'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2' unveils mystery
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 16, 2015
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Cast and crew, studio executives and representatives pose for a photo at a press conference to unveil "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Legend" in Beijing on Sept. 14, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] |
The much anticipated sequel of the Academy Award winning Chinese film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has set eyes on release during the profitable Spring Festival film season in 2016, studios announced on Monday.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Legend," directed by famous Chinese martial arts choreographer and film director Yuen Woo-ping, will star Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh. China Film Group Corp, Pegasus Media, Netflix and the Weinstein Co. have co-produced the film. The principal photography was done in China and New Zealand.
The story will continue from the original one and is adapted from the fifth and final book of the Crane-Iron Series, "Iron Knight, Silver Vase" written by Wang Dulu.
Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" set the bar high in 2000, grossing US$213.5 million and winning four Oscars, including Best Foreign Language Film.
When the sequel began preparation, the studios took it to Ang Lee, but he turned it down. Then they invited Ronny Yu (director of "Fearless," and "Freddy vs. Jason") to helm the project. Yu also declined, fearing he wouldn’t be able to top Ang Lee's original.
Not only the director, but the actors have also declined participation. The old cast of Chow Yun-fat, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen will not reprise their roles, either.
Yuen, the martial arts choreographer for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," eventually settled as the sequel’s director saying, "I’m facing the challenge while understanding the difficulties. Although I know we made a classic before, I'm still willing to try. " According to Sun Jianjun, president of Pegasus Media and one of the film’s producers, the script for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" has been rewritten and polished 10 times in 6 to 7 years.
Yuen also said he was at first unsatisfied with the initial script presented by American script writer John Fusco, which led to the delay of filming, saying "Americans don't really understand Chinese inner feelings and emotion. I knew he did a lot of research, but it still wasn’t enough, and the story is flat. I had to get a Chinese script writer to help, to explore more depth in the inner core of Chinese emotions."
The film also hired special effects, makeup and costume professionals from the "The Lord of the Rings" series to work on the production. Sun Jianjun promised that it would "retain the Oriental flavor of the first installment while presenting more stunning visual effects with the help of foreign expertise."
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II" will be released in China on Feb. 8, 2016, during the traditional Chinese Spring Festival. The film will later debut in the United States both on IMAX screens and on Netflix simultaneously. Netflix's representative Sarah Bowen feels the film has the potential to be a breakthrough for the Hollywood distribution tradition.
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