My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007)

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a7m4 · #1 Post by **a7m4** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:13 pm

I have to admit I was quite taken aback by this when I stumbled upon it this morning while I was half asleep, but I guess it could be interesting to get a different take on the subject besides an overdone hollywood disaster movie or a realistic examination of all the social and political issues involved. Here are two articles:

Hong Kong director to make Katrina film

Report: Director to shoot Katrina-based film in New York

Dylan · #2 Post by **Dylan** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:44 pm

Strange news indeed. I'm sure the main question on everybody's mind after hearing this is "What happened to Lady from Shanghai?" Is he putting that on hold because he got an opportunity to make this Katrina film?

Anybody have any clue what it might be like? Surely it won't be without painful romantics, fragmented structure, and dream-like existentialism (especially given the subject of disaster). This is an unlikely project for Wong, but there is certainly a reason why he wants to cinematically explore this event. I look forward to a new interview with him about this.

godardslave · #3 Post by **godardslave** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:22 pm

bizarre.

David Ehrenstein · #4 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:59 pm

Not really. Wong's probably visited New Orleans in the past. What's funny about the news item is Adrien Brody asking to see a script. HA! Lotsa luck with that, babe!

Jun-Dai · #5 Post by **Jun-Dai** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:53 pm

I wonder what Adrien Brody expects to get out of seeing the script. An idea of what the film's not going to be?

Grimfarrow · #6 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:04 am

David Ehrenstein wrote:Not really. Wong's probably visited New Orleans in the past.

Yes, a few times in fact just this past year. Good to hear the cat's out of the bag.

leo goldsmith · #7 Post by **leo goldsmith** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:37 pm

Jun-Dai wrote:I wonder what Adrien Brody expects to get out of seeing the script. An idea of what the film's not going to be?

Considering his experience with Malick, he's probably skeptical of Wong's process. I know I'd give a hearty chuckle if Brody's part was reduced to Maggie Cheung's screentime in 2046.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #8 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:24 pm

Question: does anyone know what Wong is working on right now? The Lady from Shanghai was supposed to begin shooting last month (did that actually happen?), he's got that biopic of Bruce Lee's master that was mentioned around the same time 2046 premiered, and Rachel Weisz said she was supposed to begin shooting an unnamed film with Wong sometime within the next few months (which everyone assumed was The Lady from Shanghai, but it could be this Katrina thing too). I hope he's got something before the cameras, because otherwise I'd be worried he's turning into the next David Fincher.

TedW · #9 Post by **TedW** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:47 am

[quote="The Fanciful Norwegian")I hope he's got something before the cameras, because otherwise I'd be worried he's turning into the next David Fincher.[/quote]

David Fincher is shooting a movie right now, though.

cafeman · #10 Post by **cafeman** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:12 pm

If you think about it, there isn`t a single Wong movie without copious amounts of rain, or wind. And if there`s a city in the US that relates to the atmosphere in his movies, it`s New Orleans.

So, to me, this sound like a great idea.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #11 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:11 pm

Lo and behold, Variety has answered my questions:

Elusive Hong Kong helmer Wong Kar-wai -- whose austere sunglasses define his look -- will find time after chairing the Cannes jury to come to grips with three new film projects. Two of the three are in English and involve top-tier talent.

Right after the May fest, Wong will focus on his English-lingo debut, a mood piece titled "Blueberry Nights."

Pic, which will mark the big-screen debut of Canadian singing sensation Norah Jones, is an extrapolation of a short film in which a shopkeeper falls for a mysterious female client who eats blueberry pies.

The $10 million pic is being set up as a unionized shoot in Gotham. He will presumably stick with his habitual movie-making methods -- a notable lack of script and a predilection for snatching scenes and shots over an extended period.

I'm guessing Blueberry Nights is the New Orleans film. After that he'll do The Lady from Shanghai (which will be a "studio-level, fully-scripted pic"), followed by the Bruce Lee teacher thing, which apparently has the working title of, uh, Bruce Lee Teacher.

