Chinese State TV Begins 40-Part Bruce Lee Biopic

Just days after I read a piece in one of the trades where someone suggested that the American TV nets get back into the miniseries business comes this, a massive miniseries that has begun shooting for CCTV in China (believe it or not, many Time Warner Cable subscribers have access to their programming, at least here in heavily Asian-populated Southern California).

A 40-part series on Bruce Lee has started production, and they'll shoot in China, Hong Kong (where Lee first became a name entertainer after flirting with acting success on US TV shows like The Green Hornet), and San Francisco. The star is Chen Guo Kun, who you might know (if you're Quentin Tarantino, or if you're just a fan of the genre) from "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle."

You've gotta wonder what the script looks like. Will this series come complete with all the political and cultural overtones one might expect, or will it be reasonably straight on? It would be interesting to see what comes of the story of Bruce Lee from the state TV station of China.