Recreation of President Abraham Lincoln lying in repose in replicated coffin at the National Museum of Funeral History, Houston TX

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.

Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin" and "casket". A coffin is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides, and a casket, which generally denotes a four-sided (almost always rectangular) box.^[1]

Etymology[link]

The side of an Ancient Egyptian coffin

First attested in English 1380, the word coffin derives from the Old French cofin, from Latin cophinus,^[2] which is the latinisation of the Greek κόφινος (kophinos), "basket".^[3] The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek ko-pi-na, written in Linear B syllabic script.^[4] Any box used to bury the dead in is a coffin. Use of the word "casket" in this sense began as a euphemism introduced by the undertaker's trade in North America; a "casket" was originally a box for jewelry.^[5] North Americans may draw a distinction between "coffins" and "caskets", using coffin to refer to a tapered hexagonal or octagonal (also considered to be anthropoidal in shape) box used for a burial and casket to refer to a rectangular burial box with a split lid used for viewing the deceased as seen in the picture above. Receptacles for cremated and cremulated human ashes (sometimes called cremains^{[citation needed]} in North America) are called urns.

Practices[link]

A coffin may be buried in the ground directly, placed in a burial vault or cremated. Alternatively it may be entombed above ground in a mausoleum, a chapel, a church, or in a loculus in catacombs. Some countries practice one form almost exclusively, whereas in others it may depend on the individual cemetery.

The handles and other ornaments (such as doves, stipple crosses, crucifix, symbols etc.) that go on the outside of a coffin are called fittings (sometimes called 'coffin furniture' - not to be confused with furniture that is coffin shaped) while organising the inside of the coffin with fabric of some kind is known as "trimming the coffin".

Cultures that practice burial have widely different styles of coffin. In some varieties of Orthodox Judaism, the coffin must be plain, made of wood and contain no metal parts or adornments. These coffins use wooden pegs instead of nails. In China and Japan, coffins made from the scented, decay-resistant wood of cypress, sugi, thuja and incense-cedar are in high demand. Certain Aboriginal Australian groups use intricately decorated tree-bark cylinders sewn with fibre and sealed with adhesive as coffins. The cylinder is packed with dried grasses.^[6]

Sometimes coffins are constructed to permanently display the corpse, as in the case of the glass-covered coffin of the Haraldskær Woman on display in the Church of Saint Nicolai in Vejle, Denmark or the glass-coffin of Vladimir Lenin which is in the Red Square in Moscow.

When a coffin is used to transport a deceased person, it can also be called a pall, a term that also refers to the cloth used to cover the coffin.

Design[link]

The glass-covered coffin of the Haraldskær Woman.

Coffins are traditionally made with six sides, tapered around the shoulders, or rectangular with four sides. Continental Europe has favoured the rectangular coffin or casket, although variations exist in size and shape. In Medieval Japan, round coffins were used,which resembled barrels in shape and were usually made by coopers. (In the 1961 Kurosawa film Yojimbo, the protagonist, anticipating a shortage of coffins due to an impending battle (planned by Yojimbo) persuades several coopers to start making more coffins.) In the case of a death at sea, there have been instances where trunks have been pressed into use as a coffin.

They may incorporate features that claim to protect the body or for public health. For example, some may offer a protective casket that uses a gasket to seal the casket shut after the coffin is closed for the final time. In England, it has long been law that a coffin for interment above ground should be sealed; this was traditionally implemented as a wooden outer coffin around a lead lining, around a third inner shell. There are occurrences of coffins lined with or constructed from lead to bury radioactive-contaminated dead. However, in practice, after some decades have passed, the lead may ripple and rip. In the United States, numerous states require a vault of some kind in order to bury the deceased. A burial vault serves as an outer enclosure for buried remains, the coffin serves as an inner enclosure.

Some manufacturers offer a warranty on the structural integrity of the coffin. However, no coffin, regardless of its construction material (e.g., metal rather than wood), whether or not it is sealed, and whether or not the deceased was embalmed beforehand, will perfectly preserve the body. In some cases, a sealed coffin may actually speed up rather than slow down the process of decomposition. An airtight coffin, for example, fosters decomposition by anaerobic bacteria, which results in a putrefied liquefaction of the body, and all putrefied tissue remains inside the container, only to be exposed in the event of an exhumation. A container that allows air to pass in and out, such as a simple wooden box, allows for clean skeletonization. However the situation will vary according to soil or air conditions, and climate.

