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Reviews & Articles:
The Children of Huang Shi Review (Variety 05/02/2008)
Story gets lost in 'Huang Shi' (USA Today 05/22/2008)
Review: The Children of Huang Shi (Canada 06/2008)
Too many potholes in Silk Road (The West 07/2008)
Melodramatic License (Boise Weekly 07/2008)

Release Dates:
Domestic: (partial list)
May 23, New York, Los Angeles
May 30, Boston, San Francisco
June 6, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Toronto
June 13, Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis
June 20, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Atlanta, Tucson
June 27, New Orleans

International:
2008
April 3, Asia
June 11, France
July 3, Australia
July 31, Netherlands
Sept 18, South Korea
Oct 31, Spain
2009
April 24, Mexico
July 16, Portugal
October 8, Germany

Synopsis: 
Inspired by true events, "The Children of Huang Shi" tells how a young Englishman came to lead sixty orphaned boys on an extraordinary journey of almost a thousand perilous miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. And of how, in doing so, he came to understand the true meaning of courage.

The Children of Huang Shi News: 
© MichelleYeoh.info
[* For more news on Michelle Yeoh or site updates, please visit News page ]
[** More information to share? Please e-mail webmaster ]

(10/05/09) The film opens in Germany on October 8. Image at left: German poster.   (click to enlarge)

German Official Site

(07/24/09) The German release has been rescheduled for October 8th.

(06/10/09) The German theatrical release date is scheduled on September 10, 2009. German title: "Die Kinder der Seidenstrasse" (Children of the Silk Road).

(06/06/09) HQ photos and some new photos (click to enlarge):




(05/07/09) - The film will be released theatrically in Portugal on July 16th.

- Region 2 (European) DVD of the film, entitled "Escape From Huang Shi", will be released on May 11th.


left: Region 2 DVD cover.   middle: Spanish poster
right: poster in Netherlands (click to enlarge)
(01/08/09) The U.S. DVD of The Children of Huang Shi will be released by Sony on January 20. Left: cover picture. (click to enlarge)

(01/08/09)
Video 1: Chen and Madame Wang (01:06)
Video 2: The Children (01:53)

(09/22/08) The Children of Huang Shi will be screened at the Dietrich Theater Film Festival, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, on September 27 and 30.

(08/29/08) - The Children of Huang Shi will be released in South Korea on September 18th. Image at right: Korean poster (click to enlarge).

- The film has been showing around the U.S. since May 23 as a limited release. Last weekend it was still being shown in 26 theatres (the maximum number of theatres during this period was 43).

(07/08/08) - Under the title of "Children of the Silk Road", the film was released in Australia on July 3rd. The Australian premiere of the film took place on June 14 during the 55th Sydney Film Festival.
Article links:
    The Long March   (Sydney Morning Herald)
    Action Queen Turns Dramatic   (The Age)

- The Children of Huang Shi has been showing in North America for seven weeks. The maximum number of screens at some point was 43 and the current domestic box office is $589,126.

(06/09/08) The film opens in France on June 11. French title: "Les Orphelins de Huang Shi".

(06/02/08) - In North American market, Sony Pictures Classics expanded The Children of Huang Shi to 17 locations from the previous seven. The current domestic box is $116,000.

- Some scenes we have mentioned before or even seen in released video clips are cut from the final release. This includes Chow Yun-Fat's kissing with Radha Mitchell and Michelle rebuking gangsters. The very first scene of the film was filmed in Australia. After the filming in China completed on February 15, 2007, a reduced crew moved to Australia and had one final day of principal photography in Melbourne Victoria.

- A 20 minutes audio Interview with Roger Spottiswoode from the New York press junket. The two books mentioned by Spottiswoode, "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" and "Mao: The Unknown Story", written by Jung Chang, are available at Amazon (1 2). The books give excellent pictures of the modern China under the communist rule and are recommended for anyone who is interested in China. I would also highly recommend "The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" (Read online: English  Traditional Chinese  Simplified Chinese).

(05/27/08) The Children of Huang Shi release schedule (partial) for selected markets in North America:
    May 23: New York, Los Angeles
    May 30: Boston, San Francisco
    June 6: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Toronto
    June 13: Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Denver
    June 20: Seattle, Atlanta, Santa Cruz, Tucson
    June 27: New Orleans
This is not a complete list. Please check your local theatres (especially Landmark Theatres) for release information in your area.

(05/21/08) - The Children of Huang Shi will start its limited release in NY and LA this Friday. The cinemas which will show the film on May 23 are: New York: Paris Theatre and Landmark's Sunshine Cinemas. Los Angeles: Landmark (West LA), Laemmle's Playhouse 7 (Pasadena), Town Center 5 (Encino), Regency South Coast (Santa Ana), Edwards Atlantic Palace 10 (Alhambra). The film opens in Canada on June 6.

- Film Clips:
1. "Interrogation at Nanjing with the Japanese"   [01:15]
2. "The Japanese don't like it when we blow things up"   [01:32]
3. "We were hit"   [00:57]
4. "Nationalist friends of convenience"   [01:46]
5. "Looking for the person in charge"   [01:39]
6. "You have to stay - they have no one else"   [01:09]
7. "In China there are so many ways to spend money"   [01:44]
(Michelle only appears in the last one)

- Interview with Roger Spottiswoode (ComingSoon)

(05/18/08) Director Roger Spottiswoode and actress Radha Mitchell attended The Children of Huang Shi premiere at the DGA Theater on May 18, 2008 in New York City. (click on photos to enlarge. photos from "Wire Image" and "Getty Images"):


(05/16/08) Michelle and director Roger Spottiswoode attended the L.A. premiere of The Children of Huang Shi yesterday evening.

- Children of Huang Shi Premiere Videos   (registration required to watch "Wire Image" videos)

- Premiere photos (click to enlarge. photos from "Wire Image", "Epoch Times", and "Reuters"):








(05/15/08) - The U.S. premiere of The Children of Huang Shi will take place today - Thursday May 15, 7:30pm at the Landmark Theatre of the Westside Pavilion in West L.A.. A post-screening reception will follow.

- The Australian premiere of the film is scheduled on June 14th during the 55th Sydney Film Festival. Under the title of "Children of the Silk Road", the film will be released by Fox Searchlight in Australia in July.

(05/13/08) The New York premiere of The Children of Huang Shi will take place on Sunday May 18th. Screening of the film will begin at 6:30pm at the DGA Theater, with pre-screening and post-screening receptions. For details and tickets see The American Red Cross in Greater New York. Currently Jonathan Rhys Myeres, Radha Mitchell, director Roger Spottiswoode, and writers are scheduled to attend.

(05/07/08) Official Site by Sony Pictures Classics.

(05/07/08) - Press roundtables for The Children of Huang Shi will be held on May 15 in Los Angeles and May 19 in New York. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and director Roger Spottiswoode are scheduled to attend both events. The film will hit cinemas in LA and NY on May 23 and expand to other locations in the U.S. later.

- More images of The Children of Huang Shi (click to enlarge. "Baidu" photos):


Michelle's Madame Wang



(05/05/08) Official poster of The Children of Huang Shi, released by Sony Pictures Classics (click to enlarge). For more posters of this film see Posters.

(04/30/08) Director Roger Spottiswoode talks about the complication during filming in China:

"You can't get dailies (quickly processed footage of the previous day's shoot) in China, the labs aren't very good, so we processed in Melbourne. The film was shipped back as DVD but they censor everything, so of course the DVDs never arrive or take months to arrive.

"You finish shooting before you see any dailies, but my editor, Geoff Lamb, would cut away at Digital Pictures and within a day everything I'd shot the day before he would have edited and put it up as a podcast. All the way through the shoot, no matter how remote we were, I at least was seeing cut film all the way through."   (The Age)

(04/30/08) The film will be released in Australia under the title "Children of the Silk Road". 20th Century Fox has picked up the distribution rights for the film in the country, reported "Screen Daily".

(04/24/08) The Children of Huang Shi will open on May 23 in selected theatres in New York and Los Angeles, including some Laemmle Theatre locations. Running time 114 minutes. Limited release.

(04/24/08) We have reported use of the name of "Huang Shi" in the film title is the result of a spelling error (an "S" is missing from the name "Shuang Shi"). While officials of Huangshi City, Hubei Province are very pleased that their name got to be known because of the film, people in Shuangshipu Town, Feng County, Shaanxi Province are extremely disappointed. One of the surviving "George Hogg's children" who was invited to the film premiere in Huangshi was so upset that he refused to go. Yesterday the local officials of Feng County sent a formal letter to China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television requesting the name of the film to be changed from "The Children of Huang Shi" to "The Children of Shuang Shi", or adding a subtitle "The story happened in Shuangshipu, Shaanxi Province" at the beginning of the film. Today's Shuangshipu Town is still undeveloped and the town does not even have a cinema nearby. Meanwhile Huangshi local officials insisted that the real George Hogg had been in Huangshi and they even faked some "evidence" to "prove" it.

