'Mr. Go' to debut in China, ROK

BEIJING -- Mr. Go, a 3D film produced by Chinese and the Republic of Korea (ROK) teams, will debut in both countries this week to wow audiences with its low-cost special effects.

The comic animation, directed by Korean director Kim Yong-hwa, will be released in the ROK on Wednesday and in China on Thursday.

The production team created software to process large amounts of data efficiently so that the film cost 10 percent of the budget demanded by most Hollywood movies, but produced more than 1,000 special effects shots that can compare with American film makers' work, Kim said.

The images were so precise and delicate that all the 3.8 million hairs on gorilla Ling Ling, hero of the film, could sway with the wind, he said.

Mr. Go sees Ling Ling trained to play baseball and develop remarkable hitting skills. Dreaming of success, Ling Ling and his trainer Wei Wei join a professional baseball team in the Republic of Korea, where he grows to become a superstar, explained Wang Zhonglei, president of China's Huayi Brothers, the film's investor.

Mr. Go is the first film in the ROK to be entirely shot in 3D.