Actress Tang Wei (汤唯), who was blacklisted from appearing in Chinese films or on TV for a time, has been rehabilitated: she is to play Mao Zedong’s first love in a new film called The Founding of the Party, a prequel to the state-produced smash hit The Founding of a Republic that was produced in 2009 to celebrate 60 years of the People’s Republic of China and Communist Party rule.
Popular husky-voiced actress Zhou Xun who did not appear in The Founding of the Nation will also be in the new film. Liu Ye plays a young Mao Zedong.
From the blog Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver (link below, post includes plenty of photos of cast):
A press conference was held at Beijing Film Studio with many of the cast members in costume but Tang Wei and Zhou Xun were clearly the highlight of the event. Lu Chuan and Sheng Ding will direct parts of the film besides chief director Huang Jianxin. And unlike last time, the cast will not be working for free but receive basic compensation and expenses.
Judging from the photo above, Wa Haha mineral water is the chosen drink of the The Founding of the Party actors.
- Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver: Tang Wei, Zhou Xun join The Founding of a Party
- Sina (Chinese): Tang Wei to play Mao’s first love Tao Yi in The Founding of a Party (image source)
- Earlier on Danwei: Tang Wei too hot for TV
The travails of Tudou and Tang Wei
Wang Xiaofeng: Why is SARFT so uptight?
A petition to stop the ban on Tang Wei
Actress Tang Wei to appear in White Deer Plain?