News

‘Love Is A Gun’ set to play in competition in Critics’ Week at Venice.

Chinese sales agent Parallax Films has boarded actor Lee Hong-Chi’s directorial debut Love Is A Gun, ahead of its premiere at Venice, and Liang Ming’s Carefree Days, the opening film of San Sebastian’s New Directors strand.

Love Is A Gun, also starring and written by Lee, follows a young man who is determined to start afresh after getting out of jail, but his turbulent past comes back to haunt him, including a gun of which he cannot get rid.

It will premiere in...

When documentary filmmaker Ryan White made “Assassins,” he needed his adopted grandmother Dr. Ruth’s support to tell the harrowing and jaw-dropping story of the two sex workers who were on trial in Malaysia for assassinating Kim Jong-un’s half-brother. “She hated that I was doing it, worried for me the entire time,” said White, who received a 2017 Emmy nomination for his film about the death of a beloved Catholic nun in “The Keepers.” “She knew by the end I was compelled to get out the truth about these two women.”

Bryan Fogel won an 2018 Best Documentary Oscar for “Icarus,” which led the Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. For “The Dissident,” he took on the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi and obtained Turkish intelligence transcripts and audio of Khashoggi’s murder that reveal mind-numbing violence. “This is a fight for freedom of speech,...

When documentary filmmaker Ryan White made “Assassins,” he needed his adopted grandmother Dr. Ruth’s support to tell the harrowing and jaw-dropping story of the two sex workers who were on trial in Malaysia for assassinating Kim Jong-un’s half-brother. “She hated that I was doing it, worried for me the entire time,” said White, who received a 2017 Emmy nomination for his film about the death of a beloved Catholic nun in “The Keepers.” “She knew by the end I was compelled to get out the truth about these two women.”

Bryan Fogel won an 2018 Best Documentary Oscar for “Icarus,” which led the Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. For “The Dissident,” he took on the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi and obtained Turkish intelligence transcripts and audio of Khashoggi’s murder that reveal mind-numbing violence. “This is a fight for freedom of speech,...

Wonder Women, Batmen, Baby Yodas and Ultramen were among the hundreds of cosplayers who showed up at the Singapore Comic Con taking place at the Marina Bay Sands on Saturday. Thousands more queued to get inside the massive event.

A bewitching array of almost every well-known comic character on the planet, and events around them were thronged by Singaporeans celebrating their weekend. Given the imminent Dec. 19 release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” evidence of that universe was very much on show.

Fans were deeply immersed in Gamersaurus Rex’s tabletop experiences where players enacted battles between opposing forces using hand painted miniature models, in games like “Warhammer 40,000,” “X-Wing,” “Dungeons and Dragons” and “A Song Of Ice And Fire.”

Pokemon fans exulted in the the #PlayPokemon trading card game and video game tournament from the official Pokemon Championship series. One of the big audience draws were the live matches...

A staple of American fantasies, the idea of the island castaway living alone from the rest of the world is a curious Western mindset designed to sell the return to tranquility and primitive values in the modern world with examples ranging from “Robinson Crusoe” to various ‘Survivor’ seasons. This Chinese black dramedy, directed by star Huang Bo, takes that mindset and uses it to fuel his directorial debut released July 30th on digital and Blu-Ray from WellGo USA.

With a giant meteorite heading towards Earth, Ma Jin decides to look past it and joins Shanshan Xing and Zhang among others on a corporate teambuilding retreat. While in the middle of the ocean, their trip is interrupted by the meteor striking the planet, leaving the entire group stranded on a deserted island savaged by the impact of the collision. Turning to tour-guide Wang to lead due to his previous military experience,...

In “Shadow,” Chinese director Zhang Yimou is poised to reveal new layers of darkness, danger and brooding sensuality. Zhang says his film is a story of “struggle and survival,” faced by commoners and women in the face of greater power. These are themes that Zhang has approached from numerous angles over some three decades of work, while repeatedly expanding the horizons of contemporary Chinese filmmaking. Small wonder that Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera calls Zhang a pioneer and “one of the most important directors in contemporary cinema.” Zhang will receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award in Venice ahead of the out-of-competition screening of “Shadow” Sept. 6.

