Song Hye-kyo Meeting with Wong Kar-Wai, Confirmed to Be Playing Yip Man’s Wife

Actress Song Hye-kyo met with director Wong Kar-wai on 19th October 2010 to discuss the progress of filming The Grand Master. Paparazzi managed to film the secret meeting and were able to capture exclusive images of reference photos shot for the film.
The first photo on the right is Song Hye-kyo with Zhang Ziyi (wearing a man’s suit).
The other one is Hye-kyo, Tony Leung (as Yip Man) and the actor playing their son. This pretty much confirms that Song Hye-kyo is playing Yip Man’s wife.
Wong Kar-wai began reshoots of the film starting in mid-September.

Credit: wloi @ Soompi.com

See the video shot by the paparazzi at the following link:
http://hk.sw.nextmedia.com/template/sw/art_main.php?iss_id=796&sec_id=1000863&art_id=14602421

UPDATE: Larger scans added (click to enlarge).

The Grand Master undergoing reshoots?

With the release of a promotional poster for The Grand Master it was expected that the film would be finished sooner rather than later.
However, a person purporting to be a crew member on the film has been tweeting messages on their Weibo account (Asian version of Twitter) which suggests otherwise. According to the staff member, they have recently been shooting scenes with both Tony Leung and Song Hye-kyo in a secret location in Guangzhou.
They were shooting past 4 a.m. as the child that Hye-kyo has been carrying was crying non-stop, and they needed to re-shoot it many times.

A photo of the meal schedule for the 21st of September for The Grand Master crew:

Breakfast: 06:30-08:00
Lunch: 12:00-14:00
Supper: 18:00-20:00

If the report of reshooting is true then it would certainly push back the intended release date for the Lunar New Year, making a Cannes 2011 premiere more likely. Director Wong Kar-wai has a habit of reshooting scenes as he spent three days re-shooting the final kiss in My Blueberry Nights.
Song Hye-kyo is scheduled to begin work on a new film (directed by Lee Jeong-hyang) in October.
However, Tony Leung won’t start work on his next film (directed by Derek Yee) February of next year.

http://t.sina.com.cn/1527186771
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=897058853
Credit: wloi @ soompi.com

UPDATE: They were filming in Chikan Movie and Television City.

Song Hye Kyo on a Taiwanese talk show

In a recent appearance on a talk show in Taiwan, actress Song Hye Kyo discussed some recent events in her life, saying she has been filming for Wong Kar Wai’s The Grand Master (一代宗師). “I’m putting in a lot of effort and always learning new things on the scene.” She also added, “It’s not easy, but I get a lot of help from people around me.”Song plays the lead role The Grand Master (一代宗師), directed by auteur-director Wong Kar Wai, and is currently busy filming alongside such renowned actors as Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen.

http://en.korea.com/blog/enter/movie/song-hye-kyo-on-a-talk-show-in-taiwan-keeps-remains-silent-about-hyun-bin/
http://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=127951718773996002

Casting call for The Grand Master

As I suspected filming on “The Grand Master” continues.
Credit to: http://www.soompi.com/

Here’s a casting call for hiring supporting actors/actresses for the film:

*Auditions for a maid, to start filming end June / early July, accommodation will be provided.
Audition to be held on 9 June.
Age: either 13-18 or 25-30.

*4 replacements for Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Song Hye-kyo, as well as a number of actors for portraying students.
The audition is on 13 June.

http://www.gzucjob.com.cn/showjob.asp?id=1425
http://www.soompi.com/

Lunar New Year release for The Grand Master?

Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grand Master” is said to have completed filming and is now entered the editing phase. Ultimately, Brigitte Lin did not make a comeback appearance. Zhang Ziyi’s role is said to be that of a female killer/assassin. Zhao Benshan and Song Hye-kyo also appear.
The film began shooting in Guangdong last November and has been shrouded in secrecy. A Lunar New Year opening is still anticipated despite some delays.

It will compete against four powerhouse films: Chen Kaige’s Zhao’s Orphan, Zhang Yimou’s Love Under the Hawthorne Tree, Jiang Wen’s Let the Bullets Fly and Feng Xiaogang’s You Are the One 2.

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-06-22/10312994107.shtml

The Grand Master filming break

Director Wong Kar-Wai has been busy working on his own movie about the legendary Wing Chun master Ip Man. They recently completed shooting in the Northeast region of China and will soon head South to Guangzhou. Before filming resumes for The Grand Master, his all-star cast gets a one-week break while the crew is moving the set.

Korean star Song Hye-Kyo will be one of the cast members participating in the Guangzhou filming. She was previously rumored to have gained weight, but the actress looked very slim when she was spotted in Hong Kong shopping for some DVD’s. According to the news, she has been working hard on her moves as well as her Chinese, and hopes to complete the film with her own voice.

On the other hand, “Ip Man” Tony Leung didn’t get much of a break as he had to film a commercial in the mainland. When asked about working with Song Hye-Kyo, he said they actually met each other back at the premiere of his film 2046. He was also asked if they share any intimate scenes, Tony Leung responded, “How would I know! There hasn’t been any in the script so far. (Will there be some later?) We’ll know when the time comes!”

Their co-star Chang Chen hasn’t been home for months since filming started, therefore he returned to Taiwan during the break to get some summer clothing. Meanwhile, actress Zhang Ziyi will also take part in the Guangzhou filming, but the production remained tight-lipped concerning what role she is playing.

http://news.sina.com.tw/article/20100525/3181954.html
http://www.nownews.com/2010/05/26/340-2607400.htm

Song Hye Kyo in Hong Kong

Actress Song Hye-kyo was sighted shopping in Central, Hong Kong, a few days ago. She has been staying in a rented apartment costing HK$93,000 per month in Happy Valley, she occupies one room and the other for her assistant. She has been secretly training for her role in “The Grand Master” and has also been learning Cantonese to make communication easier with Wong Kar-wai and Tony Leung. She was tired and bored with training and took a rest to go shopping and was spotted in The LandMark near Oriental Mandarin Hotel.
The report also mentioned about her thick waist and thighs.
The movie is expected to be released in December this year.

http://stars.zaobao.com/pages9/songhuiqiao100522.shtml
Video report: http://hk.dv.nextmedia.com/template/dv_channel/index.php?fuseaction=dv15.player&mode=section&range=d&dv_iss=20100522&sort=promo&id=462&iss_id=20100522&sec_id=462&art_id=14055181&av_id=14056466