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(05/08/08) Sierra Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based game developer and publisher, has announced its plans to release "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", a video game adaptation of The Mummy 3 film, on July 22nd in North America.

Players will take on the role of Rick O'Connell and his son Alex. Voice talent includes Brendan Fraser, Luke Ford, Jonathan Hannah and Michelle. The game is currently in development for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, featuring the locations of the film from the Chinese catacombs to the Himalayan peaks, with action as well as puzzle solving and hieroglyphic decoding gameplay elements.

Links:  M3 Game Features   M3 Game official website


(click to enlarge)
(05/07/08) Media reported director Rob Cohen told "Heat" (U.K. magazine) that actress Rachel Weisz turned down the role of Evelyn in The Mummy 3 because her character was "too old": "I got a very angry phone call from her agent, saying she'll never play the mother of a 21-year-old. I said, 'OK, good, fine, bye.'" The role has been replaced by Maria Bello.

(05/01/08) Universal's official site for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is up at www.TheMummy.com. So they have decided to call the evil character "Han Emperor" (for previous related reports see 01/04/08 and 07/27/07).

New images have been added to the Promotion Photos section.

(04/30/08) Director Rob Cohen has relaunched his newly designed website RobCohentheMummy.com. Here are some new production photos and concept art drawings (click to enlarge):

Michelle, Isabella Leong, and director Rob Cohen on the Shangri-La set		library in monastery / depository of manuscripts	underground astrolab	undead warrior

(04/29/08) Official teaser poster (click on image to see HQ version). Director Rob Cohen said he will go to London on May 27 to record Randy Edelman's score with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road, including traditional Chinese instruments, traditional Tibetan instruments, a choir, Buddhist monk chanters, and koto drum percussion.

(04/14/08) Quotes from the M3 script, July 3 2007.

          EMPEROR:
I will restore order and crush the scourge of freedom...
          ZI YUAN:
Open the currents of justice and the lost ways of honor. Bring down the wrath of the oppressed on this Emperor and all who follow him...
          EMPEROR:
I will slaughter without mercy. I will conquer without compassion...
          ZI YUAN:
I call upon the hundreds and the thousands to rise up and seize this moment, to take your victory, to take your justice and to take your revenge!

(04/02/08) "Access Hollywood" Video: Access Extended - BTS: 'The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor'   [02:02]
Tim Vincent's exclusive set visit featuring behind the scenes and interview with Brenden Fraser. There are three seconds of Michelle and Jet Li's sword fight at 00:53-00:55.

(03/28/08) New video from the official blog: "Visual Effects", Santa Monica, CA

(03/24/08) In the new update on The official blog, director Rob Cohen said Michelle will arrive in the U.S. tomorrow for the M3 sound dubbing. A trailer can be expected soon.

(03/17/08) - Some newly released M3 production photos (click to enlarge).


- "JoBlo" reported that a teaser trailer was shown on the ShoWest:

"A quick shot of the Great Wall of China. Brendan Fraser and crew are on an archaeological dig in China. They walk into a room full of stone statues. They talk about The Dragon Emperor and how he was cursed by his enemies and turned into a mummy of stone. Fraser accidentally sets something off that awakens the Dragon Emperor and he comes breaking out of his rockness and charging out of the tomb.

Everything afterwards came at us real fast but I swear I saw a Yeti in there somewhere and at the end there was an extended shot of a three-headed dragon creature who didn't look too happy. There was a 300-like shot of a mass of arrows coming down from the sky on some poor saps. Fraser and his son in the movie exchanging some banter and quick glimpses of Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li in action."

(03/12/08) Another poster of The Mummy 3 from the ShoWest 2008. (click to enlarge. "Comingsoon.net")

(03/11/08) Actress Maria Bello revealed that she has signed for three more sequels in Universal's Mummy franchise. Last week Luke Ford told Australian media there is a possibility for a spin-off of his Alex O'Connell character.

(03/11/08) Video: A night filming in Hengdian [00:59]  They were shooting one of the ancient time scenes, perhaps Dragon Emperor's army taking over the State of Chu.

Here are several good quality set photos from Hengdian. The first one was taken during the actual filming last November. The rest were taken in early December and you can see the unique M3 designs/decorations to the palace. The second one is the entrance pass to the Throne Room. (click to enlarge. photos by fergusthompson and kanegen)


(03/09/08) A teaser poster of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, displayed at the ShoWest 2008. (click to enlarge)

(02/19/08) New video: Editing M3
Director Rob Cohen updated the The official blog yesterday. He said a teaser trailer can be expected within a month. The current version runs 125 minutes and the first studio screening is planned for February 28th. The VFX shots still need a lot of work.

(02/07/08) YouTube videos: M3 interviews by Mark Sung:
   - Interview with the action director Vic Armstrong (done in Shanghai at the end of last November)
   - Visual EFX, interview with Blaine Lougheed, the set data technician

(02/06/08) Some M3 set construction photos from the Mel's Cite du Cinema studio in Montreal:

"entrance" to Shangri-La

building Shangri-La
(click to enlarge. courtesy of Zeste Celestes and "fotoproze")

(01/18/08) - Malaysian New Straits Times published an interview with Brendan Fraser. Asked if he had to learn any new skills for the Asian setting movie, Fraser said: "Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are starring in this film and the latter can kick an apple off my head. There is a more fluid style to this film because of the martial arts. Rick is not part of that school.... Rob suggested I study at the National Training Center in LA where they train in a combat self defense system called Krav Magra." Talking about Rick's "new wife" Fraser said "I don't want to give the joke away but I can promise you a brand new Evie."

- Some photos from the Montreal filming:


1. Producer Bob Ducsay (left) and director Rob Cohen on the set of an underground chamber
2. Jet Li's Emperor in the chamber
3. a view of the Montreal filming set
(click to enlarge. photos from "NST", "3M" and jetli.com)
(01/13/08) More shots from the Xingjiang shooting, November 22 - 23. In the first two photos we can see the head eunuch Li Zhou (in black), Ming Guo (double) and Zi Yuan (double). (click to enlarge. "Tianshan net" photos)


(01/07/08) The official blog has a new update with the video: A Fireworks Wrap

(01/04/08) I've got a Chinese translation of the M3 script which version is dated July 3, 2007. This may or may not be the actual shooting script but it should be quite close to the final one. The production started on July 26 last year in Montreal and wrapped up in China a month ago.

In the script the Emperor became Qin Er Shi, the second as well as the last emperor of the Qin Dynasty. In real Chinese history Qin Er Shi was the 26th son of Qin Shi Huang and a puppet emperor after his father's sudden death. He was under the control of chief eunuch Zhao Gao during his less than three years of rule (210BC - 207BC) before his life and the tyrannical Qin Dynasty were removed. There are different counts for the age when he died, some say in his early 20's and others say he was only 15. In the early version(s) of the M3 scripts the Dragon Emperor was Qin Shi Huang. At some point it became Emperor Han. Apparently they kept changing the identity of the character in order to avoid the Chinese authority's complaints. (see report of July 27) It was not fixed even after the production started. We do not know what identity the Dragon Emperor will take in the final cut. But one thing we can be sure is that the set design for ancient part of the story is from Qin Dynasty.

