More signs of cooperation between Hollywood and China: In Cannes, Wong Kar Wai is premiering his first English-language film, My Blueberry Nights, which stars singer Norah Jones and Jude Law. At a press conference, Wong explained:
The main thing is the challenge for this film, because it is in English, which is not my language. All through the years we have seen a lot of films made about Chinese by foreign film directors, and sometimes it looks very embarrassing. Because a lot of these Chinese characters have been distorted and are too exotic. I always wanted to make a film in another language but I want to avoid these problems. So when I was working on this film, I always asked Norah, Jude and all the crew sometimes some questions, which may seem kind of silly, but I had to make sure, because a kiss means different things for Chinese characters than for Western characters. There’s a subtle undertone, which I have to make sure of, because I want to do justice to America, to the characters. I believe there’s something we can all share even though we are from different races, different countries, different cultures; but some emotions can be shared beyond the language. [Full text]
Also, Disney announced that it would produce the studio’s first Chinese-language production, The Magic Gourd:
The studio announced yesterday that it would release a Chinese-language movie, The Magic Gourd, this summer – its first co-production with the state-run China Film Group. The movie, based on a novel written by the late Chinese writer Zhang Tianyi, is about a boy who discovers a gourd – a squash-like vegetable often used in Asian dishes – that grants him wishes. The story has already been adapted into a cartoon by state-run CCTV. [Full text]
