[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Date: 14-FEB-2003 13:05:24
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Woo and TMNT Marriage???
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
InfoTrac Web: Gen'l Reference Ctr Gold.
Source: Variety, June 10, 2002 v387 i4 pA6(2).
Title: Lion rock lets Woo roll with style. (John Woo: Hong Kong auteur
strikes back with a stylish WWII epic about Navajo Marines).(Brief
Article)
Author: David S. Cohen
Subjects: Filmmakers - Biography
Motion pictures - Production and direction
People: Woo, John - Conduct of life
Chang, Terence - Biography
Locations: United States
Business Collection: 140N3392
Electronic Collection: A87706836
RN: A87706836
Full Text COPYRIGHT 2002 Reed Business Information
HOLLYWOOD John Woo's producing partner, Terence Chang, doesn't court
publicity. Yet insiders know that he is every bit as important as Woo when it
comes to their production outfit Lion Rock's creative output. Indeed, he's
really Lion Rock's main man.
"On the films where John directs, he's the main creative force," Chang tells
Variety, "Other than that, I'm overseeing everything."
Everything includes as many as 30 film and TV projects at a time, plus
videogames and new media. Woo approves and contributes ideas on all Lion Rock
projects. On feature films, like the upcoming "Long Hello, Short Goodbye," he
gives script notes, meets with the director and watches dailies. For the most
part, though, he is hands off.
[Graphic omitted]Part of Chang's job, of course, is to make sure Woo is free
to focus on directing. The helmer has always preferred stories with strong
characters, and with his future projects he is moving further away from
action. His next film will be a drama about Irish and Chinese workers on the
transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.
Lion Rock, which is now repped by Endeavor, will also be producing an updated
and gender-flipped version of "Charlie Chan," with Lucy Liu in the title role.
The project was originally intended for Chow Yun-Fat, with Woo to direct, but
that is all but sure to change, says Chang.
"We've never done a script where the central character is a female," explains
Chang. "John's drawn to the material about the friendship between two guys.
That runs through all his films. With Chow Yun-Fat, he'd very likely direct.
With Lucy Liu, I don't think so."
Developing talent
[Graphic omitted]In the meantime, Woo and Chang are shepherding video director
Paul Hunter through his first feature, "Bulletproof Monk," starring Chow. Also
coming are the action comedy "Mint Condition" and a contemporary pirate movie
set in the South China Sea, which Chang is developing with Mike Medavoy.
In TV, production is winding up on a two-hour backdoor pilot, "S.E.S.: The
Enforcers," for USA Network. It's set to premiere Aug. 7.
"Our representatives always told us we shouldn't do TV movies, there's no
money in it," says Chang, "But we do them because we like them."
Some of the more intriguing titles coming out of the Lion Rock offices are in
development at Digital Rim, a joint venture of Lion Rock, South Korea's
Digital Dream animation studios and Rainbow Studios of Phoenix. Digital Rim
works on new-media projects, including videogames, comicbooks and digital
animation.
The first project to arrive is likely to be computer-animated feature "Ark,"
an edgy sci-fi story that Chang describes as similar to "Spartacus" but set in
outer space.
Comicbook cool
Lion Rock has assigned creative executive Lori Tilkin to Digital Rim full
time. A former performance artist and fluent Mandarin speaker who once hosted
television shows in Beijing, Tilkin is also an avid comicbook collector.
"This is a really cool match for me, because I'm finally delving into that
world that I love," says Tilkin, who has worked for Woo and Chang for about
seven years. Even her office has a comicbook flair. "I've got my Neil Gaiman
dolls, I've got my favorite game on my (computer) desktop. I love this stuff."
Digital Rim is working on many projects, says Tilkin, including some familiar
titles from the animation and comics worlds. One is a revival of the "Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles," this time powered by state-of-the-art digital
animation, and sure to get the Woo stamp.
"For a long time John's style and look has been emulated in different media,
like comicbooks and games," says Tilkin. "It'll be fun for John to be actually
doing it."
WORKING WITH WOO
Kasi Lemmons Actress, "Hard Target"
[Graphic omitted]I'm crazy about him. I found him so interesting to work with.
There's something peaceful and Zenlike about him. He's blowing things up and
yet his whole nature is so peaceful. To me, he seems like a cross between a
gardener and a priest. Later, I learned that he had studied to be a priest,
but he got kicked out. He told me the story that he was in charge of the art
at the seminary, but them got kicked out for making the crucifixion look too
bloody--at least that's what he said.
"I was impressed by the fact that he didn't need language to convey his point.
He could get his point across even at dinner without words. He didn't need
words, because he had a more direct way of communication so that there were no
misunderstandings."
WORKING WITH WOO
Bill Mechanic former chairman & CEO, Fox Films
I have the utmost respect for John as both an artist and a man. When we put
John on `Broken Arrow' at Fox, he wasn't very well known in Hollywood, but I
felt that we were lucky to have him since his Hong Kong movies were so
exceptional. He was the most unique director of action pictures I'd seen,
blending excitement and tension with a poetry of expression. It is now a true
honor to have him direct `Men of Destiny,' the first movie from Pandemonium."
-- End --
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