U.S. actor Bruce Willis and South Korean actor Song Seung-heon have been cast in a Chinese war film.

    Willis flew Tuesday night to Shanghai after signing on just last week for eight days of shooting on “The Bombing” — a dramatic recreation of the Chinese population’s abiding endurance during the more than five years that Japan bombed the city of Chongqing beginning in 1938. More than 11,000 died, mostly civilians. While the Chinese had fighter planes, they initially lacked pilots to get them in the air and relied on American volunteers to teach them. Willis plays one of those volunteers while Song is the Chinese trainee learning to fly to protect his homeland.

    The film, jointly funded by China Film Group and private investors, is scheduled to be in production through August and to premiere as soon as the end of the year. The rapid schedule is designed to have the release roughly coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Sources put the budget at US$90 million, making it one of the most expensive Chinese films ever.

    Executive producer Yang Buting of China Film Promotion International said his team sought out Willis because of the American’s popularity with Chinese audiences.

    Directing the epic is Xiao Feng, who previously made 2012’s “Hushed Roar,” also a war feature. The Chinese helmer recently announced on his microblog that “The Bombing” also will feature Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse and mainland actor Liu Ye.(SD-Agencies)