presents
EMPIRE OF
SILVER
A film by Christina Yao
www.EmpireOfSilver.com
Running time: 1hr 52’
PRESS CONTACT:
NYC:
Gary Springer
SPRINGER ASSOCIATES PR
1501 Broadway #506
New York, NY 10036
gary@springerassociatespr.com
Office: +1 212.354.4660
Mobile: +1 914.659.4802
Los Angeles and National:
Rene Ridinger
MPRM Communications
5670 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 2500
Los Angeles, CA 90036
rridinger@mprm.com
Tel. 323.933.339
San Francisco:
Karen Larsen
Larsen Associates
360 Ritch Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: 415-957-1205
larsenassc@aol.co
DISTRIBUTION CONTACT:
Theatrical Bookings:
Emily Woodburne
woodburne@gmail.com
Distribution and Marketing:
Frederic Demey
NeoClassics Films Ltd.
3710 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite 230
Culver City, CA 90232
Ph: +1 (310) 559-9200
Fax: +1 310-559-9267
frederic@neoclassicsfilms.com
www.neoclassicsfilms.com
Page 2 of 25
For Press Materials, Film Stills,
Trailers and More go to
www.neoclassicsfilmsassets.com
To Access EMPIRE OF SILVER:
username – eos101
password – eos101
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
Page 3 of 25
~ Festival Awards & Nominations ~
 Shanghai International Film Festival 2009
Winner: Jury Award
Winner: Best Director, Press Award
 Orlando Film Festival 2010
Winner: Best Director
Winner: Best Foreign Feature
 Williamsburg International Film Festival 2010
Winner: Best Picture
Winner: Best Director
Winner: Best Cinematography
 Dixie Film Festival 2010
Winner: Best Picture
Winner: Best Foreign Picture
Winner: Best Cinematography
 South Appalachian International Film Festival 2010
Winner: Best Foreign Language Feature Film
Winner: Best Editing
Winner: Best Score
 Hawaii International Film Festival 2009
Winner: Best Picture
 Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival 2010
Winner: Best Feature film
 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2010
Winner: Spirit of Independents Award
 Anchorage International Film Festival 2010
Winner: Audience Award
 Hong Kong Academy Awards 2010
Nomination: Best cinematography
Nomination: Best art direction
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Nomination: Best costume/make-up design
 Huabiao Awards 2009
Nomination: Best Co-produced Feature Film
Nomination: Best Chinese Actor from Outside of Mainland China (Aaron Kwok)
 Golden Rooster Awards 2009
Nomination: Best Cinematography
 Shanghai Film Critics’ Award 2010
Winner: Film of Merit
~ Festival Screenings ~
 Berlin Film Festival 2009
 San Francisco International Film Festival 2010
 Cambridge Film Festival 2010 (England)
 Culture and Cultures Intercultural International Film Festival 2010 (France)
 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2010
 Alaska International Film Festival 2010
 Orlando Film Festival 2010
 Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2010
 D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival 2010
 San Diego Asian Film Festival 2010
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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IN THEATRES NATIONWIDE
June 3rd, 2011
New York
AMC Empire 25 - New York, NY
AMC Village 7 - New York, NY
AMC Fresh Meadows 7 – Fresh Meadows, NY
Los Angeles
AMC Criterion 6 – Santa Monica, CA
AMC Burbank 8 – Burbank, CA
AMC Puente Hills 20 – Industry, CA
AMC Santa Anita 16 – Arcadia, CA
AMC Atlantic Times 14 – Monterey Park, CA
Bay area
AMC Bay Street 16 – Emeryville, CA
AMC Cupertino 16 – Cupertino, CA
AMC Eastridge 15 – San Jose, CA
AMC Metreon 16 – San Francisco, CA
AMC Mercado 20 – Santa Clara, CA
Washington DC
AMC Rio 18 – Gaithersburg, MD
AMC Shirlington 7 – Arlington, VA
Canada
AMC Kennedy 20 – Toronto, ON
AMC Yonge & Dundas – Toronto, ON
and more coming…
for latest listings check:
www.neoclassicsfilms.com
www.empireofsilver.com/en/intro.html
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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About The Film
Synopsis:
China,1899. In a land of exquisite beauty and timeless tradition a young man
known as ‘Third Master’ is the heir to a banking fortune he cares little about.
However, after his brother’s wife is kidnapped he reluctantly submits to the
pressure of his title and his father, Lord Kang.
Lord Kang is determined to prepare his son for financial leadership by molding
Third Master into his own image. But the strong-willed businessman’s methods do
not sit well with Third Master, who sees the salvation of his business in following
the righteous path of his ancestors.
