Renowned film actress Gong Li set to play Chinese volleyball legend Lang Ping in new movie
International film star Gong Li is set to play Chinese volleyball legend Jenny Lang Ping in a new movie that will be directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun, according to several sources.
Chinese-born Singaporean Gong has agreed to play the iconic volleyball and coach – dubbed the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days – in the movie that is eyeing a release during the first day of the Lunar New Year on January 25, 2020. The film will feature several mainland professional players in the movie that highlights the struggles of the Chinese women’s volleyball team during the past 40 years. Shooting is expected to begin soon and it’s one of two projects Chan has in the works with a documentary on retired tennis star Li Na also in the pipeline, according to sina.com.
Gong, who is best known for her critically acclaimed movies such as Raise the Red Lantern, Red Sorghum and Farewell My Concubine, which won the prestigious Palme d’Ore in 1993, is currently in Cannes, where she will be honoured on Sunday as the first person of Asian descent to win the Cannes Film Festival’s annual women in motion award.
The 53-year-old iconic film star, who has appeared in a smattering of Hollywood films such as Miami Vice, Memoirs of a Geisha and Hannibal Rising, is also set to appear in Disney’s Mulan, scheduled to be released in March 2020.
Lang, 58, is considered one of the greatest women’s volleyball players-turned-coach of all time having won gold for China as a player at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and then as a coach at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Gong told Variety that she would be honoured to accept the Cannes accolade that had been previously been bestowed upon such Hollywood stars as Jane Fonda in 2015, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, both in 2016.
“Making films is fundamental in my life, and I am most grateful to be able to continue to share my work and my passion,” she told variety.com.
The English title for the new volleyball movie, which is based on true stories of several generations of Chinese women’s volleyball teams, hasn’t been given, but Gong, Lang and Chan appeared together with national star player Zhang Changning in a launch ceremony recently.
Chan is an multi-award winning filmmaker whose best work includes 2010’s Bodyguards and Assassins (as a producer) and 2005’s Perhaps Love, Hong Kong’s entry for an Academy Awards nomination in the best foreign film category.
The Chinese women’s volleyball team are currently in Switzerland for the Montreux Masters, where they have been pooled against Poland, Germany and Japan. They defeated Germany 3-2 on Tuesday night and took on Poland on Wednesday night.
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