CHRISTIAN BALE AND ZHANG YI MOU TO TEAM ON NANJING MASSACRE FILM

Zhang Yi Mou at Press Conference for
Nanjing Heroes

The Hollywood Reporter has just announced that famed Chinese Director Zhang Yi Mou (Hero) will be helming a new Film titled Nanjing Heroes, based historically on the Nanjing Massacre. The Film, will cost approximately $90.2 million US, making it one of the most expensive Chinese Films to ever be made.

Zhang has announced that the Cast will star acclaimed Actor Christian Bale of The Dark Knight and more recently The Fighter, in the role of a Priest named John who helped save a great number of Chinese refugees. About 40% of the Film will be in English.

The Director met with Bale recently and is said to have been v. impressed by the amount of research which he had put into the role and production begins January 10, 2011 near Nanjing, on a replica Set.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese History, the Nanjing Massacre began December 13, 1937 and saw hundreds of thousands of Chinese Women and Men murdered.  It is estimated that up to 80,000 Chinese Women were raped in the duration in which the Japanese captured Nanjing, former Capital of China.

MAGGIE CHEUNG'S RODARTE COLLECTION FOR UNICEF

I don't often get to cover Asian artists on my blog, but today I want to pay tribute to an exceptional actress who has helped place Chinese cinema on the map internationally.  To say that Maggie Cheung is elegance incarnate would be an understatement.  

Cheung was born in Hong Kong and spent most of her adolescence in London, England before moving back to Hong Kong, landing a job as sales representative at an upscale department store Lane Crawford.  In 1983, she placed as first runner-up in TVB's Miss Hong Kong Pagaent and from there she went on to gain starring roles in campy television series for a number of years before branching into cinema.

There has been no turning back since then.  She has won Best Actress Awards at the prestigious Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals.  In 2007, The New York Times hailed Cheung as one of the 22 Greatest Performers of the year for her performance in ex-husband Olivier Assayas' film Clean, which was filmed across Canada, France and England.  The role demanded she speak fluently in English, French and Cantonese.  And she did it with ease. It also brings me great pride to know she filmed the movie, which earned her that prestigious award at Cannes, here in Toronto.

Many of you might not know this but Cheung actually appeared in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 hit Inglourious Basterds, although her scenes were cut from the final version we saw in theatres.   Tarantino called her in Cannes to let her know that his film was already clocking at over 150 minutes, leaving little room for any footage not central to the story.  She is pretty much in retirement mode now as an actress.

American fashion house Rodarte previously collaborated on a collection with Target and known most for its deconstructed/gothic looks.  It has teamed up with upscale Hong Kong fashion retailer JOYCE, Swarovski Elements and Cheung herself to create a one-time only collection for UNICEF.  Each piece was featured recently at a private silent auction/exhibit as one-of-a-kind pieces and together they raised  over $500k HK (approximately $100k CAN/US) for the cause.