The boxoffice of The Children of Huang Shi in China is unimpressive. Reviews are mixed - more negative than positive.

(04/21/08) Malaysia "The Star": Pleasing reunion for Michelle Yeoh and Bond director

(04/21/08)
1. refugees going through Japanese soldiers' checkpoint.   2. refugees on Shanghai streets 1937
3 & 4. party in the Shanghai international settlement.   5. 1937 Shanghai




(click to enlarge. images from "Sony Classics", "Baidu, "Sina" and "Insun")
(04/16/08) Trailers of The Children of Huang Shi:
  Trailer 1 (Sony Pictures Classic) [01:53]   HighQ LowQ
  Trailer 2 (ChildrenOfHuangShi.com) [02:13]
  Trailer 3 (Cheerland Entertainment) [01:57]
  Trailer 4 (Chinese trailer) [01:04]

(04/01/08)


(click to enlarge. images released to Chinese media)
(04/01/08) - Titled as "Escape from Huang Shi", the film was premiered in Taipei, Taiwan on March 31. Some local celebrities attended the event. Taiwan's Rouge Entertainment Group is one of the co-production companies.

- A press conference and the Mainland China premiere ceremony of The Children of Huang Shi were held in Huangshi City, Hubei Province on March 31. More than 100 reporters - mostly from Mainland China - attended the activities. The attendees included actor Chow Yun-Fat, director Roger Spottiswoode, producer Arthur Cohn, cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding and several child actors. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell did not attend the premeire although the Chinese organizer kept claiming they would come even the day before. Being the only main actor at the premiere activities, Chow Yun-Fat was the absolute center focus. A press screening was held on the morning of the 31st in Huangshi. The official "premiere screening" in Mainland China was held at the Xinshiji Cinema in Beijing on April 1st. Director Roger Spottiswoode and several child actors attended the Beijing premiere.


1, 2: press conference in Huangshi. 3: Roger Spottiswoode at Beijing premiere 4: child actors at Beijing premiere
(click to enlarge. photos from "Sina","CN Hubei" and "Tungstar")
Before the press conference in Huangshi, every reporter received a printed "press release" from the Chinese organizer, which included the shocking title "Director Angry On Two Leads' Absence". The piece said Jonathan Rhys Meyers was busy with a new film project and Radha Mitchell felt the trip was too much trouble and refused to come. It said the director complained the two leads "have no discipline" and said it's silly if someone thinks the Chinese market is not important.

However, reporters who attended the press conference reported that the director did not show any anger, but instead, showed understanding and explained Meyers and Mitchell were both in the U.S., shooting a new film and testing for a new role respectively, and it was not possible for them to make the trip which basically would cost them a week. Both of them sent in video greetings. Reporters already knew in advance that Michelle would be absent due to a schedule conflict. She was in New York yesterday attending the United Nations General Assembly as an ambassador for the Make Roads Safe campaign (for photos and reports see News).

According to Huangshi local media, more than 15,000 people attended the evening premiere ceremony. About 1,100 police were used for security. Reportedly large-scale activities such as this will be restricted soon in many places in Mainland China, since the government fears any large gathering may turn into an anti-government demonstration before the Olympics.

(03/28/08) Huangshi local media reported that the premiere screening in China will be held at Huangshi Theatre in Huangshi City, April 1. A press conference is scheduled in Huangshi on the afternoon of March 31st. Director Roger Spottiswoode, actor Chow Yun-Fat and actress Radha Mitchell will meet with audiences at the evening premiere ceremony/concert on the 31st, according to the Huangshi news.

In a recent "Sina" interview Roger Spottiswoode said he spent eight years to make this film. First they spent three to four years to write and polish the script, then another two years looking for funding, then two more years looking for good actors. He also said Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat are the two actors that were fixed from the beginning of the project. Asked how he combines East and West in this film, Spottiswoode said that only Chinese audiences can answer this question. He said when they had test screenings in the U.S., the audience did not think this film is suitable for Americans.

(03/26/08) - The Children of Huang Shi received an MPAA Rating "R" for "some disturbing and violent content".

- Chinese promotional videos:
   Michelle Yeoh in The Children of Huang Shi [03:10]
   Chow Yun-Fat in The Children of Huang Shi [00:50]

- Video: Chow Yun-Fat at the Hong Kong premiere [02:00] (in Mandarin and Cantonese)
The Chinese reporter said all main cast members except Michelle attended the Hong Kong premiere (world premiere?). But in fact Chow Yun-Fat was the only person there from the "Huang Shi" team. The Hong Kong English title of the film is "Escape from Huang Shi". Director Roger Spottiswoode arrived in China and accepted some interviews. The Mainland Chinese media are still referring the premiere activities in Huangshi and Beijing as the "world premiere."


left: Chow Yun-Fat at the Hong Kong premiere, March 25
right: film poster on a bus in Beijing   (click to enlarge)
(03/24/08) - The Children of Huang Shi will be premiered in Hong Kong tomorrow (March 25th). Hong Kong media reported Chow Yun-Fat will be attending.

- Cheerland Entertainment announced today that the premiere of The Children of Huang Shi in Mainland China will be held in Beijing (not in Huangshi) on April 1st. On the 31st there will be a large charity "premiere party" in the evening in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, as scheduled.

- China's "The First" had an interview with director Roger Spottiswoode. Spottiswoode said the center of the film is the children. There were 25 children, ranging from 7 to 15 years old, with the filming team throughout the production. "They surprised me," said Spottiswoode, "They brought many new elements to the film." Asked how fictionalized the film story is, Spottiswoode answered that the real Hogg did see many crimes which were committed by Japanese soldiers but they don't know whether he witnessed the infamous Nanjing Massacre.

(03/21/08) - The Children of Huang Shi will be screened at the New York Film Critics Series's Morristown spring season show (April 2-May 21), reported "Daily Record".

- During the past few days several test screenings were held to selected Chinese media in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. The reports were mixed. Beijing media gave very positive reports and said the film is real and touching. Guangzhou's "Yangcheng Evenings" said the film is too westernized and they called the Children of Huang Shi "Children of the West". Some audiences laughed at Chow Yun-Fat's character, saying the character looked "fake". Reporters said it's pity that Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle did not share any scene at all.

- Production photos and images (click to enlarge):


1: Jonathan Rhys Meyers carrying a child. 2: Radha Mitchell with Meyers. 3: Chow Yun-Fat.
4: Michelle and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. 5: Michelle's Madame Wang


1: Shi Kai (played by Guang Li). 2: Xiao Qing. 3: director Roger Spottiswoode demonstrating a scene to actors.
4: Spottiswoode with a special "actor". 5. Zhao Xiaoding (right), the cinematographer on set
(03/20/08) Hong Kong poster (click to enlarge). Looks like in Asian countries (except for Mainland China) the English title of the film is "Escape From Huang Shi" but Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan all have different Chinese titles and posters.

- Videos:
    Chinese commercial [00:41] (may need IE to watch)
    Michelle Yeoh as Madame Wang [01:56] (in Chinese and English)
    This TV special features an interview of Michelle (in English) and some film scenes between Michelle and Jonathan Rhys Meyers while both of them can be heard dubbed in Mandarin Chinese.

- Although the appearance of the name of "Huang Shi" in the film is merely a spelling error (an "S" is missing from the original name "Shuang Shi"), Huangshi city officials are making the film premiere "the largest propaganda activity in the city's history" (quoting their own words). The three days of activities will last from March 30th to April 1st. A press conference will be held on March 31st and the film premiere will be on April 1st. There will also be a large party on the evening of March 31st. The poster for the premiere highlighted several popular singers and the Chinese organizers hope those names can attract a larger audience to the premiere. In order to give guests, including higher officials and international film stars and crew, a good impression of the city, the local officials ordered to renovate the locations which are related to the premiere: main roads, the Huangshi Sports Center, and the hotel. And they also started to enforce the traffic and environmental sanitation regulations this week, such as "no littering on roadways", "no spitting", "no racing when driving", etc.. Some Chinese blog users commented it is a "typical Chinese way" of staging a show.

(03/17/08) - Last week the film was shown to a group of Chinese cinema managers. The reaction was mixed. Some thought the characters were developed well and others thought the story lacks a dramatic peak to attract wider audiences.

- Although on the official English website the character of Jack Chen (played by Chow Yun-Fat) is simply described as "the leader of a Chinese partisan group", on the official Chinese website it is said to be "a communist party member... who devotes his life to the Revolutionary Cause". While many local and foreign films faced obstacles from the Chinese authorities, The Children of Huang Shi got all greenlights inside Mainland China. In light of more than 33,000,000 people having withdrawn from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or its affiliated organizations since 2004, the CCP government seems to be taking the release of this film as an opportunity to boost the party's image in China.

(03/14/08) The Chinese title of the film in Taiwan is "Huang Shi Ren Wu" (translation: "Huang Shi Mission"). English title: "Escape From Huang Shi". The release date in Taiwan is April 3rd.

