Producers in Cannes have announced that John Woo will direct the remake of a classic Japanese mafia film. Meanwhile sources claim the famed Hong Kong film director is suffering from throat cancer.

According to several Chinese publications, John Woo is suffering from throat cancer and has been receiving treatment in the United States ever since doctors discovered the disease.

Sources said the 66-year-old director fell ill while preparing to shoot "Love and Let Love" in January.

"He is currently receiving treatment in the U.S. and at best may return home and continue working by the end of the year," one source said.

"Things are looking much better now," he added.

There were different stories going around regarding John's illness; some said he had problems with the pancreas, others claimed it was lymph cancer. Close friends and co-workers however have refused to comment.

The "Mission: Impossible II" director was admitted to hospital for 4 months and had to postpone the filming of his new movie "Love and Let Love."

The lead actors, including Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, Korean Song Hye Kyo, and Taiwan's Chang Chen in the mean time all started working on other projects.

"Love and Let Love," dubbed the Chinese "Titanic," is based on the true story of the Taiping steamer that sunk after colliding with a freighter carrying coal and timber en route to Taiwan in 1949, claiming about 1,000 lives.

According to Hollywood Reporter, John Woo will also direct "Day of the Beast," a remake of Seijun Suzuki's widely celebrated 1963 film about the Japanese mafia.

Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Productions will produce the movie in cooperation with Nikkatsu Corporation, home of Suzuki's "Youth of the Beast."

The English production was announced as Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest major movie studio, celebrates its 100th Anniversary this year.

"This remake is my salute to the great films and filmmakers produced by Nikkatsu's 100 years in cinema. It is exciting for me as well as a true honor," Woo said in a statement to announce the project.

Set in Tokyo, “Day of the Beast” follows a Western outsider with a grim past as he becomes embroiled in a global turf war between the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) and several old-school Cold War Russian mobsters.

Actress and model Lin Chi-ling, who starred in Woo's epic "Red Cliff," stated yesterday that she had been aware of Woo's illness for some time. "He is my senior, one I respected, like a parent. I pray for him every day," she said.

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