JET LI GETS 100 MILION YUAN OR $13 MILLION FOR HIS LATEST MOVIE TO SET THE RECORD OF HIGHEST PAID ACTOR IN A CHINESE LANGUAGE FILMJET LI CHINESE ACTION HERO ACTOR GETS RECORD BREAKING PAY CHEQUE OF 13 MILLION, BEIJING NEWS HEADLINES: - Chinese action star Jet Li is set to rake in 100 million yuan ($13 million) for his latest movie, a record for an actor in a Chinese-language film, state media reported on Sunday. "Without Chinese action star Jet Li, we would not dare to invest $40 million in a Chinese-language film," Xinhua news agency quoted director Peter Chan as saying. Chinese action star Jet Li was a "guarantee" for global sales, Chan said. Nearly half of the $40 million budget for "The Warlords" went to the cast, among whom were Hong Kong heartthrob Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Beijing-based actress and director Xu Jinglei, in addition to Chinese action star Jet Li.
The earlier salary record was held by Chinese action star Jet Li himself for his role in "Hero", for which he earned 70 million yuan. "The Warlords", a war epic based on a Qing Dynasty story, is slated for release in Asia in mid-December and in North America from next March featuring the Chinese action star Jet Li. Chinese action star Jet Li who turns 44, a childhood martial arts champion, has also broken into English-language films, featuring in action pictures such as "Romeo Must Die" and "Lethal Weapon 4". Chinese-language movies have registered a string of hits in the past few years, from Ang Lee's martial arts tale "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", to Zhang Yimou's ancient history epic "Hero".
