Feng Xiaogang drops hint about new movie

Feng Xiaogang, whose two films in 2010 raked in 1.1 billion yuan ($167 million) and one tenth of the country's total box office, will now start on a project he has wanted to do for more than 10 years.

At a recent banquet hosted by Huayi Brothers, Feng's decade-long business partner, the 53-year-old director revealed he would start filming a story about "who our mothers are and where we come from".

He did not reveal further details, though he did say the writer has revised the script 15 times to make it "closer to the truth".

"I could have only raised 30 million yuan ($4.57 million) if I made this film 10 years ago, but I now have access to many times that sum," he says. "And it is a better time to do it."

The rumor is that the film could be an adaptation of renowned writer Liu Zhenyun's Memory of 1942, a novel about a famine in Henan province that killed 3 million people. Feng has often said, in public, that he wants to turn it into a film.

Liu is one of Feng's favorite writers. The two have cooperated on smash hits such as Cell Phone and The Dream Factory.

Feng says filming will start in October and last about six months. The expected box office will be 1.1 billion yuan.

Feng has been Huayi Brothers' most important director for many years now, working on box office hits like If You are the One and A World without Thieves.

The company is trying to find new blood, however, by recruiting 11 directors who will make 10 films in 2011.

The new crew includes both veterans, such as Hark Tsui and Jackie Chan, and rising filmmakers such as Pang Ho-cheung and Wu Ershan. Genres vary from martial arts, to romance and fantasy.

"Variety" will be the key word for Huayi in the coming year, says president Wang Zhonglei.