{"id":622674,"date":"2026-10-06T22:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T22:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622674\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T22:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T22:10:14","slug":"zhang-yimou-teases-chinese-three-body-problem-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622674\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhang Yimou Teases Chinese \u2018Three-Body Problem\u2019 Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tZhang Yimou gave a surprise update on his long-gestating film adaptation of Liu Cixin\u2019s The Three-Body Problem on Tuesday at the Busan International Film Festival<\/a>\u2019s glitzy opening ceremony. The celebrated Chinese auteur, who is serving as president of Busan\u2019s main competition jury this year, said he has spent years polishing the screenplay for the project \u2014 and even enlisted his team to collect some 400,000 online fan comments to help him shape his approach to the adaptation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Three-Body Problem is a great work of science fiction, but it\u2019s hard to photograph, so we spent several years polishing the script. Hopefully this film will live up to everyone\u2019s expectations and satisfy the audience,\u201d he said from the stage of the Busan Cinema Center.<\/p>\n

\n\tZhang\u2019s plans to direct a fresh adaptation of China\u2019s most celebrated work of sci-fi were first announced at the Shanghai International<\/a> Film Festival in 2024, but little had been revealed about the project in the years since. Zhang\u2019s undertaking is completely separate from Netflix\u2019s high-profile English-language series 3 Body Problem, created by Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss alongside Alexander Woo, which debuted on Netflix in March 2024. The film from Zhang, his country\u2019s most esteemed auteur \u2014 known for everything from the gritty realism of his early career to grandly staged epics like Hero and House of Flying Daggers \u2014 will give the material a new homegrown Chinese cinematic treatment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I first found out I was going to direct Three Body, I had the company collect a large amount of data \u2014 approximately 400,000 online comments from fans about their hopes for the film. I know everyone has a lot of worries. I will sincerely study the hopes and demands of the audience and hopefully make a good movie,\u201d Zhang added.<\/p>\n

\n\tHeld outdoors at the Busan Cinema Center on a clear, crisp autumn evening, the festival ceremony was hosted by Korean actress Kim Min-ha, best known internationally for Pachinko and also starring in Busan\u2019s opening film, The Table: Day and Night.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe red carpet brought together a cross-section of international filmmakers and stars, including Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n and his filmmaker son Jon\u00e1s; Lee Chang-dong and the four stars of his Netflix-backed Oscar contender Possible Love \u2014 Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong; and Palme d\u2019Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda with the cast of his acclaimed Venice premiere Look Back. Korean screen heavyweights Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung, fresh off the conclusion of their Disney+ thriller Made in Korea, also attended, alongside Chinese star Fan Bingbing, French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg and Hope director Na Hong-jin.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(L-R) Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong, Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon and film director Lee Chang-dong arrive on the Busan red carpet in support of Possible Love.<\/p>\n

\n\tLooking ahead to his jury duties, Zhang said he was honored to serve on a majority-female jury, noting the rarity of such demographics at the world\u2019s leading cinema events. Joining him on the seven-member panel are Chinese auteur Bi Gan, Korean actor Moon Choi, Japanese director Kei Ishikawa, Korean filmmaker July Jung, Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc and Kazakh actor Samal Yeslyamova, a Cannes best actress winner for Ayka (2018). He also praised the recent creative example set by his Korean counterparts.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cKorean cinema has been truly remarkable in recent years. This has attracted attention in Asia<\/a> and around the world. There are many things we can learn from this,\u201d Zhang added. \u201cAsian cinema should have this stage and not just be confined to Asia \u2014 it should have a wide-ranging global impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Made in Korea\u2019 stars Woo Do-hwan, Jung Woo-sung and Hyun Bin also walked the Busan carpet for Disney+.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther meaningful moments in Busan Tuesday night included the honoring of two trailblazing women of Hong Kong cinema\u2019s golden age.<\/p>\n

\n\tMichelle Yeoh, returning to the festival for the first time in 15 years, received Busan\u2019s Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. As the festival noted in an introductory montage, the Malaysian star\u2019s career has spanned Hong Kong action cinema, the international breakthrough of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and an Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNo one does this alone,\u201d Yeoh said, emphasizing the collaborators behind her career \u2014 including one in the audience. She then paid a personal tribute to Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui, the night\u2019s recipient of Busan\u2019s Camellia Award, an honor established by the festival in partnership with Chanel to recognize contributions in advancing the standing of women in the film industry. Yeoh previously worked with Hui on The Stunt Woman (1996), lending an emotional note to her remarks.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnn Hui, you have spent five decades capturing the quiet dignity of ordinary people\u2019s lives, while opening a path for generations of women behind the camera,\u201d Yeoh said. \u201cI feel especially privileged to have had the opportunity to work with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hong Kong director, whose classics include Boat People and A Simple Life, previously received Busan\u2019s Asian Filmmaker of the Year honor in 2014 and Venice\u2019s Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n\tHer acceptance remarks were characteristically candid.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBefore, I felt unwilling to receive career honors, because I wanted to continue making films,\u201d Hui said. \u201cBut now that I\u2019m nearly 80, I find filmmaking very difficult, so the prize comes just in time for me to appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHui said she had been attending Busan since its inaugural edition in 1996 and was especially pleased to receive the recognition before what she called one of the most \u201csavvy and cinematically literate audiences in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe opening ceremony was followed by the world premiere of Kim Jong-kwan\u2019s The Table: Day and Night, an ensemble romance built around four pairs of people and their encounters at a single Seoul caf\u00e9. Kim and his cast joined the festivities, with the film starring host Kim Min-ha alongside Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year marks only the second edition of Busan\u2019s main competition, introduced in 2025 to give the festival an awards showcase closer to those of Europe\u2019s leading festivals. Zhang\u2019s jury will assess 13 contenders, handing out prizes for best film, best director, special jury prize, best actor and artistic contribution.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 31st Busan International Film Festival runs through Oct. 15, with the Asian Contents & Film Market taking place Oct. 10-13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zhang Yimou gave a surprise update on his long-gestating film adaptation of Liu Cixin\u2019s The Three-Body Problem on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2300,29722,27449,156,1019,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-622674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-asia","tag-busan-film-festival","tag-busan-international-film-festival","tag-entertainment","tag-international","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}