Chinese producer Gary Zhang, who is co-producing $50 million animated 3D project Kong with Korean filmmaker JJ Kim, has unveiled U.S. talent for the film, including Mulan and Walking With Dinosaurs director Barry Cook.
Zhang and Kim’s production company Aquamen, so called as they are both Aquarians, made the announcement at an event in Beijing.
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Co-director on the project will be Iain McCaig, who was a conceptual designer on the Star Wars and Harry Potter series. As well as Cook and McCaig, the project will hire 11 other Hollywood animation and special-effects industrial artists to form the creative team.
“Teaming up Barry Cook and Iain McCaig to co-direct Kong should doubly insure that classic Chinese culture can enter the international film market. The strong technological support allows Kong to revolutionize Chinese animation,” the Aquamen producers said in a statement.
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Kong will be based on the Chinese classic Monkey King legend and will mix science fiction elements into the traditional epic mix, featuring aliens, robots and fantasy elements. It was announced at the Berlin film festival last year, and more details emerged in Cannes.
