Cast: Edward Norton (also producing), Naomi Watts (also producing), Anthony Wong, Liev Schreiber (Charlie Townsend), Toby Jones .

Director: John Curran (We Don't Live Here Anymore)

Screenwriter:Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia)

Budget: $ 34 million

Filming: August 15 - November 2005

Locations: Beijing (Beijing Film Studios), Shanghai and the southeastern province of Guangxi

Release date: December 20, 2006 (NYC/LA), expanding to more theaters Dec 29

Website: Painted Veil Official Site

Painted Veil DVD Now Available!

Summary: Based on the classic novel by W. Somerset Maugham, “The Painted Veil” is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.

Official website|| Gallery || Articles || Reviews

A 1934 film adaptation starred Greta Garbo, Herbert Marshal, and George Brent.

News

Dec 20, 2006-Premiere Magazine did an interview with EN and used only a little bit of EN's quotes in the Jan/Feb 07 Premiere issue (see Dec 17 post). Premiere.com has the interview itself

IFILM has posted three video clips from TPV [Thanks to Susanne for the info!!!]. Movies Online has posted an interview with EN and one with Naomi Watts and director John Curran Today's LA Times has an article on TPV screenwriter Ron Nyswaner Revealing a piece of his soul. Plus, Landmark Theatres has posted an article written by TPV director John Curran on the film. Someone at ContactMusic.com must have set their TiVo because their latest headline NORTON BUYS RICE FIELD FOR FILM came straight from EN's spot Tues morning on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. I have no problem with that, but at least mention the source of your info.

Reviews galore on TPV have just been released: LA Times, Premiere.com, USA Today, Salon.com.

Dec 19, 2006- Newsday has an interview with EN called A good average. Newsday also includes a review on TPV (although both are already on the web, they have tomorrow's date so if you're looking for the print version, bear that in mind). Dec 18, 2006- Today's LA Times has an article about TPV, examining why "Little attention surrounds a year's-end film some consider a natural Oscar contender." 'Veil' in need of a lift Today's Hollywood Reporter also discusses this subject- describing some problems between Warners and the producers and filmmakers. Warners, Yari clash over 'Veil' (the Reuters story entitled Edward Norton film sparks international incident is the same as the HR article with a more sensational title) New York Magazine has a Q&A with EN on TPV The Good Guy: Edward Norton

Today's Baltimore Sun has an article on last night's benefit screening of TPV. Unfortunately, it is a very short article and completely misses the fact that $375,000 was raised for Howard County General Hospital (but it does have a nice pic). Norton unveils his new film.

Baltimore's movie palace The Senator rolled out its red carpet last night for movie star Edward Norton and director John Curran, who brought their new movie, The Painted Veil, for a screening to benefit Howard County General Hospital. Although this Maryland premiere landed smack in the middle of the award-screening season, Curran said, "This is one of the fun ones. I've been hearing about this screening at the Senator for a long time, and ever since I have, I've wanted to come to it. I wanted to see this movie right in the heart of Nortonville."
Norton told reporters the theater was filled with people he's known all his life. Norton's friend, Dr. Harry Oken, and his wife, Janet, organized the event. Members of the Norton family included his brother and sister, Jim and Molly Norton, and his uncle, Teddy Rouse. Also attending were Dr. Henry Brem, who was Norton's mother's doctor, and his wife, Rachel. Norton said he would have loved to bring his previous hit, The Illusionist, for a similar benefit in Baltimore if the timing had been right; he already has a movie in mind to premiere next year at the Senator.

A great transcript of a Q&A with Edward Norton that was done after a Toronto screening of TPV has been posted on AICN [Thanks to Hugh and Amo for the info!!!]

Two more TPV reviews: MSNBC: ‘Painted Veil’ lifted by great performances and Associated Press:'Painted Veil': Dour but Worthy Dec 17, 2006 -The Jan/Feb 07 issue of Premiere Magazine includes EN in their section on "Show Stoppers: Premiere Salutes The Finest Performances of 2006". It includes a pic and some comments from EN about TPV. Premiere mag scans

Thanks to Katherine, who was nice enough to send a scan of the invite to the Painted Veil premiere on December 13

Thanks also to Suzanne who sent several full size pics from the Painted Veil premiere, which I finally was able to post.

