Australian-born, Hong Kong-based filmmaker Antony Szeto (Wushu), who worked with Juju Chan (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny) on both Palace of the Damned and Fist of the Dragon, may be teaming up with the female action star for a third time in Pepper, a thriller written by Janice Eymann (The Farmer). Chan is currently in negotiations for the title role of “Pepper” in this Chinese-Australian co-production, which producers are hoping to shoot … Continue reading →

Filipino martial arts instructor Dan Inosanto, who is perhaps best known for being the protege of Bruce Lee, will be the subject of an upcoming biopic that’s currently in development. The untitled film will be based on a story by Jeremy Gough. Mark Gordon (Murder on the Orient Express) and Matt Jackson (End of Watch) will produce along with Diana Lee Inosanto (The Sensei), Inosanto’s daughter and Lee’s goddaughter. Although the movie will most likely document Inosanto’s … Continue reading →

Writer/director Lee Jung-Sub, the filmmaker perhaps best known for co-writing Romantic Island and Perfect Couple, is opening his directorial debut with a bang in Real (read our review), an upcoming neo noirish actioner starring Kim Soo-hyun (The Thieves). Real is the story about a colorful city controlled by the underworld, where a troubleshooter, Jang Tae-yeong (Kim), who is good at dealing with “dark business,” solves all requests, but things change for him after he meets a former detective reporter (via … Continue reading →

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival) is currently putting finishing touches on Blade Runner 2049 (aka Blade Runner 2), which has a theatrical release date set for October 6, 2017. This sequel to Ridley Scott’s ground-breaking 1982 science fiction classic, which will take place some years after the first film concluded, has Harrison Ford returning as Rick Deckard. Blade Runner 2049 also stars Ryan Gosling (Drive), Dave Bautista (Kickboxer: Vengeance), Robin Wright (State of … Continue reading →

Kara Hui (Wu Xia, Mrs K), the martial arts icon famous for appearing in Shaw Brothers films like My Young Auntie and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, is back in action with Stained, an upcoming Fox mini-series directed by Patrick Kong (72 Tenants of Prosperity). The upcoming series also stars Hong Kong heavy Anthony Wong (Ebola Syndrome, The Sleep Curse) and Tse Kwan Ho (Full Strike). According to Variety, Stained is filmed entirely in Hong Kong. … Continue reading →

Park Hoon-jung – the director of New World, Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale and writer of I Saw the Devil – returns to the dark world of sadistic killers in V.I.P, an upcoming South Korean noir/thriller about the son of a high-ranking North Korean official who is suspected of committing serial murders around the world. V.I.P. stars Jang Dong-Gun (No Tears for the Dead), Kim Myung-Min (Man of Vendetta), Park Hee-Soon (The Age of Shadows), Lee Jong-Suk (Hot Young Bloods) and a … Continue reading →

There’s another Expendables-ish Asian action film in the works – not to be confused with Jesse V. Johnson’s upoming actioner Triple Threat (aka The Makeshift Squad) – titled Asia Pacific Elimination Service (or A.P.E.S.). Earlier this year at Filmart (via THR), the $12 million project had Tony Jaa (Tom Yum Goong 2), Tiger Chen (Monk Comes Down the Mountain) and David Wu attached, but upon further research, Max Zhang (SPL 2 aka Kill Zone 2) … Continue reading →

After his smash hit Veteran, Ryoo Seung-wan is now preparing to release Battleship Island (read our review), a big budget action thriller. The upcoming film, set on Hashima Island in Japan, will revolve around the story of Korean laborers force to work by the Japanese military during World War II, who plan to escape to the island. Veteran star Hwang Jeong-min leads a cast that includes So Ji-Sub (Company Man), Song Joong-Ki (Five Senses of … Continue reading →

Acclaimed director Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive, Ley Lines), one of the hardest-working filmmakers from Japan – and the legendary Sammo Hung (The Bodyguard), one of the hardest-working figures in Hong Kong cinema – are joining forces for an action comedy in 2018. According to AFS, the upcoming Chinese-made presentation will be directed by Miike and action will be choreographed by Hung, with Shun Oguri (Lupin the Third) and Takuya Kimura (2046) starring alongside a to-be-announced Chinese cast. At this time, there’s no … Continue reading →