Synopsis: 
[Short Version]
       
A female assassin falls in love with a man whose father was killed by her
gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, their love blossoms but
then tensions arise as the past comes back to haunt them.
[Long Version] (SPOILER WARNING)
       
In 428AD, Bodhi, Prince of Southern India becomes a Buddhist monk and sets off for China earning a hallowed reputation as a mystical martial artist. Following his death, his remains mysteriously disappear. Hundreds of years later, Zhang, a high-ranking court official, is assassinated by Drizzle. His son Jingxiu, whilst mourning his father's death, is attacked by a group of assassins. They leave him for dead, but somehow he survives and escapes their clutches.
       
Drizzle, a talented warrior herself, finds herself in possession of Bodhi's remains, and begins her quest to return them to their rightful resting place at the Yunhe Temple. 'The Black Stone,' a team of deadly assassins who employed Drizzle, are also after the remains and the powerful secret behind them. To hide from 'The Black Stone,' Drizzle undergoes drastic facial surgery and changing her name to Zeng Jing (Michelle Yeoh), flees to Beijing, where she meets and falls in love with Jiang, soon to become her husband. After a confrontation in Beijing, Zeng's identity is uncovered and both she and Jiang must flee for their lives. As Zeng kills off members of the gang while they run, she quickly realizes Jiang is actually Jingxiu, and he is seeking revenge for his father's murder. This leads to a lethal triangle and a fight to the death between our hero Zeng, Jiang and 'The Black Stone.' The only question remains who will be the last man standing to uncover the secret of Bodhi's remains...
Reign of Assassins News: 
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(03/18/10)
- The production of
Reign of Assassins will be moving to Taiwan later in the month.
Principal photography was completed in Mainland China at the end of last month.
Taiwan filming will finish a couple of remaining key scenes.
Most of the post-production will be done in Taiwan.
In earlier interviews, reporters asked Michelle whether she will have
longer fight sequences in
Reign of Assassins like she had with Zhang Ziyi's character
in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle said yes and she revealed that
the most intensive fight sequence will happen between her and Wang Xueqi, who plays
the leader of "The Black Stone" gang. Last week she also mentioned to Malaysian
media that there will be a sequence in which she "flies" on the rooftops. "I think I
did well in that scene," said Michelle.
Production started in Shanghai in early November of 2009 before moving to the Hengdian World Studios in the second month.
Bad weather with heavy rains made the production go over-schedule and a huge outdoor temple set
had to be moved indoors to avoid further weather delays.
Producer Terence Chang said that John Woo was on set most of the
time and spent "more than a week directing a fight scene which featured his daughter Angeles as a ruthless assassin."
The key crew members also include Horace Wong (
A Better Tomorrow,
Hard-Boiled,
The Myth) as cinematographer,
Japanese Oscar-winner Emi Wada (
Revolt,
Hero,
The Soong Sisters) as costume designer, Stephen Tung (
Bodyguards & Assassins,
Warriors of Heaven and Earth) as action choreographer, Cheung Ka-fai (
Shinjuku Incident,
Silk,
Police Story III: Supercop) as editor and Peter Kam
(
Isabella,
Silk,
Silver Hawk) as music composer.
Production and finance come from China's Galloping Horse, Hong Kong's Media Asia and Taiwanese companies
Gamania Digital Entertainment and Lumiere Motion Picture Corporation. It is one of the most anticipated Chinese language films of the year.
Media Asia and Fortissimo Films have sold the distribution rights
for the film to Clover Films (Singapore and Malaysia), Teguh Bakti Mandiri PT (Indonesia), Sahamongkol Film (Thailand),
Galaxy Studio JSC (Vietnam), Boogui Cinema (South Korea), Film Depot (Russia, the CIS region, and the Baltics),
Falcon Films (Middle East), Lusomundo Film & TV (Portugal), Vision Film (Poland), United King Films (Israel),
and Lions Gate Pictures (UK).
- Some art work of early set design
(click to enlarge):
(1) county office   (2-3) market set design
(1) courtyard of the county office   (2) a farm house by the river  
(3-4) interior design of an inn
(03/10/10)
Gamania Taiwan, a major PC online game and digital entertainment corporation in Taipei, Taiwan,
announced today that they are developing an online game "Jianyu Jianghu".
The beginning part of the Wuxia style game will be a continuation of the
film story. "Jianyu Jianghu" online game is scheduled to be released in October
at the same time as the film release, said the company.
Gamania is one of the investment companies for the film.
(03/09/10)
