Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Shooting has started in Taipei for Hong Kong director John Woo's big budget historical drama "The Crossing," with Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro and a Japanese actress spotted filming in the mountains around Taipei Tuesday.

Kaneshiro, a fan favorite whose mother hails from Taiwan, and Japan's Masami Nagasawa were dressed in mid-20th century clothing as they shot outside a Japanese-style house built for the film in Taipei's Yangmingshan National Park.

Despite temperatures plunging to around 6 degrees, the 40-year-old actor was seen wearing just a light jacket while his costar wore a short sleeveless dress.

Dubbed the "Chinese version of Titanic," "The Crossing" is the story of three couples in China who boarded an ill-fated ship bound for Taiwan during the turmoil of 1949.

It is based on the Taiping, which capsized Jan. 27, 1949 in the Baijie Strait some 71 miles southeast of Shanghai after colliding with a cargo ship. A total of around 1,000 lives were lost, many of them well-heeled elites fleeing the onslaught of Communist troops.

The NT$1.45-billion (US$48.6-million) film features an all-star cast from around Asia, including China's Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei, South Korea's Song Hye-kyo, and Hong Kong's Bowie Lam.

Most of those actors and actresses are set to arrive in Taiwan in the near future to shoot for a month in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Lam is already in the country, according to Taiwan's Apple Daily.

Woo, known best for his action films including "Broken Arrow" and "Face/Off," is planning a media event to update on the progress of shooting in two weeks, according to the United Daily News.

(By Maia Huang)
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