Member Milkyway Posted April 30, 2009 Member Share Posted April 30, 2009 'Detective Dee' puts Tsui, Lau on case Thriller from Huayi Brothers was penned by Chen Kuofu BANGKOK -- Tsui Hark will direct Andy Lau in the period martial arts suspense thriller "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" in Hong Kong and China beginning in May, production company Huayi Brothers said. With a $13 million budget, a script by Chen Kuofu and production by Chen, Tsui's wife and partner Nansun Shi and former Columbia and Emperor executive Peggy Lee, Tsui and Huayi will bring to life an imagined case solved by a real Tang Dynasty detective. When the mysterious deaths of a series of loyal subjects threaten to delay the 690 A.D. inauguration of Empress Wu, China's only female leader, she calls the infamous Detective Dee (Lau) back from an exile into which she cast him eight years earlier. "They had such an interesting relationship of hatred, love and passion," said Tsui, who is focused on finding the perfect empress to play opposite Lau ("Infernal Affairs"). "She was the sole one, the first and last empress in China, who claimed to be very iron-fisted, using all these cruel methods in handling her politics. At the same time she was very smart, using all the intelligent people she selected for her cabinet." Dee accepts the challenge and partners with gung-ho Commander Bei and the Ghost Doctor, a master of disguise, to solve the crimes. Tsui has not yet chosen actors to play the rest of the historical figures who will follow him on his shoot from Hong Kong and Beijing to Hangzhou and Henan. After years of planning and scheduling delays around the Beijing Olympics, Huayi got a shooting permit from the Film Bureau in October. The company hopes to finish the film in time for a summer 2010 release in Asia. Felice Bee, head of international sales, said Huayi and Tsui chose to call Lau's character a detective, rather than a judge -- a title closer to the historical record -- to avoid confusion with a popular series of Judge Dee books based on Tang Dynasty court sleuth Di Renjie by Dutch diplomat and novelist Robert van Gulik. "We want this movie to be fun, not to give people too much of a history lesson," Bee said. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i7fcfe6ddd3b5d6c2cd0763692911cb82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Milkyway Posted April 30, 2009 Author Member Share Posted April 30, 2009 Detective Dee Cast Announced -- Detective Dee -- Apart from Andy Lau who has long been attached to this production, Carina Lau, Li Bing Bing, Tony Leung Kar Fai, Lau Ching Wan are also joining Detective Dee directed by Tsui Hark. Andy Lau plays the eponymous magistrate Di Ren Jie who's tasked by Empress Wu Zetian to look into a series of enigmatic deaths of court officials in this period suspense mystery set in Tang dynasty. Carina Lau would play Empress Wu Zetian, and she has to take up lessons on horse-riding and court etiquette in preparation for the role, "The director requests that I learn court etiquette, but I'm not sure where I can learn those things. I'm looking for a relevant teacher, to better understand the way of life of the ancient people. It's pretty interesting." Li Bing Bing would be play Shangguang Wan-er, Wu Zetian's maid and right-hand 'man' who is proficient in martial arts. While Tsui Hark hopes to name the film's Chinese title 《通天帝国》 Kingdom to Heaven, it is getting nowhere with Mainland censors. Tsui Hark indicates that he is especially curious about themes of detective and Tang dynasty, and hopes that by putting the two together, would create a special story for the audience. The film's producer Shi Nan Sun denies rumours of the creative genius Tsui Hark being at the end of his tether, "I've worked with many different directors, but Tsui Hark is one director you've to spend extensive time on pre-production, for he often demands novelty. Most directors just do what they are good at, accustomed to, so they always have relevant resources at their fingertips. But Tsui Hark is an exception to the rule. If you watch his films ten years down the road, you'd realise that many of his films are classics. Even this story of Detective Dee, it may sound like a historical subject, but it actually contains many novel ideas. Di Ren Jie is a super sleuth of Tang Dynasty, have you watched a movie on an ancient super sleuth?" http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/639-Detective-Dee-Cast-Announced.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted June 19, 2009 Member Share Posted June 19, 2009 Sammo Hung is working on the film as the action choreographer. Here is a pic of him on-set working on a fight scene: and here is Andy Lau as Detective Dee (on the left) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GoldenPigsy Posted November 21, 2009 Member Share Posted November 21, 2009 Kind of a shame that nobody seems even slightly interested in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Amazing Psycho Per Posted May 16, 2010 Member Share Posted May 16, 2010 Well, here's the trailer, I like how it's shapping up. Although we don't get to see much action, it's definately visually appealing. LTMP4rYRZaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HyperDrive Posted May 17, 2010 Member Share Posted May 17, 2010 The part 50 seconds or so had a real fantasy vibe to it. Looks like Tsui Hark's magic is working again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.