Beijing-based Huayi Brothers has confirmed that Chinese director Feng Xiaogang is to make a romantic comedy tentatively titled Don't Bother Me (Fei Cheng Wu Rao), rather than his originally planned satire The Nobles.

Huayi Brothers will produce the $7.3m (RMB 50m) film that is set to star long-time Feng collaborator Ge You and actress Shu Qi. Stars from Huayi Brothers' talent stable such as Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun are also likely to be recruited for the film.

The story of the film is partly inspired by Taiwanese director Chen Kuofu's The Personals, starring Rene Liu, about a woman meeting various suitors after publishing a marriage-seeking ad in the newspapers.

Ge You will play an overseas returnee looking for a future wife, who engages in a series of blind dates. Fei Cheng Wu Rao is a line used by the protagonist when he meets a woman. It means 'don't bother me if you are not sincere' in Chinese.

'This year there have been so many disasters happening in the country and people have been in a bad mood. I hope this film can give people a happy and lighthearted new year,' Feng told local media.

Previously, Feng had been planning to shoot a satire on China's nouveau riche but the project was halted because of script problems.

Shooting of the new film will start in July in Beijing, Japan and a few southern cities in China. The release date is scheduled for the end of the year, a regular time slot for Feng's movies in China.

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