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Zhang Ziyi wins her first Golden Horse Best Actress Award

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 Sina:

The 50th Golden Horse Awards took place at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taiwan on the 23rd November. Zhang Ziyi‘s performance in The Grandmaster won her her first Golden Horse Best Actress. With 11 nominations The Grandmaster was the big winner with five awards. Alhough director Wong Kar-wai lost both Best Director and Best Feature Film to Stray Dogs and Ilo Ilo, The Grandmaster was deeply popular with the audience as it won the viewers’ choice award.

The three Best Actor favourites, Hong Kong representatives The Grandmaster‘s Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Unbeatable‘s Nick Cheung and Cold War‘s Tony Leung Ka-fai, lost to Stray Dog‘s Lee Kang-Sheng. Leung stood up and shook hands with the newcomer; however, when the event arranged for past Best Actors and Best Actresses for a group photo, he was pouting and looked unhappy. Singapore film Ilo Ilo won four awards, including Best Feature Film, Best New Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Its performance was second only to The Grandmaster.

The 34-year-old Zhang Ziyi won her first Golden Horse Best Actress after 15 years in the business with The Grandmaster‘s Gong Er. When Zhang Ziyi received the award from Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau, she was teary eyed and choking back her tears. She said, “I have been nominated several times for the Golden Horse, today I finally got it. Thank you to the Director Ang Lee led jury, making me the Best Actress on the Golden Horse’s 50th birthday. Making The Grandmaster was long and tough, but the process was happy. Thank you to on and off screen grand masters, without them I wouldn’t be here. Thank you Leung Chiu-wai, he will always be the Best Actor in my heart. Thank you Wong Kar-wai. When my heart was suffering the most I ran into Gong Er, telling me to believe in myself. I did it. Today Mama is here too, last month was my birthday and this award is the best birthday present. Yesterday I got a call from Papa, he is sick. I hope this award will make him recover soon.”

The 50th Golden Horse Award Winners:

BEST FEATURE FILM: ILO ILO
BEST SHORT FILM: BUTTER LAMP
BEST DOCUMENTARY: BEYOND BEAUTY, TAIWAN FROM ABOVE
BEST DIRECTOR: Tsai Ming-Liang (STRAY DOGS)
BEST NEW DIRECTOR: Anthony Chen (ILO ILO)
BEST LEADING ACTOR: Lee Kang-Sheng (STRAY DOGS)
BEST LEADING ACTRESS: Zhang Ziyi (THE GRANDMASTER)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Li Xuejian (1942)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Yeo Yann Yann (ILO ILO)
BEST NEW PERFORMER: Kuo Shu-Yau (STEP BACK TO GLORY)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Anthony Chen (ILO ILO)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Li Qiang (SO YOUNG)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Philippe Le Sourd (THE GRANDMASTER)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Pierre Buffin (THE GRANDMASTER)
BEST ART DIRECTION: William Chang Suk-Ping, Alfred Yau Wai-Ming (THE GRANDMASTER)
BEST MAKE UP & COSTUME DESING: William Chang Suk-Ping (THE GRANDMASTER)
BEST ACTION CHOREOPGRAHY: Jackie Chan, He Jun, Jackie Chan Stunt Team (CZ12)
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE: Lim Giong (A TOUCH OF SIN)
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SONG: I LOVE YOU (ROCK ME TO THE MOON)
BEST FILM EDITING: Mattieu Laclau, Lin Xudong (A TOUCH OF SIN)
BEST SOUND EFFECTS: Tu Duu-Chih, Kuo Li Chi (SOUL)
OUTSTANDING TAIWANESE FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR: Yeh Ju-Feng
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD: THE GRANDMASTER
FIPRESCI PRIZE: RIGOR MORTIS
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Chen Chen

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Song Hye-kyo dons a qipao in ‘The Grandmasters’

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Sina:

‘The Grandmasters‘ is set to be released in Hong Kong on January 10. After photos of Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen were unveiled, the film released some images of actress Song Hye-kyo in costume as well as one with her on-screen husband Ip Man, played by Tony Leung. Song Hye-Kyo’s portrayal of Ip Man’s wife broke through her usual sweet and cute roles. She wore a traditional Chinese dress, a mixture of classic and sexy. This Chinese dress was art director William Chang Suk-ping’s design and Song Hye-kyo was rather pleased with her costume look. “Wearing a qipao made me feel uneasy at first,” the actress was quoted as saying about the traditional body-hugging Chinese dress. “But gradually I realized its beauty.” She had to stay in shape for it. She also talked about working with Tony Leung. “He was charming and spoke with his eyes,” she said. “I almost melted.” In one scene she in particular sensed the might of Tony’s eyes. The electricity on the set was stronger than in the film several hundred times!