- "Hong Kong Film" January issue has a special on
Reign of Assassins
with interviews of Michelle, John Woo, and Su Chao-pin.
(thanks Crystal for the scans)
Read
(in Chinese)  
page 1
page 2
page 3
page 4
- Film stills and set photos from "Hong Kong Film" magazine and
Taiwanese madia.
(click to enlarge)
Michelle and Jung Woo-sung in Reign of Assassins
(1) Michelle as a swordwoman  
(2) Drizzle (Michelle) hides the gold inside bricks
(3) John Woo, Su Chao-pin, Shawn Yu on the film set  
(4) filming an action scene
(02/26/10)
The production of
Reign of Assassins has wrapped up Hengdian
filming and it will be moving to Taipei, Taiwan.
Reportedly the production is one month behind the original plan, even though
two teams have been shooting at the same time. The crew took only three days
break for the Chinese New Year.
Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (Michelle's co-star in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
may have to drop out of the project due to schedule conflict. Taiwanese actor
Ethan Ruan may replace Chang to play a famous doctor.
Taipei Postproduction is handling the film processing, printing and digital intermediates.
Some set photos from Hengdian filming
(click to enlarge. "Tom" and "Sina" photos):
(1) Jung Woo-sung in a wired scene   (2) director Su Chao-pin and Kelly Lin
  (3) Su Chao-pin in front of green screen
(4) producer and co-director John Woo on set   (5) Michelle with young actor Qi Yiming
(1) Su Chao-pin directing an inn scene   (2) (L to R)
John Woo, Su Chao-pin, and action director Stephen Tung (Tung Wai)
(3-5) filming with Mainland actress Jiang Yiyan who plays Shawn Yu's wife in the film
(02/23/10)
Filming at the Hengdian World Studios resumed last week and Michelle is currently in Hengdian.
(02/16/10)
- From
Twitch:
"EFM 2010: First glimpse of John Woo's Jianyu Jianghu"
-
"Now going by the English title of Reign of Assassins, the first promo reel for the John Woo / Su Chao-Bin co-directed feature is available for buyers at the EFM.
The footage included is still quite rough, looking to be completely raw and fresh out of the camera, but still shows plenty of the good stuff. Before making his name as a heroic bloodshed director focused on massive amounts of gunplay, Woo directed films of all genres including classic wuxia films and this is very much a return to that. Michelle Yeoh stars as a woman defecting from a clan of assassins who are less than pleased to see her go. Lot's of old school martial arts action ensues and while the tone of the film seems to be generally quite straight faced there are definite nods to the goofier sides of wuxia as well, including one warrior who fights with a flaming sword clenched in each hand.
Very raw still but quite promising."
- According to "Variety" and "Screen Daily", the distribution rights for
Reign of Assassins
has been sold to U.K. (Lionsgate), Russia and the Baltic (Film Depot/Volga Films), and Israel
(United King) during the EFM
(European Film Market).
It was also sold to Korea (Younghwa), Portugal (Film & TV House), and Poland (Vision)
ahead of EFM. Media Asia is handling the sales in Asia while Fortissimo Films is handling
the rest of the world.
(02/09/10)
- The film crew will take a break for the Chinese New Year and the filming will start again in Hengdian after.
- More set photos from
Reign of Assassins (
Jianyu Jianghu)
filming sets:
Nov. 9, 2009, Shanghai. filming a market scene
left photo: Michelle walking on set
Jan. 2010, Hengdian.   (1-3) filming a Tong Bao Bank interior scene
(4-5) the lady in blue is Taiwanese actress Pace Wu who plays a Taoist nun with high martial arts skills
Jan. 2010, Hengdian. left photo: director Su Chao-pin on set
Jan. 28, 2010, Hengdian, media set visit
(1) John Woo   (2) Su Chao-pin   (3) Leon Dai  
(4) Barbie Hsu, Shawn Yu and Leon Dai
(photos from "sina", "Mtime", "163" and Yu's facebook. click to enlarge)
(02/05/10)
Chinese TV actor Calvin Li (Li Zonghan), who is famous for portraying "elegant gentlemen" on screen, plays Monk Lu Zhu
in
Reign of Assassins (
Jianyu Jianghu). Li uses a pair of iron chopsticks
as weapon. Talking about his role, Li said: "Everyone else in the film
is either killing or being killed by others. My character is different. I...
killed myself." Li's role is crucial for the development of Xi Yu's character (Michelle).
(1-4) Calvin Li as Monk Lu Zhu   (5) Calvin Li with costume designer Emi Wada
(click to enlarge)
Film stills: postman Jung Woo-sung delivering mail.  
(click to enlarge)
(02/02/10)
The English title of
Jianyu Jianghu is
Reign of Assassins.
Fortissimo Films will be presenting the film with the first footage
at the upcoming Berlin/European Film Market during the Berlin International Film Festival.
(click to enlarge. "Fortissimo Films")
(02/01/10)
Photos from Hengdian film set: director Su Chao-pin's birthday party, Jan. 28.
 
