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The Horsemen - 2008

Coming August 15, 2008

"The Horsemen" tells the story of hardened detective Aidan Breslin, (Dennis Quaid) who, having grown increasingly distant from his two young sons since the death of his wife, now finds himself thrust into an investigation of perverse serial killings rooted in the Biblical prophecy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As Breslin grapples with each new revelation in the case, he slowly discovers a shocking connection between himself and the four suspects. Four killers. Four unrelated victims. Four painful secrets.

A dark psychological thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang. Patrick Fugit, Clifton Collins, Jr., Neil McDonough, and Peter Stormare co-star in a film by Spun director Jonas Åckerlund and Doom screenwriter Dave Callaham. Set in Detroit but filmed in Winnipeg, the $20 million production spent eight weeks in filming, from January to March, 2007.

According to Ziyi "her character is a very complicated teegage girl, who forms a small gang with four boys to avenge those who have been victimized by injustice."

Ziyi Films discussion thread: The Horsemen


Production News


Zhang Ziyi cites Anthony Hopkins as inspiration for new role

Hong Kong (AP): Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi said Anthony Hopkins' famous portrayal of the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter inspired her own murderous performance in her new movie ``The Horsemen,'' a Hong Kong magazine reported.

``This killer that I play likes to torture her victims psychologically before the kill. To get into this kind of mentality I watched Anthony Hopkins in his brilliant interpretation of a killer,'' Zhang said in an interview in the June edition of Prestige Hong Kong magazine.

``You can see how he uses words ... very carefully. None are wasted. I watched him in that performance countless times,'' Zhang told the magazine. She said she also watched other movies about serial killers to prepare for the role.

``The Horsemen,'' also starring Dennis Quaid, is about serial killings linked to the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Zhang finished shooting the movie in March, her manager said earlier.

more....

7/04/07

 


Zhang Ziyi had tough shoot on Canadian set of 'The Horsemen' with Quaid: manager

Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi went through a tough shoot in harsh weather while making the crime thriller "The Horsemen" in the Canadian city of Winnipeg with Dennis Quaid, her manager said Saturday.

Zhang finished shooting the movie, about serial killings that are linked to the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, early this month, Zhang's manager, Ling Lucas, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

"It went beautifully" despite Winnipeg's cold weather, Lucas said.

"Shooting exterior scenes were exceptionally tough on everyone. Overall, it was intense shooting for Ziyi as she had heavy on-screen dialogue with Dennis Quaid," she said.

Zhang took voice and dialect lessons at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City before starting work on the movie.

Lucas said Zhang is currently in China doing promotional and charity work and that she will start shooting an English-language Western called "Laundry Warrior" alongside South Korean movie star Jang Dong-kun in May.

03/04/07


An interview with the producers of The Horsemen, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller.

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=...54&action=print

You have a lot on your plate. What does the next year realistically look like for you guys?

Form: Horsemen starts in three weeks.

Fuller: I just want to say right off the bat, that Horsemen feels like nothing we’ve done. All of our films, hopefully people view them as commercial, Horsemen to me feels commercial, but it’s brutal and it’s intellectual. It’s a totally different type of movie for us. Our expectations are different for it. And when you step away from straight down the middle horror and do something with more character, the cast we’ve gotten for this movie is unbelievable. Dennis Quaid, Zhang Ziyi, Peter Stormare, Clifton Collins Jr. These kind of actors – for us, it’s a real treat.

Form: It’s in the genre of Seven.
2/28/07

 

Winnipeg filming update

A Chinese blog post again summarized by Jiminthemiddle:

Ziyi in Winnipeg
Found this blog dated Feb 8 (local time, I assume) by a Chinese-Canadian girl living in Winnipeg and trans-posted at loveziyi.com by a member there. The original is written in Chinese. She says her mother saw Ziyi outside a supermarket in Winnipeg on Thursday and learned that she had finished filming her scenes there and was to leave the next day (Friday). She actually begins by lamenting about missing the rare opportunity to meet the CuteOne and goes on quite a bit about what her mother told her, including the fact that a friend of her mother's was lucky enough to have a photo taken with Ziyi in the restaurant where she works (see it below for yourselves. Oh, that smile! She melts my heart). The lucky lady said afterwards Her Z-ness was down to earth and gladly agreed to pose with her for the cell-phone snapshot despite Ling Lucas' objection. And lucky us, that photo is right here for all of us to see.

