My thanks to reader AHTB for pointing out the new trailer for Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle director-star Stephen Chow's new sci-fi comedy CJ7. Running a full two minutes long, this one is loaded with fresh footage and looks to be something of a work in progress - while the dialog is Chinese only, the piece is narrated in English throughout. Fun? Heck, yeah ... this is going to be a good time ... you'll find this trailer along with the original teaser and the thirty second TV spot embedded in the Twitch Video Player below the break.
That's a reasonable trailer, though perhaps a bit too much information and I feel rather like I already watched the first half of the film now. Like KUNG FU HUSTLE, I think Columbia Pictures would be better equipped to handle this in the US than Sony Classics is. Classics doesn't sell lowbrow very well - they're an outfit who's optimized to get people to watch Kim Ki-Duk movies and WHY WE FIGHT. When they try and go into "wacky action comedy" mode, it feels unnatural and forced, like Warren Beatty rapping in BULWORTH. Chow is a Eighth Level Grand Master of the lowbrow. Columbia Pictures knows how to do lowbrow and mainstream marketing. They excel at it.
the horrid English narration doesn't do it justice at all, cos the Cantonese dialogue is really hilarious.
Gotta love the Shaolin Soccer bit, this looks really fun. A shame indeed that american studios have no idea how to market movies, but anyway.
It really pains me to see American companies try to deal with a good asian film. They seem to take a great deal of time copying the stories of good films from Asia (infernal affairs -> the departed), but when it comes to marketing them in North America they don't do particularly well. Its a shame, someday maybe.
i'm miffed, i live in los angeles and was eagerly waiting today hoping to see the film. once again, sony posted incorrect information on its website. don't they know he's got a large asian audience in the states? grrrrr! i keep on checking lammele's and other websites but can't find which theatres is showing this film
test
There's a english subtitled version available on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZePBF0bBdz8
New poster in the stills gallery.