Jet Li returns to Chinese film after 3 Hollywood productions

October 10th, 2009 Harvard to digitize 51,000 rare Chinese booksBOSTON — One of the most extensive collections of rare Chinese books outside China will be freely available as Harvard University has agreed to digitize the titles. Representatives from the Harvard College Library and the National Library of China signed a deal Friday to digitize more than 51,000 volumes in the Harvard collection.

October 5th, 2009 Exec: China's anniversary film set to break recordHONG KONG — China's star-studded propaganda blockbuster that marks 60 years of communist rule is on track to match the country's box office record set by the Hollywood film "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in July, a senior movie executive said Monday. "The Founding of a Republic" has so far made nearly 330 million yuan ($48 million) as of Sunday since it was released on Sept.

September 30th, 2009 Fox invests in 1st Chinese film, a romantic comedyHONG KONG — Fox Filmed Entertainment says it has invested in its first Chinese film, becoming the latest Hollywood studio to enter the booming mainland movie market. The Chinese-language romantic comedy "Hot Summer Days" will be a co-production between Fox International Productions, China's Huayi Brothers Media Corp.

September 14th, 2009 LONDON - The toughest men of Hollywood - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis - will unite for a total non-stop-action-packed flick called The Expendables. The movie will see hardman Stallone - who is also directing the film- take on a South American dictator with his mercenary team.

September 9th, 2009 LONDON - Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton has revealed she had auditioned for the role of Lois Lane in the 2006 blockbuster Superman Returns before Kate Bosworth was signed in for the flick. Bunton said she flew to Los Angeles for an audition before director Bryan Singer.

August 26th, 2009 Jet Li is quite renowned in the Hong Kong film industry, as well as Hollywood, as an action hero. The 46-year-old actor first appeared in Chinese films and then moved on to Hollywood and appeared in Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die and Kiss of the Dragon.

August 4th, 2009 'Crouching Tiger' star to try romantic comedyHONG KONG — "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star Zhang Ziyi is trying her hand at romantic comedy after a series of dramas. In "Sophie's Revenge," the 30-year-old actress will play a comic book artist who plots to get her fiance back after losing him to an actress.

July 30th, 2009 3 more Chinese films pulled at Melbourne festivalHONG KONG — Three more Chinese-language films have been pulled from an Australian film festival to protest the planned appearance of an exiled Uighur activist Beijing blames for inciting recent ethnic violence, organizers said Thursday. Rebiya Kadeer's scheduled visit to the Melbourne International Film Festival on Aug.

July 30th, 2009 3rd Chinese film pulled from Melbourne festivalHONG KONG — A third Chinese director has pulled his movie from an Australian film festival after two other filmmakers backed out to protest the planned appearance of the exiled Uighur activist Beijing blames for inciting recent ethnic violence. Rebiya Kadeer's scheduled visit to the Melbourne International Film Festival on Aug.

July 21st, 2009 Bruce Lee's siblings authorize Chinese biopicsHONG KONG — Bruce Lee's older sister and younger brother have authorized a Chinese company to make a series of biographical films about the late kung fu icon, saying they want to produce a historically accurate account of their brother's life. Phoebe Lee and Robert Lee appeared at a signing ceremony with J.A.

July 18th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese film producers are struggling to make ends meet even though the country's movie industry earns good profits, say officials. Hollywood blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen collected 400 million yuan ($58.4 million) in China after the movie was released worldwide June 24, breaking the record set by Titanic ten years ago in the country.

July 13th, 2009 Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith start 'Karate Kid' remake BEIJING — Jackie Chan will play the wise kung-fu master in a Hollywood-Chinese remake of the 1984 hit "The Karate Kid" that kicked off filming in the Chinese capital at the weekend, a movie company publicist said Monday. Chan's young disciple in "Kung Fu Kid" will be played by Jaden Smith, the son of Hollywood superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, China Film Group spokesman Weng Li told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two Chinese writers worked continuously for 48 hours to produce an "instant biography" of late King of Pop Michael Jackson. The 130,000-word book, titled 'Moonwalk in Paradise', has been written by Jiang Xiaoyu and Xing Han, and published by Chinese publishing house Xiandai.

June 23rd, 2009 Zhang Yimou starts shooting Coen brothers remakeHONG KONG — Zhang Yimou has started shooting a remake of the Coen brothers' debut "Blood Simple," the Chinese director's first film since designing the opening and closing ceremonies of last year's Beijing Olympics, a publicist said Tuesday. Filming on the Chinese-language film "San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi" — which roughly translates as "The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots" — kicked off on June 9, Ping Xue, a publicist at Zhang's Beijing New Picture Film Co., told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Beijing.

June 5th, 2009 Yao Ming voices role in Chinese animated filmBEIJING — Having appeared in a documentary and played himself on the Simpsons, Houston Rockets star Yao Ming finally gets to voice a whole different character for an upcoming Chinese-language animated film. Yao plays the father of the main character in "The Magic Aster," a traditional tale of good versus evil that promises to be more earnest than the famously irreverent Simpsons.