The logline says that the film is set during the period of the Three Kingdoms (220-280 A.D.), and features an exiled king and his people, who develop a plot to regain control of their land. The events are told from the...

Disney finally has their Mulan!  It was a long arduous journey to find her but the search has ended and they have chosen a rather sensational actress!  Find out more about her within!

Disney has had a lot of memorable characters, throughout their illustrious animated career.  However, few empowered young women as much as 1998's Mulan.  The chinese warrior who disguised herself as a man to fight in her father's army in 5th century China has been such an inspiration, Disney wanted to make sure they got the right woman to play her in their live-action adaptation.  They spared no expense in their search, traveling across 5 continents and seeing more than 1,000 actresses, but in the end they found their star.

According to a report by THR, Liu Yifie, also known as Crystal Liu in China, has been cast to play the title character in Disney's live-action Mulan.

If you're unfamiliar with Liu,...

Disney went out on a year-long worldwide hunt for the perfect actress to take on the lead role in their live-action adaptation of Mulan... and they found her! Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also known as Crystal Liu, will take on the lead role in the movie.

Disney and the creative team traveled to five continents and auditioned nearly 1,000 candidates for the role. They were looking for someone with "credible martial arts skills, the ability to speak English and the most ineffable requirement of all: star quality." Variety goes on to explain why Liu was ultimately cast in the film saying:

In Liu, Disney found the complete package. Nicknamed "Fairy Sister" by the Chinese public for her pure and innocent looks and image, she has been one of the country's most popular actresses of the current generation since breaking out with a series of hit television dramas in the mid-2000s,...

Our International Sales Agent (Isa) of the Day coverage has resumed for this year's Cannes Film Festival. We will feature successful, upcoming, innovative and trailblazing agents from around the world (during and after the festival) and cover the latest trends in sales and distribution. Beyond the numbers and deals, this segment will also share inspirational and unique stories of how these individuals have evolved and paved their way in the industry, and what they envision for the new waves in global cinema.

Clay Epstein is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions for Arclight Films, a leading international film sales company with a strong global reach, including the Easternlight and Darclight brands that rule in the Asian and genre markets. Arclight has a long list of titles that spans across the genres, including epic period action The Last Knights with Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman, family film Paper Planes starring Sam Worthington, thriller Reclaim starring John Cusack, Outcast starring Hyden Christiansen and Nicholas Cage, and the animated adventure Legend of A Rabbit: Martial of Fire 3D.

Clay embarked on his film career in Los Angeles back in the days when Pulp Fiction and El Mariachi were changing the playing field for independent cinema. His broad experience in the film world equips him with a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the filmmaking process - a great advantage and benefit for any of his clients.

Clay shares more about Arclight Films, his experience from the days of the indie film explosion in Los Angeles, and why America's television renaissance is keeping the film business on its toes.

Please share an overview of Arclight Films.

I joined Arclight Films just over two years ago as Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions. Arclight was started 12 years ago by Gary Hamilton, and is an Australian based company with its headquarters in Los Angeles and offices in Sydney, London, Beijing, and Toronto.

We have three divisions of the company, which is more of a branding exercise. Arclight Films is the gold standard, with titles like The Bank Job, Lord of War, and Predestination under its banner.

Darclight is for the edgy genre driven cinema, has nothing to do with budget level, but more with genre. Bait 3D, a 25 million dollar film under Darclight, was number one in the Chinese box office last year. It also carries some of the best award-winning modest budgeted horror films coming from the world of cinema right now. Wolf Creek 1 and 2 also fall under Darclight, as does Grave Encounters 1 & 2.

Our Easternlight division focuses on Asian cinema. We're representing the biggest films coming out of Asia with names like Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat and Donnie Yen. We also sell non-Asian cinema into Asia, and have an aggressive share in this market because of the level of cinema that we're selling. Recent success includes Special ID starring Donnie Yen and Badges of Fury starring Jet Li.

What distinguishes Arclight in the global market?

