I’ve missed Stephen Chow.  He heated up in the early 2000s with Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, but he’s been quiet since 2008′s CJ7.  Although he’s produced several projects, we’ll finally be getting his latest directorial effort with the upcoming Journey to the West (a.k.a A Chinese Odyssey, a.k.a Odyssey).  Chow co-directed the film with Derek Kok, and if you can figure out what the movie is about from the trailer, then congratulations.  The only thing the first trailer seems to tell us is that this madness came from the mind of Chow, and that’s good enough for me.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Journey to the West is due out in Hong Kong on February 7th.  Hopefully, we’ll get a U.S. release some day.

I make it a rule never to trust a Chinese tabloid (I’ve been burned too many times!), but sometimes rules have to be broken if the rumor is delicious enough.  Twitch reports [via Channel News Asia] that actor/writer/director Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) is making his next film Tai Chi, which will be a remake of the 1972 Bruce Lee film The Way of the Dragon.  That’s pretty cool.  Even cooler, the film may film this June and co-star Jack Black and Anne Hathaway.

Hit the jump to learn why this may be more than a rumor.

I feel really bad for “The Green Hornet”.  I know that it’s just a movie and that it has no emotions what so ever, but I can’t help but feel bad for the poor ol’ film. I’m sure you guys have been following the problematic production for the past year or so and now that things finally looked like it was going to get better, we now get news that Nicolas Cage, who was set to play the film’s villain, has dropped out.  This doesn’t look too good for the film since the film just started principal photography last week.  You can read more details when you hit the jump.

Originally reported by SpoilerTV last week and now confirmed by CHUD, it looks like Stephen Chow is officially out of Michel’s Gondry adaptation of “The Green Hornet”.  With Rogen playing the titular hero, Chow was slated to play the Hornet’s sidekick “Kato”, a role played in the 1966 TV series by the legendary Bruce Lee.  “Hornet” would have also marked Chow’s first appearance in a mainstream, major Hollywood film.  Sadly, if Chow comes to rule these shores, we’ll have to wait as, according to CHUD, he had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.  Hit the jump for more on “Green Hornet’s” odd flight to the big screen.

Entertainment Weekly is currently reporting that Cameron Diaz is in early negotiations to play the female lead in Michel’s Gondry’s upcoming adaptation of “The Green Hornet” starring Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow.  The film is set to start filming in the next few weeks with a planned release date of July 9th, 2010. Hit the jump for my thoughts on casting Diaz.