Director John Woo brought the star-studded cast and crew from epic movie The Battle of Red Cliff to their first press conference on Thursday.

Most of the stars were in attendance in Beijing including Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chang Chen, Chiling Lin, and Zhao Wei, to discuss their characters.

The epic shoot has been under consistent media attention due to the drama surrounding it. In mid-April, after shooting had begun, star Tony Leung dropped out but then returned to fill in the gap left by another departing A-lister Chow-Yun Fat.

Chow Yun-Fat reportedly left on the second day of the shooting, citing various reasons but director John Woo said on Thursday that things were progressing smoothly.

The film is also being pressured for success since with an US$80 million budget, it will be the most expensive Asian film ever made.

The who's who cast list is also surrounded by a dream production team with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon art director Timmy Yip teaming up with Woo to ensure a feast for audiences when the film premieres next year.

(CRI.cn via china.org.cn May 11, 2007)