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http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html

I read the book in one night. It was a magnificent portrayal of the Japanese geisha (a woman who entertains men with music and alcohol) society during WWII. Hopefully, this movie will do the book justice. I would recommend the book to anyone who is a fan of Japenese drama. If you liked "The Last Samurai", you should enjoy this immensly.

Matthew Chmiel

The film is going to suck.

One reason: Akiva Goldsman.

End of discussion.

beefjerky

This film is going to suck.

One reason: It's another white man's vision of Japan/foreign country.

End of discussion.

Asian ladies, prepare for the ignorant questions about what it's like to be a geisha after people see this movie.

devilshalo

Funny that half the cast is Chinese. They are trying to create a hybrid language so that everyone can communicate with each other. I was asking why they didn't consult with QT on how he handled cantonese/mandarin/japanese translation.

Zhang Ziyi is Sayuri, Michelle Yeoh is Mameha. Weird. I kinda expect the same relationship as CTHD.

The Zizz

The book was excellent, but I don't think the movie will be particularly good.

gcribbs

It does not mean the movie will suck. Doesn't it mean the movie will not be accurate.

Many movies are not accurate and do not suck.

Of course with Zhang Ziyi in it sucking would be a good thing right

Jericho

Rob Marshall is a good way to offset that, however.

clemente

Akiva Goldsman should be kept far far away from genre pictures....but when he's dealing in regular drama, he's not a hack and can actually be quite good.

Matthew Chmiel

Bullshit. Tell that to Alex Proyas (and directed Goldsman' script for I Robot), who is a much better director than Rob Marshall. Then again, I'm biased because I love Proyas and Mr. Marshall should burn in hell along with everyone else involved with the production of Chicago (except Taye Diggs and John C. Reilly, because those two actually have talent).

The Client? A Time To Kill? Practical Magic? A Beautiful Mind? With the exception of Practical Magic (which is just an overall total piece of shit), all those films had god-awful screenplays. What make those films memorable through, are the acting. The Cilent, A Time To Kill, and A Beautiful Mind had excellent actors, but awful directors and of course, awful writing.

Calculon

So this is going to be in Japanese, right?

Nausicaa

I don't think Zhang Ziyi speaks Japanese.

It's sad that Michelle Yeoh and her are the only Asians a studio is willing to take a chance on. As if an audience would recognize them over any other Asian actors? I mean, how ridiculous is it that Chinese women are playing Japanese characters!? I suppose most American's can't tell the difference... depressing.

clemente

Well now that Matthew has laid down film fact for us....we can consider our own opinions useless.

Thank you for saving me from having to use my own mind Matthew.

DonnachaOne

I'm Irish, but that's no reason to get pissed off every time a non-Irish person gets cast as an Irishperson.

Asian actors are, sadly, not big audience-grabbers in the USA. Zhang, on the other hand, has starred in not only one of the few successful foreign films released in the states, but the highest-grossing one. Studios will take a chance on someone who's made money in the past, it's that simple. You can't stick Chiaki Kuriyama in the main role and expect heads to turn.

devilshalo

Would you rather have the actress that originally wanted the part of Sayuri? Penelope Cruz? At least it's an asian cast. It's not as if Tamlyn Tomita is chinese and yet she was one of the daughters in The Joy Luck Club.

It's an impressive cast. Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe. Even before the director shuffle, Maggie Cheung was also an actress that was being looked at to play Sayuri.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ovies_eo/14771

"Geisha" Gets Ready for Action

Fri Aug 20, 7:00 PM ET

Add Movies - E! Online to My Yahoo!

By Lia Haberman

It's taken seven years but this Geisha is finally ready to roll.

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden's 1997 bestseller about a nave Japanese girl turned big-city working girl, should have been a cineplex slam-dunk by now, but rotating directors and some Hollywood-sized grudges have kept the novel from making it to the big screen.

That was then.

Columbia Pictures has just announced that production will begin next month in Los Angeles and Japan with Chicago's Rob Marshall at the helm and Steven Spielberg producing. Principal cast members include Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Zhang Ziyi.

Ziyi, who played a foxy villain in Rush Hour 2, will star as Sayuri, the young orphan groomed to be a Kyoto geisha.

The actress, who made her English-language debut with Rush Hour 2, told the Associated Press she had been practicing her English for several years. "This is the first time that I will play the lead in an English-language movie. It will be a big challenge, but the studios, producers and director have shown great confidence in me. I will continue to do my utmost to make this the best role I've ever played," she said.

Watanabe, who starred in last year's The Last Samurai, will play the Chairman, a high-powered exec with whom Sayuri falls in love. The actor's also scheduled to star in Christopher Nolan's upcoming prequel Batman Begins.

Meanwhile, the movie will reunite Ziyi with her Crouching Tiger sparring partner Michelle Yeoh, who will play Mameha, Sayuri's mentor. Other cast members include Raise the Red Lantern's Gong Li as Sayuri's arch rival, Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance) as one of Sayuri's prospective patrons and Youki Kudoh (Snow Falling on Cedars) as Sayuri's childhood friend Pumpkin.

Marshall's spot in the director's chair comes after much negotiating between Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks, who are producing the movie version, and Miramax, which owned the rights to Marshall's first born--or at least his next movie. It has taken more than a year for the studios to reach a deal.

"We could not be more excited about the extraordinary cast that we have in place for Memoirs of a Geisha," said Marshall in a statement. "We are adapting a beloved piece of literature that has become a worldwide sensation, which made it important to me to assemble a cast with a prestigious international profile. I cannot wait to begin production this fall."

Spielberg, who originally announced his intention to direct the flick (followed by interest from Spike Jonze and Kimberly Pierce), will now serve as a producer.

"From the time I first read Arthur Golden's novel, I wanted to see this as afilm," Spielberg said. "It's a uniquely compelling story rich with characters who take you into a world you have never experienced before, and there is no one better than Rob Marshall to bring all the poetry and artistry of Arthur Golden's novel to movie theaters all over the world."

No word yet on a release date.

Matthew Chmiel

I wasn't being rude, I was just stating my opinion. You know, because God forbid I can't have my own opinion on a subject.

NitroJMS

Wasn't this project originally supposed to be done by Spielberg and Harrison Ford about five years ago?

Premise

Full Trailer is up.

Mr. Cinema

Don't forget to add "Batman & Robin".

Amel

I can hardly wait to see this. It's one of my favorite books and it's starring one of my favorite actresses. The entire core cast is as solid as a film can put together. I'm pretty pissed about the way it's opening though. I actually put in to be off work for the 9th only to find out that it's only opening in 4 cities. A few more the next week, and then everywhere else the 23rd. Unfortunately, I'm part of the everywhere else. Anyone know the purpose of these staggered, limited releases?

scott shelton

It's a hard film to sell. The platform release is intended to build on assumed critical acclaim, so when the wide release happens, there's more firepower behind the opening.

They open it all at once, it might get lost in the shuffle.

PopcornTreeCt

Wow, if there ever was a movie that appealed to absolutely no one it would be this. My friend and I saw the trailer for this and we just shook our heads.

Y2K Falcon

You must have really hated Braveheart.

Mordred

Guess I'm a no one then. I'll be seeing this... maybe not on opening night, but I'll be seeing it.

scott shelton

I know that this is an old post, but to make it clear, the entire cast is fantastic, with special attention to Yeoh and Zhang. Nitpicking evaporates when you see the depth of the performances.

atlantamoi

I haven't seen the trailer, but just from the actors involved I'm definitely interested. In other words, you wrong you wrong.