Coffins are made of many materials, including steel, various types of wood, and other materials such as fiberglass. There is emerging interest in eco-friendly coffins made of purely natural materials such as bamboo, willow or Banana Leaf.^[7]

Custom coffins are occasionally created and some companies also make set ranges with non-traditional designs. These include printing or painting of peaceful tropical scenes, sea-shells, sunsets, cherubs and patriotic flags. Some manufacturers have designed them to look like gym carry bags, guitar cases, cigar humidors, and even yellow dumpster bins. Other coffins are left deliberately blank so that friends and family can inscribe final wishes and thoughts upon them to the deceased. In Taiwan, coffins made of crushed oyster shells were used in the 18th and 19th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

Coffins as an aircraft, a hen, a crab, a cocoa pod in Teshie (Ghana)

Coffins are sometimes personalized to offer college insignia or different head panels to better reflect the deceased's life choices or aspirations: in Ghana, Seth Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop in the 50's was at the beginning of a tradition, still alive under his grand son Eric Adjetey Anang who creates elaborate coffins built in the shapes of various mundane objects, like automobiles or aeroplanes, fish or pigs, onions or stools.

In the 1990s, the rock group Kiss released a customized Kiss Kasket, which featured their trademark makeup designs and KISS logo and could also be used as a cooler. Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was buried in one.^[8]

Cremation[link]

With the resurgence of cremation in the Western world, manufacturers have begun providing options for those who choose cremation. For a direct cremation a cardboard box is sometimes used. Those who wish to have a funeral visitation (sometimes called a viewing) or traditional funeral service will use a coffin of some sort.

Some choose to use a coffin made of wood or other materials like particle board. Others will rent a regular casket for the duration of the services. These caskets have a removable bed and liner which is replaced after each use. There are also rental caskets with an outer shell that looks like a traditional coffin and a cardboard box that fits inside the shell. At the end of the services the inner box is removed and the deceased is cremated inside this box.

Industry[link]

A coffin shop in Macau.

Traditionally, in the Western world, a coffin was made, when required, by the village carpenter, and he would frequently manage the whole funeral. The design and workmanship would reflect the skills of that individual carpenter, with the materials and brasses being the materials that were available at the time. In past centuries, if a pauper's funeral was paid for by the parish, the coffin might have been made of the cheapest, thinnest possible pine. At the other extreme, a coffin bought privately by a wealthy individual might have used yew or mahogany with a fine lining, plated fittings and brass decorations, topped with a decorated velvet drape.

In modern times coffins are almost always mass-produced. Some manufacturers do not sell directly to the public, and only work with funeral homes. In that case, the funeral director usually sells the casket to a family for a deceased person as part of the funeral services offered, and in that case the price of the casket is included in the total bill for services rendered.

Some funeral homes will have a small showroom to present families with the available caskets that could be used for a deceased family member. In many modern funeral homes the showroom will consist of sample pieces that show the end pieces of each type of coffin that can be used. They also include samples of the lining and other materials. This allows funeral homes to showcase a larger number of coffin styles without the need for a larger showroom. Other types may be available from a catalogue, including decorative paint effects or printed photographs or patterns.

Under a U.S. federal law, 16 CFR Part 453 (known as the Funeral Rule), if a family provides a casket they purchased elsewhere, the establishment is required to accept the casket and use it in the services. If the casket is delivered direct to the funeral home from the manufacturer or store, they are required to accept delivery of the casket. The funeral home may not add any extra charges or fees to the overall bill if a family decides to purchase a casket elsewhere. If the casket was bought from the funeral home, these Regulations require bills to be completely itemized.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coffins

• Burial
• Cenotaph
• Ossuary
• Sarcophagus
• Tomb
• Hanging coffins
• Treetrunk coffin
• Coffin plate
• Bier

