Production companies from Korea and China will team up to bring a stereoscopic 3-D action film titled "Legend of the Magic Bell," to the big screen. Announced Monday during a news conference at the on-going 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival, the $30 million film will be fronted by John Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Entertainment, Kim Jong-hak Productions and Tosoa Entertainment. "Based on Chinese legends and folklore, I'll be directing this film and we'll try to reach out to the world through this project," Kim said. "We are currently in negotiations with Won Bin and Rain to take on the film's leading male role and we'll come to an agreement once the script has been completed and finalized." Kim Jong-hak, director of the hit 2007 MBC fantasy-action television series "The Great King & Four Guardians," will helm the picture from a screenplay by Guo Zheng who penned last year's John Woo epic "Red Cliff" and its sequel. Production will begin early next year and is set for release in late 2011 or early 2012. Hong Kong's Golden Network Asia will be tasked with international distribution. The plot for the film was inspired by the classic Chinese folk story "Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas)" and is set in a world where humans co-exist with demons. It follows a human warrior who falls in love with a beautiful demon bodyguard "setting off a cycle of love and death spanning 5,000 years." "I intend to shoot the film in 3-D so that the audiences can feel the dangers and delights of the story as if they are really traveling alongside the characters on their epic journey, feeling their emotions and heartache," Kim elaborated. The team of Woo and Chang who form their Lion Rock Productions were responsible for international blockbusters "Face/Off" and "Mission Impossible 2." Chang could not attend Monday's news conference due to ill health but said in a written statement, "Through mysticism and wizardry, this picture will appeal to everyone looking for an exciting time at the movies. I was floored by the extraordinary direction and visual style of Kim after seeing his TV series and that is why I feel he is the best choice to direct this ambitious film." The lead actress will be Taiwanese newcomer Renee Yuan, who recently scored a hit with the film "Love Me Again." "I personally love fantasy films and I feel honored to be in such a grand scale project working with director Kim," she said at the news conference. "I'm feeling a lot of pressure and responsibility to do a good job these days so I've been training hard in martial arts and dance." Source: The Korea Herald
