Li Bingbing is a snow demon in Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal

Zhong Kui Snow Girl Dark Crystal Li BingBing
[adrotate banner=”1″]Production has becon on Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (鍾馗伏魔 雪妖魔靈), a new 3D fantasy film from China starring Chen Kun (陳坤) and Li Bingbing (李冰冰). Zhong Kui will be directed by Zhao Tianyu (趙天宇), who is mainly known for the 2011 romance film The Law of Attraction.

Zhong Kui follows the story of Zhong Kui, a ghost whose job it is to keep other ghosts in line. So basically RIPD. Li Bingbing will play a snow demon, and expect appearances from Winston Chao, Bao Bei-Er, and Summer Jike Juanyi. There is no promotional shots yet as it is still filming, with a release date set for 2015’s Chinese New Year on February 19th.

I’ve had my reservations about some of the big budget Chinese films, as they’re track record is worse than America’s big budget films, but some productions look neat, and Li Bingbing is always amazing in whatever she does. So at worst this will be sort of entertaining, and at best this is either going to be awesome or going to be so campy it becomes awesome by reverse opposite reaction, or something. It’s a Newton Law, it can’t be avoided.

via FilmBizAsia
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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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