No 'Sex' for Imax, but '3D Zen' Film Eyes Sequel

HONG KONG – Producers of 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy are already eyeing a sequel despite Imax rejection.

The HK$20 million ($2.6 million) re-imagining of the 1992 genre-defining hit Sex and Zen, billed as the first stereoscopic 3D erotica from Hong Kong, opens Thursday in Hong Kong, but the film’s executive producer Stephen Shiu Jr. of One Dollar Production said that a sequel is now being planned.   “It depends on the box office of 3D Sex and Zen, but we’re hoping the sequel will start production as soon as the end of 2011, with an all-new cast,” Shiu told The Hollywood Reporter. The main production personnel, including producer-screenwriter Stephen Shiu Sr. and director Christopher Sun, will remain.   The producers were eager to launch the 3D romp in Imax theatres when the film began production, but after a long negotiation, they found that it was not meant to be. “Imax has rejected our film because of the subject matter and content,” Shiu Jr. said, “but for our premiere in Taiwan, we will show the film in an Imax 3D theatre using their 3D screening equipment.”   3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy opens in Hong Kong on April 14.