Chinese action star Jet Li could get 100 million yuan (about 13.3 million U.S. dollars) for starring in the battle epic "The Warlords," breaking the record for an actor in a Chinese-language film, according to the movie's director.
Nearly half the budget for the 40 million U.S.-dollar Chinese epic went to the cast, with 100 million yuan to Jet Li, 16 million yuan to Hong Kong star Andy Lau, 12 million yuan to Takeshi Kaneshiro, and 2 million yuan to mainland actress Xu Jinglei.
"Without Jet Li, we would not dare to invest 40 million U.S. dollars in a Chinese-language film," said director Peter Chan.
Chan stressed that Li was the "guarantee" for global sales.
According to Chan, Li can command the equivalent of 120 million yuan in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters, but he agreed to accept less because of his friendship with Chan.
But the 100-million-yuan payday still broke the record for a star in a Chinese film -- one that was held by Li himself, Chan said. Li previously got 70 million yuan for starring in Chinese director Zhang Yimou's "Hero."
Chan earlier spoke highly of Li's ability to handle dramatic scenes when he was promoting "The Warlords," calling him "the biggest surprise."
"I haven't seen Li handle so much drama in a movie. You can see from clips of the movie that he portrays many emotional scenes very seriously, very effectively," Chan was quoted in media reports as saying.
Li, 44, a former national kung fu champion on the Chinese mainland, made his name in Hong Kong films in the 1990s with movies such as "The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk" series before moving on to Hollywood.
He recently shot the third installment of the successful "Mummy" films, titled "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," and played a resurrected ancient Chinese emperor.
"The Warlords" is an epic about three blood brothers and their struggle amid war and political upheaval. It is based on "The Assassination of Ma," a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) story about the killing of General Ma Xinyi.
The story was previously filmed under the title of "The Blood Brothers" by Zhang Che in 1973.
A release of the new film on Dec. 13, 2007 is listed for the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and southeast Asia. It is scheduled to be released from next March in North America.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article