Donnie Yen heads ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Start-up production house Cinema Popular has announced their debut feature, a $23 million historical epic with an all-star cast led by Donnie Yen. BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS, previously known as DARK OCTOBER, has been in development for ten years by director Teddy Chan and is now ready to begin shooting in April with a powerhouse line-up of actors.

The story is a fictional account of an assassination attempt on revered Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen and the efforts of kung fu masters who protected him before the Chinese Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

Sun Yat-sen is popularly referred to as the Father of Modern China who played a critical role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the subsequent establishment of a short-lived republic. He is one of few political figures in 20th-century China who is admired by otherwise opposed politicians on the mainland and in Taiwan.

The role of Sun Yat-sen was originally offered to Chow Yun-fat who opted instead to play Chinese philosopher Confucius in an upcoming biopic. Final casting for the role has not yet been announced.

Yen will portray “Gambler,” a character who is shaping up to be somewhat antiheroic in that he is described as not being patriotic or righteous and is uncertain of his place in the revolution.

Other leading cast members include Leon Lai as “Beggar,” Wang Xueqi as “Scion,” Nicholas Tse as “Rickshaw Puller,” Tony Leung Kar-fai as “Revolutionary,” Hu Jun as “Assassin,” Eric Tsang as “Police Commissioner,” Simon Yam as “General in Exile,” Fan Bing-bing as “Mistress,” Wang Po-chieh, and Zhou Yun.

It is reported that Cinema Popular, a joint venture between producer-director Peter Chan, producer Huang Jin-xin’s We Pictures and China’s Polybona International , is set to become China’s first major studio. They have set up a revolving $73.2 million fund for a slate of 15 films over the next three years.

A video of the press announcement with the lead cast, director and producers can be found at Baidu.

This is a fascinating project that looks to give kung fu action more historical relevance, even if it is fictional. My only concern is Teddy Chan, director of THE ACCIDENTAL SPY. He hasn’t done anything of consequence since that disappointing Jackie Chan movie and it’s unclear if he’s up to the task of heading a project of this magnitude, even with 10 years of preparation. However, producer Peter Chan does have a good track record with films like THE EYE, THREE… EXTREMES, PROTEGE, and THE WARLORDS. When added to such a great cast, this film should at least do well commercially.

It’s certainly keeping Donnie busy. He’s also scheduled to star in two sequels to IP MAN.

(Agencies)