#90. Ang Lee protege lands 1st role since reported ban

Thu Feb 5, 7:02 am ET
MIN LEE, AP Entertainment Writer

HONG KONG – Ang Lee protege Tang Wei has landed her first role since starring in the sexually charged spy thriller "Lust, Caution" and her reported ban in mainland China.

Tang will co-star with veteran Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung in the upcoming Chinese-language comedy "Crossing Hennessy," about the friendship that develops between two shopkeepers who are set up on a date, Hong Kong-based Irresistible Films said Thursday.

Shooting will start in March, it said in a statement.

Lee, who won a best director Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," made Tang a star by casting the then-unknown Chinese actress in "Lust, Caution," but she hasn't appeared in a movie since the 2007 film amid a reported ban in mainland China.

Chinese media reported last year that Chinese regulators had ordered TV stations to stop reporting on the actress and pull ads featuring her.

The reported ban was never officially announced and the reason never explained, but it may have been prompted by her role in "Lust, Caution."

In the film, Tang plays a student activist who gives away the plot to assassinate a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence official in World War II-era Shanghai.

Many Chinese are still upset about atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China in the World War II period.

Concerned about a nationalist backlash, Chinese censors cleared "Lust, Caution" only after heavy editing.