Film in China

- Work remains Wang's reward
Slumped over in an orange, velvety sofa at a teahouse in Beijing's Sanlitun area, Wang Xiaoshuai appears both relaxed and spirited. The man, who is in his early 40s, is one of China's most active directors.

- Snapshot of jubilant movie mogul
Looking back on 2007, Wang Zhongjun said that he felt extremely happy. China has witnessed flourishing development during the past seven years. "Fortunately, Huayi Brothers seized their chance," said Wang, the group's president, contently.

- Tang Wei in eyes of those who know her
Ang Lee: "Every one has seen her performance. It is amazing, as if she's not acting. It is hard to say who is helping whom in terms of me and Tang Wei, because it is her who shapes Lust, Caution."

- Li Yu's forbidden fruit
Li Yu is bursting onto the international film stage with her new provocative feature about modern China. Her latest, Lost in Beijing, received rave reviews and accolades from many international film festivals.

- Director, three actors break out of character
Peter Chan is known for his love tales; Jet Li is a martial arts hero; Andy Lau is a good-looking idol; Takeshi Kaneshiro is a heartthrob. But in "The Warlords," they all break out of character.

- Media tycoon Run Run Shaw turns 100
Hong Kong entertainment guru Run Run Shaw became a centenarian on Thursday. His 100th birthday was celebrated with a ceremony on Thursday evening in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of TVB which is a dominant producer of Cantonese TV dramas.

- Feng Xiaogang: The People's Filmmaker
Among China's three most powerful directors, Feng Xiaogang is perhaps the only grassroots hero. People often refer to Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige as masters, but when talking about Feng, they smile as if he is a sweet neighbor who always invites you to share his dumplings.

- Shooting At the Sun
"I want to make my films taste like strong liquor; I don't like stuff of 'soft-drink' kind," said Jiang Wen, who is busy promoting his third film, The Sun Also Rises. "Actually, I am unlikely to shoot those soft kinds of movies. I am a man neither too simple, nor too complicated, and there's no way for me to pretend to be muddle-headed."

- One Plus One Plus One Equals One?
Halfway through Jet Li's film, Fearless, a biopic about China's 19th-century kungfu master Huo Yuanjia, Li's character Huo is shocked when he returns to his home city of Tianjin. The streets are crawling with Westerners lambasting the Chinese as "Asia's sickly people".

- Golden Boy of the Box Office
Xia Yu was born in Qingdao, Shandong Province in 1976 and was first discovered by director Jiang Wen 18 years later.

- Zhang Ziyi: Lucky, Diligent, So Am I Today
Zhang Ziyi was nominated candidate for "most influential Chinese in 2006" by 10 major Chinese media. "It's a great honor to me, but I have never thought of myself anything particularly outstanding," the actress, who starred in " Memoirs of a Geisha", told Phoenix TV recently.

- The Rise and Rise of Yu Nan
The lights were already there. The cameras were ready. And action started as soon as she stepped on the red carpet at the 57th Berlin Film Festival. Yu Nan responded with her confident smile. Her full lips and deep-set eyes, journalists said, were more captivating in real life than on screen.

- The Versatile Vivian Hsu
In just its first two weeks of release, The Knot has brought millions of moviegoers to tears. The melancholy love story stars Chen Kun, Li Bingbing and the topic of CCTV's "The List" today, Taiwan actress Vivian Hsu. Vivian Hsu takes the romantic lead in The Knot. Her character spends a lifetime waiting for the man she loves. Vivian had to handle an incredible leap in years, from teenager to a matron in her late fifties.

- Crownless Queen Carina
Carina Lau was in the running for Best Actress, at last week's Taiwan Golden Horse Awards. The prize was ultimately snatched by Zhou Xun. But Carina has put in so many excellent performances in her twenty year career, that tops today's The List. 　