Third Master and Lord Kang’s tense relationship is further complicated by the
son’s feelings for his beautiful young stepmother -- his first and only love -- stolen
from him by his own father.
The fate of the banking empire and its most powerful family now lies with one
idealistic young man torn between the needs of the people, the duty to his family,
and the undying love of a woman.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Interview With The Director
First-time filmmaker Christina Yao is soft-spoken and exceedingly polite, but it’s
apparent that very little intimidates her. Segueing from a prestigious career as a theater
director and playwright in the U.S. and Taiwan to the movies, she chose a logistically
complicated period piece for her debut. EMPIRE OF SILVER centers on a family banking
clan of enormous prestige and power in Shanxi province that hits a stretch of bad luck
passing the reins to the next generation in the late 19th century. The negligent, hard
partying third son, Third Master, is forced to grow up and grow into his new
responsibilities, overcoming romantic disappointment, heinous double crosses and
ruinous bank runs. Engrossingly plotted and beautifully shot, EMPIRE OF SILVER
premiered at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival. Yao was born in Taiwan, moved to the Bay
Area in 1975, and now lives in Palo Alto and is a principal in a Hong Kong-based
production company.
You come from a theater background originally. How would you describe your
philosophy of filmmaking?
Christina Yao: There are a few routes to becoming a film director. One is starting with
acting, which is my route, and there are directors who came from a cinematography
background, and directors from a scriptwriting background. But no matter what, I think
for any production to be successful, as someone said before and I think it’s really useful,
it’s like a box. You want to have four strong walls to hold a box together. The four walls
are the funding, and the script, and the cast and the team–the crew. The director is part of
the crew, but the director–and also the producer, of course–need to try to hold the four
walls together tight. If you are able to do that, you tend to have at least a solid project, if
not a good one.
Empire of Silver is an extraordinarily ambitious film for a first feature. How did
you reassure and inspire your cast at the outset?
Yao: I did start as an acting student, and what that helped me with was that I knew what
to say to actors and what not to say to actors. Especially for film acting, I think actors are
really fragile, because quite often the camera is a few inches from their face. The very
important thing is that they have to be relaxed, and they have to have confidence in
themselves. The first day, the first shot, they come to the monitor and they look at it and
they know the kind of work they produce. And from that point on they have confidence
in you, and that makes every step of the work more smoothly.
I understand you originally shifted from theater to movies by making short films.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Yao: Very short films. And also I did write some scripts. One of the films almost got
produced. We got the money and then the actress decided, after all the years that she’d
been with me, not to do it. (Laughs.) So that film fell through. I think Joan Chen said, and
it’s a very interesting metaphor, ‘Producing a film is like a hen trying to herd together all
the chicks. You lead a group going after one, and then you’ve got that one and someone
else drops out, and you have to herd the whole group and look for that one.’ (Laughs.) In
my case, I wrote a few scripts and then I also tried to get money. Empire of Silver was
really different because the investor wanted to do it. He got the book and the money
together and said to me, ‘If you’re serious about it, run with it.’ Half of the hurdle is
looking for money; I didn’t have to do that part. So what’s left for me to do is to do as
good a job as I could.
The film centers on a family of long-ago bankers, with an irresponsible son coming
to the fore. Do you think audiences these days can root for a banker who matures
into a man of character?
Yao: These bankers, at the time, did have a moral core to their business. They labeled
themselves as ‘Confucian merchants,’ meaning that they did impose a strict moral code to
their behavior. One example that might be useful to illustrate what they had to adhere by:
There was an Englishman in the 1960s who got a large sum of money deposited into his
account in Hong Kong. He wasn’t sure what that was about so he looked into it and found
out that his grandfather was in business with a merchant from this same Shanxi school,
and the business failed. That merchant, on his deathbed, said to his family that if ever the
family is able to resurrect its glory, they have to return the money. So two generations
later, they return the money. Nowadays, I would say that’s unheard of. What’s important
is that it’s not just that the grandfather was loyal to his code, but two generations after
him also were loyal to the code. That illustrates how these merchants saw themselves. I
think that is something that we don’t have anymore.
How did you conceive your female characters–in particular, the young stepmother
that the main character is involved with–so that their roles and status would be
relevant to contemporary audiences?
Yao: I think one big issue is autonomy. This is a woman that, at that historical moment,
saw herself as completely autonomous–not just from her husband but also from this
young man that she deeply loves and made great sacrifices for. When I was writing this
role, I was very aware that in the past 20 to 30 years of Chinese cinema women tend to
be–whether they were strong roles or not–victims of society. And I didn’t want that to
happen. I wanted this woman to be fully in control of her own fortunes and fully in
control of her own life, and I also wanted her to have a core of hope, like a lamp on her
shoulders that guides her in her own destiny.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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The History Behind Empire of Silver
Like Wall Street Today
My family came from the Shanxi province, though I was born in Taiwan. Only by
coincidence I learnt about the Shanxi business group’s ethics and systems, as well
as the historical circumstances that created their financial dynasties which ran
parallel to, and had tense yet corporative relationships with the Ming and the Qing
courts.
