Jay Chou to write music for Curse of the Golden Flower

Article as shown on La Creme D' Asie forum Jay Chou in the film of "Curse of the Golden Flower" / Sina Photo Director Zhang Yimou has invited Taiwan star Jay Chou to compose and perform the closing track for his new film, "Curse of the Golden Flower". Jay Chou will also compete with well-known Japanese musician, Shigeru Umebayashi, for the honor of composing the film's theme song. Zhang Yimou's partner, Zhang Weiping, said on Wednesday that Chou has been preparing for the challenge. He said, "Jay wrote excellent songs for the film, 'Huo Yuan Chia'. This time he will do better because he plays a role in the film." Zhang Weiping also said the director gives Jay the freedom to write and sing whatever he likes because he doesn't want to limit the star's creativity. Zhang Yimou opted to choose the theme song from two competing works by Jay Chou and Shigeru Umebayashi because the theme song is crucial to the film's success. Chinese audiences are familiar with Shigeru Umebayashi, who has composed music for many famous films, including Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love". His style is appropriate for Zhang's new film.

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/3086/2006/07/14/44@114406.htm

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Liu Ye comments about working on COTGF

Though Liu Ye became famous in his early twenties, winning several best actor awards, compared to veterans Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, the actor is still quite inexperienced. So did he feel any pressure acting in scenes with Chow and Gong? “There hasn’t been much pressure because I just consider myself a young actor. It’s not in the least bit strange that a young actor isn’t as good as very accomplished ones like Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li.” “Zhang Yimou is like a father to me. He actually cares for every member of the production team." Now that Zhang Yimou’s latest production “Golden Flower” has finished shooting, if everything goes smoothly, the production will wrap before September 15th, in time for the director to apply for the Oscars. And it’ll also be Liu Ye’s first time in the international film market.

From an article in CRIENGLISH　　　　　

The Royal Family

As shown on Monkey Peaches
UPDATE 07/07/06 Top 2 pictures from Sing Pao Daily as shown on Monkey Peaches and Admiring Gong Li forum

"Golden Flower" competes for Oscar qualification

Chinese director Zhang Yimou has finished shooting his new blockbuster "Curse of the Golden Flower" yesterday at Bashang Grassland in Hebei province. 　　
Zhang will head to the United States and Australia for a two-month post production trip. It is expected the trip will be wrapped up before September 15th, in time for him to apply for Oscar nomination. 　　
Zhang had not revealed an intention to compete for the Best Foreign Film Award at the Oscars until his finished shooting 20 days ahead of schedule. 　　
The producer, Zhang Weiping, believes that for a movie to apply for Oscar nomination, it not only needs to show the highest level of quality film production, but its distribution also must be handled by a big film company. 　　
He said, "If we relied on a small film company, the promotion of the film definitely would not work out. So, we have sold the film's copyright in North America to Sony Classic. The film will be screened at the same time all around the world this December. This is the first time this happens in the Chinese film industry." 　　
He also believes it is the right time for the film to apply for Oscar nomination. 　　
According to the rules for competition in the Best Foreign Film category, a country can only have one applicant. And the film has to be shown in cinemas for at least a week before September 30th. 　　
Meanwhile, another big project, Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet," has already applied for competition at the Academy Awards, so the battle will start here in China to see which one is more popular with local audiences. CRIENGLISH　　　　

Jay Chou comments on his co-stars and director

Co-star Zhou Jielun (aka Jay Chou) spoke about his movie character and the plot during an interview. He said that the young prince's disposition is rebellious, but he remains loyal to the queen mother and is willing to do anything for her. Zhou remarked that Li is the most beautiful Chinese woman and he is very honored to play her son. He also stated that Zhang Yimou is patient and able to control his temperament, and commented on Chow Yun-Fat's great sense of humor. From Admiring Gong Li forum

Last pictures from filming at the Chongqing location

Photos from ent. sina.com

As the filming at Wu Long closes and the production goes back to Beijing there is no sign of Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, or Jay Chou actually being at the area. How much filming left to be done is questionable before the work of editing, etc. will begin.