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We first heard about the sequel to Oleg Stepchenko's Russian ghost story Viy many years ago -- actually, it was early 2016 when our own Todd Brown wrote about the director's plans, noting the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan to join returning star Jason Flemyng, who would be returning "as cartographer Jonathon Green, packed up by the King to map out the far east where he again encounters the supernatural." Now it's finally here, and we have visual proof in the new trailer for what is now called Iron Mask, which will be "premiering everywhere on Digital and On Demand November 20th and on Blu-ray and DVD November...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

In the Action-movie heyday of the 1980s, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan lead the different sides of the world, producing blockbuster after blockbuster in America and Hong Kong respectively. While the prospects of a meet-up between them have been wondered about for years on the silver-screen after “Around the World in 80 Days,” regrettably director Oleg Stepchenko’s first-full-on tale featuring them is a slight misfire and disappointment

In the early 1700s, English traveler Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) receives an order from Peter the Great to map the Russian Far East. Once again, he sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. There, the cartographer will unexpectedly face a lot of breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese Princesses, and confront deadly martial arts masters, and even the Dragon King. What could be more dangerous than meeting eye-to-eye with Viy,...

Stars: Jason Flemyng, Xingtong Yao, Anna Churina, Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rutger Hauer, Charles Dance, Paul Allica, Chayanit Chansangavej, Christopher Fairbank | Written by Dmitry Paltsev, Alexey A. Petrukhin | Directed by Oleg Stepchenko

Billed as the movie that has the first fight ever between Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger might seem slightly odd but I will assume that it will help them sell a good chunk of downloads and physical media (chucking their faces on the front of DVDs probably helped too). But is there anything more to The Iron Mask?

Well I will start with the things are enjoyed about it. The Iron Mask looks fantastic. Epic is a word that is thrown around quite a lot now but it is perfectly apt for this. Everything about it (except the odd cheap-looking CGI) screams big budget epic movie. I absolutely loved pretty much all of the settings. Whether it be...

This is a film of many titles. The box may call it The Iron Mask, but the screener seen for review has it as The Mystery of the Dragon Seal and its original title is Viy 2. It’s a sequel to the 2014 remake of Viy, released in the UK as The Forbidden Kingdom.

The plot may make even less sense than that explanation of the title, but it’s honestly hard to tell what’s going on here. The basics are (I think) that a magical dragon enables healing tea to grow and there is a battle between good and evil wizards over control of the dragon. How that involves Jackie Chan as a prisoner in the Tower of London, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Tower’s head guard (implying that he’s playing an Englishman) Jason Flemyng as a map maker and two ‘that boy’s a girl’ reveals...

The action adventure feature "Journey to China: The Mystery of Iron Mask' (aka "Viy 2") is directed by Oleg Stepchenko, starring Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rutger Hauer, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, Xingtong Yao and Anna Churina, available April 10, 2020:

"...in early 1700, a cartographer returns to map the 'Russian Far East'. 

"But he's forced on to China, where he confronts the 'Dragon Master'. 

"Then the iron masked 'Russian Tsar' escapes the 'Tower of London' to a Russian ship..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Journey To China: The Mystery of Iron Mask"...

There’s no question that Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two of cinema’s biggest action heroes, and many have wondered what would happen if these two powerhouses ever went toe-to-toe in a feature-length motion picture. Now, the folks over at Signature Entertainment will finally answer that question with their epic adventure movie The Iron Mask, where these legendary superstars will finally duke it out on the big screen.

For those wondering how they could have missed this ordeal, it probably has to do with a very long, complicated road to release. Not to mention the fact that The Iron Mask wasn’t the feature’s first title. The film went by several other names like Journey To China: The Mystery of Iron Mask, Viy 2: Journey to China and Mystery of Dragon Seal. Regardless of how it got here, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that...

Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger's long delayed China-Russia fantasy film The Mystery of the Dragon Seal: Journey to China is finally headed to cinemas in the two countries.

The movie, directed by Russian filmmaker Oleg Stepchenko, wrapped production in Beijing back in February 2017 after lengthy on-again, off-again shoots in the U.K., Russia and China. It then became mired in postproduction for more than two years amid reports of disputes between the producing partners.

But the producers revealed Wednesday that the fantasy spectacle has finally secured a simultaneous release date in China and Russia on Aug. 16. No theatrical ...

Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger's long delayed China-Russia fantasy film The Mystery of the Dragon Seal: Journey to China is finally headed to cinemas in the two countries.

The movie, directed by Russian filmmaker Oleg Stepchenko, wrapped production in Beijing back in February 2017 after lengthy on-again, off-again shoots in the U.K., Russia and China. It then became mired in postproduction for more than two years amid reports of disputes between the producing partners.

But the producers revealed Wednesday that the fantasy spectacle has finally secured a simultaneous release date in China and Russia on Aug. 16. No theatrical ...

China Film Group announced a line-up of 28 films at a large event on the sidelines of the Shanghai International Film Festival that feted both the mainland’s main distributor and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

“Nearly a thousand film industry people wished the motherland a beautiful and happy birthday” at the gathering held Sunday at the Hilton Hotel in the city’s Hongqiao district, the company said on social media.

Chairman La Peikang gave an opening speech that highlighted the box office success of the Spring Festival hit “The Wandering Earth” and “My Best Summer,” a rom-com that’s made nearly $50 million in its two weeks so far in theaters. La praised them as ventures that have been “win-wins for China Film Group and its partners.”

“The prosperity of China’s film industry depends on the joint efforts of many filmmakers and companies.

Some of the biggest Kung Fu and Martial Art stars have movies being released in 2019, from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa to Scott Adkins. Many fans are excited for the Donnie Yen remake of the Sammo Hung classic “Enter The Fat Dragon“, Jackie Chan and John Cena teaming up for “Project X – Traction“, the all out action movie “Triple Threat” and Ip Man 4.

Here are some of the upcoming Martial Art/Action Movies coming your way in 2019.

1. Enter The Fat Dragon

Remake of the Sammo Hung classic

Directed By: Wong Jing

Cast: Donnie Yen, Sandra Ng, Teresa Mo, Wong Jing

2. Blade Master Li Bai

Directed By: Li Boxun

Cast: Steven Zhang, Ma Muxuan, Steve Yoo, Li Dougguo

3. Altar Angel

Directed By: Wu Zhiguo

Cast: Timmy Hung, Chen Bingquiang, Cheung Tat Ming, Ouitsuka Ng

4. The Mystery of Dragon Seal: The Journey to China

Directed By: Oleg Stepchenko

Cast: Jason Flemyng,...

The Second War War film grossed $10.6m in first four days.

Russian Second World War tank movie T-34 has become the most successful local film of all time to open at the Russian box office.

The film, released by Central Partnership, grossed $10.6m (713m roubles) over the four-day weekend from from January 3-6, a sizeable increase on the previous record set by Oleg Stepchenko’s fantasy film, Viy which grossed $9m ( 602m roubles) on its opening weekend in 2014.

With T-34 driving growth early 2019 growth, media measurement specialist Comscore confirmed the lucrative holiday season in Russia that ran from Janaury 1-...

Sneak Peek more new footage from director Oleg Stepchenko's fantasy adventure "Journey To China", starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan and  Rutger Hauer, opening in 2018:

"...traveler 'Jonathan Green' receives from 'Peter the Great 'an order to map the 'Russian Far East'. Once again he sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. 

"The cartographer will unexpectedly face a lot of breathtaking discoveries...

"...encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese princesses, confront deadly martial arts masters and the king of all dragons - the 'Dragon King'. 

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Journey To China"...

Check out the first international trailer (in Russian no less, so it’s pretty to look at but whether you’ll understand anything remains to be seen, or rather heard…) and poster for director Oleg Stepchenko’s fantasy adventure Journey to China which features an eclectic cast, including: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Rutger Hauer, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng and Yuri Kolokolnikov.

The English traveler Jonathan Green receives from Peter the Great an order to map the Russian Far East. Once again he sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. The cartographer will unexpectedly face a lot of breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese princesses, and confront deadly martial arts masters and even the king of all dragons – the Dragon King. What could be more dangerous than meeting eye to eye with Viy, except doing it again? What would...

This looks very weird. A very short teaser trailer has debuted online for a film titled Journey to China, for short, though it goes by many names. This film is actually Viy 2, a sequel to Viy (from 2014), also known as Forbidden Empire - a fantasy adventure movie set in a cursed Romanian forest. This sequel goes by other titles including: Journey to China: The Mystery of Iron Mask, The Mystery of Dragon Seal: The Journey to China, or just simply Viy-2. The plot involves English traveler/cartographer Jonathan Green journeying to China and falling into a fantastical adventure. The film's peculiar cast features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Rutger Hauer, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, Yuri Kolokolnikov. Schwarzenegger is playing James Hook, but I don't even know what's going on. Maybe the full-length trailer will reveal more. Here's the first international trailer (+ poster) for Oleg Stepchenko's Journey to China, from...

