Wong launches Hong Kong production outfit Pegasus

The company’s debut projects include All’s Well That Ends Well Too, a sequel to this year’s Chinese New Year hit All’s Well That Ends Well, which will be written and produced by Edmond Wong. The sequel, which has a period setting, is being set up as co-production with Beijing-based Enlight Pictures and will be released during Chinese New Year 2010 (Feb 13-16).

Pegasus is also working with Enlight on a sequel to Dragon Tiger Gate to be directed by hot Hong Kong action director Dante Lam.

Both projects are aimed at the mainland market where box office continues to boom despite the global financial downturn.

“Mainland box office is increasing rapidly year-on-year and Hong Kong-China co-productions figure prominently in the annual top ten,” Wong told Screendaily.com. “Action films like Ip Man and Dragon Tiger Gate also sell to the West although it’s been more difficult to do sales recently.”

Wong, who co-founded Cinema City in the 1980s, launched Mandarin Entertainment in 1992 and scored a hit with an earlier version of All’s Well That Ends Well in the early ‘90s. Mandarin was listed on Hong Kong’s main board in 2001 and Wong sold a controlling share to a mainland real estate company at the end of last year.

In January, Wong stepped down as chairman of Mandarin, renamed China Mandarin Holdings Ltd, but remains as an executive director and still holds a 10% share in the company.

He will continue to work on some Mandarin projects and has also teamed up with asset manager First Vanguard to launch a $100m fund for film and TV programming targeting the mainland China market.

Mandarin’s slate includes a sequel to Ip Man, scripted by Edmond Wong and starring Donnie Yen, which starts shooting in August.

Since the departure of Mandarin sales chief Christy Choi in May, Alice Law is heading Mandarin’s international sales outside Asia, while Anita Wong and Leung Chiu-yi are handling all Asian territories.