Chinese director Gu Changwei's latest work The First Day of Spring, or Li Chun, will soon be finished in Beijing. 　　

 

The director said yesterday that compared to his last awarded film Peacock, this film would be welcomed by more audiences.

 

 

Director Gu Changwei and actress Jiang Wenli (R1, 2)

 

Since The First Day of Spring has a more complex storyline and profound changes of emotion, he believed that it would probably be easier to move general audiences. 　　

 

The director also gave high praise for the lead actress, Jiang Wenli, who is also his wife. 　　

 

It is the second time the couple have cooperated in a film. 　　

 

In order to win the leading role in the film, Jiang has learned a dialect, to play the piano, to perform opera, and has even put on weight-around 15 kilograms-to meet the requirements of the role. 　　

 

"She is the most diligent actress in the crew and it turned out that her performance is the highlight in the film." Gu says, objectively of course. 　　

 

As a follow-up to his previous project, Peacock, The First Day of Spring is about three mini-stories in a under-developed small northern Chinese city during the 90s decade. 　　

 

At last, the director also revealed that he is expected to be the cameraman for big-name John Woo's project Battle of Red Cliff.

 

(CRI June 13, 2006)