Perusing Amazon's DVD listings for May I came across one for FLOCK, a thriller from INFERNAL AFFAIRS director Andrew Lau, starring Richard Gere and Claire Danes as cops pursuing a murderous sex cult or some such seamy thing. Shot in 2006, it apparently got a token European release (like Al Pacino's 88 MINUTES) but seems to be going straight-to-video here on May 18. It looks as if ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON director Niels Mueller did reshoots. I'm curious...
Hmmm, seems this opened (first?) in Japan - where Gere is pretty big - last August. Can't say I noticed. Did I also miss its HK opening in November? I don't think Andrew Lau has much to offer as a director. He borrowed and developed a style of shooting that literally defined HK cinema in the mid-90's, but after finding himself in a somewhat enviable position (this was before HK cinema began its long downward slide into the abyss) he failed to come up with anything, and his career was only rescued by the over-rated INFERNAL AFFAIRS which I think gets attention more for its plotting than its direction. I kinda want to see THE FLOCK though.
I had some talks with the producers last year (or the year before - I forget), who were also looking at a script of mine for a while. I'm sorry this project didn't work out for them, as they seemed particularly proud of it. I'll admit, the fact that it's gone direct-to-video has piqued my interest more than if it had had a proper theatrical release. I'm weird like dat.
From an old (2007) news article:
The Los Angeles Times (LAT) said the Hong Kong film-maker was fired by the fledgling Bauer Martinez Studios after he wrapped up his first English-language movie, The Flock.
The sexual predator drama, which stars Richard Gere, Claire Danes and Avril Lavigne, will open in the United States in May, according to website IMDb.
The report said French-born producer Philippe Martinez, who is also new to Hollywood, was unhappy with Lau’s version of The Flock, and took the film away from the director.
Martinez reportedly tried re-shooting and re-cutting The Flock himself. Then, at Gere’s urging, director Niels Mueller (The Assassination of Richard Nixon) came on board to rework the movie once more.
It is unclear which version of The Flock will be released.
Lau told Apple Daily: “As far as I know, actor Richard Gere saw my version and was satisfied with it. But the boss had different views. Can’t be helped.”
He said that though he does not have first-cut rights, he will still be shown the finished film before its release.
As for Martinez, he is in debt after developing movies from The Flock to I Could Never Be Your Woman, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
He said some Hollywood talent agents took advantage of him.
Although he did not name names, the LAT said, for example, that Gere was paid US$10mil (RM35.2mil) to star in The Flock – which some film executives said was more than double his asking price.http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.as...9886&sec=movies