Donnie Yen Invited to Film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” Sequel
Ever since The Weinstein Company bought over the movie rights to the Crane-Iron Series <鶴鐵系列> novel, it has been actively preparing the filming of the sequel of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon <臥虎藏龍>. In recent news, it was reported that Harvey Weinstein has also approached Donnie Yen (甄子丹) to take on the lead role of Yu Shu Lien’s (played by Michelle Yeoh 楊紫瓊) fiancé who was assumed to be dead in the first installment.
It is highly possible that the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be based on the fifth book of the Crane-Iron pentalogy, Iron Knight, Silver Vase <鐵騎銀瓶> which follows the love story of Yu Shu Lien, previously portrayed by Michelle Yeoh. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Yu Shu Lien could not wholly accept Li Mu Bai’s (played by Chow Yun Fat 周潤發) love because of her loyalty for her deceased fiancé. In the sequel, it is revealed that not only did Yu Shu Lien’s fiancé not die, he will return as a war hero.
Also, the son that Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) bore in the first installment will be switched to a daughter, which is rumored to be played by Fan Bingbing (范冰冰). However, Fan Bingbing’s representative indicated that they were unaware of such news.
David Thwaites of Black Swan fame will take over as director from Ang Lee (李安). Though the latter has declined to direct the sequel, it has been reported that the Weinstein Company is trying to persuade him to come back as the film producer. In order to cater to viewers from all over the world, the film will be produced in two languages – English and Mandarin.
With such a stellar cast, the sequel may just follow the footsteps of its predecessor at the Academy Awards, which is probably the aim of the Weinstein Company. It has been revealed that production is rushed because the company hopes to be able to submit the show in time for the next Academy Awards.
Pressure to Take on Role
With the reported fee of $50 million HKD, Donnie may just give the nod. Donnie said, “Harvey did get in touch with me about 2 months ago. And David also personally came to look for me in Hong Kong but I was busy with filming and we did not have the chance to discuss yet.”
Asked what is the chance of him agreeing to film the sequel of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Donnie said, “Of course, I will thoroughly consider the offer. There are two things that make me hesitate. The first is that my schedule is already very tight this year. The second is that the first film is such a classic and even won the Oscars; I am afraid of the pressure that the predecessor cannot be surpassed.”
Though it was reported earlier that Michelle Yeoh has confirmed to reprise her role as Yu Shu Lien, she denied it. She said through her assistant, “Nothing is confirmed yet. I haven’t even seen a script yet. If it works out, then I will help out.”
Source: Oriental Daily
This article is written by Karen for JayneStars.com.
Pointless! Why make it now and not 10 years ago? The only way I can get interested in this is to have Donnie also being responsible for the action choreography. Hope he declines the offer.
Waste of time…..trying to scrape whatever benefits they can get because it’s a ‘sequel’. To be honest, many martial arts (movies) enthusiasts like myself didn’t think very much of Crouching T…..Part of the reason why it won favours with the west was because it’s been a long dry spell for any kungfu movie. Ang Lee grasped this chance and it paid off. On a comparative note, if Jet Li, Nicholas Tse or even any fit kungfu masters (like Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Sammo or Jackie) would do an honest totally kungfu movie like days of old, Crouching T will be nothing** (but on a fair note, Zhang did extremely well for a first timer and of course Cheng PP hasn’t lost her touch. It’s the real combination of these two that kept the action going).
Much as I love Fatt Gor, he was never a kungfu man (so to speak). Ang Lee chose him only because of international appeal and we know what cgi can do with the rest.
Zhang ZY never had a child. She was extremely remorseful and couldn’t live with her conscious because she indirectly caused the death of MuBai and she committed suicide by jumping off the bridge !! If she survived and had a child after that….????
Jasmine7,
My western colleagues loved “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. This film was able to capture the romance of the wuxia world while incorporating intrigue, adventure, and love. The romantic aspect was done well, where most Chinese wuxia films will place action above everything else.
However, Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” succeeded internationally (actually won more acclaim in USA than in Asian countries initially) because Ang was able to interpret the film from a western perspective, the importance of individualism and quest for love. He humanized the characters despite their larger-than-life skills, and captured the scenes with impeccable detail. Aside from Zhang Yimou’s martial arts films, there were few directors who made a martial arts film with such fine artistic quality at the time. The cinematography is stunning.
The fights are only the adornment here, which is why Chinese audiences, who are used to more intense martial arts scenes scoff at this.
If looking for action, there are more intense films out there. But “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is quite beautiful in other aspects. I only watched the film once, but some of the imagery from the film has remained in my mind for years.
As for why Ang Lee succeeded to make more money from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” than other directors, it’s his ability to cross cultural boundaries no matter the source of the original literary work or the time period. He’s adapted literary works from international writers and succeeds to bring out the universal struggles/ quests in his films for mainstream audiences.
But the question now is can a “gwailo” direct a wuxia movie?
i absolutely agree with you. A wonderful film with an equally wonderful sound track
She didn’t commit suicide — she jumped into the clouds to have her wish granted.
Fan Bing Bing does not ever look tragic enough to be have a tortured history/lineage.