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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Zhang Ziyi: Major Talent or Lucky Starlet?
or some she was the most memorable part of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They were mesmerized by the dark energy she brings to her portrayal of a freespirited young adventuress. For others she was one more annoying thing about a glacial, poorly edited sword-fight flick. They were left cold by the hard, souless gleam of her obsidian eyes and her puckish face.
Regardless of your opinion of Zhang Ziyi, one fact is indisputable: since the release of CTHD in late 2000, the media has lionized the gamin-faced actress. Virtually every glossy and tabloid has hailed her as the hot new Asian female actor and/or great new beauty. In the heat of CTHD's surprise success Zhang was signed to several projects, including Rush Hour 2, The Legend of Zu, 2046 (a science fiction flick), Hero (a Jet Li kung-fu flick) and Musa (a Corean film set during the wars between the Yuan and Ming Dynasties).
Luck is essential to every success, but Zhang Ziyi appears to have enjoyed more than her share during her brief acting career.
She was born February 9, 1979 in Beijing to an economist father and a kindergarten teacher mother. At the age of 11 she enrolled in a dance school. Four years later she decided to switch to acting despite some promise as a dancer. She went for a shampoo commercial audition and was picked out by the legendary director Zhang Yimou to play a schoolgirl who falls in love with her teacher.
When The Road Home was released in China in 1999, the young actress was promptly dubbed "Little Gong Li" on the popular suspicion that she had followed the great actress into Zhang Yimou's bed. (Zhang Yimou had discovered Gong Li in 1987 and lost her in 1994 when she left him to marry Singaporean businessman Ooi Hoe Siong.)
The Road Home received no attention in the U.S. but won the 2000 Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It also caught the eye of Ang Lee who was casting Crouching Tiger. No one suspected that the low-budget film he was planning to shoot in China would go on to become the next year's most profitable film, ultimately grossing $150 million worldwide. It turned Zhang Ziyi into an international superstar in one fell, elaborately-wired swoop.
Is Zhang Ziyi really a great beauty and first-rate actor? Or is she a second-rater whose fame is as un-credible as her CTHD fight sequences?
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WHAT YOU SAY
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(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:49:58 PM)
Zhang Ziyi is on the front cover of the march 2002 issure of GQ magazine with Tobey Maguire. You can see her nice legs. Apparently, she has a certain "appeal" that makes her marketable. I have also seen her in an ad modeling in a magazine. I believe she's a lucky starlet to have so much exposure in the american media for barely knowing any english. She needs an interpreter by her side at all times during interviews. But when she masters the english language, she will be a powerful weapon to represent Asians in the media.
ZZ all the way
Thursday, February 28, 2002 at 09:37:28 (PST)
People who can't win an argument tend to resort to personal abuse, Virgule. But maybe you should look up the meaning of bigot and prejudice. Besides you are just as guilty in demeaning Vicki Zhao.
Vicki may not made it in the US but she is certainly extremely popular in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Unless in your bigoted mind these places are not as important as making it in the States.
I am not trying to demean Zhang Ziyi but I really cannot see how she can be as accomplished as Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li. CYC is making another Hollywood movie and Gong Li has won a number of Best Actress awards in various European film festivals.
At the moment Zhang is really famous as a model and that is where she has made her enormous fortune which is great for her. But to say that the success of CTHD is all because of her is to demean the efforts of all the other artistes involved in the making of this movie which included the director, photographer, scriptwriter, stuntsman, stunt choreographer, etc.
The box office taking of this movie belonged to all of them not to Zhang alone. And that is why I cannot endorse your elevation of Zhang to superstar status.
At present there are financiers who are willing to put money behind CYC and Jet Li because they think they will get their money back. But I bet you it would be difficult to find a financier who will back Zhang. Why? She is not yet box office material. Not just in the US but in Hong Kong.
You keep saying that Zhang will get the honors and the awards. But from what? It's highly unlikely that both Musa and Zu Warriors will become another CTHD in the States. Hero featured three other stars - Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung - all of them with enough potential to outshine Zhang. There is already talk of the making of CTHD 2 but Zhang will not be in it.
So in the meantime I object to being abused just because I don't think the sun of Chinese movies shine and set with Zhang.
IMO
Saturday, February 16, 2002 at 23:08:33 (PST)
The China Film Board is just sexist who likes hot girls. That is why the BIG stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li are not on it.
cali
Saturday, February 16, 2002 at 13:51:02 (PST)
Why is there so many hot Asian female portrayals in the media compared to barely non hot Asian male portrays in the media? This pisses me off being an Asian teen male, there is pretty much no role model to look up to for Asian males. This is a problem and somebody has to do something about it rather than just letting this problem go by.
Asian teen
Friday, February 15, 2002 at 20:55:59 (PST)
Hey "uncute AF", she's only the highest paid model in China. She was paid $500,000 alone by Visa International for a single commercial and $335,000 by Tag Heuer to be their spokesperson. I guess those corporations are simply gonna take your expert opinion for what it's worth and cancel her contracts, along with Maybelline and Pantene. You know about as much about beauty as IMO does. You boys are really funny. I enjoy reading your crap opinions. They illuminate to the world how truly ignorant you are. You guys make Homer Simpson look like Sir Alec Guiness. I'm sure your idea of beauty involves Pamela Anderson buck naked on a Harley. You keep spouting on about how ugly she is while billion dollar companies keep giving her modeling contracts. Do you know how STUPID you sound? But please don't stop, I'm laughing too much.....
Virgule
Friday, February 15, 2002 at 17:40:12 (PST)
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