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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, 05:49:55 PM)
Hidden Dragon:
Oxford. Please. The sun has already set on the British Empire. Oxford adds a nice title to your resume, but that's about it. Besides, I fail to see how educational institutions have to do with perception of beauty.
Gong Li got married, which probably explains why she isn't doing much these days. Zhang Ziyi is plain in terms of pretty Asian actresses. There is nothing about her that is breathtaking.
Annapolis-Harvard Law Grad
Saturday, June 22, 2002 at 20:15:26 (PDT)
To the Harvard guy, it's no wonder so many decent US students now come to Oxford, London for their education. I agree, Gong Li is certainly still the best actress in China, if not Asia, in terms of talent and acting ability. Beauty? She looks great but not as special as Ziyi in my opinion. Zi has a nice, pretty, innocent smile and face along with those doe etyes. She's a bit fragile but she has a delicate face. China may have other girls that look like her but I don't think they have her charisma or interesting character. See The Road Home (Z.Yimou) and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, Zi can kick higher than Gong.
And by the way, what noticeable work has Gong done since the end of her relationship with Yimou? Not much I'd say. As Ziyi matures, she will far outshine everything accomplished by her peer.
Hidden Dragon
barbelljoe@hotmail.com
Friday, June 21, 2002 at 03:14:36 (PDT)
She's rather plain, in terms of attractive Chinese girls. Walk the streets of Beijing and every 10 minutes you see someone that looks like her.
Gong Li, on the other hand, is truly beautiful and talented. It's too bad she never really made it in the States, but she is truly one of the most beautiful women in the world.
Annapolis-Harvard Law Grad
Wednesday, June 19, 2002 at 04:14:39 (PDT)
Hidden Dragon,
I am surprised that you heard of Zhao Wei. Have you been watching her shows? I think Zhao Wei is a bit over-rated but I haven't watched any of her shows. I don't agree with the traditional Chinese aesthetic views, either. A person doesn't need a pair of eyes as big as saucers to look beautiful. It is really the personality that complements the looks and draws attention. Take the Italian movie star Sophie Lauren for example. She is not the conventional type of beauty and she is more than 50 years old. But for decades she has been hailed as one of the most beautiful female stars. Just recently she got voted by fans to be the most beautiful female star again according to a British magazine.
Red Red Seashell
Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 09:42:13 (PDT)
people in China have totally different tastes as to what makes a beauty.They go for terribly big eyes like Zhao Wei. In my eyes, they have bad tastes although some do like Ziyi. Zhang Ziyi is a beauty with an incredibly vivid personality (and not to mention her flexible athletic qualities).
She can also act as well, so there.
Hidden Dragon
Monday, June 17, 2002 at 02:30:31 (PDT)
I haven't met any people from mainland China who thinks Zhang Ziyi is a striking beauty, simply because there are a lot more girls in China who look better than she. But I do think she has certain star quality that some pretty girls don't have. Just look at her performance in CTHD. She was determined to do it right and handled everything thrown her way perfectly. By the way, did you guys notice how movie critics ignored her and highly praised the other two characters by Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeo even though Zhang seemed to occupy the screen most of the time?
Red Red Seashell
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 12:39:55 (PDT)
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