Regent Entertainment has boarded Media Asia's English-language action flick, The Unicorn Hunt.

The film, to be directed by Li Chai Ngai, is a light-hearted action film in the mould of The Thomas Crown Affair. It is the story of a reporter and a CIA sleuth on the hunt of a modern day Robin Hood, who is mistakenly assumed to be a criminal mastermind.

Media Asia and Regent will co-invest in the picture, where the budget has already climbed to $8m, and each handle separate sales territories. Regent will sell in North and South America and Europe; Media Asia, Asia and the rest of the world.

The film is the first to flow from an eight-picture pact signed at Cannes this year, and follows the two companies' collaboration on Gen-Y Cops. "There are corridors of recoupment with revenues flowing into a common pot," said Regent chief Mark Harris.

Shooting is set for late December. Farewell My Concubine star Leslie Cheung plays 'The Unicorn' and Kelly Lin (The Legend Of Zu) is in talks for the role of the reporter.