Let's take China for example. They're looking at commercial films in the west more than noncommercial films in China: cast driven, big budget commercial content, special effects, branded content, 3D big movies, as well as the cast-driven Chinese films. A Jet Li or Donnie Yen film, which might be a limited release in some western territories, will be a number one film throughout Asia, and will earn millions in the box office. We’re excelling in this market, because we truly understand its stars, the content, the filmmakers and especially the cultural idiosyncrasies - this sets us apart from the rest.

We’re also closely tied to the production aspects of half of our slate. This means a combination of development, packaging, and co-production possibilities. There's some incredible cinema coming out of Australia right now. It's a renaissance, and we have many Australian co-productions with support from the Australian film industry. We're developing films that can be made in Australia's film infrastructure with budgets anywhere from 3-4 million up to 20-30 million. Our recent success includes Predestination starring Ethan Hawke, A Few Best Men, and the upcoming sequel A Few Less Men.

We're commercially driven; we know what our distributors want and what the audience is drawn to. We want to be able to make films that they're interested in and that there's a market for. We'll always have some art house films on the lineup because we're all cinephiles, and we need to support those filmmakers too.

How are sales going?

If I take a step back from my sales agent role for a moment, the truth is that the market has become nothing more than selective. Look at other industries. They're selective as well: the tech industry, the automotive industry, and the housing industry. If something doesn't work, if the TV breaks down, if the car does not meet consumer demand, they're not going to sell. If they're not the right shape, and the color's not good, that TV just won't sell. That's what's happening in the film industry. If the films are not what the consumer necessarily wants to see, if the film was not produced well, if the story is off, it's the wrong genre for the market, it just won't do well.

The reason why everyone is saying the market is tough is because yesteryear, you could sell a sub-par film and make money on it. There was an appetite for pure content regardless of quality. Today the challenge is to make a film within a manageable budget that will appeal to a global audience. Unless you have a major hit on your hands, the obstacle we all face is that the cost to produce a film continues to rise while the cost that distributors will pay is creeping downwards.

The market has become selective. The consumers have other choices. They're not going to sit in front of the TV and watch movies all day. There are so many other things that they can do, so we're competing for their free time. We're competing against apps and videogames. We have TV with many amazing series--it's the glory days of TV again. People will sit and watch whole seasons of shows like Breaking Bad, so we're competing for this time as well. What we offer them better be good enough to compete with all the other media that's out there - that's why we all say that it's getting tough.

What do you consider when reviewing potential films?

We all have responsibility to the company, to the audience, to our distributors and our clients. When we evaluate a project, we're thinking whether or not there's an audience. One of the first classes I had in film school said the film is not a film until there's an audience to see it. That stuck with me. I still think about that when I'm evaluating a film. My job is to get an audience for that film. What steps I'll take to get there can be placing it with the right distributor, finding the right festival to launch it at, or finding the right publicist. You have to take different steps depending on the film or the strategy, but my ultimate goal is to find the audience and to identify its potential size.

Please talk about Arclight's current projects.

We have some projects in postproduction including Outcast with Nicholas Cage and Hayden Christensen, Reclaim with John Cusack and Ryan Philippe, and The Last Knights with Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman. They have promos and trailers; we've been successful at securing distribution. It's thrilling to have seen those from go from script stage and then all the way to completion. Nothing beats when you see distributors lining up their release schedules.

We have some films in development that we've just announced: Heart of Darkness and The Nest. I'm looking forward to the next six to twelve months as these films come together.

There are projects that we became involved in during production, and we're lucky enough to be a part of, like Tell, with Jason Lee and Milo Ventimiglia. The distributors' response has been extremely positive.

What is your background?

I wanted to be in the movie business since day one. I never wanted to do anything else. There was a short period when I wanted to be a psychologist, but that was an excuse to avoid failure in what was then a less common field to major in.