The fact that Oleg Stepchenko's Russian ghost story Viy exists at all is something of a minor miracle. Roughly a decade from the release of the first teasers to the film actually reaching completion it was the near definition of a troubled production, tearing through multiple production companies, suffering massive cost over runs, and being extensively rewritten and reverse engineered more than once through production until it finally ended up as an international period fantasy with Charles Dance and Jason Flemyng in the lead role. And after having survived the experience Stepchenko is doing the natural thing: He's making another one. He's heading to China to do it. And he's added Jackie Chan to the mix. Flemyng returns as cartographer Jonathon Green, packed up by...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The fact that Oleg Stepchenko's Russian ghost story Viy exists at all is something of a minor miracle. Roughly a decade from the release of the first teasers to the film actually reaching completion it was the near definition of a troubled production, tearing through multiple production companies, suffering massive cost over runs, and being extensively rewritten and reverse engineered more than once through production until it finally ended up as an international period fantasy with Charles Dance and Jason Flemyng in the lead role. And after having survived the experience Stepchenko is doing the natural thing: He's making another one. He's heading to China to do it. And he's added Jackie Chan to the mix. Flemyng returns as cartographer Jonathon Green, packed up by...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Every day, more and more films are added to the various streaming services out there, ranging from Netflix to YouTube, and are hitting the airwaves via movie-centric networks like TCM. Therefore, sifting through all of these pictures can be a tedious and often times confounding or difficult ordeal. But, that’s why we’re here. Every week, Joshua brings you five films to put at the top of your queue, add to your playlist, or grab off of VOD to make your weekend a little more eventful. Here is this week’s top five, in this week’s Armchair Vacation.

5. Forbidden Empire (VOD)

While fantasy narratives, period costuming and CGI effects are often left for either the studio Oscar bait season or the occasional Hollywood blockbuster, lower and lower budget indie releases are getting access to higher and higher quality below-the-line craft work. Take Oleg Stepchenko’s Forbidden Empire for example.

Break out the vodka (pronounced wad-ka) and start boiling the potatoes, because Russian director Oleg Stepchenko has a dark Russian fairytale he’d like to tell you. Loaded with witches, Slavic folklore, and mystical enchantments, Forbidden Empire provides a cultural spin on what would otherwise be a Brothers Grimm tale. Stepchenko keeps his influences in-country, using Nikolai Gogol’s story Viy as a backstory for larger, more sinister(ish) adventures, but there’s an (ish) added because Forbidden Empire feels like two separate films the entire time. It’s like Stepchenko can’t decide which audience he’d rather please more, as the film erratically jumps from childish bouts of jubilant frolicking to sudden bursts of ghoulish debauchery. Ugh, what a haunting tease.

Jason Flemyng stars in Stepchenko’s fable as an ambitious cartographer (Jonathan Green) who sets out to create detailed maps that show the true borders of countries.

Forbidden Empire

Written by Aleksandr Karpov and Oleg Stepchenko

Directed by Oleg Stepchenko

Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, 2014

Though we may not like to admit it, some movies simply have the deck stacked against them. Case in point, Forbidden Empire. Forbidden Empire is, in fact, a dubbed and re-cut version of Viy, a 2014 Russian fantasy-horror film with a very interesting pedigree. The film is based off a short story by Nikolai Gogol, one of the more towering figures of classic Russian literature, and was previously adapted into a film of the same name in 1967. The previous version of Viy is regarded as something of an unsung classic, an immensely watchable gem rife creative and memorable effects sequences. The new film, however, eschews most of the practical effects wizardry that made the original what it is in favor of CGI effects. So, in summary, it’s a re-cut, dubbed version of a...

With a spirit similar to Stephen Sommers' Van Helsing and The Mummy, Oleg Stepchenko's Forbidden Empire is equal parts horror and adventure, with a macabre mystery interwoven throughout its intriguing narrative.