Taiwanese poster	book cover
(click to enlarge)

(03/11/08) - TimesOnline: The heroic Englishman China will never forget

- Last October, sponsored by Family of Daye and Dongchu, a Huangshi local news network, a group of 7 people including 3 reporters spent one week on a special trip: "Looking for footprints of children of Huangshi". Their trip started in Feng County of Shaanxi Province, where Shuangshipu Town is located, and ended in Shandan, Gansu Province. In olden days Feng County was called Shuangshi Town and that was where George Hogg started transferring the school children from (to Shandan). They did not find anything about George Hogg during the trip until their last stop, Shandan. As one of the past headmasters, Hogg's name is well-known at the Shandan Bailie School (rebuilt in 1985). But it seems no one in Shandan knows of Hogg's past prior his arriving in Shandan. Their discovery also concluded that using the name of "Huang Shi" (Huangshi) in the script/film is possibly the result of a misspelling of the placename in Chinese. It should be "Shuang Shi" (double stones), Shaanxi Province, instead of "Huang Shi" (yellow stone), Hubei Province. Nevertheless, the film's name remains "Children of Huang Shi."

(03/06/08) A poster on Michelle's Madame Wang character in The Children of Huang Shi was released to Chinese media today. Guest starring in the film, Michelle modestly asked her name not to be used as a main star in the film promotion, and in the original contract with the film companies, she would not appear on posters. But seeing Michelle's name as one of the main attractions to the audience, the Chinese distribution company broke the contract and put Michelle's image on all their promotional materials including official posters. Michelle's U.S. agent thus decided to withdraw from all promotional activities of The Children of Huang Shi in Mainland China. The news of Michelle not appearing in promotion caused stirs in Chinese media. Cheerland Entertainment said today that after discussions, a new agreement has been reached. Michelle's images will be allowed to be used in posters in China and Southeast Asia and Michelle may participate in some promotional activities in Asia if time allows.

(03/03/08) - Chinese Promotional MV of The Children of Huang Shi. [04:03]   Frankly, I don't find the "love song" fits with the theme of the film.

- Hong Kong media reported that the main reason Michelle is skipping the premiere of The Children of Huang Shi is a schedule conflict. Also, Michelle's appearance in the film is as a guest star, and modestly, she does not want to attract a lot of attention to herself.

- The Hong Kong Chinese title of the film is "Zhan Huo Tao Cheng" (translation: The City of Refuge in Flames of War).

(03/02/08) Michelle will not attend the premiere or other promotional activities of The Children of Huang Shi in China, Cheerland Entertainment confirmed today.

(02/27/08) - China's Cheerland Entertainment invited Li Bingbing (who starred as "Jane" in Michelle's Silver Hawk) to perform a promotional song for The Children of Huang Shi. A MV of the song, which will include many scenes from the film, is planned to be released in China in early March. Li Bingbing will attend the film premiere and perform the song there.

According to Chinese media, the territories which have the April 3rd release date of The Children of Huang Shi include Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand. The film is scheduled to release in Europe at the end of April, and North America on May 23rd.

- "Sohu" videos:
    Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell with children
    two love stories - featuring Chow Yun-Fat, Radha Mitchell, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers

(02/21/08) - Chinese offical website of "The Children of Huang Shi"


(wallpapers. click to enlarge)
- There have been questions rising in China regarding the accuracy of the film story. Several days ago, Mr. Nie Guangtao, one of the real survivors from the period, questioned why Huangshi (aka Huang Shi) was chosen as the original historical location for the film story and title, while George Hogg's actual trip started in Shuangshipu, Shaanxi Province instead of Huangshi, Hubei Province. In response to the questions, Ms. Hou Li, a Chinese side executive producer of The Children of Huang Shi and the general manager of Cheerland Entertainment, the Chinese distributor of the film, said to the media that the story, including the title and location, were written by foreigners, and it is a fictional story, not a documentary. "The script writer is British. The foreign filmmakers might not have known the geography and history of China very well," said Hou.

Nevertheless, Huangshi local officials are very excited about their city's name becoming well known because of the film. Though they felt pity that they can not find related historical sites to show to tourists. Hou Li confirmed that the premiere will be held on March 31st in Huangshi, and she said Chow Yun-Fat and Jonathan Rhys Meyers have "almost confirmed" they well attend the premiere. They are still pursuing Michelle and Radha Mitchell.

(02/19/08) - Australian "The Children of Huang Shi" website: trailer, many photos, and production notes.

- Video download: Making of "The Children of Huang Shi" with Michelle Yeoh   (01:33, 19.8MB, in Chinese and English)
It's from Chinese TV, featuring Michelle, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, and director Roger Spottiswoode. The film is in English but apparently some dialogs were shot in Mandarin Chinese.

(02/15/08) Sony Classics has officially announced that the U.S. release date of The Children of Huang Shi is May 23rd. Reportedly the world premiere will be held on March 31rd in the Huangshi Sports Center, Huangshi City, Hubei Province.

(02/06/08) A Chinese movie novel, "The Children of Huang Shi", based on the movie script by James MacManus and Jane Hawksley and edited by Lao Mei, has been published in China by Jieli Publishing House.


(click to enlarge)
(01/29/08) - The Children of Huang Shi will be screened at the European Film Market during the 58th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8th and 12th. 124 min.

- Chinese media reported that the voice dubbing for the Chinese version of The Children of Huang Shi has been finished in Beijing. Neither Chow Yun-Fat nor Michelle dubbed their lines for this (Mandarin) Chinese version, that is, the audiences in Mainland China won't hear the actual voices from any of the main actors.

(01/25/08) Several movie websites listed The Children of Huang Shi has an U.S. theatrical release date on May 23, 2008, limited release.

(01/21/08) Cheerland Entertainment, the Chinese distributor of The Children of Huang Shi, has released an official trailer of the film. They also claimed the previous one which has been circling on internet was not official.
Watch the trailer (01:58, in English and Chinese)

(01/19/08) Video: a trailer of The Children of Huang Shi (2:28, English)
There is no word whether it's an official trailer. It appeared on a Chinese blog.

(01/07/08) A Chinese poster of The Children of Huang Shi has been released to the media. (click to enlarge) According to Chinese reports, the film is scheduled to be released in China and a few other Asian territories on April 3rd.

(01/04/08) According to Huang Shi local news, at the end of last month, a Huang Shi city official discussed the premiere with Chinese distributor Cheerland. The report said the global premiere will be held in Huang Shi city, Hubei Province, between March 29 and 31. The release date is said to be April 3rd.


(12/28/07) According to Chinese media, Sony Classics has decided not to push The Children of Huang Shi for the 2008 Oscars despite the reactions from several test screenings, which were all excellent. The Chinese distributor Cheerland expressed their disappointment. Reportedly release of the film is being aimed for April of 2008.

(12/12/07) December 13th marks the the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. In commemmoration, the production company released several related film images. The Children of Huang Shi is not exactly about the massacre itself, but nearly one third of the story is set in the background of the event. In order to re-create the reality of the Nanjing Massacre, the film spent 5 million on rebuilding 1937 Nanjing sets basing their work on thousands of archived photos and films from the time period.



(12/05/07) - While Mainland Chinese media have been reporting that producer Arthur Cohn is considering using his own resources to arrange a 7 day Oscars qualifying run for the film this month at a Los Angeles theater, Hong Kong's "Oriental Daily" has reported that the film's production companies are aiming to have the premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival next February. Hong Kong based Filmko Entertainment co-financed the production and is responsible for the sales of eight Asian territories excluding Japan and Korea.

- Shanghai's "The Bund" had an interview with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Asked how he felt working with Chinese actors such as Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, Meyers said: "I'm very happy to have a chance to work with them. Chow Yun-Fat is an outstanding actor. He's also a caring person and everyone on set likes him, including me. Michelle is an extremely charming lady. I'm honored to have shared several scenes with her. In one of the scenes her character gave me a book called 'The Silk Road'." (photo at right: "The Children of Huang Shi". Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Michelle's shop. click to enlarge)

- Two Chow Yun-Fats!
In the left photo is Chow Yun-Fat (right) and his double, Cheng Penglin, during the filming of The Children of Huang Shi. The photo at right is Cheng Penglin and the children during the Gansu filming in early December, 2006. (photos from Sina blogs)

(11/27/07) According to Chinese media, the Chinese distributor Cheerland said that Sony Classics is planning for an Oscars qualifying run for the film before the end of December. By the Academy's rules, a film has to have a run of at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County between January 1, 2007 and midnight of December 31, 2007 in order to qualify to be considered for the next year's Academy Awards.

Two pictures of Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Children of Huang Shi (click to enlarge):


(11/23/07) New images from The Children of Huang Shi, released by Chinese distributor Cheerland Entertainment (click to enlarge).

"This is a personal journey through a world that is extraordinarily different from our hero's English beginnings, and even more, it's a world that challenges the very roots of our hero's ethics and assumptions.

At its opening and again at the climax, the film has an epic sweep. We start in Shanghai and then move to Nanking. Great cities and a whole way of life are collapsing under the Japanese occupation. During the last act of the film takes us along the historic Silk Road as it crosses remote mountains and deserts.