I wanted to be an actor, writer and filmmaker. I went to film school when Pulp Fiction came out and Robert Rodriguez was making a name for himself. It was the birth of indie cinema (it was a brand in the early 90's), and I was right in that world as a film student. I remember meeting Robert Rodriguez at a book signing for “Rebel without a Crew” and he was incredibly inspiring. The possibilities seemed endless. Everyone thought that they were going to be the next Tarentino. There was a buzz! People were shooting all over La, such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Ben Stiller. There was a sense that film was breaking away from the studio system, and everyone could go and make an indie film. Inexpensive broadcast quality video was just about to break, but we were still dependent on film.

I learned on 16mm and was always in the labs at school. I spent more money on film processing at the labs than on tuition. I was cutting negatives at the school all night long. There was certainly encouragement to do things in a new and different way, but it's not really embraced when you try to do that in film school. There was a bit of a contradiction there, and my inflated plan to become the next Woody Allen was being stomped on.

I did a few short films and a feature. They were all horrible, but I learned the filmmaking process - that's what's important. I wrote a script. I raised money, and I made it. I learned that process, and I respect it so much; this helps me when I'm evaluating projects and meeting filmmakers. I understand what it takes to make a movie. It's hard to make a good film, and it’s hard to make a bad film. It's a tireless endeavor, and probably one of the most difficult things that a person could do. A filmmaker is so reliant on so many people, so much money and so much time. I am incredibly sympathetic to the endeavor.

Where does your drive come from?

I get passionate for everything I'm working on. I have to, because it influences everyone we work with. Our success relies on this... we're living in a parallel universe with the studios that have the resources to create awareness for its products. They have the marketing and publicity. Sometimes we don't have those means for our films, so we have to find creative ways to get them out there. This is where my drive comes from.

Learn more about Arclight's current lineup.

More About Arclight:

Arclight Films is one of the world’s leading international sales companies for theatrical, television and home video. Arclight Films has sold over 150 motion pictures including the Best Picture Oscar® winner Crash, and Golden Globe® Best Picture Nominee Bobby.

Arclight Films additionally encompasses subsidiary labels Darclight Films, the edgy genre-driven division of the company whose films include the worldwide horror hit Wolf Creek, action thriller Bait 3D and a current slate that includes Wolf Creek 2, and Easternlight, a specialty arm showcasing Asian cinema with the largest film library of any non Asian-based indie film label. Films sold under the Easternlight banner include the worldwide blockbuster Forbidden Kingdom starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, 14 Blades starring Donnie Yen, legendary auteur Chen Kaige's Sacrifice and a live action adaptation of the world-renowned legend Mulan, now in pre-production.

The latest additions to Easternlight include Outcast starring Nicholas Cage, now in post production, Special ID starring Donnie Yen, The Assassins starring Chow Yun Fat and Cannes Film Festival “Directors Fortnight” official selection and Toronto International Film Festival Gala Selection Dangerous Liaisons starring Zhang Ziyi, Cecilia Cheung and Jang Dong Gun.

Some of the latest additions to the Arclight Films’ slate include Last Knights starring Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman, Predestination starring Ethan Hawke, Reclaim starring John Cusack, Paper Planes starring Sam Worthington, and Left Behind starring Nicholas Cage.

Arclight Films maintains a presence at all major motion picture and television festivals and markets with offices in Los Angeles, Sydney, Hong Kong, Beijing and Toronto.

For more information on Arclight Films, please visit www.arclightfilms.com...

The Divine Constabulary are back in the awkwardly titled “The Four 2”, with director Gordon Chan serving up more fantasy martial arts and mystery in the second part of a planned trilogy based on the novels by Wen Ruian. Like its predecessor, the film is a big budget blockbuster, shot in 3D and featuring an avalanche of special effects and computer enhanced action, continuing the story of Emotionless (Crystal Liu Yifei, “The Assassins”), Iron Hands (Collin Chou, “Special ID”), Life Snatcher (Ronald Cheng, “Vulgaria”) and Cold Blood (Deng Chao, “American Dreams in China”) as they come up against new and old foes and confront their own troubled pasts. Led by Master Zhuge (the legendary Anthony Wong), the Divine Constabulary are called in to investigate a series of murders and massacres, with links to the slaughter of Emotionless’ own family some 15 years back. Butting heads again with Department Six, they find their...

