(MENAFN- Arab Times) Anghai june 15 (agencies): shanghai on saturday kicked off its annual film festival a nine-day event with a heavy emphasis on chinese cinema and a sprinkling of hollywood stars promoting their latest works. the shanghai international film festival dates to 1993 but a similar event in political capital beijing has stolen some of the spotlight though it has only been running for four years industry officials say. 'china's film centre is beijing' said movie critic raymond zhou but he added: 'the shanghai film festival has nurtured a loyal audience who are all movie enthusiasts. every year there are many classic movies screened.' at the opening ceremony actress nicole kidman who is promoting 'grace of monaco' at the festival received an award for outstanding contribution to film.
'i like chinese women. i like that they're strong and they have a very good sense of humour' she said answering a question about chinese culture. 'that's my dream one day to play a chinese woman' she said with a laugh. before the opening ceremony foreign and asian movie stars and directors strolled on the red carpet in muggy heat. american actor john cusack now in china shooting the movie 'dragon blade' joined hong kong action star jackie chan who also stars. lesson
actor hugh grant whose movie 'the rewrite' will show at the festival received a brief lesson in shanghai dialect from a host repeating 'i love shanghai' to the screams of fans. shanghai has tapped the grande dame of chinese cinema actress gong li to head the jury for its flagship award an honour usually given to a foreign director. festival organisers picked a chinese movie the 1965 production 'stage sisters' about two chinese opera artists as the opening film while a major tribute will celebrate china's '5th generation' of filmmakers from the 1980s including director zhang yimou. chinese state media has recently criticised big-budget action films in an indirect swipe at foreign movies. explosions
chinese moviegoers wants more than car chases explosions and eye-catching special effects' the official xinhua news agency said in a recent article which declared a 'golden period' for low-budget chinese movies. it praised chinese art-house production 'black coal thin ice' which won the 'golden bear' for best film at the berlin international film festival in february. the gritty thriller about a ex-policeman will be screened at the shanghai festival. china was the world's second largest box office at $3.6 billion last year behind only north america according to the motion picture association of america. but foreign films entering china come under an annual quota of just 34 annually and face censorship by cultural authorities who excise content deemed politically sensitive or obscene. also:
los angeles: fresh off back-to-back box office hits 'the great gatsby' and 'now you see me' isla fisher has signed on to join her husband sacha baron cohen in sony's upcoming spy spoof 'grimsby' thewrap has learned. the action-comedy finds mark strong ('kick') playing a british black ops spy who is forced to go on the run and team up with his idiotic english football hooligan brother (baron cohen). ian mcshane and rebel wilson co-star alongside annabelle wallis david harewood oscar-nominated 'precious' star gabourey sidibe and english comedian johnny vegas. fisher will tackle a key supporting role possibly as a femme fatale or other comely vixen. louis leterrier ('now you see me') is directing from a script by baron cohen phil johnston and peter baynham with baron cohen and johnston sharing story credit. baron cohen and nira park will produce while johnston and baynham will executive produce along with adam mckay todd schulman and working title's tim bevan and eric fellner. louise rosner and james biddle and ant hines are also executive producers on the project which will start production this summer. fisher next stars in the blumhouse movie 'visions' and dan schechter's elmore leonard adaptation 'life of crime.' she's represented by caa mosaic shanahan management and attorney warren dern.
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