Wu Ershan responded to the release time of "Fengshen 2"; Tony Leung will serve as the chairman of the jury of the Tokyo International Film Festival

News of the week

1. Wu Ershan responded to the release time of "Fengshen 2".

In response to the news of the release schedule of "Fengshen Part II" today, director Wu Ershan posted on Weibo: "Due to the upgrade of the post-production workload and visual effect difficulty, "Fengshen Part II" will not be able to meet you in time for this summer, I am very sorry! ”

The full text is as follows:

"Hello audience friends! Due to the upgrade of the workload and visual effects difficulty in the later stage, "Fengshen Part II" will not be able to meet you in time for this summer, I am very sorry! Our post-production team has been going all out to produce "Fengshen Part II", hoping to repay the love and expectation of the audience and friends with better works! We will inform you of the follow-up progress through the official platform. Thanks again, let's do our best! ”

2. Tony Leung will serve as the chairman of the jury of the Tokyo International Film Festival

At noon on May 17, the Organizing Committee of the Tokyo International Film Festival announced that Tony Leung, a famous actor from Hong Kong, China, will serve as the chairman of the jury of the main competition unit of the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival this year. Chairman Yuyasu Ando said that after last year's master class and special film screening, he was very pleased to see Tony Leung come back to the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Tony Leung expressed his love for classic Japanese films in a statement. "Being part of the festival in this way means a lot to me. In Hong Kong, where I grew up, from the age of 12, I was keen to go to the cinema and watch all the classic Japanese movies. "I hope it's going to be an adventure with a lot of high-quality films screened." ”

3. iQIYI was accused of playing "Old Boy" without authorization

Recently, it was reported that Celsius Entertainment, a London-based distributor, accused the Chinese streaming platform iQiyi of playing the Park Chan-wook movie "Old Boy" without permission for six years.

According to the report, lawyers for Celsius Entertainment and "Oldboy" producer Egg Films sent a legal letter to iQIYI in August 2023, accusing iQIYI of still showing the film for years after the 2016 film license expired, demanding "six-figure" damages. According to its sources, iQIYI removed the film within three days of receiving a legal warning, but has yet to pay any compensation.

4. The final box office of the two Spring Festival films was released

On May 10, the last day of the release of the two Spring Festival films. According to Lighthouse Professional Edition, the final box office of the film "Flying Life 2" was 3.398 billion yuan, breaking 3 film history records and ranking 15th in the current box office list of Chinese film history. The final box office of the film "Article 20" was 2.454 billion yuan, breaking 9 film history records, ranking 28th in the current box office list of Chinese film history.

5. Meryl Streep receives the Cannes Lifetime Achievement Award

This year's Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 14 in the southern French city of Cannes. Meryl Streep received the Honorary Palme d'Or.

Meryl Streep, who won the Honorary Palme d'Or, was left alone on the red carpet to enjoy the spotlight, and was greeted by Cannes President Iris Nobloch and Artistic Director Thierry Formao, who took a group photo on the steps in front of the Lumière Theater, where she received the Honorary Palme d'Or trophy at the opening ceremony, and Cannes invited another actress, Juliette Binoche, to present her with the award.

6. The 4K restored version of Jackie Chan's "Flying Eagle Project" will have its world premiere at Cannes

The 4K restored version of Jackie Chan's classic film "Flying Eagle Project" was selected as a "Cannes Classic" and will have its world premiere at 21:30 local time on May 23 in the "Beach Screening" unit. The 4K version of this screening is restored by the "Classic Hong Kong Film Restoration Project" initiated by the China Film Archive, Douyin, and Volcano Engine.

One of the most popular episodes of the Festival de Cannes is the "Beach Screening", during which the Organising Committee offers free screenings of classic films or world premieres out of competition on the beach every night. It is reported that "Flying Eagle Project" is the only Chinese film selected for the "Cannes Classics" beach screening unit of this film festival.

7. "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City" broke 500 million at the box office, and it was confirmed that a trilogy would be created

Recently, Yu Er, the original author of the movie "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", shared the concept poster and confirmed that the movie "Kowloon Walled City" will create a trilogy, namely the first "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", the second "The Dragon Head of the Kowloon Walled City", and the third "The Final Chapter of the Kowloon Walled City".

This week, there are a number of films confirmed to be introduced/finalized-

8. "Legend" is finalized

Written and directed by Tang Jili, starring Jackie Chan, Zhang Yixing, Nazha and Li Zhiting, "Legend" was officially announced to be released nationwide on July 12. It is reported that the producer used the latest AI technology, combined with Deepfake (deepfake), through deep learning, to restore the young Jackie Chan to play the role of a Han Dynasty general on the battlefield, and complete wonderful action scenes.

9. The introduction of the movie "Robot Dream" was confirmed

The Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film "Robot Dreams" has been confirmed to be introduced, and the file is to be determined. Based on Sara Varon's comics, the film tells the story of a man who learns how to face love.

10. "American Civil War" is set for June 7

"American Civil War" was recently announced to be set for June 7, and it will be released in North America on April 12.

The film is directed by Alex Garland ("Annihilation", "Ex Machina"), produced by A24, and stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Mara, Stephen Henderson, Carly Spaney, Sonoa Mizuno, and Jesse Plemon. It tells the story of a future civil war and disintegration in the United States. It has won about $100 million at the global box office.

11. The movie "Reinforcements Arrive Tomorrow" is scheduled for June 28

On May 14, the first historical war film "Reinforcements Arrive Tomorrow" based on the theme of "Hengyang Defense", the most tragic battle of the Henan-Xianggui Battle in the War of Resistance Against Japan, was set for June 28.

The film is written by Liu Heping as the screenwriter, chief director and chief producer, directed by Zhang Yang, co-directed by Qin Tianzhu, starring Yu Hewei and Yang Yang, starring Wan Qian, Wang Jinsong and Yin Fang, and starring Li Guangjie, Tan Kai and Cao Lei. The film tells the story of Fang Xianjue (played by Yu Hewei), the commander of the Tenth Army, who led 18,000 soldiers and more than 4,000 compatriots in Hengyang, faced the pressure of nearly 110,000 Japanese troops, and held Hengyang for 47 days with flesh and blood and severely damaged the enemy.

12. "Mad Max: Goddess of Fury" is scheduled for June 7

The new film of the "Mad Max" series "Mad Max: The Goddess of Fury" was officially announced to be released on June 7 Dragon Boat Festival, two weeks later in North America, and North America will be released on May 24.

Anya Taylor-Joy plays the young Queen Freosa, Chris Hemsworth also starring, and George Miller returns to direct & write for the upcoming world premiere in the Out of Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The story tells that "45 years after the collapse of civilization, Freosa has been taken from her mother since she was a child, and she will spend her life looking for her own way back".