"Kingdoms" unfurls banner in Beijing

BEIJING -- Andy Lau, Maggie Q and Sammo Hung turned out April 1 for the Beijing bow of Danny Lee's historic martial arts actioner "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon."

"Three Kingdoms" is based on "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guangzhong, a tale of Zhao Yun, who lived during the Three Kingdoms period set in 220-265 A.D.

The story is often cited as one of the four most important pieces of Chinese literature and is rich enough in material to provide a story line for another big Asian production, John Woo's "Red Cliff," which is still in post-production.

Maggie Q, best known in the West for her roles in "Die Hard 4.0" and "MI:3," stars as Cao Ying, a vicious female warrior in charge of the Wei kingdom.

Coin and post-production input came from South Korea's Taewon Entertainment, with additional funding from equity investors.

International sales are by Arclight Films, the L.A. and Australia-based sales agent, which will rep the film under its Easternlight label.

Chinese producer-distrib Polybona has China rights for the pic, which opens April 3 in South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and it will feature in competition at Tribeca mid-April.

- Story by Clifford Coonan, Variety