Chinese remake planned for Korean hit My Wife Is A Gangster

South Korean hit My Wife Is A Gangster is set for a Chinese remake. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced the deal between the film’s original producer Hyunjin Cinema and Chinese counterpart Yunyunnan Culture Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The remake is currently in preproduction with plans to start shooting in February 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and mainland China.

Lee Soonyeol and Zeng Hui, the heads of Hyunjin Cinema and Yunyunnan Culture Investment respectively, signed the deal earlier this month in Seoul during a visit to KOFIC by 40 Chinese production and investment companies.

Budgeted at about $6.2m (CNY40m), the Chinese remake of My Wife Is A Gangster will be financed 100% out of China. The film will have cast and crew from both countries and do post-production in South Korea.

The remake is due to start production in February with about 90% of shooting in Shangri-La County in Yunnan Province, China and the rest in Korea. The plan is for the remake to open simultaneously in both countries in August 2012.

The original My Wife Is A Gangster grossed $31m at the top of local box office charts in 2001 and sold to Miramax for US remake. The female gangster boss comedy became a franchise, with Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi making a cameo appearance in the 2003 sequel. Taiwanese actress Shu Qi starred in My Wife Is A Gangster 3 in 2006.