STRIFE AQUATIC Respectively to Shoot a Short Tale — Half the Sky Has an AllFemale List of Directors
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22 LIFE | Film Thursday, June 28, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION BRICS film to focus on women By XU FAN One of China’s most popular directors at Europe’s top movie fes- tivals, Jia Zhangke, has again used his overseas influence to bring in foreign counterparts to work on an upcoming coproduction. The film, titled Half The Sky, is the second such film in a five-year project launched during the annual 2nd BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu, in Sichuan province, in June last year. The project, based on President Xi Jinping’s proposal during the 8th BRICS summit in India in 2016, envisages one jointly-created film every year until 2021. Unlike the first movie, Where Has Time Gone? — in which Jia joined forces with four male directors STRIFE AQUATIC respectively to shoot a short tale — Half The Sky has an all-female list of directors. Undersea sci-fi “It was a phenomenal thing to do. Liu Yulin represents China, and The diving instructors hand-feed the remaining four female filmmak- blockbuster The them,” Statham says, pointing to a ers are Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari from container filled with tuna-fish heads. India; Elizaveta Stishova from Rus- But even with its visual feast of sia; Brazil’s Daniela Thomas and Meg is out to prove underwater stunts, The Meg will South Africa’s Sara Bleher. still be up against some fierce com- Speaking about the project, Jia, it’s leagues apart petition in the world’s second-larg- who serves as the executive produc- est movie market this summer. er, says the decision to form an all- from recent In recent months, Chinese audi- woman team was born at the ences have been fed a diet of spe- Pingyao International Film Festival, monster-movie cial effects-fueled monster movies, an annual event launched by Jia in such as Dwayne Johnson’s Ram- his hometown province of Shanxi, a offerings, page, which features a giant gorilla place consistently depicted in his and other gigantic beasts, and critically acclaimed films. Xu Fan reports. Universal Pictures’s Jurassic Explaining how the idea took root, World 2. he says: “We saw an interesting phe- t was a hot summer’s after- Classifying these movies more as nomenon there: three of the total noon in Shanghai. After mak- fantasy stories, Statham believes four prizes were bagged by female ing my way across the city for The Meg is a different proposition directors, whose movies were very an interview at an upmarket altogether, as it will spark audien- dynamic and creative. So we were Ihotel about the upcoming sci-fi ces to think about the future of our thinking we can feature feminism as blockbuster The Meg, I was told my oceans, which cover two-thirds of the theme of the second coproduc- interview with Jason Statham and the planet. tion, and the idea received warm director Jon Turteltaub would be “The megalodon is a real crea- response from BRICS countries.” cut to just eight minutes. discovery a 75-foot-long megalo- ture that once existed. Oceans are “Give us more minutes, please,” don, a prehistoric predator which is still the most uncharted areas of the abruptly appealed Statham, with a believed to have become extinct planet. You cannot tell what is warm smile, despite the fact the around 1.5 million years ago. down there. We have seen their fos- two were due to catch a flight. After the beast attacks a sub- sils and teeth, but we don’t know if And without warning, Turteltaub mersible and causes the vehicle and they are still there,” says the actor, quickly kicked off his shoes and its crew to become trapped at the who is well-known in China for his socks and began to make himself bottom of the Pacific Ocean, a deep- roles in the Fast and Furious fran- comfortable on the chair opposite sea diver — played by Statham — chise. me, barefoot and all. “I hurt my embarks on an extremely danger- Turteltaub echoes his views. “No foot,” he explained. ous rescue mission. one knows what lies beneath the It was perhaps one of the more Chinese A-lister Li Bingbing oceans. As humans, we feel the The film Half The Sky, consisting of unusual starts to an interview, but plays a scientist who has a romance need to explore them.” five short stories about women, will it did show that the two stars were with the diver, and the cast also “What fascinated me was not be released later this year. relaxed and ready for questions. includes Jessica McNamee, Rainn that the characters in the movie are PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY One of the summer’s most antici- Wilson, Winston Chao and Cliff seeing a prehistoric creature