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The full programme for the 4th annual has been released and once again it’s shaping up to be an outstanding festival with plenty of UK premieres, Q&As, masterclasses, and – of course – those parties… (more…)

Just back from a very successful and fun interview with Satoshi Miki and Fuse Eri! I might have missed seeing this at Hyper Japan, but Eri was kind enough to give me her patented ‘triple-take’, play style, when discussing the differences between acting on TV and film!

More from Satoshi and Fuse, including the transcript of that interview soon… I promise!

Adrift In Tokyo is released today on UK DVD by Third Window Films.

New logo, new dates, same great festival!… (more…)

My inbox has been brimming this week with the news that Tony Jaa will return to the screen with the sequel to Warrior King (aka Tom Yum Goong, aka The Protector – can we have less English titles, please?).

Produced and directed by Prachya Pinkaew, Warrior King 2 (aka Tom Yum Goong 2, aka The Protector 2 – sheeesh!) will also star Jija Yanin (Chocolate, Raging Phoenix), Marrese Crump (who recently worked on RZA’s The Man With The Iron Fists in Shanghai), Dan Chupong (Born to Fight, Ong-Bak, Ong Bak: The Beginning, Ong Bak 3) and Kazu Tang (Raging Phoenix, Danny The Dog). The picture above shows the main cast at the production opening ceremony last Wednesday in Bangkok, left to right: Jaa, Crump,  Tang, Chupong, and of course Yanin in front.

With Prachya at the helm from the start, here’s hoping this doesn’t turn into the disaster areas that were the Ong-Bak ‘prequels’…

Due to play the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie, actress Michelle Yeoh has been deported from Burma.

The Guardian reports that a government official said Yeoh arrived in the country’s main city, Rangoon, on 22 June and was deported the same day because she was on a blacklist. A spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed Yeoh had been deported but had no other details.

Michelle Yeoh will appear in The Lady, a film directed by Luc Besson based on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, and she had previously stated she hopes her portrayal will raise awareness about the Nobel peace prize winner’s story.

Due later this year, the film will be one of few based on true life that Luc Besson has directed or even been involved with. And I’m expecting it will be somewhat less bombastic than Joan Of Arc…

Kim Kkobbi, the star of the multi-awardwinning debut feature by Yang Ik-June Breathless, will be attending a screening at the Odeon Kingston, in London, as part of the Happy Soul Festival – running from today until 12 June celebrating Black and minority films and arts exploring wellbeing. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with actress Kkobbi.

(Wellbeing? Breathless? Yeah, I’m not exactly sure how that works either…?)

The festival is free, and it’s a great opportunity to see the excellent if somewhat forthright Breathless on the big screen as well as see Kim Kkobbi in person. The official site for the festival can be found here.

Ahead of next Fridays release of Norwegian Wood, seems the UK press is in the grip of Haruki Murakami fever. Just the other day lead actress Rinko Kikuchi was interviewed by the Observer, now it’s the turn of director Tran Anh Hung speaking to Nosheen Iqbal of the Guardian, explaining how the film was made despite the fact that he didn’t speak Japanese, and even wrote the original script in French. THis has been greatly helped by both actress and director being in London to promote the film, thanks in part to the opening ceremony of the Pan-Asia Film Festival.

Expect a renewed interest into the authors work over the next few weeks – long over due…

Can it really be that time again? Time to put together film lists and top tens? Well, I guess it is. And The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw has put together his list for the year, including a nod to Kim Hye-ja for her outstanding performance in Mother and (of course?) an obligatory mention of Cannes Palm d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethaku’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives…

Read Peter Bradshaw’s best films of 2010 »

Jackie Chan talks to Rosanna Greenstreet of the Guardian, and answers some very silly questions…

Read the full Jackie Q&A on the Guardian »

Yep, it’s that time of year again! The London Korean Film Festival returns with another great line-up of new Korean films with many directors actually in attendance… (more…)

