'Elvis of France' to fill Hong Kong movie role vacated by Alain Delon

So much for director Johnnie To Kei-fung working on a film with French legend Alain Delon. That collaboration has come to naught as the actor has decided to drop out of Vengeance, a story about a retired assassin who comes to Hong Kong to avenge his daughter's murder.

However, the Hong Kong director wasn't about to give up on his movie so easily. So instead of one French icon, he found himself another cool customer. Seen arriving in the city earlier this month was legendary French rocker Johnny Hallyday (right). Often called the Elvis of France, the 65-year-old is now the new star of the thriller. He is joined by co-star Sylvie Testud, recently seen alongside Marion Cotillard's Oscar-winning performance in the Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose.

The film is written by To's long-time collaborator, Wai Ka-fai, and features such local regulars as Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Simon Yam Tat-wah and Lam Suet. Several movie trade magazines have reported the budget as US$11.5 million and the tentative release date is next summer.

So far, sightings of the Gallic rock hero have been sparse. In case you're not familiar with Hallyday, contrary to the Canadian comedy team that prank-called Sarah Palin, he is not Nicolas Sarkozy's special American adviser.