We’re a little behind on this one.
Tony Leung and Shu Qi Lead All-Star Cast of Upcoming “Feng Shen Bang”
By joanna on March 21, 2014 in Movies
Above: Angelababy, Huang Xiaoming, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Shu Qi star in “Feng Shen Bang”.
Judging from the recent box office success of Stephen Chow’s () Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons <·> and Cheang Pou Soi’s () The Monkey King <>, the mainland Chinese film market is ripe for movies adapted from Chinese mythological tales. One such upcoming project is Feng Shen Bang <>, a 3D film that will star Tony Leung Ka Fai () and Shu Qi (), and is scheduled to begin filming in September.
Feng Shen Bang, which will be co-directed by Wilson Yip () and Koan Hui (), is based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Feng Shen Yan Yi <>, often translated as The Investiture of the Gods. The story tells of how King Zhou of Shang (Tony Leung) becomes a tyrant due to the wiles of Daji (Shu Qi), a vixen spirit who is disguised as one of his concubines. After a series of battles involving mythological intervention, King Zhou of Shang is overthrown by King Wu of Zhou and his strategist Jiang Ziya (Jet Li ).
With a budget of 300 million HKD, Feng Shen Bang is considered a comeback project for China Star Entertainment Group, a well-known film production company that hit an economic rut in 2005. Because CEO Charles Heung () and his wife Tiffany Chen () are friends with many top entertainment stars, much of the Feng Shen Bang cast agreed to take on the film for a fraction of their market worth. Even Jet Li, who initially turned down the movie due to health issues, changed his mind because of his friendship with Heung.
The cast for Feng Shen Bang also includes Huang Xiaoming () as Erlang Shen, Angelababy () as a mermaid, Louis Koo () as Buddhist wisdom god Mahamayuri, Wen Zhang () as Nezha, and Jacky Heung () as Leizhenzi. To the disappointment of Huang Xiaoming and Angelababy fans, however, the real-life couple will have very few scenes together.
Jet Li Faces The Supernatural In Fengshen Yanyi
kingofkungfu
Hong Kong/Chinese News
Also known as: Investiture of the Gods, The Apotheosis of Heroes, The Canonization of the Gods
Fengshen Yanyi is the latest movie which will feature legend Jet Li going up against the supernatural, something even i did not see coming (But im glad it did). The director will be Wilson Yip (Ip Man), the movie will be based on the 16th-century Chinese novel by Xu Zhonglin about a declining Shang Dynasty set in (1600 BC–1046 BC) and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC).
Plot:
The novel is a romanticised retelling of the overthrow of King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty, by Ji Fa, who would establish the Zhou dynasty in place of Shang. The story integrates oral and written tales of many Chinese mythological figures who are involved in the struggle as well. These figures include human heroes, immortals and various spirits (usually represented in avatar form like vixens, and pheasants, and sometimes inanimate objects such as a pipa).
Bewitched by his concubine Daji, who is actually a vixen spirit in disguise as a beautiful woman, King Zhou of Shang oppresses his people and persecutes those who oppose him, including his own subjects who dare to speak up to him. Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou), assisted by his strategist Jiang Ziya, rallies an army to overthrow the tyrant and restore peace and order. Throughout the story, battles are waged between the kingdoms of Shang and Zhou, with both sides calling upon various supernatural beings – deities, immortals, demons, spirits, and humans with magical abilities – to aid them in the war. Yuanshi Tianzun bestows upon Jiang Ziya the Fengshen Bang, a list that empowers him to invest the gods of Heaven. The heroes of Zhou and some of their fallen enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and essentially elevated to their roles as gods, hence the title of the novel.
Fengshen Yanyi will feature Chinese mythology, which will include immortals and spirits. When i think of spirits or the dead, i suddenly think of lam Ching Ying movies like Spooky Encounters. I think it’s an interesting move for both director Yip and Jet Li and look forward to seeing the outcome and hopefully a few fight scenes featuring Jet Li.
The movie will also feature Shu Qi (Gorgeous), Louis Koo, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Huang Xiaoming.
