China's Feng Xiaogang and South Korea's Kang Je-gyu collaborated to produce "Bad Guys Always Die." (Photo : Reuters)
Following the success of movies "Wedding Invitation" and "20," China and South Korea's top filmmakers are set to co-produce one of the largest films in a growing wave of Korean-Chinese co-productions.
Feng Xiaogang and Kang Je-gyu, China and South Korea's top directors, will be collaborating for the action-comedy film "The Bad Man Must Die."
China's New Power Film is producing the $18.2-million film, with Huayi Brothers, co-funder of 2013 Korean-Chinese production "Mr. Go," as the main investor.
The film will be directed by Feng's former assistant and collaborator Sun Hao and will star Korean actress Son Ye-Jin, star of "A Moment to Remember," and Taiwan's Chen Bolin, star of the hit Chinese movie "The Continent."
Chen will be playing a Chinese who journeyed to Jeju Island of Korea. There he will encounter Son in the role of a mysterious lady. Korea's Shin Hyun-joon, a popular Korean TV actor, will play the role of a killer.
The movie is set to begin shooting on Jeju Island by the end of March 2015 and is scheduled to be finished and released in theaters in both China and South Korea in 2016.
Feng Xiaogang is popular in China as a successful mainstream director of comedy films that are consistently selling the box office. Of late, Feng has attempted to break out of comedy and tried his skills making dramatic and historical films.
Kang Je-gyu is a South Korean filmmaker whose notable works include "Shiri" and "Taegukg." Kang has just returned to directing and has a movie set for release in April titled "Salute d'Amour."
