Chinese stories, Hollywood thrills
Director Zhang Yimou says his next film will be "an action blockbuster with a fantastic touch"
Zhang Yimou, director of “Raise the Red Lantern”, “Hero” and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, says that his new English-language film will revolve around the Great Wall.
Speaking at his alma mater, the Beijing Film Academy, with fellow “Godzilla” director Gareth Edwards, Zhang enthused about the latest technology in film production.
“I watched Edwards’ film and was very impressed with the imaginative visual effects,” Zhang said. “My new film will also be visually spectacular with intense computer-generated images.”
Zhang, 64, is familiar with Godzilla, the monster that originated in a 1954 Japanese film and has since been featured in many film and television works. When a student asked Edwards why the Godzilla in his film poster looks fatter than previous incarnations of the legend, Zhang joked about it.
“In the film it feeds off radiation, so maybe it’s getting fat to remind us human beings that we have abused nuclear power,” Zhang chuckled.
Zhang’s project, tentatively titled “The Great Wall”, will be co-produced by Chinese studios and Legendary East, a branch of Hollywood’s Legendary Pictures. Legendary East also co-produced “Godzilla” with Warner Brothers.
What will set his film apart from other fantasy blockbusters, Zhang proudly notes, is the Chinese culture that propels the storyline.
“This film is a historic one, not only because it is my first personal attempt at working with Hollywood, but also because it will be a truly global blockbuster with strong Chinese elements.”
Finding the right balance between appealing to an international audience and promoting Chinese culture will be a demanding challenge even for Zhang, one of the world’s most acclaimed Chinese filmmakers.
“By and large, a film touches its audience with its story, emotions and characters,” he says. “Visual effects are important, because today’s audiences - mostly young people - expect to see spectacle in a film. But any attempt to promote culture will never be realised without an engaging story and convincing characters.”
By co-producing the film with Legendary East, Zhang will lead a group of Chinese filmmakers to learn from Hollywood, which he believes will be of significance to Chinese film industry.
“This film will hopefully lift up some local filmmakers, who will be endowed with the chance to work with counterparts in Hollywood and learn from their advanced technology and filmmaking philosophy,” Zhang says.
Zhang is among China’s leading filmmakers. His most recent theatrical release, “Coming Home”, about a middle-aged couple’s reunion after political upheavals, has earned 300 million yuan (Bt156.4 million) since its premiere on May 16.
