Row over missiles torpedoes Zhang Ziyi’s latest movie
SEOUL: The fallout from the deployment of a US weapons system in South Korea has torpedoed actress Zhang Ziyi’s latest movie project.
The Chinese-Korean coproduction had cast Zhang and South Korean actor Ha Jung-woo as the lead characters.
“Ha (Jung-woo) was scheduled to film the Chinese movie titled The Mask with Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, but his planned appearance was scrapped due to visa issuance and other problems,” a publicist for Ha had told Yonhap news agency.
“We understand that the film project itself was called off because of Ha’s absence,” the
Ha (Jung-woo) was scheduled to film the Chinese movie titled The Mask with Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, but his planned appearance was scrapped due to visa issuance and other problems.
publicist added.
An adaptation of a Korean novel, the film is a suspense thriller that spans three east Asian nations of China, Korea, and Japan. It was meant to be directed by up-and- coming Taiwan director Chen Zhengdao.
Best known for her role in the Oscar-winning flick Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Zhang Ziyi has also branched out to production and has already been trying to get The Mask off the ground for several years.
Her own company Beijing Qingyi Mandarin CCI Capital was to have produced it with Chinese studio Huayi Brothers.
According to local reports, Zhang had personally invited Ha Jung-woo to take part in the film. Japanese actor and heartthrob Joe Odagiri was also attached, The Mask had already been approved by China’s media watchdog, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) as an official co-production, reports said.
The film is just the latest of many projects and businesses which have been affected in China’s war against Korean businesses in response to a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence ( THAAD) antimissile defence system set to be operational as early as next month.
Publicist for Ha