While people are still spellbound by the visual feast of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, Zhang Yimou, producer of the stunning scenes, is gearing up for new blockbusters.

Zhang's next film:

Zhang, the internationally acclaimed filmmaker, will cooperate with Jackie Chan, best known for his kung fu and action movies, to produce one or more films, according to a Nanfang Daily report.

The newspaper said that Zhang will probably shoot a film adapted from Thirteen Girls in Jinling City, a novel written by Yan Geling, a Chinese author who now lives in America.

The story is about thirteen prostitutes who sacrificed their lives to save a group of convent girls in Nanjing when innocent civilians were massacred by Japanese invaders in 1937. Yan refused to write the screenplay for the film because she does not want any further involvement with the tragic story.

Zhang's pay increase:

The rumor mills are churning that Zhang's salary may rise to 20 million yuan (US$2.92 million) after the Opening Ceremony. Zhang's boss, Zhang Weiping, CEO of the Beijing New Picture Distribution Co Ltd, denied the story. "Zhang is a film director and artistic supervisor with our company. I am the only one who knows what he earns. His income comes from the films he directs. He cannot earn bonuses before a film nets profits."

Zhang's biography:

Huaxia Publishing House recently published a biography of Zhang. The book contains a number of anecdotes about the director's childhood, romances, marriage and family, but it was published without Zhang's approval. According to Nanfang Daily, the book is selling well.

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin, August 13, 2008)