John Woo Signs RED CLIFF Deal with China Film Group, Tuesday August 29, 2006 China Options

[stephanieshieh]

John Woo and producer Terrence Chang's Lion Rock Production group will jointly produce a historic war drama with the China Film Group, led by Han Sanping. 　　

The parties signed an agreement on Tuesday to collaborate on "The Battle of Red Cliff", a movie based on the classic Chinese novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The book is set during the final days of the Han Dynasty in A.D. 208. 　　

Set construction has already begun in Yi County, Hebei Province, where a local reservoir will be used as a double for the Long River. 　　

Woo plans to set up six units to simultaneously shoot different scenes for the war epic. 　　

John Woo said only three cast members have currently been finalized: Chow Yun-Fat, Leung Chiu-Wai and Taiwan supermodel Lin Chi-Ling. The other roles will be cast when the script is finished. 　　

The Lion Rock Production Group will fund up to 70 percent of the film's total budget, which is more than 50 million US dollars. Several Chinese investors will share the rest of the costs. 　　

Production will begin by March next year.