無極美國發行商 溫斯坦 之前把無極大幅修剪和更改結局.

現在, 溫斯坦 放棄無極美國發行權, 主要因為 溫斯坦 和影片監製 對影片美國上映戲院數目的意見分歧.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001771581

[Dec. 29, 2005


Weinstein Co. goes back on film 'Promise'


By Gregg Kilday
The Weinstein Co., which acquired rights to Chen Kaige's The Promise in May at Cannes, has decided not to release the film, which is reverting to Moonstone Entertainment and the China Film Group.

However, Promise, which is China's submission in the foreign language Academy Award category, still will open as scheduled Friday at the Laemmle Fairfax 3 in Los Angeles for a one-week Oscar-qualifying run so that it also will be eligible in other categories, producer Etchie Stroh said.


Beyond that, Stroh said, he plans to meet with other distributors next week in hopes of securing a new North American distributor.

Both sides said that the decision to part ways was amicable. We have thoroughly enjoyed working together for the past seven months, said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co. We have tremendous respect for Chen Kaige, Etchie Stroh and (producer) Han Sanping and are all rooting for them as they go forward releasing this film.

The Weinstein Co., in partnership with IDG New Media, acquired North American, U.K., Australian and South African rights to the period adventure/fantasy film at the Festival de Cannes after Weinstein attended a screening of 12 minutes from the film at its lavish unveiling hosted by sales agent Moonstone.

In preparing for its U.S. release, Weinstein retitled the movie Master of the Crimson Armor and trimmed it from 121 minutes to 102 minutes. According to Stroh, the filmmakers agreed to the edits and restructuring, though they had reservations about the title change, feeling that it emphasized the movie's male-oriented martial arts aspects at the expense of its other qualities.

But the main disagreement, according to sources familiar with the situation, came over how widely to distribute the film in the U.S. The producers argued for a broader release a la Zhang Yimou's Hero -- which the Weinstein-run Miramax Films opened in 2,031 theaters in 2004 -- while Weinstein was opting for a more limited release.

It was a question of strategy, Stroh said. They had a pretty full slate and other films they had prioritized for activity. On the other hand, for me, this film is a labor of love, and we wanted it to be a centerpiece. But they were very helpful, and the split was amicable.

For the qualifying run, the film's producers are returning to the movie's original title, The Promise, though they will incorporate Master of the Crimson Armor in the film's posters as a subtitle to avoid confusion.

The original 121-minute version already has opened in China, where it is breaking boxoffice records, earning about $9 million in its first week. The producers plan to screen the shorter, 102-minute version in the U.S.

In effect, the two versions of Promise will be competing in upcoming awards competitions. While China submitted the longer version to the Academy for consideration in its foreign film race, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. viewed the shorter version and nominated it for a Golden Globe as best foreign film.

The longer version has opened in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia and is scheduled to play Japan. But the shorter version is headed to Korea and, Stroh said, probably will play most other territories around the world.

Promise, which cost a reported $35 million, is China's highest-budgeted film to date. With cinematography by Oscar winner Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), it stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Jang Dong-Kun, Cecilia Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Chen Hong and Liu Ye.]