Dec 14, 2006- TPV premiere was last night at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood. EN, Naomi Watts, Liev Schrelber, Toby Jones, and director John Curran were present. Thumbnails are posted on Wireimage, but Susanne was kind enough to send larger pics which I will be posting.

Variety.com has posted a review of TPV Variety review

RollingStone.com's review of TPV leads off with this amazing sentence "Edward Norton, who has given two award-caliber performances this year, in Down in the Valley and The Illusionist, now delivers a third." RollingStone.com review

Dec11, 2006 -Variety.com has a section on lead actor dark horses and EN is one of those mentioned (the others are Christian Bale, George Clooney, Will Ferrell, Jude Law, Ken Watanabe and Patrick Wilson)

Edward Norton
Pic: "The Painted Veil"
Why: "Veil," which he also produced, is a sweeping, romantic tale on foreign soil -- somewhat similar in tone to "The English Patient" -- and there's no doubt voters have a soft spot for those types of pics. Also, Norton co-starred in the impressive "The Illusionist," so there might be reason to nominate him for his cumulative accomplishments.

Dec 9, 2006- Sunday's New York Times has an article entitled Another Encore for the Most Adaptable of Authors, which gives an excellent look on how The Painted Veil made it to the screen. Since the NYT mades you register to read their articles, I've put some of the more relevant excerpts below. Another Encore for the Most Adaptable of Authors

All these limitations the new “Painted Veil” turns into opportunities, so that it’s one of those rare Hollywood movies that are actually better than the books that inspired them. “I like to think that we didn’t change the book so much as liberate it,” Mr. Norton said in a recent interview. “We just imagined it on a slightly bigger scale, and made external some of what is internal in the novel.”
Maugham is not quite the hot property that he used to be, however, and making the movie took forever. Mr. Norton, who is also a producer of “The Painted Veil,” got involved with the project back in 1999. The script had already been bouncing around for a few years, shepherded by the producer Sara Colleton, and was going through almost countless drafts. There were strictly faithful versions, versions that took more liberties with the novel, and at one point even a feminist version.
It was Mr. Norton’s idea to enhance the role of Walter and include an element of redemption and forgiveness: in the movie, unlike the book, he eventually makes his peace with Kitty, and the two even fall in love. He almost literally melts before the viewer’s eye. It’s a development so natural, so in keeping with the book’s larger theme of transcendence, that you wonder why Maugham didn’t think of it.
“The novel is almost unremittingly bleak,” Mr. Norton said. “And the reason is I think Maugham had a pretty dim view of the potential of British colonials to change. But I went on the assumption that if you were willing to allow Walter and Kitty to grow, then you had the potential for a love story that was both tragic and meaningful.”
Mr. Nyswaner, the screenwriter, said: “Edward had this running joke with me that we couldn’t make a movie in which he was off screen all the time. But he was right — you have to have scenes for the male star. This was a case where the conventions of moviemaking actually helped.”
It was also Mr. Norton’s idea to enlist Ms. Watts for the part of Kitty, and that proved to be the deal clincher, but only after Ms. Watts became a bankable star with “Mulholland Drive” and “21 Grams.” She in turn suggested Mr. Curran, who had directed her in “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” (2004), a tale of two disintegrating marriages. That movie convinced both Mr. Norton and Ms. Watts that he had a knack for depicting dysfunctional relationships, but as it turned out, he made an even greater contribution to “The Painted Veil”: he helped make China not just a backdrop to the story, as it is in the novel, but an essential part of it.
That the movie would be shot on location in China was a given almost from the beginning. “There is no way I was going to make a movie that looked as if it had been shot in Canada,” Mr. Curran said. And instead of just building a set for the cholera-stricken village, he held out for an actual piece of unspoiled Chinese landscape, not an easy thing to find these days.
“Even the Chinese crew members were amazed at the place we found, Huang Yao,” he said. “It was like going back in time.”
It was also Mr. Curran’s idea to set the film specifically amid the events of 1925, when the Chinese nationalist movement was just beginning, and Mr. Norton, who had studied Chinese history at Yale, immediately agreed. He even worked with Mr. Curran and Mr. Nyswaner to add some scenes based on Jonathan D. Spence’s book “To Change China,” about the often bumbling efforts of Western advisers there.
“We’ve let Walter become the proxy for the arrogance of Western rationalism,” Mr. Norton explained, talking about how Walter is baffled when the Chinese are insufficiently grateful for his help in fighting cholera. “Walter means well, but he’s the folly of empire, and that adds a whole new dimension to what happens in the story. It’s a metaphor for the way empires get crushed.”
Mr. Nyswaner said: “Edward became passionate about the film. I tend toward despair, but he has this dogged optimism, and it’s because of him that the film ever got made.”
A movie about a love affair and a cholera epidemic in China in the ’20s is “such an unlikely project when you think of it,” Mr. Curran said. “Imagine the hurdles of getting it set up — all those executives looking with glazed eyes.”
Mr. Nyswaner said: “At least 50 percent of our energy went into negotiations and fending off powerful people’s suggestions. We even got notes from the Chinese government. In the script there was a prose description of some mountains as gloomy, and the government said, ‘We don’t have gloomy mountains here — our mountains are joyous.’ ”

