Update: Well, knock us down with a feather. We said we’d be the first to admit we were wrong, and we were wrong – The Hollywood Reporter says that Jackman will make an unbilled cameo in Wang’s film, according to Jackman’s publicist. It doesn’t sound like the male lead, but still, Wolverine’s going to be in the picture. But at the same time as gaining everyone’s favorite showtune-singing superhero, it’s also lost its big star, Zhang Ziyi, who was also set to serve as the film’s producer. Ziyi’s manager cites scheduling conflicts with Wong Kar-Wai’s “The Grand Master,” which is now filming, to much rejoicing from all at The Playlist, and Li Bingbing and Jeon Ji-Hyun (the latter the star of “Blood: The Last Vampire”) now star in Wang’s film, which began filming this week.
The Oriental Morning Post (via ComingSoon) is reporting that Hugh Jackman will be heading to Shanghai in a couple of weeks to start filming on Wayne Wang’s adaptation of Lisa See’s “Snow Flower & The Secret Fan” but we have to say we’re taking this news with a grain box of salt.
While Jackman is apparently taking the “male lead”, the story is a period piece that centers around the “laotong” relationship (one “made by choice for the purpose of emotional companionship and eternal fidelity” as describe in the book) between two women in 19th century rural China. Thematically, the book is about the the suffering women endured at the time and focuses on the practice of foot-binding. We’ve read over the synopsis of the novel in more than one place and unless Wang has greatly altered the book, we don’t really see a role for Jackman (ie. a rugged, white man) in here unless he decides to go all Mickey Rooney on us. We’ll be the first to admit we’re wrong if it turns out the report is accurate.
Anyway, Jackman’s next confirmed film is still “Real Steel” shooting this summer with Shawn Levy at the helm. There is also the still gestating “Prisoners” project which is set to start filming in March, but the producers are seemingly having trouble getting Jackman to sign on the dotted line, though director Antoine Fuqua still seems to be on board. For now.
Original story posted 5:19pm, 02/02/10