Trailer for Zhang Yimou's 'Coming Home' Starring Gong Li

House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou may not be a household name here in America yet despite his films earning the occasional Academy Award nomination, but that may be about to change. He's signed up to direct a pair of Hollywood films in action flick The Great Wall and an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic. His latest film, Coming Home, is set to premier at Cannes this month and now a trailer has arrived to draw some attention to the acclaimed director's work.

Starring Gong Li (Curse of the Golden Flower) and Chen Daoming (Hero), the decades-spanning story begins in the 1920s and follows a Chinese man who flees to America after being forced into marriage. Returning home years later, he is thrown into a labor camp and must deal with the consequences of his actions.

Even without subtitles the emotions are thick and Yimou hasn't lost his touch for gorgeous cinematography. Coming Home is expected to open in U.S. theaters later this year.

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Joe Cornish to Direct 'Section 6'; Zhang Yimou Scales 'The Great Wall', and More

* Attack the Block director Joe Cornish has flirted with a number of follow-up projects, including Star Trek 3 and Masters of the Universe, but he's finally made a decision on what he'll tackle next. Cornish will direct Section 6, eyed as a potential franchise with rising star Jack O'Connell in the lead role. The story, penned by Aaron Berg, chronicles the formation of Britain's secret intelligence agency, known as MI6. [TheWrap]

* The Great Wall is being rebuilt, only now it's with House of Flying Daggers director, Zhang Yimou. Yimou is taking over for Ed Zwick on the big budget action film, which had Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Zhang Ziyi, and Henry Cavill starring before production ground to a halt. Max Brooks (World War Z) and Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull developed the story which explores the mystery of the Great Wall of China's construction. British soldiers happen upon the wall and learn of a supernatural threat that must be defended against. Yimou has been making headway here in America, recently signing on to direct an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic.

* Ready for more overwrought Nicholas Sparks adaptations, guys? George Tillman Jr. (Faster) has made the regrettable decision to bring Sparks' novel, The Longest Ride, to the big screen. Craig Bolotin will pen the script which tells two stories that will probably cross paths in a really ridiculous manner. The first story "focuses on an elderly man who lies trapped in a car accident, and, while fighting to remain conscious, sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together. The second centers on a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret." [THR]

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'House of Flying Daggers' Director Zhang Yimou to Helm Spy Thriller 'The Parsifal Mosaic'

When Universal picked up the rights to the library of novels by The Bourne Identity author, Robert Ludlum, there was some minor talk of using some of them to help build the next Bourne movie. That didn't end up happening, and The Bourne Legacy proceeded ahead to continue the franchise. But Universal is still moving forward with a Ludlum adaptation, and they've got House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou to direct it.

According to THR, Yimou will make his English language debut and first major studio effort by directing The Parsifal Mosaic. Yimou previously helmed The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale, martial arts flick Hero with Jet Li, and also directed A Simple Noodle Story which was a Chinese remake of the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple. Basically he has touched on a number of different genres and it will be interesting to see how he handles the world of international espionage.

Produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer with David Self providing the screenplay, The Parsifal Mosaic centers on Michael Havelock, a U.S. intelligence officer who witnesses the murder of his KGB double-agent girlfriend by his own agency. Years after quitting the spy game he discovers his girlfriend alive in Rome, and sets off to find her and the truth, drawing the attention of U.S. and Russian assassins.

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Zhang Yimou adds Christian Bale to the cast of 'Nanjing Heroes'

Zhang Yimou has excelled at making violence look like an art form with gorgeous movies like House of Flying Daggers and his most recent film, A Woman, A Gun, and a Noodle Shop. The Chinese director is looking to do the same again with his next film, Nanjing Heroes, about the 1937 Nanking Massacre in which thousands of Chinese men and women were raped and murdered by the Japanese Imperial Army. Tough subject matter, and likely a hard sell here in the States, so Yimou has secured a little help by bringing Christian Bale on board to star.