‘The Grandmasters’ took several years to make. Song Hye-kyo was rumoured to be upset that the production dragged on and on. Reportedly, director Wong Kar-wai had increased Zhang Ziyi’s screen time and reduced Song Hye-Kyo’s; thus she will not attend the Berlin Film Festival opening. The company said that it has not received any news.

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The Grandmasters News Round-Up

New pic via ScreenDaily:

Fortissimo, Wong Kar Wai’s Jet Tone Expand Relationship

Fortissimo chairman Michael Werner will associate produce ‘Grandmaster,’ with the company also handling the Jet Tone library.

Fortissimo Films and Wong Kar Wai’s Jet Tone Films have expanded their relationship around the upcoming title The Grandmaster and Jet Tone’s library, Fortissimo chairman Michael Werner and Jet Tone’s Jacky Pang Yee Wah said at the American Film Market on Wednesday.
Werner will associate produce Grandmaster, the film starring Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Lust, Caution) and Chang Chen (Red Cliff), and Fortissimo will handle sales in select territories retained by Jet Tone Film including Japan, South Korea and India.
Werner will work closely with producer Pang to advise on the marketing and release strategy for the film around the world.
Fortissimo also will handle the Jet Tone Films library, including titles such as Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Ashes of Time Redux.
From the set of Block 2 Pictures and Sil Metropole Organization presentation last week, Werner observed Wong has built Grandmasters around “one of the most exciting sets and fighting sequences that I have ever seen.”
Fortissimo and Jet Tone have worked together more than 20 years and Pang said of Werner: “We have always seen Michael as a member of our team and we are very happy to have him physically on board Grandmaster utilizing his background and knowledge of Asian cinema and his expertise in international sales, marketing and distribution.”
Chan Ye Cheng and Song Dai are executive producers, while Philippe Le Sourd is shooting the film with action choreography from Yuen Wo Ping and production design by William Chang Suk Ping.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fortissimo-wong-kar-wais-jet-35435

French sales house Wild Bunch has picked up international rights to two of the biggest Chinese-language films of the year.
With the American Film Market starting tomorrow (3 Nov 2010) the company has picked up the upcoming martial arts film The Grandmasters (一代宗師), by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai (王家衛). It has also secured Under The Hawthorn Tree (山楂樹之戀), the romantic drama by Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) that has been a hit on home turf in China and was set as the opening film at the Pusan and Hawaii film festivals.
The greater surprise is the pickup of Grandmasters. As is typical of Wong, the film has been carefully shrouded in secrecy. But this time, as the film was independently financed without recourse to a minimum guarantee from a sales company, or territory pre-sales, producers at Wong’s Jet Tone Films (澤東製作有限公司) have been able to keep buyers and audiences guessing. Many of Wong previous movies were represented by Hong Kong and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo Films.
A period piece, Wong’s film is the fourth in a recent string of pictures about Ip Man (葉問), the legendary martial artist who taught Bruce Lee (李小龍). It has been tentatively positioned for release at Chinese New Year in late-Jan or early-Feb 2011. However, other recent press reports suggest that shooting will continue in early 2011.
Wild Bunch, which has rights outside Asia, says it will provide buyers with a synopsis and screen a 2-minute promo reel at its booth. But the company did not confirm the delivery date.
Partial rights in much of South East Asia were previously picked up by Hong Kong-based film and pan-regional broadcast group Mei Ah Entertainment. In Hong Kong itself Mei Ah has TV and home entertainment rights, while one of the film’s investors SIL-Metropole will oversee theatrical.
Consecutive with the Wild Bunch pickup is a change in title, from The Grand Master to The Grandmasters, the announcement of tagline “in martial arts there is no right or wrong, only the last man standing” and the release of two poster images.
One, in near monochrome, highlights the powerful combination of Wong, Yuen Woo-ping (袁和平) as action choreographer and its stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai (梁朝偉) and Zhang Ziyi (章子怡).

http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/wongs-grandmasters-joins-wild-bunch

Tony Leung spotted jogging and Song Hye-kyo spotted playing badminton in between filming:

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-11-03/09213134461.shtml

A better look at Zhang Ziyi’s character in the film, fighting at the side of the railroad tracks. (Click to enlarge)

The film has been tentatively positioned for release at Chinese New Year in late-Jan or early-Feb 2011. However, other recent press reports suggest that shooting will continue in early 2011.