Founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba Jack Ma is set to make his big-screen debut alongside action stars in a kung fu movie to promote tai-chi, Chinas ancient martial art form. The appearance of Ma, 53, in the movie Gong Shou Dao (The Art of Attack and Defence) is to promote tai chi which the billionaire has pursued for decades. The movie will be released on 11 November on the day of an online shopping extravaganza known as Singles Day in China, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Jack Ma prancing around the stage while dressed as Michael Jackson
Ma, who will debut alongside action stars Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung Kam-bo, assembled the team to realise his decade-long dream of becoming a tai chi master, the company said. He unveiled the movies poster on his microblog account, showing him surrounded by the other stars. "That night ... that dream," Ma wrote in the post, without giving details of the plot. The movie will also feature Wu Jing, whose Wolf Warrior II reset box office records in China.
Other big names in the movie include champion boxer Zou Shiming, Thai actor Tony Jaa and retired Mongolian sumo champion Asashoryu Akinori. Along with Jet Li, Ma started a lifestyle company called Taiji Zen offering tai chi courses online. Ma had also done magic shows and sung Peking Opera. One of Chinas richest men, as well as one of the wealthiest people in Asia, Ma has a net worth of USD 47.3 billion. He was ranked second in Fortune's 2017 "Worlds 50 Greatest Leaders" list.
Published Date: Nov 02, 2017 07:22 am | Updated Date: Nov 02, 2017 07:22 am
