DJariya

I think Chow's ego is getting the best of him. Woo is the man who made him a star over 20 years ago.


http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...t_N.htm?csp=34

HONG KONG Apr 17, 2007 (AP)— Chow Yun-Fat's withdrawal from a major Chinese historical epic directed by John Woo the man who made him an icon has raised questions about whether a local son has forgotten his roots.

Chow, who starred in Woo's classic 1986 film, "A Better Tomorrow," dropped out of the director's $80 million "Red Cliff" just as shooting got under way. He was the film's biggest star.

The 51-year-old Hong Kong actor said he submitted a request to pull out through his lawyers Friday because he only got the script last week and didn't have enough time to prepare. Officials for the movie dispute this, saying they couldn't work with Chow because he made unreasonable demands.

It's unclear what those demands were, but Woo's business partner-producer, Terence Chang, told Chinese news Web site Sina.com the movie's Hollywood insurer opposed 73 clauses in Chow's contract.

"There are too many (clauses we couldn't accept), and many exceed industry standards," Chang said.

China Film Group publicist Wen Wengli confirmed Chang's remarks.

Chang said Chow received a copy of the script last year and the version he got a week ago was a revision that incorporated his suggested changes.

The producer said Chow was promised $5 million for the movie, plus royalties from box-office returns. "We didn't mistreat him," Chang said.

Chow says he took a pay cut and agreed to be paid in installments. However, he acknowledged that he used a Hollywood-style contract.

"My contract is indeed based on contracts I use for Hollywood movies in America. Maybe everyone hasn't gotten used to Hollywood contracts because so many investors are involved," Chow said in a statement.

Filmmakers said the movie remains on schedule and Chow's replacement will be announced this week.

Chang has said the Chinese government views the film, based on an ancient battle, as a showcase of Chinese history and wants it released before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Red Cliff" marks Woo's return to Chinese film after directing Hollywood movies such as "Broken Arrow," "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible II." Chow's screen credits include "Anna and the King," "Bulletproof Monk" and the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Perkinsun Dzees

Maybe Chow finally got around to watching WINDTALKERS and PAYCHECK and realized that Woo has lost it.

mike7162

Chow hasn't exactly burned up the American boxoffice either. A shame. This coulda been a contender.

zombeaner

This really bummed me out this morning when I read it.

Perkinsun Dzees

Trust me on this, his next film is gonna be a biggie.

starseed1981

Well duh. Go go Pirates of the Carribean

Anyhow, I got money on this film that says it becomes John Woo's "Don Quixote" picture. He's notoriously a dick on set, even worse than James Cameron, and Tony Leung already left as well.

Giles

John Woo - who's he??

















kidding, he came out of the woodwork, didn't he?

Alternative3

Where did you hear that Woo is a dick? My perception of him has always been that he is a nice, humble man. I've never read anything negative about him. Doesn't mean he's not a jerk, of course, but I am curious where you heard this from.

mike7162

I'm curious about this as well; considering some of the massive egos he's had to contend with (Travolta, Van Damme, etc.), I'd think the opposite was true about Woo. I've never read or seen a negative word about him.

matrixrok9

I've never heard anything about Woo being a jerk. He got into it with Tsui Hark because he was forced to do Better Tomorrow 2. I can see where Woo was coming from and didn't want to make a sequel. I've read stories about Hark being an ass though.

starseed1981

Hard Boiled DVD has some producers laying into him. There are some Variety articles on him being a jerk on the Paycheck set too. I'll try and link them.

Doctor Gonzo

Please excuse if this has been posted - could not find it on the forum search.

Here's a link to a 9 minute promo reel of John Woo's upcoming epic RED CLIFF, looks amazing!

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/a-pr...oos-red-cliff/

mhg83

Is that the movie where one of the stunt actors was killed or badly injured?

Gunde

^ Yes it is. He died unfortunately

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0...a_stuntman_col

Dr Mabuse

Finally caught the unedited, two part original version this week.

I really enjoyed it.

It had a touch of the Woo 'sappy sentimentality' stuff at times, but overall he pulled off a better film than I thought him capable of.

Troy Stiffler

I never heard of this. Haven't been tracking John Woo the way I used to. What's happening with the US release?

Dr Mabuse

'No joy' on the US release as far as I know.

The version shortened by 2 hours was the only one released to west I think.

I've heard there may have been, or may be a UK release of the 2 part unedited version. Not sure on that at all.

Rypro 525

its still in theaters, at least by me. Its also On Demand, if you have it. Although the US cut is edited, as the full movie is in two 2 and half hour parts, and the US version is only 2.5 hours, so they cut out half the movie. Its only in art house theaters.

also, if you want, the full version is on DVD and Blu i believe in region free versions, go on ebay to look

Solid Snake

So this only proves that Woo should stay in China/HK and make movies? If so, badass. I need Him and Chow Yun Fat to team up again.

Rypro 525

Here's the link to the thread on this movie in the international forum
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/internation...e-culture.html