HERO Films, which has recently opened offices in Melbourne and Los Angeles, has its first production in the works. “Manhattan Love Story” is a romantic comedy starring Adrien Brody and Chinese star Ni Ni and directed by Andy Tennant (“Hitch”). The pic is set to start shooting next month in New York with a US$15 million budget. Tennant wrote the script with Rick Parks and Brody.

    “Manhattan Love Story” centers on a pair who are from far different lands and backgrounds — he’s Italian, she’s Chinese. They meet through a series of comedic and touching moments centered on their cultural differences and fall in love in New York City.

    Ni is most known to U.S. audiences for co-starring opposite Christian Bale in Zhang Yimou’s 2011 epic “The Flowers of War.”

    Brody, an Oscar winner, recently produced and co-starred in “Dragon Blade,” which grossed US$72m in its first week and more than US$120 million in its first month in February.

    (SD-Agencies)