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Zhang immersed in working on Olympics ceremonies

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-18 10:18

Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou says he's immersed in designing the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and will miss this year's Cannes Film Festival as a result.

"I need to focus my energies on the Olympics. I can't be distracted. This is my commitment to the country," Zhang said at a press conference to promote the soundtrack of a stage show he's directing.

"I nearly don't have any time to rest, except for sleeping ... Our team has devoted all its time. We want to do a good job," he said.

Zhang said he was invited to attend the film festival in Cannes, France, which kicked off Wednesday, but he was too busy working on the Olympics project.

"The chairman of the festival wrote me a long letter inviting me to go. I kept apologizing. I didn't go because the Olympics is more important," he said.

Besides Zhang, American director Steven Spielberg is also advising on the opening and closing ceremonies.

Zhang's "To Live" won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1994.