Mei Ah takes Grand Master rights

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Sales News

Mei Ah Entertainment (美亞娛樂資訊集團有限公司) has picked up rights in a slew of territories on upcoming Wong Kar-wai (王家衛, pictured) film The Grand Master (一代宗師).

The Hong Kong film and TV group has all rights in South East Asia including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Hong Kong rights are controlled by Hong Kong-Chinese investor Sil-Metropole (銀都機構有限公司), which will handle the theatrical release. Mei Ah will handle video and TV in Hong Kong. Mei Ah recently launched Red, a new TV service in partnership with HBO.

The much anticipated film has not yet found itself an international sales agent, though producer Jet Tone Films (澤東製作有限公司) has been in talks with several potential sales representatives over a period of many months. Jet Tone was able to raise the estimated $10 million budget mostly from Hong Kong and Chinese sources without need for a minimum guarantee from a world sales firm.

The Grand Master, which takes another look at Ip Man, the martial arts ace credited with teaching the wing chun style of kung fu to Bruce Lee (李小龍), is tentatively set for release at 2011 Chinese New Year (Jan-Feb).

Poster images of the film have recently circulated on websites in China and elsewhere, but Jet Tone says these are not its approved design and it does not know their origin.

The film stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai (梁朝偉), Zhang Ziyi (章子怡), Song Hye-kyo (송혜교), Chang Chen (張震), Zhao Benshan (趙本山) and Xiao Shenyang (小瀋陽).

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