Yep, that’s right. Russ Russ is going to appear alongside the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA in the upcoming The Man With The Iron Fist. At least that’s what RZA, who will also direct, says…

The two seem to have been best chums since appearing together in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, even recording a song together, and has now been recruited to appear as the ‘baddest man alive’ in RZA’s latest project. More information than that RZA isn’t giving at this stage, but easternKicks reckons this should be a walk in the park for a star whose reputation for fights got a whole episode of South Park devoted to him. (“Fighting ’round the world!”) (Friends have suggested Russ my be becoming the new Steven Seagal – so watch this ponytail…!)

The film will begin shooting in December, and is produced Eli Roth, who also co-wrote the screen play, and Quentin Tarantino. Considering RZA’s input into Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai, and the Wu-Tang’s very obvious love of the kung fu, perhaps the real question is why has it taken so long?

IMDB also list RZA’s involvement with The Last Dragon, which I really hope is a remake of the 1980s Berry Gordy/Motown produced ‘guilty pleasure’ of the same name…

Read more on Yahoo! Movies Blog »

Currently promoting the Karate Kid remake with Will Smith’s 11-year-old son Jaden, Jackie Chan told Total Film magazine he was bullied when he was a child because he was “too scared” to stand up for himself.

“I was bullied quite a lot when I was growing up in my Peking Opera School,” he explained.

“I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied. By standing up for him, I learned to stand up for myself.”

Read the full story on Stuff.co.nz »

With Takeshis’ finally on a limited release in the UK (we originally reviewed it back at the 2005 London Film Festival!) Guardian writer David Thompson recently posted a brief guide to the man himself, Takeshi Kitano. (But it may leave you wanting to know much more!)… (more…)

Something of a reduced service here at easternKicks, while I move house and wait an eternity to get my broadband sorted out, but time to highlight the success of Breathless, the debut film by Korean actor turned director Yang Ik-June, at this years Tokyo Filmex, walking off with both the Grand Prize and Audience Award.

Already the recipient of numerous international film awards, the film is an accomplished first work, brutal and uncompromising in its portrayal of the caise and effect of domestic violence, it’s also poetic, funny, and surprisingly uplifting. On paper, a strange mix, but on screen easily one of the best Asian films of the year. The film opens in selected cinemas around the UK on 29 January 2010, distributed by Terracotta Distribution, and is a must-see.

We’ll be bringing you an exclusive interview with Yang Ik-June, who also stars, wrote and edited Breathless, and happens to be a lot more affable in real life than you might expect from his role, as well as a review of the film itself.

Just a few days after the death of David Carradine, star of the Bruce Lee conceived Kung Fu, was announced, now the death of Lee’s co-star in Enter The Dragon has been announced.

Shih Kien (also known as Sek Kin) may be best remembered as Lee’s one-handed arch-rival in Enter The Dragon, but with a career stretching back to 1940 appeared in hundreds of movies. These included appearing alongside Chow Yun-fat in A Better Tomorrow III, and many Shaw Brothers productions including Buddha’s Palm. 

Shih died on Wednesday at a Hong Kong hospital with his children by his side, the Ming Pao Daily News reported.

Read more about Shih Kien on BBC News Online »

The 72 year-old star of Kung Fu and Kill Bill, David Carradine, was found dead in his hotel room in Thailand on Thursday. Found naked in a wardrobe by a hotel maid, he is said to have had cord wrapped around his neck and other parts of his body, though the cause of death has yet to be established.

Part of an acting dynasty begun by his father, John Carradine, David became best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine (or Grasshopper) in the hit tv series Kung Fu. Though his career later veared into B-movies, including the original Death Race 2000, and straight-to-video productions, it was revived in 2003 when he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series.

More recently he appeared in tv production the White Crane Cronicles and a Chinese mobster in Crank: High Voltage.

Read more about David Carradine on BBC News online »