(click to enlarge. "QQ" photos)
(1) (L to R) producer/director John Woo, producer Terence Chang, director Su Chao-pin and Michelle
(2) blowing out the candles (L to R) Jung Woo-sung, Su Chao-pin and Michelle
(3) Michelle putting a piece of cake on Su Chao-pin's nose
  (4) Su Chao-pin handing out birthday cake to John Woo
(5) (L to R) John Woo, Terence Chang, Su Chao-pin, Michelle and Shawn Yu
Director Su Chao-pin explained the meaning of the Chinese title of the film,
Jianyu Jianghu. He said
the name of Jung Woo-sung's character contains "Jian (sword)" and the name of Michelle's character
contains "Yu (rain)". "Jianyu" (Sword and Rain) is a symbol of the love between the two
main characters. "Jianghu" means the martial arts world.
(01/29/10)
- Newly released HQ film stills of
Jianyu Jianghu:
(1-4) Michelle as Xi Yu (Drizzle) / Zeng Jing
  (5) Michelle and Jung Woo-sung
(1) Jung Woo-sung   (2-4) Barbie Hsu as Zhan Qing   (5) Shawn Yu as Lei Bin
- A media set visit was arranged in Hengdian on January 28th.
Reporters asked Michelle if she is worried of getting injured while filming a martial arts
film again after
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, during which
one of her legs was badly injured. Michelle said: "I was injured in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
when filming the first action sequence and I had to go through surgery.
This time when I entered the
Jianyu Jianghu set, oh my God,
it looked very similar to the set of
Crouching Tiger. Memories came back to me
right away. We were also filming during a very cold weather. I was thinking,
please, do not let anything happen."
Asked if she taught something to the younger actresses such as Kelly Lin and Barbie Hsu,
Michelle said she goes to the shooting set to see their filming. She
said they are all experienced actresses but it is their first time to be in
a martial arts film. "I told them my experiences on how to prevent
injuries, where it is easier to get injured, and what to do when they are
on wires for the first time and panic."
Since the shooting schedule is tight, John Woo sometimes "guest directed" some scenes, according
to the media reports.
Taiwanese director Leon Dai, who is a friend of director Su Chao-pin, guest stars
in the film as a handicapped, old killer.
(01/26/10)
- 76 year old Chinese actor You Benchang, who became famous for portraying Monk
Ji Gong in the Chinese TV series "Ji Gong" 20 years ago, will be seen in
Jianyu Jianghu.
Reportedly he will play Michelle's master.
- Kelly Lin and Shawn Yu returned to Hengdian filming this week.
Filming in Hengdian has been going on day and night. Still, they may
not be able to finish before the Chinese New Year as originally planned.
Many crew members are concerned as to whether they would be able to go home during
the new year holiday. The Tiger Year will start on February 14 this year.
(01/15/10)
Jianyu Jianghu filming has been continuing in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province.
Actress Jiang Yiyan has finished her part. She plays a swordwoman who
dresses as male. Kelly Lin joined the filming for a week
and will return to the set later this month. Producer/director John
Woo, his wife, and their daughter were all in Hengdian.
Chinese actor Guo Xiaodong (who co-stars with Michelle in the upcoming
True Legend)
will join the production soon. Reportedly Guo plays
