Edison Chen back in theaters with ‘The Sniper’

Opening this week to theaters in Hong Kong is director Dante Lam’s THE SNIPER, an action thriller starring Richie Ren, Huang Xiaoming and scandal-ravaged pop star Edison Chen in a story about a police sniper (Ren) and a hot-headed rookie (Chen) who team up to take down a former friend and teammate (Huang) who is exacting revenge on the police force. With choreography by veteran action director Yuen Tak and an action-packed trailer, the film promises plenty of Hong Kong-style gunplay and excitement.

It has been reported that the film’s release had been delayed for roughly a year due to a major scandal early in 2008 involving its star Edison Chen.

The film may have been produced before the ruckus started but THE SNIPER is now Chen’s first Hong Kong movie release since his involvement in a now infamous photo sex scandal involving numerous Hong Kong actresses rocked the Hong Kong entertainment industry and put an end to his career amid a circus of media coverage, police investigations, death threats, and a mix of global fan community condemnation, support and curiosity.

Chen announced his retirement from the entertainment industry in February of 2008 after bowing out of Stephen Fung’s JUMP. He has been living in his native home in Canada ever since.

Even as Chen makes his return this week to the Hong Kong box office, the saga of his scandal continues. A trial began on April 6th in Hong Kong for Sze Ho-chun, the man accused of taking illicit pictures off of Chen’s laptop and uploading them to the internet. On February 24th, Chen was in a British Columbia courtroom testifying against Sze because he had refused to return to Hong Kong. Due to a special legal arrangement between Canada and Hong Kong, Chen was able to testify without leaving the country.

It’s uncertain how the scandal will affect the box office success of THE SNIPER now that a year has passed. The film held its premiere on February 24th at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Festival and Chen was not in attendance, nor was his name mentioned. Despite this, the film’s director and cast in attendance reportedly received a standing ovation at the end of the screening.

Sources: Associated Press, Huffington Post, MSN Singapore