The cast members have a group photo taken on the launch ceremony of the movie "Founding a Country" held in Beijing, Feb. 12, 2009. [ent.sina.com.cn]

A stellar cast of China's top filmmakers and actors are making a film to celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Founding a Country (a temporary title), starring prestigious directors Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang as guest actors, and household names like Andy Lau, Jiang Wen, Ge You, Vivian Wu and Chen Kun, may be the most star-studded film ever made in China.

Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group Corporation, is behind the camera and behind him is a dream team of assistant directors, including Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Peter Chan and Huang Jianxin.

The cast and production crew have kept growing since shooting started in Beijing on Feb 2.

Han says he invited them to be involved in what he calls "a gift to mother".

The cast members (from left to right Xu Qing, Zhang Guoli, Tang Guoqiang and Chen Kun) have a group photo taken on the launch ceremony of the movie "Founding a Country" held in Beijing, Feb. 12, 2009. [ent.sina.com.cn]

"I told them 'our mother is celebrating her 60th birthday - would you love to join in?' and none of them said no," he says.

Considering the roll call of those involved, the budget for the epic movie is likely to be a modest 30 million yuan ($4.4 million). Assistant director Huang Jianxin says that is because many actors didn't care what they were paid.

Andy Lau has three scenes as a Kuomintang officer; Feng Xiaogang, as Du Yuesheng, one of the three most powerful gangsters in modern China, has one set only, but with many lines; Chen Kaige is legendary general Feng Yuxiang; and A-list actress Fan Bingbing is a journalist ... with just one sentence.

Mainland actor Tang Guoqiang, who has played Mao Zedong 12 times, has the role again and Zhang Guoli, a renowned actor known for a series of ancient emperor parts, is Chiang Kai-shek.

"We are still getting many calls," said Huang. "There are many volunteers for even the most minor roles."

The film focuses on the birth of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group Corporation, also the film's general director, addresses the media on the launch ceremony of the movie "Founding a Country" held in Beijing, Feb. 12, 2009. [ent.sina.com.cn]

In 1949, the Communist Party was in control of most of the Chinese mainland and organized a political consultative conference, inviting delegates from various friendly parties and independents to attend and discuss the establishment of a new state. This conference was then named the People's Political Consultative Conference.

The inaugural conference approved the Common Program, which served as the de facto Constitution for the next five years. It also approved a new national anthem, flag, capital city and state name, and elected the first government of the People's Republic of China.

Huang says he is depicting the statesmen as a group of creative people, instead of stereotypical politicians.

In one scene, for example, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De are having a meeting. They are talking by candlelight, when Zhou mentions they are short of more candles. Mao immediately blows out the candle on the desk, saying: "Let's meet in the dark. I have to write an editorial tonight - leave the candle for that."

Huang says: "I want to show lively people who have their own characteristics."

The film is due in theaters in September, just before National Day on October 1.

(China Daily February 20, 2009)