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NEWS ITEMS August 2006
August 31: Excerpt from "Clash of the Chinese Film Titans": …"Highly anticipated in China and the United States, where distribution rights have been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, [Curse of the Golden Flower] was equivocally outlined as a court drama. The costume drawings suggest a sprinkle of martial arts. Headlining it are China's Nicole Kidman, Gong Li; China's Harrison Ford, Chow Yun Fat; and China's Kanye West, Jay Chou. Zhang Yimou's production team completed his latest project in record time. Filming started on February 24 and finished in early July, almost a whole month in advance of schedule. By September 22, the first day of its small-scale test screening in Shenyang, post-production will have ended in a record two and a half months. In a phone interview last week, an Edko Films spokesperson confirmed that the feature will be released early to qualify for the Oscars…" Read the Article August 30: Many publications have picked up an Associated Press article about coming attractions for the rest of the year. Included is a mention of Li's next film release: "Los Angeles (AP) - Highlights of the fall film slate: … Curse of the Golden Flower: Zhang Yimou (Hero) spins a tale of palace intrigue in ancient China. With Gong Li and Chow Yun-fat." COTGF is currently scheduled for release on December 22. Watch the teaser trailer (thanks to NewPath for the link). COTGF producer Zhang Weiping told a reporter yesterday that pop star Zhou Jielun (aka Jay Chou), who plays one of the main roles, has finished composing a song for the film. Weiping remarked that he and director Zhang Yimou are especially moved by the song, performed by Jielun, and it will also be used in promotion of the film. Weiping confirmed that the upcoming Oscar-qualifying screening in Shenyang will be low-key and without media participation. He also remarked that the film satisfies the movie-goer's desires: a good story, emotionally touching performances, and visually stunning scenes. Great promoter that he is, Weiping claims that COTGF is Yimou's most satisfying film, and the combination of actors is the most impressive in Chinese movie history. August 29: A new interview with Li appears in Netzeitung Entertainment. Regarding the challenge of playing the role of Isabella in "Miami Vice": "It was bringing the two sides of her personality together that was demanding. In addition, I had to recognize that there were amazing parallels to my own personality. I also often have a somewhat cool, unapproachable façade, but am nevertheless very vulnerable and sensitive. And just like Isabella, I also learned early how to heal my own wounds. When I look at these aspects of the role, it actually felt very easy to play it." Read the interview August 28: "Miami Vice" int'l box office report from The Hollywood Reporter: "Thanks to No. 1 openings in Germany and Austria, Miami Vice claimed the second spot overall for the weekend with an estimated $11.4 million from 38 markets, raising its overseas total to $52 million. In Germany, the Michael Mann actioner took 30 percent of the market with $4 million. In France, Vice emerged in the No. 1 spot in its second weekend with $2.1 million for a 12-day total of $7.4 million. The film opens in the all-important Japan market this weekend." Box Office Mojo estimates the domestic total as of August 27 to be $61.8 mil. So, world-wide box office as of yesterday is $113.8 million. August 27: The Associated Press in Hong Kong have issued a news item about the release of "Miami Vice" in China. Included in their report: "The Beijing News quoted Mann as saying in Beijing that Miami Vice has been cleared to screen in Chinese movie theaters." Mann told the AP, however: "I'm not at liberty to tell you what stage it's at". Several Chinese publications are reporting the fact that an official announcement has not yet been made: "Although 'Miami Vice' has already gone though the movie bureau's examination, they have not yet officially sent out the movie release notice. Whether or not revisions need to be made to the movie is also unknown. According to this year's final quarter important movie release plan, 'Miami Vice' could very possibly be released in November." August 26: "Miami Vice" director Michael Mann is in China to film a commercial advertisement and met with reporters in Beijing yesterday. (Thanks to NewPath for the tip on the press conference.) One reporter remarked that Gong Li naturally became the main topic of the interview. Mann said he feels that Li ranks among the world's best actors. He remarked that no one can match her expressions and body language. "I enjoyed working with Gong Li tremendously". Mann said he has seen several of her previous films and had hoped to work with her for at least the past ten