HONG KONG: Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein said Wednesday they have launched a US$285 million (€207 million) movie fund that will invest in Asian-themed projects.
One of the projects will be an action film about the Chinese folk heroine Hua Mulan, and another a remake of the 1954 Akira Kurosawa classic "The Seven Samurai," New York-based The Weinstein Co. said in a statement.
Chinese media reported earlier that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star Zhang Ziyi has signed on for the two projects.
The movie company founded by the Weinstein brothers also said it has invested in "The Forbidden Kingdom," the first movie featuring both Jackie Chan and Jet Li, which is currently filming in China.
The Weinstein Co. said it hopes to take advantage of lower costs by shooting in Asia while adding a "Western sensibility" to produce movies that appeal to both Asian and Western markets.
It said the Asian film fund aims to either produce or buy the rights to 21 movie productions and 10 straight-to-video productions that will be released through its Dragon Dynasty label, which director Quentin Tarantino will help manage. Tarantino is known for his interest in Hong Kong films.
Other Asian projects include an untitled movie starring Thai action star Tony Jaa; "Shanghai," an action movie about an American who investigates his friend's death in World War II-era Japanese-occupied Shanghai; and three other action films made by "24" producer Tony Krantz and Hong Kong director Andrew Lau.
Lau directed "Infernal Affairs," which Martin Scorsese remade as the Oscar-winning movie "The Departed."
The Weinstein Co. did not announce casting choices for its planned projects, but Chinese news Web site Sina.com reported earlier that Zhang has signed on for "Mulan" and the remake of "The Seven Samurai."
In "Mulan" — about a well-known Chinese folk heroine who became the subject of Disney's animation of the same name — Zhang will play a young girl who goes to battle in place of her ailing father. In "The Seven Samurai," she will play a village girl who dresses as a man to protect herself from bandits, according to Sina.com.
The Weinstein Co. said it will co-release "The Forbidden Kingdom" with Lionsgate in the U.S., Britain, Spain, France and Latin America.
The Weinstein Co., which has also set up a similar Latin American film fund, didn't say if the US$285 million (€207 million) has been completely raised.
The Weinstein brothers founded Miramax, which became part of the independent film movement in the 1990s and produced several high-grossing movies including "Chicago."
The Walt Disney Co. bought Miramax in the early 1990s, but the Weinstein brothers continued to run the studio until 2005, when they left to form The Weinstein Co.
Source : http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/08/arts/AS-A-E-MOV-Weinstein-Bros-Asian-Film-Fund.php
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