Chinese actresses Fan Bingbing and Xu Qing and Hong Kong actors Louis Koo and Donnie Yen are to star in the US$800 million project City with No Mercy.

Fan Bingbing turns from her previous role as a footbath maid in the film Apple into a beer girl in this gangster film, playing the girlfriend of an undercover policeman played by Louis Koo.

This is the second cooperation between the pair since the film The Lion Roars in 2002, and this is also the fourth blockbuster of the year for the productive actress Fan Bingbing, following her roles in the films Apple, A Battle of Wits, and The Love Call Shift.

Directed by Wilson Yip, City with No Mercy starts shooting on Sunday in Hong Kong and is set to hit Chinese cinemas during 2007's May Day holiday.

(CRI November 14, 2006)