02/09/07

 


Ziyi preparing for role in New York

A Chinese news article summarized in our forums by Jiminthemiddle

She's been in NYC to prepare for the role and is reportedly very happy about the improvement she's made in the past two months in her command of English at a 'renowned" university in the Big Apple. I did not visit this board for a couple days and was a bit surprised to find no one had posted this bit of information about The Horsemen.

Wen Wei Po, a 'pro-mainland" daily published in Hong Kong, has a brief story and a file photo of Ziyi in a white mumu-like dress in its entertainment section today. It is apparently a second-hand report, but has left no clue as to where they found the original.

The story says the CuteOne has been staying in New York to prepare for her role in The Horsemen since October and she spent a lot of time honing her English skills at a "renowned" university there. I'm guessing that "renowned" institution of higher learning is Columbia University.

The report also says filming will begin soon in Canada and quotes her as denying the plot is similar to Basic Instinct, as some mainland Chinese press had claimed earlier. She told the reporter (of the original story) her character is a very complicated teegage girl, who forms a small gang with four boys to avenge those who have been victimized by injustice.

If she must compare it to another movie, says Ziyi, this one is more like Silence of the Lambs. I shuddered when I first read this line in WWP this morning, because SotL made me cringe and close my eyes quite a few times when I first saw the film. And I guess Z's character is a young female version of Dr. Hannibal waging a battle of wits against Dennis Quaid's macho "Agent Starling."

A fan spotted Ziyi in New York

Meeting Zhang ZiYi ... Is she here in US?? On the subway today, on the way home (going to Queens) saw a girl hop into subway from the platform. She looks like Zhang ZiYi. I cannot keep my eyes away from her. It's not because she is pretty, but I wanted to have eye-contact with her so that I can, perhaps, make sure she is Zhang ZiYi. Through all the time on the train, she kept playing with her Backberry. No looked up to the people around.... so .... it is a mystery... Is she Zhang ZiYi? I had seriously examine her face, physics, and fingers. Slim, trangle face, white skin tone, small and long fingers and nails. Really match being a celebraty!! But anyway, as she stepped out from the subway, my curious of finding out is she Zhang ZiYi is gone... and my conclusion is SHE IS!!

Thanks to Jim and Volim Ziyi

12/18/07

 


Zhang Ziyi's next film: The Horsemen

Ziyi will starring alongside Dennis Quaid in her next film, The Horsemen. From an AP story

Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi's new Hollywood project will be a crime thriller revolving around a series of killings that also stars Dennis Quaid, one of the movie's production companies said Tuesday.

In "Horsemen," Quaid plays a detective who discovers a personal connection to the suspects in a group of serial killings that are linked to the biblical characters Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the production company, Los Angeles-based Mandate Pictures said in a statement.

Zhang plays a "manipulative young woman" who's crucial to solving the case, the statement said.

Her character in this film, to be named Kristen, seems to be exactly what she has previously said she wanted to play. From an earlier interview

Zhang Ziyi is one of China's hottest movie stars and right now, could pick and choose any role she wanted in the world. Hollywood producers are falling over themselves to entice the 27-year-old Beijing-born actress into a major US production. What really interests Zhang Ziyi is playing a wild American girl.

"I'd like to play an American teen, a very modern, typical American girl with a very rebellious character. I don't smoke, I don't drink, but I want to play someone who is really absurd. I think that would be so cool," she told Time magazine.

For more, see The Horsemen forum thread.

 

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