Fox Partners with Hong Kong, China Outfits for Martial Arts Film

HONG KONG, December 14: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
is working with Beijing Ciwen Digital Oriental Film & TV Production and
Fortune Star Entertainment to co-produce a costume martial arts film in China.

Tentatively titled Gold Bandits,
the feature is expected to begin production in June 2007. It will be produced
and directed by acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Andrew Lau, whose credits include
the monster hit Infernal Affairs.
Writer/director Gordon Chan (Beast Cop, Fist of Legend) is
currently working on the script.

Under the agreement, Ciwen will be responsible for the
film’s distribution in mainland China (excluding home video) and Fortune Star
will oversee distribution in Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, and India. Fox will distribute the film to
the rest of the world and also holds home video distribution rights for
mainland China.

“Last
month, we commemorated a momentous milestone for the studio with the
establishment of a Fox representative office in China and a newly formed
distribution partnership with Zoke Culture Group,” stated Mike Dunn, the
president of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “Following up on our
promise to contribute to China’s growing consumer market and to support
development of the country’s film industry, we are thrilled to announce our
first Chinese language co-production deal. This project represents an exciting
opportunity for Fox to work with China’s own creative community and to meet the
ongoing consumer demand in China for high-quality entertainment choices.”