'Detective Dee 3' unveils Huayi's new theme park
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 26, 2018
Famed Hong Kong director Tsui Hark chose a unique place to premiere his new film, "Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings," a new theme park named "HB World" in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on July 22.
A poster for "Detective Dee 3: The Four Heavenly Kings" [Photo/China.org.cn]
HB World, boasted as the "best domestic movie theme park" in China, reportedly cost 3.5 billion yuan (US$517 million) and took seven years to build. In the park, various scenes from China's biggest blockbusters including "Assembly," "If You Are the One," "Tai Chi" and the "Detective Dee" series produced by Huayi Brothers Media, have been recreated, including the iconic 75-meter-high Buddha statue from the first installment of the "Detective Dee" franchise.
The film crew and cast members, including director Tsui Hark, Huayi Brothers Media CEO Wang Zhonglei, Huayi Brothers Pictures general manager Jerry Ye, actors Mark Chao, Feng Shaofeng, Lin Gengxin, Ethan Juan and actress Ma Sichun, walked the red carpet beneath the giant Buddha a day before the theme park opened to the public on July 23.
The director was thrilled to see the Buddha transformed from a visual effect model into a real statue, "This is a great cause. It is so magnificent and impressive. Thank you all for making it come true."
Huayi CEO Wang revealed when he first met Tusi Hark to work on the "Detective Dee" franchise eight years ago, the director showed him the design of the giant Buddha. "I felt proud to finally share the fun of the film by building this theme park."
Huayi has developed three "Detective Dee" films in a decade. The previous two installments were a huge success, combining crime, mystery, fantasy, martial arts, politics, and Tsui's own imagination and style. The film takes place during the Tang Dynasty and is a Sherlock Holmes-style detective story, inspired by the stories of Di Renjie, a judge in the Tang and Zhou dynasties, who even served as chancellor under the reign of Wu Zetian, the first and only empress in Chinese history.
Cast members and crew pose for photo under the feet of a giant Buddha at HB World to promote their new film "Detective Dee 3: The Four Heavenly Kings" in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, July 22, 2018. [Photo/ China.org.cn]
Di's life story was loosely adapted into a crime novel in the 18th century by a pseudonymous author, and later, the diplomat and writer Robert van Gulik translated the novel in the 1940s and added further stories, which became famous in Western countries as the "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee."
The first film by Tsui was "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," starring veteran actor and superstar Andy Lau as middle-aged Detective Dee, grossing 286 million yuan (US$43.7 million) in China and winning six awards at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards. The second, "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon," a prequel to the first installment, grossed 600 million yuan (US$94.59 million) in 2013.
The third installment, also starring Mark Chao as young Detective Dee, tells the story of how Empress Wu assigns Yuchi Zhenjin (played by Feng Shaofeng) to find a group of sorcery masters, attempting to take the prestigious "Dragon Taming Mace" granted by the former emperor from Detective Dee to eliminate the biggest political threat to the empress.
"I want people to see things that they have never seen or experienced before in this new film," Tsui said, "and I was lucky to work with brilliant actors who gave me many inspirations and special ideas." One of producers, Tao Kun, added that after finishing the third installment, the "Detective Dee" franchise has been developed into a Detective Dee Universe with its own value and world view.
The director will continue exploring the franchise, "Filmmaking is an infinite creative area. In the Detective Dee world, there are many unexpected cases that we hope to present to the audience in the future."
"I feel the greatest honor to stand here as a filmmaker," Jerry Ye added, pointing at the giant Buddha, "Every image and detail in 'Detective Dee 3' demonstrates the hope and persistence of the Chinese film industry."
"Detective Dee 3" will hit Chinese theaters on July 27, 2018, competing with a strong rival, comedy "Hello Mr. Billionaire." Observers believe the two blockbusters would ignite another climax for the heated summer film season after the dominance of the tearjerker "Dying to Survive."
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