Director Zhang Yimou's new film is being produced jointly by Chinese and American studios. The legendary filmmaker is excited at prospects the collaboration offers. Liu Wei reports.

Zhang Yimou says his next film will be "an action blockbuster with a fantastic touch".

The director of Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, told Britain's Gareth Edwards, director of the new Godzilla film, that his new English-language film will revolve around the Great Wall.

The two filmmakers were taking part in a talk at the Beijing Film Academy, where Zhang studied cinematography. He spoke about his enthusiasm for new technology in film production.

"I watched Edwards' film, which impressed me with its imaginative visual effects," Zhang says. "My new film will also be visually spectacular with intense computer-generated images."

The 64-year-old is familiar with the story of Godzilla, the monster that originated in a 1954 Japanese film and has since been featured in many film and television works. When a student asked Edwards why the Godzilla in his film poster looks fatter than previous incarnations of the legend, Zhang joked about it.

"In the film it feeds off radiation, so maybe it's getting fat to remind us human beings that we have abused nuclear power," he says.

Zhang's project, tentatively titled The Great Wall, will be co-produced by Chinese studios and Legendary East, a branch of Los Angeles-based Legendary Pictures. Legendary East also co-produced Godzilla 2014 with Warner Brothers.

What sets his film apart from other fantasy blockbusters, Zhang proudly notes, is the Chinese culture that propels the storyline.

"This film is a historic one, not only because it is my first personal attempt at working with Hollywood, but also because it will be a truly global blockbuster with strong Chinese elements."

Finding the right balance between appealing to an international audience and promoting Chinese culture will be a demanding challenge even for Zhang, one of the world's most acclaimed Chinese filmmakers.

"By and large, a film touches its audience with its story, emotions and characters," he says. "Visual effects are important, because today's audiences - mostly young people - expect to see spectacle in a film. But any attempt to promote culture will never be realized without an engaging story and convincing characters."

Edwards, whose Godzilla 2014 revolves around an emotional family tale, agrees.

"When computer-generated graphics were first invented in the early 1990s, there were a lot of breakthrough technologies," Edwards says.

"But where we are now in cinema is that you can kind of do anything, so I hope we are going to see people embracing strong characters and stories, not only visual effects. The honeymoon (with computer-generated graphics) is over. It is good storytelling that actually makes better films."

By co-producing the film with Legendary East, Zhang will lead a group of Chinese filmmakers to learn from Hollywood, which he believes will be of significance to Chinese film industry.

"This film will hopefully lift up some local filmmakers, who will be endowed with the chance to work with counterparts in Hollywood and learn from their advanced technology and filmmaking philosophy," Zhang says.

Zhang is among China's leading filmmakers. In 1988, he was the first Chinese to win the top honor at the Berlin Film Festival with Red Sorghum, a rural saga set in eastern China.

He also directed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He has directed Western operas and live theater productions in some of China's popular tourist destinations, such as the West Lake and the city of Yangshuo.

His most recent theatrical release was Coming Home, a mid-budget drama about a middle-aged couple's reunion after political upheavals in modern China. The emotional picture has taken 300 million yuan ($47 million) at the box office since its premiere on May 16.

Contact the writer at liuw@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 06/19/2014 page8)