Lieland

Hong Kong auteur Pang Ho-cheung will make his first directing foray into English-language filmmaking with an adaptation of Lieland from Israeli novelist Etgar Keret’s 2012 short story collection Suddenly, A Knock on the Door.Pang, who has signed to CAA for all non-Chinese-language directing and screenwriting work, has acquired the story’s film adaptation rights through his Making Film Productions banner. The project is now in development, and Pang intends to write the first draft of the script himself before finding an native English-speaking screenwriter from the U.S. for further script development. The project will be shot in the U.S., with an intended cast of American actors.Lieland tells the story of a perpetual liar entering a world where all his lies came true. The film adaptation will be a CG-heavy romantic comedy.Pang also is set to make an appearance in front of the camera, starring in the comedy The Hell Bank Heist with fellow helmer Derek Tsang, who is nominated for best director for Soul Mate at the upcoming Hong Kong Film Awards. The film was written and will be directed by Jimmy Wan, Tsang's former helming partner on Lover’s Discourse and Lacuna. Pang also will produce Hell Bank Heist.“All actors want to direct, so we thought, why can’t directors be leading men?” Pang tells The Hollywood Reporter. Hell Bank Heist is being produced by Hong Kong’s Sun Entertainment Culture.