Asian pop sensation Jay Chou has signed on for the new Zhang Yimou movie, joining established stars Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, news reports said Tuesday. The movie, whose Chinese title translates as "Wearing Golden Armor Across the City," is based on famed Chinese playwright Cao Yu's classic play "Thunderstorm," but changes the setting to the ancient Tang dynasty, Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper reported Tuesday. Chow plays the emperor while Chou portrays one of his sons, the Shanghai Youth Daily said in a report carried by the Chinese news Web site Sina.com. Gong reportedly plays an empress and mainland actor Liu Ye another prince. "Director Zhang Yimou thinks he (Chou) has charisma, character," the Shanghai Youth Daily quoted Zhang's producing partner Zhang Weiping as saying. "When we discussed the characters, he seemed very smart," Zhang Weiping said. "He's performed quite well in a lot of movies, commercials. Most importantly, our movie needs someone with character like him." Taiwanese Chou is beginning to cultivate his movie career after becoming one of the Chinese-speaking world's biggest pop music acts. Chou is best known for his smooth, rhythmic sound that broke the monotony of sappy love songs. His acting career is off to a promising start. Last year he won best newcomer at the Golden Horse Awards -- the Chinese-language equivalent of the Oscars -- for his performance in "Initial D" in which he plays a street car racer. He's nominated in the same category for the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Shanghai Youth Daily report said filming of Zhang's new film will begin in late February. Zhang, one of China's most respected directors, is known for films like "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers" and "To Live." Chou's record label could not be reached for comment and contact details for Zhang Weiping were not immediately available. For more information: http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/349/2006/02/15/44@50986.htm
this can be posted in the "asian entertainment gossip" section, in future all news about asian stars/singers can be posted in the "asian entertainment gossip" section *moves thread*
honestly, i don't think jay can stand among big movie stars as "fat ko" or gong li, his playing in initial was so bad...
