Gong Li (File photo)	Zhang Ziyi (File photo)

    BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhuanet)-- Noted Chinese film star Gong Li, instead of Zhang Ziyi, has been invited by director Tim Burton to lead the Hollywood movie "Believe It or Not," according to Paramount Pictures lately.     

    Gong Li, who is currently filming ace director Zhang Yimou's "Wearing Golden Armor Across the City" in Beijing, will join the cast of the movie, a biopic of actor-explorer Robert Ripley, starring Jim Carrey.

    Zhang Ziyi, another Chinese rising actress, was originally invited to lead the film, but was finally replaced by Gong Li. Gong's fluency in English is reportedly the factor that won her the role. Paramount Pictures, producer of "Believe It or Not" said Gong is more suitable.

    "Believe It or Not" picks up with Ripley at the time when he gained celebrity status through a "Believe it or Not" column that chronicled his search for the greatest oddities in the world.

    The film is expected to be finished in 2007. Tim Burton is known for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride." Jim Carrey is known for "Mask."

    Gong rose to stardom over a decade ago with art house hits like "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern." She recently carved a niche in Hollywood after appearing in "Miami Vice," "Young Hannibal: Behind the Mask" and "Memoirs of a Geisha."

    Moreover, she has confirmed her role in James Huth's English-language movie "The Yellow M," produced by the French company Telema with a budget of 33 million U.S. dollars. Enditem

(Agencies)