ANG LEE CASTS NEWCOMER TANG WEI TO STAR IN "LUST CAUTION" WITH TONY LEUNG!!!!!

07.23 - Posted by APAFW

July 17, 2006, Los Angeles
"Lust, Caution," director Ang Lee's next film for Focus Features, following his Academy Award win for directing "Brokeback Mountain," has found its leading man and leading lady. Screen newcomer Tang Wei, who hails from mainland China, will star opposite Asian cinema icon Tony Leung in Mr. Lee's espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, which begins filming later this year. Focus Features CEO James Schamus made the announcement today.

Bill Kong, who previously produced Mr. Lee's blockbuster "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," will produce "Lust, Caution" with the director. Mr. Schamus will executive-produce "Lust, Caution," which is adapted from a short story by the late Chinese author Eileen Chang.

Mr. Leung will star as Mr. Yee, a powerful political figure in 1940s Shanghai. Ms. Tang, making her feature film debut in Lust, Caution , will star as Wang Jiazhi, a young woman who gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with Mr. Yee.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai, a native of Hong Kong, has been one of Asia's top stars for nearly two decades. He has starred in several memorable films for directors Wong Kar-wai and John Woo, and in such smash hits as "Hero" and "Infernal Affairs. "

Tang Wei is already a rising star in mainland China, having starred on stage and television. She recently gave an award-winning performance in the telefilm Jinghua Swallow. Ms. Tang has also written short novels and stage dramas, and directed theater productions.

Mr. Schamus said, "Paired with a great star like Tony Leung, Lust, Caution will be a wonderful introduction for Tang Wei to the world film community. She is a young actress of intelligence and major big-screen potential, and together they are the perfect protagonists for this thrilling story."

Mr. Lee commented, "It's exciting for me to be making a movie in China again, and to finally be working with Tony Leung on a project. Tang Wei has already shown such versatility in her early work that I knew she was the ideal actress to incarnate the many sides of Wang Jiazhi."

Also newly cast in "Lust, Caution" is Chinese pop idol and actor Wang Lee Hom, who will play Kuang Yu Min, a young student involved with Wang Jiazhi.
Mr. Kong has produced several films that Focus and/or Focus Features International have released, including "Jet Li's Fearless," starring Jet Li and directed by Ronny Yu (which Focus' sibling company Rogue Pictures releases domestically nationwide on September 22 nd); and Zhang Yimou's "Hero" (starring Jet Li and Tony Leung) and "House of Flying Daggers."

"Brokeback Mountain" won, among other honors, 3 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, and 4 BAFTA Awards. The film is Focus' all-time top-grosser, with global ticket sales of over $179 million.

Focus Features ( www.focusfeatures.com ) is a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world's most innovative filmmakers.

In addition to "Lust, Caution," upcoming Focus Features releases include Woody Allen's Scoop, starring Allen, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Ian McShane; Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, and Bob Hoskins; Phillip Noyce's Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins Derek Luke, and Bonnie Henna; Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me, starring Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Shane Acker's animated fantasy epic 9, produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov and Jim Lemley & Dana Ginsburg; Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature Coraline, starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, and Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders; Joe Wright's Atonement, starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and Romola Garai; and David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts.

Focus Features is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric and 20%-owned by Vivendi.

--Los Angeles APAFIRSTWEEKEND