More from TPV screenwriter Ron Nyswaner can be heard in a podcast courtesy of the LA Times Podcast: Nyswaner reveals secrets of 'The Painted Veil' screenplay

Dec 8, 2006- More EN TV appearances: EN will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson late night Mon/early morning Tue December 19 as well as The View on December 19 [Thanks to Chris for the news!!!] Black Book's official website has the pics and the text of the interview, which doesn't seem too smart from a business standpoint.

Dec 6, 2006- The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures announced their award winners today. While EN and The Painted Veil did not receive any awards, TPV was listed as one of the top 10 best films of 2006. The Illusionist was included in the list of top independent films

Dec 3, 2006- EN is scheduled to be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 12/11/06 and the Ellen Degeneres Show on 12/12/06 [Thanks so much to Chris for the info!!!]

Nov 30, 2006- Yesterday's Hollywood Reporter had an excellent interview with The Painted Veil screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, who received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the film (as I mentioned below, EN received a nomination as well). The interviewer also speculates on TPV's Oscar chances. I'm going to post the entire article but I wanted to include some excerpts below. One deals with EN's involvement and the second deals with an upcoming project they are doing together Buffalo for the Broken Heart. Spirit nom for 'Veil' raises Oscar hopes" [Thanks so much to Robin for sending the text of the article!!!]

About five or six years ago, he continued, "Edward Norton became involved. Edward liberated me from feeling obliged to do a faithful literary adaptation. As a matter of fact, Edward wasn't really interested in being part of the movie if we were going to stick to that path. I remember Edward saying to me something which really moved me. He said, 'It's not my way of operating that I just come on to a project, take it over and then make it what I think it should be. So if you want to stay on the path that you're on, I'll step aside. But if what I'm suggesting to you interests you, then we can work together.' I was really excited by that. So Edward has really been part of the writing and shaping of the movie since then.
[Further down in the article]
And about three years ago it did start to happen: "Edward presented the script to Naomi and she got very excited. And then about a year and a half ago we found our director, John Curran, and things really moved quickly since then. Then under the guidance of Bob Yari Films and Warner Independent suddenly that all came together and we moved forward to make the film. So it seems like a long time to me, but actually I think for John Curran it seems like a very sort of whirlwind affair. I find it funny that we have these opposite experiences."
[Further down in the article]
"For example, I'm doing a script now with Edward Norton. He's producing it and is going to direct for Universal Pictures. It's based on a memoir called 'Buffalo for the Broken Heart' ('Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch' by Dan O'Brien). I took that book and I took my several days worth of interviews with the rancher that it's based on and I created a time-line of the man's life. I wrote down everything he told me and everything from his book in chronological order. I call it a time-line and I do it on every project that I do. So I basically see a main character from birth to death and every event that has occurred to them. And then if there are other significant characters, I do the same with them. So when I start to write, I really know the people that I'm writing about. Then when you start writing scenes, well in creating all this you've already imagined so many scenes that you're not really starting from scratch."

EN and Naomi Watts are featured in the December/January issue of BlackBook, which has two different covers. One features EN, the other NW [Thanks so much to Brent for the info!!!].