- Aaron Kwok - More Than An Idol, An Actor
At last Hong Kong's Aaron Kwok, famed as a singer, dancer and great-looking guy, has proved he can act. He won laurels for his portrayal of an angry, negligent father who trains his son as a thief. 　

- Shining Gong Li Chimes Louder
Hollywood blockbuster Miami Vice finally made it into the Chinese mainland cinemas yesterday, three months after the film premiered in the United States.

- Leaving on A Jet Plane
Like Nixon's career at that moment in 1974, Jet Li's film career is near a turning point – or is it? The publicity campaign for Fearless, which came out in early 2006, trumpeted that it would be Li's last martial arts outing. In person, however, Li is less certain. "I have retired from traditional martial arts movies," he says. "I will still make action movies though."

- Man Behind The Banquet Aspires to Be 'Chinese Warner Bros.'
Twelve years ago, Wang Zhongjun was on his way back to China from America. In his pocket he had his university diploma as well as US$100,000 he had earned working as a part-time cartoon artist and photographer. His heart was swirling with dreams of fame and success.

- Film Company Shoots for Global Role
In his light blue short-sleeved shirt and dark trousers, the slim and athletic Ren Zhonglun looks more like a university don than a movie producer and the senior executive of an entertainment empire in Shanghai, the nation's most cosmopolitan city.

- Five Questions for Wang Chao, Director of Luxury Car
After serving as an assistant to Chen Kaige for three years, Wang Chao started independent directing in 2000, debuting with The Orphan of Anyang.

- Director Wang Haowei
Born in Chongqing in 1940, Wang Haowei is considered to be the leading female director of the so-called Fourth Generation filmmakers of China.

- Huang Shuqin
If women hold up half the sky, Huang Shuqin must hold up a good bit of that half – in the cinematic world, at least. Huang says she is interested in illustrating grand themes through ordinary figures and events.

- Ruan Lingyu-Tragic Goddess
Ruan Lingyu, a silent-film actress still remembered by many, left behind 29 films and the final message, 'gossip can kill,' when she committed suicide in Shanghai on March 8, 1935.

- Leslie Cheung, Legend of HK Showbiz
Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing is perhaps not as well known as Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat in Hollywood, but he is a legend in Hong Kong, a super star whose color never fades.

- Xie Fei; The Wise Man of Chinese Cinema
Xie Fei is a name familiar to moviegoers both in China and abroad. The director was born in Yan'an in 1937 and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in the 1960s. Today he is a professor at the academy.

- Director Fredric Mao
Fredric Mao obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts from the University of Iowa, and then launched his acting and directing career with professional theater companies and film and television works in the United States.

- Director Ma Liwen
Ma Liwen has picked up kudos in recent years for her two low-budget movies, You and Me and The One Who Loved Me Most Has Gone.

- Ang Lee: Blending East and West
Ang Lee, the director of the much talked-about cowboy love story Brokeback Mountain is one of the biggest winners of the just-released 78th Academy Awards.

- Silver Bear for HK Music: an Interview with Pang Ho-cheung
If Hong Kongers had reason to be proud with the inclusion of Pang Ho-cheung's Isabella in the official competition at this year's Berlinale, they now have even more reason to celebrate.

- Yu Nan: from Peking to Paris
Yu Nan is a rare breed of Chinese actress. After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1999, her debut performance in Lunar Eclipse (2001) caught the attention of French film producers, who readily cast her in Rage (2003).

- Jet Li: King of the Kung-Fu Stars
From Shaolin Temple, to the series of Once Upon a Time in China, to the recent Danny the Dog and Fearless, Jet Li is a name closely connected with action movie, kung fu, and wushu (or martial arts).

- Andrew Lau Wai-keung
Producer and director Andrew Lau Wai-keung started his film career as a cinematographer working on films such as Ringo Lam's City on Fire and Wong Kar-wai As Tears Go By and Chungking Express.

- Alex Man Chi-leung
Alex Man was born in Hong Kong in 1957. He enrolled in RTV training class and acted in many TV drama & action series. His film debut was Ann Hui's The Secret.

