A Star Rises in the East

Four year ago, Ziyi Zhang, who had literally soared to the attention of Hollywood as a nobleman’s beautiful daughter in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, arranged to meet Steven Spielberg. She knew he was interested in directing the best-seller Memoirs of a Geisha, and though Zhang is Chinese and geishas are Japanese, she recognized the scarcity of great parts for Asian actresses and wanted him to consider her for the title role. It was a peculiar meeting. Aside from the question of nationality, Zhang did not speak English.Ang Lee, the director of Crouching Tiger, had suggested that she learn the language, but she ignored him. Although she’s ambitious, at the time she was not concentrating the West.

So when Zhang met Spielberg, she understood only three sentences (“Quiet, please,” ”Action” and “Cut”),and she knew how to speak just three words” Hire. Me. Please.” Spielberg laughed when she repeated her hire-me-please mantra, but did not hire her. Eventually, Spielberg ceded the direction of Geisha to Rob Marshall, who was nominated for an Oscar for Chicago. And Marshall conducted his own global search for the lead, eventually

choosing Zhang. “The word ‘geisha’ means ’person of the arts’ in Japanese,” Marshall explained. “And

that means everything from the art of conversation to dance to escorting men. Geishas were the supermodels of their day, and Ziyi has that unusual combination of strength and grace. She has a great spirit, but outwardly she can seem fragile. And, “ Marshall said, laughing, “her English had improved.”

Marshall, who comes from the musical theater, was particularly impressed with Zhang’s background in dance, “It gives you a discipline and a way to walk and move,” he explained. “We rehearsed for six weeks—I had six rooms working at all times.” Even during filming, the rehearsals were particularly rigorous.” Said Zhang. “On a typical day, we shoot from 9to 6 and then have training for everything we need to do in the movie. I usually start at 6 a.m. and, with all the

classes, work to midnight for me. You can practice the rest.”

Zhang touched her eye, which

was a little pink. “I wear blue contacts in the movie,” she said. “And they are not easy.” It is difficult to imagine most young American actresses adhering to this kind of training, especially in another language. But according to Marshall, “Ziyi’s focus is only on trying perfect the role.” He is also aware that “Geisha” was easy compared to filming in China. “There, they shoot from 7 a.m. to midnight, six days a week,” he said. “And they consider themselves very lucky.”

Taking a sip of orange juice，Zhang politely explained here sense of purpose. “ I remember when I dreamed of having this time,” she said, looking steely but sweet. “Not just this time, but still more like it. And more, and more. I think I now understand America. Hopefully, they will understand me.”

四年前，章子怡凭借在

《卧虎藏龙》里扮演豪门千金而大受好莱坞的青睐，并得以同斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格会面。她知道斯皮尔伯格有意向执导畅销书《艺妓的回忆录》，尽管章是中国人，而艺妓是日本人，但她意识到对亚洲女演员而言，这种在大片中担纲的惧色是弥足珍贵的，因此她请皮尔斯伯格考虑她当女主角。这是个别开生面的会面。撇开国际的问题，章连英语都不会说。《卧虎藏龙》的导演李安曾建议她学英语，但她没有在意。尽管他满怀壮志，但当时她并没有关注西方市场。

所以，章与斯皮尔伯格会面时只懂三个句子（“请安静”、“开拍”以及“停”），但她知道怎么说三个至关重要的词：“请用我”。斯皮尔伯格在她反复念诵“请用我”时，大笑不止，不过他没有录用她。最后，斯皮尔伯格放弃执导《艺妓回忆录》，而转由因执导《芝加哥》而获奥斯凯提名的罗布·马歇尔但当导演。马歇尔自己在全球范围内甄选主角，最终选择了章子怡。马歇尔解释说：“‘艺妓’这个词在日语里是‘艺者’ 的意思。这就意味着从谈话的艺术到舞蹈到陪伴男性尽皆包含在内。艺妓是她们时代的超级模特，而子怡是力量与优雅的非凡结合体。她意志坚强，但外表却给人娇柔的感觉。而且，”马歇尔说着，笑了起来：“他的英文也有了提高。”

出身音乐剧的马歇尔对章的舞蹈青睐独钟。他解释说：“舞蹈赋予了你一种修养以及举手投足的方式。我们彩排了6周--一直同时启用六个房间。”“即便在拍摄期间，排练依然特别严格。”章说：“一般而言，我们从早上9点拍到下午6点，然后训练我们在电影中所要做的一切事情。我一般早上6点开始，工作到午夜，其中包括所有课程。对白的场景对我而言是最难的。其他的只要练习就可以了。”

章摸了一下有点发红的眼睛说：“我在

电影里要带着蓝色的隐形眼镜。戴起来可没那么容易。“很难想象美国的年轻女演员会坚持这类训练，尤其是在另一种语言环境里。但据马歇尔讲，“子怡关注的只是努力使这个角色完美。”他也清楚，《艺妓回忆录》比起在中国的拍摄要容易些。他说：“在中国，他们是从早上7点拍到半夜，一周六天。他们认为自己很幸运。

吸了一口澄汁后，章礼貌的解释了她要达到的目的。外貌冷峻而动人的她说：“我记得，我曾梦想有这样的一次机会。并且不仅仅是这次机会，而是更多这样的机会。更多，更多。我认为，我现在对美国有了理解，也希望美国人会理解我。”