Chow Yun-fat signs on as early 20th century bad guy in Chinese frontier film

Chow signs on as bad guy in Chinese film

HONG KONG — After taking on the ancient sage Confucius, Chow Yun-fat has signed on to play an early 20th century bad guy in a $19 million Chinese frontier film.

The “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” star will appear in Chinese director Jiang Wen’s upcoming movie “Let the Bullets Fly,” Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures said in a statement late Tuesday. Jiang will also co-star, along with Chinese comedian Ge You.

Chow will play a ruthless but humorous Chinese criminal during Nationalist Party rule in early to mid-20th century China, Emperor Motion Pictures said. The statement did not reveal the plot.

“Let the Bullets Fly” will be released in late 2010.

Chow made his name with stylish Hong Kong gangster thrillers like “A Better Tomorrow” before making his Hollywood debut with the 1998 action movie “The Replacement Killers.” His other American credits include “Anna and the King,” ”Bulletproof Monk,” ”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” and “Dragonball Evolution.” The 54-year-old actor was most recently shooting a biopic of the ancient Chinese thinker Confucius.

One of China’s biggest stars, Jiang has also turned to directing, making his debut with the 1994 film, “In the Heat of the Sun.” His most recent film was the 2007 comedy “The Sun Also Rises.” He also shot a segment in the recently released anthology “New York, I Love You.”