Mainland Chinese actor Deng Chao, who is known for both his acting and directing skills, faced a setback last year with the movie “China Table Tennis: The Counterattack” co-invested and starred in by him and his wife Sun Li. The film was pulled from theaters just two days after its release, resulting in an estimated loss of around 130 million yuan (RMB). Following the significant losses from the directorial venture, Deng Chao has recently returned to focus on acting.
On August 13th, the official announcement of the sequel “Assassinating a Novelist 2,” starring Deng Chao and Dong Zijian, confirmed the start of production. The film delves into the story of novelist Lu Kongwen, who, amidst a personal low, succumbs to immense temptation leading to irreversible crises for both himself and the characters in his book, thus opening the door to a dual-world adventure.
Of note is that the female lead for the sequel has not been officially announced yet, and the previous leading lady Yang Mi will be absent from this installment.
According to reports from “Sina.com,” the first installment of “Assassinating a Novelist” currently holds a rating of 6.5 on Douban. While the overall reception is not overly high, it is praised for its visual effects and considered as one of the nation’s “ceilings” in terms of domestic film production. The filming process involved a vast area of 170,000 square meters with over 20 sets, lasting 185 days, and post-production alone took two and a half years with a team of 800 people, offering audiences a visually impactful experience in cinemas.
Last year, Deng Chao’s directorial and acting project “China Table Tennis” was withdrawn from theaters just two days after its New Year release due to poor box office performance. Even after a re-release for 33 days, the total mainland box office earnings barely crossed the 100 million mark. Although the exact production costs were not disclosed by the studio, insiders estimated the budget to be around 350 million yuan, with Deng Chao’s company “Tianjin Orange Image Media Company” being one of the major investors.
Despite online jokes suggesting that Deng Chao, as director and lead actor, along with his wife Sun Li’s salary, could have earned a total of 200 million, including Deng Chao’s personal investment of 100 million, media reports in China have highlighted the film’s box office falling short of 100 million, resulting in financial losses for Deng Chao. In recent years, he has relied on Sun Li’s frequent acting projects to cover the investment deficits.
Rumors have circulated that Deng Chao, after facing the challenges of significant losses from his directorial works, has parted ways with his long-time collaborator, director Yu Baimei. Deng Chao’s decision to focus on acting again is seen as a safer approach to recover from financial setbacks. Regarding his return to acting, Deng Chao has only hinted through his studio that he will abide by the official announcements from the production team and strive to fulfill his role as an “actor” diligently.