Neil Gaiman to script "Journey to the West"

Chinese TV producer, Zhang Jizhong and scriptwriter Neil Gaiman pose for photography during a news briefing of Zhang's massive 3D production, "Journey to the West" Thursday March 10, 2011.[Photo: m1905.com]

Renowned Chinese TV producer, Zhang Jizhong, announced that Neil Gaiman from England, a co-writer of the script for "Beowulf" and author of the novella, "Coraline," will write the English script for his massive 3D production, "Journey to the West."

Zhang made a TV adaptation of the "Journey" story in 2010 already, and is determined to raise about three hundred million U.S. dollars to get this classic Chinese literature onto a big-screen trilogy series.

Beijing's Star Daily reports Friday that the producer hatched the idea three years ago and he assigned Gaiman to write the screenplay.

Gaiman will work on the outline of the whole story about Monkey King's adventure first and then set hands on details of the initial.

Prominent Avatar director, James Cameron, also showed strong interest in the Monkey King story and he will be its script and tech advisor, as mentioned by Zhang in a news conference Thursday, March 10, who met Cameron last November in Hollywood. Zhang has accompanied Gaiman to tour China's Hunan and Yunnan provinces to inspect areas that may offer inspiration for the scriptwriter.

Gaiman was chosen by Zhang because of his outstanding aptitude in interpreting and embellishing classics and for his keen interest since he read this book in his childhood, which tells of a monk and three protectors traveling to the "Western Kingdom" (aka India) to retrieve sacred Buddha scrolls. The movie is targeting an international market and will be filmed in English and features a mixed-cast of Western and Chinese actors.

The film will start shooting next year and is expected to hit the big screens in 2013.

James Cameron(L) and Zhang Jizhong [File Photo: mtime.com]

Neil Gaiman attends a news briefing of producer Zhang Jizhong's massive 3D production, "Journey to the West" Thursday March 10, 2011.[Photo: m1905.com]