'Warriors' march down Orchard Road to promote "The Warlords"
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 December 2007 2156 hrs
SINGAPORE: Orchard Road saw an invasion of sorts on Saturday afternoon, as an army of 'warriors' marched down the shopping belt.
Shouting battle-cries which were supposed to strike fear into the hearts of many, the actors certainly looked and sounded the part.
However, passers-by seemed more amused than fearful because no matter how formidable the 'warriors' looked, they still had to wait for their turn to cross the road like everybody else.
All the hype along the shopping district was to promote "The Warlords" - the latest film collaboration between MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, InnoForm Media and Shaw Organisation.
"The Warlords" is a heroic tale of three blood brothers and their struggle in the midst of war and political upheaval during the late Qing dynasty.
The masterpiece is directed by acclaimed award-winning director, Peter Chan, and comprises a star-studded cast of Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro.
Action movie a welcome change for Chan
By SETO KIT YAN
KUALA LUMPUR:
Director Peter Chan Ho Sun has all the answers and needs no interpreters. He not only speaks fluently in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Thai, he is also incredibly articulate in expressing his ideas.
Fielding questions at a press conference, Chan graciously gave English versions of his Cantonese and Mandarin replies for the benefit of non-Chinese members of the press.
Chan was in town to promote his latest movie, a historical war epic titled The Warlords (Tou Ming Zhuang).
It is a riveting tale about three men swearing an oath of brotherhood and a woman who is the catalyst behind their undoing.
Following the success of his lavish romantic musical Perhaps Love (2005), Chan immediately set about preparing for his biggest production yet.
“After making so many movies about love and romance, I looked forward to making an action movie for a change,” he said.
According to Chan, The Warlords is not a wu xia pian (martial arts movie).
“The movie is about brotherhood and betrayal. The long battle scenes were the most challenging to film. They were also the most memorable yet.”
Chan said Ci Ma (The Blood Brothers) (1973), directed by the late Chang Cheh of One-Armed Swordsman fame, inspired him to make the movie.
The Warlords costs US$40mil (RM134mil) to make.
Asia’s top actors Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the three main characters while the woman who comes between them is played by Chinese director-actress Xu Jinglei.
Chinese action hero Jet Li plays the lead character General Pang.
“Jet Li is a very experienced actor and comes very prepared for his role. In fact, I think he knew his character much better than I did.
“Andy Lau is a very smart man but he has to play an almost naive man who does not even know who or what killed him or why.
“Takeshi Kaneshiro is very sensitive and vulnerable, and that is exactly the persona that comes across on the screen.”