A large portion of Jet Li's character will require some assistance through special effects, like when the character is covered in clay or takes beast forms, for example.

Since this is an adventure of the O'Connell family, we can expect Michelle wouldn't have the most screen time. We probably will miss her for half of the movie. However, the Zi Yuan character is my favorite from the script. As we already know, she appears in both the ancient period and modern times, in two different character designs. I like seeing Michelle as a symbol of fighting for justice. And I like this theme of the film - that the tyrannical regime must be dissolved, miseries must end, and freedom must be triumphant - something which is only too real for today's China. (Although the production team had been in China for more than two months, many of them may not aware what's really going on in the country. It is hard for foreigners to really know the place where the government carefully hides things from international society and people are afraid of talking about any "sensitive issues"...)

In this version, Zi Yuan's creation of "pools of eternal life" was removed. That's too bad. I really liked that part from the earlier scripts. Hope the production company might consider making a spin-off for the character. With topics on China getting hotter and hotter, they can certainly make interesting movie(s) - with 2000 years of civilization to be covered!

Based on this version of July 3, the library built inside the Shanghai Film Studio should not be the Emperor's library (see report of 11/23/07) but is actually the interior set of the ancient depository of manuscripts (the exterior scenes were filmed in Xinjiang). Also, there is no appearance of Jet Li's character's father (see 07/18/07) [minor spoiler warnings til end of the paragraph] but there will be a short scene of Anthony Wong's character's father. Michelle will have a fight with Anthony Wong. Jessy Meng's character will have some fights as well. Some of you may have read some early versions of the script or "ISEB"'s story sketch based on the version dated March 19. Here are a few obvious changes:
1. the India or Hamunaptra scenes were deleted and they added London scenes (filmed in Canada)
2. no back story on Alex
3. no flashback on how the pools of eternal life were created
4. Lin has a better and bigger reason to become mortal
5. Jonathan Carnahan gives out where the next possible Mummy story will take place

I've also seen a detailed story summary (in Chinese) which is slightly different from the script mentioned above. It's not dated but should be based on a version later than March 2007.

(01/01/08) HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Here we have some more photos from the M3 production. The first one is an official release, perhaps shot in Montreal.

O'Connell family	IMHOTEPS night club (Shanghai). Vic Armstrong (L2), his wife Wendy, John Hannah (R2), Liam Cunningham (R1)			filming at the Nanjing Road set, Shanghai

on the Han Street set, Hengdian World Studios (click to enlarge. photos from "Filmz", Vic Armstrong's blog, "Shaoxing Evening" and Chinese BBS)

(12/28/07) Taiwanese model Jessey Meng said her role in The Mummy 3 is as an adjutant in General Yang (Anthony Wong)'s army. She said initially she rejected Rob Cohen's invitation since her role in the script was very small. It required her to be on set for two months but she would only have about 5 minutes of screen time. Later the director talked to her through phone calls and e-mails, and convinced her to join the production. He even added several scenes for Meng including a relationship of some kind with Anthony Wong.

(12/23/07) HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
"Wow!... a visit to a magical Shangri-la!" - Performing Arts Insider
    For anyone who is interested in traditional Chinese culture, I highly recommend the upcoming Holiday Wonders and Chinese New Year Spectacular. Featuring traditional dance, music, song, martial arts, mini-dramas, etc., it's a showcase of China's rich cultural past. The global tour will be in more than 65 cities around the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. Don't miss the world's largest Chinese New Year live-stage celebration! Let the show take you back 5000 years into ancient China in two of the most memorable hours of your life. Visit www.BestChineseShows.com for information on the show & ticketing.

(12/17/07) "PopPhoto" has an interview with Jasin Boland, the still photographer for The Mummy 3. He mentioned some of his M3 experience, including creating some shots trying to pick up the flash from a gun. He went out with Brendan Fraser, a few weapons, 250 rounds of ammunition, and a couple of Nikons. "The images are so cool, and closer to the release of the film, you should see those shots everywhere." He also talked about how relieved he was once he was able to retrieve a series of files from a card error. "The shots were a series of specials on Michelle Yeoh and to lose them would have been devastating and the studio would have gone nuts," said Boland.

(12/09/07) "Michelle Yeoh should be made Queen of the World. If so, I would be a monarchist. What an elegant woman! She is a light being. She glows from within, even in sunlight." - from Director Rob Cohen's Mummy Blog (updates on December 8). Visit the blog for more.

(12/05/07) Video clips:
    - Mummy 3 press conference in Shanghai, Nov. 26 (17:48, in Mandarin and English)
    - Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li: joy of filming the fights (3:00, in Manderin)

(12/03/07) Onstage at IMHOTEPS night club, they filmed a "live performance" with 26 year old American Chinese rock singer Helen Feng, who plays a singer in 1940s Shanghai. The jazz band "played" their instruments soundlessly. With the music from her wireless headphones, Feng performed a song entitled "Forever Love" (translated title) which is also the end title song for the film. Reportedly the lyrics were written by director Rob Cohen. They did the recording and filmed the performance at the same time. It took only about 15 minutes. (click on photos to enlarge. "CE" photos)


Although the principal filming has wrapped, reportedly the M3 team has still been filming some scenes including more horse work.

(11/30/07) The Mummy 3 has completed its filming in Shanghai in the morning of November 30th. The last scene filmed was a big party inside a luxurious night club in 1940s Shanghai: Luke Ford and Isabella Leong. Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello. There were about 80 westerners and a dozen Chinese guests, all dressed for holiday. At one point director Rob Cohen and his wife joined the dances on the dance floor...

(11/30/07) More photos from the filming at the Hengdian World Studios, November 12 - 17th. (click to enlarge. photos from Sina and Baidu blogs)

1. Michelle on set. Notice that she had the same hair style and dressed the "same" as in the Xinjiang scenes - with much finer costumes. The metal tipped shoes nearby are for use during horse scenes to prevent the horse from accidentally stepping on actor's feet
2. in front of the Throne Room (Imperial Presenting Hall): the second left is Michelle. An imperial officer can be seen at second right
3. Michelle's horse
4. a view of part of the Qin Palace square. For some of the scenes on the square huge green screens were used, apparently for special effects shots

The Emperor's Throne Room (Imperial Presenting Hall) is one of the important locations during the ancient part of the story for The Mummy 3. The Throne Room related scenes were filmed in both Hengdian and Shanghai. In the Shangahi Film Studio they had the interior of the Throne Room and the furniture and decorations were transferred to Hengdian right before the Hengdian filming. At the Hengdian World Studios, they re-decorated the outside pillars (the dragon patterns seen in several photos) of the Right Side Hall of the Qin Palace and made it into the Throne Room. Inside the hall, one side was used for the Throne Room and the other used for the Emperor's bedroom. According to the reports, the M3 team did not have to pay rental fee for the week long filming in Hengdian. Instead, the deal is that the production team will leave all the furniture and decorations created for the film there. The Hengdian Studios believe they can make a good use of them for tourists, etc.. The set construction and decoration in Hengdian took over two months.

