Veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau may be about to make his English-language movie debut in an Olivier Assayas film, Boarding Gate, according to a Sunday news report.

 

Assayas met with Lau last week at Lau's Hong Kong office, the weekly magazine Next reported.

 

But Lau may have a scheduling conflict. Boarding Gate will be filmed in France in August and in Hong Kong in July - the same time Lau is due to start shooting a film by director Derek Yee, according to the report.

 

"Assayas is very nice. He said he'll try to work around my schedule, but now the scheduling is a headache for everyone,'' Lau was quoted as saying.

 

Assayas has also cast actresses Asia Argento and Maggie Q, who was most recently seen in the Tom Cruise action thriller Mission: Impossible III, the report said.

 

Assayas is known for his ties to Chinese cinema. He was once married to Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung, for whom he wrote and directed the film Clean, about the trials of a rock star turned single parent. Cheung won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 for the movie.

 

(CRI June 19, 2006)