News

Zhang ZiYi is one of my favorite actresses, her acting is always great to watch, she fights very well and always chooses great movies, how can i not like her. Some of my favorite movies including Zhang are Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House Of The Flying Daggers, Rush Hour 2 and The Banquet.

Selected Filmography

2000:Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

2001:Rush Hour 2

2002:Hero

2004:House of Flying Daggers

2005:Memoirs of a Geisha

2006:The Banquet

2012:The Grandmasters

Background

Zhang was born and raised in Beijing, to Zhang Yuanxiao, an accountant and later economist, and Li Zhousheng, a kindergarten teacher. She is very close to her older brother, Zhang Zinan. Zhang began studying dance when she was 8 years old; subsequently, she joined the Beijing Dance Academy by her parents’ suggestion at the age of 11. While at this boarding school, she noticed how mean the other girls were to each...

A few years ago Cecilia Cheung would be playing the Zhang Ziyi role. My, how times have changed. I guess it makes sense from a career trajectory (you can’t play the ingenue forever), but man, it’s still a shock to see her playing the older woman manipulating people around her (and apparently she’s only 1 year older than co-star Zhang Ziyi!). More notably, this Chinese version of “Dangerous Liaisons” is directed by South Korean helmer Jin-ho Hur, who was responsible for some monster hits in his native land, including “April Snow”, though my favorites are his more naturalistic dramas like “One Fine Spring Day” and “Christmas in August”. 1930s Shanghai: the glamorous, tumultuous “Paris of the East” whose salons, streets and bedrooms frame this Chinese adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Aging socialite Mo Jieyu (Cecilia Cheung) still finds herself circling ex-boyfriend Xie Yifan (Jang Dong-kun). Even after years of separation,...

Seoul, South Korea — Along with the now inevitable galaxy of stars promoting blockbusters from across Asia, this year's Busan International Film Festival will screen a North Korean film for the first time in almost a decade as well as six classic Afghan movies that were hidden in a wall to save them from the Taliban.

The continent's showcase film festival, a glitzy nine-day affair that opens Thursday, has become a way for Asian nations such as China and especially South Korea to highlight their rise in the world pop culture scene. This year's fest will even take a break from film for a performance by South Korean rapper Psy, who galloped to global fame with his song "Gangnam Style."

But films from two nations not normally on the radar of regional cinephiles are also drawing attention.

"Comrade Kim Goes Flying," which was co-directed by a North Korean and two Europeans,...

North Korean film to screen at Busan event for the first time in decades, alongside Afghan treasures hidden from the Taliban

A South Korean film festival that is among Asia's showcase cinematic events will screen a North Korean film for the first time in almost a decade as well as six classic Afghan movies that were hidden in a wall to save them from the Taliban.

The Busan international film festival, a glitzy, nine-day affair that opens on Thursday, has become a way for Asian nations such as China and especially South Korea to highlight their rise in world popular culture.

This year's festival will even take a break from film for a performance by the South Korean rapper Psy, who galloped to global fame with his song Gangnam Style.

But films from two nations not normally on the radar of regional cinephiles are also drawing attention.

Comrade Kim Goes Flying,...

The burgeoning International Chinese Film Festival (formerly Sydney Chinese Film Festival) is still growing and facing teething problems but the opportunity to flourish in Australia is one that cannot be ignored. Luckily, in its fourth year the festival has expanded its reach yet again to include Melbourne in its competition and exhibitor film lineup, and festival director Lanwei Gong has certainly chosen some interesting and diverse picks to amuse, horrify and intrigue viewers both adept and new to mostly mainland Chinese films.Fresh from the gala opening at the Venice film festival and subsequently Tiff comes Hur Jin-ho's Dangerous Liaisons, boasting an impressive cast including Zhang Ziyi and Cecilia Cheung, and retelling the classic French tale in a period 1930's Shanghai setting. Oozing with sexuality and...

See all of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival distribution deals below. We'll be updating each day as new deals are announced. (Updated 9/10/12) The Place Beyond the Pines: Ryan Gosling teams up again with director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) for a drama set in Upstate New York, about a biker who turns to crime. With Bradley Cooper. Distributor: Focus Features. Expected release date: 2013. [The Wrap ] Dangerous Liaisons: In a new Chinese-language take of the French novel, previously adapted into multiple film versions, Zhang Ziyi and Jang Dong-gun star with Cecilia Cheung. Distributor: Well Go USA. Expected release date: Tba. [The Hollywood Reporter ] Fred Won’t Move Out: Elliot Gould stars in a drama about two grown children agonizing over...

