Movie star Jet Li speaks during a news conference for the movie "The Forbidden Kingdom," in Hengdian, eastern China's Zhejiang province, June 14, 2007. Li is set to rake in 100 million yuan (US$13.47 million) for his latest movie "The Warlords," a record for an actor in a Chinese-language film, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. [File Photo: Reuters/Aly Song]

Chinese action star Jet Li could get 100 million yuan (US$13.47 million) for starring in the battle epic "The Warlords," breaking the record for an actor in a Chinese-language film, according to the movie's director.

Nearly half the budget for the US$40 million Chinese epic went to the cast, with 100 million yuan to Jet Li, 16 million yuan to Hong Kong star Andy Lau, 12 million yuan to Takeshi Kaneshiro, and 2 million yuan to Xu Jinglei.

"Without Jet Li, we would not dare to invest 40 million U.S. dollars in a Chinese-language film," said director Peter Chan.

Chan stressed that Li was the "guarantee" for global sales.

According to Chan, lead actors in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters usually get the equivalent of 120 million yuan, but Li agreed to accept less because of his friendship with Chan.

But the 100-million-yuan payday still broke the record for a star in a Chinese film -- one that was held by Li himself, Chan said. Li previously got 70 million yuan for starring in Zhang Yimou's "Hero."

"The Warlords" is an epic about three blood brothers and their struggle amid war and political upheaval. It is based on "The Assassination of Ma," a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) story about the killing of General Ma Xinyi.

The story was previously filmed under the title of "The Blood Brothers" by Zhang Che in 1973.

A release of the new film on December 13, 2007 is listed for the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and southeast Asia. It is scheduled to be released from next March in North America.