While Tarsem Singh has only been directing films since 2000, he has never been known for being prolific. Between 2000 and 2011, the filmmaker only made two films, and even those were six years apart (for comparison, Steven Soderbergh, in that time, was able to direct 14 features, one two-part/four-and-a-half hour epic, and 10 episodes of an HBO series). Lately, however, Singh has been on a roll. After releasing Immortals in late 2011, he immediately turned around and directed the Snow White adaptation Mirror Mirror, which came out in late March. It wouldn't have surprised us if the filmmaker decided to go back underground and take some time to develop his next project, but he's already gotten started and has now found one of his stars.
Screen Daily has reported that Gong Li has been tapped for a lead role in Tarsem Singh's film about explorer Marco Polo. Gong is best known for her work in films like Memoirs of a Geisha, Miami Vice, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Hannibal Rising. Her last film, the Chinese remake of the Mel Gibson comedy What Women Want, came out in 2011. The new project, which doesn't seem to have a title just yet, will apparently be a co-production between the US and the Chinese and will feature multiple Chinese actors. Said Gong, "So far the collaboration between China and the US has mainly involved Chinese actors going to work aborad, so it’s a great thing to have a Chinese story shoot in China with both Chinese and foreign actors."
The site doesn't say who wrote the script, but the story follows Polo during the 13th century as explored China. It has not been announced who will be playing the lead in the film.