a mysterious role which is very important to the storyline. He will share
some scenes with both Kelly Lin and Michelle.
(1-2) Chinese actor Qin Weidong (R) and South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung.
Qin plays a butcher in the film
(3) John Woo talking to Jiang Yiyan
  (4) Jiang Yiyan and director Su Chao-pin on Hengdian set
(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos")
(01/06/10)
Taiwanese actress Kelly Lin and John Woo's daughter, Angeles Woo, have
joined the Hengdian filming. Angeles Woo plays a cameo role
and she will have a couple of scenes in the film.
Kelly Lin plays a relatively small yet very important role -
(spoiler warning - highlight the text in the brackets if you would like to read)
[
she plays Xi Yu (Drizzle) before the facial surgery.
That is, she and Michelle in fact play the same character. ]
Some images from Hengdian:
(1) producer/director John Woo with a crew member and extras on Hengdian set
(2) Chinese actress Jiang Yiyan plays a martial artist
(3-4) Jiang Yiyan with 10 year old Qi Yiming, who plays "Little
Flying Chivalrous"
(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos)
It snowed in Hengdian and some filming for
Jianyu Jianghu had to be postponed. The bad weather
and cold temperatures caused a lot of trouble for film and TV crews (more than a dozen) in Hengdian.
According to news reports, one film crew had all of the crew members fall sick. Another film crew was shooting a summer scene
but water vapor came out from actors' breaths when they spoke, so they had to
suck on ice cubes before filming the scene...
There was also an unexpected problem for some Hong Kong and Taiwan actors on the
Jianyu Jianghu
set that Twitter and Facebook, which they use frequently, are blocked
in China. (The communist regime also blocked YouTube, along with many
other overseas websites/blogs.)
(12/30/09)
-
Jianyu Jianghu has been filming in Hengdian. It was very cold there. Reportedly the temperature was as low as minus ten degrees Celsius.
- Actor Wang Xueqi talked about the film during a recent interview. He said he plays a skilled martial artist,
and both Michelle and Barbie Hsu are his disciples. His character does not have major screen time but
it is a very interesting role. Wang recounted that during the first few days of his filming he had fight scenes
with Michelle. He was very nervous and Michelle kept encouraging him. He said Michelle has excellent action skills.
As for himself, Wang said the action director knows he is not an expert so the moves were designed for his level.
He tries to do as much as he can, and when he can't, stunt doubles are used. According to Wang, some actors have
not yet started their parts, including John Woo's daughter.
(12/09/09)
Production of
Jianyu Jianghu moved to the Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province
at the end of October. Hengdian filming takes place in the studios and the surrounding scenic areas
including Fangyan.
Some images from last month's shooting in Shanghai:
"China Movie Report" published a set interview video with Hong Kong actor and singer Shawn Yu
in Shanghai. Yu plays a killer in the film. He said it is the
first costume film for him. He will be a hidden weapons
expert and he will have a lot of fighting scenes with Michelle.
Video:
Set inteview with Shawn Yu
 