OscarWatch.com has posted "For Your Consideration" Ads (obscenely expensive ads run in trade magazines in hopes that the film might snag a few nominations) for The Painted Veil and The Illusionist [Thanks to Kyle for the info!!!]

I hate bringing this next event up because it is SOLD OUT. There is a benefit screening of The Painted Veil on December 17th at the Senator Theater in Baltimore. Both EN and director John Curran will be present. When I tried to find out about it to post the info, I learned it was already sold out. EN used to go to the Senator Theatre when he was a kid, and he has held several premieres of his films there to benefit causes that mean a great deal to him. I am mentioning it because there is always an outdoor ceremony beforehand where a section of cement is unveiled, to celebrate the premiere. So it would be an opportunity to see him in person, but not to actually attend the premiere itself.

Nov 28, 2006- Today EN received a nomination in the best male lead category for his work in The Painted Veil

Nov 10, 2006- Wireimage.com posted some pics of a press conference for The Painted Veil on 11/5.

Nov 7, 2006- The official website for The Painted Veil has opened. It contains an image gallery, downloads (wallpaper and a screensaver), synopsis, cast/crew bios, about the production (which appears to be the production notes) as well as the trailer and two TV spots. The release date for the film has been pushed back by a few days to December 20.

Oct 21, 2006- The day after I left on vacation, the Painted Veil trailer made its debut all over the web. Thanks so much to all the people who were kind enough to send me the news. I only wish that I had been able to post the news faster. The trailer itself is visually stunning, and gives you a beautiful view of the picturesque locations of China, where it was filmed. You can check out the trailer on YouTube, Comingsoon.net, JoBlo and iVillage Thanks to Kamila, Hugh, Danille, Momena, Brent, Amo, h, and Robin for emailing me about the trailer!!!].

Charity Folks has a listing for two tickets for the Painted Veil premiere auctioned off by Naomi Watts to benefit Film Aid International. However, you're going to need some cash- the auction runs until Nov 6 and today the next bid is $1000. Painted Veil Premiere auction [Thanks to Lisa for the info!!!]

EN and Naomi Watts were present at the premiere of the Truman Capote biopic Infamous, starring Toby Jones, who costars with them in The Painted Veil.

Oct 7, 2006- The Painted Veil poster that I posted about yesterday is in the November issue of Premiere Magazine (with Daniel Craig on the cover) as a full page advertisement.

Oct 6, 2006- Quick post before I head out to a meeting. Hugh found The Painted Veil poster on one of the IMDB forums Painted Veil poster On the poster is the web address www.thepaintedveilmovie.com. The official site is not set up yet so the web address takes you back to Warner Independent Films section on The Painted Veil which also includes a number of new photos [Thanks so much to Hugh!!!]

Oct 1, 2006- Sina.com has posted a page on The Painted Veil. It's in Chinese, but it does contain some pictures from the film and a poster (created by Sina?). [Thanks so much to huihui for the info!!!]

Aug 13, 2006 Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview issue (James Bond cover) has a preview of The Painted Veil and a nice pic of EN and Naomi Watts. The preview focuses on EN's prowess as a producer, keeping the project moving forward over six years, and the reasons why the whole film was shot in China. I've scanned the article: EW Preview: The Painted Veil.

Jun 29, 2006- Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a little longer for The Painted Veil. Warner Independent Pictures official website now lists the release date as December 15th. The release date has moved around a little bit, initially it was November and then it was pushed up to September. But a December release makes me wonder about one thing: are there any aspirations for Oscar gold?

Jun 27, 2006- Sina.com has posted a pic of EN at the Shanghai Film Festival as well as some articles. However, the articles are in Chinese. Pic of EN. Here are the articles (in case your Chinese is better than mine). Sina.com article 1 (EN attends festival), article 2 (EN praises Painted Veil costar Anthony Wong) article 3 (EN talks about making The Painted Veil or it might be EN presenting the Best Actress award) [Thanks to HuiHui for the info!]

