Yao Ming in talks to star in NBA-approved basketball movie

Basketball has seen a significant rise in popularity in China in recent years, with several Chinese players going to play in the NBA in America. Hong Kong's Apple Daily reports that the NBA, seeing an untapped market with plenty of expansion potential in China, will be teaming up with the Shanghai Film Group to produce the basketball film Amazing, with Yao Ming, Huang Xiaoming, and Shawn Yue all in talks to star.

To be directed by stage director Sherwood Hu, Amazing follows a group of aspiring basketball players in China who become the disciples of NBA stars Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, and veteran Magic Johnson. The young players would eventually go up against their mentors when the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers are invited to play exhibition matches in China. While Huang has never acted in a sports-associated role before, Yue was a member of the Hong Kong youth basketball team, making him an appropriate choice for the film.

With the NBA reportedly offering full support for the film, Shanghai Film Group expects no problem in getting the basketball players to participate at least in cameo roles. Neither Huang nor Yue have confirmed their participation in the project, though both admit that they're in negotiations. If Amazing is greenlighted, which the Shanghai Film Group expects will happen in the next few weeks, it will begin filming during the NBA offseason in August, and wrap in October. With the salary of the NBA players and plans for extensive use of special effects, the film is also expected to have a fairly high budget.

As the opening for the Guangzhou Asian Games in November 2010 approaches, more Chinese sports films are expected to hit Chinese cinemas. China Film Group, for example, has already hired director John Woo to produce a sports film centered around the Asian Games, though no other details have been announced yet.