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

1. ^ Mattioli, Dana (Feb 24 2010). "Casket Makers Dig In as Sales Take Hit". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511304575075811946202750.html?KEYWORDS=casket. 
2. ^ cophinus, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
3. ^ κόφινος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
4. ^ Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
5. ^ casket, coffin (nn.) from the Columbia Guide to Standard American English via Bartleby.com
6. ^ Bark coffin, National Museum of Australia
7. ^ Bamboo Coffins "Coffin-maker resurrects tradition", from BBC Business News, published 2001-12-28
8. ^ "Kiss...Forever: Official 'Kiss Kaskets' Let Kiss' Fans Rock and Roll for Eternity"]. Signatures Network. June 12, 2001. http://www.signaturesnetwork.com/press.php?diary_id=13&mode=view. Retrieved May 21, 2006. 

External links[link]

• National Museum of Australia Aboriginal bark coffins

Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos
Born	Senor Abravanel (1930-12-12)December 12, 1930 Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Occupation	TV host, businessman
Known for	Brazilian media personality
Net worth	US$ 2.3 Billion (2011)[citation needed]

Silvio Santos (real name Senor Abravanel, born on December 12, 1930) is a Brazilian TV show host and entrepreneur.^[1] He is the owner of SBT, the third largest television network in the country.

Biography[link]

Santos was born in Rio de Janeiro, in the Lapa region. He is of Sephardi Jewish descent and was born to a Turkish mother and a Greek father.^[2] Despite his humble beginnings, working as a street vendor, he had a strong affinity for artistic endeavors and took up jobs on the radio, circus and television.

He became the major TV host in Brazil. His greatest achievement was founding SBT in 1981, where he still hosts various programs. His business, Grupo Sílvio Santos (GSS), also owns agribusiness ventures and hotels. He is the single biggest taxpayer natural person in Brazil.^[3] Additionally, Santos is known as a benefactor of the Jewish community.

He has influenced Brazilian television in many ways, particularly by producing local versions of popular international formats such as Celebrity Big Brother, Candid Camera, The Biggest Loser, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Deal or No Deal, the RTL Idols franchise, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He also was the host of Show do Milhão, a game show also broadcast by ITV in England. The show received was later ported to some videogames, as SEGA Mega Drive 3, with the game built-in, manufactured by Brazilian SEGA's distributor Tectoy, and for Microsoft Windows (with his original dubbing).

See also[link]

• Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão

Notes[link]

1. ^ In reais.
2. ^ http://www.colegiosaofrancisco.com.br/alfa/silvio-santos/silvio-santos-5.php
3. ^ Página do Silvio Santos (Portuguese)

References[link]

• Grinberg, Keila (2005). Os judeus no Brasil. Editora Record. ISBN 85-200-0699-X. 

Further reading[link]

• Silva, Arlindo (2002). A fantástica história de Sílvio Santos. Editora do Brasil. ISBN 85-10-03063-4. 

External links[link]

• Sílvio Santos at the Internet Movie Database
• Official SBT site

Jeff Coffin
Background information
Born	(1965-08-05) August 5, 1965 (age 46)
Genres	Jazz, Fusion, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Professor[citation needed]
Instruments	Baritone Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Alto Saxophone Soprano Saxophone Clarinet Bass Clarinet Flute Oboe
Years active	1991–present
Associated acts	Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Dave Matthews Band, Umphrey's McGee, Jonathan Scales, The Mu'tet
Website	Jeff Coffin's website

Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American jazz and alternative rock musician best known as the saxophonist for Dave Matthews Band and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. In addition to the saxophone, he plays clarinet, flute and oboe.

Biography[link]

After attending the University of New Hampshire, Coffin moved on to study at the University of North Texas, where he graduated with a B.A. in Music Education in 1990. A recipient of a Jazz Studies grant from the NEA, in 1991, he continued to study under the tutelage of Joe Lovano, and began taking students of his own. Although he moved outside the confines of the educational realm, entering the Nashville music scene during the same year, he continued to be interested in teaching about music.^[1]

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones[link]

He has been a member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since March 1997, and performed on every Flecktones album from 1998's Left of Cool through 2008's "Jingle All the Way".

Coffin is still listed as a band member on the Flecktones website, but he has stated^[2] that touring requirements for Dave Matthews Band preclude his touring with The Flecktones. He does not appear on the latest album, Rocket Science, which features original band member Howard Levy in his place.