Jun 25, 2006- Shanghai Daily has an article on EN's press conference at the Shanghai Film Festival. The Shanghai Film Festival website also a little bit on why he was there: a special program entitled "Edward Norton: Seeking a Home for the Soul" in which four of his films were shown: American History X, Fight Club, 25th Hour and Down in the Valley. "Edward Norton: Seeking a Home for the Soul". Below are some excerpts from Shanghai Daily: The beloved antihero

The 37-year-old credited himself as "a big fan of Chinese cinema" and was eager to share the "incredible shooting experiences" he had in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region while shooting the film, "The Painted Veil," which is based on Somerset Maugham's novel and will be released at the end of this year.
"I think it is one of my best films," says Norton. "Last year, I had a fantastic time working with so many terrific Chinese actors, like Xia Yu and Anthony Wong."
The film tells the story of a young British couple's emotional journey into the beautiful yet deadly environment of 1920s rural China, where they learn the true meaning of love and devotion.
Norton is also a producer on the movie. He notes that the original novel mostly focuses on the two British characters, but the movie by John Curran has a strong flavor of 1920s China.
"Every person has their prejudices and fixed ideas - these form a 'veil'," Norton explains the title of the movie. "The 'Kitty' character (Naomi Watts) has a veil over her concept of love; the 'General' (Wong) has his views as to whether the foreigners who have come to China are there to help China or invade it. These characters' ways of thinking are removed from reality, but over time, as they live and work with each other, their 'veils' are slowly lifted."
[Further down in article]
"My teacher told me that acting is listening and reacting to the people around you," Norton says. "I still keep these words in mind."

May 10, 2006- An article on ShanghaiDaily.com states that EN is expected to attend the Shanghai International Film Festival which will be held June 17 to 25. I find that interesting. EN will be filming Pride and Glory through the end of May, and is also promoting the release of Down in the Valley during his spare time. Plus he went from filming The Illusionist to the Painted Veil to Pride and Glory with very little time off. You'd think after all that he'd spend the next few weeks on vacation. So what would be the reason to go to the festival? Could it be that The Painted Veil will premiere at the festival? It's just speculation on my part. And my instincts are very often wrong (just check out my Kentucky Derby pick). EN's father is the senior advisor to the Nature Conservancy's Yunnan Great Rivers Project in Kunming China, so it could just be a detour on a personal visit. Still, it makes you wonder. Luc Besson joins film festival as judge

Apr 28, 2006 Although I have listed that filming took place between August 15 and November 2005, EN's bio on the Down in the Valley official site states that he was filming for five months.

Feb 20, 2006 New pics are available on blackfilm.com and Comingsoon.net [Thanks to Wilson and huihui for the info!!!] Warner Independent Pictures website currently gives a release date as sometime in November 2006. Please note that release dates do change.

Dec 30, 2005 Today's Calendar Live section of L.A. Times has an article on the expansion of the film market to China. There's not much on The Painted Veil but it does include a new picture of EN from the film (the same guy always does his promo shots). L.A. Times: Crouching U.S. studios, hidden Chinese market

Oct 30, 2005 The first photo of Naomi Watts in The Painted Veil has been posted on Sina.com [Source Monkey Peaches]

Oct 10, 2005 Painted Veil filming has moved to the Guangxi Region of China in the town of Huangyao. Monkey Peaches has posted three photos. One of them is of director John Curran and EN praying for good fortune. The other two are of filming in Huangyao. Filming should continue on into November. If you haven't taken at EN's interview in Shanghai, it's still up at Sina.com. The page date seems to indicate either that the interview was done on Thursday, Sep 29. The date would seem to be correct since the story in the Shanghai Morning Post came out on Sep 30.

Oct 3, 2005 Sina.com has a video of the interview with the Chinese press. You'll have to have a little patience since this is not like a TV interview - it goes slowly, you can hear the questions in Chinese but not the English translation that is told to EN, there is a wait while EN's answer is translated into Chinese, and EN speaks a little softly. EN's comments that went from the Shanghai Morning Post to the Associated press (Sept 30 post) seem to be taken from this interview. But what he actually says is different that what was reported. For instance, the whole section about how his character "realizes his mistakes in the end" is completely absent from his comments. He refers to his character as "slightly arrogant" but talks about it in terms of the attitutes of Westerners in China during the '20s. He uses the term "fix", the press used the word "force". He does talk about how the story has relevance today which is probably why the story ended up in wide circulation. Below is a transcript of that section of the interview (I've highlighted in red portions that seem to be the basis for the comments in the press. The question starts at around 26 minutes into the video clip. EN's Painted Veil interview. I found out about this through the IMDB Painted Veil message board

[I could not hear the question- EN seems to have been asked about how he was able to prepare to do a period film about China.]

