Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) and Jet Tone Production announced today that The Grandmaster will be the first Chinese movie mixed in Dolby® Atmos™ to be shown in the United States. Dolby Atmos is the new audio platform that revolutionizes sound in entertainment. The Grandmaster will be released theatrically in the United States on August 23 by the Weinstein Company.The Grandmaster is directed by award-winning director Wong Kar Wai. "
The Grandmaster is a Chinese kung fu story that is not only about physical fighting," the director said, "but also about such intangibles as
chi, the mind, and the spirit, which are never easy concepts to express. I have been extremely impressed by the powerful enhancements to storytelling that Dolby Atmos makes possible.
The Grandmaster in Dolby Atmos will use sound to transport audiences right into the film action."
The US version of
The Grandmaster was mixed in Dolby Atmos by Kantana Sound Studio in Bangkok, Thailand, the first mixing studio equipped with Dolby Atmos in Southeast Asia. Traithep Wongpaiboon, Senior Vice President, Kantana Sound Studio, said: "Dolby Atmos is the most powerful sound technology we have ever used. With Dolby Atmos, the sound moves around and above the audiences, creating a soundfield so realistic that film audiences feel as if they are in the center of the action."
"We are delighted that internationally renowned director Wong Kar Wai chose to mix his latest picture in Dolby Atmos for the US release," said Mike Chao, Managing Director, Greater China, Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby Atmos brings a natural lifelike audio experience to movie theatres, giving filmmakers creative freedom to place and move sounds anywhere in the auditorium, including overhead, for added realism and impact."
"Dolby Atmos delivers the best next-generation audio experience for all film genres, including martial arts. We are very excited to be at the forefront of bringing a premium entertainment experience to moviegoers with
The Grandmaster, featuring Dolby Atmos sound, and believe that this is a big step for us to help drive innovation in the cinema," said Erik Lomis, President of Theatrical Distribution and Home Entertainment for the Weinstein Company.
The Grandmaster stars Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang and was first released in mainland China on January 8, 2013. A Jet Tone Production,
The Grandmaster will be distributed by the Weinstein Company to 800 screens in the United States, including select theatres equipped with Dolby Atmos technology.
About Dolby AtmosDolby Laboratories is equipping the cinema world with its new Dolby Atmos technology. Dolby Atmos unleashes the potential of sound in storytelling by providing filmmakers the creative freedom to easily place or move specific sounds anywhere in the movie theatre, not just where there happen to be speakers. The result is what moviegoers have described as the most engaging and lifelike cinema experience ever.
Introduced in April 2012, Dolby Atmos has been embraced by all the major Hollywood studios, six Academy Award® winning directors, and 10 Academy Award winning sound mixers, among others. More than 200 Dolby Atmos screens have been installed or committed to in 27 countries with more than 85 exhibitor partners. More than 60 films from nine different countries—representing a broad range of genres, from action thrillers and animated features, to comedy and horror—have been or are scheduled to be released with Dolby Amos sound since the first film debuted in June 2012. Dolby Atmos has received technical achievement awards from both the Hollywood Post Alliance and the Cinema Audio Society.
About THE GRANDMASTER
THE GRANDMASTER is the highly-anticipated new film by acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai. Six years in the planning and three years in the making, THE GRANDMASTER is an epic action feature inspired by the life and times of the legendary kung fu master, Ip Man. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China's last dynasty, a time of chaos, division and war that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts. Filmed in a range of stunning locations that include the snow-swept landscapes of Northeast China and the subtropical South, THE GRANDMASTER features virtuoso performances by some of the greatest stars of contemporary cinema.
With THE GRANDMASTER, Wong Kar Wai has made a kung fu film like no other. Years of research before production and a virtual battalion of martial arts trainers on set ensured that THE GRANDMASTER portrays both the Chinese martial arts and the world of the martial artists with unprecedented authenticity, with fight scenes choreographed by renowned action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (THE MATRIX, KILL BILL, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.) The trio of international superstars at the film's heart—Tony Leung, Ziyi Zhang, and Chang Chen—all underwent several years of rigorous and extremely challenging kung fu training for their roles.
Shot by French director of photography Philippe Le Sourd and with art direction by Wong's longtime collaborators William Chang Suk Ping and Alfred Yau Wai Ming,
The Grandmaster represents a new chapter in the martial arts genre and in Wong Kar Wai's own stellar career.