Andrew Lau and Alan Mak Getting Back into the Crime Saddle

Mmmm ... though the duo made an awful lot of money with their live action take on Initial D and Andrew Lau managed to parlay his Asian success into a English language film with Richard Gere, I've found Lau and directing partner Alan Mak's output since their phenomenal success with Infernal Affairs fairly forgettable. Until now. They've announced a pair of films that will take them back to the fertile crime story grounds that made them hordes of international fans, one of which will reunite them with Infernal Affairs star Tony Leung. For the other, unfortunately, they're re-teaming with pop star Jay Chou, who can't act his way out of a paper bag. Here are the details from today's Screen Daily:

"First up is HK$60m ($7.7m) thriller Behind The Sin which is set to star Tony Leung Chiu-wai and scheduled to start shooting in May. The film tells the story of two friends - one a cop and the other a private detective - who investigate the murder of the cop's father-in-law. Media Asia is currently in talks with potential co-producers on the project.

The second as-yet-untitled film from Lau and Mak is a period epic set in Hong Kong in the 1940s. Set to start shooting in the second half of the year, it revolves around a trader from mainland China who moves to Hong Kong, attempts to set up a business and inevitably gets mixed up with local gangsters. Hot Taiwanese singer-turned-actor Jay Chou has been lined up to star in the film, which is likely to be set up as a co-production with a mainland Chinese partner."