"Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke says she is going to make a sweeping romantic epic set in an ancient Silk Road city located in present-day western China.
"Loulan" will be based on a city and kingdom of the same name that mysteriously disappeared hundreds of years ago, and its ruins are surrounded by desert in China's Xinjiang region. One mummy unearthed from the area in recent decades is known as the "Loulan Beauty," and was Caucasian with European features.
Hardwicke said the movie will be set in 200 B.C., a time when Loulan was a thriving city on the Silk Road, and revolve around a princess who would be played by an American or English actress.
The $50 million movie is a co-production involving Chinese and U.S. companies.
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