The shooting finally started on John Woo's long-anticipated new big budget epic, Battle of Red Cliff, on Saturday in Zhuozhou, north China's Hebei Province.

The domestically acclaimed actor Zhang Fengyi will star as historic legend Cao Cao, and was the only member of the cast in attendance at the official launch ceremony.

The absent cast members included Chow Yun-Fat, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Chiling Lin. Talk circulated that Chow Yun-Fat, cast as the major character Zhou Yu, was abandoned by the film crew due to the reportedly unreasonable high payment he asked for.

Director John Woo said the stars would join the entourage in the coming week.

The costumes for the ancient epic were also unveiled on Saturday. The art director is Ye Jintian, who worked as the art director for Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He said the film will have a romantic visual style.

The film has managed to gather a heavy investment of US$75 million.

It is slated to premiere next year. Earlier reports said two different versions will be released, one for Asian audiences and one for people outside the region.

Battle of Red Cliff director John Woo (right) and producer Han Sanping (left) at the ceremony to launch the start of the film shoot in Zhuozhou in north China's Hebei Province on Saturday, April 14, 2007. 
 

One of the members of the cast for Battle of Red Cliff. Shooting for the film started in Zhuozhou in north China's Hebei Province after the ceremony on April 14, 2007.

(CRI.cn April 15, 2007)