Jack Ma, the eccentric CEO of online marketplace Alibaba, has a well-documented flair for the theatrical. Now the South China Morning Post – a newspaper owned by Ma – reports their boss will assume a starring role in the upcoming short movie Gong Shou Dao.
The film’s known credits, other than Ma himself, include action movie legends such as Donny Yen and Tony Jaa, with executive production by Jet Li. It’s set to debut November 11 on Youku, a Chinese YouTube competitor.
Supposedly Ma’s role in the film was intended to promote tai chi, which may well be the case. Conveniently, Ma and Li co-own a tai chi learning business called Taiji Zen.
The movie’s release also coincides with Singles Day, a major Chinese shopping holiday equivalent to Black Friday. According to SCMP, which again, is owned by Jack Ma, “Alibaba said the two events were not linked.”
On his personal blog, Jet Li writes, presumptuously, that “we all know that Jack is a Taiji Master himself” and that “it will definitely be an exciting short film to watch”.