Who’s Matt Damon? Co-star Lu steals his thunder
Print Edition
HOLLYWOOD star Matt Damon, said he was overwhelmed at the number of fans turning up at his hotel in China — not for him but for an ex-boy band singer who also appears in a Sino-Hollywood fantasy adventure movie.
Lu Han, 25, rose to fame as the lead vocalist and dancer of Chinese-South Korean boy band EXO.
Damon said around 400 flower arrangements were sent to his hotel for his young co-star on the first day of shooting.
He was speaking in Beijing to promote “The Great Wall,” a movie with a budget of US$150 million. Damon, whose movies include “Good Will Hunting” and the “Bourne” franchise, plays a battle-scarred mercenary in search of treasure. Pedro Pascal, of “Game of Thrones,” is his sword-wielding partner. Lu plays a boy emperor.
In the film peppered with stars from both China and Hollywood, warriors use the Great Wall as a weapon to combat otherworldly creatures who threaten humanity. It is due for global release in November next year.
It is the latest co-production between China and Hollywood as US studios court China’s rapidly growing movie audience and Chinese producers look to improve their technological know-how.
It will be the first English-language movie by Zhang Yimou, the director of “House of Flying Daggers,” “Hero” and the opulent opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Zhang said he felt at ease with the story as it is set in China.
“Movies that have fights against monsters from the past, present and future are all produced by Hollywood,” he said. “What I have thought about is how to use this Hollywood format to express what I want to express and present the Chinese culture and make it unique.”
Willem Dafoe also stars, and there are a host of Chinese actors in supporting roles.
“The Great Wall” is an official co-production, which means it is treated as a domestic film and can bypass import restrictions that limit foreign movies and will get a bigger share of the Chinese box office.
Hollywood has been inserting Chinese elements into some of its films to appeal to a Chinese audience, but official co-productions require China or a Chinese story to be integral to the plot.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
