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SINGAPORE: With a production budget of US$80 million, a cast number running into the thousands, and based on possibly the most famous battle ever fought in Chinese history, "Red Cliff" is certainly a film of epic proportions.
In fact, some have even crowned it Asia's equivalent to Hollywood's “Troy” or “Lord of the Rings”.
With acclaimed director John Woo at the helm, there's no doubt countless A-listers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China had been eyeing leading roles in the film, hoping to remake history by bringing to life some of the most well-known and well-loved Chinese heroes (and antiheroes) of all time.
And so, how does the Golden Horse award-winning director choose his leading lords and ladies?
While in town to promote “Red Cliff” with several cast members on Thursday, Woo said it had been a challenging task casting the main characters as the story of The Three Kingdoms has long been embraced by Asian audiences, and each person already has an idea of how each character should be portrayed.
But the director said: "I wanted to remain faithful to history, and cast actors who resembled the characters' descriptions in history books.”
Tony Leung as Zhou Yu
Leading the star-studded affair is one of Hong Kong's most critically acclaimed actors Tony Leung (Lust, Caution; 2046) in the role of Zhou Yu, the viceroy of the Wu Kingdom.
According to reports, Hollywood actor Chow Yun-Fat was originally selected for the role but pulled out just before shooting began due to disputes in contract terms.
Another major superstar considered for the part was Hong Kong megastar Andy Lau, fresh from his role as Zhao Yun in another epic movie on the same era, “Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon”.
Lau, whom the director said he had "always admired", was unfortunately not available due to a clash in schedules but Woo said he "would not rule out a chance to work with Andy in future".
The director said he was confident Leong will play Zhou, the classic romantic-yet-tormented hero, to its full glory, juggling hot steamy scenes with Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chi-ling with one hand and gallantly slashing enemies in full armour gear with the other.
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang
Allied with Zhou is perhaps the greatest and most accomplished strategist of the era, Zhuge Liang, played by Japanese-Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro (The Warlords; Perhaps Love).
According to Woo, the military advisor to Emperor Liu Bei of the Shu Kingdom was supposedly “a 27-year-old six-foot tall handsome young man”.
And apart from Leung, who was first offered the role but turned it down in favour of Zhou, Kaneshiro was the only other actor who fits the part.
"He represents the ideal youth of today: good looking, suave, intelligent, energetic..." said Woo. ”For this role, Takeshi Kaneshiro brought with him such charm, humour, wit and wisdom that the part seemed tailor made for him!"
Zhang Fengyi as Cao Cao
On the other side of the battlefield playing Cao Cao, is Chinese actor Zhang Fengyi (The Emperor and the Assassin; Velvet Gloves).
The role was initially for Japanese actor Ken Watanabe but objections from Chinese fans who felt that it was inappropriate for a Japanese to play a Chinese historical figure changed the director's mind.
Cao is the ruthless warlord and ruler of the Wei Kingdom who, like King Menelaus of Sparta in the Trojan War, started a battle of epic proportions because of a woman.
"Unlike the popular novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', the Cao Cao I play is more human, more realistic," said Zhang. "The Cao Cao in the novel was made to look worse than he actually was."
And while Zhang still fronts a brutal warfare in the movie, deploying troops with cunning wit and cutting down enemies with unabashed rage, the actor himself is a much less expressive person.
"When I was younger, I wouldn't even dare to ask a girl out, much less start a fight for her!" Zhang laughed, during an interview with xin.sg.
Lin Chi-ling as Xiao Qiao
And of course, an epic would not be complete without the beautiful leading ladies.
China's darling Vicky Zhao (Princess Pearl; So Close) plays Sun Shangxiang, a tomboy trained in all forms of martial arts.
Taiwan's top supermodel Lin Chi-ling took on her debut acting role as Xiao Qiao, wife of Zhou Yu and one of the main causes of the war.
Director Woo deemed Lin, one of the great beauties in this modern day as parallel to Xiao Qiao, who was one of the great beauties of ancient China.
But Lin insisted her character is not just a pretty vase to tune up the scenery in the film.
"Some people may think that Xiao Qiao is just a pretty girl, but I do think she has a much deeper character," Lin mused.
"She's also strong and brave, and she transcends above war with the strength of love. She offers a softer side to the film, which is mostly about bloodshed.”
"Red Cliff" is co-distributed by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, and is now in cinemas across Singapore.
- CNA/yb
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