestial Pictures to remake two Shaw Brothers martial arts classics: 1966′s Come Drink With Me and 1978′s Avenging Eagle. John Fusco, writer of The Forbidden Kingdom and the upcoming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2, will pen both movies. There are currently no directors or stars attached to either title. If you’re a Shaw fan and your blood is already boiling, you better not continue reading… Celestial also says they’re in similar discussions with other A-list producers for remakes of other Shaw Brothers titles. http://www.cityonfire.com/the-weinstein-company-to-remake-shaw-brothers-classics/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 Does this mean that the Shaw Brothers movies will finally get the Weinstein treatment? I just can`t f*ckn wait. Maybe they should just go back and digitally insert some non asian people into these films, re dub into English only, edit the fight scenes and delete out anything for any reason and put a hip hop soundtrack on it and maybe another interview with RZA. That might save em some money too. Or, just digitally remove the actors from the original movie and add them to a remake. The Weinsteins should not be allowed anywhere near any asian film of any kind at any time for any reason. I mean, look at their amazing track record. Just the thought of those bastards eyeballing a kung fu film makes me sick to my stomach. Honestly, what movie haven`t they butchered that they have released? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 According to Variety, The Weinstein Company has a deal with Celestial Pictures to remake two Shaw Brothers martial arts classics: 1966′s Come Drink With Me and 1978′s Avenging Eagle. John Fusco, writer of The Forbidden Kingdom and the upcoming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2, will pen both movies. There are currently no directors or stars attached to either title. If you’re a Shaw fan and your blood is already boiling, you better not continue reading… Celestial also says they’re in similar discussions with other A-list producers for remakes of other Shaw Brothers titles. http://www.cityonfire.com/the-weinstein-company-to-remake-shaw-brothers-classics/ I could swear this was announced 10 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 They may end up being decent movies but there's no way they are going to capture the kung fu action of Shaw Bros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 I'm not really confident in those remakes to begin with. And from what others have said about the Weinstein Co., I'm even less enthusiastic now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 My personal opinion is 50-50...The Weinsteins are like a mixed bag..while they originally messed up American versions of Hong Kong films, their Dragon Dynasty label did bring a sense of redemption. As for John Fusco, he not only has talent as a screenwriter, but he trained in Shaolin kung fu for a number of years and has been immersed with Chinese culture. So I am hoping he does his homework with scripting these remakes. As for who they should cast...I only can think of one word: legacy. They should attempt to cast Marsha Yuan in Come Drink with Me as Golden Swallow, as she looks just like her mother and did some action before (she played one of the Ten Tigers in Jackie Chan's Around the World in 80 Days) and yes, her English is very good. For Avenging Eagle, they should approach Shaun Tam in the role originated by his father, Ti Lung. If Shaun speaks English pretty well, this could make for a good lead role for him...usually saw him in mainly supporting roles except for the Taiwanese film GREY, where he played a hitman with a heart. That's my opinion anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 No, no, no and HELL NO! They can't even legitimately give us the original films, in decent presentation, and the want our money for reboots?! FOH!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BaronK Posted July 25, 2013 Member Share Posted July 25, 2013 Why would my blood boil? We've already had and forgotten Friday the 13, Texas Chainsaw, The Guillotines, etc remakes. As long as I have my dvds of the movies I always wanted, i'm good. Remake, reboot, whatever. Singers, wires, cuts, floating, cgi, whatever. It just doesn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member bigrogie Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 Remaking COME DRINK WITH ME and AVENGING EAGLE???? Total absurdity. Such classics to be butchered by these clowns....... If that happens, I won't bother watching them even for free! I have no interest whatsoever in potential remakes of Shaw Brothers movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member derwood Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 they should remake them with puppets for the kiddies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 Remaking COME DRINK WITH ME and AVENGING EAGLE???? Total absurdity. Such classics to be butchered by these clowns....... If that happens, I won't bother watching them even for free! I have no interest whatsoever in potential remakes of Shaw Brothers movies. It seems a bit weird...unlike most films remade, they are not well known to the general public. FIVE VENOMS, 36th CHAMBER...they're the ones with name recognition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted July 26, 2013 Author Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 We will always have our SB originals. Nothing will ever change that. The unfortunate thing is many film fans know nothing about these two films. The remakes have an opportunity to reach millions. Even if they bomb, there will undoubtedly be -- a small group of people exposed to our little genre who will now seek out the films we have all grown fond of. None of us are getting any younger and I don't think the remakes are necessarily targeted for us. If the remakes allow a new crop of fans to emerge, then these two films have done their job IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member odioustrident Posted July 26, 2013 Member Share Posted July 26, 2013 None of us are getting any younger and I don't think the remakes are necessarily targeted for us. If the remakes allow a new crop of fans to emerge, then these two films have done their job IMO. My only real concern is that they could do exactly the opposite.... but that may be unfounded. The idea is that a negative association with the genre will occur for a group much larger than those who actually appreciate the new films. I don't think Man with the Iron Fists brought too many people into the scene honestly. It is early days and I'm not saying this is a valid concern. We'll have to wait and see what the writer of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron comes up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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