China-based Road Pictures and the U.S.-based Kingsgate Films are partnering on an action-comedy film titled “US 66,” reported Variety magazine in an exclusive.
The action comedy will be written by the Oscar-winning Roger Avary, and casting of a Chinese-American actor is proceeding.
“The concept behind ‘US 66’ was to have Chinese and American protagonists who are of equal value,” said Cai Gongming, Road Pictures’ founder. “It will be a real physical and verbal culture clash, predominantly shot in English, except those parts of the story where Chinese is more appropriate.” […]
The story involves the spoiled son of a Chinese billionaire who breaks from a vacation with his father to indulge in a rather wild road trip with the former Navy Seal who is supposed to be his bodyguard.
“US 66” will be filmed in fall 2016 with a budget of about $20 million to $30 million. Cai said his company seeks to films that will play well for Chinese audiences.
There’s no word whether the movie’s setting is on Route 66, but the title obviously hints it will.
Kingsgate has produced about a dozen films, including the Oscar-winning “The Hurt Locker” and the “Harold & Kumar” comedies.
Avary’s IMDB page lists him as the screenwriter for “Beowulf,” “The Rules of Attraction” and “Silent Hill.” But he’s probably best-known for his work with Quentin Tarantino; they earned an Academy Award for their work on the “Pulp Fiction” screenplay.