Like Wall Street today, the Shanxi merchants worked in intimate ways with the
central government. Besides lending to businesses, Piao Hao lent heavily to the
Qing government. They financed the civil war that the Qing court engaged with the
Taiping Rebels. They also often financed local governments’ taxes to the central
government and earned big interests from the local government.
When I started working on this project, the Enron fraud scandal was still big news.
I realized how much EMPIRE OF SILVER could be a story of business ethics. So I
tried to make this my voice for the film. At that time, I didn’t realize how this
would become even more relevant today.
In EMPIRE OF SILVER, the character of Third Master has a line: “Doing business is
no more than conducting oneself.” One century after the film’s setting, after two
world wars, many regional wars, the digital revolution, etc., the world’s problem
still boils down to one question: how should a man conduct himself among fellow
men? A very Confucian question.
Piaohao
Inspired by historical events, EMPIRE OF SILVER features a “piaohao,” Chinese
precursor to the modern-day bank. Like the group of merchants in EMPIRE OF
SILVER, piaohao controlled the whole nation’s finances, concurrently
monopolizing the money transfer business (the equivalent of wiring funds today)
and managing funds on loan and deposit. In EMPIRE OF SILVER, the fictitious
group is representative of the piaohao of the time, with its numerous branches all
over China and also in nearby countries such as Russia, Mongolia and Japan.
China’s Shanxi province is an area that was dubbed “the Wall Street of China” by
Sterling Seagrave in his book The Soong Dynasty. Shanxi merchants were known
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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for their erudition and efficient business system which enabled them to financially
challenge the imperial courts of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Piaohao controlled the financial world of China like Wall Street has controlled the
US financial system. As lending institutions, piaohaos’ mainstay was money
transfer. They were the inventors of a wiring (for lack of a better description, this
was done by bank checks) system that was secured by secret codes, which enabled
the businesses and governments to do transactions without shipping huge amounts
of silver.
Profit sharing was also invented by the Shanxi merchants. Unique at the time,
investors and staff owned shares of their joint business at the onset. This
guaranteed continuity in management and in staff loyalty. Staff strived to reach
profit-sharing status, similar to today’s junior lawyers seeking to become partner in
a law firm.
All piaohao operated on CEO systems. The investors were not to interfere with the
operations and businesses of the banks. They and their families were not allowed
on the premises of the banks. This guaranteed professionalism inside the system
and avoided nepotism inherent in family businesses.
The Shanxi Merchants
The story of the Shanxi province merchants has been buried for a century or more.
This piece of history was nearly forgotten partly due to the modesty, partly to the
secrecy, of the merchants. In the social structure of China’s imperial times, the
merchant class was considered the lowest of the four social classes: scholar class,
farmer class, technician class (carpenter, artisan, etc), and merchant class.
The merchants were oppressed precisely because they tended to be wealthy and
thereby powerful. In some dynasties, the dress code of merchants forbade them to
wear silk for fear that they exhibit their wealth and thereby their ability to
influence. Under such repression, the Shanxi merchants were able to steer away
from the surveillance of the court to accumulate great wealth that rivaled the
nation’s treasury. They basically formed a parallel empire that cooperated with the
court, sometimes even challenged the court, yet without disastrous results. This
itself is in a great part due to their staying out of the limelight: one of their
principles was “to keep everything hidden”.
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As a result, they left hardly any trace of their system and their work. It was only
through a few books written by disgruntled managers, and the records in the
magistrates and treasury that their stories were able to be reconstructed in recent
years.
Confucian Values
The Shanxi merchants’ financial institutions or “piaohao” cultivated their staff
members from a young age. Boys 12 or 13, through recommendation and
examination, were brought into the training programs as apprentices. They would
continue their education in classical Confucian canon, in addition they would be
given math and foreign language training (Japanese, Mogolian).
The Confucian traditional values and a sense of fairness seem to underline all the
behavioral codes required upon the Shanxi merchants. They actually considered
themselves, and were considered by others, as “Confucian” merchants. This title
carried with itself high standards for morality and behavior. Because of the
importance they placed on integrity, there were codes of behavior, especially
sexual behavior, by which all merchants had to abide.
Piaohao managers could not divorce, nor have a concubine nor visit brothels. From
their assigned posts, they were allowed to go home to visit their wives and families
only every three years for a six-month vacation. The solitary, monkish lifestyle
facilitated the high performances of the managers.
