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Michelle Yeoh defends cast in ``Memoirs of a Geisha''
2005-02-27
HONG KONG - Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh says that her upcoming film ``Memoirs of a Geisha'' should be received well in Japan, even though many of the main roles are played by ethnic Chinese actresses, a newspaper reported Monday.The film, to be released this year, includes two other leading ladies of the Chinese film industry: Gong Li, famous for her roles in art-house hits like ``Raise the Red Lantern,'' and Zhang Ziyi, who appeared with Yeoh in the Oscar-winning ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'' Both are from mainland China. The paper reported that Yeoh said that the Chinese stars playing Japanese roles wouldn't make the audience in Japan less receptive to the film, which chronicles a young girl's rise from poverty in a Japanese fishing village to life in high society. ``Director Rob Marshall said he cast actors and actresses who are perfect for the roles rather than by their nationalities,'' the newspaper quoted Yeoh as saying. ``And some of the biggest Japanese names are in the movie, too, like Ken Wanatabe and Koji Yakusho.'' Yakusho, one of Japan's most popular actors, starred in ``Shall We Dance,'' a box-office hit in Japan in the 1990s recently remade by Hollywood starring Richard Gere. Wanatabe starred with Tom Cruise in ``Last Samurai.'' Yeoh, an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, starred in the Bond film ``Tomorrow Never Dies.''
Jet Li's new film 'Fearless' to premier in Beijing (2006-01-20)Hollywood's 'Geisha' a delicate issue for China's censors (2006-01-17)Michelle Yeoh defends cast in ``Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005-02-27)Zhang Ziyi to Star in 'Geisha' Movie (2004-08-22)Hong Kong pop diva Anita Mui dies of cancer (2003-12-30)
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