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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
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:49:57 PM)
You never know if she will ever date a white man.
I just saw a tv interview of her from China. It was interested because she was without any make up. Look liked they just knocked on her door, dragged her to the park for about an hour and just asked her a bunch of questions.
She definitely doesn't project the image that she is a shoe in for Beijing University. But she got the whole cute girl act down pack.
As for the topic of love and I translate "It doesn't matter if your black. It doesn't matter if your yellow. Everyone is still human."
But she admits she won't be putting out a record anytime soon, she won't be doing any tv series anytime soon, and she "discriminates" against full emersing herself in a foreign market due to English skills (or lack of).
She still wants to remain in Asia, due to the fact that is where her fan base is.
But it can all be an act and she could be plotting to seduce the next white boy toy in Hollywood for all we know. ^_^
AC dropout
Friday, March 29, 2002 at 21:44:27 (PST)
Zhang Ziyi will never marry a caucasian man!
From her first experience with a caucasian man, was with a blonde guy named *SHOOT I FORGOT* who appeared with her during the MTV movie awards... he was shorter than her.
Leon Lai is much better.
Zhang Ziyi
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 11:41:09 (PST)
IMO:
I totally agree with you. Zhang Ziyi's fame is based on just one single hit movie cthd. She was smart and lucky enough to team up with superb directors.
She ist quite a smart business woman who can sell herself to the media. Look at the movies she picked and the ads she has done. She always picks good directors like Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou. And I bet she chose her next Wong Kar Wai project, just because of him. She decided to make "purple butterfly" because the director's last movie was critically aclaimed.
I must admit, she has got a good manager, or is just too shallow and dumb to pick some really interesting film projects. By now she wants to get enough publicity, because of the absence of acting skills.
It shows that she has no confidence in her work and personality. That is why she always has to work with people who are more famous, that is her way to stay in public.
Ziyi is dumb as hell, that is why she didn't go to a normal school and why her parents sent her to that dancing school. Every chinese parents want their children to get a good education, but when the child is dumb, they have no choice but to send her for dancing class. And have you ever noticed her fake eyes? come on, she had a surgery, just compare her eyes from some earlier shoots with now.
Her choice to make Rush Hour 2 and to get half-naked for GQ, shows, that she only goes for some extra $$$$.
She has become very successful because she has used other people's fame to get into the spotlight. But she is gonna fail, because she always plays the same character and because she only looks for money. Hahaha, I hope she will do this sandler and lopez movie, and finally show her real amibitions: making $$$$$ and everybody will realizzzzze this!
IMO-You are great!
Monday, March 18, 2002 at 16:26:37 (PST)
Huh? From what I've heard, she considers her boyfriend the HK pop singer, Leon. Issac? What the hell...
noooo
Monday, March 18, 2002 at 10:42:39 (PST)
ZZ tops all sellouts:
Zhang Ziyi is dating a white man? I don't think so. She knows that it will hurt her career in Asia. Are you sure?
FOP
Monday, March 18, 2002 at 09:24:54 (PST)
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