Thoughts: Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) is trying to slowly kill his wife Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) for who knows why. It could be because she is sleeping with her stepson Prince Xiang (Liu Ye) or because she is trying to make her biological son Prince Jie (Jay Chou) the new king. Either way the storyline was weak but the movie was visually stunning, which is typical of Yimou’s films (Ju-Dou, Hero and House of Flying Daggers). Afterwards, there was a Q and A with the director Zhang Yimou and stars Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat. It was AWESOME!! I’m not going to lie … I was really excited. Chow Yun-Fat is very humorous and outgoing and Gong Li is such a beauty. It was a great night.
(M) Painted Veil. (John Curran, 2006) Grade: B+
Thoughts: Researcher Walter Fane (Edward Norton) falls in love with spoiled socialite Kitty (Naomi Watts) and marries her. Unhappy in her marriage she begins an affair with Charlie Townsend (Live Schreiber) only to be discovered and threaten with divorce. The alternative is to join her husband Walter as he goes into a rural part of China to help a cholera outbreak. The movie is based upon W. Somerset Maugham’s novel of the same name and it was an interesting look into relationships and British colonialism. Afterwards, there was a Q and A with director John Curran, Edward Norton and Toby Jones. Edward Norton is such an amazing actor and I love his voice. Apparently, Nicole Kidman was chosen for the role of Kitty but I think Naomi Watts was a better fit.
Count: 130 movies
3 comments:
articles have pointed out that watts was norton's original choice. he toyed w/kidman for a short time because of her recognition for funding, but kept pleading w/watts to play the petite role (kidman is not petite, as tom cruise found out). i would rather have the actress from mulholland dr, 21grams, & king kong than fur, stepford wives, & bewitched (similar time frame). in the long run, both are still fine actresses though.
Yes you are correct. I read that Kidman was attached but could not commit so Norton pushed to have Watts play the role. And yes they are both fine actresses.
kidman had never been formally attached. she expressed a verbal interest only.
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