Houston Community News >> Jackie Chan, Jet Li in the Forbidden Kingdom
4/11/2007 -- Principal
photography on the action epic “The Forbidden Kingdom” will begin on May 2 in
China.
Directed by Rob Minkoff (“Stuart Little,” “The Lion King”), the film marks the
first-ever onscreen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour,”
“Drunken Master”) and Jet Li (“Fearless,” “Once Upon a Time in China”). The
original screenplay by John Fusco (“Young Guns,” “Hidalgo”) is based on the
traditional Chinese legend of the monkey king.
The film is produced by Casey Silver (“Ladder 49,” “Hidalgo,” the upcoming
“Leatherheads,” currently filming in South Carolina with director/star George
Clooney and Renee Zellweger). Renowned action choreographer Wo Ping (“The
Matrix,” “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”) is creating the fight sequences, and
the director of photography is Peter Pau (“Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”).
Lionsgate plans a U.S. theatrical release in summer 2008 and will co-release the
film with the Weinstein company.
SYNOPSIS
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics
makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick
weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in
hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to
join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the
imprisoned Monkey King.
(Courtesy of NBC26)