stephen chow

THE MONKEY KING Teases A ‘Most Epic, Most Spectacul-Errific-Amazing-Derful’ Hero In The Official Trailer

Chinese folklore finds new life on Netflix thanks to Stephen Chow whose exec producer credits are attached to Anthony Stacchi’s latest directorial offering aptly titled The Monkey King. The film features a VO cast led by Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong. The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a monkey and his magical fighting Stick as they team up on an epic quest where they must go head to head against gods, demons, dragons, and the greatest enemy of all, Monkey’s own ego! The Monkey King takes to its throne on Netflix beginning August 18.

THE GOD OF COOKERY Review: A Delightful Dish Of Timeless Laughter With A Touch Of Heart (NYAFF Winter Showcase 2020)

Lee B. Golden III

Film multihyphenate, actor and filmmaker Stephen Chow’s resumé in film has plenty of titles his fanbase can discern as emblematic of his successful thirty-plus year run in the industry. His 1996 entry, The God Of Cookery, is certainly a beacon for Hong Kong Cinema’s audience, and a certainly fitting entry into this year’s food-themed second-annual Winter Showcase for the New York Asian Film Festival. The film is directed by Li Lik-Chi alongside frontman Chow who leads as “Stephen Chow”, a top-lining chef hailed as a divine go-to arbiter in culinary expertise. He’s admired by the industry, and to that end, he’s as elitist and cocky as one would expect, and far from ‘humble’ and ‘kind’, and these are all the latest seeming first-hand experience of Fat Bull (Vincent Kok), a sniveling low-level employee who Chow tests as a metric of obedience. It’s also one of the last acts of authority […]

Stephen Chow, Pearl Studio Revive THE MONKEY KING For An Epic Animated Feature

Lee B. Golden III

To date, I actually held hopes that Soi Cheang would be able to live out a live-action quadrilogy for his take on Wu Cheng’en’s classic tale of The Monkey King. The CGI-packed threequel garnered more of a lukewarm reception and that may have dampered further hopes, but maybe that will change. I’m not really sure. Until then, any and all related efforts now lie at Shanghai-based Pearl Studio who are reportedly in the market for a new stake of their own in the mythological Chinese folk legend. Announcements out of France are hailing the project with the attachment of the incomparable Stephen Chow (BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated hit, Kung Fu Hustle) who is no stranger to the folkloric hero that has inspired many a TV, film and print franchise for years, including Chow’s own Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons and its 2017 sequel from Tsui Hark. […]

Sony Picks Up JOURNEY TO THE WEST: DEMON CHAPTER For Multi-Territory Release

Lee B. Golden III

Director Tsui Hark’s latest pairing with The Mermaid helmer, producer Stephen Chow for Journey To The West: Demon Chapter, is currently slated for China release in late January. As for the U.S. and other territories however, the word now is that Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to the new film following the hit success of the 2013 former which starred actor Wen Zhang and actress Shu Qi. Actor Kris Wu replaces Zhang in the role of the monk, Tang Sanzang per the popular folklore as told in the ancient novels of the same name by author Wu Cheng’en which have also inspired many a film title centered on classic folk hero, The Monkey King. Also starring are Kenny Lin, Yao Chen, Jelly Lin and Bao Beier with a script by Chow, and with Hark and producer Nansun Shi producing. Variety reports that other than the U.S. and Canada, the […]

Oddball Antics Cap Off The Newest Teaser For JOURNEY TO THE WEST 2: THE DEMON CHAPTER

Lee B. Golden III

Hong Kong film stalwarts Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark have been at it in recent weeks with a rather odd approach to their latest campaign for Journey To The West: The Demon Chapter. Peep this recent teaser and you’ll see what I mean, though you’ll get some more oddball antics at the tail end of the latest teaser for the film now host to xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage co-star Kris Wu in the lead role. Following the first film in its stellar box office numbers, Chow wrote and produced the film with Hark taking over directing duties for Wu who plays Buddhist monk, Tang Sanzang on his legendary journey to the West as inspired in the original classic novel written by Wu Cheng’en. The film opens on January 28 in China with the cast rounding out to actors Kenny Lin, Chen Yao, Mengke Bateer, Bao Bei’er and Lin […]

Anchor Bay Announces Five Dragon Dynasty Titles Releasing This October!

Lee B. Golden III

Hot off of a major crossover era for Asian cinema at the time with home releases from distributors like Tai Seng, Fox and Miramax/Dimension and in the UK with Hong Kong Legends, the Weinstein-owned Dragon Dynasty came just in time when American consumers craved the same substantive DVD content packed with remastered, quality discs featuring classic and contemporary action films from the far East. I still own a few DD prints myself, including Seven Swords, Fist Of Legend, Righting Wrongs and City Of Violence, and if you’ve ever consumed DVDs at all in the last fifteen years, you know when you got a Dragon Dynasty DVD, you got something truly awesome. With all this, we now come to Anchor Bay’s latest offering in the form of an honorary five-film package attributed to Dragon Dynasty with action stars Jet Li and Stephen Chow front and center. A DVD and Digital HD […]

Vicky Zhao Joins Shu Qi And Tsui Hark For JOURNEY TO THE WEST Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

Nowadays, actress Vicky Zhao‘s career prominence has seen some great influence in recent years between directing and staking a near 10% ownership claim in Alibaba Pictures with her husband. I can’t really speak fully on what that means for this particular report, although bearing this in mind it seems fitting that she seizes the opportunity to return to the screen in some capacity. On that note, it just so happens that Alibaba Pictures is producing director Tsui Hark‘s Journey To The West sequel following up Stephen Chow’s initial installment in 2013. And, according to Jaynestars, it just so happens that the production is bringing Zhao on board for a role, essentially reuniting the actress with Chow who directed the first film following their previous work together just fourteen years ago on the kung fu sports comedy epic, Shaolin Soccer. The film also brings Zhao together with fellow So Close star, […]

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Shu Qi, Tsui Hark Set For JOURNEY TO THE WEST 2 In 2017

Lee B. Golden III

Director Hou Hsiao Hsien’s period action thriller, The Assassin, is still in limbo as far as most of us may know following its announced completion last year, but fans of actress Shu Qi will be delighted to learn more following reports of her likely return to the set with Stephen Chow soon enough. And by this notion, it will very much be a sequel to the 2013 smash hit, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons. The first film, written by Derek Kwok, became a record-breaking box office success which saw actor Wen Zhang as Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist protecting a village from three demons with the help of mystical huntress, played by Qi. Jaynestars reports that the actress will be re-joined with Zhang along with Huang Bo‘s reprisal as The Monkey King, as so inspired by Wu Cheng’en’s classic story, for which Chow and The Taking Of Tiger Mountain […]