Coffin has released several albums independent from the Flecktones, most notably the February 2005 release Bloom, recorded during the Flecktones year-long hiatus. He is well known for playing two saxophones (alto and tenor) at the same time, a technique popularized by Roland Kirk. He recently played clarinet for The Waifs new album Sun Dirt Water.

Dave Matthews Band[link]

On July 1, 2008, Coffin joined Dave Matthews Band (DMB) for their 2008 summer tour after saxophonist LeRoi Moore was injured in an ATV accident. Though the stint was originally planned to be temporary, Moore died unexpectedly of complications from his injuries on August 19, 2008, and Coffin has remained with the band since. Among other things, he completed the saxophone work Moore had left unfinished on DMB's most recent studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.

Mu'tet[link]

Since the late '90s Jeff has been recording and touring with his own band Mu'tet: Bill Fanning - trumpet, Jeff Sipe - drums, Kofi Burbridge - keys & flute, Felix Pastorius - bass, Mike Seal - guitar. Recordings: Outside the Lines (1998 Artifex Records), Commonality (1999 Compass Records), Go-Round (2001 Compass Records), Bloom (2005 Compass Records), Mutopia (2008 Compass Records). Tour dates: http://www.jeffcoffin.com/calendar.html

Teaching[link]

Coffin has given over 125 clinics from Junior High schools to Colleges and Universities around the world. They have won him accolades from a number of Professors, who feel Coffin's ability to excite their students has helped their students become less reticent about performing.^[1]

Coffin is an internationally acclaimed Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist and clinician since 2000.

Discography[link]

The Jeff Coffin Ensemble[link]

• Outside the Lines - (1997)

With Béla Fleck and the Flecktones[link]

• Left of Cool - (1998)
• Greatest Hits of the 20th Century - (1999)
• Outbound - (2000) - (2001 Grammy winner)
• Live at the Quick (2002) - (CD & DVD)
• Little Worlds - (2003)
• The Hidden Land - (2006) - (2006 Grammy winner)
• Jingle All the Way - (2008) - (2009 Grammy winner)

Solo[link]

• Commonality - (1999)

Jeff Coffin Mu'tet[link]

• Go-Round - (2001)
• Bloom - (2005)
• Mutopia - (2008)

With Jeff Babko & Vinnie Colaiuta[link]

• Mondo Trio - (2007)

With Jonathan Scales[link]

• Plot/Scheme - (2008)
• Character Farm and Other Short Stories - (2011)

Jon Foreman[link]

• Fall EP - (2007)

With Dave Matthews Band[link]

• The Best of What's Around Vol. 1 (Encore CD) - (2006)
• Live at Mile High Music Festival - (2008)
• Live Trax 2008 - (2008)
• Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King - (2009)
• Live Trax Vol. 15 - (2009)
• Europe 2009 - (2009)
• Live Trax Vol. 19 - (2010)
• Live in New York City - (2010)
• Live at Wrigley Field - (2011)

With Umphrey's McGee[link]

• Mantis - (2009)
• Death By Stereo - (2011)

With Jeff Sipe[link]

• Duet - (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jeff Coffin's website

John Woo
John Woo attending the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
Chinese name	吳宇森 (Traditional)
Chinese name	吴宇森 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Wú Yǔsēn (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Ng4 Jyu5 Sam1 (Cantonese)
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1946-05-01) 1 May 1946 (age 66) Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Occupation	Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor
Spouse(s)	Annie Woo
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Picture 1986 A Better Tomorrow Best Director 1989 The Killer Best Film Editing 1990 Bullet in the Head 1992 Hard-Boiled Other awards Saturn Award for Best Direction 1997 Face/Off

John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (born 1 May 1946) is a Hong Kong film director, writer, and producer.^[1] Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion.^[2] Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard Boiled and Red Cliff.^[2] His Hollywood films include Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2.^[2] He also created the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. Woo was described by Dave Kehr in The Observer in 2002 as "arguably the most influential director making movies today".^[3] Woo cites his three favorite films as David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï.^[2]

Early life[link]

Woo was born amidst the chaos of the Chinese Civil War in 1946. The Christian Woo family, faced with persecution during Mao Zedong's early anti-bourgeois purges after the communist revolution in China, fled to Hong Kong when he was five.^[4][5] Impoverished, the Woo family lived in the slums at Shek Kip Mei. His father was a teacher, though rendered unable to work by tuberculosis, and his mother was a manual laborer on construction sites.^[6] The family was rendered homeless by the big Shek Kip Mei fire of 1953.^[5] Charitable donations from disaster relief efforts enabled the family to relocate; however, violent crime had by then become commonplace in Hong Kong housing projects.

