USA: Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood co-stars in "Mao's Last Dancer"

Record ID: 1548194

  • Title: USA: Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood co-stars in "Mao's Last Dancer"
  • Date: 19th August 2010
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRUCE GREENWOOD SAYING: "I read the book because I heard the movie was being done and then I read the script and I called Bruce (Beresford) and said, 'Wow, this would be great for me, don't you think?' And he said, 'Well, Mao actually has been offered to someone else.' But they always do that."
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2010 02:36
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA868Y0Y4FM3KIRRXDXZZ2YMZS
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: The Academy Award nominated director Bruce Beresford directs "Mao's Last Dancer", based on the story of the life the famous Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin.
    Cunxin was taken from his family when he was 11 and was trained as a ballet dancer by Mao's government. His extraordinary skills eventually took him to the US at 18, where he gained fame and fell in love with an American dancer. However, he was heavily criticized back in China for his choice to remain in the US.
    Bruce Greenwood plays Ben Stevenson, Cunxin's mentor during his stay in Texas. "Well, I think what will draw people in is this incredibly compelling story about this young child in rural China, this mud-walled, dirt-floored hut" said Greenwood of the film. "He's plucked there by Mao's emissaries, dragged to Beijing and told, you're going to be a dancer".
    Li Cunxin currently resides in Australia.
    The film was shot on location in Australia, United States and China, where Greenwood felt a little bit out of step . "Well, yeah because you get there and you realize, I don't speak a word of Chinese, you know, a couple of tiny flash card phrases and you realize you have to connect with people in a different kind of way and you listen really carefully."
    Among Australian-born director Beresford's other films are "Breaker Morant," Tender Mercies" and "Driving Miss Daisy."
    "Mao's Last Dancer" hits US theaters for limited engagement on the 20th of August.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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