At the press conference in Beijing yesterday for The Viral Factor, Jay Chou said his hand is not for holding a gun but playing the piano.

This is not exactly his first action movie if one would consider Initial D and Kung Fu Dunk as action movies. I mean they were not exactly the same genre as his Secret. Even Curse of the Golden Flower had some action and not to forget his Hollywood debut, The Green Hornet. But I’d expect The Viral Factor to be especially gritty considering it’s Dante Lam (Beast Stalker) who is the director.

Here’s one of the first trailers:

The film was shot in Jordan and Malaysia. Earlier reports said they were also going to shoot in Vietnam and Thailand. What happened?

The Viral Factor’s story is classic Dante Lam, two male leads against each other. Jay and Nicholas Tse play members of an elite terrorist unit who head to the Middle East to find a deadly virus. Nic betrays the group and Jay must stop him from spreading the virus.

It’s just a pity that most of the stories coming out of The Viral Factor are focused on Nic and his troubled marriage. But this post is not about Nic so the photos will all be of the Chairman.

I bet he’s going to sing the movie theme?

(Photos from various sources)