Chinese action king and former teenage kung fu champion Jet Li is set to become the highest-paid Chinese actor by getting 100 million yuan (US$13 million) in his new battle epic ‘The Warlords.’
The 44-year old star broke his own payday record of 70 million yuan ($9.4 million) for starring in Zhang Yimou’s ‘Hero,’ according to the Xinhua news agency.
And nearly half of the USD 40 million budget for ‘The Warlords’ went to the cast, among whom were Hong Kong heartthrob Andy Lau (16 million yuan), Takeshi Kaneshiro (12 million yuan), and Beijing-based actress and director Xu Jinglei (two million yuan), in addition to Li.
Director Peter Chan was quoted saying, “Without Jet Li, we would not dare to invest $40 million in a Chinese-language film.’
Li was a ‘guarantee’ for global sales,’ insisted director Chan.
‘The Warlords’ is based on a Qing Dynasty story about three brothers amid a background of war and political upheaval.
The film is set for release December 13 in China and Southeast Asia and will unreel next March in North America.
Source: Hollywoodgrind
