Film News

-- The Forbidden Kingdom --

Production of US$70m Forbidden Kingdom, which commenced in May in Dunhuang, and subsequently moved location to Mt Wuyi, Anji, etc and eventually to Hengdian, has just wrappd up. Most of the cast members, including Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Liu Yi Fei have completed their scenes by Aug 26. The last month of the shoot was spent filming the action scenes of the grand finale, which takes place predominating on the Qin Palace set, which was given an overhaul costing US$10m, in Hengdian. The Qin Palace set was used as the headquarters of Jade Warlord. Production for the finale was split into two camera units, one led by Yuen Wo Ping, another by Peter Pau. According to some production crew, there are three major duels in the finale: Jet Li and Jackie Chan vs Li Bing Bing; Jet Li vs Ngai Sing; and Jackie Chan vs Li Bing Bing. Yuen Wo Ping personally directed the martial arts scenes in the finale. And to ensure quality, Yuen Wo Ping often made last minute changes, such that even the actors sometimes had to wait for the whole day. Forbidden Kingdom is expected to open in China on May Day 2008.  The Beijing News