Mao's Last Dancer

Mongrel Media Presents MAO’S LAST DANCER A Film by Bruce Beresford (117min., Australia, 2010) www.maoslastdancermovie.com Distribution Publicity Bonne Smith 1028 Queen Street West Star PR Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1H6 Tel: 416-488-4436 Tel: 416-516-9775 Fax: 416-516-0651 Fax: 416-488-8438 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com High res stills may be downloaded from http://www.mongrelmedia.com/press.html SYNOPSIS This is the inspirational true story of Li Cunxin, adapted from his best-selling autobiography and telling how, amidst the chaos of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, he was chosen to leave his peasant family and sent on an amazing journey … as it turned out towards freedom and personal triumph. Li’s story unfolds as China was emerging from Mao’s grand vision. It couldn’t have been a better time for Li Cunxin to discover the west and for the west to discover Li Cunxin. This is about how Li overcame adversity, discovering and exploring his natural abilities and talent as a great classical dancer. This meant not only dealing with his own physical limitations but also eventually the punishment meted out by a highly suspicious Chinese government after Li’s defection to the US. In America Li found a completely different and captivating new world – but there were other difficulties he could never have imagined. Even with the support of many friends there was still isolation and despite his growing fame there was still uncertainty for his future. Here is a poignant yet triumphant story, directed by twice Academy nominated director Bruce Beresford (BREAKER MORANT, DRIVING MISS DAISY, TENDER MERCIES, BLACK ROBE etc) from a stunning adaptation by experienced screenwriter, Jan Sardi (SHINE, THE NOTEBOOK, LOVE’S BROTHER etc) that has the ability to touch both worlds. About The Production Mao’s Last Dancer was filmed on location in China, the United States and Australia. The story began for Producer Jane Scott five years ago when she read the book of Mao’s Last Dancer, Li Cunxin’s best-selling autobiography. The book stayed on the Australian top 10 Bestseller List for over one and a half years and it is in the 32nd printing. It has been published and sold in over 20 countries. It won the Book of the Year Award in Australia, the Christopher Award in America and was short-listed for the National Biography Award. The book had been recommended to Jane Scott by Screenwriter Jan Sardi. He and Jane had successfully collaborated on two films, the Academy Award-winning Shine and, more recently, Love’s Brother. “Within 15 or 20 pages of starting the book I knew that there was something magical about the story so I rang Jane Scott and said ‘Quick, go out and buy this book’. We raced each other to finish it but even before were half way through we knew that it was a film that we wanted to make,” Jan says. Jane Scott continues: “It immediately came across as an ideal book to be made into a film, although I must say that I believe that books don’t necessarily make good films due to their literary quality. But in the case of Mao’s Last Dancer, Li had written a wonderful book - beautifully - and of course his story is riveting. “Jan Sardi was the ideal writer of this screenplay because he has a great way of simplifying the writing into a visual style or a style that a director can use as the background for his own vision and he doesn’t let the literary quality get in the way of it. Bruce Beresford is an ideal director of this film for much the same reason in that he is a great interpreter of storytelling.” For Bruce Beresford, the script was irresistible: “You could describe it as another rags to riches story and there’s been lots of them in the history of movies. But, in this case, the rags were somewhat more extreme because Li Cunxin came from a background of incredible deprivation in a totalitarian country and to try and get out of that background and achieve world fame as a dancer is monstrously difficult, but he achieved it against the most staggering odds.” The first challenge for Jan Sardi in adapting the book of Mao’s Last Dancer was to take a “It was always going to be difficult to get the dancers released for the film and I worried story that spans so many years and so much diversity – from Li Cunxin’s rural Chinese a bit about this but actually we’ve had the most wonderful assistance from each ballet peasant childhood to performing before the US Vice President in America – and creating an company. First of all the Australian Ballet - most generous; Artistic Director David McAllister emotionally satisfying cinematic journey. has been so keen that he made available any dancer if they wanted to be in the film if we had chosen them. So that’s been fantastic. And also there’s part of the Australian Ballet’s “One of the first instincts I had for telling the story was to begin on the day that Li is plucked production of Swan Lake in the film which was wonderful to be able to show. From the out of his village classroom to go to Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy” says Jan Sardi. Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Hong Kong Ballet too we’ve had great help and so really “The idea of him being taken away from home, from his family and those he loves and being none of it was as difficult as I thought it would be.” sent on an epic journey. And then of course I wanted to bring him home. There’s so much wonderful material in the book and what I set out to do was to follow the emotional line of The third great challenge for the production was filming in China. Li’s story in a way that would make it feel to the audience that they’ve been on that journey with him. It’s not easy to do in two hours, to distil a life in that way, but that’s what you have to Jane Scott was introduced to experienced Chinese producer Geng Ling and invited her to do. It’s always all about emotion.” join Mao’s Last Dancer as Co-producer (China). Jan, who memorably wrote the screenplay of Shine based on the life story of pianist David “To shoot in China I knew that we would have to have a Chinese co-producer and I really Helfgott, says he feels, in telling a real story about someone’s life “this great burden of needed to have a co-producer whom I respected and who understood the project. Geng responsibility to get it right. You have to take certain liberties in terms of combining characters Ling was absolutely the ideal person to work with me on the film. I gave her the screenplay and compressing time because there is no way you can condense someone’s life into two and she read it and loved it. And I was so fortunate because Geng Ling was able to make hours without doing that, or even twenty hours. So the aim is to try to find a cinematic and a lot of things happen that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, such as the very best poetic style of telling the story which takes an audience emotionally on a journey to a place choices of key crew and the best locations,” Jane says. and brings them back feeling transformed.” A number of significant roles were cast in China as well as hundreds of extras, including The second great challenge in bringing Mao’s Last Dancer to the screen was in casting the young dancers from across the country. A Chinese crew was appointed, to work in tandem character of Li Cunxin. with the international crew from Australia, Mexico, Europe and elsewhere. “When I first read the script I thought we’d never find anyone to play Li,” says Director Bruce “We really had some of the most experienced people in China working with us. Our Beresford. “Because obviously we had to have a first class ballet dancer – indeed, not just first Chinese 1st Assistant Director Zhang Jinzhan – known as The General – has worked with class, but superlatively good - he had to be young and handsome and he had to be able to directors such as Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige; and our Chinese casting director act a very complicated role in two languages, Mandarin and English. And I thought, does Li Hai Bin has worked with directors such as Quentin Tarantino,” Jane says. such a person exist? But, we hunted around and we found Chi Cao with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.” Bruce Beresford had worked both with Director of Photography Peter James and Production Designer Herbert Pinter on a dozen previous films. In the end, three actors were cast as Li – Chi Cao plays Li as an adult; Chengwu Guo plays Li as a teenager, and Huang Wen Bin plays Li as a boy. “This was a film where it was important to be absolutely certain of the personnel. Peter and Herbert are both very, very good and very reliable and I knew that, with them, we Jane Scott says: “Bruce said to me early on, ‘Of course if we don’t have those actors/dancers, would be able to shoot the schedule,” Bruce says.

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