娱乐英语新闻:Jean-Jacques Annaud to direct Wolf Totem

BEIJING, Aug. 21 -- World-renowned French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud has announced that he will direct Wolf Totem, an adaptation of the best-selling Chinese novel. The highly acclaimed director reportedly turned down four Hollywood film offers to take on the project.

    Annaud made the announcement in Beijing Tuesday during the official launch ceremony for the film.

    Wolf Totem is based on a Mongolian herdsman and his relationship with wolves. Written under the pseudonym of Jiang Rong, the novel won the Asian equivalent of the Booker Prize in 2007 and is a semi-autobiographical account of life in the late 1960s in the remote China-Mongolia border region and the struggle between tradition and modernity told through a young man’s relationship with wolves.

French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud.

    Wolf Totem has been on China’s top 10 best-seller list for six years since it was published. More than 3 million copies have been sold domestically and translated into 30 languages, Wolf Totem has been published in 110 countries and regions. It was the first Chinese book to successfully enter the Western book market.

    “My interest in the relationship between humans and animals is magnificently described by this book,” explained Annaud.

    “It is the story of a young man who discovers a civilization – that has been the theme in many of my films.”

    Beijing Forbidden City Film Company purchased adaptation film rights to the book six years ago, just after it was published. However, due to the difficulty of shooting the film, no one was willing to take on the project.

    At the end of last year Annaud read the French edition of the novel. Deeply moved, he contacted the film company after reading only 100 pages.

    “It only happened twice during my life. And only I can do it!” Annaud explained excitedly.

    “You have to be very very patient about shooting animals. The domestication of wolves will take one and a half years. And the average effective scene per day may only be 20 seconds,” he said.

    One of the reasons Annaud was given the film was because of his extensive experience with animals.

    Directing The Bear in 1998 (originally L’Ours) and Two Brothers, the story of twin tiger cubs, Annaud is known for his patience and affinity with animals.

    More than 100 wolf cubs will be trained for the production, with 20 eventually chosen to star in the film.

    In preparation for production Annaud has already completed extensive research in Mongolia and China’s Inner Mongolia. While he plans to use digital techniques, Annaud said that 99.9 percent of the film would be real.

    Wolf Totem will have a strong environmental and animal protection angle.

    Annaud said that the level of environmental and animal protection in China was better than he had originally expected. The establishment of two environmentally-based charity projects associated with the film was also announced during the ceremony.

    Casting is currently underway for the movie and according to Annaud, the feature is expected to be released in three years time.