ICWTR TO BE SOON RELEASED IN TAIWAN ???

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Comment by Annie on September 27, 2009 at 4:45pm

.....bootleg is an illegal copy of the movie!

Comment by Annie on September 27, 2009 at 4:44pm

Oops.......sorry just got back to see your post Aloha......Olivier did a wonderful job of answering for me! Thanks.

Comment by Paige on September 27, 2009 at 1:52pm

Is there any bootleg copies out that we can buy of this movie? It will come to that for some of us. LOL. I think the US will be last and I think it will come out on DVD. This is one movie I wouldn't mind buying a bootleg copy for. It's a shame. You don't keep women waiting this long for Josh Hartnett. It get's dangrous!. LOL

Comment by Olivier on September 27, 2009 at 8:55am

In my humble opinion, the only chance for ICWTR to be released elsewhere than Asia is France. Keep in mind France is actually ICWTR domestic market. Tran Anh Hung is French and the movie was backed by French money.
As for the Asian actors, the only one you can bet on currently is Lee Byung-hun because he played in GI Joe. Except he does not hold the lead role in this Hollywood blockbuster and actually this film was shot in such a way that the audience hardly have a chance to even catch a glimpse at the actors. Additionnaly the movie was the less successful of all the summer blockbusters. I'm very suprised that they are doing a sequel ; the studio did not make money yet out of the first one. Apart from that, Takuya Kimura is much well-known outside Asia. But his popularity outside his home country remains confidential.
In short, I don't have a clue about what will happen with ICWTR outside Asia. I just hope it will be released in France but it is already October. No way they will release such a dark thriller in December. Actually I am very anxious to see if the movie finally get release in Russia on November 5th. They already delayed the release once. If they do release it there, it will be a great indication that they have the ambition to release the movie at least in Europe. Hope Josh fly to Moscow to support fully the film. He is far too relaxed with his career, it does not help at all. The movie industry like any industry is very competitive.

Comment by Olivier on September 27, 2009 at 8:07am

What Annie is saying, and she is correct, is that star-studded indie movies (ie with a cast of actors with a Name known worldwide) have a better chance to find worldwide distribution because local moviegoers know them and therefore are more likely to buy tickets to watch the movie. It is all about Business here I'm afraid Aloha. Nothing to do with the artistic value of ICWTR. Distributors need to be convinced that ICWTR has also a great commercial value ie that they will make money out of it.

Comment by Olivier on September 27, 2009 at 7:59am

That is unfortunately the fate of indie films. Most of the time (but not even always) they get released in their domestic markets and some few others countries and that's about it. The truth is that the Hollywood majors are the movie industry. That is why so many actors try to make it big in Hollywood with the majors (including non-US actors like Lee Byung-hun) and accept crappy roles in big non character-driven blockbusters where the action is the explosions and the CGU are the actors. I do not think it is a question of whether Josh hang out with the right people or not, his agents better know what they are doing if they want to make some money out of Josh. Few years ago, he decided to go 100% for the independant film industry because he needed to develop/prove himself as an actor. It was not a bad decision ; he had the chance to make it big in Hollywood at a very young age. He still has a Name. But now he is 31, time has come for him to mix in his choice of movies between indie films and mainstream movies financed by Hollywood majors. Hopefully the majors will consider him for roles away from the "pretty boy / hearthrob" character that he does not want to portray any longer.

Comment by Annie on September 27, 2009 at 7:27am

It is frustrating Aloha, I realized that we would have some problems with it being released close to home. But Olivier is correct with his assessment. I think it helps that the Asian Actors are going more main stream, as that might help more with the worldwide distribution. I agree with you though with your take on his movies that didn't "make" it! maybe he's not hanging with the right people!

Comment by Olivier on September 27, 2009 at 5:42am

Taiwan is part of the 'Chinese world', so the trailer is likely to include more footages of HK actor Shawn Yue who plays cop Meng Zi in the movie.
As for the strategy of distribution Aloha there is no release rules for indie movies. ICWTR is an independent production, which means the production company which finances the project does not own a worldwide distribution network unlike the Hollywood majors. Only the Hollywood majors can plan worldwide releases for their movies ; because they control their own distribution network worldwide. Therefore, ICWTR theatrical releases depend on whether the film's sales agent (TF1 International) can find a distribution for it in each single country of this world. Now, for the film to be released in Europe (and to a lesser extent in North America), it will be crucial that ICWTR performs well in the European country in which it will open first. For exemple, let us assume that ICWTR get released in France. If the movie flops, it will be quite hard for TF1 International to sell it to a German, British, Spanish ... distributor.

Comment by Camino on September 26, 2009 at 9:58pm

Thanks Olivier, we'll look forward to more updates for you...maybe one day soon one of them will be the US, & all the other countries that are waiting just as impatiently as well!

Do you think the Taiwanese trailer, is going to has something new/special?