General News

Ever wonder what a movie would be like with two of the industry's biggest martial arts stars in leading roles? Jackie Chan says the deal to co-star with Jet Li is near

Angelina Jolie voiced a femme fatale fish in 2004's "Shark Tale." Now, she'll portray a martial-arts master in the computer-animated comedy "Kung Fu Panda."

Rob Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious", "Stealth", "XXX") has agreed to direct the mixed martial arts actioneer "Arrow" under Warner Bros. Pictures and Thunder Road.

Warner Bros.' Legendary Pictures ("Superman Returns", "Lady in the Water") is bringing the 1970's martial arts TV series "Kung Fu" to the big screen after acquiring film rights from series creator Ed Spielman.

The Thai Film Journal has reported that Tony Jaa will indeed direct the film Ong Bak 2 (working title). Filming for the feature is expected to start soon. Even though the working title of the film is Ong Bak 2, the journal reports that the plot will have nothing to do with the first film.

Martial arts has already found a home in Hollywood. Now, two massive Asian-themed shows are both in development to debut on Broadway in the next two years.

Two new martial arts comedies are in the works for the near future. Only time will tell if they end up being "hit" or "miss".

The third season of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" ranked as the most-watched premiere for an original series in the network's history. An average of 2.4 million total viewers tuned in for the 90-minute April 6 premiere, according to the channel.

Martial arts film enthusiasts have been wondering about a prequel or sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” for some time. Recently, the Weinstein brothers have announced that they’ll be doing another four films in the “Tiger” series, all based on the books by Wang Du Lu.

Illustrator-turned-director Dave McKean will direct Varjak Paw, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Quentin Tarantino's longtime producing partner Lawrence Bender has signed a two-picture deal with Nickelodeon Movies to adapt to the big screen The Five Ancestors, a seven-part children's adventure book series by Jeff Stone.

Jet Li will team up again with Jason Statham (Transporter). The two previously worked together in The One.

New Line Cinema has put the long-awaited sequel to Rush Hour 2 on the fast track. Rush Hour 3 will start filming next year for a release in mid-2007.

Dimension Films has sealed a deal to acquire North American distribution rights to the videogame-based action flick Dead or Alive helmed by Corey Yuen.

Ken Watanabe ("Batman Begins", "The Last Samurai") and Shu Qi will unite with Wesley Snipes in the upcoming action-adventure "Chasing the Dragon".

Kung Fu Pandemonium? DreamWorks Animation is rounding out the cast of its upcoming CGI flick "Kung Fu Panda". Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan will join Jack Black in the animated comedy. Lucy Liu is also in discussions to join, reports Variety.

Weinstein brothers Bob and Harvey have acquired screen rights to Kung Fu High School, a Ryan Gattis novel that has been scripted by Ernesto Foronda.

Can't get enough of Blade? Actor Wesley Snipes has long been involved in the martial arts industry. In fact, most people dont know he's a seasoned, trained martial artist in a number of different disciplines including Karate, Kung Fu and Capoeira.

Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan said he is getting too old to do the stunts that made him famous and hopes to prove to audiences he can act too.

Jean Claude Van Damme has decided to star in a direct sequel to his breakthrough hit, "Bloodsport" (1987).