Taipei, April 4 (CNA) French director Luc Besson's new film "Lucy" is expected to generate interest in Taipei, where part of the action movie was shot, the Taipei Film Commission said after the trailer was released Thursday.

The trailer shows Taipei street scenes, as well as landmarks such as the Taipei 101 skyscraper, the Taipei Railway Workshop and the Yongle Fabric Market.

The exposure created by a major Hollywood company choosing Taipei as a shooting location helps promote Taiwan's capital to the world, the commission said.

Starring Scarlett Johansson, "Lucy" was mostly shot last October in Taipei, with more than 40 public and private sector organizations drafted in to help with the filming, the commission said.

The film, which features Johansson as a drug mule in Taiwan who gains supernatural ability and becomes an ass-kicking machine, spent some NT$60 million (US$ 1.98 million) on hiring 650 local people, which has contributed to Taiwan's movie industry, it added.

"Lucy" will be in theaters Aug. 6 in France and Aug. 8 in the United States. It will hit the screens in Taiwan Aug. 22, according to the studio.

(By Lee Hsin-Yin)
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