All-conquering Twins poised to tackle the comic effect
Fresh from slaying vampires in The Twins Effect, Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin and Gillian Chung Yan-tung are about to don masks and black spandex tights to star in an action comedy with the working title Black Roses for Universe Entertainment.
Donnie Yen Ji-dan, who co-directed The Twins Effect and succeeded in transforming the fresh-faced pop duo into convincing action heroines, is lined up to helm the film along with up-and-coming female director Barbara Wong Chun-chun. Wong first made her mark with the award-winning documentary Women's Private Parts - a part-humorous, part-serious look at Chinese women's sex lives - and followed it with the surprise-hit comedy Truth Or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat earlier this year.
'Donnie won't just be directing the action sequences - he'll be involved in the entire film - but we thought we also needed a female sensibility,' says the film's producer Carl Chang, explaining the unusual pairing.
Chang was one of the producers on The Twins Effect while still CEO of Albert Yeung's Emperor Multimedia Group. He left EMG this summer to set up his own production company, Virus Productions. Black Roses is his first project as an independent producer.
Described by Chang as a combination of Austin Powers and Batman, the film is loosely based on a series of Hong Kong films from the late 1960s, about a costumed female crime-fighter, the 'Black Rose'. The first of these, directed by Chor Yuen in 1965, features a pair of orphaned sisters who become modern-day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to help the poor and leaving a black rose as their calling card. Jeffrey Lau Chun-wai directed an award-winning send-up of the genre in 1992 - 92 Legendary La Rose Noire - which starred Fung Bo-bo and Wong Wan-si as the eccentric superheroines.
In this latest version which starts shooting next week, a former Black Rose played by Teresa Mo Shun-kwun - who also starred in Lau's film - sets up a training camp for the future generation of crime fighters. Ekin Cheng Yee-kin, who played the chief vampire slayer in The Twins Effect, will also star as the girls' sidekick. As the film is being set up as a Hong Kong-China co-production, the cast also has to feature a mainland actor and Chang spent this week in Beijing and Shanghai searching for an appropriate baddie.
Although the masks and spandex might ring a few bells, Black Roses should not be confused with Michelle Yeoh Choo-kheng's upcoming film Silver Hawk, based on the 'Masked Crusader' character who started life in comic books in 50s Shanghai and also featured in black-and-white films in Hong Kong. As Hollywood is constantly plundering comic books and its own cinematic heritage to produce films like Spider-Man and Catwoman, it's only natural that Hong Kong has started to do the same.
Elsewhere this week, details have emerged of Andy Lau Tak-wah's new company, Focus Group Holdings, which will act like a mini studio, financing films that involve interesting up-and-coming talent. The new outfit is part of a major restructuring of Lau's business interests and includes a production and distribution arm, Focus Films, and an artist management arm, Topman Global. Lau's existing production company, Teamwork Motion Pictures, will continue to produce films that star Lau.
Teamwork, which produced films such as Fruit Chan Kuo's Made In Hong Kong and Daniel Lee Yan-kong's A Fighters' Blues, was bogged down by litigation last year, when Lau's partner in the company - CCT Telecom Holdings - sued the star for alleged breach of contract. The two sides eventually settled out of court and Lau bought out CCT's interests in the company. With the launch of Focus, the Hong Kong star can look forward to a fresh start.
Focus has already produced two films - youth drama Summer At 17 and an untitled film directed by Vincent Chui and starring Tony Leung Ka-fai - and plans to make another six over the next year. In a statement, the company says it will 'constantly seek opportunities to finance or co-finance films from promising directors with brilliant ideas'. With the launch of this new company and Jackie Chan's JCE Movies, which also aims to support the next generation of talent, the future is looking distinctly brighter for young directors in Hong Kong.
In addition to becoming a movie mogul, Lau fits in one of the busiest acting schedules in Greater China. The tireless star recently finished work on two films for Media Asia - Infernal Affairs III and romantic comedy Magic Kitchen - before flying up to the Ukraine to work on Zhang Yimou's new martial arts epic, which has been given the English name House Of Flying Daggers. He may also be starring in Johnnie To Kei-fung's upcoming Judo Dragon Tiger Chart, which has been pushed back from its planned Lunar New Year release slot.