Director: Zhao Lin Shan. Review: Adam Wing. An epic tale of love, power and betrayal, The Assassins is another big screen account of the life and times of Cao Cao. Forgive us for lacking excitement over here, Cao Cao has appeared in more films than Samuel L. Jackson, though I'm pretty sure his box office success pales by comparison; he wouldn't quite cut it with a purple lightsaber either. In the early era of the Chinese Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat) ventured to the east and savagely defeated China's greatest warrior, Lv Bu. He terrified every warlord in the country and crowned himself King of Wei. Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Ling Jv (Crystal Liu Yi Fei) were taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb where they spent five cruel years being trained as assassins for a secret mission. The Assassins...

To celebrate the release of The Assassins and The Four, we have a copy of each to giveaway on DVD!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Chow Yun Fat returns in The Assassins, an epic tale of love, power and betrayal. Filled to the brim with stunning visuals, Eastern promise and superstition, this historical tale of political intrigue and doomed romance sits up there with the best martial arts epics of recent years and quite simply will take your breath away. The Four is a classic Wuxia with a supernatural twist from the director of the magnificent Fist of Legend, Gordon Chan. Filled with stunning action sequences, an intriguing central mystery and brilliant monsters, The Four is a must-see for any martial arts or horror fan.

To win a copy of each film on DVD, just answer the following simple question:

Which of the following films does Not star Chow Yun Fat?...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Chow Yun Fat returns in The Assassins, an epic tale of love, power and betrayal. This historical tale of political intrigue and doomed romance boasts the visual talents of cinematographer Zhao Xiao Ding, a regular collaborator of Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers). The DVD and Blu-Ray release includes featurettes, deleted scenes, a music video and behind-the scenes chats with the cast. You can pick up a copy in U.K. stores from 9 September 2013. Synopsis: In the early era of the Chinese Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat) ventured to the east and savagely defeated China's greatest warrior Lv Bu, terrifying every warlord across the country before crowning himself the king of Wei. Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Ling Jv (Crystal Liu Yi Fei) were taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb where they spent five cruel...

Elliot Tong will head the sales company’s Beijing hub.

The office will focus on film and television sales rights for China and all Asian territories and new acquisitions, and act as liaison between Chinese films, productions and co-productions.

Tong is a graduate of the Nyu Film School and Beijing Film Academy and has worked extensively with major names in China, from Jackie Chan to Stanley Tong, Stephen Chow and Andy Lau.

He played an instrumental role in the success of Chinese productions and co-productions including China’s first 3D Stereoscopic animated feature Legend Of A Rabbit, which was distributed to more than 80 territories and won a number of Chinese animation awards.

Arclight Films handled world sales on Bait 3D, which in 2012 became the number one grossing Australian film in China on $30m.

Hamilton and his team have represented The Assassins [pictured] starring Chow Yun Fat, Dangerous Liaisons with Zhang Ziyi, Badges Of Fury...

Excuse us a moment whilst we take a moment to get over a quiver of fanboy excitement, but this great news! Press release alert....Based on the popular novel “The Four Detective Guards,” by Wen Ruian, Gordon Chan’s (The King of Fighters, Painted Skin, The Kung Fu Master) action-packed, fantasy epic The Four debuts on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital April 9th. from Well Go USA. The first film in a planned trilogy, The Four stars Deng Chao (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame) as Coldblood, Liu Yi Fei (The Assassins, White Vengeance) as Emotionless, Ronald Cheng (Legendary Assassin, Vulgaria) as Life Snatcher, and Collin Chou (The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions) as Iron Hands, four martial arts masters who dedicate their special skills to the service of Master Zhuge in solving crimes and apprehending powerful criminals. Bonus materials include the behind-the-scenes featurette “The Making of The Four” and deleted scenes.

