Hollywood actor Bruce Willis is officially on board for the Chinese language epic movie The Bombing. The movie is a drama which takes place during the war between China against Japan. It is a narrative of the lives the characters in the period of war.
The actor arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday night after signing an eight day filming stint for the movie. Willis will portray a role of an American volunteer, training Chinese pilots to achieve the skills needed to conquer Japan.
Bruce Willis' popularity with Chinese audiences has led the producers to eye him for the lead role in the movie. His famous blockbuster films Die Hard and G.I. Joe have been greatly followed by a growing number of Chinese viewers all over the world. This made Executive producer Yang Buting of China Film Promotion International and his team hand pick Willis for the role.
Executive producer Yang said: "We have an ancient culture with a long history and many stories, both fiction and nonfiction, to tell," then he added: "America has a relatively short history but you have a much greater technology in film. So we are trying to take the history of China and meld it with the modern technology of America to make a modern film that is of the highest quality."
Also part of the cast are Korean actor Song Seung-heon, Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse and leading Chinese character actor Liu Ye.
In charge of the direction is Xiao Feng. Director Feng is also the director of 2012's Hushed Roar.
The movie made a mark to be one of the most expensive Chinese productions, with a budget soaring to $90 million.
China Film Group in cooperation with private investors funded the movie The Bombing.
The private investors involved in the movie are as follows: Shanghai Qingpu Investment, Beijing Original Pictures Television & Films Investment and businessman Shi Jian Xiang.
The production desired the movie to have it's premiere during the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The movie is expected to hit the theaters before the year end.
