My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007)

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Fletch F. Fletch · Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:06 pm

North American trailer.

justeleblanc · #102 Post by **justeleblanc** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:21 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:North American trailer.

Who is their audience here?

Nothing · #103 Post by **Nothing** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:16 am

Fashionista teenage girls? They're the bulk of WKW's audience, anyhow.

John Cope · #104 Post by **John Cope** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:18 am

Nothing wrote:Fashionista teenage girls? They're the bulk of WKW's audience, anyhow.

Because they're such fans of Happy Together.

David Ehrenstein · Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:41 pm

Saw it last night an really loved it. I guess I'm the world's oldest fashionista teenager.

King Prendergast · Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:33 pm

From the looks of the trailer those that don't geek out on Darious Khonji need not apply.

Nothing · #107 Post by **Nothing** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:24 am

John Cope wrote: Because they're such fans of Happy Together.

Why do you reckon Happy Together bombed?

Antoine Doinel · #108 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:32 am

New trailer and poster.

Cold Bishop · #109 Post by **Cold Bishop** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:31 am

Jesus, the poster looks like something MTV Films would produce and send straight to video.

Unfortunately, it appears the fate of this film may not be all that different.

David Ehrenstein · Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:53 am

"Why do recokon Happy Together bombed?

Teh Ghey.

blessingx · #111 Post by **blessingx** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:53 am

I was lucky enough to see it recently. As a WKW fan, the technics are there, but the soul is not. You really have to break it down into pieces to find anything successful. I actually think the mediocre reviews are a bit softballed. Even the slo-mo and soundtrack so well done in Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046, seem half-hazard here. Don't even get me started on the voice over or story weighting. Overall a very disappointing disaster. I wonder if this is the last English film he'll do?

Lemmy Caution · #112 Post by **Lemmy Caution** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:34 pm

blessingx wrote: Even the slo-mo and soundtrack so well done in Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046, seem half-hazard here. Don't even get me started on the voice over or story weighting. Overall a very disappointing disaster. I wonder if this is the last English film he'll do?

I assume half-hazard is a typo, but I kind of like it.
Half-ass, half-way done, plus hazardous.
Google turns up some hits, mostly regarding a band by that name. And the Word Detective calls it a mistake but also likes the coinage.

Not being much of a fan of Chungking Express, and not having seen many WKW films, I liked Blueberry Nights better than you, but felt it was a kind of slight and disjointed. Too slap-hazard (geez, just made that up and still it gets 1,300 hits on Google, though less than 1/4 of "half-hazard." The band Slaphazard seems less popular as well).

Hmm ... seems WKW's next project is a remake of The Lady from Shanghai (2009). If the lead actress is Asian, I hope she'll have her hair dyed blonde (echoing both Rita and CK Express).

blessingx · #113 Post by **blessingx** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:04 pm

Ahhhh. Replace with haphazard... or happyhazard.

ogygia avenue · #114 Post by **ogygia avenue** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:41 am

Lemmy Caution wrote:Hmm ... seems WKW's next project is a remake of The Lady from Shanghai (2009). If the lead actress is Asian, I hope she'll have her hair dyed blonde (echoing both Rita and CK Express).

I thought for some reason this was a New Orleans film involving Nicole Kidman?

MichaelB · #115 Post by **MichaelB** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:29 am

I don't think it's a remake - it's just a coincidental title.

In much the same way, John Boorman's The General didn't revolve around (or feature) a steam locomotive and wasn't set during the US Civil War.

Lemmy Caution · #116 Post by **Lemmy Caution** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:31 am

MichaelB wrote:I don't think it's a remake - it's just a coincidental title.

Well, IMDB shows it as being based on the same novel, Sherwood King's If I Die Before I Wake.
And lists the plot outline as:

Set in the 1930's, a mysterious woman who claims that she came from Shanghai has a dangerous affair with a spy.

IMDb could well be wrong, but that's where I got my info from. It's also such a well-known film that borrowing the title would seem odd otherwise (unlike the more generic The General). Why not The Woman From Shanghai? Not that the title is necessarily fixed anyway.

Well, some quick googling around turns up a NYTimes review of My Blueberry Nights with a brief parenthetical saying that the WKW The Lady from Shanghai has no relation to the Welles film. It is by all indications slated to star Nicole Kidman, and apparently set in Shanghai, Russia and New York. Some older citations state that it's a remake. But most agree that WKW keeps his projects shrouded in secrecy.

Antoine Doinel · #117 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:41 pm

As far as I know The Lady From Shanghai project is dead. I remember reading that Nicole Kidman had dropped out and Kar Wai only envisioned the film with her in the lead and had decided to move on as well.

kupo · #118 Post by **kupo** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:19 pm

With Wong, projects morph and die only to be reborn again at a later date. It's almost useless to try and keep track.

So far as I know, TLFS was never intended to be a remake of the Welles film; Wong had said that he simply liked the title. But it does look like the project has been put on the back burner for now as Nicole pulled out of the film. I find this incredibly disappointing, because I think it sounded very promising.

Recent news has indicated that his next project might be his Ip Man biopic with Tony Leung, which would seem to be an interesting departure for Wong (working on a biopic, that is, not working with Leung). But that could all change tomorrow.

blessingx · #119 Post by **blessingx** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:33 pm

For those in NYC, looks like WKW will be at the SOHO Apple store on April 1st. No RSVP required. Seats are first come, first serve.

Nothing · #120 Post by **Nothing** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:43 am

Maybe she saw My Blueberry Nights...

Antoine Doinel · #121 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:25 am

Get your limited edition t-shirts.

#122 Post by **Jeff** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:43 am

Antoine Doinel wrote:Get your limited edition t-shirts.

If I'm going to pay $95 for a t-shirt, Natalie Portman damn well better be inside it.

Antoine Doinel · #123 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:08 pm

The film opens in NY and LA next week and according to Ray Pride, the theatrical cut is 90 minutes (compared to 111 minutes screened in Cannes).

The Fanciful Norwegian · Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:09 am

The HK DVD and the UK theatrical release are 95 minutes -- is the U.S. release another five minutes shorter, or is Pride a few minutes off?

Fletch F. Fletch · Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:24 pm

Norah Jones talks about working with WKW.

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My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007)