Universal Pushes Back Keanu Reeves’ ’47 Ronin’

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/universal-pushes-47-ronin-keanu-reeves-316572

… Universal Pictures has moved 47 Ronin, its 3D adventure movie starring Keanu Reeves, from Nov. 21, 2012 to Feb. 8, 2013.

No reason was given for 47 Ronin’s push, but it could give the movie some breathing room to finish its intensive postproduction process. The film is being directed by Carl Rinsch, known for his commercial work but here making his feature directorial debut.  The movie faced problems including soaring budgets and a combative shoot. …

The Wachowskis Rare Appearance in “Side by Side”

Source: http://movieline.com/2012/04/19/how-the-wachowskis-came-to-make-a-super-rare-appearance-in-new-doc-side-by-side/

Side by Side premieres Apr. 24 - the film arrives in theaters and on VOD this August.

Back story from Kenneally:

We are very fortunate and grateful for all the amazing people who shared their time, insights and knowledge with us for our documentary Side by Side. We were especially fortunate to have been able to interview the Wachowskis since they rarely do interviews. Andy and Lana have had a very successful and close relationship with Keanu, and I believe the reason they agreed to the interview was because of this friendship.

The Wachowskis continue to create groundbreaking movies and they are truly pioneers in the use of digital technology. The images they were able to create in the Matrix Trilogy and on Speed Racer pushed the limits of filmmaking art and technology. There are beautiful shots in those films that had never been conceived of before.

The Wachowskis were very busy working on their next film Cloud Atlas, which they are directing along with Tom Tykwer, in Berlin, Germany, but they found a few free hours for us one afternoon. Keanu, our producer Justin Szlasa and I flew to Berlin, set up our cameras quickly and got an amazing, insightful and at times hilarious interview. The Wachowskis had a unique, intelligent perspective on image creation, digital technology, editing, archival and couldn’t have been nicer or more welcoming to us.

One of the highlights of the Side by Side journey for me was seeing Lana and Andy in the audience at our screening at the Berlin Film Festival. I had the chance to speak to them afterword. They were really happy for us and had a lot of kind words to say about Side by Side.

Keanu on the red carpet in Beijing

Source: http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/beijing-prepares-roll-red-carpet-hollywood-hotshots-150658183.html and http://www.bjiff.com/en/index.shtml

Hollywood royalty is set to grace the red carpet at this year’s Beijing International Film Festival as its second edition attempts to secure the event as the premier one of its kind in China.

Both Oscar-winning director James Cameron and actor Keanu Reeves have signed on to appear in Beijing for the festival, which will run at various venues across the Chinese capital from April 23-28.

It is a smart and timely piece of promotion for both men, with Cameron’s 3D version of Titanic currently screening around China and Reeves putting the finishing touches on his debut effort as a director, the actioner Man of Tai Chi, which has been partly shot in Beijing.

Festival organizers say they will be screening more than 260 films from across the globe over the course of the six-day event while hosting a film market that aims to bridge the gap between China and the international film community. Among the local stars set to grace the red carpet are directors Feng Xiaogang and John Woo and stars Tang Wei, Fan Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi and Jackie Chan.

Among the international films screening are Oscar winners The Artist and A Separation and last year’s Palme d’Or winner from Cannes, The Tree of Life, while the smash hit from Taiwan last year — the historical epic Seediq Bale – will get a screening but in a version that has been reduced to 2.5 hours from four.

Up until the first edition of the Beijing event last year, the annual Shanghai International Film Festival — held every June — was the undisputed jewel in the Chinese film industry’s crown, with a consistent line up of local and international A-list stars and a market that had attracted the interest of the world’s leading studios.

But with the Chinese government showing a heavy hand in Beijing last year, industry watchers are keen to see how this year’s edition develops.

What is certain though is that there has never before been so much interest in Chinese cinema — and the Chinese cinema industry — both inside and outside the country. Last year box office receipts in China amounted to an estimated 13 billion yuan (1.6 billion euros), up by close to 30 percent on-year.

The government also announced in February that it was extending the quota on foreign films allowed in for screening from 20 per year to 34.

2nd Beijing International Film Festival
April 23-28

Man of Tai Chi in Huairou Film Base

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hooray-for-huairou-chinese-film-comes-of-age-7624776.html

… About an hour’s drive from Beijing, you can find armies of kung fu fighters being put through their paces, Nationalist Kuomintang soldiers marching across 1920s Shanghai, and a full-sized replica of the capital’s Gate of Heavenly Peace. Welcome to Huairou Film Base, which in a few short years has emerged as the centre of the Chinese film industry and home to some of the biggest productions in a rapidly expanding market.

In the thick of it is Keanu Reeves. His latest project, Man of Tai Chi, is a £20m contemporary kung fu and tai chi action film and it is being shot here at Huairou, with a cast including Tiger Hu Chen, Karen Mok and Reeves himself as the bad guy. And it’s in Chinese.

Getting a big-name star such as Reeves to shoot here marks a major coup in the development of the Chinese film industry, but these days everyone wants a piece of the business. Box-office takings at Chinese cinemas surged past £1.25bn for the first time in 2011, nearly a third more than the previous year, according to the government’s film bureau. This has been driven by an explosion in the number of cinemas, being built as part of the wave of shopping malls springing up around the country. …

Atticus Ross To Score Keanu Reeves’ Samurai Epic ’47 Ronin’

Source: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/atticus-ross-to-score-keanu-reeves-samurai-epic-47-ronin-20120406

While Atticus Ross is best known for his collaborations with Trent Reznor in Nine Inch Nails and of course on the soundtracks for “The Social Network” (which won them an Oscar) and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” he has ventured out on his own on more than one occassion. He has worked close with the Hughes Brothers, scoring their TV series “Touching Evil” (alongside his wife and brother, Claudia Sarne and Leopold Ross) as well as “The Book of Eli” and Albert’s segment in “New York, I Love You.” Ross also contributed to the excellent array of talent on the “Days of Grace” soundtrack. Well, he’s once again striking out with a solo gig, and and it’s one helluva blockbuster project.

Film Music Reporter reveals that Ross will score Carl Erik Rinsch‘s upcoming 3D samaurai tale “47 Ronin.” Starring Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki and Tadanobu Asano and penned by “Wanted” co-writer Chris Morgan, the film follows the story of the titular 47 warriors who, following the forced seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) of their master after assaulting a court official, seek revenge on those who caused his death. Damn.

The addition of Ross is an intriguing one. It’s his first period movie, and it certainly suggests that though Reeves will be wearing a robe and sandals, this won’t be your ordinary samurai flick by any stretch of the imagination. The film has been kept under wraps for now, but with the November 21st release on the horizon, we’ll hopefully start seeing some images and teasers very soon.