Another part of the story which was shot at Hengdian involved the Dragon Emperor (Qin) invading and taking over the State of Chu. The first two pictures below are the actor and actresses who play the King of Chu and his concubines.


(11/29/07) These are more pictures from the Xinjiang filming on the 22nd and 23rd. (click to enlarge. "67" photos)

"monks"	Michelle and Russell Wong's doubles		ready to shoot

According to the reports, the costumes which Michelle and Russell Wong's doubles wore were pretty rough, since no close-ups were needed. The head eunuch, played by Chinese actor Liu Tao, had the finest costume on Xinjiang set and they did do close-up shots of him. And there were no fallen leaves in front of the Thousand Buddha Caves and so the production team actually had to bring a big bag of leaves in and scattered them on the ground to let the "monks" sweep them.

The story goes, reportedly, that Zi Yuan and Ming Guo went to a temple there searching for a secret book in the temple's ancient depository of manuscripts. The director wants Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves to be the temple and Sugong Tower as the depository. In the film we will see these two structures connected together via digital special effects .

(11/27/07) Yesterday we reported that a M3 team filmed in Xinjiang for two days last week. Xinjiang scenes mainly involve Michelle and Russell Wong's characters: they rode horses to a temple (Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves), unaware that they were being followed by a head eunuch. In Xinjiang they filmed scenery shots, long distance shots of Michelle and Russell Wong's doubles, and some extra scenes such as monks sweeping a courtyard, etc.. The interior scenes of the temple were filmed in the studios in Shanghai. Here are some photos from the Xinjiang filming:


(click to enlarge. photos from "Nanfang Daily")

1. Zi Yuan and General Ming Guo stopping at the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
2. Zi Yuan and Ming Guo galloping pass the Flaming Mountain
3. Michelle's Xinjiang double (right, in costume). Reportedly the same person also doubled for Jet Li in some horse scenes. On the left is a smoking "monk". Talking about monks, does everyone know director Rob Cohen will have a cameo in the film - as a MONK (at Shanghai set not Xinjiang)?

(11/26/07) A press conference for The Mummy 3 was held on Monday November 26th at the Shanghai Film Studio. Rob Cohen, Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, Maria Bello, Luke Ford, and Isabella Leong attended the event and the actors were in their makeup and costumes from the filming. Michelle, Jet Li and Anthony Wong had finished their filming earlier and so were not in Shanghai.

Some reporters (those without cameras) were allowed to view a 7 minute teaser trailer which was just made for the event. It started with a large group of terra-cotta warriors, followed by a fight between Brendan Fraser and Jet Li, a sword fight between Jet and Michelle, Anthony Wong's gun fight with Fraser in snow mountains, Luke Ford's kiss with Isabella Leong, Jet Li standing on his giant statue waking up the Terra-cotta army... along with explosions, earthquakes, avalanches......

Even though the shots had no special effects yet, reporters said it looked more exciting than the previous two films. The occasionally exposed wires did not bother reporters but they couldn't resist asking the director why Zhang Heng's Houfeng Seismograph, which was invented in 132 A.D., appeared in the part of the story set in the period of 200 B.C.. To the question director Rob Cohen answered that it is a fantasy and they may not follow every historical detail, and besides, he wanted to blend in more Chinese historical treasures to show to the audience.

According to the reports, the Chinese characters portrayed by Michelle, Isabella Leong, and Jet Li all looked very elegant and beautiful in the trailer, though in their opinion Jet Li's Emperor did not look anywhere evil. They used some film props to decorate the conference room, inlcuding a screen used behind Emperor's chair, flags, and four bronze gongs. Filming in China will wrap up in a few days.

The M3 premiere in Beijing is scheduled on July 24, 2008.

Video: press conference. (3:13, in Chinese and English)

Photos from the press conference (they spelled Isabella's name wrong. click to enlarge. photos from "Sina", "QQ" and "One Network"):


(11/26/07) - Finally, Vic Armstrong has got us a photo of Michelle as promised :-). His blog had a new entry "Bond Meets Mummy" with this photo - Michelle on her last day with the M3 action unit (in Hengdian I think, the background is the entrance of the Throne Room) and she was "surrounded by all her friends from the Bond we did together TOMORROW NEVER DIES," said Vic, "these are my AD, camera crew and grips and we have done many pictures together all over the world. It was lovely working with her again she is such a beautiful person inside and out." (click the photo to enlarge. Thanks Vic!!). From L to R: Pete Field (camera operator), Terry Madden (1st AD), Ron Nicholls (grip), Kenny Atherfold (main grip), Michelle, Vic Armstrong, and Jonathan Taylor (DP).

- An M3 team appeared at Turfan (aka Turpan), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of west China and filmed there for two days on the 22nd and 23rd. According to "Xinjiang Daily", director Rob Cohen was not in Xinjaing filming, nor any of the main cast members. A group of people with some extras filmed at the Flaming Mountain, Sugong Tower, and Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves which is located in the mystic Grand Canyon of the Tianshan Mountains.

- Anthony Wong has finished his parts in The Mummy 3. Many Chinese crew members have done their work on M3 and left the project one after the other.

- Some pictures from Hengdian filming, November 13th. The first one shows the filming of the "Che Lie" sequence. Russell Wong or his double can be seen in the center (click to enlarge. Photos from "Shaoxing Evening"). Reportedly the right side hall of the Qin Palace set was changed into the Emperor's bedroom which is in black theme as other buildings of the Dragon Emperor.


(If the production company wondered how these pictures were taken after extremely tight security has been enforced, in this case, the reporter has given his account of the story - he bribed the guard of a side gate with a pack of cigarettes.)

(11/23/07) Jet Li's Mummy Emperor! More photos can be seen at yanggang.jetli.org.cn.


(11/23/07) In addition to the Nanjing Road set and an Egyptian-themed bar we have mentioned, there are also several other sets which are built inside the Shanghai Film Studio. The first photo we showed on Nov. 7th is the lower part of the "Shanghai Museum" where the terra-cotta Emperor will be awakened. Reportedly the finished building looks similar to the Shanghai Exhibition Center. The interior scenes of the Museum were actually filmed at a studio in Montreal.

