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| From the recent interview with Donnie Yen: Q:Has shooting wrapped on that? DY: No, I'm going back after the Chinese New Year. I think Tsui Hark will get an Oscar for this film. It will outshine the other recent wu xia films. The depth and richness of the story is unbelievable! I compare it to Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Hero was a beautiful film, but the message was simple: Peace! But the character development and storytelling are so sensitively done here. It's based on a famous novel, but Tsui Hark changed everything. I play a Korean. I didn't read the novel - he told me not to read it. In the original story, I turn into a bad guy right away. But in Seven Swords, I'm a good guy, and powerful. If the series continues, maybe by the fourth movie I'll gradually turn into a bad guy. It doesn't even look like a Tsui Hark film. It's totally different from anything else he's made in the last decade. It's slower, sensitive - a masterpiece! Tsui Hark is back! |
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| Chengdu Daily, Tianfu Morning Paper The Seven Swords Release Date The Seven Swords is tentatively set to be released in China on July 29, 2005 (IMDB lists Italy release as August 19, 2005), together with simultaneous launch of the MMORPG, as well as the comics, while the TV series, Seven Swords of Mt Tian will commence airing in September. Tsui Hark has cleverly elected to set the online game universe after the the source material's ending, rather than featuring the self-same storyline as the novel-based movie hexalogy and TV series. The game, somewhat independent of the novel, begins with the second generation Seven Swordmasters having gone into seclusion and their priceless Swords are lost, and depending on which of the three races they choose, gamers will compete against, or ally with each other, as they try to find the Seven Swords, which hold the power to rule the world. The comics series will be published in Chinese and Korean, with both having some differences in the character designs and storyline, which have already been completed, to suit the local flavour. Part of the comics will be drawn by Tsui Hark. In the meantime, a furtive mission, Inviting Hero with Sword, came up by Tsui Hark, has been dispatched to scout for seven mysterious heroes for a heavyweight publicity. The seven heroes will represent the seven noble spirits of the Seven Swordmasters. Recently, some investors of the production and Tsui Hark gathered together to watch some rough cuts of the movie. After seeing the rough cuts, there was a deep silence, and many were moved to tears. Tsui Hark himself was also deeply affected, shedding tears many a time for the chivalry of the characters. |