A Hollywood remake of film director Johnnie To Kei-fung's Breaking News is expected to hit cinemas in the next couple of years.
Gold Circle Films, a Los Angeles-based company that produced mid-budget movies such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, acquired the rights to remake Breaking News from the film's investor Media Asia at the American Film Market held in Santa Monica, California.
Media Asia's head of distribution and sales, Jeffrey Chan, said the cast and director were yet to be finalised. He believed the film would be suitable for a western audience.
'They found the film quite special because the story took place in just one building. And they liked the elements of the role of the media in the film. We have set a [production] timetable and we will stick with that,' said Mr Chan from California.
Breaking News, starring Kelly Chen Wai-lam and Richie Jen, was screened at Cannes Film Festival last year. The film tells of an attempt by police to restore their credibility by taking a TV crew to a crime scene.
Mr Chan said: 'We won't set any limitation on their interpretation. We hope they can take the original concept further. But they won't alter the story too much otherwise they wouldn't have needed to buy the remake rights.'