The Peter Chan produced Chinese action film The Guillotines appears to be in danger. Already long delayed the picture has now been suspended completely, just weeks before active production was slated to finally begin.
Originally announced as a remake of classic kung fu film Master of the Flying Guillotine with Fire of Conscience and Beast Stalker director Dante Lam slated to direct. That iteration of the project was originally announced in May of 2009 with no movement on it for quite some time after, no doubt due in part to the massive success of Lam's subsequent projects and his increased desirability within the industry.
The project popped up again recently, still with Peter Chan attached to produce but now with Bodyguards And Assassins director Teddy Chen attached to direct and the name shortened to simply The Guillotines to reflect the fact that - as producers put it - it was no longer a remake but now a new story using the same signature weapon.
It is worth noting here that Teddy Chen's Bodyguards And Assassins - also produced by Peter Chan - was itself a troubled production, with conflicts on set and disagreements over the script leading to Chen walking off set for a time and being replaced temporarily as director by Andrew Lau.
That particular history now appears to be repeating.
With production scheduled to begin later this month the producers have announced that they have put the project on hold indefinitely. Script issues are cited as the cause but there is literally no possibility that after two years of development on the project they do not yet have a script that producers are happy with. Which means the issue lies with the director. And according to Film Business Asia - who broke the story here - rumors are now circulating that Teddy Chen has once again been replaced on a Peter Chan produced film by Andrew Lau.
The plus side here is that they're stopping the process until they can get a complete team in place that is ready and willing to pull in the same direction. The negative is that stopping at this point means racking up significant expense, the potential for widespread schedule conflicts with cast and massively increased pressure to simply shoot something rather than having spent all this time and effort for nothing.
Originally announced as a remake of classic kung fu film Master of the Flying Guillotine with Fire of Conscience and Beast Stalker director Dante Lam slated to direct. That iteration of the project was originally announced in May of 2009 with no movement on it for quite some time after, no doubt due in part to the massive success of Lam's subsequent projects and his increased desirability within the industry.
The project popped up again recently, still with Peter Chan attached to produce but now with Bodyguards And Assassins director Teddy Chen attached to direct and the name shortened to simply The Guillotines to reflect the fact that - as producers put it - it was no longer a remake but now a new story using the same signature weapon.
It is worth noting here that Teddy Chen's Bodyguards And Assassins - also produced by Peter Chan - was itself a troubled production, with conflicts on set and disagreements over the script leading to Chen walking off set for a time and being replaced temporarily as director by Andrew Lau.
That particular history now appears to be repeating.
With production scheduled to begin later this month the producers have announced that they have put the project on hold indefinitely. Script issues are cited as the cause but there is literally no possibility that after two years of development on the project they do not yet have a script that producers are happy with. Which means the issue lies with the director. And according to Film Business Asia - who broke the story here - rumors are now circulating that Teddy Chen has once again been replaced on a Peter Chan produced film by Andrew Lau.
The plus side here is that they're stopping the process until they can get a complete team in place that is ready and willing to pull in the same direction. The negative is that stopping at this point means racking up significant expense, the potential for widespread schedule conflicts with cast and massively increased pressure to simply shoot something rather than having spent all this time and effort for nothing.