Thursday, September 10, 2009

John Woo's Surprise Appearance

John Woo unexpectedly appeared at the Beijing premiere of The Founding of a Republic. When interviewed by reporters, Woo said he did not mind being cut from the film, as long as the film looked good. 1450 copies of the film were ready for distribution, a Chinese industry record. Restricted to 135 minutes, 45 minutes had been cut from the film including Woo, though he appeared in two versions of the trailer. He played a KMT officer and had 7 or 8 lines. Woo joked, "Early in my career Chang Cheh said I was not suited for acting, This proves that teacher Chang's point of view was correct." Altogehter, there were eight directors, besides Huang Jianxin, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Peter Chan, Jiang Wen, Zhang Guoli, Liu Yiwei, and Tang Guoqiang helped to direct the film. (Xinhuanet.com)
At the premiere, director Huang Jianxin bowed and apologized for all the cuts. (Xinhuanet.com)
Mao Tse-Tung (Tang Guoqiang) and Chiang Kai-Shek (Zhang Guoli)

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