Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the rights to distribute Chinese director Zhang Yimou's latest film, "Amazing Tales: Three Guns", in North America, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.

The film is a remake of the 1985 crime thriller "Blood Simple", Oscar-winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen's directorial debut.

Zhang bought the adaptation rights in January, and is filming in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu.

The remake revolves around a restaurant owner who hires a killer to murder his cheating wife and her lover, which leads to an unexpected ending.

SPC co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard believe Zhang will bestow a different flavor on the story, Sina.com.cn reported.

"Three Guns" is Zhang's first film since the Oscar-nominated 2006 spectacular "Curse of the Golden Flower". Away from the screen, he had been busy orchestrating the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The film stars Sun Honglei, Xiao Shen Yang and Yan Ni.

(CRI July 31, 2009)