Double Edge to start shooting $12m Black & White in Dec

Chinese actor Bo Huang (Cow, The Crazy Racer) will co-star with Taiwan’s Mark Chao (Monga) in Double Edge Entertainment’s action thriller Black & White, based on the hit Taiwanese TV drama of the same title.

The supporting cast will include Hong Kong model turned actor Angelababy (Hot Summer Days), Taiwan starlet Terri Kwan (Turn Left Turn Right) and Ivy Chen, who starred in the TV series of Black & White two years ago.

Yue-hsun Tsai, director of the TV series, will also be the director of the film.  Double Edge Entertainment production head Wolf Chen is producing.

Double Edge also announced that Black & White will be a two-movie package.  Black & White Episode 1 will be a prequel to the TV series which stars Taiwanese idols Vic Chou and Mark Chao.

The plot revolves around a young detective (Chao) who needs a retiring gangster to solve a murder and the gangster (Huang) who needs the cop to retrieve priceless stolen goods. 

The project has also recruited Mark Ping-bin Lee (Norwegian Wood) as the director of photography, the Stunt Team from Luc Besson’s Taken and the Visual Effects Supervisor from Kill Bill.

For the first time ever in Asia, a finale set piece of the film will be shot in a complete Boeing 747 being shipped in pieces from Los Angeles. 

Shooting of the film will start before December 2010 and is expected to be ready for delivery by the 4th quarter in 2011.

Steve Chicorel, head of international distribution of Double Edge, said the company has been very selective to pre sell the picture.  ‘As  the producers kept building the budget , the production angle, cast and crew.  It’s frustrating for the buyers but at the end of the day we plan to deliver an extremely different sort of modern day action film and the 1st installment of what we believe to be a huge franchise.”  Chicorel said.