Back in February at the height of the popularity of 3D technology earned from this year’s release of Cheng Pou-Soi’s Winter blockbuster, The Monkey King, that filmimg was reported to begin for the latest action adventure from director Zhao Tianyu titled, Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal. On Sunday in Shanghai, it was officially reported that Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and Warner Bros. Pictures have signed on as co-financiers for the film.
Starring Painted Skin actor Chen Kun and Transformers 4 co-star Li BingBing, the film is a mainland production that centers on the titular anti-hero, a young man with mysterious powers charged with capturing wayward spirits and keeping order in the afterlife, battling interdimensional evil between heaven, hell, and the world of the living. The film will also star Winston Chao, Yang Zishan, Bao Bei-er, and Juke Junyi. Producer Ann An (Ip Man 2) described the film as “…an action-packed fantasy adventure, with dramatic twists and turns and a compelling love story at its core,”. An also says, “With an incredible team of international talent both on screen and behind the camera, we’re confident that Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal will become a modern classic of Chinese cinema. We’re thrilled that Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and Warner Bros. Pictures have joined with us and our partner Enlight Pictures to help realize our creative vision and bring this film to audiences throughout the region and beyond.”.
An is joined by producer and cinematographer and VFX supervisor Peter Pau, widely known for bringing his magic lens to the set of Ang Lee’s award-winning 2000 feature, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Pau will be joined by 3D stereographer Vincent E. Toto who worked on the 2012 cult hit, Dredd, while Weta Workshop Korea’s Macrograph working respectively on character/set design and lead VFX .
Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and Warner Bros. each have their own distributorship set with Village for Singapore, Australia and New Zealand; and Warner Bros. for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam. They are also joined by Beijing Enlight Pictures as co-financiers in addition to Kun’s production banner, K. Pictures and Wu’s Entertainment.
Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal is set to kick off Chinese New Year next year on February 19, 2015.
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
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