Celestial to Remake Shaw Brothers Martial Arts Classics

HONG KONG, November 3: Celestial Pictures has announced
plans to remake two films from the Shaw Brothers library of martial arts films,
beginning with the 1978 classic Five Deadly Venoms.

Kirk Wong (The Big Hit,
Crime Story) will direct and
write the new Five Deadly Venoms,
which will see the return of the infamous “poison clan”. While an all-male team
in the original, the new version will feature a female character: Spider
Girl.

Teddy Chen (Jackie Chan’s Accidental Spy) will direct Flying Guillotine, an update of the 1974 hit about the Qing Dynasty’s
Emperor Yong Zheng, who created an elite team of warriors to wield the Flying
Guillotine to assassinate political opponents.

"These movies are two of the greatest martial-arts
films ever made," said William Pfeiffer, the CEO of Celestial Pictures,
which owns the Shaw Brothers library and will be distributing the new features
worldwide. “We are excited to extend the Shaw Brothers legacy to the 21st
century by injecting modern cinematic elements to these timeless kung fu
masterpieces.”

Celestial Pictures is talking to its clients about the two
new features at the American Film Market this week.