(01:34, in Mandarin)
(11/29/09)
Filming in Shaghai is wrapping up. Before the production moves to Hengdian, a media set visit was arranged in Shanghai.
and the reporters interviewed some cast/crew members. Several stills and some set photos were released.
Stills and set photos from Shanghai:
(1) Michelle plays Zeng Jing  
(2-4) Michelle and Jung Woo-sung
(1) Barbie Hsu's character  
(2-4) Emi Wada shows film costumes
  (5) director Su Chao-pin on set
Michelle, Jung Woo-sung, and John Woo on media set interviews
(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos)
Videos:
   
Interview with Michelle  
(11:36, in Mandarin)
   
Interview with producer John Woo  
(14:46, in Mandarin)
   
Interview with costume designer Emi Wada  
(06:55, in Japanese with Chinese translation)
Producer/director John Woo said after
Red Cliff he was planning to film
1949, a Chinese-language war epic/romance set against the back-drop of the final years of China's civil war.
Director Su Chao-pin was brought to the script team. After a long period of preparation the project did not work out.
(for related earlier reports, see News of
Dec 22, 2008,
Feb 2, 2009,
Mar 3,
Mar 24, and
Mar 29).
When he was picking his next project, Su showed him and Terence Chang a Wuxia story he had written.
They loved the script and decided to make the film.
"I thought immediately that the lead character belongs to Michelle. And she liked the character very much after she read
the script," said Woo. "Not seeing Michelle fighting on big screen is
a waste," Woo added, "She is not only an action actress, but also an excellent actress."
Talking about making a Wuxia film again, Michelle said she is nervous and also looking forward to it.
She said she liked the script very much, "especially the complexity and subtlety of the characters. There is no simple good guy or bad guy."
She revealed her character was a killer at the beginning and there is a turn
in the story - someone changed her life by sacrifying himself. "Not by Jung Woo-sung's character.
And I won't tell you now who he is," smiled Michelle. Asked about working with a director who had not filmed a Wuxia or costume
film before, Michelle said
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was Ang Lee's first
Wuxia/costume film too when they were working together. She will have more action than she did in
Crouching Tiger and it is more physically challenging.
South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung said the first day of his filming with Michelle left him a deep impression.
"She looked so pure. Our characters fell in love with each other naturally." Jung also said rain
is a factor that made the two characters get together. He said he and Michelle often discussed their
roles. Asked if Michelle taught him any sword moves, Jung smiled: "We talk about emotions, not fighting."
Oscar winning Japanese costume designer Emi Wada said she spent more than two months for the preparation
and she looked at references from the Ming Dynasty. Since most of the characters in the film are
ordinary people, so their costumes were intentionally not ironed. Wada said she tries to
reflect in her design ordinary people's life from that period. In the film, Jung Woo-sung is a postman and
Michelle sells fabric.
(11/28/09)
Production of
Jianyu Jianghu has been going on in the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio
since the beginning of the month.
Michelle, Jung Woo-sung, Barbie Hsu, Shawn Yu, Leon Dai, Jiang Yiyan, You Liping and Wang Xueqi have been seen on the Shanghai set.
Taiwanese actress and TV host Barbie Hsu, who is the second female lead in the film, spoke to
the media during a public event last week and said she has been training
hard on her wrists, arms, and balance. She told reporters that she will share battle scenes with
Michelle and she is very worried. She is afraid that she might injure Michelle if she makes mistakes,
or if she does not do well and has to repeat certain moves many times then Michelle would have to repeat the shots with her.
Hsu said she has not really started action scenes yet. She filmed one court scene earlier
for which she had to kneel down the whole night, and it bruised her knees.
When Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards announced (on 28th) Mainland Chinese actor Wang Xueqi won the best supporting actor
for his role in
Forever Enthralled, he was filming a scene with Barbie Hsu. He told reporters
afterwards he was so excited that he kept forgetting his lines in the scene which he was supposed to
lecture Hsu. Reportedly the two shares a lot of dramatic scenes.
Hong Kong actress Pau Hee-Ching talked about her role in a media interview. She said in the film
both Michelle and Jung Woo-sung came to her town and there will be a love
story between the two. She tries to be the matchmaker and some scenes are very comedic.
Photos from Shanghai:
left: a matchmaking scene is filmed inside this building (a restaurant)
right: these rooftops are battle fields
Wang Xueqi and Barbie Hsu in makeup room after hearing the news of Wang's award.
You can have a glance of their costumes under their coats.
Shanghai has been very chilly.
(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos)
(11/27/09)
Jianyu Jianghu teaser poster.
(11/16/09)
- Filming of
Jianyu Jianghu started on November 4th in the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio.
On the first day the crew team was on set at 2:00AM. The second day, 4:00AM
and the third day, 3:30AM. Producer/director John Woo was on set watching the monitor.
Some sneak photos from the Shanghai filming set. The buildings shown
on the set include Yue Yang Lou Inn, Tong Bao Bank, Fu Yuan Ju Restaurant,
etc..
(3) You Liping as Zhang Dajing, owner of the Tong Bao Bank
(4) You Liping with art director and costume designer Emi Wada
(click to enlarge. photos from Yu's facebook and "Sina")
- "Shanghai Daily" quoted John Woo talking about the script: "When I read it three yeas ago,
I was very excited. It's one of the best scripts I have ever seen. We decided to film it."
Michelle, who plays a retired female assassin in the film, said:
"Traditional martial arts films used to simply assign good guy-bad guy
labels to the characters,... But in this film, we see complex personalities. The past really
haunts the present. Everyone is trying to discover his true self and find balance in life again."
(11/03/09)
A press conference and the opening lens ceremony for
Jianyu Jianghu
were held in the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio on November 3rd.
Producer John Woo, director Su Chao-pin, and cast members
Michelle, Jung Woo-sung, Barbie Hsu, Wang Xueqi, Shawn Yu, and
Pau Hee-Ching attended the events, with more than 100 reporters
from the Greater China region present.
News Videos
(in Mandarin):
video1 (02:41)
 
