June 29: "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" producer Ken Atchity posted this info on his blog June 26 (thanks, Cocoa): "Yes, Ripley is still getting made! Paramount is in the final stages of selecting the director, so that the project can move forward again." There is no official word yet if Gong Li is still attached to play the female lead opposite Jim Carrey.

June 28: UK locations for "Shanghai" are disclosed in an article in The Times: "Battersea power station has been turned into a disused warehouse for a shoot-out scene, the British Academy has become the German consulate and the Liberal Club has doubled up as a Shanghai gentleman's club. The Freemasons' Hall is the setting for a scene in the Shanghai Herald office. Eltham Palace, in southeast London, has become a wealthy Chinese businessman's home, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire has been hired out to be the ballroom of the German Consulate, and an Asiatic carpet warehouse in Neasden is the setting for Japanese police headquarters. Audiences will never guess, said Jake Myers, one of the producers: 'There's no moment in the film where you'll say there's Battersea Power Station. Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London, said: 'London is such a sophisticated and adaptable production centre now, that the production was able to get everything really fast. Very few places in the world are capable of doing that.'"

June 27: 6.cn has a video report from the June 17 "Shanghai" media conference in London. The report includes remark by Gong Li. Thanks to Jeanette Maxfield Lewis for this recap: Gong Li said there's a lot in this character that's different from her own personality, so it's very refreshing and challenging for her. Also, she valued London over Shanghai in shooting for this movie, because Shanghai has become too modern (e.g. too many billboards, etc.). On the other hand, many places in London have been well preserved for history. ->Watch

June 26: "Shanghai" co-star David Morse spoke a little about the film during an interview. From the national ledger.com: "We're about halfway into it. We're shooting 'Shanghai' in London then moving to Thailand. We'll finish the end of July. It takes place just after the fall of Shanghai before World War II. It's kind of the intersection of the Japanese, who have invaded Shanghai and are about to invade Pearl Harbor, the Chinese underworld and these American spies. I play the head of the spies. [It has] probably one of the most amazing international casts ever. We've got Ken Watanabe, Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li and Franka Potente(cq)."

June 25: Chow Yun-Fat made an appearance in Hong Kong today for the release of a book of his photographs. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Hong Kong Red Cross to aid victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Reporter Emma Lam wrote for batgwa.com: "Chow said that he likes to take pictures whilst he is filming and this is also a privilege that is available to him. He said that likes to capture the most genuine moments and the photographs of Gong Li taken during the filming of The Curse Of The Golden Flower are an example of this. He laughed that because he was the emperor and she was the empress, she could not stop him from taking photographs of her. Chow has been busy working on his new Hollywood project Shanghai recently, again working opposite Gong. He revealed that in Curse his character poisoned her, but in the new film, he will be loving her to death because there are plenty of intimate scenes in the film. He added that he is extremely pleased to be working opposite Ken Watanabe and John Cusack in the film."

June 19: Additional quotes and info from the June 17 "Shanghai" press conference in London (thanks to Cocoa for the find on a press release):

John Cusack: "I'm quite amazed that these actors are able to do it, you know, language that's not their own. There's no chance I could ever do anything in Japanese or Chinese. So they're at a pretty high level. And it's my great honor to be in the same film with these great actors. But I love just being around the city, I'm having a wonderful time in London. So I can't recommend enough of the city."

Gong Li (asked about the difficulties of working in a language not her own): "It's my pleasure to work with all these great actors. They have a lot of experience that I can learn from. So I observe on set and I don't need to talk a lot."

Chow Yun-Fat: "I'm working in this field more than 35 years. This is the first time I got this kind of, kind of passion, you know, is very excited. Good director, good cast, good script together." Chow plays Shanghainese gangster Anthony Lan-Ting who's married to Anna, played by Gong Li.

Rinko Kikuchi: "The role is of a mysterious Japanese woman who comes to Shanghai. In the script it's not exactly clear why she's in Shanghai. But there's a mystery to it. And I found a part of it very, very challenging. And that's why I wanted to do this film. And also, of course, to be able to work with a wonderful cast and the staff - obviously this was a great opportunity."

More from the press release: "The cast have been shooting in London for 7 weeks, and are due to stay one week more before heading to Bangkok. According to the film's producer Jake Myers, London has been a very good place to shoot due to the opulent interiors. He said that Shanghai during that period was very European and shooting in various areas in London has been very suitable. Shanghai is a story about interpersonal relationships topped off with a bit of drama and action. The film is mainly in English with parts in Mandarin and Japanese. It's due to be released in the US this Christmas."