for the pated blockbusters, The Meg is due Curtis. Li, alongside Turteltaub and first time, it’s that this poor prehis- to hit Chinese theaters in 2D, 3D Statham, attended a promotional toric creature is seeing them. It The movie’s title is based on Chair- and IMAX formats, as well as the event in Shanghai on July 17. doesn’t know who we are and what man Mao Zedong’s statement in the homegrown giant-screen DMAX Arguably one of the best-known The visual effects-studded film The Meg, directed by American director Jon human beings are,” adds Turtel- 1950s: “Women hold up half the sky.” on Aug 10. Chinese actresses in the West, Li Turteltaub, features a prehistoric creature and will hit the Chinese theaters in taub, whose previous directing Jia also says female directors have Jointly produced by Chinese film said she had to put in a lot of August. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY credits include Cool Runnings and a good eye when it comes to captur- company Gravity Pictures and English practice to perform the dia- the National Treasure series. ing emotion and change. Warner Bros, the Sino-US copro- logue fluently. She also revealed The movie also aims to raise pub- The new movie will be an anthol- duction has been adapted from that she came close to drowning megalodon, the movie also features do. We are doing a movie about the lic awareness of environmental ogy like the first one, and will con- American author Steve Alten’s 1997 after staying underwater too long some rarely-seen oceanic animals ocean, so let’s get into the ocean,” issues and re-examine the relation- sists of five short stories — all about novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. during the shooting of one complex such as a giant deep-sea squid and he says. ship between nature and human- women -- each respectively directed Calling the book as “a beautiful scene. glowing jellyfish. Being pushed by his staff to draw kind. by the five filmmakers. and imaginative work,” Turteltaub The movie was filmed in Auck- To prepare for the underwater the interview to a close, Statham “It’s somewhat of a sad subject Speaking about her story, Liu says says: “Novels are about thought land, New Zealand and Sanya, in sequences, Statham, a former ath- insisted on taking out his tablet and that we are destroying the planet. it is titled The Dumpling, a tradi- and feelings. Movies are about South China’s Hainan province. lete with the British national diving showing me a video of his daredevil Two-thirds of the animals in the tional Chinese food symbolizing images and action. My job is not to The two trailers released for the team, went to Fiji to swim with doz- swimming with the nearly 3-meter- world’s jungles have disappeared family reunion during Spring Festi- film the novel, but to make a great domestic and international mar- ens of bull sharks, a species famous long “killers.” during the last 50 years. I think peo- val, and adds that the 18-minute movie based on the novel.” kets both feature the landmark for their aggressive nature. Wearing a diving suit and sport- ple don’t respect nature,” Turtel- movie is about an estranged mother The movie is set at a science Guanyin of Nanshan, a 108-meter “I wanted to feel the fear and ing an iron glove — just in case there taub says. and daughter. But besides the research station lying 300 kilome- statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin anxiety. I wanted to come face to was “an accident” — the 50-year-old dumplings, the story also features ters off the coast of southern China, — the Buddhist goddess of mercy. face with these creatures. I just action star took to the water with- Contact the writer at other Chinese elements. and the story revolves around the Beside the scenes involving the thought it was a necessary thing to out the protection of a cage. [email protected] The film was shot in seven days and features actresses Wang Luo- dan, Liu Bei and Zong Ping. Giving details of how she picked the story for the film, she says: Shoplifters set to steal “When I was invited to take part in the coproduction, I looked for inspi- ration from what my friends and I have experienced.” Chinese hearts Liu, 31, first found fame with her Student Academy Award-winning By XU FAN Kore-eda, alongside actress Mat- Door God. And she grew more popu- suoka Mayus and teenage actor Jyo lar with Someone to Talk to, a criti- The latest winner of the prestig- Kairi, showed up after one of the cally acclaimed feature based on her ious Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festi- screenings on June 23, receiving father Liu Zhenyun’s Mao Dun Lit- val’s top honor, will be imported overwhelming praise from local erature Prize-winning novel One into Chinese mainland, according fans.