FANS are buzzing with excitement over news that Wong Kar-wai’s eagerly awaited follow-up to “In the Mood for Love,” the sci-fi romance “2046,” is nearly finished.
The Hong Kong hipster told a press conference he was hoping to complete it by the end of this year and to release it in the spring.
Some Asian newspapers are reporting that “2046” will debut at Cannes in May.
Wong has been working on the project for four years, shooting in China, Hong Kong and Thailand.
It features the stars of “In the Mood for Love,” Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung (with a Clark Gable moustache, no less); “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” nymphet Zhang Ziyi; and pop diva Faye Wang, who delighted fans in Wong’s “Chungking Express.”
Meanwhile, the director and Fox Searchlight Pictures have entered into a deal to develop a minimum of three English-language films.
* The 33rd Rotterdam International Film Festival gets off to an auspicious start Jan. 21 with Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano’s “Zatoichi.”
Kitano – who will be at the opening festivities – also has the title role, a legendary blind swordsman.
The world’s hippest film festival, held annually in the Dutch port city, runs through Feb. 1.
* The best filmmaker working today is David Lynch, followed by Martin Scorsese.
That’s according to a panel of seven critics surveyed by the London daily The Guardian, which notes: “The Hollywood blockbuster may be in crisis, but the art of the cinema is as healthy as ever.”
Rounding out the top 10, in order, are: Joel and Ethan Coen, Steven Soderberg, Terrence Malick, Abbas Kiarostami, Errol Morris, Hayao Miyazaki, David Cronenberg and Terence Davies.
Others on the list of the 40 best directors are Bela Tarr (No. 13), Wong Kar-wai (14), Quentin Tarantino (17), Michael Haneke (22), Michael Moore (28), Richard Linklater (31), Lars von Trier (37) and Takashi Miike (38). Check out http://www.guardian.co.uk for the full story.
* Around town: The Estonian animation fest at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater in the East Village proved so popular that it’s been extended through tomorrow. Info: (212) 254-3300 . . . After a week at Film Forum, Fellini’s “I Vitelloni” (1953) has moved to Cinema Village on East 12th Street . . . George Cukor’s “Adam’s Rib” (1949), with Tracy and Hepburn, unreels Thanksgiving Day at BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn.
V.A. Musetto is film editor of The Post. He can be e-mailed at vam@nypost.com.