In most of their films, Jackie Can and Jet Li are the special effects. Nonetheless, a good deal of digital technology went to creating their first team-up, which arrives in theaters across North America today. In its quest to win the weekend box office, Lionsgate’s kung fu fantasy flick The Forbidden Kingdom will duke it out with Universal’s raunchy romantic comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Sony Columbia’s Al Pachino thriller, 88 Minutes. Also opening in fairly wide release is actor and political pundit Ben Stein’s documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
In Forbidden Kingdom, an American teenager obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung fu classics stumbles upon a powerful relic in a Chinatown pawnshop. The legendary weapon transports him back in time to ancient China, where he joins a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King. Li and Chan play powerful adversaries who reluctantly team up to help the cause. Visual effects for the film were provided by Frantic Films, Svengali FX and Macrograph. Read about the pixel wizardry augmented the high-flying kung fu action in the latest issue of Animation Magazine, available on newsstands now.
With audiences eagerly awaiting the start of the summer blockbuster season, Forbidden Kingdom has a decent chance of dethroning last week’s top pic, Sony/ScreenGems’ remake of the slasher classic Prom Night. Forgetting Sarah Marshall has been receiving good reviews, and just may be another major sleeper hit for producer Judd Apatow, who produced Superbad and produced and directed Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin.
