The film, long-awaited worldwide, is scheduled to premier at the Great Hall of the People on December 19.

The crew will then fly to Shanghai aboard a Shandong Airlines Rainbow Jet Co., Ltd. private jet, and then Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province.

With an unprecedented US$31-million budget, Hero aims to set records in many respects to boost the mainland's struggling movie industry.

The film has been designated by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television as China's only candidate for the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film nomination.

Wang Bin, the screenwriter of Hero, denied on Friday in Beijing that the film was made to win the Oscar, but said "it will be a good thing if Hero is favored by Oscar. It will undoubtedly greatly boost people's interest in the film if we win the Oscar," Wang said.

In order to deal with the pervasive digital-video-disc pirates, only segments will be played at the premiere ceremonies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which hundreds of reporters have asked to attend.

People will have to wait until December 19 when the regular screening begins to watch the complete Hero.

As for the promotional tour, it is unprecedented for a film crew to charter a private jet in China.

There are only 11 private jets in China, owned by several companies, plus Rainbow's Challenger 604, which seats up to 15 comfortably, and is the world's most luxurious type.

According to Bai Weisan, general manager of Rainbow, the total cost for the charter could reach "hundreds of thousands of yuan."

(China Daily November 25, 2002)