US Geisha epic sparks anger in Japan, China

TOKYO - Some of Asia's most glamorous movie stars swept up the red carpet to Tokyo's national sumo stadium for the world premiere of the latest Japan-themed Hollywood epic, Memoirs of a Geisha.

But the film -- described by leading actress Ziyi Zhang as a great opportunity for Asian actors to show their mettle -- has sparked anger in Japan and China ahead of its December 10 release.

Critics in both countries are unhappy that the movie's main characters, practitioners of Japan's traditional arts of music and dance, are played by Chinese nationals or ethnic Chinese.

The casting riles those Japanese who want to see an accurate portrayal of their country's demure, kimono-clad performers, and infuriates those Chinese who harbour bitter feelings over Japan's 1931-1945 occupation of parts of their country.

"I have a very simple philosophy about casting, and that is: cast the best person for the role," director Rob Marshall told reporters as he arrived for the premiere.

"The demands were enormous and Ziyi was the best."

Zhang plays Sayuri, a girl sold by her poor fisherman father into a geisha house in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, where she transforms herself into a legend of the mysterious "floating world" of entertainment in the 1930s.

Her female co-stars are Gong Li of China and Michelle Yeoh, an ethnic-Chinese Malaysian, although Sayuri's love interest is played by Japan's Ken Watanabe.

The movie was shot mainly in California, and the actresses were forced to try to assimilate in weeks the skills that geisha spend their lives perfecting.

Clad in a ballgown with black bodice and bright green skirt, the slender Zhang picked her way into the stadium usually associated with the bulky fighters of one of Japan's national sports.

The film, based on the best-selling novel of the same name and at one point set to be directed by Steven Spielberg, has generated huge public interest in Japan, but may be something of a gamble for backers Sony Pictures.

Alienating Japanese moviegoers, who form the second biggest market for Hollywood films, would be fatal for a lavish production reported to have cost US$85 million ($121.4 million).

Some Japanese have already reacted angrily to the liberties the movie takes with traditional costume and dance -- one blogger suggested boycotting the movie. A furious Chinese blogger said Zhang deserved to be "hacked to death" for taking the role.

"Every Japanese character in the movie speaks English," said 73-year-old retiree Hisashi Tano, who was waiting to see the premiere. "I cannot deny that I was a little bit bothered by that." On the other hand, Zhang has many admirers in Japan, where she appears in television commercials.

And the Japanese have a record of welcoming Hollywood versions of their culture. Industry reports said The Last Samurai (2003), starring Tom Cruise, grossed more in Japan than in the United States.

"Today's young people have very little connection with the world of geisha," said one middle-aged woman journalist after a preview on Monday. "Perhaps they will be able to see it in the same way as foreigners do, as something exotic," she added.

- REUTERS