Cusack leaves 1408 and takes a trip to SHANGHAI with Gong Li!

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

I found 1408 to be a big disappointment unfortunately, despite describing myself as a really big Stephen King and John Cusack fan. Yeah it was nice to get a psychological horror film in this torture porn climate and for Cusack to do something mildly interesting, but the final product was one of the biggest cliche ridden horror flicks I had seen in years, stealing it's best moments from THE SHINING and it's worst from dozens of horror failures. Though financially of course, the movie did well. 1408 crossed the $100 million dollar mark worldwide, resulting in a $75 million+ profit, John Cusack's first hit film in a long time.

Variety say that Cusack is in talks to once again star for 1408 director Mikael Hafstrom, this time for SHANGHAI, a pre-strike period drama set in China which is hoped can begin filming next year for the Weinsteins. One of Asian cinema's biggest stars Gong Li will also star in the flick from a script by Hossein Amini (THE FOUR FEATHERS)...

Cusack is in talks to play an American who returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.

Easily Hafstrom's biggest film to date and a surprising choice of film for Gong Li.

She really is a huge actress over in Asia and is the frequent star used for some of the biggest movies that country has to offer like MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER most recently but for whatever reason she can't pick a good Hollywood movie for shits. HANNIBAL RISING and MIAMI VICE? Well maybe we should let her off with the latter. Who would have thought Michael Mann would have made should an utterly unwatchable film? This could be a great film though, the acting talents are there and Hafstrom has shown some atmospheric talent with DERAILED and 1408. Li and Cusack... really intrigued to see what they can do together.