By 1998, Wong had developed a concept for his next film "Summer in Beijing". Although no script was finalized, he and cameraman Christopher Doyle had been to Tiananmen Square and other areas of the city to do a small amount of unauthorized shooting. Wong told journalists the film was to be a musical and a love story. Wong secured the participation of Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung to star, and with his background in graphic design, had even made posters for the film. He had begun work on script treatments, which since "Days of Being Wild", he tended to treat as only a very loose basis for his work to secure financing, preferring to leave things open to change during the shoot.