Fletch F. Fletch · #12 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:22 pm

An update on Wong's various projects from Monkeypeaches.com:

Wong Kar-Wai has decided to postpone the production of The Lady from Shanghai to 2007 and shift his focus on the hurricane Katrina project. A teaser poster of The Lady from Shanghai has appeared during the Berlin Film Festival. Someone from a French distribution company said Wong had difficulty of casting the right leading man to work with Nicole Kidman. For the Katrina project, singer Norah Jones was mentioned as the choice for female lead and the rumor of Adrian Brody playing the male lead was denied.

This image shows a large portion of the teaser poster appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival. It shows a lady walking in a street alone. Some kind of menu is written on the window glass and a bullet hole is visible on the right. The elevated rail line makes it looks more like a street in New York or Chicago, rather than Shanghai. Story of Lady from Shanghai is set at multiple locations around the world and Shanghai is only one of several cities to be featured in the film. Part of the URL of the official site is also reveal on the poster - http://www.ladyfromshanghai.com. Also according to World Entertainment News Network, Rachel Weisz just said that she would play a pregnant woman in the film and she would not have to "hide her bump". (click here) Since Lady from Shanghai has already been postponed to next year, her pregnancy will not be a matter any more.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #13 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:02 pm

I've heard (although I can no longer remember where) that Blueberry Nights is not the Katrina project. Who knows what's going on...

Antoine Doinel · #14 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:58 pm

Spike Lee is currently working a documentary about Hurricane Katrina as well....

And I'll ask the big question that no one has asked yet: will Christopher Doyle be working on any of Wong Kar-Wai pics? The two had a major falling out during 2046 but I hope they patch things up....

Fletch F. Fletch · #15 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:12 am

Antoine Doinel wrote:Spike Lee is currently working a documentary about Hurricane Katrina as well....

And I'll ask the big question that no one has asked yet: will Christopher Doyle be working on any of Wong Kar-Wai pics? The two had a major falling out during 2046 but I hope they patch things up....

I could've sworn that I read somewheres that Darius Khondji was going to be working with Wong.

Anonymous · #16 Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:50 am

Antoine Doinel wrote:The two had a major falling out during 2046 but I hope they patch things up....

Both Doyle and Wong have denied this multiple times in interviews. Doyle had to leave because of commitment to another project due to how over schedule 2046 was.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #17 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:45 pm

Apparently Wong's been telling the Hong Kong media that My Blueberry Night (or Blueberry Night or Blueberry Nights or My Blueberry Nights or whatever) will be a road movie with Norah Jones, Rachel Weisz and -- wait for it -- Jude Law. It starts shooting in June. He also said he has no plans to do a Hurricane Katrina film and that rumor only came up because he did some location scouting in New Orleans last year (as Grimfarrow hinted awhile back). All this is from Monkeypeaches, who also touch on the Ye Wen biopic (which is due to start production next year) and The Lady from Shanghai (which doesn't seem to have a start date anymore).

AK · #18 Post by AK » Sun Apr 16, 2006 6:09 am

I was just going through the posts to see if anyone had mentioned this in depth, and there you are.

It will be interesting to see how long it will take either to start filming or to finish it. Also, if it is indeed a quick shoot, as has been 'rumoured' (yet considering how the Katrina rumour spread like wildfire, I wouldn't be surprised if...), will we be able to see it already this year? I find it unlikely, yet of course there is a possibility. But let him take the time he needs.

smw356 wrote:
Antoine Doinel wrote:The two had a major falling out during 2046 but I hope they patch things up....
Both Doyle and Wong have denied this multiple times in interviews. Doyle had to leave because of commitment to another project due to how over schedule 2046 was.

Indeed. I remember reading in an interview Doyle describing (paraphrasing) how he felt that the film ended up being somewhat unnecessary, and that he couldn't imagine himself spending another 4 years of his life with one film. I suppose this is basically the context from which these rumours of their break-up started. How I read this at the time (and how I read it now) is that Doyle was simply feeling a mix of both frustration and exhaustion after a long and demanding shoot. We all go through something like this time and again, and when we have the chance to recharge, we'll continue doing what we want to. I don't think this is comparable to a Greenaway/Nyman scenario.