At the heart of the film are the children and three intertwined stories: George Hogg and China, George and the children and George and Lee. It is also the story of a young Englishman having to grow up and discover who he is in the midst of a war in a foreign land.

The Orphanage where much of the story takes place is an abandoned compound of old buildings surrounding a series of courtyards. It is a place of haunting beauty and strong memories. The journey along The Silk Road takes us through rugged, near-impassable mountains and then out into the vastness at the edge of the Gobi desert.

It is a story that takes place in a world that is gritty and terrifying, and yet lyrical and mysterious as well. It will be film that engages us by showing much that separate our cultures and yet speaks also to the basic humanity we all share."    - Roger Spottiswoode

(11/15/07) China's "Dalian Evening" reported that The Children of Huang Shi has been submitted to Chinese authorities for approval. According to the report, the production companies are prepared to cut off certain scenes upon the authority's request, including a kissing scene between Chow Yun-Fat's character and Radha Mitchell's, since they expect the CCP government may not want to see a communist military officer having a relationship with a westerner. The scene was filmed at the old Governor's building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family in Lanzhou a year ago.


(click to enlarge. "Sina" photos)
- A novel, which is based on the movie story and has the same title, will be published in China at the end of the month, by Beijing's Jieli Publishing House, a publisher that specializes in children literature.

(10/31/07) The Chinese distributor of the film has released three new film stills, all with Michelle. Busy with her The Mummy 3 filming, Michelle said yesterday that she has a small role and does not have much screen time in The Children of Huang Shi, but she feels honored to participate in a production with such a meaningful theme. Asked about collaborating with Chow Yun-fat, Michelle said she hopes to meet him at the premiere (they didn't see each other during the production). According to the reports, the post-production will be complete at the beginning of November. The Chinese premiere is currently scheduled for March 2008 in Huangshi, Hubei Province. On Sony's official site the U.S.release date is marked as "TBD". Reportedly they just had a test screening in the east coast.

Michelle as a business woman	Michelle testing Jonathan Rhys Meyers	rebuking gangsters
(photos and captions from "Sina". click to enlarge)

(09/19/07) Taiwanese news reported that Taiwan's Yan Zhi Yu Le is also a co-production company for The Children of Huang Shi. Two photos were released to media by the company .


Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat in "The Children of Huang Shi"
(click to enlarge. "UDN" photos)
(09/05/07) Chinese media reported that the post-production of The Children of Huang Shi is nearly finished and that the final cut can be expected to be completed this month.

Director Roger Spottiswoode was flying around to re-record two dialogs between Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Michelle. After finishing the sound recording with Meyers in Dublin, Ireland, the director rushed on the 3rd of September to Venice where Michelle has been attending the Venice Film Festival, and re-did Michelle's lines. Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaoding, the director of cinematography, is in Berlin doing the final color mixing and adjusting. (Photo at left: Michelle in "The Children of Huang Shi". click to enlarge. "Tom")

(08/16/07) According to China's "Dalian Evenings", the Chinese distributor Cheerland said that the first cut of The Children of Huang Shi was completed last weekend. Reportedly Sony is still considering pushing the film for the Oscars and they may have a small scale limited release initially in some cities in North America in order to qualify for the Academy Awards.

(08/13/07) Multiple sources indicated that the worldwide release of The Children of Huang Shi will be at early 2008 instead of late 2007. It has been reported that the premiere in China has been set in March 2008. On Sony Classic's official site it says "TBD". Australian Film Commission listed that the film runs 100 minutes.

(07/25/07) This photo, Australian actor David Wenham with some extras, was taken in February on a set of The Children of Huang Shi in Shanghai (click to enlarge). Here are several short (YouTube) video clips taken by an extra on set during the filming: clip 1 clip 2 clip 3 clip 4.   Director Roger Spottiswoode, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and David Wenham can be seen.   (Robin Maness Dickerson)

(07/16/07) Post-production of The Children of Huang Shi has been taking place at Melbourne's Digital Pictures (daily telecine transfers, AVID suites). Chinese media reported that director Roger Spottiswoode will start working on the final sound mixing at the end of the month. Sound dubbing for children and some Chinese actors have been recorded in Beijing.

(07/16/07)
"Huang Shi" and "The Children of Huang Shi":

HUANGSHI (aka Huang Shi, literally translated as "Yellow Stone") is landscaped among hills and lakes on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The name "Huangshi" can be seen as recorded during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) although mining in the region was developed as early as 1200 B.C.. During the period of 1930s (when the movie is set), Huangshi was a town located in Daye County, Hubei Province, under the rule of the Kuomintang government (the Nationalist party). In October 1938, the Japanese army occupied the Huangshi region and controlled it until Japan announced their surrender on August 15, 1945. In 1949, soon after the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) took control over the region, the government incorporated Huangshi and a few other towns from Daye County and formed the "Shihuiyao Industry Special Zone". In 1950, the government declared the zone as an industrial city, which is the "Huangshi City" today.

When news of the filming of "The Children of Huang Shi" was heard, Huangshi local government officials saw it as a good opportunity to promote the city. They contacted the Chinese production company right away and hoped some filming could be done in Huangshi itself. By that time the production was already toward the end and there was no plan for the production companies to actually shoot in Huangshi. Cheerland then agreed to have the premiere held there.

What's the relationship between the film "The Children of Huang Shi" and the real Huangshi (Huang Shi)? In the film's story, George Hogg spent a year at Huangshi, Hubei Province, taking care of 60 war orphans there, before leading the children on the long journey to safety in late 1938. In the real history, George Hogg was the headmaster of a school (Bailie School) in Shuangshipu, Shaanxi Province (not Hubei). When Shaanxi was threatened by the Japanese advance, in the winter of 1944, Hogg made the decision to move the entire school to safety - by foot and mule cart - and they traveled more than 700 miles to Shandan, Gansu Province. (related Location Map)

Upon hearing the filming news and film story, Reporters and Huangshi local officials tried to look for traces of the historical event. They tried to look for people who had lived in the area during that period of time but were unable to find anyone who has any memory of a foreigner saving Chinese children during the war. In the local Annals, there is a record of a school, called "Zhende School", which was built in 1931 by missionaries and stopped running in the fall of 1938. Were those students war orphans and where did they go? Today's Huangshi locals do not know. It is possible the film is combining these two events - the nameless heroes who helped to save the children of Huangshi, and George Hogg's story.

Zhende school used to be next to a missionary hospital, some elderly residents recalled. However, those old buildings no longer exist.

According to a current figure from local officials, today's Huangshi city has a population of 2,476,400, with less than 4% of them having received an education beyond high school.

(06/25/07) A few more behind the scenes photos from the filming of The Children of Huang Shi.


(click to enlarge. photos from "Tom", "Baidu", "Hsdcw", and "Sina")

1. Director Roger Spottiswoode on a Hengdian filming set
2. Michelle (right) at Hengdian filming set in a raining day, Decemebr 2006
3. Chow Yun-Fat (right) in the Gansu filming
4. "time out" for naughty children on set, Gansu

(06/19/07) On June 18th, Cheerland Entertainment, the Chinese distributor of The Children of Huang Shi, held a press conference in Shanghai during the Shanghai International Film Festival and announced that the (Chinese?) premiere of the film will take place in March 2008 in Huangshi (Huang Shi) City, Hubei Province. There will be an international charity gala and the main cast and crew members are expected to attend.

Some behind the scenes footage was shown at the press conference. Chinese producer Zhang Wang (Er Yong) said the film is currently under post-production. They are in the middle of the sound dubbing. Director and a sound crew have been flying around and "chasing" the actors for voice recording. They just finished the sound dubbing with Chow Yun-Fat in Hong Kong. Michelle has yet to do her part. Some special effects will be done including digitally removing some modern buildings which don't belong to the period. The post-production is scheduled to be completed in September. The Chinese producer mentioned that Sony Classics is going to push for an Oscar campaign for the film.

Video report on the press conference with Making of "The Children of Huang Shi" (01:00, with Chinese narration)


press conference photos. posters can be seen in the background
authorities of Cheerland Entertainment and Huangshi officials signing contract


set photos from the Gansu filming
(click to enlarge. photos from "Sohu", ""QQ", "Hsdcw", and "Sina")
(06/13/07) Synopsis: The film tells the story of George Hogg (Rhys Meyers), a young British journalist, who rescues 60 orphaned children. He leads them on a treacherous 1,000-mile journey along the Silk Road, through the Liu Pan Shan Mountains into the spectacular Gobi desert. Over the course of the journey he falls in love with a determined, self-trained nurse (Mitchell), and makes a friend in Chen (Chow), the leader of a Chinese partisan group. Madame Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a surviving aristocrat, assists in guiding them to safety in a remote village near the western end of China's Great Wall. (Source: Sony Pictures Classics)

(06/13/07) More set photos from the filming in Gansu Province: (click to enlarge)

children	Jonathan Meyers	at 1st day of shoot	convoy

refugees	nationalist field hospital	explosion

More photos can be seen on this Slide Show (Qiao's Blog).