years. Although Li's English was not very fluent at the time of filming, her emotional expressions "are extremely accurate". Mann said that he offered to change particularly difficult lines [in English and Spanish], but she insisted on saying the original lines, and practiced them until she got the pronunciation correct. The leading lady in MV was originally a Latina, but after meeting with Li, Mann chose her for the role based on her acting talent and presence. "Gong Li is an astounding actress and a great artist, and I'd like very much to do something with her again." August 25: Several Chinese publications have picked up remarks made by "Curse of the Golden Flower" co-star, pop star Zhou Jielun (aka Jay Chou). Excerpt from one source: "Recently, when he was a guest of Round The World in Film and Television, Zhou Jielun stated that Zhou Runfa (aka Chow Yun-Fat), Yao Ming, and Li Lianjie are all his idols, but Gong Li is 'the most beautiful Chinese woman'. In the new Zhang Yimou film, 'Curse of the Golden Flower', Zhou Runfa and Gong Li play his parents… When he refers to 'the mother', Zhou Jielun says frankly, 'I thought she is the most beautiful Chinese woman'. His appraisal of Gong Li is so high that after filming, he especially bought a small gift for her." "Miami Vice" will be available for download from the AOL Video service. From Staff Brand Republic: "AOL is to offer films and TV shows to download from four of the largest Hollywood studios as part of its new internet video service, which will include the likes of 'A Scanner Darkly, 'Miami Vice' and 'The Da Vinci Code'. The online company said that films would be available for download on the AOL Video service for between $9.99 for back catalogue films, and $19.99 for new releases." August 24: An interview with Li is included in Schwäbische Zeitung. Li was asked if she already feels at home in Hollywood. She said, "No, not that much, but I feel good… I am taken seriously as an actress. That is a good feeling." She says she will continue to live primarily in China. "I will continue working in Chinese cinema. That is my homeland, I belong there. But don't think that I lead the life of a diva." When asked whether or not she feels that she is an artistic ambassador for China, she is very modest about her achievements: "I am an actress, no more and no less. I want to be a good one, and I would like to be successful… If I can work at home, if I can help particular film projects… I am then only one of many… A 'star' sounds crazy. It is only the work of everyone around the star that makes it shine. One should not overrate oneself; otherwise, the light goes out very fast." According to a report on Sina.com today, props and costumes used during filming of "Curse of the Golden Flower" are being shipped to Wu Long, and a display will be open to tourists during the National Day period. There were plans to include in the display wax figures of Li and Zhou Runfa (aka Chow Yun-Fat) wearing their film costumes, but those plans were dropped because an agreement was not reached regarding which poses/portraits to use. August 23: Excerpt from a new review of "Miami Vice" by Anthony Spaeth for the Asia Sentinel: "In another actress's hands, the role would have reeked of Asian stereotype. In Li's, you honestly wonder and worry how the much younger Farrell, who is 30, will be able to keep his paramour with the unsavory past and present… Li provides the film's emotional anchor. Miami Vice has given one of the best roles to an Asian actor ever offered in Hollywood - because of her skills, not because she is Asian. That's a long way beyond Mr. Miyagi." "Breaking The Silence" is being screened tonight at the Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater as part of "Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006". Program description: "Chinese screen icon Gong Li plays single mother Sun Liying, abandoned by her husband and struggling to educate and raise her deaf son in contemporary Beijing. Committed to giving her son the same life as other children his age, Sun tirelessly works to teach him to speak with the hope that he can attend a mainstream school and receive a decent education. Director Sun Zhou gives the film the stark feel of a documentary while presenting a very moving portrayal of the struggle to survive in modern China. Mandarin with English subtitles, directed by Sun Zhou, The People's Republic of China, 1999, 95 minutes. Presented by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Chicago and Cinema/Chicago." For more information, call 312-744-6630. August 22: Box office update: "Miami Vice" earned $2,427,000 on 1,680 U.S. screens during the weekend August 18-20. Domestic gross is $59,852,000 (actuals per Box Office Mojo). MV earned an additional $11.5 million across 28 nations this week for an int'l total (excluding the U.S.) of $35.5 mil. The film opened at No. 1 in France, No. 2 in South Africa, No. 5 in Korea, and held the No. 1 spot in Australia for a second week. August 21: Li has reportedly agreed to become spokesperson for a leading Asian furniture company. The vice-president of the company met with reporters, saying that they sought a spokesperson who is an international movie star. They considered Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi, but felt Li would be a better fit with their products. They wanted to start working with her this summer, but she was filming "Curse of the Golden Flower" and promoting "Miami Vice". She told them that after returning home to China after MV promotion in Europe, she wanted to rest for a while, will later have to go to South Korea for promotion, and would have the time to work with them after that. August 20: An interview with Li conducted at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin three weeks ago has been published in Der Tagesspiegel. The reporters note that she was afflicted with a cold and had Vaporub, multivitamins and juice handy. Li said, "Berlin is a special city for me," noting that her first film, "Red Sorghum", winning the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear in 1988 was "important for the world-wide acknowledgement of [Chinese] cinema". She said she understands "today much better why Hollywood films are so successful. If I come home in the evening very tired, I have a desire for a film in which it is clear who the hero is… I have been lucky to be able to work independently." The translator said that the rest of the "Miami Vice" team would travel that afternoon to Japan, and that Li would travel to Peking in order to film an advertising spot. "I believe that a little more commerce wouldn't harm our cinema," she joked before taking another sip of juice. August 19: Box office update - "Miami Vice" has earned $57,425,120 domestic after 21 days in release. As of yesterday, the film is on 1,676 screens in the U.S., down from 2,659 the previous week. The film continues to open well as it is gradually released in other countries; it has opened at No. 1 in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Romania. August 18: The current issue of The Weekend Journal (a supplement to the Wall Street Journal Asia) includes the article "Women of Substance", promoted as "Actress Gong Li on her five favorite strong female movie characters". Li is quoted as saying, "I play characters that are strong, brave, and with personality. These are all traits I admire in a woman." She lists Virginia Woolf (The Hours), Velma Kelly (Chicago), Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction), Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs), and Matilda (Leon, The Professional) as her fave female Western film characters. More August 17: "Miami Vice" opened this week in Germany, and the film is featured in an article in TV Movie magazine. A page about Li's career is also included on the magazine's site. The writer notes that she has played an "unusually broad spectrum of roles", that her performances are "equally convincing", and her beauty does not get in the way of her career achievements. August 16: From a review of "Miami Vice" in an Irish publication: "As enigmatic love interest and master criminal Isabella, acclaimed Chinese actor Gong Li is superb. In a rare English language role, she delivers a strikingly nuanced performance which shows up the more obvious Hollywood style of acting employed by the rest of the cast." August 15: "Miami Vice" box office update: The film earned $4.7 million in its third weekend of release in the U.S., ranking No. 7. As of Sunday, MV had grossed $55.3 million domestic. International recap from Box Office Mojo: "Miami Vice's strong start Down Under pushed the crime drama to a $7.5 million weekend for a $20 million [international] tally. It was No. 1 in Australia with $1.8 million from 232 screens, and it was tops in New Zealand as well with $400,000 from 44 screens. In the U.K., it was down a decent 40 percent to $2.2 million for an $8.6 million total." August 14: Will "Miami Vice" be released in China? From China Daily: "A Beijing Times reporter learnt the movie had received screening permission from the distributor, Universal Pictures, yesterday night. The Chinese premiere date has yet to be set, but Universal Pictures spokesperson Ms. Zhang said it would not screen until October. Ms. Zhang also said Universal Pictures is trying to persuade Gong Li to promote Miami Vice when it is released in China." Another source, however, is reporting that "at present this film is being examined, some issues have not been solved… The final examination result will be announced at the end of August." August 13: I uploaded 58 pics from various photo shoots. The pics are in our "Lovely Li" album View Pics August 