The other indoor sets in Shanghai are for ancient scenes. They include Emperor's Throne Room (interior), General's Bedroom, a room to concoct pills of immortality, and the Emperor's library. The four sides of the library are stacked with all kinds of ancient books - carved on bamboo, bones, turtle shells, etc.. There is a huge desk in the center of the room and the top of the desk can be opened by a remote control. This is the place where Zi Yuan (Michelle) discovers a secret. The bedroom belongs to General Ming Guo (Russell Wong). The magnificent room is decorated with fine embroidery and more than 100 bronze candlesticks. A very large bed is placed in the center with beautifully embroidered pillows and beddings. A pair of dragon-phoenix candles are in front of the bed to light up a love scene.

(11/21/07) A group of photos taken from the Shanghai M3 set.

Brendan Fraser (L) and John Hannah playing with lion head "rocket"			Anthony Wong	Maria Bello getting off the truck

Luke Ford and Isabella Leong. Anthony Wong can be seen in the 3rd photo (front right)			General Yang shooting at Lin

Emperor's dragon chair	a sand table model of the Great Wall	decorations in the bar		Nanjing Road
(click to enlarge. photos from "Southern Metropolis Weekly", "Cri" and "EastDay")

(11/20/07) - On the 20th they were filming one of the largest M3 scenes in the Shanghai Film Studio, involving about 500 extras. It was the 1946's Chinese New Year Eve in Shanghai.

- 1st Night, Shanghai, China: video clip from the official Mummy blog. They were filming at the Nanjing Road set.

- "Nanjing Road in the 30's" is one of the theme sets in the Shanghai Film Studio, and it was originally built in 1994 for Chen Kaige's Temptress Moon. The real Nanjing Road is Shanghai's principal shopping district. In Shanghai, a portion of the architecture is in colonial European style from the late 1800's through the 1930's. Below are some photos from the M3 Nanjing Road set, taken at the beginning of the month (click to enlarge. "Sina" blog).


(11/18/07) Here are some set photos from Hengdian. Filming in Hengdian wrapped up in the morning of November 17th.

scaling ladder for attack	burning/burned books		a beheading scene was filmed here

slain bodies	arrows
(click to enlarge. photos from Sohu blog)

(11/18/07) The U.K. "ES Magazine" had an interview with Rachel Weisz in the Nov. 16 issue. Weisz played Evelyn O'Connell, the librarian-cum-adventuress, in the first two Mummy movies. Her decision not to reprise Eve's role seems to be a part of being a mother. She's quoted saying "I would have had to go to China for three months and I just can't travel like that any more." (thanks Denzylle)

Actress Maria Bello has replaced Weisz for the character of Evelyn O'Connell in The Mummy 3. In the story before their new adventure begins, Rick and Evelyn have retired to Oxfordshire, England, and [spoiler warning] Evelyn has published her new books "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns". In one scene one of her fans asks: "Is the character in the books really you?" to which Evelyn answers: "To tell the truth, I'm not the same person as her." (a pun)

(11/16/07)
- On the Shanghai set, M3 production has been continuing shooting night scenes in 1940s Shanghai. An average 400 extras were involved everyday. They are aiming to wrap up China filming on November 28th.
- Famous Hong Kong car/bike stuntman and stunt coordinator Bruce Law will be performing some incredible car stunts for M3. Law worked with Michelle on Supercop (co-Starring Jackie Chan) and Project S.
- They used Yuen Wo-Ping's wire team for wired action scenes with Huan-Chiu Ku (Dee Dee) as a martial arts choreographer.
- A report on the end of the Tianmo filming: The fight between Jet Li and Wu Jing was shot indoor at the beginning of November (1st and 2nd). Wu Jing plays one of the three assassins who tries to kill the Emperor (in the ancient time). Many crew members left Beijing for Shanghai by Saturday Nov. 3rd and at the same time an aerial director and a director of aerial photography flew over from the U.S.. Some Chinese/Hong Kong assistant directors stayed longer for the aerial shoots in Tainmo. There were more than 200 soldier extras (these are real soldiers - they are in fact soldiers from Chinese People's Liberation Army). They planned to shoot on Sunday and Monday morning but eventually they had to squeeze all the actual shooting on the half day of Monday. They only managed some rehearsals on Sunday which was the day of the hotel Wei Quan incident.

(11/14/07) M3 filming continued in Hengdian on the 14th. According to the Chinese media, in the morning they filmed inside the Throne Room with the characters of Michelle, Jet Li, Russell Wong, along with some ancient senior military and civil "officers". In the afternoon they filmed more galloping scenes. A report said it was Michelle's double on the horse and the camera followed from behind. They also continued filming the "Che Lie" scene. 300 "soldiers" were doing the same thing as the day before: standing still on both sides of the road. Soon these "soldiers" will be replaced by terra-cotta warriors. People were excited to see some terra-cotta warriors were carried from a truck and placed on the square. They are painted in red and black, very similar to those soldier extras.

Reportedly the battle scenes will be filmed at night.

soldiers	terra-cotta warriors	Michelle's double on white horse	more arrows on the wall
(click to enlarge. photos from "Hangzhou Daily Express" and "Sina" blog)

(11/13/07) The 13th of November was the first day of M3 shooting in the Hengdian World Studios, Zhejiang Province. Crew members and extras started arriving at the studios at 2:00AM and the actual shooting didn't start until 7:00AM. There were about 300 "soldiers" standing on both sides of the road. The first scene shot was Michelle's character galloping on a horse (some extras shouted Michelles' Chinese name excitedly: "Yang Zi Qiong! Yang Zi Qiong!"). She ran back and forth several times across the field. At one point the horse stopped unexpectedly and refused to move. She got off the horse and nearly tripped on her long robe trying to drag the horse into moving. It took about an hour to finish the horse riding scene.

The second scene started about 9:00AM. This time it was Russell Wong and Michelle's characters with a dozen of mounted troopers riding into the city. It took another hour. After four or five hours of standing around wearing heavy helmet and armor, the extras were so exhausted and many of them fell asleep on the ground until their lunch boxes arrived.

In the afternoon they shot a sequence [spoiler warning] where Russell Wong's character was pulled apart by horses - it was one of the most brutal death penalties used in ancient China, called "Che Lie", where the prisoner was torn asunder by five horsecarts (or horses directly). In the film they used eight horses. It was very difficult to shoot and they repeatedly had to reshoot the scene so much the horses became exhausted, a few even falling asleep. Crew members kept having to wake them up. Some western assistants shouted to the half-awake horses: "Run! Run!" But the horses didn't respond. Then some of the Chinese people reminded them these are Chinese horses. So they shouted: "Pao! Pao!" After more than 20 takes the shot was finally done.

There will also be some smaller scaled scenes shot inside the Throne Room. Reportedly it will be the scene when Zi Yuan is being presented to the Emperor.


(click to enlarge. photos from "Hangzhou Daily" and "Qianjiang Evening")
(11/13/07) - HQ version of Michelle's Zi Yuan in The Mummy 3: 1 2 3 4 5

- Michelle is now in Hengdian. When director Rob Cohen said in his blog ("Shanghai, China") that he finished filming with Michelle last weekend, apparently he meant her scenes with him in Shanghai.

