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New Horror-suspense Film Series Bloody Smart, Adapted From the Works of Junji Ito, Began Shooting

The first Chinese-language film adapted from the works of Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito

The new horror-suspense film series “Bloody Smart” is adapted from the works of Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito, and is produced by Miracle Production House, with the production of Taiwan Mobile, UDNdnFunLife, CTBC Venture Capital, Lots Home Entertainment, Jazzy Pictures Malaysia, Angelic-Founder, Bingo-Fund,  The opening ceremony was held recently and director and producer Guo-Lun Hsu led the cast of , , , Rin Zheng, Liu Hsiu-Fu, Devin Pan, and Edison Song in costume. Director Chun-Yi Hsieh said emotionally, “With the efforts of everyone, we were able to create another unique life for Mr. Junji Ito's work in the film.”

“Bloody Smart” was officially announced as the first Chinese-language film adapted from the works of Junji Ito, and is also a multinational film in cooperation with Taiwan and Japan, so on the eve of the opening, Junji Ito recorded a special video to send his blessings to the director and crew, in which he kindly greeted in Chinese and read out the Chinese name of “Bloody Smart”, in the preparation process, see director Hsieh and the creative team's serious efforts, whether it is casting, art and styling, scene building and props, I feel quite excited and look forward to. I would like to wish the crew good luck in filming and I look forward to meeting you all in Taiwan in the future and look forward to the success of the film.”

The lead actress, Gigi Leung, made her first appearance after completing her quarantine. She has not been in Taiwan for nearly three years due to the epidemic, and was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress for her film “Tempting Heart”. I have always wanted to expand my acting career and I am looking forward to this performance. The story of ‘Bloody Smart' is thrilling and suspenseful, intriguing, and with the need to shoot in the style of Mr. Junji Ito, it was a great challenge for the entire production team, and I am honored to be a part of it.” Gigi Leung started studying the script and preparing for the psychological state of the character three months before entering the set, in order to do her best to meet the performance requirements.

On the opening day, director Chun-Yi Hsieh also led the six new actors playing students to appear, lined up in an impressive manner, including the Golden Horse Award best new actress Buffy Chen, the Golden Horse Award nominee for mini-series/TV movie new actor Liu Hsiu-Fu, the Golden Horse Award nominee for best new actor Devin Pan, the Golden Horse Award nominee for mini-series/TV movie leading actor Edison Song, as well as the two newcomers Jie-En Yu and Rin Zheng, as for the crowd's most The most curious thing about this is that there are some prototypes of Junji Ito's character. Producer Guo-Lun Hsu said, “The characters in the movie are all chosen on a whim, and after the crew's careful creation, we hope to present the audience with a new and fresh feeling, please allow us to keep a secret first, the characters will be released one after another after the shooting starts, so please be patient and look forward to it.”

Director Chun-Yi Hsieh is quite confident in this cast combination, he said, “Gigi's acting ability is undeniable. During the first video call, her ideas about the script and the role clicked with me immediately; during the audition process, Buffy Chen showed me her unique acting flexibility.” The other young actors are all new generation actors with eye-catching appearance and great acting tension. “The roles we are playing this time are very difficult and I look forward to creating impressive performances with them.”

“Bloody Smart” is directed and written by Chun-Yi Hsieh, co-written by Yu Pei and Zheng Ya-Lan, and features a strong cast including Gigi Leung, Buffy Chen, Jie-En Yu, Elly Hsu, Rin Zheng, Liu Hsiu-Fu, Devin Pan, Edison Song and Ruby Zhan. Director Chun-Yi Hsieh said confidently, “We have the best prototype, the most sophisticated script, the most suitable actors, and a golden cast behind the scenes with cinematic specifications, so we believe we can definitely bring the flat Junji Ito into the three-dimensional world.”

About the author

Adriana Rosati

On paper I am an Italian living in London, in reality I was born and bread in a popcorn bucket. I've loved cinema since I was a little child and I’ve always had a passion and interest for Asian (especially Japanese) pop culture, food and traditions, but on the cinema side, my big, first love is Hong Kong Cinema. Then - by a sort of osmosis - I have expanded my love and appreciation to the cinematography of other Asian countries. I like action, heroic bloodshed, wu-xia, Shaw Bros (even if it’s not my specialty), Anime, and also more auteur-ish movies. Anything that is good, really, but I am allergic to rom-com (unless it’s a HK rom-com, possibly featuring Andy Lau in his 20s)"

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