Stephen Chow Hopes to Land “Lost in Thailand” Star for New Film “Mermaid”
Following the box office success of last year’s Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons <西遊·降魔篇>, Stephen Chow (周星馳) plans to begin production on a fantasy romance titled Mermaid <美人魚>. The film may star mainland Chinese actor Xu Zheng (徐崢), who directed, co-wrote, and starred in the 2012 smash-hit comedy Lost in Thailand <人再囧途之泰囧>.
Mermaid, which is reportedly an adaptation of the story of the Little Mermaid, is expected to commence filming at Hengdian World Studios in June. Some movie fans worried that this would conflict with Xu Zheng’s schedule, since he is currently working on the screenplay of Lost in Hong Kong <港囧>.
According to Ms. Liu, Xu Zheng’s manager, the Lost in Thailand actor has yet to reach a final decision about Mermaid, though he indeed met up with Stephen before the Lunar New Year to discuss the project.
“Xu Zheng’s current focus is on the screenplay of Lost in Hong Kong,” said Ms. Liu. “He has very high demands for it, and will not start filming if he is not satisfied with the screenplay. As a result, there is no set schedule.”
Prior to Xu Zheng, Stephen had considered giving the male lead to either mainland Chinese actor Wen Zhang (文章) or Taiwanese singer/actor Show Luo (羅志祥), both of whom had starred in Journey to the West. However, Wen Zhang was making plans to film his own project, whereas Show lacked the ability to draw in the mainland Chinese market.
Thus, Stephen turned his focus to Xu Zheng, whose Lost in Thailand raked in 1.26 billion RMB at the box office. With Journey to the West’s box office at 1.24 billion RMB, fans are wondering if a Stephen-Xu Zheng combination will lead to a new box office record, especially since the production costs for Mermaid are rumored to be as high as 150 million RMB.
Still Searching for Female Lead
When Stephen began preparing for Mermaid two years ago, he originally planned to cast beauty queen Zhang Zilin (張梓琳) as the female lead. However, filming was delayed due to investment problems, and Zhang Zilin became unavailable for the part after her marriage last year.
Stephen is reportedly still on the lookout for a female lead and is focusing his search on actresses between the ages of 16 and 25.
Source: Sohu.com
This article is written by Joanna for JayneStars.com.
I saw Lost In Thailand on TV over CNY and I can understand why it was a huge hit. Very funny movie.
Its prequel 人在囧途 is funnier because it was fresh; Lost In Thailand is just more of the same – a sequel capitalizing on its prequel’s popularity. When I watched 人在囧途 when it first came out I absolutely enjoyed the silliness but in “Thailand” the same acting and storyline got old quickly so not so enjoyable.
Just like how Chevy Chase’s first “National Lampoon’s Vacation” was so funny but quickly lost its humor with its European’s, and Christmas’s spinning the same old tale. Now they are filming “Lost in Hong Kong”?
Oooh i actually really adore stephen’s eye for his cast.
But i have zero idea what he means when he says Show Luo has no mainland market? The guy’s so popular!
Also even though zhang zilin (who is amazingly gorgeous) got married last year, why is that related at all to casting since hes still looking for an actress THIS year? Unless of course, he’s trying to say she has no market value after marriage which…somewhat bothers me.
because Mo Lei Tau is passed trend. hv you just woken up Mr Van Winkle?