'Sex and Zen' Lives Again, in 3-D

It was a feast fit for an emperor.

On Friday night, the cast and crew of '3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy,' described as the world's first 3-D erotic film, gathered at a Hong Kong restaurant to promote the Ming Dynasty-era sex romp.

Producer Stephen Shiu Jr. and director Christopher Sun lined up the movie's cast members for dinner and a photo shoot at Supreme Hot Pot ─ a bustling local establishment on a busy street corner in Kowloon's Tai Kok Tsui district, tucked behind the noisier and more chaotic Mong Kok.

William Lee ─ the proprietor of the restaurant, which is wallpapered with posters for the movie ─ was busy supervising the dinner. His eatery serves up a traditional Hong Kong favorite: raw food that's cooked in a large pot of boiling water in the center of the dining table. A bountiful assortment of fish balls, seafood, meat and vegetables was spread out across the table as the movie group posed for a crowd of journalists and photographers.

Actress Vonnie Lui, armed with a pair of chopsticks and a coquettish smile, fed leading man Hiro Hayama as photographers scrambled to capture the scene. If there was any hesitation among the stars about appearing in a soft-core movie, it wasn't on display Friday night.

'Yes, I thought about the nudity,' says Mr. Hayama, a Japanese actor who's lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and speaks Cantonese and English. 'I'm a very low-profile person.'

Mr. Hayama, who has appeared in roughly 20 Hong Kong movies, including 'New Police Story' (2004), starring Jackie Chan, says acting is his chosen profession and he'll do what's required of him.

The skin flick is a remake of 'Sex and Zen,' a notorious 1991 sex farce that over the years has reached cult status and earned its place as one of Hong Kong's most successful Category III films. (Category III is the equivalent of the NC-17 rating in the U.S.) Both films draw their inspiration from 'The Carnal Prayer Mat,' a 17th-century erotic novel by author Li Yu.

The movie is the pet project of Stephen Shiu, who produced the 1991 version, and his son Stephen Shiu Jr. (They weren't involved in two 'Sex and Zen' sequels from the 1990s.)

By some measures, the 25 million Hong Kong dollar (US$3.2 million), Cantonese-language production is part of the great tradition of Hong Kong's entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to exploit a new trend for profit: in this case, 3-D entertainment.

The younger Mr. Shiu says after watching the 2008 Hollywood movie 'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' it became clear to him that 3-D had reached maturity.

Mr. Sun, the director of the updated 3-D film, acknowledges that the movie is 'pushing the limits.' Of the film's roughly two-hour length, there are about 30 minutes of scenes that feature sex, he says, including full-frontal nudity. 'It's very vibrant, overtly funny and violent.'

'3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy' has received a storm of publicity over the past several months, and the filmmakers don't let an opportunity to promote the film slip by.

At a news conference last week at Hong Kong's Filmart, an annual film-industry trade show, the filmmakers gave journalists an early glimpse of the movie on a 3-D television. One by one, the crowd donned 3-D glasses to watch the trailer. (Nudity wasn't featured in the trailer, but there were plenty of suggestive scenes, including robust men and sultry women.)

Mr. Hayama stars in the lead role as Wei Yangsheng, a noble scholar who goes on a lustful journey of self-discovery. 'It's been like a roller-coaster ride,' Mr. Hayama says happily of the recent swirl of publicity for the movie.

Other cast members on hand Friday included Tony Ho, a Hong Kong actor and choreographer who has appeared in two other Category III movies; and Justin Chung, a Hong Kong actor and model who says he's had to bare his bottom in one other movie.

The film opens in Hong Kong on April 14 and Taiwan the next day ─ just before China's May 1 holiday week, presenting an opportunity to attract curious tourists from the mainland, where the film won't be released due to censorship rules.

Mr. Sun is hopeful at that prospect. 'Maybe they will enrich their tour with a screening,' he says.

Other release markets include Australia, New Zealand and Peru on April 14; South Korea on April 14 or 21; and France, Italy and Russia, on June 16.

Mr. Sun also anticipates a release in Singapore, where movie censorship rules are more strict than Hong Kong, although a date isn't confirmed. 'We have our fingers crossed,' he says.

It remains to be seen how audiences will respond to the film and whether the filmmakers will recoup their investment. But they remain optimistic.

'I won't rule out a sequel,' Mr. Sun says before returning to the table for another round of hot pot.

Nobel Laureate Must Step Down From Bank

Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus must step down as head of microlender Grameen Bank, a decision likely to ratchet up diplomatic tensions with the U.S.

The court ruled unanimously to uphold a central bank decision last month that Mr. Yunus, 70 years old, must resign as managing director of Grameen, which pioneered lending small amounts to poor borrowers without collateral.

The central bank found that Grameen had failed to get its approval, as required by a law that formally set up the bank, when it reappointed Mr. Yunus managing director in 1999.

Mr. Yunus appealed, but Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling ended that legal avenue. Nine of Grameen's 12 board members have launched a separate case at the Supreme Court calling for Mr. Yunus's reinstatement, which is likely to be heard Wednesday.

Mr. Yunus has remained at work since the central bank's ruling, but he appears to be running out of legal options to stay.

His ouster, if made final, could dent Bangladesh's international reputation at a time when its textile-driven economy is growing steadily and its moves to clamp down on Islamist extremism have won plaudits.

Some analysts say Mr. Yunus's fame after he shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen has angered Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and that she increasingly views the bank as a competing power center.

While Bangladesh has lurched between unstable civilian and military governments since it was carved out of Pakistan after a 1971 war, nongovernmental organizations like Grameen have grown in stature. Bangladesh received large amounts of foreign aid following independence, which spawned a huge nongovernment sector.

Grameen, which Mr. Yunus founded in the 1970s, initially was aid dependent but hasn't taken donor money since 1998, as it became more profitable.