12: Box office figures are in for the period August 4-10, and "Miami Vice" had earned $50,564,950 million as of Thursday. The film will be featured on 2,659 screens during the current period. August 11: An interview with Li that was done a few weeks ago in Hong Kong has just been published this week as "Miami Vice" continues to open around the world. Li said, "At present, the scripts I receive are all from Hollywood and I probably don't have time for any others. But time permitting, I will be happy to work with Chinese directors. To me it doesn't matter if it is a Hollywood, Thai, Hong Kong or Chinese film. As long as the script is good, I'm interested in the role and the director is able to present the character and film well… You need different challenges in life. At times what you can't get in real life, you find it on screen, you find enlightenment." Read the article August 10: From a review of "Miami Vice" in the Santa Maria Times: "The magic of the film lies in Mann's top-notch direction, Foxx's more interesting and compelling performance as Tubbs, and the acting turns given by a truly menacing Colombian drug lord played by Luis Tosar and the always stunning Chinese actress Gong Li playing the drug lord's financial advisor and Crockett's love interest. I really dug Li in the film as the Cuban-Chinese businesswoman. Her eyes can express the deepest sadness to the most daring fearlessness. She reminds me of the great actresses of the silent and golden age of classic Hollywood. Gong Li, who basically stole the show in Memoirs of a Geisha, needs to be in more Hollywood cinema." August 9: From a review of "Miami Vice" by Sara Michelle Fetters for Movie Freak: "The real standout here is Li, inhabiting her third major character in a Hollywood production and turning it into something magnificent. There is real want in her eyes, real need driving her to the decisions bringing her to that almost undecipherable dividing line. This is as varied and multifaceted performance as any I've seen all year, and if any actor is more deserving (overdue might be more like it) in 2006 of an Oscar nomination than Li please forgive me because for at this moment I cannot think of them." August 8: From an article in a Taiwan paper (thanks to Meggieli for the tip): The reporter spoke with Li's manager yesterday. Li returned to China the other day to visit her mother, who is recovering from an illness. In the "near future" Li will travel to Paris to film a cosmetics advertisement. Studio execs are pleased with the "Miami Vice" box office receipts, and have sent Li, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx monetary bonuses, along with "the newest style" DVD cameras. Li's manager said that what makes Li most happy is that several U.S. university film departments have pre-arranged to use the "Miami Vice" DVD as teaching material. August 7: Box office update -- "Miami Vice" is estimated to have earned $9.7 million in its second weekend of release in the U.S. and $4 million during the opening weekend in the UK. Gross figures as of Sunday: $45.7 million in North America, plus $8.6 million overseas. More excerpts from reviews: "Thank goodness for Gong Li as the cartel's financial officer. The pic picks up once she and Farrell head to Havana for some mojitos, merengue and macking." (E! Online) "Gong Li's face and form are made for this: she absorbs the movie's energies and just like that, it hardly matters what Crockett or Tubbs or Montoya thinks he's doing. The camera seeks her out amid the rush of regular dancing and plotting, and that's enough." (Pop Matters) "Even within this setting of haute cool, Gong Li, playing Isabella, girlfriend and business partner to the worst of the bad guys, stands out as the most fascinating thing on screen. She's long and lean and makes business suits look as sexy as lingerie." (Contra Costa Times) "Gong Li excels as the dramatic and emotional monkey wrench in Crockett's best laid plans… able to hold men's attention and sway their allegiances with a single, blankly desirous look; she's nothing short of mesmerizing." (All Hip Hop Reviews) August 6: Today's edition of the Los Angeles Times includes the article, "China's Finest Exports" (Calendar section cover story). Rachel Abramowitz interviewed Li at the "Miami Vice" premiere. "From the knowledgeable look on her face, it's clear that Gong understands a good deal more English than she's willing to speak on the record, though sometimes Mann, a well-known perfectionist, baffled her… Her wry sense of humor suddenly emerges through the fog of translation. 