video2 (01:17)
 
video3 (01:37)
 
video4 (04:18)
News photos from the press conference and the opening lens ceremony:
Michelle Yeoh (1-2), Jung Woo-sung, Barbie Hsu, Shawn Yu, Wang Xueqi, Pau Hee-Ching
(1) John Woo   (2) director Su Chao-pin   (3) Emi Wada, (Japanese) art director
and costume designer
(4-6) Su Chao-pin, Michelle, Jung Woo-sung
press conference (L to R): John Woo, Pau Hee-Ching, Michelle, Jung Woo-sung,
Su Chao-pin,
Wang Xueqi, Barbie Hsu, Shawn Yu
 
(1-3) opening lens ceremony  
(4) (L to R) Peter Lam, chairman & CEO of Media Asia, Li Ming,
chairman
of Beijing Galloping Horse Productions, and John Woo
opening lens ceremony: praying for good luck
(click to enlarge. photos from "Sina", "163", "Weeklysh" and "QQ")
Michelle said she has waited for many years to work with John Woo.
"From Hong Kong to Hollywood to Mainland China, finally I have
got this opportunity," said Michelle.
Jianyu Jianghu will
be Michelle's first Chinese costume film since
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
which was shot exactly ten years ago.
John Woo said he always admired Michelle and wished to work with her.
But they did not find a suitable project since his past films were all centered on male characters.
He said
Jianyu Jianghu was his favorite martial arts screenplay
over the years and he had been waiting for such a chance to work with Michelle.
South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung, who will play Michelle's husband in
the film, said that his role will be a lovable postman.
Hong Kong veteran, the best actress award winner at this year's
Hong Kong Film Awards, Pau Hee-Ching (cinematographer Peter Pau's sister)
joined the cast too. She said she will play an old lady who sells Toufu.
And she will be the matchmaker for Jung Woo-sung and Michelle.
Mainland veteran actor Wang Xueqi will be the leader of a group which
rivals Michelle. Barbie Hsu and Shawn Yu are both members of this
group as assassins.
Cast will also include Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (who co-starred with Michelle in
Crouching Tiger),
Taiwanese actress Pace Wu, Chinese actress Jiang Yiyan, Taiwanese
actors Leon Dai and Ethan Ruan, and Chinese actor Guo Xiaodong,
in addition to the names announced before.
This is director Su Chao-pin's first martial arts film and he finds filming action scenes
more difficult than he had imagined. "But we have a very
capable martial arts director so I'm not worried," he added, "making a martial arts film
has been my dream from childhood."
Principal photography of
Jianyu Jianghu starts on November 4th at
the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio. It is scheduled to move to
Hengdian, Zhejiang Province at the end of the month and then to Taipei, Taiwan at the beginning
of next year. Chinese media described John Woo as "main director" and Su Chao-pin
as "executive director" for the production.
(10/30/09)
Synopsis has been added on this page (see above). Principal
photography will begin next week at the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio.
The stunt team has been training for a month in Shanghai.
(10/20/09)
Michelle talked about her role in the new film with Singapore media today:
"The key message of the story is that
we're all living a second life... We're always trying to be something that we're not. The past catches up in
the end and tails you no matter where you go. But it's also a story about love."
Michelle confirmed that she will join the filming next week.
(10/19/09)
Set construction began earlier this month at the Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio (Shanghai Image Maker) and
the Hengdian World Studios.
According to
Hollywood Reporter,
the romantic Kung Fu thriller will start shooting in Shanghai on October 30.
Producer Terence Chang described the film as " 'Face/Off' meets 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' set in the Ming Dynasty."
A quarter of the film will be shot in Taiwan. The film is set for a 2010 late-summer release.
(10/10/09)
- During a recent interview in Paris, Michelle said she will be shooting a new action film