It's the 18th century, and an ambitious cartographer named Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) is traveling by horse-drawn carriage through the wilderness of Europe to properly map the borders of the world. His journey comes to a literal (and mud-splattered) halt when he comes under attack by ghostly wolves outside a small Ukrainian village run by Lord Dudley (Charles Dance). Jonathan soon learns this small town is cursed—the kind of place you might not leave if you stay overnight. The cause of the town's curse is the church, where Dudley's daughter lies in eternal, perhaps supernatural, slumber.

From this engrossing premise, Stepchenko offers ample amounts of scares delivered in stylish, gothic CGI. A truly transformative dinner table...

When a film project languishes for close to ten years in development limbo, chances of it being any good - let alone having any financial success - are usually quite slim. The end result is often a muddled mess of plot adjustments and re-shoots, a once-promising concept somehow watered down into a ball of confusion. Forbidden Empire, from Russian director Oleg Stepchenko and adapted from an 1835 novella by Nikolai Gogol, opened in Eastern Europe (as Viy 3D) in early 2014 and quickly made back enough to turn a tidy profit. But is it actually any good? Well, that depends on the viewer’s expectations.

The original intention was to make a modern, effects-heavy horror remake of 1967’s more literal adaptation of Gogol’s Viy. But, in a probable effort t [Continued ...]...

Exclusive: Leading Russian distributor Central Partnership is returning to sales after several years away and is in Cannes with a slate of big budget genre movies including sci-thrillers and historical action fare.

“We are relaunching our sales outfit,” evp of international Armen Dishdishyan told ScreenDaily. “Now we are back, I think we have collected the best movie projects in production in Russia.”

The four film slate slate includes $10 million 3D action adventure Mafia, currently shooting. Based in a futuristic Moscow, the film is about a popular big money game broadcast on TV. Whoever loses is killed. Central Partnership is screening footage during the Marché.

Also new in the market is CGI driven $20m Flight Crew, which is being shot largely with an Iamx camera. Directed by Nikolay Lebedev, it has high profile producers including Nikita Mikhalkov It is a remake of 1979 Russian hit Air Crew. Central Partnership will have a few minutes footage of the project, which...

Roskino and Russian Cinema are joining forces for the first time to present companies in the Russian Pavilion at the forthcoming Marché du Film in Cannes.

In previous years, the two promotional platforms – Russian Cinema financed by the Russian Cinema Fund (Rcf) and Roskino by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Culture – had operated from separate locations in Cannes.

And at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, Russian Cinema has had a stand in the Martin Gropius Bau, while Roskino was based on the first floor of the Marriott Hotel.

At a press conference in Moscow, Rcf executive director Anton Malyshev spoke about the reasoning behind the decision to organise a united stand and pointed to the “necessity for optimisation of expenditure” and the fact that the available resources were limited this year. Although the financing from the state had not been formally cut, the weakening of the Russian rouble vis-a-vis the Us dollar had put the...

It has been some time since Russian director Oleg Stepchenko sat in the director's chair but he has returned after a long absence with the fantasy film Forbidden Empire. It's been a long (by which we mean loooooooooooooong) and winding road for this one, which began life as a remake of classic horror film Viy all the way back in 2005 before being extensively re-shot and reverse engineered into its current form. eOne will be releasing the film on VOD on May 22nd. Now a new international trailer for the film has dropped. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of art direction and special effects. Stepchenko has a long career in production design for music videos and stage productions in Russia. It looks good. This...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

German distributor picks ip Love At First Fight (Les Combattants) [pictured], October Gale, Cabin Fever: Reboot and Viy,

Tiberius Film has acquired four films at the Efm.

The German independent distributor has picked up Thomas Cailley’s romantic comedy Love At First Fight (Les Combattants), which has just been nominated for nine César 2015 awards, and Ruba Nadda’s thriller October Gale which premiered at Toronto 2014 and stars Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman and Tim Roth.

Travis Zariwny’s Cabin Fever: Reboot, written by the writer-director of the original film Eli Roth, and Oleg Stepchenko’s Russian box office hit Viy have also been acquired by Tiberius Film.

Wolfgang Carl, managing director of Tiberius Film GmbH, commented: “The Efm is always a very good forum for us to discover exciting and promising movies. We are very excited that our acquisitions have begun so well this year. Our new films include a variety of highlights for all target groups...

Actor Gérard Depardieu is being considered for a Russian fantasy feature.

Actor Gérard Depardieu has come into the sights of Russian producer Yuri Kuznetsov-Taizhnov of Pervaya Kinostudia (First Film Studio) for children’s fantasy film Games Of Time. Exile by the newcomer Alexandr Olkov.

