John Woo drops war movie
2009-04-03 16:08
Hong Kong - John Woo's producer says he has given up on directing a romance set against the Chinese civil war because of a dispute with Taiwanese investors, leaving the Mission: Impossible II director without a project after the success of his two-part historical epic Red Cliff.
Producer Terence Chang alleged that Taiwan's Asia Recreation Saga Corporation secretly licensed another producer to make a TV series based on Woo's script for 1949, written by Wang Hui-ling, one of the screenwriters that worked on the kung fu hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"They weren't very honourable during the negotiations," Chang said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Asia Recreation Saga Corporation didn't immediately return calls on Friday seeking comment, but the Taipei-based company denied any improper practices in a statement published by mainland Chinese news website Sina.com on March 28.
Breakdown in negotiations
The company "never made demands that violate normal business practices and good faith principles," the statement said, adding that it "deeply regretted" the breakdown in negotiations and would hire another director to shoot the movie.
The statement didn't mention the TV series alleged by Chang.
Hong Kong native Woo recently returned to Chinese-language movies, after a stint in Hollywood, with the two-part epic Red Cliff, which is based on a famous ancient Chinese battle by the same name. Both instalments were huge hits in mainland China.
Chang said on Thursday that Woo hasn't decided which movie to direct instead of 1949, a romance set against that year's civil war that split mainland China and Taiwan.
- AP