Hollywood's Chinese thriller to hit the screen

Barbie Hsu is seen in Benny Chan's "Connected," a Chinese remake of the 2004 Hollywood film "Cellular." [Photo: mtime.com]

Hollywood has been mining Asian movies for ideas for years - but now an American studio is remaking one of its home productions as a Chinese-language movie with local partners.

Warner China Film HG--a joint venture between Warner Bros and China's state-run China Film Group and Hengdian Group--is releasing "Connected" on September 25, remaking the 2004 New Line Cinema thriller "Cellular," starring Kim Basinger.

New Line Cinema was an independent studio that's now part of Warner Bros Entertainment.

"Cellular" is about a kidnapped woman who makes a call to a random mobile phone seeking help. "Connected" changes the setting to Hong Kong and switches the cast to Chinese-speaking actors - Hong Kong's Louis Koo, Chinese mainland's Liu Ye and Taiwan's Barbie Hsu.

While Hollywood has remade Asian movies for years--Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," horror films "The Ring" and "The Grudge" are based on Asian movies--"Connected" is billed as the first Chinese remake of a Hollywood movie.

Hong Kong director Benny Chan, who directed "New Police Story" and "Rob-B-Hood," says "Connected" improves on "Cellular" by injecting Hong Kong-style action sequences.

"In my movie, I added many elements that Hong Kong action movies do best - human combat, action, flying cars," Chan said in an interview.

The director said he doesn't mind making a remake.

"What the world lacks most is good stories. If there's a story that investors think will work in the market, I don't think there's anything wrong with remaking it," Chan said.

"Cellular" made US$32 million in the United States and US$24.4 million abroad on a production budget of US$25 million, according to the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.

"Connected" was budgeted at only US$5.8 million. John Woo's recent Chinese-language historical epic "Red Cliff" cost US$80 million.