From CCTV: "Shanghai has been shooting in London for 7 weeks. Cast and crew are to remain another week before heading for Bangkok… Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom believes the diversity of the cast is one of the things that makes this film stand out." The article also includes a brief video report (best on IE).  ->Watch

June 18: Sina.com has a video report from the "Shanghai" press conference that was held yesterday in London. (Thanks to "Himalayan People" and Cocoa for the tip.)  ->Watch

John Cusack said during the press conference: "I guess it's a classic fish out of water story on some level, because he's an American trying to figure out the death of his friend, who was also an American agent, who was killed in Shanghai. So he goes there and he has to infiltrate the mob, the Japanese and the Chinese resistance. Well, I think that if you have a script that is that good - and you just don't get to do films like this very often - so to do a script that's this good at this budget level, which is healthy enough to be a big film and the international cast that you have, it's kind of a no-brainer. I'm lucky to get the project, not the other way around. Any actor who has two brain cells would die to be in this film."

June 17: A "Shanghai" cast photo call/press conference was held today in London at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel. Cast members who attended: Gong Li, John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, Ken Watanabe, and Rinko Kikuchi. Click on pic to view all of the photos.

June 15: A woman who worked on "Shanghai" as an extra has been posting on her blog about her experiences. She told a story about working on a group scene that involved Gong Li. When the director told Gong Li the scene had to be shot again, she mischievously stuck her tongue out at the director. When the extras took their places, passing by Gong Li and waving hello to her, "she also nodded to us with a friendly smile." She said that Gong Li "looks even more beautiful than in movies," has porcelain skin, fine facial features, a great figure that is accentuated by the costuming. The extra has posted on her blog several photos of herself in costume.  ->View

June 14: The Screen Daily article, "SIFF Production: How to solve a Chinese puzzle," includes remarks by "Shanghai" producer Mike Medavoy. He spoke about the problems earlier this year in obtaining a permit to film in China: "They [Film Bureau officials] explained their concerns. I understood what their concerns were. We're having what you would call a comfortable discussion with them as to what we can and will do." He told the officials, "If you are going to censor the script then we're all wasting our time because we're going to move on. If you're telling us that you have certain sensitivities to scenes, then we're willing to discuss those scenes." According to the Screen Daily reporter, "Medavoy says that after a recent trip to Beijing he is hoping for permission to shoot in China later this year." While the Medavoy quotes are included in the June 14 Screen Daily article, we do not know exactly when those remarks were made.

June 13: An extra who worked on "Shanghai" earlier this month has been posting about his experiences on the Baidu fan forum. He noted that "Gong Li is indeed breathtaking, Chow Yun-Fat is easygoing." He found John Cusack very humorous. He seems to have been captivated by Gong Li, as he noted that he found it difficult to concentrate during a scene he filmed with her because "she's so beautiful." He feels that the actors "are very dedicated," that even after having to film the same scene ten times, "no one complained."

June 9: Sina.com published a photo of John Cusack and one of Chow Yun-Fat in costume during a break in filming "Shanghai". The photos were reportedly taken yesterday.  ->View

June 7: The Louis Vuitton Soundwalk website is online, but not yet fully functional. The story for Gong Li's Beijing: "'Memories of a Fallen Love' -- At the Central Academy of Drama, in a Beijing long since past, a young girl and her classmate perform 'Love in a Fallen City,' a tragic tale about a couple whose fate is linked by war. Now a grown woman and a successful actress, Gong Li returns to tell us of a time steeped in history, when she and her young companion were unable to separate their character's destinies from their own. Through a nostalgic journey that blurs the line between fact and fiction, the winding lanes of an ancient city become a stage for her story to play out on. Characters from Beijing's past return to tell stories somewhere in between the real and the imagined."

    -> Sneak peek with audio clips

June 6: Watch a promotional video for the Soundwalk Beiing Tour:

June 3: The Hollywood Reporter includes a casting announcement for "Shanghai". Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Supernatural") will play Connor, the American friend of John Cusack's character, who is killed in Shanghai prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, causing Paul Soames (Cusack) to investigate the murder. It was also recently revealed that David Morse ("John Adams") is a cast member and has been filming in London.