Bale will play an American priest, and is the first known casting for the massively budgeted(estimated at $90M which is a ton by Chinese standards) project. Adding Bale all but assures that it will get at least some distribution over here.

THR has more info on this story, which you can read about here.

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The New Wave: 9/17/10

Some people might want to write off Ben Affleck as a one-trick pony after two similarly toned Boston crime flicks in a row. If that's true, it's a trick I want to see performed again and again. Affleck proves that Gone Baby Gone was no fluke with his follow-up, The Town, a gritty urban drama about one bank robber's last ditch chance to escape the cycle of violence that has become his life. An amazing supporting cast, in particular Jeremy Renner as Affleck's tenacious best friend, add yet another layer of authenticity. You can check out my review of The Town here.

Maybe this will be the film that catapults Emma Stone to the stardom she deserves? After scene stealing roles in marginal comedies(The House Bunny, The Rocker) and making a splash in last year's Zombieland, she finally gets a chance to strike out on her own in a comedy reminiscent of some of the John Hughes greats. Whether or not her performance will rank her up there with Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy I'll leave for history to decide, but I certainly have my own opinion, which you can read here.

Before you choke on the idea of seeing another M. Night Shyamalan flick after The Last Airbender, recognize that he's only credited as a producer. Sure, it's his original idea, but the script is being handled by Brian Nelson. Not coincidentally, the studio has seen fit to remove Shymalan's name from most of the TV spots, perhaps recognizing that their best shot at success is to let Devil stand on it's own terms. Not screening it for the press doesn't instill me with much confidence, but the Twilight Zone/Hitchcock style premise has my curiosity piqued. Five people, trapped on an elevator. One of them is the devil. Nobody knows who. Simple and claustrophobic. I love it.

An animated family film about two wolves(voiced by Hayden Panettiere and Justin Long), taken from their homes in Canada and sent to a national park in Idaho. The two, both from contentious packs on opposite ends of the social system(she's an Alpha, him an Omega), must work together in order to find their way back home. I'm betting they fall in love along the way. Seriously? This is coming from Lionsgate? I don't think Dreamworks or Pixar have anything to fear.

It certainly looks awful. Like a low budget American Pie, or worse yet, Sex Drive with even less known actors. Yet it's hard to ignore it when Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are on board as producers. Would they put their name on something that wasn't at least marginally inventive and funny? Yes they would, but their names are enough to probably pull me into the theater to see what the fuss is all about. Should've seen this last week but I passed it up for the first game of the NFL season. Can you really blame me?

Some(like me) consider even the idea of remaking The Coen Brother's violent debut, Blood Simple, a treasonous act. Not even I can get mad when the man behind this madness is Zhang Yimou, director of the gorgeous House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Curse of the Golden Flower. His lush, vibrant style immediately clashes with the Coen's dark, foreboding approach. Sometimes it works, but far too often it resorts to cheap slapstick at the worst possible times. You can read my review here.

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Trailer Time: A Woman, A Gun, and a Noodle Shop

The strangest remake I had ever heard was Zhang Yimou's remaking of the Coen Brothers' 1985 debut, Blood Simple. Yimou, director of Jet Li's Hero as well as the gorgeous House of Flying Daggers, didn't seem like the right director for what I think is the Coen's grittiest film to date. So my expectations were limited at best.

Now we're getting the first trailer for the US release of A Woman, A Gun, and a Noodle Shop and it looks phenomenal. The trailer is walking a pretty tight balance of dread and comedy, something I suspect the movie does as well. One thing it makes pretty clear is that this going to be a pretty faithful take on the twisted story, but obviously with heavy Asian sensibilities. I can hardly wait.

The film will get a limited run here starting on September 3rd, and if it doesn's play here in DC I'm filing a formal protest. Not sure to who but somebody's head will roll.  Check out the trailer, followed by the plot synopsis.

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