Martial Arts Movie Junkie

Catching Up: Mainstream Version

I’ve been coming across a lot of new info lately, and I feel like if I don’t address it in one big article, some might slip through the cracks. Hope you guys don’t mind the overload of info!

First up is Jaycee Chan’s next film, titled Double Trouble. The film is directed by Wen Jiang, most recently known for Let the Bullets Fly. Here is the synopsis for the plot:

Two security guards — one from Beijing, one from Taipei — are forced to work together to track down a legendary Chinese painting that has been stolen by international art thieves. Jaycee Chan, Xia Yu, Deng Jiajia, Jessica C and Shoko star in this ballsy action comedy from the action director of “Let The Bullets Fly”!

I’m not too sold on the film, and I feel like Jaycee is trying too hard to fit the mold his dad created. This movie is getting a limited US release, though, so I might be able to check it out when it comes out on June 8th. Check out the trailer below:

Double Trouble Trailer

Next up is news that Prachya Pinkaew will be working on a prequel to the Tekken film that was released in 2010. It will be titled, Tekken: Rise of the Tournament and that’s about all we know right now. No actors have signed onto the project, but Crystal Sky Pictures has said they are looking for finding thespians that look like the characters instead of big name actors.

Wait, was the original film supposed to have big name actors? Nothing against the cast, but I thought they were trying to be authentic the first time around. Tekken: Rise of the tournament will be aiming for a theatrical release, but VOD and DVD are much more likely for this prequel.

Anybody remember that Snow White film that was called the Order of Seven? If not, I wouldn’t be surprised. I only wrote about it once. Well, don’t worry anymore, because it has been cancelled by Disney. The film was supposed to star Soairse Ronan and was going to have a Asian feel to it. While there are reports saying that money was an issue, the fact that two other Snow White films are coming out doesn’t help much either. This one is probably for the better, to be honest.

It appears that the Iceman Cometh 3D remake has not been cancelled after all. Stephen Shiu Jr took a moment to answer some questions, and revealed that Yuen Biao will have a role in the film.

Yes, he promised to act in the movie. This is the most exciting part, I think, because two generations of Icemen Cometh will fight in the same movie.

This is pretty awesome news, and it makes me want to get ahold of the original again. While I’m not too sure how the 3D will factor in, it would be cool to see Yen and Biao exchange blows. I’ll be following this closely to see if any more footage or images are released.

You can read the full interview on Asian Movie Pulse’s site here.

Finally, to finish off this mad list of news, is another interview by Gareth Evans about the Raid. Before you roll your eyes, let me point out that every one of his interviews have been different and equally as interesting.

Here was my favorite quote:

So what’s the one great movie fight scene you wish had been yours?

Oh, there’s tons of them! Jackie Chan versus the monks in Armour Of God is one of my all time favourites. I love that scene so much! Project A, Part II, the whole fight inside a restaurant with Chan Wai-Man, and he ends up kicking him over the balcony and the stunt guy goes right through the china vase.

I got loads, man! The entire mall sequence from Police Story! Wheels On Meals, Jackie versus Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez – that’s incredible! The whole fight thing in Wheels is just legendary!

There are a lot of good questions in the interview, and it really shows you how much Gareth cares about the genre he’s helping shape. You can read the full interview over at Eastern Kicks. Give it a read!

Phew! Okay, that’s everything in the mainstream world right now. I feel a lot better catching up and I hope you guys got some nice reading material.