Gao Yuanyuan = Elisa Lam? [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

Gao Yuanyuan

Elisa Lam

Water tank (via NBC)

A report out of Shenzhen says that actress Gao Yuanyuan has been approached to play Canadian Elisa Lam. Lam was the young woman from Vancouver on holiday in L.A. who was found dead in a water tower at the Cecil Hotel early this year. Surveillance video at the hotel showed Lam acting erratically in the hotel elevator shortly before her death. Drugs and murder were among the various theories about the cause of the woman's death. Eventually, the case was closed and the cause of death was declared accidental. Because her body was not found for weeks, residents of the hotel drank and showered using the water as Lam's body lay decomposing in the rooftop water tank. How Elisa Lam got into the locked tank behind an alarmed-door also remains a mystery.

The movie production is being considered as a joint US-Australian venture. (Sina), 2, (USAToday)

LATimes: Canadian tourist Elisa Lam's death ruled an accidental drowning

Then again, the whole rumour associating Gao Yuanyuan could be a fabrication to parlay the recent announcement of Gao as California's official mainland Chinese tourism ambassador. Or, it's just bad timing. (LATimes)

Further details in another report: Director Liu Hao stayed at the same Cecil Hotel in May for two weeks to conduct interviews and prepare for the film project with an autumn start. As an English-speaking is required for the role, besides Gao Yuanyuan, Ankie Beilke's name has also been mentioned as a potential actress for the role. (Source)

Watch this space!!!

SCMP: Ankie Lau's perfect star for film? Her daughter [Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver] (飲水思源)

This post was produced by Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver: http://yellowcranestower.blogspot.com [
Yvonne Lai
Dec 20, 2011


On the events circuit, model Ankie Beilke and mum Ankie Lau Heung-ping often seem to be attached at the hip. Now, mother and daughter are closer than ever as they prepare to make a film together.

At a Shiseido skincare launch last Thursday at The French Window restaurant, presided over by model Fala Chen and comedian Jim Tsim Sui-man, Lau chatted excitedly about the project. It will be her first directorial effort for a feature film since 1997's Last Chance Love.

She was most active as an actress in Hong Kong in the late 1970s and early '80s, before moving to Germany, where Beilke was born.

Lau will take on the tasks of screenwriting, directing and producing. "It's a lot of work, but I've done that and more previously," Lau said. "For Last Chance Love, I played the main character as well as handling all the other jobs."

For the latest project, the starring role goes to Beilke. The basic story is of a young man's journey of self-discovery, during which he meets a young woman - played by Beilke - who changes his view on life forever.

Ankie Beilke

"The working title is Dancing with Strangers," Lau said. "I think of life as a dance, and everywhere you go there are new people and encounters."

Shooting starts in Germany in the spring. Ever a Hongkonger, Lau said she expected to turn the film around for a fourth quarter release next year. (SCMP)

Back in 2009, Screen Daily reported that Chow Yun-Fat was attached to Dancing With Strangers.
CRI: Chow Yun-Fat 'Dancing with Strangers'
The film will be about a Broadway dancer who returns to Germany and China to find his roots. However, it's unconfirmed whether Chow will play the lead role.

(Sina)