(06/05/07) More images have been added at Promotion & Still Images of "The Children of Huang Shi" .

(05/27/07) In addition to the previously sold film distribution rights in different territories, Hyde Park International sold French rights to Metropolitan and Spanish to DeA Planeta at the Cannes Film Market.

The Children of Huang Shi is currently under post-production. Producer Jonathan Shteinman said more than half of the post-production has been finished and the process has been going smoothly.

(1) (L to R) producers Wieland Schulz-Keil, Peter Loehr, director Roger Spottiswoode, and producer Arthur Cohn on set (2) producer Wieland Schulz-Keil (left) and actress Radha Mitchell (right) at a filming set (3) Chow Yun-Fat and Radha Mitchell
(photos from "HSDCW" and "CCWB". click to enlarge)

(05/13/07) Synopsis: [Spoiler Warning]

The story of CHILDREN OF THE HUANG SHI is set in war-ravaged China during the late 1930's. It is a story of how a young Englishman, George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), came to lead sixty orphaned children on an extraordinary and perilous journey of almost a thousand miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. And of how, in doing so, he grew to learn the true meaning of courage.

When George Hogg graduated from Oxford, he wanted to be a writer/journalist. He arrived in Shanghai during his world tour and became a wartime journalist. He did not realize the cruelty of the war until he witnessed the infamous Nanking Massacre (during which an estimated 300,000 Chinese civilians were killed). He wanted to report the horrible truth to the world but the pictures he took were discovered by Japanese soldiers and he was arrested. Jack Chen (Chow Yun-Fat), a West Point graduate and a military officer of a communist guerrilla force, rescued him from under the Japanese's gun. Hogg and Chen became friends. When the injured Hogg needed a place to nurse his wounds, Chen was looking for a place where the English speaker could safely stay. An Australian nurse, Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell), suggested Huang Shi in Hubei Province.

In the beautiful mountains of Huang Shi lived some missionaries and they hosted a home for some war orphans. When George Hogg arrived in Huang Shi, the last missionary had just died of illness and he found 60 unruly orphaned boys running around. The horrible experience in their lives made them disobedient. Hogg did not like this place and he wanted to return to the real war frontier. Lee Pearson suddenly left and he was left to take care of the children by himself. A widowed aristocrat and local retail merchant, Madame Wang (Michelle Yeoh), became his only help.

Hogg's effort had gained him love from the children by the time Chen and Pearson returned. The war did not spare them. The Japanese army was approaching and the Nationalist Party wanted the older boys to join the Chinese army to fight the Japanese. Hogg decided the only escape for the boys was to travel to a safe haven in the inner Mongolian desert.

George Hogg, Jack Chen, Lee Pearson, and the 60 children went on the arduous 1,000 mile journey. They experienced the dangerous conditions such as snowstorms and sandstorms and once they barely missed running into Japanese soldiers face to face. Three adults, two men and one woman, developed some relationships among each other.

They finally arrived in Shandan, Gansu Province. There they had planned to build a new home and new school for the boys. (Major spoiler warning - highlight the text in the brackets to read) [ George Hogg caught tetanus from a minor injury he sustained from the journey. They tried but failed to find blood serum to save him. He died at the age of 30. ]
(translated from Huang Shi's "Dongchu Evening News")

(04/30/07) The Chinese magazine "Movie View" published some photos from the filming of The Children of Huang Shi in Shanghai, taken by reporters during a set visit on February 11th. (click on photos to enlarge)

smoke rises from within "Japanese leased territory"	Lugang Bridge which separates British and Japanese leased territories	half-burned roadblocks	flyers for missing people - mostly missing children

British guards on the south side of "Suzhou River"	David Wenham with the director	Jonathan Meyers with "soldiers"	extras

a burned vehicle	a shop on "Nanking Road" that was "opened" for the filming	a boat on the "Suzhou River"	the tramcar is a symbol of the Nanking Road in old times

The Children of Huang Shi was filmed in Shanghai only for four days - three days in the Shanghai Film Studio, and one day for interior shooting at an old house in Shanghai city. This was the last stop for their filming in China before they moved to Australia.

Michelle, Chow Yun-Fat and Radha Mitchell did not appear in the Shanghai shooting. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was there. Australian actor David Wenham, who plays a small role in the film, joined the filming team in Shanghai.

What was shot in Shanghai will be the beginning part of the film. One of the scenes shot on February 11 was when a large number of refugees rushed from Japanese leased territory in Shanghai to British leased territory. There were more than 200 extras on set, among them more than 100 refugees, as well as Japanese and British soldiers, and westerners who appeared in the leased territories. (many thanks to "A Bird" for the magazine scans!)

(03/30/07) Watching the Children of Huang Shi, by journalist Clifford Coonan.


Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell with the children
on a Hengdian set (click to enlarge)
(03/14/07) This is a photo of a film set for The Children of Huang Shi. Built at Hengdian, it was used as a part of a town where George Hogg witnessed an atrocity committed by Japanese soldiers. Reportedly building the set cost about $2,000,000. (click to enlarge. "Hengdian World Studios")

(02/28/07) The production of The Children of Huang Shi has wrapped. The planned release date is Christmas 2007.


(click to enlarge. image from "Zero West")
(02/16/07) "ScreenDaily" reported filming of The Children of Huang Shi in China, which started November 13 last year in Gansu Province, ended in Shanghai on February 16.

The production involved taking the children and a 300-strong crew into the mountains of the remote Gansu Province in the cold weather. However, a bigger challenge was finding period buildings. It is surprisingly difficult to find older buildings in China and the few that still exist have often been fixed up in a way that makes them less useable, says a producer of the film. "But the natural locations are wonderful. We shot in the Gobi (Gebi) desert, three hours from Dunhuang, and the scenery was spectacular."

(02/16/07) At the European Film Market during the Berlin Film Festival, Hyde Park International, who handles foreign sales of the film, just closed a number of deals on the film distibution rights including: Metropolitan (France), MGM (CIS), Paris Films (Brazil), Gussi (all remaining Latin American rights), Village Roadshow (Greece), RCV (Benelux), Lusomundo (Portugal), Modus Vivendi (Eastern Europe), Aqua Pinema (Turkey), and Phars (Middle East). Sony Classics has the North American rights.

(02/14/07) - Filming of The Children of Huang Shi in China is expected to finish soon.

- A few more video, with some footage from the film, can been seen at the newly created Video section.

- A Forgotten English Hero. An interesting story by James MacManus on his initial drafts of the script. (Jane's notes: (1) The capital of China was Nanjing (Nanking) at that time, not Beijing. (2) The regional capital and a staging post on the old Silk Road to the West, "Lanchow", is called Lanzhou today, and that's where the part of the filming took place last year.)

(02/10/07) Chinese media published some interviews done last month with some cast and crew members at Hengdian.

Director Roger Spottiswoode said he was attracted by the story as soon as he heard of it several years ago. "It's about a country I had little knowledge of. A man from my home country went to this foreign land, during that special period. These are the two elements which really attracted me."

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell talked about working with Michelle, who was not at Hengdian when the production team met with the press last month. Jonathan Rhys Meyers said Michelle is an outstanding actress. "She is very beautiful, and very calm." He said he has seen many of her movies including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the 007 feature. Radha Mitchell said Michelle is very cool although she has a very warm personality. She said she felt great whenever Michelle was present. "In the movie, Michelle sells medicines to us. The relationship between us is friendship. Meanwhile I'm depending on her."

The Children of Huang Shi starts from Shanghai and travels with George Hogg, the British journalist, to Nanking where he tries to report the truth of the Nanking Massacre. In the process he was captured by Japanese soldiers. After being rescued by Jake Chen, he met 60 children orphaned from the war and took charge of them, with the aid of an Australian nurse. They stayed in Huangshi (Huang Shi), Hubei Province for a couple of years. When the war approached, they traveled across the country to the Gebi dessert and led the children to safety.

Some scenes from Huangshi and Nanking are filmed in Hengdian World Studios ("Jiangnan Water Country" and "Nanking Streets District") and in the surrounding areas as well. Some of the main sets include the orphanage and the ruins of Nanking which was built at a broken-down old factory.

(02/01/07) According to the "Chuzhou Evening", The Children of Huang Shi filmed at Xiandu, Zhejiang Province for a few more days (around 23rd and 28th) in addition to the Xiandu filming they did last December (with Michelle) and January 12th (with Chow Yun-Fat). They filmed in Xiandu for a total of 15 days. On January 30th, they finished the last day of filming there, and the production team returned to the Hengdian World Studio. Filming at the studio will continue until February 9 before heading to Shanghai. An orphanage set was built at an old ancestral temple in Tiecheng, Xiandu, which is one of the important settings for the film. After more than 20 media visited the filming sets when Michelle was in Xiandu last December, the "Chuzhou Evening" was the only media who managed to visit the set once (on Jan. 12). Filming in China is expected to wrap up before the Chinese New Year.

