Chinese Studios Plan AI-Powered Remakes of Kung Fu Classics (hollywoodreporter.com) 22
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Hollywood Reporter: Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li and a legion of the all-time greats of martial cinema are about to get an AI makeover. In a sign-of-the-times announcement at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Thursday, a collection of Chinese studios revealed that they are turning to AI to re-imagine around 100 classics of the genre. Lee's classic Fist of Fury (1972), Chan's breakthrough Drunken Master (1978) and the Tsui Hark-directed epic Once Upon a Time in China (1991), which turned Li into a bone fide movie star, are among the features poised for the treatment, as part of the "Kung Fu Movie Heritage Project 100 Classics AI Revitalization Project."
There will also be a digital reworking of the John Woo classic A Better Tomorrow (1986) that, by the looks of the trailer, turns the money-burning anti-hero originally played by Chow Yun-fat into a cyberpunk, and is being claimed as "the world's first full-process, AI-produced animated feature film." The big guns of the Chinese industry were out in force on the sidelines of the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival to make the announcements, too. They were led by Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, who said AI work on these "aesthetic historical treasures" would give them a new look that "conforms to contemporary film viewing." "It is not only film heritage, but also a brave exploration of the innovative development of film art," Zhang said.
Tian Ming, chairman of project partners Shanghai Canxing Culture and Media, meanwhile, promised the work -- expected to include upgrades in image and sound as well as overall production levels -- while preserving the storytelling and aesthetic of the originals -- would both "pay tribute to the original work" and "reshape the visual aesthetics." "We sincerely invite the world's top AI animation companies to jointly start a film revolution that subverts tradition," said Tian, who announced a fund of 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) would be implemented to kick-start the work.
There will also be a digital reworking of the John Woo classic A Better Tomorrow (1986) that, by the looks of the trailer, turns the money-burning anti-hero originally played by Chow Yun-fat into a cyberpunk, and is being claimed as "the world's first full-process, AI-produced animated feature film." The big guns of the Chinese industry were out in force on the sidelines of the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival to make the announcements, too. They were led by Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, who said AI work on these "aesthetic historical treasures" would give them a new look that "conforms to contemporary film viewing." "It is not only film heritage, but also a brave exploration of the innovative development of film art," Zhang said.
Tian Ming, chairman of project partners Shanghai Canxing Culture and Media, meanwhile, promised the work -- expected to include upgrades in image and sound as well as overall production levels -- while preserving the storytelling and aesthetic of the originals -- would both "pay tribute to the original work" and "reshape the visual aesthetics." "We sincerely invite the world's top AI animation companies to jointly start a film revolution that subverts tradition," said Tian, who announced a fund of 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) would be implemented to kick-start the work.
big name actors have the power to say no unless th (Score:2)
big name actors have the power to say no unless they get an cut!
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big name actors have the power to say no unless they get an cut!
I think you meant to say big name actors have the power to say no unless they are dead.
No shit they’re breaking the legal ice with Bruce Lee. By the time they get to living actors even the lawyers will be represented by AI.
Big name actors, artifice of old movie industry? (Score:1)
big name actors have the power to say no unless they get an cut!
Big name actors are resting on the laurels / remnants of the old movie industry.
Does the AI based Kung Fu movies industry need a Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li? I'd expect no. Motion capture of a more ordinary practitioner is more than sufficient. The speed and precision of such a more ordinary practitioner (think generic black belt that needs to make a dollar) and that of the true masters mentioned previously can be bridged algorithmically. It's movies people, it's choreographed, even with the master
Re: Big name actors, artifice of old movie industr (Score:2)
Why Martial Arts Flicks? (Score:2)
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It sucks because it's cheapens the work done by the actual stunt men they're going to probably hire. We aren't quite at the point where you can type in a prompt super duper cool Kung Fu Fighting movie and out pops a cheap movie to market.
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The thing about the Chinese action movies is - typically all those actors originally trained as stunt men/women. Even the stars worked their way up, starting at the stunt schools. I believe, because of that, there is significantly less use of stunt doubles in those films versus those of Hollywood.
So it seems to me this is likely just a bald-faced money grab - they can pay a pittance for less-well-known stunt people and use AI to put more marketable faces on them.
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It's something of a tradition to do real stunts in Hong Kong and Chinese movies, even though they have access to cutting edge CGI. Back in the 70s and 80s it was the only option, but it ended up giving them an edge that helped the movies do well in the face of competition from overseas, and in overseas markets.
It probably hinges more on if they keep the direction and editing style of those classics, or switch to a Hollywood style ones. The way fights are portrayed in those classic movies allows the viewer t
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how is AI any better?
It isn't better, but even if the result with AI is meh, there is a possibility of balancing sheets with meh movies that are simple and fast to produce.
Renting cloud instances and hiring engineers is simpler than managing a large inventory of movie props, camera equipment, and temperamental actors.
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Highly choreographed easier to digitalize? (Score:1)
Of all the films to select for this project, why pick the ones that are fundamentally cool BECAUSE of the awesome martial arts, acrobatics, and stunts that were performed by the stars?
Because those stunts lend themself to digitalization. First, it's all choreographed to begin with. We know what's supposed to happen. The approximate moves from a generic black belt can be captured and algorithmically improved in terms of speed and precision. Replicating the performance level of famous masters. So long as the uncanny valley can be avoided. And a shift from live action to animation can make uncanny valley moot.
Even the Matrix, which made use of cutting edge technology to enhance fight scenes, required the actors (who were previously novices at martial arts) to spend months on intense training prior to filming.
Kind of proving my point. An actor training to perform a choreographed scene in me
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Your thinking of Japanese chefs , not martial arts. Your everyday martial artist is still a street-fighter, while you can set your Rolex by garlic squeezes.
Not in the movies. It's all choreographed. Maybe this is not a good analogy, but movies are like performing a kata. Everyone with precise predetermined moves.
Re: Highly choreographed easier to digitalize? (Score:2)
dubbed? (Score:2)
But will they be dubbed?
Looking for the nostalgia of the words being completely mismatched from the mouth movements. And great dialog like "You're the guy that killed my brother. Now I must kill you!"
What's the over/under? (Score:2)
In the remake of A Better Tomorrow, do you think the social credit score of Chow Yun-Fat's anti-hero character will play a big part?
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Money grab. (Score:2)
and where's the new talent? All those people and they can't find a new movie star?
I guess all the good plots or action scenes have been used up. Time to recycle to keep the money flowen.
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Hollywood is out of ideas (Score:2)
The big studios are out of ideas when it comes to movies as the requirement is blockbusters only.
Smaller movies which do not deal with saving the world are not allowed.
There is a reason a series like "Trailer Park Boys" was not made in Hollywood.
Therefore, the bean counters that run the studios are now mandating that only movies that have shown commercial success in the past are allowed to be produced in the form of re-makes.
Re-imaging old movies instead of actually re-making them reduces costs and promises