Hollywood sets its sights on Wong Kar Wai and Gong Li

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   May 26, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

So the Hollywood juggernaut continues its tradition of taking well known Chinese actors and directors and paring them with mediocre scripts and American stars of the week Look at what happened with Jet Li (paired with DMX and Aaliyah), Chow Yun-Fat (paired with Mira Sorvino and Sean William Scott), and Jackie Chan (Owen Wilson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Chris Tucker). Both Li and Chan have since given up on American cinema and returned to making Chinese films after their mediocre Hollywood entries helped wane a sizeable chunk of their fanbase. Fat has all but disappeared. Director John Woo has fared slightly better but he still has the unfortunate American marks on his record for Hard Target (Jean Claude Van Damme) , Broken Arrow (Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis), and M:I:2 (Tom Cruise). His remake of Le Cercle Rouge drops later this year, only to be followed up by an unneccessary He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film.

Next up on the chopping block: Gong Li and Wong Kar-wai. Ms. Li previously starred in the tepid Memoirs of a Geisha, and her next appearance will be starring as the greasy mullet-ed Colin Farrell’s Cuban-Chinese love interest in Miami Vice. Later she will be playing Lady Murasaki in the Hannibal Lector prequel, Young Hannibal: Behind the Mask (Hollywood, please stop making these shitty Hannibal films already), followed by the Tim Burton’s Ripley’s bio, Believe it or Not. If Big Fish and Planet of the Apes were any indication, we’re in for another Burton-lite entry that the critics will fawn over. Finally she’ll star in the British secret agent picture, The Yellow M, which hopefully will attain at least a Richard Grieco If Looks Could Kill level of quality. She is making one more film with Zhang Yimou, so maybe her career won’t be completely devastated.

Wong Kar-Wai will be directing a Hollywood remake, The Lady from Shanghai, with Nicole “Roboto” Kidman, and Rachel Weisz, and My Blueberry Nights, starring Closer buddies Jude Law, and Natalie Portman, and Weisz, again. I can’t say I’m particularly excited about either of these projects. There’s something about the Hollywood machine that manages to drain every last drop of unique energy from a once respected auteur. Maybye the massive cash offerings and promise of exposure to middle American audiences are that tempting a draw. Well, at least you won’t see Kris’s fave, Peter Greenaway bowing to the almighty buck.

Let’s just hope these diversions prove short for Ms. Li and Mr. Wai.

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