Read More...

Toronto – On July 24th, Piers Handling, CEO and Director of Tiff, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, unveiled some of the films that will headline the 37th Toronto International Film Festival.

According to Bailey, Tiff 2012 will include the “most diverse Gala programme to date with films from Japan, China, India, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, USA and Canada”.

Handling describes this year’s festival as looking “particularly strong” with a wide variety of work from “established and emerging filmmakers.”

Toronto audiences will be first in line to see many “exciting and prestigious films” with further announcements slated in the coming weeks. Until then, here is a sample of what you can expect to see:

Looper (Opening Night film, World Premiere)

Rian Johnson, USA

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels

Directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), Looper is a futuristic action thriller set in a...

Toronto – On July 24th, Piers Handling, CEO and Director of Tiff, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, unveiled some of the films that will headline the 37th Toronto International Film Festival.

According to Bailey, Tiff 2012 will include the “most diverse Gala programme to date with films from Japan, China, India, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, USA and Canada”.

Handling describes this year’s festival as looking “particularly strong” with a wide variety of work from “established and emerging filmmakers.”

Toronto audiences will be first in line to see many “exciting and prestigious films” with further announcements slated in the coming weeks. Until then, here is a sample of what you can expect to see:

Looper (Opening Night film, World Premiere)

Rian Johnson, USA

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels

Directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), Looper is a futuristic action thriller set in a...

Continuing our assault of new movie images from this year's Toronto International Film Festival, in this grouping we’ve got the new films from Joe Wright, Ben Affleck, Robert Redford and Jin-ho Hur. Anna Karenina (directed by Joe Wright) Stars Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Argo (directed by Ben Affleck) stars Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Kyle Chandler. The Company You Keep (directed by Robert Redford) stars Redford, Shia Labeouf, Susan Sarandon, Terrence Howard, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper and Nick Nolte. Dangerous Liaisons (directed by Jin-ho Hur) stars Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang and Zhang Ziyi. Hit the jump for the images and synopses. Anna Karenina The third collaboration of Academy Award® nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic love story, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s...

Everyone would do best to beware the fury of the star of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Zhang Ziyi has vehemently denied the recent reports that claim she was missing from this year's Cannes Film Festival because she's under investigation for prostitution, according to Entertainment Tonight.

The Hong Kong news outlet Apple Daily is at the center of the story, which says that Ziyi was involved in lucrative sexual transactions with China's former Minister of Commerce, Bo Xilai, and several other political bigwigs introduced to her by Xu Ming, the founder and chairman of the Dailian Shide Group. The reports claim that these "meetings" earned Ziyi over $100 million from 2004 to 2007.

Ziyi's rep was quick to respond, promising swift legal action against the publication for their "lies" and demanding a complete retraction of their story.

"Zhang Ziyi has been busy working day and night on the set of 'The Grandmasters,'" they...

Actress Zhang Ziyi is fighting back against reports she was paid millions in exchange for sexual favors with a multitude of Chinese government officials.

Related: China Bans Lady Gaga Hits as 'Security' Threat

The Hong Kong news outlet Apple Daily is at the center of the story, claiming that Ziyi was unable to promote her upcoming film, Dangerous Liaisons in Cannes because she had been barred from leaving the country while under investigation for a sex scandal linked with China's former Minister of Commerce, Bo Xilai.

The paper alleges that a wealthy associate of the former Chinese official has confessed to paying Zhang nearly a million dollars in 2007 to have sex with her. She is also accused of sleeping with a myriad of other government officials and businessmen for large amounts of cash between 2004 and 2007.

Pics: Fierce Fashions: The Cannes Film Festival

The actress' rep was quick to release a statement flatly denying the reports as slanderous...

Ben Wheatley's Sightseers is selected for Directors' Fortnight special screening, while British theatre director Rufus Norris's debut Broken will open Critics' Week

The Cannes film festival's two major independent sidebars have announced their lineup for the forthcoming festival, providing UK and Us film-makers with a considerable boost to their presence on the Croisette.

Ben Wheatley, who has impressed critics and fans alike with his first two films, Down Terrace and Kill List, has seen his third, Sightseers, selected for a special screening in the Directors' Fortnight event, while British theatre director Rufus Norris's debut feature, Broken, has been given the opening slot for the Critics' Week section. Sightseers is described as a "pitch-black comedy" about a caravan trip around the north of England, while Broken is an adaptation of Daniel Clay's novel, and stars Cillian Murphy and Tim Roth.

Us film-makers have added to their total...