The project, which is budgeted at $2.6m (RUB90m) and reportedly has $1.5m (RUB50m) already in place, was presented by Kuznetsov-Taizhnov as one of 15 features looking for production support from the Ministry of Culture at its public pitching for children’s feature films.

The producer explained in the pitch that the film about a little girl from another world arriving unexpectedly in our reality is intended to be shot in IMAX 3D, although he reportedly admitted that the film’s budget could mean the makers would have to choose between either Depardieu or the big-screen format.

Games Of Time. Exile was one of five projects recommended by the Ministry’s expert committee...

Exclusive: Veteran UK producer Patrick Cassavetti has boarded Marat Alykulov’s black comedy Lenin?!.

Cassavetti, producer on Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas - agreed to become executive producer on the Kyrgyzstani project following talks in Cannes last month.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily at this year’s Moscow Business Square (Mbs), producer Joanna Bence of Curb Denizen Productions said that Cassavetti will also offer new ‘perks’ to the ‘Help Bury Lenin?!’ crowdfunding campaign by giving burgeoning filmmakers the chance to receive personal feedback on their past or upcoming productions.

Bence also revealed that German-born, London-based DoP Stephan Bookas - who has worked on Maleficent and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy - is confirmed as cinematographer for the project, which was pitched at the Mbs’s co-production forum last year after having been presented at Busan’s Asian Project Market and Connecting Cottbus in autumn 2012.

Together with Curb Denizen producer partner [link=nm...

It was all the way back in November of 2005 that we first wrote about Oleg Stepchenko's Viy, an effects driven adaptation of a classic tale by Nikolai Gogol, and to describe the film's road to completion from that time as tortuous is a bit of an understatement.With a constantly ballooning budget that is now reported as well more than double what was originally budgeted the film is now eight years on from the release of the original teaser, having been altered and re-engineered so many times that it's impossible to say what actually remains from the original work. I can say this, though: What began as a purely Russian production with an all Russian cast is now listed as a Germany / UK /...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Uwe Boll's Event Film and German group Kinostar have taken world sales rights to Viy, a 3D fantasy epic from Russian director Oleg Stepchenko featuring Jason Flemyng (X-Men:First Class) and Game of Thrones star Charles Dance. Loosely based on the short story of the same name by Russian fantasy writer Nikolai Gogol, Viy is set in the 18th century. The cartographer Jonathan Green (Flemyng), on a trip across Europe, finds himself trapped in the dark woods of Transylvania, where a strange village, cut off from civilization, hides a dark secret. The Gogol short story has been the inspiration for

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We caught our first look at Oleg Stepchenko’s big budget remake of the classic Russian horror pic Viy well over a year and a half ago and since then the release date has slipped more times than we can recall. Now finally with the official site just going live, it really looks like we might be one step closer to actually seeing the damn thing! According to the latest poster the pics release date is now set for March 09, a date that coincides with the bi-centenary of Nikolai (author of the book the film is based on) Gogol's birthday. Treats to see on site include: production notes, interviews, photos galleries, storyboards, and two fantastic looking trailers. Enjoy.

We caught our first look at Oleg Stepchenko’s big budget remake of the classic Russian horror pic Viy well over a year and a half ago and since then the release date has slipped more times than we can recall. Now finally with the official site just going live, it really looks like we might be one step closer to actually seeing the damn thing! According to the latest poster the pics release date is now set for March 09, a date that coincides with the bi-centenary of Nikolai (author of the book the film is based on) Gogol's birthday. Treats to see on site include: production notes, interviews, photos galleries, storyboards, and two fantastic looking trailers. Enjoy.

It has been a few years since we last heard anything about the remake of "Viy" directed by Oleg Stepchenko, but finally something showed up that should please all English-speaking horror fans. Twitch got its hands on the English language version of the "Viy" trailer! Check it out below. "Early 18th century. Cartographer Jonathan Green undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods. Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to defend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive...

It has been a few years since we last heard anything about the remake of Viy (official site) directed by Oleg Stepchenko, but finally something showed up that should please all English-speaking horror fans.

Twitch got its hands on the English language version of the Viy trailer! Check it out below.

"Early 18th century. Cartographer Jonathan Green undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods. Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to defend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive belief that they could save themselves from evil, failing to understand that evil has made its...