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Director Andrew Lau on Wednesday led the entire cast of his star-studded martial-arts thriller "The Flying Guillotines" to brief the media and dispel the mysteries surrounding the casting.

Besides the previously announced actors Huang Xiaoming and Ethan Ruan, the director also presented Shawn Yue, Jing Boran, Zhou Yiwei, Pu Bajia and Li Yuchun.

Filming started in early September and is still underway.

The movie follows a team of covert agents in China's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) who use a deadly, mysterious weapon called "the flying guillotine".

However, when asked to describe details of the weapon, Lau and his actors wanted to keep it a secret until the movie is released next year.

The US$15-million film is produced by Peter Chan. Andrew Lau, a co-director of the 2002 blockbuster "Infernal Affairs", has replaced Teddy Chen, who was the original candidate for the director's spot.