Wong Kar-wai confirms plans for In The Mood For Love and 2046 follow-up
The 60-year-old Hong Kong director is looking to cast actors from Shanghai for the film titled Blossoms. Production could start as early as this year.
(Photo: Movie still from In The Mood For Love)
After four years of planning, acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai is finally ready to begin work on his new film Blossoms, a follow-up to two of his earlier romantic dramas, In The Mood For Love (2000) and 2046 (2004).
While being awarded by the Hong Kong Film Writers Association this week, the director confirmed to reporters that the film could begin production as early as the end of this year, reported Ming Pao Daily News.
No actors have been cast for the film so far. Wong emphasise that actors need to be able to speak Shanghainese. The comment was made after Wong was asked whether he would invite Tony Leung Chiu-wai to return for a role in the film. Leung played the lead role in both of the earlier films.
Based on Jin Yucheng’s 2013 novel of the same name, Blossoms follows three Shanghai residents from the early 60s, at the end of China’s Cultural Revolution and through the 90s, with a selection of scenes being shot in San Francisco.
The novel was noted for its use of Shanghainese idioms and phrases specific to the local dialect. Shanghainese was heard in In the Mood for Love as spoken by the landlady character, Mrs Suen.
While Wong has referenced the work since as early as 2015, this is the first time he has positioned it as part of a trilogy along with In The Mood For Love and 2046.
“I’ve filmed a lot in Hong Kong. I’m from Shanghai, and I’ve never filmed in Shanghai, so I wanted to give it a try,” he said.
