“Fireworks” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director/actor/comedian Gekidan Hitori (A Bolt from the Blue) is set to direct and write Asakusa Kid, an upcoming biopic that follows the early years of the legendary, multi-talented Japanese celebrity Takeshi Kitano (Outrage Coda, Battle Royale, Hana-Bi).

Asakusa Kid will star Yagira Yuya (Gintama) as Kitano. Also starring is Oizumi Yo (I Am a Hero), who will play Fukami Senzaburo, a comedian who is also known as Kitano’s mentor. The film will be based on the memoir of the same name written by Kitano.

Since his early days of stand-up, Kitano has evolved and diversified. In the 1980s he became one of Japan’s most popular comedians, first as part of a duo called “Two Beats” (thus his “Beat Takeshi” stage name) and then as a solo act with routines that ranged from slapstick to insult humor. His acting career took off, including an appearance in Oshima Nagisa’s Continue reading →

“Ball Lightning” Novel Cover

Another live-action adaptation of Liu Cixin’s (writer of The Wandering Earth) sci-fi novel, titled Ball Lightning, is currently in-the-works from actor/writer/director Chen Sicheng, who is perhaps best known for the Detective Chinatown franchise.

The novel follows the experiences of a first-person protagonist, Chen, whose family was killed by a ball lightning while he was in high school. Both traumatized and inspired by that experience, he makes the investigation of ball lightning his life’s work, first getting his PhD in the subject, then exploring the phenomena through both applied and theoretical research. During the research, a military technology researcher Lin Yuan who wants to turn his science into a weapon and brings him in to a weapons development research team (via Wikipedia).

Martial arts star Wu Jing Continue reading →

“The Tipping Point” Teaser Poster

Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker David Lam (Street Angels) is finally putting a cork on his ever-growing crime franchise (2014’s Z-Storm, 2016’s S-Storm, 2018’s L-Storm, 2019’s P-Storm and this year’s G-Storm – all of which were produced consecutively) with The Tipping Point.

As you probably would have guessed, its plot bracket is within the crime/thriller territory. The upcoming film will star Qin Hailu (Tale of Three Cities), Julian Cheung (Extreme Crisis), Eric Tsang (Golden Job), Ray Lui (To Be Number One), Ng Man Tat (Shaolin Soccer), Xiao Yang (Detective Chinatown) and Shao Bing (The Sword And the Chess of Death).

Thanks to AFS, we have a look at the film’s first Poster, as well as a few Continue reading →

“Fox Hunt” Theatrical Poster

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Bullet in the Head, Europe Raiders) and French actress/model Olga Kurylenko (former Bond girl from Quantum of Solace) are teaming up for Fox Hunt (aka The Hunting), an upcoming spy-thriller from director Leo Zhang, who is perhaps best-known for helming the 2017 Jackie Chan flick, Bleeding Steel.

Fox Hunt takes place in Paris and follows a pair of cops going up against an international money trafficking cartel (via Variety).

The film also stars Duan Yihong (Extraordinary Mission), José Garcia (The Take), Erica Xia-Hou (Bleeding Steel) and Olivier Rabourdin (Taken).

Fox Hunt is due for release January 2021. For now, don’t miss the film’s latest Continue reading →

“Special Agent” Theatrical Poster

Stuntman-turned-director Shin Jae-myung (who worked on the action for Gangnam 1970) is getting ready to unleash his first film, Special Agent. The trailer for this upcoming actioner has just been released and begs the question: Has South Korea found its take on Tak Sakaguchi’s Re:Born?

Special Agent tells the story of Won-cheol (Lee Jae-yoon), an agent of the National Intelligence Service of the Republic of Korea, who is in charge of removing VIPs who participated in the operation of developing weapons of mass destruction in North Korea.

The film also stars Gong Jung-hwan (The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos), Kim Kang-il (Unalterable) and Jung Chang-hyun (The Mayor).

Special Agent is releasing domestically later this month. Don’t miss its Trailer Continue reading →

“Wolf Warrior” Chinese Theatrical Poster

An English-language remake of Ken Ochiai’s Vietnamese-made, 2016 action-comedy film, Saigon Bodyguards, is brewing at Universal Pictures with Hollywood A-lister Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World) and martial arts star Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 2, SPL II: A Time for Consequences) leading the cast.

Saigon Bodyguards focuses on two pals, one a straight arrow and the other a doof, who try to find a corporate heir who got kidnapped right under their noses. The plot thickens from there (via Deadline).

Our same source adds that Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck (HBO’s Veep) are writing the script. In addition to starring, Pratt will produce, via his Indivisible Productions alongside Mike Larocca, via AGBO; as well as Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: Civil War), both of whom consulted on Wu Jing’s Wolf Warrior 2.

We’ll keep you updated on the Continue reading →