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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-01 09:18 Marking history
Senior director Ye Daying (pictured left) has realized his 12-year dream to shoot a film about China's most famous public structure and its role in the birth of a republic. Tiananmen will premiere this Thursday and reveals how a group of soldiers decorated the Tiananmen Rostrum before the founding day of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Ye had the idea of shooting the film in 1997, when he found an old photo of Tiananmen tower before 1949. The film is based on a true story. Only one month before the ceremony to announce the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Tiananmen Rostrum was still part of a weathered building constructed more than 500 years ago. Zhou Enlai had 20 decoration drafts to choose from but selected a design by some stage designers in the army. A group of soldiers decorated the tower in 28 days. On Oct 1, 1949, Mao Zedong and other country leaders announced the founding of a new country on this rostrum. The film was shot in Hengdian in Zhejiang province, and features a replica of the Tiananmen Rostrum. How to con a conman
Ge You (pictured left) is not so happy in his latest movie, but still is absolutely hilarious. In Gasp (Qichuan Xuxu) China's top comedian plays a conman trapped in a hoax. The film, directed by first-timer Zheng Zhong, tells a story of a Chinese businessman and his American counterpart. The two both think the other is a gullible investor and create a series of cons as they go about cheating each other. The film also stars cross-talk performer Li Jing and Taiwan actress Kelly Lin. Ji Lianhai, a middle school teacher who rises to fame after giving lectures on history on TV, has a guest role. Ge's next film is Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly (Rang Zidan Fei), co-starring Chen Kun. Rumors say that Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat will join in, too. Jet Li's special cause
Jet Li (pictured left) is moving away from martial arts and will star in a Chinese-language film about autistic people. Named Ocean Paradise (tentative title), the film is Li's first film after he announced in 2008 that he would take a break from film and focus on charity work. Li will play a father of a child with autism in the film, co-starring Taiwan actress Kwai Lun-mei, who acts as a clown in a circus. It has been 15 years since Li played a father and the last such role was in The New Legend of Shaolin (Xin Shaolin Wuzu), a kungfu film. Li says he once met some autistic children when doing charity work, and has friends suffering from the disease. He wants people to be more aware of the disease and show more care for those trapped by it. Chinese screenwriter Xue Xiaolu writes the script and directs the film, which started shooting last week and will premiere next spring. Li, 46, just finished his scenes for the upcoming action film The Expendables, which is being helmed and written by Sylvester Stallone, who also plays a starring role. Li also plays a guest role in The Founding of a Republic (Jianguo Daye), an all-star film to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China 60 years ago. The film will screen in September. |
