Johnnie To films don’t come around so often nowadays, and the ones that are promised barely seem to materialize. As the absurdly, comically long and not-quite-expected-to-be-fulfilled wait for Election 3 continues and his Japan-set Tony Leung gangster picture, as the star told us, hit some roadblocks, Variety reports that the Hong Kong legend is now embarking on his first western and, somewhat less thrillingly, an inaugural film set in Canada.
With the help of the Fantasia Film Festival’s production market Frontières (which will soon present the project at TIFF) and producer Todd Brown (The Raid, The Raid 2, Mandy, The Furious), To is (per Variety) expected to soon shoot Two Gun Cohen, which tells the true story of Morris Cohen, a “perpetual grifter living in the Canadian prairies who became personal bodyguard, trusted confidant and general to Dr Sun Yat Sen.” Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Screen Anarchy:
“The western frontier, 1911. Con man, swindler and general gadabout, Morris Cohen, is in a bind. Sitting in a jail cell after being caught cheating at cards, Cohen’s luck appears to have finally run out. That is until a mysterious Chinese man makes him an offer: ‘Ask no questions, join our service and we will bail you out.’
It’s an easy decision, but little does Cohen know that his new employer is fomenting an armed rebellion half a world away and is being pursued by ruling forces that will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat.”
Patrick Whistler (In Cold Light) is on scripting duties for Two Gun Cohen, the imminent TIFF-marketplace appearance of which engenders hopes for a soon-enough production start for the 71-and-not-getting-younger To.
The post Johnnie To Will Direct “Dim Sum Western” Two Gun Cohen first appeared on The Film Stage.
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