Excuse us a moment whilst we take a moment to get over a quiver of fanboy excitement, but this great news! Press release alert....Based on the popular novel “The Four Detective Guards,” by Wen Ruian, Gordon Chan’s (The King of Fighters, Painted Skin, The Kung Fu Master) action-packed, fantasy epic The Four debuts on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital April 9th. from Well Go USA. The first film in a planned trilogy, The Four stars Deng Chao (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame) as Coldblood, Liu Yi Fei (The Assassins, White Vengeance) as Emotionless, Ronald Cheng (Legendary Assassin, Vulgaria) as Life Snatcher, and Collin Chou (The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions) as Iron Hands, four martial arts masters who dedicate their special skills to the service of Master Zhuge in solving crimes and apprehending powerful criminals. Bonus materials include the behind-the-scenes featurette “The Making of The Four” and deleted scenes.

For viewers still smarting at Chow Yun Fat having dropped out of John Woo’s epic “Red Cliff” comes “The Assassins”, finally offering fans the chance to see the actor playing legendary Three Kingdoms personage Cao Cao. Marking the debut of former advertising director Zhao Lin Shan, the film also boasts the visual talents of Zhao Xiao Ding, a regular collaborator of Zhang Yimou who was nominated for an Oscar for his stunning work on “House of Flying Daggers”. In addition to Chow Yun Fat, the film features an impressive cast that also includes Crystal Liu (“The Four”), Alec Su (“The Message”), Ni Dahong (“A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop”), Annie Yi (“My Kingdom”) and Japanese actor Tamaki Hiroshi (“Nodame Cantabile”) as the various other players in the complex plot. The film is set some time after the events of “Red Cliff” during the Eastern Han Dynasty, with...

  The Assassins (2012) Blu-ray Review, a movie directed by Linshan Zhao (Zhao Yi Yang) and starring Chow Yun-Fat, Liu Yifei, Hiroshi Tamaki, Peng Jingci, Alec Su, Annie Yi, Qiu Xinzhi, Yao Lu, Ni Dahong, Chi Cheng, Qu Quancheng, and Bao Jianfeng. Release Date: January 8, 2012 Film Review The Assassins is a visually stunning chamber drama [...]

Continue reading: Blu-ray Review: The Assassians (2012): Zhao Yi Yang, Chow Yun Fat...

By Allen Gardner

Killer Joe (Lionsgate) William Friedkin’s film of Tracy Letts’ off-Broadway hit about a family of Texas trailer park cretins (Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon) who hire a cop-cum-hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to take out their troublesome mother, then foolishly cross him, is a stinging satire, given double-barreled audacity by Friedkin’s sure, and fearless, directorial hand. Earning its Nc-17 rating in spades, “Killer Joe” reminds us that daring, frank material like this is why movies exist in the first place. McConaughey gives the performance of his career, hopefully redefined after this. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Commentary by Friendkin; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Christopher Nolan’s coda to his “Batman” trilogy finds Christian Bale returning as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Caped Crusader, this time faced with a hulking villain (Tom Hardy) with respiratory...

The iconic Chow Yun Fat stars in Zhao Yiyang's The Assassins, a gorgeous period action epic hitting DVD and BluRay from WellGo USA January 8th. In the year 198 BC, Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat), Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, ventured to the east and defeated China's greatest warrior Lu Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, after taking the Han Emperor under his wing, Cao crowns himself King of Wei. He built a magnificent Bronze Sparrow Island to symbolize his power and rumors spread that he would replace the Emperor.  Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Tamaki Hiroshi) and Ling Ju (Crystal Liu Yi Fei) are taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb, where they spend five cruel years...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Well Go USA has announced that the next historical Chinese epic to cross the Pacific will be Lin Shan Zhao's The Assassins, coming to Blu-ray and DVD. Chow Yun Fat stars alongside Yifei Liu (White Vengeance) and Hiroshi Tamaki (Heavenly Forest). Reviews of the film since it's release in China in October have been fairly middle of the road, but we think any time Chow Yun Fat appears onscreen, it's worth taking note.

When i go into a Chow Yun Fat movie, the first thing i think is “How many people will he kill in this movie”, the guy is just the greatest when it comes to Gun play movies.

Chow Yun Fat was born May 18, 1955. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled.

Chow was born in Hong Kong, to a mother who was a cleaning lady and vegetable farmer, and a father who worked on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Of Hakka origins, he grew up in a farming community on Lamma Island in a house with no electricity.