(01/22/07) On January 21st, a press conference for The Children of Huang Shi was held in Hengdian, where the production has been taking place since last month. It was attended by some of the children actors and all of the lead actors except for Michelle, who has already finished her scenes and is currently in Europe filming Babylon A.D..

Although Chow Yun-Fat, who plays a supporting role in the film, tried to get the reporters' attention to shift to Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell, the two main leads, reporters kept their focus on Chow. Most of the questions toward Chow were not about The Children of Huang Shi but about a recent "fight" he's involuntarily involved with a Chinese producer on another project. Even with translators' help, Meyers and Mitchell had no idea what they were talking about.

About three minutes of footage from the film was played to the press. The world premiere of the film is currently scheduled to be held in Huang Shi (Huangshi, Hubei Province) in November. The children characters in the film are supposed to have stayed in Huang Shi, although no filming is planned to take place there.

A video of the press conference. A few scenes from the film are shown. In Mandarin Chinese.


Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat, director Roger Spottiswoode
and some children actors at the press conference


(click to enlarge. photos from "Sina" and "Tom")
(01/17/07) Some still images for The Children of Huang Shi, published by Sony. They are from early filming in Gansu Province.



About the train explosion scenes: [Spoiler]  It was filmed at a train station in Lanzhou. In the story, a train which was full of KMT (Kuo-Min-Tang, the Nationalist party) soldiers was about to depart when a Japanese air-raid struck. Chow Yun-Fat's character, a communist military officer, advised the KMT officer to let the soldiers out and get into shelter. The KMT officer refused. Bombs dropped on the train and the cars caught fire. Chow and Jonathan Rhys Meyers's characters rushed to the rescue. They unlocked the door, which was locked from the outside, and let the soldiers escape. (Jane's note: the story is published by mainland Chinese media. If it is true, it really sounds like a story from the Chinese communist authority, who always tries to paint the Nationalist party either as cruel or stupid...)

(01/14/07) On January 12th, the production team for The Children of Huang Shi, including Chow Yun-Fat, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Radha Mitchell, was seen in Tiecheng, Xiandu, where they did three days of filming back in last December when Michelle was in Hengdian.

An old ancestral temple in Xiazhang Village is used as the orphanage in the film. 27 children actors who came to Xiandu are chosen among more than 60,000 candidates from Los Angeles, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

A "Chuzhou Evening" reporter visited filming set and described a scene with Chow Yun-Fat, who dressed as a farmer, in an abandoned old house in Xiazhang Village. Filming in Xiandu will last for another three days, and the team may return to the location later this month for more shooting. After Hengdian, production will move to Shanghai before going to Melbourne later in February.

Chow Yun-Fat in Xiandu	the orphanage set in Tiecheng, Xiandu

(1) children having lunch on set (2) 12 year old Zhai Xiaoguang, a student in a performing school, is from Hebei Province (3) this is not an ordinary sheep - it "acted" in Dunhuang scenes too
("Lishan News" photos. click to enlarge)

(01/09/07) More promotion and set photos from The Children of Huang Shi: (click to enlarge. "QQ" photos)

From Hengdian:     Michelle Yeoh		Jonathan Meyers

Jonathan Meyers		Radha Mitchell     (Gansu)

(12/22/06) Video: interviews with Michelle and director Roger Spottiswoode at the Hengdian filming set (3:01. in Mandarin. may need to use IE to watch.).

Michelle said she found the character interesting when the director talked with her about the story more than four years ago. Spottiswoode said: "In Tomorrow Never Dies Michelle had many action scenes. On the one hand it might have restricted the development of her own character. I always hoped there would be an opportunity which allows her to express more of her own character and inner world. This is why I chose Michelle to portray Madame Wang."

Nearly ten years have passed since they made Tomorrow Never Dies. "She looks younger and more beautiful now," said Spottiswoode, "and her performances are even more impressive." Michelle said: "We are all ten years older. I haven't seen Roger for a long time. When I saw him on Saturday (the 9th) he looked very tired. They had been filming in Gansu for five weeks and it was tough shoot."

More set photos (click photos w/borders to enlarge. from "Ming Pao", "Sina", "Sohu" and "Tungstar"):

Michelle at the Hengdian filming set			Michelle with director Roger Spottiswoode

Spottiswoode, Michelle and Meyers	Michelle and Meyers on the tea scene	Jonathan Meyers	Chow Yun-Fat (Gansu)

The Hengdian set photos were taken last week. This week, with neither Michelle nor Chow Yun-Fat on set, local reporters basically left the filming team alone.

(12/18/06) CCTV, the central government's official TV station in mainland China, aired on Dec. 17th a program about the film, focusing on Chow Yun-Fat's character, who is a West Point graduate and a military officer of the communist New Fourth Army. They reported that Chow will have in total seven sets of costumes in the film, including Western-style clothing, a fur coat (seen in released photos) for the Silk-Road journey, and the communist New Fourth Army uniform. (For information on the true roles of the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) and the Nationalist party (the KMT) please see Fact Sheets. As we have pointed out, during the anti-Japanese war, the main focus of the CCP was expanding their power base against the then KMT government, who was essentially alone on the front lines battling the Japanese. But the textbooks of the CCP constantly claim to this day that the KMT did not resist the Japanese, and that it was the CCP that led the country to the great victory in the war.)

(12/18/06) Director Roger Spottiswoode said in an interview that he met Chow Yun-Fat ten years ago through Michelle. Five years ago, Spottiswoode talked about this project with Michelle and Chow, and both of them agreed to star.

In an interview of Radha Mitchell, she said she's very excited about working with Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is my favorite Chinese language film. They teamed up perfectly," said Mitchell.

Michelle has already left Hengdian.

More set photos from the Gansu desert filming in November:

filming at Yadan land formations		creating "sandstorm"

children	Radha Mitchell	Jonathan Meyers
(photos from Chinese blogs, video scans, and "Beijing News". click to enlarge)

(12/14/06) Video (links 1 or 2): behind the scenes at Hengdian, and interviews with Michelle Yeoh and Radha Mitchell (6:25. in Mandarin and English. may need to use IE to watch.)

The video shows the filming of a scene when Madame Wang (Michelle) and George Hogg (Jonathan Meyers) sit together drinking afternoon tea and discussing a book.


(video scan. click to enlarge) Unlike the sneak reports during the Gansu filming with which reporters got by using "spies", in Hengdian the production companies invited some media members for set visits (there will be two organized set visits - one in the middle of December and another in February) and arranged media interviews with Michelle, Jonathan Meyers, and Radha Mitchell. Meyers's agent canceled his at the last moment. Reportedly both Meyers and Mitchell caught bad colds when they were in Gansu. After moving to Zhejiang Province, Mitchell is fine but Meyers is unaccustomed to the climate and has been ill.

On the first day (13th) of the set visit, some filming was taken place at the Luzhai Ming & Qing Dynasty ancient group buildings in Dongyang, near the Hengdian World Studio. The next day, the filming team was at Tiecheng, a scenic spot in Xiandu, Zhejiang Province and shot some exterior scenes of Madame Wang's house.


Michelle as Madame Wang in "The Children of Huang Shi"
(click to enlarge. photos from "QQ" and "News365")
Michelle has to finish all her scenes (about 30 to 40 of them) this week. The schedule is very tight. At the end of her 30 minute interview on set, Michelle's assistant kept asking reporters to wrap it up, since Michelle had not had lunch yet (it was after 1:30PM) and the only time she could eat something was during the 10 minutes when reporters interviewed the director.

Reportedly all of the four main leads - Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Chow Yun-Fat, Radha Mitchell, and Michelle, are involved in some romances in the film. (hmm... should I give out spoilers on who's with whom?) For more details on the interview with Michelle, please see News.

(12/13/06) It was not a large-scale press conference, but several media was permitted to visit the filming set in Hengdian. The Shanghai newspaper "Dongfang Daily" interviewed some of the cast and crew members.

Director Roger Spottiswoode said he started to prepare this film seven years ago. He was deeply touched by the story and he said as a British man he feels he understands George Hogg's experience. He is very interested in that part of Chinese history. "I have been trying for many years to get funding. Finally we have got everything and got the film started." He said that although he has made some commercial films, what he really wanted to do was to make independent films where the director is allowed to have better control over the production. The last version of the script was finished by Spottiswoode himself. Reportedly when he was writing the script, Spottiswoode was using Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat as the real models for the main Chinese characters in the film, Madame Wang and Jack Chen. "After Tomorrow Never Dies, I have always wanted to make a 'real' movie with Michelle, and give her a rich character to portray," he said. "Now it's the time."

Michelle has only one week before heading to her U.S./French actioner Babylon A.D.. She is here in Hengdian to fulfill her "promise" to Spottiswoode. "He asked me a long time ago," Michelle said, "and he hopes I will act in this film. Luckily my schedule allows me to have one week." Michelle's character is a business woman who is an aristocratic widow. On the filming set, she was dressed in elegant qipao (cheongsam). [Spoiler warning] Although in the announcement there is a scene in which Michelle is rescuing Jonathan Meyers from jail, Michelle will have no action scenes in the film. "I can't fight in this dress," smiled Michelle. When reporters used the words "patriot" and "glorious" to describe her character, Michelle deferred: "I only hope to show the audience how a woman survives on her own efforts in that period of time."

