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John Woo and his producing partner Terrence Change have yet given up the full secret of their next project, titled
1949, with a budget of US$40 millions. I just want to piece together what we know so far.

This project is a romantic epic set in China in 1949. Here is a little bit history lesson: by the end of WWII, the political gap between the corrupted ruling Nationalist and the more popular Communist widened day bay day. Military conflicts escalated and finally the full-scale civil broke out the very next year. 1949 is historically considers as the final year of the civil war, and during which the Nationalist government retreated to the island of Taiwan after losing the mainland, and the Communist founded the People's Republic in the same year. The story of 1949 will begin at the end of WWII and end at the funding of the new government.

The script is penned by Taiwanese writer Wang Hui-Ling, who was involved in the scripting of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Lust, Caution. The story will feature several couple of lovers, and there will be three male leads and five female leads. Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (Red Cliff, The Go Master, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Korean TV star Song Hye-key will play one couple of lovers in Shanghai and got separated because of the war. Song has started learning Chinese, and of cause, it is practically impossible for her to master a foreign language in just a few months. The practical solution might be simple letting her play a Korean somehow lived in China. I also suspect the casting decision means Korean money is involved in the project. No words on who will play other leads. I guess they will be filled by internationally less known actors/actress from the mainland, and possibly Hong Kong.

John Woo said shooting a love story was his dream and the movie would include a ship sinking scene, a bit like Titanic. Two small scale war scenes will also be featured in the movie. Shooting will start in Shanghai by December this year, by them Woo will have wrapped up the post-production of his current historical war epic Red Cliff. Keelung of Taiwan will be another major location and some shots will be done in Japan. Release is scheduled for December 2009, the 60th anniversary of the found of the People's Republic. This project is jointly produced by John Woo and Terrence Chang's Lion Rock Productions and China Film Group Corporation, a state-own powerhouse, which also co-produced Red Cliff. Fortissimo Films will handle the international sales outside China.

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