Christian Bale Cast in NANJING HEROES

Loved the opening ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics? Yeah, me too. Who didn’t, right? Well then we can all celebrate knowing that the director of that spectacle has another project coming up.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, China’s most famous director Zhang Yimou is taking on Nanjing Heroes. Christian Bale has also been tapped to star in the film, which is about the Nanjing Massacre, when Japanese troops killed thousands of Chinese citizens in what was then the nation’s capital in 1937.

The story has been the subject both Chinese and co-produced films, all of which have included the character of John Rabe, a German businessman who helped save hundreds of Chinese refugees. Bale will not be playing the role of Rabe, instead he will play an American priest who helps many Chinese people escape death.

The script was written by Yan and Liu Heng and will be shot in about 40% English with the rest in Mandarin Chinese. Zhang has yet to make any other cast or crew announcements.

After playing a five-minute video mash up of clips from Bale’s films at a press conference, Zhang had this to say about the actor:

“I met Christian in America and was impressed with his serious book research for the role.”

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