He woke up at dawn each morning to help his mother sell herbal jelly and Hakka tea-pudding on the streets and in the afternoons he went to work in the fields.

His family moved...

120 companies looking to buy films will attend the American Film Market for the first time, part of the more than 750 distributors from 75 countries that have registered for the only stand-alone theatrical feature film market (all others are attached to festivals) October 31-November 7 in Santa Monica. Korea (25), China (13), and the U.S. (11) lead the way with the most newcomers, AFM Managing Director and Independent Film & Television Alliance EVP Jonathan Wolf said in a release. “We are seeing a shift in the way sub-distributors acquire film as they steadily rely less on local distributors and more on direct acquisitions”, he said. “We also expect a significant increase in buyers from China.” AFM expects 1,500 individuals from these companies at the market from more than 70 countries. More than 420 features will screen including 77 world premieres and 306 market premieres. The numbers of prebuys are also looking good after their near demise in the financial crisis of 2008.

Films making their World Premieres include: A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, from writer/director Roman Coppola and starring Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Charlie Sheen (Independent) was first announced at the Berlin EFM 2012 and has already presold to Koch Media Gmbh for Germany, Canana for Mexico, Praesens-Film AG for Switzerland; Cottage Country, starring Malin Akerman and Lucy Punch (Vmi Worldwide); The Frozen Ground, starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and Vanessa Hudgens (Voltage Pictures), which has already sold to Brazil (Imagem Filmes Distribuidora Ltda), Italy (Videa - Cde S.P.A.), Japan (Culture Convenience Club Co.,Ltd. / Culture Publishers Company), Netherlands (Independent Films), And Turkey (Calinos Films); Nous York, starring Leila Bekhti and Géraldine Nakache (Pathé International); The Numbers Station, starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman (Content) which was presold over the past year to Sena For Iceland, Pomi International For Indonesia, Content Media Corporation Plc For U.K. And Grandview Castle Entertainment for U.S., Pawn, starring Nikki Reed and Ray Liotta (Red Sea Media) and Summer In February, starring Dominic Cooper and Emily Browning (Speranza13 Media).

Among the 306 films set to make their Market Premieres are The ABCs of Death starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Iván González (Magnolia Pictures (for which Praesens has already acquired Swiss rights, ); Come Out and Play, starring Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Vinessa Shaw (Celsius Entertainment) for which Metrodome has U.K; Ginger and Rosa, starring Christina Hendricks and Elle Fanning (The Match Factory); Here Comes the Devil, starring Francisco Barreiro and Laura Caro (Mpi Media Group) for which Metrodome has U.K.; Kon-Tiki, starring Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen (HanWay Films) which is owned by A Contracorriente for Spain; Quartet, starring Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon, and directed by Dustin Hoffman (HanWay Films) already licensed to Germany – Dcm, Hungary - Ads Service Ltd., Israel - Lev Films (Shani Films), Spain - Vertice Cine, Simon Killer, starring Brady Corbet and Mati Diop (Fortissimo Film) for which IFC has U.S.; and Zaytoun starring Stephen Dorff and Alice Taglioni (Pathé International).

