China, Korea Team on $30 mil 3-D Project

Investors from China and Korea have teamed to produce Legend of the Magic Bell, the first stereoscopic 3-D film from the two countries. The $30 million picture is backed by John Woo and Terence Chang's Lion Rock Entertainment, Kimjonghak Production and Tosoa Entertainment and produced by Chang.

Kim Jonghak will direct the Mandarin-language picture from a screenplay by Guo Zheng (Red Cliff). It will shoot beginning early next year and is set for delivery in late 2011 or early 2012. Hong Kong's Golden Network Asia is handling international sales.

The story was inspired by Chinese classic Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) and is set in a world where humans co-exist with demons. It follows a human warrior who falls in love with a beautiful demon bodyguard, setting off a cycle of love and death spanning 5,000 years.

"I intend to shoot the film in 3-D so that the audiences can feel the dangers and delights of the story as if they are really traveling alongside the characters on their epic journey, feeling their emotions and heartache," Kim said at a news conference in Cannes.

Kim is known as one of Korea's leading TV directors and was responsible for the hit Legend.

By Patrick Frater, The Hollywood Reporter