Yet even though they wouldn't film Wong's next film together (Doyle has been very busy, as he always is), I'm sure they'll team up again in the future. I wouldn't worry about it.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I could've sworn that I read somewheres that Darius Khondji was going to be working with Wong.

This is what I've heard, too. Can't tell if this was the case concerning The Lady From Shanghai when it was still supposed to be happening this year, though. I haven't heard anything about who's going to be the DP for Blueberry. Any rumours/speculation is warmly welcomed.

Antoine Doinel · #19 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Tue May 23, 2006 7:59 am

Four Board Wong Kar Wai's Blueberry
Source: Variety
May 23, 2006

StudioCanal has set Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and Norah Jones to star in My Blueberry Nights, a romantic comedy that will be the first English-language feature directed by Wong Kar Wai, says Variety.

Jones, the Grammy Award-winning singer, stars as a young woman who travels across America to find the true meaning of love, encountering offbeat characters along the way.

Pre-production begins right after the Cannes Film Festival, where Wong is jury president. The film will shoot this summer across the U.S.

The director, who most recently helmed 2046, is also prepping thriller The Lady From Shanghai, with Nicole Kidman to star. That film begins production in 2007.

Antoine Doinel · #20 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:23 am

Director Wong Kar Wai, who's currently serving as All-Powerful Grand Overlord of the Cannes Film Festival jury, recently spoke about even more peeps joining the cast of his upcoming MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS. According to Wai, "Ed Harris will be in the film. We are talking to Kevin Spacey." Seeing as how this is the acclaimed director's first English language film, it's understandable that he'd attract such a stellar cast which also includes Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and Jude Law. Ironically, though, the film doesn't star any of them. The film stars acclaimed musician Norah Jones as a lonely soul searching for the meaning of love in a trek across America. She presumably encounters Harris et al on her journey and presumably each one is an offbeat character who pepper Jones' journey with some happy happy joy joy and help her discover what she's looking for. Harris can next be seen in Ben Affleck's directorial debut GONE, BABY, GONE (excluding, of course, I KILLED MY LESBIAN WIFE, HUNG HER ON A MEAT HOOK AND NOW I HAVE A THREE-PICTURE DEAL AT DISNEY) and Spacey can, of course, next be seen hamming it up as Lex Luthor in the insanely anticipated SUPERMAN RETURNS.

rs98762001 · #21 Post by **rs98762001** » Sun May 28, 2006 3:09 pm

A little more info:

Norah Jones lined for new film role

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai says Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones has an actor's "aura", and that their coming collaboration, the film My Blueberry Night, was tailor-made for her.

"Of course everyone knows her because she's a singer, but I didn't pick her for this film because she's a very successful singer. I think she's suitable for acting," Wong said in an interview with Hong Kong's Cable TV from Cannes.

Wong heads the jury panel at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"This is instinct. It's like how I felt that Faye Wong could act when I first saw her a few years ago. There's a very special aura," Wong said, referring to the Chinese pop diva who appeared in his movies Chungking Express and 2046.

Asked if My Blueberry Night was written for Jones, Wong said: "You could say that."

Wong described the film as a love story and said he has also cast Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz.

He said Jones' character has a romance with Law's, while Portman and Weisz portray people she meets.

Cable TV quoted Wong as saying filming will take two months. Shooting is expected to start within months.

Jones, 27, rose to fame with the success of her debut album Come Away With Me, which won eight Grammy awards. She is the daughter of Indian musician Ravi Shankar.

Wong is known for subtle, richly shot movies including In the Mood for Love. He won best director at Cannes for Happy Together, a gay love story.

backstreetsbackalright · #22 Post by **backstreetsbackalright** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:41 pm

Looks like My Blueberry Nights has begun shooting.

cafeman · #23 Post by **cafeman** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:02 pm

rs98762001 wrote:Wong is known for subtle, richly shot movies including In the Mood for Love. He won best director at Cannes for Happy Together, a gay love story.

Well, that`s one way of putting it.

Cinesimilitude · #24 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 2:33 pm

Anyone want to be in 'My Blueberry Nights'?

godardslave · #25 Post by **godardslave** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 2:35 pm

SncDthMnky wrote:Anyone want to be in 'My Blueberry Nights'?

do i get to meet Natalie Portman?