Fox Searchlight Pictures has entered into a co-financing and co-distribution partnership with the noted Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai and his Block 2 Films to develop a minimum of three English-language films.
The films will be produced by Wong and Block 2, and Wong will select the directors and supervise the screenwriters on each project.
"We have been pursuing this relationship for the last three years," Fox Searchlight president Peter Rice said. "Wong Kar-wai is one of the true visionary filmmakers in the world."
While the films are expected to take place in Asian settings, they may well include Western actors in their casts. The director-producer is expected to begin meeting with writers and discussing specific ideas with Searchlight shortly with the goal of putting the first film under the pact into production next year.
Anonymous Content's Paul Schwartzman, who reps Wong, was instrumental in assembling the deal, which was also negotiated by Miles Ketley, Fox Searchlight vp legal affairs, and George Hayum of Armstrong Hirsch. Claudia Lewis, exec vp production at Searchlight, will oversee the projects on the company's behalf.
Said Wong in a statement, "Fox Searchlight is an admirable and positive force in the global film industry because they are not afraid to push the envelope. I see this as a great opportunity to develop projects together and bring new currents to our respective audiences."
Wong, who has written 20 screenplays and directed eight films, wrote and directed his first feature, "As Tears Go By," in 1988.
His 1994 film, "Chungking Express," which told two stories about love-struck cops, won four Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film.
"Happy Together," his film about two Chinese homosexuals exiled to Argentina, won Wong the best director prize at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival. His 2000 feature, "In the Mood for Love," starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, also scored awards on the international fest circuit.
Wong is currently in postproduction on both "2046" and "Eros," a three-part film on which he is collaborating with Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni.
Block 2 was founded by Wong to produce high-quality English-language films for the international market. On some films, Block 2 also acts as the distributor in addition to other films it acquires.