Jackie Chan will be heading to Australia next month to start shooting the Chinese science-fiction thriller "Bleeding Steel."
The action-movie star will kick off the film's production in July in Sydney, and it will be the biggest budget Chinese film to ever be shot in Australia. Other filming locations include Taiwan.
In the film, Chan plays a tough Special Forces agent who protects a young woman from a criminal gang. The film is expected to have a star-studded cast, but casting details have been kept under the wraps.
The 62-year-old martial artist, who has featured in more than 150 films in his career, has deep roots in Australia. At the age of 6, his family migrated to Canberra from Hong Kong. Although he remained in Hong Kong to study acting, he lived in Australia in his early days as an actor in the mid-1970s.
Leo Zhang, whose credits include 2012's "Chrysanthemum to the Beast," will direct "Bleeding Steel" with Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and China's Heyi Pictures serving as the co-producers and co-financers on the project.
"Given Village Roadshow's deep roots in Australia, the film's concept resonates strongly with us; and naturally we are thrilled to be a part of a Jackie Chan production," said Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia.
Heyi Pictures is the film production arm of the Chinese online video company Youku Tudou Inc., which Alibaba acquired for $4.8 billion last year. Heyi has financed and produced several films including "Surprise," "Detective Chinatown," "Saving Mr. Wu," and "The Master" among others.