The Hengdian World Studios will be closed to the public from the 12th - 16th. Here are some photos from Hengdian, November 12th. Group shooting didn't start until the next day.


(click to enlarge. photos from "Qianjiang Evening" and "Today Morning Express") Photo decriptions:
1. a watchtower over a gate to a desert city. The gate will be struck by a rain of arrows. The war chariot in front of the gate was actually used in a Zhang Yimou movie and the M3 team has repainted it from white to black.
2. the central gate is ready for shoots.
3. locals, many of them are farmers, lined up to be chosen as extras. If chosen, they get 70 Yuan per day (about USD$9.5).
4. the chosen ones became ancient soldiers instantly (some taller ones get to be generals - no photo).

(11/11/07) A large number of the M3 team members have already arrived in the Hengdian World Studios. Hengdian filming starts on the 12th. According to the reports, although the actual shooting will only take 4 or 5 days and those shots may only show up in the final cut for a few minutes, the set construction and decoration in Hengdian have taken about two months. Many Chinese crew members are surprised by how exquisite the props look compared to what were seen on Zhang Yimou's or Chen Kaige's period productions shot in Hengdian.

Reportedly some Hengdian shots will be background scenes of the Dragon Emperor: conquering other cities/countries, killing civilians, burning books and burying scholars (strong reference to Emperor Qin aka Qin Shi Huang), etc..

battered city	Throne Room: pillars at entrance and the interior			spongy "dead bodies"	books, carved on bamboo, will be burned by the Emperor
(click to enlarge. photos from the Hengdian M3 set by "Hangzhou Daily Express")

(11/11/07) On November 9th, "Sina" reporters interviewed actor Brendan Fraser and producer Bob Ducsay in Shanghai. Ducsay said there was a long pause after the second Mummy film until they heard of the Terra-cotta warriors, which gave the filmmakers inspiration to have another Mummy film.

Reporters said Fraser himself looks more dramatic than in his movies. He talked about keeping balance between family and work. Talking about working with Jet Li and Michelle, he laughed: "I'm the good guy and Jet Li is the bad. Of course good guy wins!" And he said Michelle "taught" him to beat Jet Li hard and he's following her instructions and he thinks he did very well.

Here are some more tidbits from the Nov. 8 set visit (may contain minor spoilers):

- Asked why he chose Anthony Wong for his movie, director Rob Cohen said he studied Asian movies and he liked the actor very much. He thinks Wong is charming even when he plays a negative role. He has the depth of a man, said Cohen. He had actually chosen another actor for the role (Jane's note: Tony Leung Kar-Fei) since initially Wong had a schedule conflict. Four months after the preparation started Anthony Wong said he would have time to play the role and the director was very happy to have him on the team.
        Asked his opinion on Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh's performances, the director said: "They are wonderful. The film has two basic elements - reality and illusion and they could combine the two so well and they make the movie real. I'm pleasantly surprised."

- Although their characters' affection and hatred span over 2000 years and they may try to kill each other in the story, reporters described that Jet and Michelle looked like "brother and sister" on set when not filming. But, according to Michelle, "I call Jet Mei-Mei (little sister) and he calls me Ge-Ge (big brother)". Jet Li "complained": "She bullied me all the time on set! I guess she's getting her revenge on me for cutting her scenes out from Fearless. I owe her for that." Michelle said she didn't mind that (being cut out). "But didn't you see he stabbed me (in filming)?" she asked reporters jokingly. Both of them said it's an easy shooting for them and they have been having a great time. Michelle said there will be more drama than action scenes between them. Asked if there will be any love scene between the two, "Love scene? We are enemies," answered Michelle, "no love scene." (It was hilarious to see dozens of Chinese news reports calling them "Sister Jet Li and Brother Michelle Yeoh"...)

- Isabella Leong said she's very excited to be on this project. This is the first action film for her. She said she didn't request using doubles unless the director asked her so. Kissing with Luke Ford will be the first on-screen kiss with a man for the 19 year-old. Reporters asked Luke Ford how he thinks of Leong, and the young actor said she is the most beautiful girl he has ever met. Both Leong and Ford received four months of physical training for their roles. Leong has an English teacher with her during the filming.
        Isabella Leong was initially recommended to the director by Michelle. Rob Cohen asked Michelle if she knows anyone suitable for playing her daughter. Michelle said she had been in Europe, America, and other countries most of the time for the past couple of years and she's not very familiar with the younger generation in the Hong Kong/China film industry these days. But the name of Isabella Leong came to her mind. Michelle thinks Leong is a talented actress with great potential.

- Reporters told Michelle that Luke Ford said he's very thankful for her teaching him Mandarin Chinese. She almost choked when she heard it (she was drinking water) and then laughed: "Teaching him Mandarin? My own Mandarin is bad! I guess he thanked me because he didn't know what I taught him." Everyone in the room laughed. Talking about Michelle's Mandarin, comparing today to the time she was filming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when she had to memorize her lines literally sound by sound, Michelle now answers in Mandarin all of the questions from the Mainland Chinese reporters.

- Jet Li said his character is not the Qin Emperor and the film story is not taken from history. And he said he's not sure his character is good or bad. "Am I bad? I'm just doing what an emperor does." He said. "The emperor doesn't have a wife and loves only one woman." Although it seems the story has been moved to 50 B.C. which would be during Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.), all of the Chinese media still refers Li's character as Emperor Qin. In the early version of the script, the character was indeed Emperor Qin (Qin Shi Huang). (see report of July 27)

(11/10/07) Some of you may have already seen that director Rob Cohen has put another new entry in the Mummy Production Blog. He has finished Jet Li's scenes and he's finishing with Michelle today (10th) with a love scene between Michelle and Russell Wong in Shanghai. "Two more beautiful people were never created," said the director.

The 2nd unit (action unit) has finished Shanghai shooting and is moving to Hengdian. The main unit will be finishing the chase sequence and some shots at IMHOTEPS. Filming in the Hengdian World Studios will only last 4 or 5 days.

Rob Cohen confirmed that Michelle's character's name in M3 is "Zi Yuan" (aka Ziyuan). "Zi" means "lilac / purple" and "Yuan" means "beautiful lady". In the very early scripts the character was named "Zohora" (not a Chinese name), and it was changed to "Zi Juan" at some point ("Juan" means "silk"). Hey why don't they simply use Michelle's Chinese given name -- "Zi Qiong"? "Qiong" in Chinese means "beautiful jade". :-)

There have been hundreds of media reports on the M3 production from the Greater China region last few days. After the media set visit on November 8th, on the 9th actor Brendan Fraser and producer Bob Ducsay also accepted interviews in Shanghai. I will need bit time to sort out the news reports. Keep tuned.

