Chinese producer Jon Jiang announced that his first film, 3D underwater actioner Empires of the Deep, will have a budget of $130m, making it the most expensive Chinese film ever made. Jiang is one of China’s richest men, having made his fortune in real estate, and this will be his debut as a film producer. Jiang describes Empires, for which he also wrote the script, as the first genuine contender for an international-scale production made in China. The film is to be directed by Canadian Michael French and stars Bond girl Olga Kurylenko (Centurion), and has been shooting around China for six months. In May, a year of post-production work will start, before the movie hits screens in 2011. ‘Avatar has opened a new era for the film market,” said Jiang. ‘So I think we must keep up with this new trend. We will share income of the film accordingly with local distributors in countries around the world.’