At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg.^[7] Woo went to Concordia Lutheran School and received a Christian education^{[citation needed]} (his Christian background shows influences in his films^[8]). As a young boy, Woo had wanted to be a Christian minister. He later found a passion for movies influenced by the French New Wave especially Jean-Pierre Melville.^[2] Woo has said he was shy and had difficulty speaking, but found making movies a way to explore his feelings and thinking and would "use movies as a language".^[2]

The local cinema would prove a haven of retreat. Woo found respite in musical films, such as The Wizard of Oz and in American Westerns. He has stated the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made a particular impression on him in his youth: the device of two comrades, each of whom fire pistols from each hand, is a recurrent spectacle later found in his own work.

Woo married Annie Woo Ngau Chun-lung in 1976 and has three children.^[5] He has lived in the United States since 1993.

Hong Kong career[link]

In 1969, aged 23, Woo was hired as a script supervisor at Cathay Studios. In 1971, he became an assistant director at Shaw Studios, where he was mentored by the noted director Chang Cheh.^{[citation needed]} His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature film The Young Dragons (鐵漢柔情, Tiě hàn róu qíng). In the Kung fu action genre, it was choreographed by Jackie Chan and featured dynamic camera-work and elaborate action scenes. The film was picked up by Golden Harvest Studio where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director with Money Crazy (發錢寒, Fā qián hàn) (1977), starring Hong Kong comedian Ricky Hui.

By the mid-1980s, Mr. Woo experienced professional burnout. Several of his films were commercial disappointments. In response, he took residence in Taiwan.^{[citation needed]} It was during this period of self-imposed exile that director/producer Tsui Hark provided the funding for Woo to film a longtime pet project called A Better Tomorrow (1986).

The story of two brothers—one a law enforcement officer, the other a criminal—the film became a financial blockbuster. A Better Tomorrow gained prominence as a defining achievement in Hong Kong action cinema^{[9][citation needed]} for its combination of emotional drama, slow-motion gunplay, gritty atmospherics, and trenchcoat-and-sunglasses fashion appeal. Its signature narrative device of two-handed, two-gunned fire fight within confined quarters—often referred to as "gun fu"—would later inspire American filmmakers such as Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers.^{[citation needed]}

Woo would make several more Heroic Bloodshed films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also with leading man Chow Yun-Fat. These violent gangster thrillers typically focus on men bound by honor and loyalty, at odds with contemporary values of impermanence and expediency. The protagonists of these films, therefore, may be said to present a common lineage with the Chinese literary tradition of loyalty among generals depicted in classics such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Mr. Woo gained international recognition with the release of The Killer (1989)^{[citation needed]}. Widely praised by critics and audiences for its action sequences, acting and cinematography,^{[citation needed]} The Killer became the most successful Hong Kong film in American release since Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and garnered Mr. Woo an American cult following. Bullet in the Head followed a year later, which Mr. Woo has stated he still considers his most personal work.^{[citation needed]} Bullet in the Head did not meet financial expectations.

Among the director's American admirers are Martin Scorsese and Sam Raimi (who has compared Woo's mastery of action to Hitchcock's mastery of suspense).^{[citation needed]} Mr. Woo accepted a contract to work in America at a time when the 1997 handover of Hong Kong was imminent.^{[citation needed]}

His last Hong Kong film before emigrating to the United States was Hard Boiled (1992), the antithesis of his earlier glorification of gangsters. Memorable among its preponderance of action scenes is an approximate 30 minute sequence of gun-play set within a hospital. The director pointedly depicts the vulnerability of patients caught in the crossfire. One particular long take follows two characters for an elapsed time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds as they move between hospital floors. On the Criterion DVD and laserdisc, this chapter is referenced as "2 minutes, 42 seconds." The film climax extols the virtues of its leading man, a law enforcement agent, Chow Yun-Fat, who is seen to comfort an infant with a lullaby while engaged in fire fight with his criminal pursuers. He heroically takes leave of this carnage when he leaps to safety from a window, babe gallantly in arms.