Although it has been a big news that Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat will co-star once more in a film six years after their smashing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle said she's not sure whether she will see Chow Yun-Fat, a good friend of hers, this time at all since she will only stay for a short time on the filming. When Spottiswoode discussed with her about the candidates for the Chinese male lead, Michelle "made the decision" for the director: "In my heart, Fa-Ge (Brother Fa/Fat) is the best." (Note: latest media news said Chow Yun-Fat will skip the Beijing premiere of Curse of the Golden Flower on the 14th due to The Children of Huang Shi. Maybe he will meet with Michelle this time after all!)

Zhao Xiaoding, the cinematographer of the film (whose previous work include Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower), also accepted reporters' interview. He said as a film about a war, they are using realistic styles for the camera work.

(12/12/06) According to the Shanghai newspaper "Dongfang Daily", Michelle, Jonathan Meyers, and Radha Mitchell will meet the media on the 13th in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province, where the filming of The Children of Huang Shi is continuing.

According to the report, Hengdian filming will last until mid-February. In addition to the Hengdian World Studios, many scenes will also be shot in the surrounding areas. Because of Michelle's tight schedule, shooting is right now concentrating on her scenes. Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat have not shown up on the set together yet since Chow just started the promotion tour of his new film, Curse of the Golden Flower. Chow will return to the filming later.

(12/11/06) Came across this interesting advertisement on craigslist.org. They were looking for actors who look like Radha Mitchell and Jonathan Meyers "from (the) side". "Because they are so busy." The post was from early November.

Also, in September, there were Chinese advertisements looking for the "third female lead" for the film. The description was: "Actress. Age 55-70. Thin and dark, with an image of toiling masses."

[Spoiler warning] According to recent Chinese reports, the story of The Children of Huang Shi starts with George Hogg, a British journalist, going to Japanese invaded Nanjing (Nanking, the then China's capital city) and trying to report the massacre to the world and getting captured by the Japanese. Jake Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) rescues him. When Hogg escapes, he meets a group of 60 children, orphaned by the massacre. After the recent death of the director of the orphanage, the children were temporarily under the care of an Australian nurse, Lee (Radha Mitchell). The situation of the war gets worse. With the help of a kindhearted lady, Madame Wang (Michelle), they escape from Japanese soldiers and go on a difficult journey along the Silk Road to get the children to a safe haven.

In the early reports from last year, Michelle's character was described as "a kindhearted village woman who would sacrifice her own life to save the children". Newer reports suggest her character is actually a business woman (no word on her fate). Filming is expected to last until February.

(12/08/06) Michelle said in an interview on the 6th that she will join the filming team on Saturday in Hangzhou, which is the capital city of Zhejiang Province and around 2-3 hours north of Hengdian.

(12/07/06) On the 6th, The Children of Huang Shi filmed the last scenes in Lanzhou at the old Governor's building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family with Chow Yun-Fat, Jonathan Meyers and Radha Mitchell. The filming team boarded a plane to the Eastern China on the 7th. All filming in Gansu Province, which started on Nov. 13, is complete.


photos from mid-November Gebi desert shooting in Gansu
(click to enlarge. photos from "Feitian" BBS)
(12/04/06) According to "Western Economic Daily", the filming in Lanzhou will be finished on the 6th.

Since the names of Jonathan Meyers and Radha Mitchell are not very well known in China, the local media is more interested in Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Michelle is not involved in the Gansu shooting, so Chow is the absolute focus. Reporters have tried to follow everything - from Chow's hotel room, his bodyguards, to all the scenes that are shot with him. Reportedly Chow Yun-Fat's Gansu part is scheduled to finish on the 4th.

More photos from the train station:


(photos from "Xin Bao" and "Sina". click to enlarge)
(11/30/06) The snow in Lanzhou caused a couple of days of delay to the production. Filming is continuing in Gansu. Dong Da Si (East Temple) is being used as an orphanage. Scenes shot at the old Governor's building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family are mainly for a temporary field hospital. On the 29th, a train explosion scene was filmed. It showed Chow Yun-Fat's character saving some KMT soldiers from the burning train. 300 KMT soldiers were played by armed police officers. The train was made of plywood.

Actress Jin Shuyuan, 73, who played the first wife in Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern (1991), plays an old nursemaid in the orphanage.

Local reporters seem determined to cover every scene shot in the Lanzhou area. They described the scenes in detail and keep giving out all kinds of spoilers about the film without hesitation and any warnings, including [the death of certain character]   (spoiler warning - highlight the text in the brackets if you would like to read).

trian explosion scene			fleeing civilians	actress Jin Shuyuan at interview
(photos from "Sina", "Western Economic Daily", and "Gansu Daily". click to enlarge")

(11/27/06) Qixinran (Cheerland Entertainment Organization), the Chinese distribution company of The Children of Huang Shi, has released the first round of official set photos to the media. (click on photos to enlarge)

Meyers and Chow	Mitchell and Meyers	Jonathan Meyers, Chow Yun-Fat, and Radha Mitchell

Jonathan Meyers	Radha Mitchell	Chow Yun-Fat
(photos from "Western Economic Daily", "Sina", "Shanghai Online" and Hong Kong "Mingpao" and "Ta Kung")

After local Chinese reporters took and published photos of the filming sets without permission, the filmmakers tightened the security on the set. There have been reports of (minor) conflicts between the security people and reporters/locals. Not allowed on the filming sets, local reporters complained about the production team. One newspaper even said: "What kind of authority do these people think they have? Who gave them the right to stop reporters' work?" and "According to Chinese law, the media has the right to interview and report news events. No one should stop the normal work of reporters!"

(This sadly shows us some of the truth: many reporters from mainland China do not realize there exist rules which they are supposed to follow, other than the direct orders from the CCP government. It is so ironic when mainland Chinese media actually claims China has laws that protect them for reporting news events. Don't they remember that there are so many important events the CCP government forbids them to report and they have to say exactly what the government instructs them to say? China has the largest number of journalists in jail for trying to report the truth.)

(11/27/06) Several days of unexpected snow fell upon The Children of Huang Shi's Liancheng shooting. Filmmakers were excited and shot some scenes with children marching in snow in mountainous regions.

The snow made the mountain roads more dangerous. They used 1,500 kg of salt to melt the snow on mountain roads. On the 25th, when the team was heading to Dong Da Si (East Temple), an electric generator truck slipped from the hilly road, slid to the bottom, and ended up upside down (photo). No injuries were reported. After Lanzhou local newspapers reported the accident, the news has been spreading on Chinese media like a snow ball and the titles of the reports became more and more scary: "Chow Yun-Fat on set, vehicle turned over", "Vehicle turned over, Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh not seriously hurt" - even though no actor was involved in the accident and Michelle was not even in China - she is currently in Paris preparing to start shooting her next big actioner Babylon A.D..

In the news release from a production company, it says Chow Yun-Fat's role in The Children of Huang Shi is not the leader of a communist guerrilla force as most of the Chinese reports previously claimed. Chow plays a man who returned to China from abroad in order to defend his country. In the published photos, he is not dressed as a communist military officer. Hong Kong newspapers reported that Chow Yun-Fat will stay in Gansu until December 7th.

As for Michelle, according to the media, she does not have a main role but nevertheless her character is important and interesting. They say she will not appear as an action heroine but as a "black widow".


Chow Yun-Fat and the children on shooting set
(photos from "Gansu Daily". click to enlarge)
(11/25/06) Lanzhou local newspapers have continued following the production although reporters are supposedly not allowed to get close to the shooting. Some scenes involving 200 extras were filmed in front the governor's building and on Liancheng streets.

Chow Yun-Fat joined filming in Lanzhou on the 23rd. His first scene which was shot in Liancheng was at Niuzhan Dapo (Hills) when he was protecting the children from bandits.

According to Chinese media, the film is aiming to release November 2007.

(1) Having a Chinese lunch (2) Lanzhou actor Shen Bin (left) plays the chief of police (3) Reporters got a far shot of Chow Yun-Fat from more than 200 meters away (4) A filming set (photos from "Lanzhou Evenings". click to enlarge.)

(11/21/06) Filming of The Children of Huang Shi has been moved to Liancheng. In the morning of the 20th, the Liancheng shooting started at the Governor building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family. The first scene shot there was Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell asking a local for directions.

Chow Yun-Fat has not been spotted at Liancheng on the 21st. But the Chinese newspaper "Xin Bao" reported a double of Chow's has already joined, and has participated in the shooting of certain fight scenes inside the building.

