Hollywood hitmaker Jan de Bont has signed up to direct Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi in an independently-produced, English-language co-production of the classic tale of Hua Mulan, the legendary young heroine soldier who joins an all-male army. Mulan is set to start shooting this fall outside Shanghai, where de Bont will attempt to bring romance, action and drama to screenwriter John Blickstead’s recreation of the Chinese Joan of Arc story that was first described in a 6th century poem. The story was popularized around the world in the 1998 Walt Disney animated film of the same name. Mulan will be co-produced by Movie Plus Productions of Canada, Global Film Finance of the U.K., Beijing-based Bona International Film Group and SIMF Pictures, with Zhang, Ling Lucas and Beaver Kwei, the producers who brought China Zhang’s 2009 romantic comedy boxoffice hit Sophie’s Revenge, directed by Eva Jin. Source: HollywoodReporter.com

China’s “National Image Promotional Film” sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council began filming in Beijing recently. The outside world became increasingly interested in China after the 2008 Olympic Games, and the “China Image” will show them how to view China, Zhu Youguang, chief producer of the film crew, said. The “National Image Promotional Film” consists of two parts. One is a 30-second TV commercial introducing Chinese celebrities that can best represent China and help build a positive national image. It will be broadcast worldwide through media agencies, including the BBC and CNN, before China’s National Day. The other part is a 15-minute TV special named “Perspectives,” which will be used in foreign affairs activities to display contemporary Chinese society from multiple perspectives. “China Image” has an all-star cast, including 50-plus famous people from the business, entertainment, academic, science and technology and enterprises circles. They want to demonstrate the energetic national image of China through the concept of “Chinese people.” These Chinese people including Li Jiacheng, Wang Jianyu, Ma Yun, Li Yanhong, Lang Ping, Deng Yaping, Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Guo JIngjing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, Ma Yanli, Yang Liping, Song Zuyin and Tan Dun. Source: PeopleDaily.com

Deadline is reporting that British director Tom Harper (The Scouting Book for Boys) has taken over the directing reins for the long-in-development Working Title/Universal romantic comedy Lost for Words, written by Richard Curtis and his brother Jamie. The story follows a Western movie star working in China who ends up in a love triangle with a gorgeous Chinese actress and her translator. Tom Cruise was attached to star in the movie last year after frequent Curtis collaborator Hugh Grant dropped out, and for a long time, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) was attached to star in the lead female role. Harper will likely start from scratch looking for a new cast, one that’s presumably younger than the original plans. Source: ComingSoon.net

Zhang Ziyi is bringing Disney heroine Mulan to life in a new, live-action adaptation of the ancient Chinese legend, according to reports. The actress, who will also produce the film, has been leading the drive to secure funding and is said to have personally approached bosses at Disney, who agreed to invest $100 million (£67 million) in the project. Zhang will take on the title role of the brave female warrior, who disguises herself as a man to join an all-male army in her elderly father’s place to fight off an invasion of her homeland. The Mask director Chuck Russell has come on board to helm the English-language 3D film, which follows Disney’s 1998 animated version. Production is scheduled to begin in China in October, reports ChannelNewsAsia.com. Source: Contactmusic

Zhang Ziyi and Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok will play a couple suffering from AIDS in director Gu Changwei’s first-ever feature film tackling the issue, entitled The Era of Magic. Aaron Kwok was spotted on the set in Beijing with a bearded and weary look, the Beijing News reports. The film, adapted from a novel, tells a tragic love story between two AIDS-afflicted lovers. Kwok plays a primary school teacher who is sent from the city to teach in the countryside, but contracts AIDS and develops a crush on Zhang Ziyi’s character, also an AIDS patient. Director Gu Changwei insists Zhang Ziyi as the right actress for the lead, despite her recent embroilment in a slew of scandals about her personal life and alleged donation fraud. Gu thinks the internationally famous Zhang will ensure a box office cache for the upcoming film. Reportedly, award-winning actress Jiang Wenli, wife of director Gu, was cast in a supporting role. Other big names joining the cast for very little pay include Pu Cunxin, Cai Guoqing, Li Xuejian and Li Danyang – all ambassadors of an anti-AIDS public campaign, the paper says, citing unnamed sources.

Director Ronnie Yu will bring together top Asian actresses Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, Tang Wei and Michelle Yeoh for his upcoming film The Lady Generals of the Yang Family. The movie tells of how the women from the Yang family of Song dynasty stepped onto the battlefield to avenge the deaths of their warriors husbands, who died while fighting the invading Xia army after being sold out by a traitorous Song official. The story will reportedly depart significantly from the series of novels it is based on and does not focus too much on the themes of loyalty. Instead, it will focus on the heroism of the titular Lady Generals.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, the female lead and a producer of the upcoming film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, has pulled out of the project to focus on filming martial arts movie The Grand Master, reported Chinese media. According to reports, Zhang’s publicist Ji Lingling revealed this surprising news. Ji explained that Zhang was unable to juggle acting in Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai’s The Grand Master, which is currently being filmed in northeastern China, with her role in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Zhang is not the only one pulling out: Korean actress Jeon Ji Hyun, who is slated to co-star with Zhang, and the male lead, said to be a member of the now defunct Taiwanese band F4, have also quit the project. The production team is considering casting Chinese actresses Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing and Hong Kong actress Shu Qi as replacements. They have also begun actively searching for a new leading man in China, Japan and Korea. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, an English-language film adaptation of Lisa See’s novel of the same name, about the lifelong friendship between two women in 19th century China, was scheduled to begin production earlier this month but has been delayed for unspecified reasons. The film, helmed by American-Chinese director Wayne Wang, would have been Zhang’s second as a film producer. The 30-year-old actress produced her first film, the romantic comedy Sophie’s Revenge, last year. Zhang’s decision to quit the Snow Flower and the Secret Fan has sparked fresh rumours that it was the result of the fallout from her high-profile dispute with a Beijing publication. Zhang had sued the publication for publishing an article which portrayed her as a homewrecker. Ji insists that this was not the case. “She’s been very busy with Wong Kar-Wai’s film… Although Ziyi won’t work with director Wayne Wang this time, they will have another project together in the near future,” said Ji.