Anyone even remotely acquainted with historical epics on CCTV will certainly know the name Hu Mei. She's responsible for some of the most popular and best shows of the last decade, particularly 2005's masterpiece 汉武大帝 (Han Wu the Great) with Chen Baoguo and 雍正王朝 (The Yongzheng Dynasty) with Tang Guoqiang. Her dramas tend to be madly creative, especially in the visuals department (although that also brings the occasional mishap, especially in terms of editing), and with the kind of panache that would make Shakespeare fans fall in love. Her last year or so has been quite a tumultuous succession of events, what with her departure from the 2008 TV version of the famous 红楼梦 (Dreams of the Red Chamber), and her announcement that she'd helm a film version of the story.

But it seems Hu will first concentrate on a new epic historical drama on the big screen, centered on the life of the great sage, Confucius himself. The film, which starts shooting this September, is currently undergoing auditions for the main role. The press asked Hui if Tony Leung was ever considered as a candidate, but Hu will try to stay true to history and cast a larger, more imposing actor in the role. Preliminary budget is set for 150 million yuan (roughly US$ 21 million), and script will be handled by Chen Han, who also worked on John Woo's 赤壁 (Red Cliff). Hu was apparently preparing a 60 episode drama on the subject already, when the offer to direct the story on the big screen came. This will officially mark her debut in the film scene (despite having worked in the industry already), but one shouldn't forget she's part of the "Fifth Generation," graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in the early 80s along with Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang. Film will release on October 2009.

[Yinsha] [CRI Online]