- Alan Tam Wing-lun
Alan Tam Wing-lun was born in Hong Kong in 1950. Tam's father Tam Kong-pak is a renowned soccer player. Tam became passionate about music in his secondary school years, and formed a band called "Looser" with his friends.

- Alan Mak
Creative sparks flew when Alan Mak collaborated with Andrew Lau. Both are directors with a visual flair, and their co-directing project, Infernal Affairs (2002), walked away at the Hong Kong Film Awards with seven major prizes.

- Aaron Kwok Fu-shing
Aaron Kwok was born in Hong Kong in 1965. He enrolled in TVB's dance training course and became a background dancer on TVB in 1984, but later switched to the actors' training course and starred in a few of TV drama series.

- Danny Pang
Danny Pang is a seasoned film veteran but an emerging director who had quickly established himself as a major filmmaker of Hong Kong.

- Cecilia Cheung
Cecilia Cheung was first handpicked by comedic actor Stephen Chow to appear in his film King of Comedy in 1999. After established herself as a formidable new force in Hong Kong cinema, she made a transition to the music industry.

- Actor Anthony Wong
As a three-time winner of the prestigious Hong Kong Film Awards, actor Anthony Wong has built himself a solid career in the world of Asian cinema. His unique presence on the big screen makes his roles unforgettable for many moviegoers.

- Qin Hailu
Qin Hailu, the star of Durian Durian, Loving Him, Chicken Poets, Hidden Heroes, Love Battlefield and The Coldest Day came out with her own album Happiness in May this year.

- One Take Donnie
Martial artist, actor, director and filmmaker Donnie Yen is said to be the "last dragon" to emerge from the fading lineage of the old school Hong Kong martial artists. While the hard-core filming of martial arts films is gone, Yen is just warming up.

- Interview with Miriam Yeung
Miriam Yueng, the star of Dry Wood, Fierce Fire, My Lucky Star, Love Undercover I and II, Sound of Colours and Anna in Kungfu-land, was interviewed by The Malay Mail, in advance of touring in Malaysia this coming April.

- Debut Director Is as Proud as a Peacock
Peacock is Gu Changwei's big-screen directorial debut and is hailed by many critics as "an epic depicting the inner world of the Chinese." Weeks away from its massive release on the Chinese mainland, the film has attracted intense attention from film circles, the media and the public.

- Q&A with Director/Actor Chen Daming
After seven years in Hollywood, Chen Daming returned to China in 1997 where he has embarked on a promising career as a director. Chen discusses seeing movies from different points of view with cityweekend.

- Love Interest Steers Hu's Direction
Beijing-born filmmaker Ann Hu can hardly be faulted for her lack of ambition. For her 2000 directing debut Shadow Magic, she pulled off a major international coproduction. For her comeback, she may have done even better.

- The Seafarer of the Desert
In young director Lu Chuan's maiden work, The Missing Gun, his realistic style won him wide acclaim and box office success. In his latest film Kekexili, Lu offers something a little different, something reflecting his masculine side.

- Xu Jinglei Goes from Actress to Director
Actress Xu Jinglei is currently in post-production for her second film Letter from an Unknown Woman which is slated to premiere at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival. She took time out to discuss how movies have inspired her.

- Gong Li to Star in Spielberg's New Film
Gong Li, one of the most acclaimed, popular, and to many, beautiful actresses, will star in Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's new film Memoirs of a Geisha. Gong won her fame in the film Raise the Red Lantern by leading Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

- Feng Xiaogang Named Asian Star
One of China's most celebrated filmmakers, Feng Xiaogang, has been named as one of the "Asian Stars of 2004" by popular American magazine "Business Week".

- Tian Zhuangzhuang a Rare Insight Director
In an exclusive interview with eastday.com, director Tian Zhuangzhuang talks about the making of his latest documentary film Delamu.