Despite the beautiful historical buildings, Gansu's Liancheng is not a famous tourist spot. It is a big event for the local residents to have such a large film production taking place in town - and with foreigners, no less. Those who are chosen as extras are envied by the others. They get paid 35 Yuan (about US$4.40) per day.

on set

extras

Interior of the Governor's building set up for the KMT period

Liancheng streets decorated as in 30s

Film props

Buddha statue made to look old

(photos from "Lanzhou Morning Post", "Lanzhou Evenings" and "GSCN". click to enlarge.)
(11/16/06) The Children of Huang Shi has been filming in the desert near Dunhuang city, including at the Mingsha Sand Dunes (Singing-sand Mountain), Mogao Grottoes, and at the Yadan land formations - in fact, the very scenery we have seen in Michelle's 2002 The Touch (some details and pics on the locations can be found in the "The Touch" news report of 10/06/01 and "The Touch" Production Facts ). Chinese media reported that filming will move to Liancheng, Lanzhou on the 17th. The film tells the story of George Hogg who led 60 orphaned children on an epic journey across the Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. It seems like they are filming the ending part first.

Dong Da Si filming set (photos from "Lanzhou Morning Post". click to enlarge)

The main shooting locations in Gansu Province are around Dunhuang and Lanzhou. One of the "hiding" places for the children will be Dong Da Si (East Temple, see pictures at right) at the Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County in the middle of Gansu Province. They will be shooting four days there.

Chow Yun-Fat will be joining the shooting in Gansu, mainly in Liancheng, for 7 days, starting around the 20th. Choosing local extras has started yesterday in Liancheng. 40 of the children have been chosen from a Beijing performing school. 20 children will be chosen in Liancheng locally.

Michelle will not have any scenes in the Gansu filming.

After Gansu, production will move to the Hengdian World Studios in southeast China in mid-December. Michelle's main scenes will be shot there. There will be no romantic relationship between Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat this time, according to the Chinese media. Set construction has been taking place at the "Guangzhou Street District" and "Jiangnan Water Country" in the studios. Some filming will also take place in Shanghai and Nanjing (Nanking).

(11/14/06) "Lanzhou Evenings" (China) reported that the production of The Children of Huang Shi started on the 13th in the Mingsha Mountains of Dunhuang, Gansu Province. 40 children, ages ranging from 9 to 14, were chosen from local schools to play the orphans in the film. Reportedly a scene of some armed bandits chasing trucks which carried the children was shot yesterday afternoon. According to the report, filming will move to Liancheng, Gansu next week.

Dunhuang children playing the orphans

Director Roger Spottiswoode with male lead Jonathan Rhys Meyers

(photos from "Lanzhou Evenings". click to enlarge.)
(11/09/06) After a fine of 20,000 Yuan, permission for filming at the Governor building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family in Liancheng was given by the authorities to the Children of Huang Shi team on Nov. 7. Set construction at the location will be resumed soon. A Chinese producer said the incident would not cause a big delay of the production. Chinese media reported production will start on the 13th at Jiayuguan Pass, an entrance of the Great Wall in Gansu, and Dunhuang. The locations in Lanzhou also include a train station, West Mountain, and the Datong River, which will include scenes of transferring 60 children.

(11/02/06) Filming of The Children of Huang Shi will start at Liancheng, Lanzhou, Gansu Province in the middle of this month. Local Chinese media are excited about the upcoming project in town. They reported that set construction has started a few days ago at the old Governor building of Mongol Chieftain Lu Family in Liancheng, Yongdeng County, Gansu and they managed to snap some shots.

The scene that is planned to be shot at Liancheng is when the team of children come to rest at the local governor's courtyard. Reportedly Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Chow Yun-Fat will join the Liancheng shooting. Michelle will not be there since she does not have any scene in that part.

However, not everything is running smoothly, according to reports. The local Yongdeng government yesterday ordered the set building to be stopped since, according to the official, the application from the production team about the set building at the location has not been approved yet.

Some photos of a filming set - the old Governor building of the Mongol Chieftain Lu Family:


(photos from "Lanzhou Evenings". click to enlarge)
(10/31/06) "The Australian" reported that the child leader role went to a 16 year old Sydney school boy, Guang Li, who speaks both English and Mandarin. He will spend more than three months with his mother in mainland China for the filming. Shooting locations include Lanzhou (Gansu Province), the Gobi Desert, Shanghai, the Hengdian World Studios (Zhejiang Province) and, next year, Melbourne.

The story is about 60 war orphans who are led nearly 1600km to safety by a young English writer, an Australian nurse and a "Chinese communist sympathiser," according to the report. It is the first official co-production between China and Australia. By cooperating with the Chinese communist government, it will be counted as a local film, thus avoiding the restrictions placed on foreign films in Chinese cinemas.

(10/30/06) According to "Dongfang Daily" (China), Qixinran, the Chinese distributor of the film, confirmed the filming will start next month. Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle will join the shooting at the end of November and mid-to-late December respectively. The report says the replacement of main lead actor Brendan Fraser with Jonathan Rhys Meyers happened around May or June since the new shooting date did not fit with Fraser's schedule.

(10/27/06) It has been announced that the production of The Children of Huang Shi (Chinese title: The Bitter Sea) is scheduled to start on November 13.

The Australian-Chinese-German co-production is to be directed by British director Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies, Under Fire). The historical drama is based on the true story of George Hogg, a British journalist who rescued scores of children during Japan's 1937 invasion of China. The film will depict George Hogg (Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers), with the assistance of an Australian nurse (Australian actress Radha Mitchell), rescuing a group of orphaned children. Faced with advancing Japanese troops, he leads the children on a 1,000-mile arduous trek across China to a safe haven.

Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat will both appear in the film. According to Chinese media, Chow will play the leader of a guerrilla force which is fighting against the Japanese. Michelle will star in the film as a village woman who helps the children escape from the Japanese army.

Director Roger Spottiswoode has been preparing this film for at least five years. Previously the script was written by Paul Haggis and the production was set to begin last year with Brendan Fraser playing George Hogg. As a friend of Spottiswoode's, Michelle agreed to star in the film even though she did not have a major role. We started to follow this project as early as June of 2005 on this site (News) when Brendan Fraser talked during his visit to China about the possible opportunity of working with Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat. Fraser went with director Spottiswoode for some location scouting, and he even said that being able to work with Michelle and Chow Yun-Fat was a great surprise and honor. Radha Mitchell's name was attached to the project last year as well. Since then I had heard that the production date has been pushed back several times, due to some funding problems.

During the past year we have seen the advertisements which looking for child actors in Singapore, Australia, and China. A tougher search was for a 15 year old Chinese boy to play the leader of the group of starving orphaned children who are the subject of the film. The final script was written by Jane Hawksley. Filming locations include the western Province of Gansu, the Hengdian World Studios in south-east China, and Melbourne, Australia. Filming is expected to last until February 2007 and post-production will take place in Australia and Germany. The film is set to release internationally in 2007.

Previous news reports on the project:
    Jun. 18, 2005     Jun. 20, 2005     Aug. 1, 2005     Sept. 29, 2005     Jul. 26, 2006
    Aug. 8, 2006     Sept. 5, 2006     Sept. 21, 2006     Oct. 23, 2006     Oct. 26, 2006

* While I'm eager to see a good epic on the period of the Japanese invasion, I sincerely hope the project will not be used for pleasing the Chinese communist authority. Some earlier Chinese reports indicated Chow Yun-Fat's role might be a communist military commander. Remember that the official Chinese government at that time was led by the Nationalist party (the KMT), and it was the KMT who led the country, with international assistance (after 1941), in defeating the Japanese invaders. The Chinese communist party (the CCP) has been trying hard to change this part of history and make people believe it was they who saved China from the invaders and not the KMT (who retreated to Taiwan in 1949 when the CCP seized power), in order to "prove" their legitimacy over the country.

Fact Sheets:
1. The nation-wide anti-Japanese war lasted eight years from 1937 to 1945. The total death toll of Chinese people caused by the Japanese invasion is estimated between 20 to 35 million. It significantly weakened the then Chinese government, led by the KMT (Kuo-Min-Tang, the Nationalist Party). Former CCP (Chinese Communist Party) leader Mao Zedong thanked Japanese militarists three times for the "help" provided by the Japanese invasion of China, which made possible the Communist victory in 1949. Under the 57 years of the "peaceful" rule of the CCP, 60 to 80 million innocent Chinese people have been killed, due to various "political movements".
2. During the Japanese invasion, the central focus of the CCP was to sustain its own power rather than ensuring the survival of the nation. After the Japanese occupied the city of Shenyang on September 18, 1931, thereby extending their control over large areas in northeastern China, the CCP fought shoulder to shoulder with Japanese invaders to defeat the KMT. Even at the most critical moment of national calamity, it incited people to oppose the KMT government.
3. The KMT army was essentially alone on the front lines while fighting the Japanese, losing over 200 marshalls in the war. The CCP only had a few battles with the Japanese away from the front lines and the commanding officers on the CCP side bore nearly no losses. The CCP did not make much of a contribution to the war against the Japanese at all. Instead, they spent their energy expanding their power base. However, the textbooks of the CCP constantly claim to this day that the KMT did not resist the Japanese, and that it was the CCP that led the great victory in the anti-Japanese war.

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