Li Bingbing to be one of 400 Boys

Li BingBing
[adrotate banner=”1″]Li Bingbing comes fresh off of her Resident Evil: Retroboogie fame to star in another Western flick, 400 Boys, a British action fantasy set in the future, where the rich and powerful live trapped in paraplegic bodies and battle teenage freedom fighters that can defy the limits of their physical bodies.

I know what you are thinking, but Cory Doctorow had nothing to do with this script, otherwise it would be open-source underage WoW wiki-farmers vs. corrupt communazi multi-galactic fabbing corporations. This was in fact written by the director, Alastair Paton, who doesn’t seem to have done much of anything. But he somehow got funding for a $26 million film that starts shooting next month in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou. Paton and Bill Chamberlain are producing through China Hollywood Film and Television Entertainment. It looks like they are financing through theater presales across China and other countries around the world.

This brings up an interesting business model, finance a relatively inexpensive film through China theater presales and film most of it there with international stars, guaranteeing more theater presales. It’s like how a lot of the old DVD presales making films profitable before they were even filmed from a decade ago. What that means is, if these start making money, expect thousands of them.

Besides Li Bingbing, 400 Boys will also star Karena Ng (Magic to Win), Jodelle Ferland (BloodRayne II: Deliverance), Maria Valverde (The Anarchist’s Wife), Frank Leboeuf, Elliot Knight (Sinbad), and Chiara Von Galli.

via FilmBizAsia
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