Hou Hsiao-hsien to direct ‘Assassin’

Last week it was announced by the Taiwanese government that art house director Hou Hsiao-hsien will be the first to receive a grant from the National Development Fund to put towards THE ASSASSIN, the filmmaker’s first martial arts movie.

Also known as NIE YIN NIANG and THE HIDDEN HEROINE, the pic is based on an 8th-century legend of a girl who is kidnapped by nuns and as an adult woman uses illusion and martial arts skills to challenge the male world.

The fund, which will contribute $2.6 million to the film’s total $8.65 million budget, has pushed the project forward so that pre-production is expected to being October 1st.

Shu Qi (THE TRANSPORTER) and Chang Chen (RED CLIFF), who previously worked with Hou on the romantic drama THREE TIMES (2005), are expected to star.

Government Information Office Deputy Minister Albert Lin expressed hope that the film will act as a catalyst for the territory’s ailing film industry.

Praised for his mostly dramatic work by cineastes and critics alike, Hou Hsiao-hsien is notorious for shooting excruciatingly long and slow-moving dramatic sequences with static camera placements. This shooting style is also known to have put off more than a few film festival patrons, perhaps looking for something more conventional.

It will be interesting to see what Hou does with the martial arts genre. The report didn’t specify if this will be a wuxia/swordplay film but given the premise, the non-martial arts-trained stars and the fact that we’re talking about a Taiwanese production and an artsy Taiwanese director, it’s almost a given.

Source: Variety