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The Great Wall (film)

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The Great Wall
Theatrical release poster
Directed byZhang Yimou
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyStuart Dryburgh
Edited byCraig Wood
Music byRamin Djawadi
Production
companies
Release dates
  • December 16, 2016 (2016-12-16) (China)
  • February 17, 2017 (2017-02-17) (United States)
Countries
  • United States
  • China[1]
LanguagesEnglish
Mandarin
Budget$135–160 million[2][3]

The Great Wall is an upcoming American-Chinese epic historical fiction action-adventure monster film directed by Zhang Yimou and written by Tony Gilroy, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Max Brooks, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.

Principal photography began on March 30, 2015, in Qingdao, China. The film is scheduled to be released in China on December 16, 2016 by Le Vision Pictures and China Film Group Corporation and in the United States on February 17, 2017 by Universal Pictures.

Synopsis

In the battle for humanity, an elite force makes a heroic stand atop the Great Wall of China to combat an army of monsters.[6][7][8] The monster is identified as the Taotie, a beast of great greed from ancient Chinese mythology.[9] A horde of monsters creep up on the wall every 60 years forcing the army to defend it. [10]

Cast

Production

On March 18, 2014, Chinese director Zhang Yimou was set to direct the epic film.[12][13] On November 6, 2014, Legendary East's CEO, Peter Loehr, confirmed that the film would be made with a budget of $135 million, that it would be completely in English and it would be the first English-language film directed by Zhang.[2] The film originally came from Legendary CEO Thomas Tull, who conceived the idea with World War Z writer Max Brooks. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) will be responsible for the visual effects and Weta Workshop will contribute practical effects (namely, weapons and props) to ensure a high quality film reminiscent of Hollywood productions.[14]

The company and I have been preparing for Great Wall for a long time. It is an action blockbuster. The reason I took the Great Wall project is that there have been requests in the last 10 or 20 years. Now the production is big enough and really appealing. And, very importantly, it has Chinese elements in it.

Zhang Yimou, director[15]

Filming

Principal photography of the film began on March 30, 2015, on location in Qingdao.[16] It is the most expensive film ever shot entirely in China with a budget of $135 million.[4][2]

Three walls were built during production as they could not shoot on the actual Great Wall. [17] During the filmmaking, the director said the most impressive part for him was the presence of so many translators to handle communication as he assembled an international crew for the filming. More than 100 on-set translators worked with the various cast and crew members. [18]

Music

The film's score is set to be composed by Ramin Djawadi.[19]

Release

The Great Wall is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2017 in the United States by Universal Pictures, and will hit Chinese theaters on December 16, 2016.[20] After that, since January 12, 2016, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures set the film for a November 23, 2016 release.[4]

Promotion

The Great Wall released its first trailer in July 2016, allowing movie fans a sneak peek at the all-star fantasy adventure blended with Chinese cultural elements and the world famous landmark. The trailer, with tense and heart-pounding background music, shows off visually spectacular views of the Great Wall in fog, thousands of soldiers on a battlefield ready for war and a mysterious monster, as well as the roster views of those famous faces including Matt Damon and Andy Lau. [21][22]

A new song from Leehom Wang and Tan Weiwei was released on November 15, 2016 to promote The Great Wall. Bridge of Fate was composed by pop singer Wang with lyrics written by Vincent Fang, a long time collaborator of singer-songwriter Jay Chou. Female rocker Tan Weiwei joined Wang for a duet, but with two different vocal styles. Wang sang pop, while Tan performed a traditional Qinqiang - a folk Chinese opera style from Shaanxi Province. [23]

Chinese pop diva Jane Zhang released another new English song Battle Field and its promotional music video for The Great Wall on November 22, 2016. The song was composed by King Logan and Maroon 5's keyboardist PJ Morton and written by Josiah "JoJo" Martin and Jane Zhang. It was produced by Timbaland. [24]

Universal Pictures & Legendary Entertainment also debuted eight character posters of the film on November 17, 2016. [25]

Controversy

Due to some of the characters, including a main character played by Matt Damon, being white in a movie set in medieval China, the film has been accused of whitewashing and the white savior narrative.[26][27][28]

Director Zhang Yimou clarified that Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor, he further criticized detractors for not being "armed with the facts" and stated that:

“In many ways ‘The Great Wall’ is the opposite of what is being suggested. For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tentpole scale for a world audience. I believe that is a trend that should be embraced by our industry.”

Zhang Yimou, director[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Legendary Announces Cast for THE GREAT WALL". legendary.com. March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Frater, Patrick (November 6, 2014). "Legendary Confirms Budget Hike and Language for Zhang Yimou's 'Great Wall'". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  3. ^ Patrick Brzeski (May 14, 2016). "Wanda's Legendary Lost $500 Million in 2015, Chinese Filing Reveals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Ford, Rebecca (December 12, 2014). "Universal Pushes King Kong Film to 2017, Dates Great Wall Movie for 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "长城（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  6. ^ "Andy Lau to join Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall"". Yahoo!. March 12, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "Andy Lau among idols joining Great Wall". Film Business Asia. March 13, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ^ Gallagher, Brian. "The Great Wall Poster Sends Matt Damon Soaring Into Battle". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Zhang Yimou's new vehicle to export Chinese culture". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Zhang Yimou reveals secrets of 'The Great Wall'". Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  11. ^ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36921328
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (March 18, 2014). "Zhang Yimou in Talks to Direct Legendary's 'Great Wall'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Zhang Yimou to Scale 'The Great Wall'". Deadline.com. March 18, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  14. ^ "First sneak peek at Zhang Yimou's 'Great Wall'". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  15. ^ Coonan, Clifford (June 11, 2014). "Zhang Yimou Reveals Details of Legendary's China Co-Production 'Great Wall'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  16. ^ "Zhang Yimou officially entered the "Great Wall " crew set up on location in Qingdao". iduobo.com. March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  17. ^ "Zhang Yimou reveals secrets of 'The Great Wall'". Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  18. ^ "Zhang Yimou's new vehicle to export Chinese culture". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Ramin Djawadi to Score 'The Great Wall'". Film Music Reporter. August 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  20. ^ "Zhang Yimou's new vehicle to export Chinese culture". China.org.cn. November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  21. ^ "First sneak peek at Zhang Yimou's 'Great Wall'". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "Zhang Yimou reveals secrets of 'The Great Wall'". Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "Theme song released for 'The Great Wall'". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  24. ^ "Jane Zhang sings for 'The Great Wall'". Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  25. ^ "New Character Posters For Zhang Yimou's THE GREAT WALL Spotlight The International Cast". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  26. ^ Wong, Julie Carrie (29 July 2016). "Asian Americans decry 'whitewashed' Great Wall film starring Matt Damon". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  27. ^ "The Great Wall: Is Matt Damon 'whitewashing' or good business?". BBC. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  28. ^ http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/matt-damon-film-sparks-new-round-of-whitewashing-controversy/
  29. ^ http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/the-great-wall-director-defends-matt-damon-whitewashing-zhang-yimou-1201713306/
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