As the date coincides with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Silver says he hopes the film will reinforce next summer's celebrations of Chinese culture.
The fantasy action film has been shooting since May in China 's north-west Gansu province and Mount Wuyi in south-east Fujian province. The crew is currently working on studio scenes at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang province.
Produced by Silver's Casey Silver Productions and financed by Relativity Media, the film is co-produced with Beijing-based Huayi Brothers which has also acquired distribution rights for mainland China. Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company are sharing US distribution and have each taken some international territories on the film.
'It has been very smooth and very pleasant working in China and with Huayi Brothers,' says Silver who is currently in Hengdian. The $70m production also marks the first blockbuster-sized English-language film to be shot almost entirely in China and with Chinese actors in the leading roles.
Silver says the story, partly inspired by Chinese folklore story Journey To The West, was developed three years ago with the film's scriptwriter John Fusco.
Michael Angarano (Almost Famous, Seabiscuit) plays a 17-year-old American boy who accidentally finds a fighting staff in an antique pawn shop, through which he is transported back to ancient China. He takes on a quest to return the legendary weapon to the Monkey King who is being held by an evil warlord played by Collin Chou.
Jackie Chan plays the Drunken Kung-fu Master Lu Yan, while Jet Li plays the Silent Monk. Two local actresses Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing have been recruited to play Golden Swallow and the White-haired Demoness respectively.
The film is directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little) who says the film is set around the time of the Tang Dynasty and will make heavy use of special effects. Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) takes charge of cinematography and Yuen Wo-ping serves as action director and executive producer.
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