Stephen Chow readying to produce ‘The Mermaid 2’
BEIJING: Buzz is growing that award-winning maverick director Stephen Chow is preparing to make The Mermaid 2.
Online posts indicate that the casting process is in progress.
In addition, the 2016 blockbuster The Mermaid is also to be evolved into a TV show.
Stephen had broached the subject in his comments to newsmen during the recent Shanghai International Film Festival.
The main plot of The Mermaid 2 was disclosed early this year in an announcement by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and TV.
While The Mermaid was a fantasy drama, The Mermaid 2 is being conceptualised as a sci-fi drama.
While The Mermaid reigned as the biggest box- office hit in China until weeks ago when it was toppled by Wu Jing’s Wolf Warriors 2, it had struggled to make an impact overseas.
Sony Pictures’ efforts to market the movie in the North American market appeared halfhearted.
But during its amazing cinematic run in China in February 2016, it pulled in US$ 440 million (nearly RM1.9 billion) in barely more than two weeks of the Lunar New Year season.
The quick record run by the movie, a timely fantasy about a group of modern mermaids
The Chinese love their culture, and they love to see it onscreen. That’s why Stephen is so popular: He has a million little jokes and funny nuances in his movies that you just won’t get if you’re not Chinese.
battling a ruthless developer who threatens their habitat, was all the more impressive given that it faced off against two formidable rivals, both also directed by Hong Kongers: Cheang Pou- soi’s fantasy epic sequel The Monkey King 2 and Wong Jing’s gambling comedy From Vegas to Macau III.
On why The Mermaid was such a monster hit, Los Angelesbased producer Bill Borden, a consulting producer for the movie said: “The Chinese love their culture, and they love to see it onscreen. That’s why Stephen is so popular: He has a million little jokes and funny nuances in his movies that you just won’t get if you’re not Chinese. To continue to work in China in a big way, you’re going to have to be culturally sensitive.”
Bill Borden, a consulting producer for ‘The Mermaid’