"That's an interesting question. You use anything that's available to you, I think. Sometimes at the beginning, I just look at photographs. And that's limited as to what you can learn. But sometimes just to see the textures of all the different things that were going on in that time. For instance, if you're an American and you don't happen to know about China in that time, just looking at photographs is very revealing because there was so much change happening in China at that time. And you had the overlapping of so many different cultural moments. It's very interesting. In that period, you still see people with the Manchu queue. Then you see people who are in Western dress. Then you see Westerners. You see Sun Yat-sen in his military uniforms. And there are still the warlords wearing grand ceremonial dress. It was a time when there were so many things overlapping. Just looking at pictures makes you realize this was a very complicated time. Beyond that, I think we've all been reading the histories of that period, about what life was like. I was very fortunate that when I was in university, one of my professors was one of the really great Western historians of China. One of the books that specifically was really useful was a book that he wrote about Westerners who came to China either to try to change China or give China assistance and what happened to them. Because my character, I think he's a prototypical Westerner in that era in China. He's slightly arrogant. He thinks he can come in and sort of fix some things in China. He doesn't have a very broad view of Chinese culture or Chinese politics or Chinese history. His ignorance of that ends up being his downfall because he has too arrogant an assumption that he can just come in and fix things. And I think this particular book was very illuminating about people who kind of fell into that trap in China. The interesting thing is that I think that sort of resonates for now. That's a part of the story that I thought was relevant with what's going on in the United States. We're still doing that. We're still sending people into other countries on this notion that we can fix other people's problems without really understanding the depth of the cultural forces that are at work there. I think that even though this story takes place in the '20s, the messages in it are very relevant, especially in the United States right now."

Oct 1,2005 The first three images from The Painted Veil has been posted on Monkey Peaches (they credit Sina.com but I can't find them there). They really give you an idea of the look and feel of the film. "The film is exclusively shot in China. Even the replicated old Shanghai streets, built inside Shanghai Film Studios' production facility in Chedun, is used to double streets in England."

Sep 30, 2005 EN did an interview in the Chinese language Shanghai Morning Post and a few of his remarks made it into the China Post's story Edward Norton, Naomi Watts in Shanghai to shoot "The Painted Veil"?. I hope he chose to qualify his remarks this time. [FLATBROKE's note: His actual comments seem to have been different- see Oct 3 post]

Edward Norton says his latest movie role as an arrogant British doctor out to change the world is a little like today's America.
"In fact, the United States today keeps on making the same sort of mistakes," the American star of the upcoming film "The Painted Veil" was quoted as saying by the Chinese-language newspaper Shanghai Morning Post.
"We force those methods we think are useful on a few countries, hoping to make a few changes. The good thing is that, in the movie, I realize my mistakes in the end," the critically acclaimed 36-year-old actor said in the interview, published Friday.

Sep 6, 2005 In order to contribute to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, celebrities have been offering items up for auction at Charityfolks.com with the proceeds going to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. One of the current auctions is "Two Passes to the Premiere and After Party of The Painted Veil staring Naomi Watts and Ed Norton in Fall, 2006 (location TBD)". The current bid is $1400.00. Because The Painted Veil is currently filming, there is no info as to exactly when and where the premiere will take place. The auction ends on September 16. Charity Folks: Painted Veil auction

Aug 18 - 2PM update I again revisted the IMDB's Painted Veil message board that I mentioned below and found some unconfirmed casting info. "chinachick" reports that Toby Jones is playing Waddington and Liev Schreiber is playing Charlie Townsend. Note that the casting notice below is looking for a stand in for Toby Jones.

Aug 18, 2005 I found an interesting post on IMDB's Painted Veil message board that provides some info on the upcoming movie.

casting for warner bros. in beijing for this movie
by brightkelly 3 hours ago(Wed Aug 17 2005 18:00:57)
I saw this on a chinese website, it recruits part-time actors and actresses for this film.