(11/09/07) Many thanks to "forsage" for these great new M3 photos! Most of them are from Montreal filming. (click to enlarge)


O'Connell family in action


Shangri-La beauties


Alex and Lin
(11/08/07) Here are several newly released official Mummy 3 images. (click to enlarge)

Michelle Yeoh as Zi Yuan		Jet Li	Luke Ford	Isabella Leong

On November 8th, the production company organized a media set visit. About 30 reporters from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea visited the Shanghai Film Studios where the M3 production is currently taking place. Rob Cohen, Jet Li, Isabella Leong, Luke Ford and Michelle accepted interviews.

Director Rob Cohen said he is fascinated with China's culture and geography. He described the Tainmo desert as "very beautiful and with many layers". He is still dreaming of filming some big scenes in Xian, the ancient capital of China where the Terra-cotta warriors were discovered. He said he still hopes for permission to shoot there might be granted. "My head is full of scenery shots from there. It's so mysterious and beautiful." Cohen said they did a lot of research and they are trying to combine a western-style adventure with Chinese culture and history. He mentioned his film will not try to make light of the fear and pain the characters will experience. Instead, he would like to show the audience a realistic view of the characters and their feelings.

Inside the Shanghai Film Studios, aside from the Nanjing Road set, M3 team has also built an Emperor's palace and three side halls. A scene which was being filmed on the day of the visit was an interior scene at Emperor's palace, involving Jet Li and Michelle. Jet Li was dressed in black armor while Michelle wore a yellow long dress. [Big Spoiler Warning til end of the paragraph] Michelle, with a very painful expression on her face and a stiletto "stabbed" in her stomach, slowly slid against the wall down to the floor. Jet Li hissed from between his teeth: "Now you can meet Ming Guo in hell!" Suddenly, black liquid started coming out from his face. Terrified, he turned and ran out. This is a dramatic scene where Jet Li's Emperor forces Michelle to choose marry him or die. He stabbed Michelle and a curse from her hit him. It is the last time they face each other in the ancient time frame.

In addition to witnessing the scene filming mentioned above, reporters were also treated with some film footage. The unfinished 4 minute long trailer shows gun-shooting, kung-fu fighting, magic and romance. There is a lot of exciting action. Since this is before the VFX is applied, some wires and blue screens could still be seen. Reportedly they have already filmed about 500 action shots and 1800 non-action shots. The non-action part still needs 300 more shots.

(11/07/07) Here are several more M3 production related photos from Chinese websites. The first one is a building under construction inside the Shanghai Film Studios at the beginning of October. The other two are the interior design for a western-style building in 1946 Shanghai. (click to enlarge)


A "crashed" plane. Photos taken around October 23-25 on the Tianmo set.


(11/05/07) Actor Anthony Wong, who plays General Yang in the film, was seen in Hong Kong on the 5th. He said he came back to visit his family and also to see a doctor for his sprained hand. He's going to Shanghai soon. Michelle may have already arrived in Shanghai.

(11/04/07) According to "The Beijing News", the M3 production team involuntarily got involved in a Wei Quan movement in Beijing ("Wei Quan" is a new expression in Mainland China, meaning civilians' struggle to defend their basic rights). Around 10AM on Sunday November 4th, more than 100 protesters welled up into the main hall of the 16-story Golden Holiday Hotel at Yanqing County, Beijing, which the Mummy Tianmo team has occupied for the past few weeks. The protesters locked up all the gates, carried a previous manager out of a window, and announced that they have taken over the management of the hotel and the hotel will be closed down for a week. Dozens of police were called to the scene.

Back in 2002, more than 300 people bought ownership of the hotel rooms but then they were cheated and did not get the benefits they were promised. This was the third time in this year that the property owners had come to protest and forced the hotel to close (the other two times were in March and August). Some Chinese M3 team members went downstairs and requested the protesters not to disturb the filming team. They had a brief conflict with the protesters. Eventually a spokesperson from the new ownership committee agreed that they will provide for the usual needs for the M3 team during their stay.

According to Chinese official statistics, in 2005, there was a Wei Quan protest every 6 minutes in China. Evidence indicates that there were even more protests in 2006. Because the "legal system" in China is controlled by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and is so corrupted, the written "laws" mean almost nothing. When the legal system does not protect their rights, many civilians are forced to use other methods such as demonstrations or appealing to higher officials in their attempts to safeguard their basic rights. But frequently we see reports that individuals who came to appeal their cases to the highest official in Beijing have been beaten, arrested, and even sent to forced labor camps, since the communist government is doing everything they can to "show" the world a "Harmonious China", especially with the Beijing Olympics on the way.

(11/04/07) According to news from the Hengdian World Studios, The Mummy filming in Hengdian will start on November 13th. The production company has asked the studio's actor association to look for 300+ extras, perhaps as Emperor's soldiers. It is not clear which unit will be filming there at the date.

the central gate of the Qin Palace transformed into the gate to the desert city		different colored sands are carefully mixed to cover the ground	the Han Street set will turn into a sea of flames
(click to enlarge. photos from "Dongyang", "Qianjiang Evening" and "Shaoxing Evening")

(11/01/07) Here are several more photos from the Tianmo filming set. In the 1st photo, those people you can see dressed in green are for special effects shots and are most likely Terra-cotta soldiers-to-be. Reportedly there is another group of special effects characters and that group all dressed in blue. In the 2nd photo we see Maria Bello in the middle. They had filmed a fight scene with her character, holding a knife and battling with several "green people". And in the last photo, finally we can see clearly what was written on Anthony Wong's soldiers' armbands: it's the Chinese character "Zu", which means "soldier" or "pawn". Funny sign.


(click to enlarge. "Sina" and "163" photos)
In Shanghai, some Chinese reporters who disguised themselves as extras got closer looks to the set and filming. The production team strictly requires all extras to have proper IDs which many people don't usually carry with them. For some of the group scenes they didn't have enough extras and so the production team members were seen grabbing people from in front of the studio. But many of these people could not do work as extras because they did not have IDs. There are at least 2000 sets of costumes for extras in Shanghai alone, with styles ranging from western suits to Cheongsams and Chinese cotton-wadded jackets. Goodies displayed in the shops on "Nanjing Road" are largely real. One evening, they were filming an explosion scene with the Emperor's bronze chariot rampaging down the street. Extras had more than 10 tries. When "cut" was finally shouted, some of the ladies in high heels were so exhausted they simply went to sleep under the roadside trees. There have been some accidents on set but no serious ones have been reported. The Shanghai Film Studios will remain closed to the public until November 30th.

Shanghai shooting has been basically taking place during the evenings/nights. Extras are supposed to get paid for their previous day/night at around 5:00AM. They were offered 90 Yuan (about USD$12) per day but frequently they did not get their full pay or did not get paid at all. Their Chinese "agents" used all kinds of "excuses" to reduce the payment, for example: "Today the actual shooting was shorter than yesterday," "You won't get paid for only working one day," or, "You went to rest and it was against the rules." Some even lost the 150 Yuan "earnest money" they were required to pay to the agents as deposit. Reporters saw a poor girl who kept coming everyday and hoping to get paid once. She even begged the agent to at least return her "earnest money" but without success.

