18 December 2004: Misc. Info.:
from ohjohnny.com
After 2 years of rest, Chow Yun-fat may star in 4 new movies,
including POTC 2 and 3 during the up-coming year. He will
be cast as the infamous Chinese Pirate, Cheung Po-Zai, in
a contest against POTC's Johnny Depp. POTC's director came
to HK specifically to meet with Chow to discuss his role and
to invite him to participate.
Last year's POTC became one of the highest gross films in
the world by pulling in over $650 million worldwide and received
5 Oscar nominations. Recently internet rumors have been circulating
that Chow will start in next year's POTC 2 and 3 as the Chinese
Pirate Cheung Po-Zai.
We contacted Mrs. Chow, Chow's wife and manager, yesterday
to confirm the rumor. Mrs. Chow said that two months ago they
were contacted by POTC's director and producers about the
possibility of Chow joining the cast of POTC 2 and 3 as the
Chinese Pirate Cheung Po-Zai. They are currently still in
negotiation.
Mrs. Chow said that Chow Yun-Fat has great respect for the
film's director and producers. She said that he was surprised
that they were interested in casting him in the sequels and
that the role of the Chinese pirate will have a great deal
of involvement in the plots. If the negotiation works out,
she believes Chow will be in POTC 2 and 3.
According to source, POTC's Gore Verbinski came to HK last
week specifically to discuss the script with Chow Yun-Fat.
Mrs. Chow confirmed that Verbinski was very sincere and the
discussion went very well. However, unless the contract is
signed she can not discuss details.
The Chinese pirate Cheung Po-Zai was born during the Ching
dynasty. His followers exceeded 20,000 people. His pirate
ships generally sail the coast along the Canton peninsula.
The Ching dynasty sent out the navy in 1809 trying to destroy
his ships. He surrendered to the Ching government in the following
year. If Chow agrees to star in POTC 2 and 3, he will have
a chance to kick off a series of great schemes and adventures
between the Pirates of the east and the west.
In addition to Chow, POTC 2 and 3 are also trying to sign
on Rolling Stones' Keith Richards since Johnny Depp indicated
that he modeled his pirate after Richards. The film company
is negotiating with Keith to star as Johnny Depp's father.
'Pirates' 2, 3 add to Depp's full calendar
November 29, 2004
It's been reported as a strong possibility. Now we can tell
you definitely. Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 will be shot
at the same time - beginning late February in the Caribbean.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush
are back aboard, with director Gore Verbinski at the helm.
Adding to the cast of characters in both sequels will be
Tia Dalma, a jewelry-covered gypsy queen with tattoos, dreadlocks
and clairvoyant powers. The role is being cast now, and, almost
unheard-of in casting notices, word is she doesn't have to
be beautiful.
Sequel production starts in March in Los Angeles, with filming
alternating between there and St. Vincent (with other locations
possible) through February 2006. Principal cast members from
the first film Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom,
and Kiera Knightley are returning, and Rolling Stone Keith
Richard, an inspiration for Depp’s performance, has
been signed to play his father. Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat
is set to appear as the famous 15th-century Chinese pirate
Cheung Po Tsai.
Bruckheimer on Pirates 2 and 3
Dark Horizons
Jerry Bruckheimer was brief in what he revealed about the
upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. The one big note
was that Keith Richards is not in fact signed to play Johnny
Depp’s character’s father. “We don’t
have him yet,” Bruckheimer said.
He does still plan to make Pirates 2 and 3 simultaneously
if possible. “We’d like to. If Disney will write
a check, we’ll do it.”
Of course, that schedule has only worked once, with the Lord
of the Rings films. Other series, like The Matrix and Back
to the Future found diminishing returns for forcing two sequels
at the same time.
“We hope that we can do it as well as Lord of the Rings
did it. That’s what you shoot for. You only learn through
making mistakes, so we’ll watch what Back to the Future
did and Matrix did and hopefully not repeat what they did.”
Bruckheimer’s confidence is pinned on the talent from
the original film. “We have the same team that did the
first one and hopefully we can have the same success. It’s
the same two writers who rewrote the first one and same director,
same three actors initially and we’re negotiating with
the rest of them, so hopefully we’ll get everybody back.”
