Studio:
20th Century Fox.
Production Company:
WCG Entertainment.
Project Phase:
Development Hell.
Who's In It:
Chow Yun-Fat.
Who's Making It:
John Woo (Director); Larry O'Neill, Michael Colleary, Mike Werb (Screenwriters); Chris Godsick, Terrence
Chang (Producers).
Premise: Nothing definite as yet.
Release Date: November 1998 (tentative but looking doubtful).
Comments: For those multilinguals out there, the film's title in Cantonese is Wong Dei Siok Gum.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
[Page draft submitted by 'Deadpool', 'Widgett'.]
February 12, 1998... Budget is reported to be at $80 million. Conflicting reports have come in about the status of this project, however. It is been mentioned that the cameras will start rolling in April, but other news tells us that not only is the script being rewritten but a male anglo co-star is being sought. The project was already delayed by Chow's scheduling problems once already. Woo has stated that he'd like to see Nicholas Cage and Chow on the screen together, although Tom Cruise's name has also been mentioned in stage whispers. The basic plot is said to be quite similar to Woo's Once a Thief, and has been described as both a "60's heist" a la How to Steal a Million and a "treasure hunting adventure action comedy" involving two brothers caught up in a love triangle. Woo himself has stated that the film is an homage to Steve McQueen's The Thomas Crowne Affair. [Production office burglary masterminded by 'Deadpool', 'Widgett'.]
[Additional production information sent in by 'plateau14', 'mpbower'.]
A savvy reader caught a mention in last July's Entertainment Weekly about this project. Woo went on record that his next project would be this one, telling EW ""...I am going to make a heist movie, King's Ransom. I always wanted to make a movie full of suspense, elegance, charm, and excitement." [Courtesy of Ted Chung, EW reader; originally appeared in Entertainment Weekly.]
Back in late January 'eirias' told us Yun-Fat's scenes were scheduled to be shot last, to accomodate the actor starring in The Corruptor. [Delivered by 'eirias'.]
Another scooper heard a rumor around the same time that Mel Gibson took an interest in the brother role. ['Krymson'.]