in China with John Woo along the lines of
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"I play an assassin who is trying to leave her world behind her, but
finds out it's not so easy," said Michelle.
- Two weeks ago during a Taiwanese press interview, producer/director John Woo
said he appreciated very much the talent of director and scriptwriter Su Chao-pin
since he saw Su's
Silk (2004). When producer Terence Chang showed him the script
of
Jianyu Jianghu, Woo liked it so much and thought the story
is so brilliant that the film has to be made.
"This is a highly entertaining martial arts film with a new style.
I look forward very much to working with Su Chao-pin."
Director Su Chao-pin said he has enjoyed martial arts novels since childhood and he
even practiced some martial arts himself. Talking about the new film,
Su said: "The storyline may sound old fashioned. But I would like to discover
new meaning form the old elements, and show the true spirit of Jiang Hu."
The director said he had already met with Michelle and the male lead
Jung Woo-sung. He described Michelle as a "sunshine girl" and said
it is very pleasant to talk to her. He said Michelle gave many
opinions regarding the script from the feminine point of view, and he
looks forward to working with her. Asked whether there will be love
scenes among the two leads, Su said: "If there is, I think I will
have the lights turned off and make it implicit."
Producer Terence Chang said that South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung speaks
Chinese very well and Jung asked not to be dubbed.
Production is scheduled to start in Shanghai this month and move to
Hengdian later. Some filming will take place
in Taiwan at the end of this year or beginning of next year.
Filming is expected to last until March 2010.
(09/23/09)
Michelle's next film,
Jianyu Jianghu (i.e., "Jian Yu Jiang Hu",
literal translation: "Rain of Swords in the Martial Arts World",
a.k.a "Rain of swords in the pugilistic world", "The Sword and The Martial Arts World" and "The Swordswoman's World"), will start
filming in Shanghai at the end of October.
The Chinese-language martial arts film will star Michelle and South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung (
Musa)
as the main leads. The story is set in the Ming dynasty
(1368 - 1644).
A swordswoman (Michelle) was seeking a peaceful life.
She changed her look and lived quietly. But people in Jiang Hu (the martial arts world)
did not spare her because she owned a treasure many martial artists wanted.
Jung Woo-sung plays Michelle's husband.
Directed and written by Taiwanese director and scriptwriter Su Chao-pin (
Silk) who is well known for mysteries and thrillers,
the film was described by producer Terence Chang
as a Gu Long (*) style martial arts suspense story with new weapons and new fighting styles.
Expect themes on love, hatred, passion, and revenge, with plenty of action and a mysterious plot.
 
(* Gu Long, 1936-1985, was a famous Hong Kong born Taiwanese martial arts novelist. Michelle's 1993
Butterfly & Sword was a film adaptation of a Gu Long novel
which was also set in the Ming dynasty.)
The rest of the cast will include Chinese actor Wang Xueqi (
Forever Enthralled,
Warriors of Heaven and Earth),
Hong Kong actor and singer Shawn Yu (
Infernal Affairs), Taiwanese actress, singer and TV host Barbie Hsu (
Silk),
as well as several acting clients from Michelle and Terence Chang's Stellar Entertainment including Taiwanese actress Kelly Lin
and Hong Kong actor Wong Hei. Producer/director John Woo's daughter,
Angeles Woo (33), will have a cameo role in the film as a female killer.
The art design team has been in Shanghai since the end of August. Set construction/modeling
will begin later on location at Shanghai Shengqiang Film Studio (Shanghai Image Maker),
Hengdian World Studios and the surrounding scenic areas in Zhejiang Province.
Taiwanese media reported that Media Asia (Hong Kong), Sanlih (Taiwan), and Gamania Taiwan are
among the investment companies for the production. Filming will take
place in Mainland China and Taiwan.