|
NEWS ITEMS FEBRUARY 2009 Feb 27: I am still searching for news on a daily basis, but there have been no announcements or sightings recently. There is a mention of Gong Li in the Independent (UK) newspaper: Sheila Johnston asks, “Whatever happened to the femme fatale? … Sultry, smouldering temptresses lit up the screen in cinema's golden age - but where are they now?" Female filmmaker Mary Harron answers, "I think of Gong Li as the Chinese Garbo. There are many beautiful and interesting women in the Hollywood pantheon … but we haven't had somebody as enigmatic as Gong Li for a long time." Feb 13: “ReelAlityBytes” saw the “Shanghai” test screening in NYC on Wednesday and posted a few comments on imdb.com. S/he wrote that “Gong Li looked gorgeous as always” and “she portrayed the role well”. Another positive element: the “cinematography was pretty damn good in general”. The negatives: the film “seemed overly long” and there are too many flashbacks involving the Paul Soames character remembering his friend who disappeared, in that viewer's opinion. Feb 11: Gong Li is one of Entertainment Weekly magazine’s “24 International Hotties”. From the EW web site: “It's International Flirting Week -- so here are some of our favorite born-on-a-distant-shore candidates… Gong Li: …For one, she delivers any number of sumptuous performances in Mandarin in several classic Chinese films. For another, even when it's hard to catch her English dialogue, you can always take in her striking, otherworldly beauty.” ->Photo/Article Feb 10: Another casting rumor… It is reported on Chinese news sites today that director Wong Kar-Wai wants Gong Li to play the leading lady in his next film, "Kung-Fu Master". The project is based on the life of Bruce Lee’s martial arts teacher, Yip Man, and is a project that Wong Kar-Wai has been developing for several years. Tony Leung is attached to play the leading role, and the project is currently set to begin filming in June. Yip Man’s son revealed Wong Kar-Wai’s idea to cast Gong Li while giving an interview today, but the casting idea is unconfirmed by others associated with the project. Gong Li worked with Wong Kar-Wai previously on "Eros" and "2046". Feb 8: A test screening of “Shanghai” is being held February 11 at the Regal Union Square Stadium 14, New York City. Feb 7: Malaysian writer/filmmaker Edmund “Swifty” Yeo wrote on his blog that he saw a portion of a “Shanghai” promo reel at the Berlin Film Festival: “I walked by the booths and saw numerous interesting teasers for upcoming films… I also saw the promo videos for this film, Shanghai, starring Gong Li, John Cusack, Ken Watanabe and Chow Yun-Fat… I didn't see the entire promo, since I was just walking by. So only caught the last 30 seconds. Just lots of intense shots of Ken Watanabe angsting, Gong Li looking sad, John Cusack saying some things to Gong Li, and Chow Yun Fat shooting lots of people down with a tommy gun. I'll check the promo again when I return to the place and give a more detailed description of the promo.” Feb 3 : More casting rumors -- There is a brief mention of an upcoming Zhang Yimou film - "13 Nanjing Women" - in an article that lists future projects by the top Chinese directors. The reporter wrote that a production company spokesperson said yesterday that Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Dong Zie are being considered for roles. An official start date has not been announced. The mention of "Yimou Girls" - actresses who made their film debuts in Zhang Yimou films - is probably just be a way to create buzz, in my opinion, but people who have read the novella on which the film is based feel that Gong Li would fit the lead female role very well. Whether or not she is interested (or already attached) has not been officially announced. Meanwhile, the film version of "Marvin's War" (previously a TV series) is to begin shooting in early March in X'ian, and producer Gao Jianwen claims that Gong Li was approached to play the lead female role, but turned it down because she felt that she would be repeating herself. Feb 2: A report being copied in the Chinese media today includes the info that director Paul Verhoeven is preparing a follow-up to his acclaimed film, “Black Book”. From CriEnglish: “In ‘Black Book 2’ Verhoeven will centre on the 30,000 Jewish refugees who sought sanctuary in Shanghai during World War II with a Chinese actress expected to play the lead female role.” In another article, it is claimed that Verhoeven will visit Shanghai in June to visit several “important sites… to get more first-hand information”, and that he is most interested in casting Gong Li or Maggie Cheung in the lead female role.
|