'Overall we got used to [Miami Vice filming locations], that's the world you're in, and it's actually the same as the world in the movie. People just carry guns around habitually. You get drunk, you pull out your gun and start waving it around. If you can imagine, if your director makes you angry - you can take your gun and start waving it around.'" Read the Article August 5: The box office figures are in for the period July 28 - August 3. According to the trade paper Variety, "Miami Vice" finished the week in the Number One spot, earning $36,056,785. The previous top film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", earned $30,818,775. August 4: "Miami Vice" is on 3,025 U.S. screens this weekend, and is predicted to bring in between $12-14 million in box office receipts for the Friday-Sunday period. The new Number One movie will be the Will Ferrell comedy "Talladega Nights", opening in 3,803 theatres. "Miami Vice" is released today in the UK and Mexico. Peter Bradshaw, critic for the UK paper The Guardian, rates "Miami Vice" 4 out of 5 stars. He feels that the film "just couldn't have been made by anyone else. From the very first frames, the director's authorial mastery and certainty are laid down like hammer blows. It is operatic and grandiose - but gripping and exhilarating in a way no other film-maker could manage… Miami Vice is a bold, powerful and irresistibly thrilling movie." August 3: The "Miami Vice" page on Apple.com now includes featurettes; check out the great footage of Li and Colin rehearsing their salsa dance! From a review in the Davis Enterprise: "Li - the enormously popular Chinese actress often associated with director Yimou Zhang, and most recently seen on these shores in 'Memoirs of a Geisha' - is this film's strongest asset. Isabella is the only character granted emotional complexity, which puts us in the rather odd position of rooting for somebody on the wrong side of the law. And while it's perhaps unlikely that this woman would fall so quickly for a brash American's ruthless smile, we can be grateful that she does; the story is much more interesting whenever she is involved." From a review by Gina Carbone for Sea Coast Online: "One doesn't go to 'Miami Vice' for the poetry - even though Gong Li is exquisite enough to inspire sonnets… This would be a very different movie without Gong Li (or Li Gong, if we're being Western about it). Never mind that at 40 she looks about 25, she has an innate elegance that elevates the film from typical undercover drug bust to something approaching classy." August 2: From a review of "Miami Vice" in The Houstonist: Farrell "is frequently upstaged not only by Gong Li as his Asian-drug-trafficker love interest, but by the movie's lighting. His Sonny Crockett may well be a heck of a nice guy and even a good detective: we just can't tell, because the only moments he generates interest are in sex or dance scenes with the magnetic Li… Miami Vice is a satisfying movie experience: a smart thriller featuring Mann's fantastic sense of place and interesting camerawork. It won't change your life, but you won't regret the price of your ticket. It's solid summertime fun. Grade: B" From a review by film critic Andrew Sarris: "Mr. Mann sustains a visual and psychological intensity that defies any common-sense clarifications that could be provided by flattened-out scenes full of expository dialogue… One luminous close-up of the exquisite Gong Li can speak volumes in terms of what the semiologists call intertextual references. So what if one cannot always understand her halting English? … I enjoyed Mr. Mann's new Miami Vice from its first ravishing frame to the last, but I can't say that very much of it made sense - but then, neither do the daily headlines." August 1: Excerpts from new "Miami Vice" reviews - From ScrippsNews.com: "Director Michael Mann gives the movie enough seductive allure to carry it past some plot confusion, and the movie winds up in the plus column. Farrell and Foxx play undercover vice cops trying to penetrate a Latin American drug ring. That's not exactly a novel idea, but the small roles are well acted, and, at its best, the movie boasts just the right mixture of style and sleaze. The fine Chinese actress Gong Li lands her best English-language role yet." From Boston.com: "If unrepentant macho deployed with unparalleled style bothers you, by all means stay away. But then you'd be depriving yourself of the overripe spectacle of Gong Li as a high-ranking drug smuggler - with a penthouse in Havana, yet - who throws aside her business scruples for a chance to get doe-eyed with Farrell (it's a toss-up which of them is more beautiful)." From The-Trades.com: "Li is quietly touching as she balances Isabella's stony business demeanor with the warmth of her affection for Crockett. A lengthy stretch of the movie is given over to their initial encounter, as they speed off to Havana to drink mojitos, dance, and have sex. It's an effective interlude, and the progress of their budding, illicit relationship through the rest of the movie is a welcome distraction."
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