They’re not the only ones clamoring for Zhang. Ever since she starred in Zhang Yimou’s “The Road Home” three years ago, the glossy-haired actress with the warm smile and the dancer’s physique has been winning kudos–and ardent fans. Currently, she gives a captivating turn as a rebellious fighter in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the lyrical martial-arts film by Taiwan-born director Ang Lee. Last week “Crouching Tiger” snared 10 Oscar nominations–a record number for a foreign film–including best film and best director. At the same time it became North America’s highest-grossing foreign-language film ever, topping $62 million to beat out Roberto Benigni’s “Life Is Beautiful.” Which explains why, during a break in filming “Rush Hour 2,” Jackie Chan is ordering Zhang a custom-made gown, barking questions into his mobile phone. “Do you want it low-cut in the front?” he asks her. “No, Chinese-style,” she says, “with a little Mandarin collar.” “How about low-cut in the back, showing your bottom?” Chan jokes. Zhang fires back, “Better yet, have it push my bosom up in the front!” She giggles. Plopping into an armchair, Zhang shakes her head. “It’s like a dream,” she says in Mandarin.
Zhang’s rapid rise parallels that of China’s film industry. Little more than two decades ago communist Beijing limited public cinema fare to “revolutionary operas,” starring the favorite performers of Chairman Mao Zedong or his wife, Jiang Qing. Only after Mao’s death in 1976 did China fling open its doors to outside investment, allowing the mainland movie trade to return to making films for entertainment. Since then, Chinese films have become increasingly popular in the United States: Zhang Yimou’s “Raise the Red Lantern” for its sumptuous sets, Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” for its rich emotion, and today’s martial-arts extravaganzas for their gravity-defying action. Mainland director Zhang Yang calls the West’s growing fascination with the East “China Fever.”
Now “Crouching Tiger” proves that a Chinese-language film can become a blockbuster. Its success came as an unexpected triumph for Ang Lee, who has demonstrated a gift for transcending cultural differences to get at the universal emotions beneath his subjects, in films ranging from “The Ice Storm” to “Sense and Sensibility.” “Crouching Tiger” also resonates among many Asians because of Zhang’s portrayal of Jen Yu, the willful daughter of a wealthy official who defies her family to pursue her passion for swordplay and adventure. Paradoxically, the film has been less of a sensation on the mainland. But no film can count on becoming a hit in China, where a prolific video- and DVD-counterfeiting industry regularly sabotages the box office. A pirated DVD of “Gladiator,” for instance, sells on the street for less than the cost of a movie ticket. And censorship is still a problem; “Crouching Tiger’s” theme–youthful rebellion–is a daring subject to tackle, one Chinese director told NEWSWEEK, just 12 years after the communists suppressed student protests in Tiananmen Square.
For Zhang, that’s ancient history. Born in 1979, she has lived her entire life in the post-Mao period of go-go economic reform. Her parents told her “only a little bit” about the devastating 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. She was just 10 years old when student protesters took over Tiananmen Square in 1989. “The only thing I remember is that teachers let their students stay home from school,” she says. “So we all had a long vacation. It was fun.”
A year later her parents packed her off to the Beijing Dance School, where she washed her own laundry at a cold-water tap. But after six years Zhang decided dance “wasn’t my passion. I couldn’t become the best.” So she applied for–and won–a coveted slot at the China Central Drama Academy. After appearing in a few ads, she met China’s top director, Zhang Yimou, while auditioning for a shampoo commercial. Zhang Ziyi arrived late, shook hands with him–and got dismissed. More than a year later an assistant director called to say the director wanted to cast her in his new film, “The Road Home.” The movie turned out to be a love poem to Zhang Ziyi–and it sparked rumors that she’d followed actress Gong Li’s path to fame by becoming Zhang Yimou’s lover. “Those were just made up by the media,” she says. “We have a professional relationship.” Zhang Yimou declines to comment on the subject, telling NEWSWEEK only that “[Ziyi] was born to be filmed.”
In 1999 Zhang Yimou recommended his protege to Ang Lee for “Crouching Tiger,” but says the Taiwan-born director was less than impressed. Yet she won the role of Jen after Ang Lee’s first choice rejected it because of the rigorous training schedule. Despite her dance background, Zhang found the part grueling. “The director put so much pressure on me,” she recalls. “He used his eyes to scold me… especially when he wanted me to practice sword-fighting and found me watching the monitor instead.” Every time costar Michelle Yeoh did a scene well, Zhang says, Ang Lee hugged her. “I wanted him to hug me too,” says Zhang. “But he never did.” Until the last day. After the farewell dinner, Ang Lee finally turned to Zhang and said she’d put in a very strong performance. “He gave me six months’ worth of hugs,” she recalls. “I just started crying my eyes out.”
Zhang’s performance was quickly noticed. Ratner and “Rush Hour 2” producer Arthur Sarkissian were so impressed that they decided to make “the part of the female villain even bigger,” Sarkissian says. “She has an incredible presence.” Says Ratner, “She can stand toe to toe with Jackie Chan… and not be intimidated.”
That toughness and nerve come through when she’s out of character too. A few days after arriving in Vegas in February, Zhang hit the casinos–and won $600 at blackjack. “I like to gamble,” she says, “but only when I can use my head.” Judging by her career so far, the strategy is definitely paying off.