Production is expected to begin in March. Bruckheimer has
a subtitle for the second entry, and he wouldn’t reveal
it, though he confirmed it is not “Treasures of the
Lost Abyss” as suggested on IMDB.
17 December 2004
WHO IS CHANG PO TSAI
Cheung Po Tsai was a pirate chief during the Qing Dynasty.
Cheung Po Tsai, originally named as Cheung Po, was the adopted
son of Cheng Yat, a pirate. After Cheng Yat died, Cheng Po Tsai
became the chief of pirates and was active along the Pearl River
Estuary. In the 15th year of Jia Qing (1810) he surrendered
to the Qing Government and became an official, but it was widely
rumoured that part of his treasure-trove was buried in many
spots and among which, Cheung Po Tsai Cave is the most famous.
Historically a strategic maritime point in the South China Sea,
Hong Kong was the backdrop for exciting tales of seafarers,
fishermen and pirates. When the leagues of Zheng Chenggong of
Taiwan were defeated, they became pirates. They were believed
to have based themselves at Lei Yue Mun, where it is said that
they built the watchtower and erected stone tablets.
In fact, the Cantonese name for 'Devil's Peak' in the area,
as well as that of 'Stanley', which is a phonetic variation
of 'thief's den' in Cantonese, are evidence of their hideouts
in days gone by.
During the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (AD1736-1795),
a civil war broke out in Vietnam. Three brothers with the
surname of Nguyen rose to power, and sought help from the
pirate of Hong Kong, Cheng Chat (or Zheng Qi), and appointed
him their navy commander. On their defeat, Cheng returned
to the South China Sea, more powerful still and built his
pirate kingdom in Hong Kong, boasting six leagues noted by
their different colours N red, yellow, blue, white, black
and green.
When Cheng Chat's son Cheng Yat took up the leadership upon
his death, one of the new recruits was Cheung Po Tsai, a 15-year-old
hostage kidnapped during one of his sprees. Favoured by Cheng
and his wife, née Shek, handsome Cheung Po Tsai quickly
rose through the ranks and eventually became Shek's partner
after Cheng died. His empire expanded in no time. At the height
of his power, he claimed a 30,000-strong league and several
hundred ships, the presence of which prevailed in the surrounding
seas off Ma Wan, Kap Shui Mun, Lantau Island, Sai Ying Pun
and what is now Quarry Bay. They also built a fort on Ma Wan
and cultivated the rice paddies in Tung Chung as a source
for their staple diet.
While government salt carriers and commercial ships fell
prey to their acts of piracy, Cheung was considered a 'righteous
robber' who robbed only the rich to give to the poor. For
that, he was hailed as Hong Kong's own Robin Hood, the 'Pirate
Prince' among commoners.
All this time, the Qing Government made repeated but unsuccessful
attempts to curb Cheung, resorting to such extremes as cutting
off transportation, water and food supply to the area. Yet
fate had its own timing.
Cheung met his downfall during the Jiaqing era of the Qing
Dynasty (1810). Out along the seafront of Chek Lap Kok (now
the site of Hong Kong International Airport), Cheung's 300
ships were besieged by an equally large but better- armed
Portuguese government fleet from Macau. As recorded by the
Portuguese, Macau's fleet bombarded and smashed the flagships
of Cheung, including a major carrier with monks and effigies
of deities on board.
As the ships sank, the sea was scattered with the bodies
and echoes of cries of defeat from Cheung who retreated to
his hideout. Witnessing the decline of his kingdom, Cheung
was so broken in spirit and power that he made no further
attempts to strike back.
Yet another twist of fate came when Bai Ling, the Provincial
Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, called on all pirates in
the region to surrender to the government in return for pacification.
Cheung's partner Shek took the lead by submitting her league
— consisting mostly of women and children — to
the government. In 1810 Cheung followed suit and was rewarded
with the appointment as a government official responsible
for eradicating piracy. For many followers of Cheung, the
end of his kingdom was the mere beginning of his stories still
to be told.
Source: Discover Hong Kong
