The director of a new film starring Andy Lau has pulled out all the stops—filming an enormous city invasion scene in China's Inner Mongolia region with nearly 1,000 actors. 

The scene in Mozi Gong Lue also involved dozens of horses, 400 crew members and four rolling cameras, Apple Daily newspaper said.

Shanghai Youth Daily said earlier filming took more than 40 consecutive hours. It reported that Lau did not take part in the scene and that the star is due to start filming his scenes in the ancient Chinese war movie later this week.

The film has drawn production investments from China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, totaling up to US$12.4 million. Director Jacob Cheung said the script for the movie took five years to write.

Filming will move next to Beijing, the report said. A press conference for the film, with Lau and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, is scheduled for Thursday in Beijing. 

(CRI October 18, 2005)