TSUI HARK'S NEXT MOVIE

Tsui Hark is always talking about upcoming projects that never come to fruition or that get cannibalized into other forms, but let's pretend that's not true so that we can say that his next announced project is THE WHITE PHOENIX, produced by Peter Loehr (a Beijing-based producer who produced Zhang Yang's recent flicks and is CAA's man in China).

The movie synopsis reads:

"An Imperial Magistrate is sent to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Crown Prince. As he faces danger from assassins, pirates, corrupt officials and ruthless businessmen in Tang Dynasty Guangzhou, Judge Dee only discovers what he’s up against once he reaches the chaotic southern Port City."

There's no cast or other details, except for that name, Judge Dee. Will this be the big screen version of China's famous Tang Dynasty judge/detective, Judge Dee, who's best known as the hero of Dutch diplomat Rober van Gulik's series of Judge Dee mysteries?

The flick is in pre-production now, with filming scheduled to start in early 2006.