Other Market Premieres include: After, starring Steven Strait and Karolina Wydra (Jinga Films); The Assassins, starring Chow Yun-Fat, Yifei Liu and written by Bin Wang (Easternlight) for which Well Go has U.S. rights; Dan Mirvish's Between Us, starring Melissa George, Julia Stiles, and Taye Diggs (Premiere Entertainment Group Elias Axume's new company) which Premiere will release theatrically; a 10 minute promo of The Body, starring Belén Rueda and Hugo Silva (DeAPlaneta Internacional) which Dark Light Media will release in China; Boxing Day which premiered in Venice, starring Danny Huston and Matthew Jacobs (Independent); The Brass Teapot, starring Juno Temple, Alexis Bledel, and Annette Bening (TF1 International); Fin (The End), starring Maribel Verdu (Film Factory Entertainment) sold to France-Tf1 International, Hong Kong (China)-Intercontinental Films Dist. (Hk) Ltd., Mexico-Cien Films, New Zealand-Vendetta Films; Great Expectations, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes (HanWay Films) sold to Belgium-Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Germany-Telepool Gmbh, Italy-Videa - Cde S.P.A., Korea (South)-Daisy & Cinergy Entertainment, Poland-Gutek Film Ltd, Russia-Carmen Film Group, Spain-A Contracorriente Films, Switzerland-Pathe Films Ag, United Arab Emirates-Front Row Filmed Entertainment, United Kingdom-Lionsgate Uk Ltd, Usa-Unison Films; Greetings from Tim Buckley, starring Penn Badgley and Imogen Poots (Celluloid Dreams) which Celluloid Dreams will distribute in France; A Late Quartet, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken (WestEnd Films) presold to Australia-Hopscotch, Netherlands-Wild Bunch Benelux, Spain-Savor Ediciones, S.A.; The Reluctant Fundamentalist after its Toronto debut, starring Kate Hudson and Liev Schreiber (K5 International) sold to Vendetta for N.Z.; Revenge for Jolly!, starring Elijah Wood, Ryan Phillippe, and Kristen Wiig (Highland Film Group); Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, straight out of Tiff 12, starring James Franco, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens (Kinology) sold to Canada-V V S Films, France-Mars Films, Germany-Wild Bunch Germany; Thanks for Sharing, starring Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow and written by Stuart Blumberg (Voltage Pictures) sold to Roadside Attractions for U.S., Germany and Switzerland-Falcom Media, Greece-Strada Films, Italy-Minerva Pictures Group; What Maisie Knew, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Julianne Moore (Fortissimo Film) sold to Millennium for U.S., Germany-Pandastorm Pictures Gmbh, Turkey-Bir Film; and Writers (Tiff 12), starring Greg Kinnear, Logan Lerman, Kristen Bell, Jennifer Connelly, and Lily Collins, (The Solution Entertainment Group).

For Complete Rights Roundup Before, During And After The Major Festivals And Markets, Notify Sydney Levine Via Email Sydney At Sydneysbuzz.

The first trailer for Chow Yun Fat's new period epic The Assassins has just landed, and frankly it looks pretty standard fare. Directed by first-timer Zhao Linshan and produced by the same team behind Zhang Yimou's The Flowers Of War, it tells the story of Han Dynasty Prime Minister Cao Cao (Chow), who in his twilight years only grew in power and threatened to take over the Han Empire. The story also deals with a pair of young lovers, played by Liu Yi Fei and Japanese actor Tamaki Hiroshi, who are snatched from a prison camp and trained to become deadly assassins. While the premise sounds intriguing enough this first trailer shows us precious little that we haven't seen in dozens of similar medieval war epics...

Official Press Release:

Arclight Films Takes on International Sales of the Spierig Brothers’

Predestination Time Travel Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Ethan Hawke Destined to be a Market Hit

Los Angeles (May 14, 2012) – Arclight Films, announces it has taken on international sales of time travelling sci-fi action thriller Predestination starring Ethan Hawke, who is no stranger to the genre (Gattaca) to their roster of new films. Predestination is written and will be directed by Spierig Brothers, Michael and Peter.

Brisbane-based Patrick Mc Donald of Wolfhound Pictures and Tim McGahan of Blacklab Entertainment who brought the project to Arclight are producing.

Predestination is a riveting adventure through time centered on a secret government time traveling agency designed to prevent future killers and terrorists from committing their crimes.

Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity.

Chow Yun Fat is always cool, but he seems just a bit more badass when he’s wearing ornate armor and extremely regal robes. Below you’ll find a colorfully engaging poster for director Lin Shan Zhao’s upcoming epic “The Assassins”, a film which chronicles the romance between a warlord and a young woman. Apparently the film was inspired by the discovery of a young woman’s corpse in an ancient tomb, though, for the most part, the story is fictional. Here’s a much more involved synopsis: In the year 198 BC, Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat), the Prime Minister of Han Dynasty, ventured to the east and defeated China’s greatest warrior Lv Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, after taking the Han Emperor under his wing Cao crowned himself King of Wei. He built a magnificent Bronze Sparrow Island to symbolize his...