Possibly too outspoken about my own feelings towards this director and his work I am still aware that there are fans of Tsui Hark out there in the ether and so I bring news of a possible project that Tsui hopes will re-establish himself as a premiere director in HK and China.

The movie, 13连 13 Regiments [tentative], would see various styles of martial arts in action including kungfu, kendo, judo, freeform sparring, wrestling, et al., in what was billed as the biggest action film in the history of Hong Kong film industry. There are thirteen people: each shoulders a different responsibility and represents one of the regiments. The regiment denotes that the strengths of the thirteen people are equal to that of a hundred people. They travel around the globe to recover Chinese relics, that were scattered throughout the world during the war, and return them to the national museum of China.

The possible lineup includes Donnie Yen and Simon Yam as the leaders of the contingent, with Nicholas Tse, Lam Ka Tung, Michael Miu Kiu Wai, Alex Fong, Zhang Jie, Wei Chen, Ahmulong, etc playing the rest of the members, while Sun Hong Lei is wooed with a villainous role. Simon Yam will be the brains of the thirteen, Donnie Yen will be responsible for charging, attacking, and Nicholas Tse will be the sniper. Given that the audience is tired of seeing the same few actors on the screen all the time, Tsui Hark hopes to introduce a few fresh faces, especially the newcomers from Mainland. Production might begin at the end of the year, contingent on Donnie Yen's schedule.

Ensemble casts scare me. This many people, let alone this much talent, all vying for screen time? How thin are these characters going to be?