Production of the Weinstein Co.'s period piece "Shanghai" is to
relocate to Thailand and Blighty following its forced exit from China. Company
co-prexy Harvey Weinstein considered Hong Kong and other Asian
locations but said, "Hong Kong doesn't have the colonial era setting we
need; it is difficult to find a building here less than 50 stories
high. So we will be going to Thailand and, believe it or not, England."
Pic
is to be directed by Swedish helmer Mikael Hafstrom from a screenplay
by Hossein Amini and will star John Cusack, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li and
Ken Watanabe. Set in 1940s Japanese-occupied Shanghai, the story involves an American
who stumbles across government secrets while investigating the death of
his friend.
John Cusack
