Nicholas Tse offered RM50m Leslie Cheung movie remake
He hasn't been gone a year and everyone already misses him.
Is it a case of out of sight, out of mind, or absence makes the heart grow fonder, for Hong Kong movie star Nicholas Tse? We think the latter.
Though he's currently on a break, following his box-office hit The Viral Factor, directors, producers and studio executives are clamouring to get him in front of the camera again. So much so that the 31-year-old father of two says he'll be back to work in September.
One offer is the RMB100mil (RM50mil) 3D remake of 1993's martial arts classic, The Bride With White Hair. Adapted from Liang Yusheng's wuxia novel, the original movie starred Brigitte Lin as a sword-fighter whose hair turns white after her lover betrays her.
Director Jacob Cheung, whose credits include A Battle Of Wits, wants Nicholas to play Zhuo Yihang, the lover and young swordsman previously portrayed by the late Leslie Cheung. The buzz is that Nicholas, if he agrees to the role, gets to pick his co-star. On the shortlist are Tang Wei and Fan Bingbing.
Meanwhile, Teddy Chen Tak Sum, who directed Nicholas in Bodyguards And Assassins, is hoping to get him and action superstar Donnie Yen together. Director Wong Jing, noted for his crowd-pleasing fares, wants to team him up with Chow Yun Fat. And there's talk of producers from China trying to land him opposite Korean darling Gianna Jun Ji-Hyun.
So far, Nicholas has only said yes to a part in Derek Kwok's movie about fire-fighters, and that begins shooting in September.
Nicholas' celebrity career started when he was a teen rebel rocker. Over the years, his music took a backseat when his acting career soared. His martial arts skill and ability to do his own stunts made him the go-to guy for action flicks, and he earned his hero credentials in Jackie Chan's New Police Story and Dante Lam's Beast Stalker.
After honing his action chops, Nicholas diversified his range of characters, even shedding his pretty boy look to play a rickshaw puller in the star-studded period piece Bodyguards And Assassins for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards. A year later, he won Best Actor for his performance in The Stool Pigeon.
Now, about The Bride With White Hair, what do you say? Should Nicholas choose Tang Wei or Fan Bingbing to play Brigitte Lin's part? Who do you think has better chemistry with him? Sound off on the board below.
Source: Ming Pao
Published: 26th June 2012
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