John Woo: Interviews (ISBN 1-57806-776-6) is the first authoritative English-language chronicle of Woo’s career.^{[citation needed]} The volume includes a new 36-page interview with Woo by editor Robert K. Elder, which documents the years 1968 to 1990, from Woo’s early career in working on comedies and kung fu films (in which he gave Jackie Chan one of his first major film roles), to his gunpowder morality plays in Hong Kong.

American career[link]

An émigré in 1993, the director experienced difficulty in cultural adjustment while contracted with Universal Studios to direct Jean-Claude Van Damme in Hard Target. As characteristics of other foreign national film directors confronted the Hollywood environment, Mr. Woo was unaccustomed to pervasive management concerns, such as limitations on violence and completion schedules. When initial cuts failed to yield an "R" rated film, the studio assumed control of the project and edited footage to produce a cut "suitable for American audiences". A "rough cut" of the film, supposedly the original unrated version, is still circulated among his admirers.

A three year hiatus saw Mr. Woo next direct John Travolta and Christian Slater in Broken Arrow. A frenetic chase-themed film, the director once again found himself hampered by studio management and editorial concerns. Despite a larger budget than his previous Hard Target, the final feature lacked the trademark Woo style. Public reception saw modest financial success.

Reluctant to pursue projects which would necessarily entail front-office controls, the director cautiously rejected the script for Face/Off several times until it was rewritten to suit him. (The futuristic setting was changed to a contemporary one.) Paramount Pictures also offered the director significantly more freedom to exercise his speciality: emotional characterisation and elaborate action. A complex story of adversaries—each of whom surgically alters their identity—law enforcement agent John Travolta and terrorist Nicolas Cage play a cat-and-mouse game, trapped in each other's outward appearance.

Face/Off opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and strong attendance. Grosses in the United States exceeded $100 million. As a result, John Woo is generally regarded as the first Asian director to find a mainstream commercial base.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, Mr. Woo directed a television pilot entitled The Robinsons: Lost in Space for The WB Television Network, based on the 1960s television series Lost in Space. The pilot was not purchased, although bootleg copies have been made available by fans.

John Woo has made three additional films in Hollywood: Mission: Impossible II, Windtalkers and Paycheck. Mission: Impossible II was the highest-grossing film of 2000, but received mixed reviews. Windtalkers and Paycheck fared poorly at the box office and were summarily dismissed by critics.

Recently, John Woo directed and produced a videogame called Stranglehold for games consoles and PC. It is a sequel to his 1992 film, Hard Boiled. He also produced the 2007 anime movie, Appleseed: Ex Machina, the sequel to Shinji Aramaki's 2004 film Appleseed.

Return to Hong Kong[link]

In 2008, Woo returned to Asian cinema with the completion of the epic war film Red Cliff, based on an historical battle from Records of the Three Kingdoms. Produced on a grand scale, it is his first film in China since he emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States in 1993. Part 1 of the film was released throughout Asia in July, 2008, to generally favourable reviews and strong attendance. Part 2 was released in China in January, 2009.

John Woo was presented with a Golden Lion award for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2010.^[10]

Future film projects[link]

His future film on Mighty Mouse will either be animated or live-action with CGI.^{[citation needed]} He will also direct a remake of Papillon.^{[citation needed]} There are persistent rumours that Woo will direct a film version of the videogame Metroid.^{[citation needed]} He had optioned the rights at one point, but the option has long since expired.

Woo's next projects are The Divide, a western concerning the friendship between two workers, one Chinese, the other Irish, on the transcontinental rail-road, while The Devil's Soldier is a biopic on Frederick Townsend Ward, an American brought to China in the mid 19th century by the Emperor to suppress rebellion. Rendezvous in Black will be an adaptation of the drama/thriller novel of the same name, and Psi-Ops is a science fiction thriller about a telepathic agent, a remake of Blind Spot.