(10/30/07) More behind scenes videos:
    - Company Move, Tianmo China.   a new clip from the Mummy Production Blog.
    - Taimo set   (02:45. in Mandarin)
    - Another video clip from the media set visit on Oct. 26th. Watch here or here   (05:20. in Mandarin). There are more than 500 vehicles and 40 departments on the Beijing Tianmo set. Signs (in both Chinese and English) for tents/trailers they showed include "Stunt Training", "Extra Make up & Hair", "Wardrobe", "AD & Production", and "Mummy 3 / Yang". Michelle joked that she might not look very fresh for the interview, since they had to get up around 4:00AM everyday. Some Chinese crew members from the Shanghai set said they have been working 18 hours per day.

On the other Mummy filming set, at Shanghai Film Studios, the action unit has been filming many dangerous action sequences such as chases and crashes during nights.

(10/29/07) Videos (may need to use IE to watch):
    - Filimg of the sword fight   (00:24)   brief segments of the filming of the sword fight between Jet Li and Michelle. The one on the right is Michelle. They were fighting on top of a broken wall (and in one instance she actually fell).
    - Michelle Yeoh: It's a joy to fight with Jet Li   (03:00. in Mandarin)   a Chinese TV news report on the media interview with Michelle last Friday. They show some segments of the filming of their sword fight, and also some funny scenes from their 1993's Tai Chi Master.

Michelle said it was such a joy to fight against Jet Li. They didn't need much of rehearsal. Both of them were very accurate and they could use full force in their combat. Chinese media consider the fight between them - "the two superstars of the Chinese language Kung-Fu cinema" - as one of the biggest selling points of the film. People who witnessed the filming described their fight was simply "brilliant". Both of them fought for real. Their performances were so wonderful that many times people couldn't help applauding at the scene. Some people questioned why sometimes stunt doubles appeared at all. An assistant director explained that actors need to rest and there are cases that there was no need for both of them to be on set all the time (e.g., if shooting close-ups for one of them).

In the film, Jet Li's character can shift into different shapes. He plays an evil role but he looks handsome. There are two different character designs for Michelle: one is from the ancient period and another for the modern time. The pictures of Michelle we have seen are from the later period. In another design she is a fairy beauty. The fight with Jet Li will be the only fight for Michelle in the film. We will see her in more non-action scenes than actions.

Tianmo filming will last until the beginning of November before the main unit moving to Shanghai. Hengdian filming is scheduled to start at the middle of November. Filming in China is expected to wrap up at the beginning of December. They will probably also shoot some scenes in the Canadian Mountains in the winter.

(10/26/07) So far most of the set photos in China had been taken by reporters who snuck onto the sets (one even disguised himself as a lunch delivery boy in order to do so). On the 26th, the Chinese production company organized the first media set visit in Tianmo. Reporters were not permitted to go to the main filming spots or take photos of actors in costumes. They were allowed to look around the backstage. The production company also arranged media interviews with Michelle (she was the only actor interviewed during the visit).

Reporters interviewed Michelle in a tent on the filming set. Michelle said everyone on the production team, including Jet Li and herself, were very excited about the fight between them. It's going to be a "real" fight and she will not use any "magic". She said this is a film which combines east and west and the director has good respect for Chinese culture. Asked about Brendan Fraser, Michelle said he is a great actor in both action and non-action scenes. According to the media reports, Michelle and Jet Li's sword fight is "real" - there will be no special effects there.

Fourteen years ago Michelle and Jet Li made the martial arts film Tai Chi Master (U.S. title: Twin Warriors). Since then Jet always considered Michelle as one of his "brothers". Michelle recalled a funny story from that time: when they were filming a dinner scene they both could not hold back their laughter whenever they saw each other. They ended up spending an whole evening just to get this simple non-action scene filmed. Now on the Mummy set, when Rob Cohen sees the two of them joking and laughing together all the time, he says he wishes he could understand Chinese.

Reportedly they have finished filming the fight between Michelle and Jet Li. Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong has already finished his part in Tianmo.


Michelle at interview on the Tianmo set
(click to enlarge. for more photos see News of Oct. 26 and 29)

makeup tent	wigs	costumes	pictures on makeup stands	lunch
(click to enlarge. photos from "Sina", "Takung" and "Sun")

(10/25/07) Filming of The Mummy 3 is taking place in Tianmo (Beijing) and Shanghai simultaneously. In Tianmo, director Rob Cohen has been shooting the sword fight between Michelle and Jet Li for the past two days, which is "nothing less than poetry," said the director in a new entry in his blog. "Such great stars of World Cinema, mano a mano against the desert mountainscape as the whole battle roars behind them. This (is) a landmark day for me and my film." On the 24th, in the morning they filmed Michelle fighting with Jet Li's double and in the afternoon, Jet Li fighting with Michelle's double. A Chinese assistant director said it is a very nervous experience for stuntmen when fighting with the real stars, since they are so afraid to make any mistakes and cause any injuries to the actors.

The second unit has already started filming in Shanghai, on the "Nanjing Road" set. For the last two days they have been filming night scenes. The story happens around the Chinese New Year time and the big chase will be sparkled with holiday fireworks. They had spent more than three months decorating the whole road set in the studios. However, some Chinese said the set looks more like an overseas Chinatown than 1946 Shanghai. John Hannah runs a Egyptian-themed bar called IMHOTEPS which is in a three-story building located on the road.

Jet Li riding into final battle	Tianmo set		Gu Xuanzhao, an action choreographer	Shanghai "Nanjing Road" set
(click to enlarge. photos from Rob Cohen's blog, "Sohu" and "Today Morning Express")

(10/23/07) China's "Modern Express" had a set report from Tiamno filming on October 16 and 17. There were two Mummy teams in Tianmo filming at the same time. The reporter visited Team B last Tuesday and Team A on Wednesday. On the first day, Team B was filming slave workers who died from building the Great Wall being thrown into a pile. Next day the reporter followed Team A, directed by Rob Cohen himself. The report described a scene with Michelle and a small group that included Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello. They were crouching behind a small sand dune and observing the emperor's tomb. Then someone started to run forward while Michelle quietly retreated to a different direction. She was described to wear a purple-yellow colored long dress, carrying a sword. They also filmed some close-ups of Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello shooting and waving shotguns. Jet Li was not on the set last week but his doubles were. He has two doubles, one stunt double and another for non-action scenes.