East-Line Talent Management

Casting Call for “The Painted Veil”
A Warner Bros. film starring
Edward Norton and Naomi Watts

Looking for faces of all types and
colors, artists of all ages and sizes

Specific Roles

- European-looking men and women aged 35-40
- available to film on August 29th
- non-speaking: wage 800 rmb/day

- French women, aged 45 and up; role: nun
- available to film on 9/2, 9/7, 9/9, 9/12
- non-speaking: wage 800 rmb/day

- French woman 50-60 years; role: nun
- available to film on 9/6, 9/7, 9/9
- speaking; wage 2,000/day

Stand-In

Edward Norton: 6’, fair-medium complexion, medium frame
(shoe 9, waist 32, chest,
38-39)
Naomi Watts: 5’5”, fair complexion, small frame
(shoe 7, waist 25, chest, 33)
Toby Jones: 5’8”, medium complexion, medium build
(shoe 7, waist 25, chest, 33); - only 5 -
10 days

- Requirements for height and measurements are somewhat flexible
- Ideal for artists wanting on-set experience; involves standing in for
above-mentioned actors during lighting adjustment in preparation for
each scene
- A lot of time will be spent on set, active time: working directly
with director for the actors, down-time: can be spent reading
- Must be available at least on weekdays over the next month in
Beijing. Preferably a long-term commitment, which would involve
shooting with the crew from 8/22 – 9/13 in Beijing, and 9/14 – 11/7 in
Shanghai and Guangxi
- Wage: 30 dollars U.S./day; hours: 5 – 12 hrs/day

Please send your photo, no more than two (one headshot, one body shot)
at the earliest possible time to :
Specific Roles and Stand-In: pvcasting@east-line.com
Other: talent@east-line.com

Aug 15, 2005 Today's CRIENGLISH.com reports that Hong Kong star Anthony Wong has stated in an interview that he plays a Chinese army officer in the film.

Aug 4, 2005 Today's CRIENGLISH.com reports that filming will start on August 15 at Beijing Film Studios. Other locations include Shanghai and the southeastern province of Guangxi. Shooting is supposed to last about 12 weeks.

May 3, 2005 Tomorrow's Sydney Morning Herald has an interview with Naomi Watts entitled Mega Watts. It mentions that she's scheduled to start filming Painted Veil in August. There's nothing else about the film in the article. I'm not sure when filming on The Illusionist is scheduled to end, but it doesn't look like he's going to have much time for between films, especially if there is a rehersal period before Painted Veil.

Feb 9, 2005- Today's Variety reports that John Curran will direct and Naomi Watts is in negotiations to star. Filming is set to start in September.

Project history: Originally announced in Feb 2000 with Edward Norton, Nicole Kidman, and director Gillian Armstrong attached, the $35 million project was to begin shooting in Fall 2000. However, it never went forward. The project reemerged Nov 2002 with EN still in and also producing, Kidman out and Naomi Watts in, and looking for a director. Filming was going to take place in Southeast Asia in the second quarter of 2003, but again it did not go forward. A report from Dark Horizons (5/15/03) states that it was postponed due to the SARS epidemic.

Articles

Norton unveils his new film Baltimore Sun December 18, 2006

The Good Guy: Edward Norton New York Magazine December 18, 2006

Warners, Yari clash over 'Veil' Hollywood Reporter December 18, 2006

'Veil' in need of a lift Los Angeles Times December 18, 2006

Show Stoppers: Premiere Salutes The Finest Performances of 2006: Edward Norton Premiere Magazine January/February 2007.

Another Encore for the Most Adaptable of Authors New York Times December 10, 2006.

Podcast: Nyswaner reveals secrets of 'The Painted Veil' screenplay Los Angeles Times

Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Ron Nyswaner

Firms, Golchan ink deal. Variety February 2, 2004

Splendid lifts Veil on Stratus debut film. ScreenDaily Nov 4, 2002

UGC raising Armstrong's $35 mil 'Painted Veil' pic. Variety February 25, 2000.

Reviews

Variety
Hollywood Reporter
Rolling Stone

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