Actor Eddie Peng in Wu Kong. (Photo/Mtime)
The film studio asked FBI to investigate the incident that caused the studio to lose an estimated $50 million-plus in box office revenues.
Wu Kong probably was stolen in the post-production phase and was leaked at this particular time to damage its theater release, the sources said. The film will open in China on July 13 and hit 55 cities in 24 foreign countries on the same day.
The premiere was held as scheduled on Sunday in Beijing with director Derek Kwok, writer Jin Hezai and actors Shawn Yue, Eddie Peng, Ni Ni, Zheng Shuang, Qiao Shan, Yang Di, and Yu Feihong.
Jin wrote the screen script himself for the film to maintain its originality. He said that Wu Kong's Biography was very hard for a film adaptation and audiences would likely get confused by the convoluted plots, so he focused on the Monkey's rebellion against Heaven, and cut the other plot lines about the Monkey King's master monk Tang Xuanzang, maybe saving it for future sequels if this one succeeds.
Director Derek Kwok, who spent two years on the project, said he loved the original novel.
"Many dialogues in the film feel like they are coming from my heart," he said at the premiere, adding that he paid attention to every frame of the film and wanted the visual effects to be stunning and beautiful; at the same time, he wanted to capture the spirit of Wu Kong from the novel.
"Wu Kong never thinks he will lose. He will always get up again even after he falls. This is the spirit a young man should have when he deals with the world," he said.