Michelle Yeoh (2000 years old!)	Fraser and Bello	ancient mounted troops	Anthony Wong's soldiers	director and a cameraman	Jet Li's double (for non-action scenes)
(click to enlarge. "Modern Express" and "Sohu" photos)

(10/23/07) There have been more reports and photos from The Mummy 3 production. On the Mummy Production Blog a still image of Brendan Fraser battling Jet Li has been published. I think it was taken during the Montreal shooting. Some Chinese reporters visited Tainmo set last Sunday when the production team took their break. They "discovered" another giant sculpture of the emperor, also in ancient military garb, which is half buried in sand. The Tainmo park has been closed to the public.   ("Sohu" video)

Anthony Wong was on the set last week. Jet Li joined Tianmo shooting on Monday. They filmed a scene where Jet Li's emperor stood on his own statue, yelling and trying to wake up his Terra-cotta army. Soon they will be filming another big scene there - [Spoiler Warning] Michelle the sorceress is going to raise the people who were killed by the evil Emperor from the dead in order to fight with emperor's Terra-cotta force.

Jet Li vs Brendan Fraser	another statue of the Emperor	filming in Tianmo. In the photo at right Anthony Wong's soldiers can be seen		"Great Wall"
(click to enlarge. photos from "Mummy Production Blog", "Shijiazhuang City", "Beijing Morning Post" and video scan)

(10/22/07) Director Rob Cohen's Mummy Production Blog has been updated. The colossal sculpture we have seen is actually Jet Li's emperor! The emperor's 5,000 Terra-cotta Warriors will have a big battle with the foundation army which is led by Russell Wong who has been raised by the wizardress Michelle.

(10/21/07) The second unit (action unit) has moved to Shanghai. One of the main filming sets in the Shanghai Studios is the "Nanjing Road", decorated as 1946 Shanghai. A lot of footage will be shot there (including a big chase). Also Jonathan Carnahan's IMHOTEPS, both the exteriors and the interiors, will be shot in the studios. Here are some photos from Chinese blogs:

a glance of the Nanjing Road set, Shanghai (click to enlarge)		martial arts actor Wu Jing in Tianmo

(10/19/07) Photos from M3 production in Tianmo/Beijing: (1) Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello dodging arrows;   (2) those bright yellow/green figures are for special effect shots. (click to enlarge. photos from "Sina" and Sean's Blog)


Reporters have not seen Jet Li on the set but caught his double instead. Michelle left Beijing for Malaysia on Wednesday and stayed there for two days in order to celebrate her father's birthday.

(10/18/07) Actor Luke Ford has been seen on the Tianmo set. Vic Armstrong published a photo with him on his blog. Vic is leaving Tianmo and heading to Shanghai to prepare for a big chase sequence there. Although the main unit will not be in Shanghai until late October, the Shanghai Film Studio has already closed its doors to the public and they said they will ensure a secured environment for the Mummy filming. Costume fitting for extras in Shanghai will start on the 19th.

Meanwhile Chinese media sources have published more photos from Tianmo, some involving extras. Besides the two main filming spots mentioned before, reporters have also seen a beacon tower and a small portion of the Great Wall. Next to the wall lie piles of "dead bodies" - a reflection of the cruelty of the evil Emperor.

The main unit uses 3 cameras (the action unit has 6) on set. It is difficult to move large equipment on soft sand and a few times they needed to use mechanical shovels to rescue the instruments/vehicles that got stuck. There are more than 300 vehicles and 700 workers on the filming set. Various sequences - in ancient as well as modern times - will be filmed at Tianmo, including the final battle. (photos from "Sina" and Vic Armstrong's blog. click to enlarge)

Luke Ford (M) with Scott Armstrong (L) and Vic's nephew James (R)	soldiers from Han(?) Dynasty	prisoners on death row	"dead bodies"

extras		the giant statue	beacon tower

(10/17/07) Some scenes they have been filming at Tianmo involve an "exploration team" at the tomb. Around the tomb, they have set up some explorer's tents. Jeeps, shotguns, gasoline cans, dynamites, iron pots and kettles can be seen. One of the scenes they shot on Wednesday was under the ancient wall. An old style jeep was turned over. [Minor Spoiler Warning] The tomb exploring sequence should involve Luke Ford (who may not be recognized by many Chinese).

Photos from Tianmo filming set:

the giant statue		ancient wall		upside-down jeep

explorers' camp site

carrying a Terra-cotta warrior				director's trailer
(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos)

(10/16/07) There are two main filming sets that have been built for The Mummy 3 at the Tianmo desert: a nearly 100 meter long ancient wall (for photos see report of Sept. 7), and the entrance portion of the Emperor's TOMB. Imitating ancient Chinese underground tombs in looks, this "tomb" has been dug several meters deep into the desert. The entrance to the tomb is right beneath the giant statue of an ancient general (see the previous photo on Oct. 10). The sequence of the discovery of Emperor's tomb will be filmed there, I assume. Some of the tomb's interior scenes have already been shot back in Montreal.

(10/15/07) - Chinese martial arts actor Wu Jing (Jack Wu), who learned martial arts from the same master as Jet Li, will have a cameo role in the film. He said he will have a fight against Li in the film. Also pop singer/actor Leng Zhongyi (Easy) will make a cameo.

- News from China said that China shooting by the main unit will start on the 16th. A large group of crew members - from the United States, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing - have been staying at a hotel in Huairou County of Beijing, about one hour driving from Tianmo.

(10/10/07) Filming in Tianmo started on Monday, although the main unit will not join until next week.

At left is a sneak photo from the Tianmo set - a giant statue of an ancient general. It was taken last week by a crew member of another film/TV production in the region. (click to enlarge)

The Tianmo filming set has been active for about two weeks. Many tents have been set up on the desert for props and make-up. Last week they were busy with preparations including horse training and clothes-fitting for extras.

(10/08/07) - Video: Brendan's Rain Day. They were shooting at the Rivire du Nord (North River) near St. Jerome in Canada, I think.

- These photos were scanned from a Chinese news video on Mummy's Hengdian set.


(click to enlarge)
The set construction at Hengdian World Studio started in August. As a gate of the desert city, the central palace gate of the Qin Palace is given a different look - it's being covered by wood logs and chips. The back square has been transformed into a desert. Roads and grass are all covered by 5 to 10 cm of sand. Reportedly more than 3000 cubic meters of sand is used. Another filming spot in the studio, Han Street, will be prepared in a different way: the gates and pillars will be covered by metal for a fire scene. Filming at Hengdian is currently scheduled in November. (see early photos of Qin Palace).

According to Chinese media, Tianmo (Beijing) filming will last about 3 weeks. Then 2 weeks in Shanghai. Hengdian filming will only take several days.

- Chinese actor/director Liang Tian will play a small role in The Mummy 3. He told reporters that his role is an eunuch. Liang joined Montreal shoots in early September.

(10/04/07) Yesterday a Hong Kong radio programme featured an interview with Isabella Leong. Talking about her Mummy 3 filming experience, Leong said she shares many scenes with Michelle. She said Michelle is a great actress. "Even it was a close-up of me only,