Chow Yun-fat Comedy 'Let the Bullets Fly' Booked for Australia, Japan, U.K. (Cannes 2011)

10:58 AM PDT 5/16/2011 by Gregg Kilday

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Chinese superstars Jiang Wen and Ge You co-star in film, which was 2010's highest-grossing local pic in mainland China.

CANNES -- Emperor Motion Pictures, the Chinese production and distribution company -- has closed deals in Japan, Australia and the U.K. for Jiang Wen’s comedy Let the Bullets Fly.

•Cannes Film Festival 2012

The movie, in which China’s top leading men Chow Yun-fat, Jiang Wen and Ge You appear together for the first time, was 2010’s highest-grossing local film in mainland China and the second-biggest box office grosser of all time, collecting about $100 million.

The film screened here at the Cannes market, and EMP CEO Albert Lee said, “Let The Bullets Fly is rather unique in its genre and we were very confident that the screening would help seal the deal for many of our international distribution partners. The response has been very good so far and we’re very close to announcing our partners for Germany, North America and French-speaking territories very soon.”

In the movie, Jiang plays a bandit who usurps the position of a county governor in the hopes of hitting paydirt but instead finds himself in a potentially fatal power struggle with ruthless local gentry [Chow]. In the meantime, the real governor [Ge] struggles to keep his identity a secret as he hides in plain sight of his two nemeses.

The film was produced by Beijing Buyilehu Film and Culture Ltd. and Emperor Motion Picture [International] Ltd., which is handling international sales.