Japanese, Chinese, Geisha, Whatever
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 5:58PM ■"Acting Globally: 'Memoirs of a Geisha'; With Chinese Stars and a U.S. Director, The Film Premiers in a Skeptical Japan," by Carl Freire, Washington Post, 30November 2005, p. C2.
Face it: China's got the sexiest, most luminous female movie stars on the planet right now. Japan's got nobody near Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh (my fave) and Gong Li, three actresses Americans have come to know in a series of big Chinese movies ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Tomorrow Never Knows," and "Raise the Red Lantern").
Okay, so maybe not that many Americans saw those movies, but far more have than any Japanese movies of recent years, so it's not surprising that Rob Marshall went for these luminaries from China's booming film industry.
Unfair to have Chinese playing Japanese? About as unbelievable as having Brits and Aussies play Americans? Or Americans playing English? Or Canadian Mike Myers playing Austin Powers?
Puh-leeze.
Marshall went with these three ladies because they're simply the biggest best stars available.
Globalization, baby.
And yes, they all will work in this town again.
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