World News
HK director Johnnie To, Orlando Bloom discuss possible collaboration, assistant says.
© AP
2007-12-13 07:04:36 -
HONG KONG (AP) - Famed Hong Kong director Johnnie To met with «The Lord of the Rings» star Orlando Bloom recently to discuss a possible collaboration, To's assistant said Thursday.
The assistant, Ding Yuin-shan, said the British actor arrived in Hong Kong Tuesday and left Thursday.
Bloom met with To several times during his stay and the
two discussed shooting a movie together, Ding said, declining to identify any specific projects.
«They hope they can work on a project together,» Ding said.
Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily Thursday ran a photo of the two together, which the newspaper said was taken when To accompanied Bloom back to his hotel.
Publicists for Bloom didn't immediately respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking the actor's comment on the meetings with To.
To is known for his stylish gangster thrillers. His credits include «Election,» «Election 2,» «Exiled» and «Mad Detective,» which was shortlisted for the top Golden Lion Prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.
Bloom's credits include the «The Lord of the Rings» trilogy and the «Pirates of the Caribbean» trilogy.
JOHNNIE TO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
JOHNNIE TO
Birth name
To Kei-Fung
Born
April 22, 1955
Hong Kong
Other name(s)
Johhny To
Johnnie To Kei-fung (Chinese: ???; pinyin: Dù Qíf?ng), born April 22, 1955 is a Hong Kong film director and producer. He is a filmmaker who has a local fan base as well as international recognition from fans of his work.
Contents
Career
An assistant TV director in the Shaw Studios era, To became famous when his 1989 film All About Ah Long, starring Chow Yun-Fat, became one of the biggest box office hits in that year.
In 1996, To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai formed Milkyway Image, a production house that specializes in cost-efficient independent films made by To and Wai, as well their frequent collaborators from Law Wing Cheong to scriptwriter Yau Nai-Hoi.
Film Themes
Although he has directed extremely popular comedies and rom-coms like Justice, My Foot, Needing You... and Love on a Diet, his more serious works are mostly about masculinity and male bonding (The Mission, and Running Out of Time), or simply about guns (again, The Mission). Another theme is fate and the concept that our lives may not be under our control (PTU, Expect the Unexpected and Running on Karma).
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS.
To's films have played around the international festival circuit. Throw Down was screened Out-of-Competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2004, and Exiled was shown in Competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2006. Four of his movies were featured in the Cannes Film Festival: Breaking News in the Out-of-Competition midnight screening in 2004, and Election in Competition in 2005 and his most recent Triangle. Election 2 (aka Triad Election) was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screening at Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
In North America, To's films have been consistently screened at the Toronto Film Festival. The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Throw Down and Mad Detective all screened between 1999 and 2007. In 2006, Election, Election 2 (aka Triad Election) , and Exiled were screened.
In 2005, To received the Time Machine Career Achievement Award at theFestival de Cine de Sitges, Europe's most prestigious film festival specializing in genre films.
In 2007, Election 2 and Exiled were released in the US theatrically. To was also honoured as a "Filmmaker in Focus" of 2007 Rotterdam Film Festival.
I hope that he's going to do this movie
