Well, that’s it for Dick Cook, the head of the filmmaking arm of the Walt Disney studios. Apparently the massive amount of bank Cook brought in following such successes as the Pirates of the Caribbean series and National Treasure was scarce enough for Disney, who booted Cook to the curb in a “mutual decision” (yeah, as in “you’re going to agree to leave or we’re going to agree to throw you out”) following catastrophes resulting in losses like G-Force, Bedtime Stories and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Oh, and an industry-wide downturn in DVD sales.
I think it’s a low blow, myself–you can’t blame Cook for the sales slump in the DVD sector. And you can’t blame him for Bedtime Stories, either–an Adam Sandler comedy almost always cleans up. Granted, the gerbil spy network and the bubbleheaded shopholic should’ve been avoided like the plague but anyone can drop a ball or two every so often. That’s just human nature.
Hopefully Cook can find better work elsewhere.
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LVIFS Logo
Las Vegas International Film Summit has been created by a group of experienced film-makers, top business executives and marketing professionals, committed to the development and promotion of the art and craft of filmmaking. This yearly mega event will cover every aspect of the motion-picture production process in a seven day tradeshow and an international film competition, being held at the Sands Expo, The Venetian and the Palazzo Casino Resorts of Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 29th to April 5th, 2010.
“Our mission is to use Las Vegas spectacular hotels and infrastructure to host the most influential film festival in the United States, and with that, contribute to the development of Las Vegas as an international cultural capital for the growing industry of cultural tourism”, said Joaquin Rodriguez, the festival coordinator. Las Vegas International Film Summit will be open to all industry professionals and film enthusiasts alike. For more information visit www.lvifs.com
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American filmmakers most certainly can learn something of value from Asia filmmakers – let the story be told. Asian films are rich in story and character. Naysayers will argue that Asian films are over the top or too melodramatic, but I say nay.
For example, I popped the movie Protégéin my DVD player the other night. Directed by Tung-Shing Yee with a cast of Asian cinema superstars including Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers), Daniel Wu (Legend of the Black Scorpion), Louis Koo (Flash Point) and Jingchu Zhang (Seven Swords), Protégé is the saga of a young cop infiltrating the deepest levels of a secret drug ring. He survives seven years of violent, nail-biting close calls, as he works his way from dealer to heir of the drug empire. Every step consolidates his power and reveals another piece of his boss’s operations, bringing him closer to destroying a brutal heroin empire…or inheriting it.
The story is complete bar any quick cuts to the next scene. Each scene is complete with the heart wrenching reality of heroin’s insidious end. Koo plays an abusive drug-addict husband whose pain and angst is only allowed by a director like Tung-Shing Yee, who is bold enough to “tell it like it is.”
One scene that comes to mind is where Wu’s character, and undercover cop, must confront his boss (Lau) whom he would have inherited his heroine empire if he wasn’t an undercover cop, and tell him the truth of his role in destroying the empire. The scene plays out completely with a slow suicidal death of Wu. The audience is able to experience the full emotion of the scene, brilliantly executed, no close ups but a three-quarter shot of both men in eternal pain.
Protégé earned Lau a 2007 Hong Kong Award for Best Supporting Actor and received nine Hong Kong Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Zhang) and Best Supporting Actor (Koo). Based on true stories of undercover agents on the police force, Protégé follows their story among the clandestine drug world, as they struggle to balance both justice and crime.
I enjoy Asian films because the stories are colorful and brilliant with truth. Each scene is given its due time to grow and bloom fully like a flower. Award winning Protégé is a fine example.
Protégé is available on the shelves. The DVD includes special features:
- Commentary By Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan
- The Making Of Protégé
- Undercover & Over The Edge: An Exclusive interview With Leading Man Daniel Wu
- Chasing The Dragon: An Exclusive interview With Leading Lady Zhang Jing-chu
- The Dealer: An Exclusive Interview With Producer Peter Cha
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- English Dolby 5.1 and Cantonese Dolby 5.1
- Subtitles: Spanish, English and English SDH subtitles
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Director John Woo is back filming in China with a film called “1949,” an epic on modern China from the end of World War II to the formation of People’s Republic, budgeted at $40 million.
Film is to take place on location in China and Taiwan and is set to begin production by the end of 2008. Â
Politically, Beijing considers Taiwan — which split off from China in 1949 and has been self-governing ever since — as a renegade province.
The film will star Seong Hye-kyo (”Fetish”) and Chang Chen (”Red Cliff”) and was scripted by Wong Hui Ling (”Lust, Caution”).
The Chinese-language project is based on true events and features a love story set against the backdrop of the final years of China’s civil war before the rise to power of Mao Zedong’s Communist Party.
Woo was in Cannes promoting his first Chinese-language film, “Red Cliff,” which is being sold by Summit Entertainment. It was his first film in China since he left Hong Kong years ago for work in Los Angeles.
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