In May 2008, Woo announced in Cannes that his next movie would be 1949, an epic love story set between the end of World War II and Chinese Civil War to the founding of the People's Republic of China, the shooting of which would take place in China and Taiwan. Its production was due to begin by the end of 2008, theatrical release planned in December 2009. However, in early April 2009, John Woo's 1949 is cancelled due to script right issues. Also reports indicate that Woo may be working on another World War II film, this time about the American Volunteer Group, or the Flying Tigers. The movie is tentatively titled "Flying Tiger Heroes" and Woo is reported as saying it will feature "The most spectacular aerial battle scenes ever seen in Chinese cinema." Whether this means that John Woo will not be directing the rumoured Romeo and Juliet war film, or it has been put on the back burner. Woo has stated that Flying Tiger Heroes would be an "extremely important production" and will "emphasise US-Chinese friendship and the contributions of the Flying Tigers and the Yunnan people during the war of resistance."^[11] Woo has announced he will be using IMAX cameras to film the Flying Tigers project. “It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras and to work in the IMAX format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create a new experience for the audience, and I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies.”^[12]

In popular culture[link]

• In the video game Max Payne there are many homages and references to John Woo.
• In the PC game F.E.A.R., the developers admitted that they been inspired by John Woo action movies, in that they wanted the game's action sequences to play out as dramatic and elegant gunfights.
• The Christian rock band Newsboys has a song "John Woo" which makes reference to the religious symbolism he often employs in his films.
• In the 2010 film Kick Ass, Nicolas Cage plays a ruthless vigilante who's trained his young daughter to fight and kill. In one scene, he tests her knowledge with trivia questions about various weapons. After answering each question correctly, she says, "Give me a hard one!" to which her father asks, "The name of John Woo's first full-length feature?" She answers that question correctly as well.
• During the Season 1 finale of the animated television series The Venture Bros., there is an entire scene devoted to smashing as many John Woo references as humanly possible into 30 seconds.
• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic story arc "Bodycount" is a tribute to John Woo's films.
• In The Simpsons episode Half-Decent Proposal, Homer tells Artie Ziff that that he can spend a weekend with Marge, "but no funny stuff. And by "funny stuff" I mean hand-holding, goo-goo eyes, misdirected woo - which is pretty much any John Woo film... "
• The 2004 Super Sentai film Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger The Movie: Full Blast Action has many homages to John Woo's works:
  • The subplot of an artificial virus and antidote being used for extortion is borrowed from Mission: Impossible II. Hoji's bike chase scene is loosely based on that film as well.
  • The nightclub where Ban meets Marie Gold is called "Better Tomorrow".
  • Many of Deka Red's gunfights are inspired by Woo's action-packed films such as Hard Boiled.
• In the Avatar: the Last Airbender episode "The Beach," there is a tribute to Woo's signature dove shot when the character Zuko throws his outer shirt to the ground before beginning to play volleyball.
• The Cowboy Bebop episode "Ballad of Fallen Angels" pays homage to Woo including a stand-off, the use of two guns and a battle in a church complete with doves.

Filmography[link]

Directed[link]

Producer[link]

• Peace Hotel (1995)^[13]
• Somebody Up There Likes Me (1996)
• The Replacement Killers (1998)
• The Big Hit (1998)
• Red Skies (2002)
• Bulletproof Monk (2003)
• The Glass Beads (2005)
• Blood Brothers (2007)
• Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007)
• My Fair Gentleman (2009)
• Reign of Assassins (2010)
• A Better Tomorrow (2010)
• Seediq Bale (2011)
• Second Sight (2011)
• The Killer (2012)

Writer[link]

• Hello, Late Homecomers (1978)
• A Better Tomorrow (2010)

Television work[link]

• Once a Thief

Other works[link]

• Airport '98 (Nike commercial) (1998)^[14]
• Hostage (branded content short film for BMW) (2002)
• 7 Brothers (graphic novel) (2006–2007)
• Stranglehold (video game) (2007)
• Power Up Hong Kong (TVB promotion clip/station campaign) (2009)^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Cinema of China
• Cinema of Hong Kong

References[link]