Third Master
Western audiences might be surprised by how the leading character is called:
“Third Master.” This is the nickname system used by pre-modern Chinese families.
The first son is called First, second is called Second, by the parents. And if the
family is well-off, people of lower social status would refer to the male members
as “master.” This became a custom because Chinese families used to have many
children. Today, however, the number-as-nickname system is no longer in practice.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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A Film About Succession
When I started this project, I knew I had to extract a main plotline from the
massive three-volume romance of the original Cheng-yi book, “The Silver Valley.”
I thought: King Lear, Hamlet and The Godfather were all family stories with
succession as the core of the storyline. I always felt that I had in my hands the
family story of a powerful clan, so I focused on succession as the film’s central
plot.
Third Master struggles between his public duty and his private wants. He feels
doubly betrayed by his father: His father married Third master’s first love, and his
father has shady dealings underneath the posture of a righteous businessman.
However, being the only heir possible to assume family duty, and being a
Confucian man, Third Master cannot extract himself from his family. He must take
on the job of being the family head. But Third Master is a rebel, and he expresses
his rebellion and his loyalty to his lost love. He unmercifully rejects his father’s
plea for him to produce an heir with his opium-addicted wife. I was very aware I
had to make the value of dynastic succession evident to the audience. I also wanted
to use this financial empire to mirror the rules of the dynastic period of China.
Confucianism Vs. Legalism
The chief conflict between the two generations of the Kangs, Third Master and his
father Lord Kang, is over a woman, but also their different ideological beliefs. The
forces produced by two thought systems - Confucianism vs. Legalism - were the
key source of court intrigue during the dynastic period of China.
Generations of scholars schooled in Confucian canon had to subject themselves to
the autocracy of their emperors and try to resolve the conflict between their
conscience and their sense of duty and their needs to survive and prosper in court.
Although operating under the guise of Confucianism, in reality all the Chinese
emperors were autocrats practicing the skills of control invented and practiced by
the Legalist ideology (Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is a reference). Chairman Mao can
be considered the most recent legalist ruler.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Women’s Rights
Since I decided to focus on succession, a woman’s capacity to bear children
naturally becomes central to the plot. And the debate about whether a woman’s
body belongs to herself or to the families that she is born into or married into is
carried out in between Lord Kang and his young wife in physically violent terms.
I wrote this in because I wanted Madame Kang to be a strong life-embracer. I
wanted her to be someone who has a belief that she adheres to, rather than a victim
that reacts to the environment she is put in. She takes out her own reproductive
organs so that she doesn’t trap herself further by becoming the mother of children
whose father she detests. She loves Third Master and she makes sacrifices for him,
but when she realizes her love for him is going to destroy herself, she is also
capable of leaving. She is someone that knows what she wants and goes the
distance for what she wants. She controls her own fate and she belongs to herself.
Making Choices In Life
In Third Master’s room I hung a calligraphy piece stating the Ming Confucian
philosopher Wang Yangming’s teaching: “To Access Your Innate Moral
Knowledge.”
EMPIRE OF SILVER is about Third Master’s making choices in life. Third Master
is a man constantly asking himself what is right and what is wrong. His conscience
makes him a prisoner to his own sense of moral obligation. He is a moral hero
because he makes choices for the good of others, sacrificing what is dear to himself
however keeping his conscience clear and his integrity intact.
Third Master is a man of empathy. The most evident example of this is his decision
to use his family savings to pay back his depositors’ loss during the transition
between the Qing Dynasty and the Republic. This decision forms a sharp contrast
with his father’s profiteering through hording salt and selling it at the point that salt
deficiency is already killing the poor. The ideological difference between father
and son is translated into games of blood: the minds of the powerful decide life and
death of the poor.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Father Vs. Son: Different Styles Of Ruling
Confucianism and Legalism are both philosophies of ruling. Confucianism is about
acting with humanity and kindness, while Legalism is about exerting control. The
contrasting behavioral patterns of father and son in EMPIRE OF SILVER are meant
to highlight the differences between the two ideologies, and the different results
they bring. The ideological differences between father and son heat up when Third
Master must, as his biggest responsibility as heir, choose a CEO for the family
piahao.
In EMPIRE OF SILVER, controlling Lord Kang tries to make the CEO choice for
his son, preaching to him on “the art of controlling men”. He cites Legalist text
about three means for controlling staff: rewards in terms of title and money, and
instilling fear. Lord Kang exemplifies this art of enforcing fear on staff. He
dismisses Manager Qiu at the beginning of the film in a ploy to make him feel
indebted and thereby wholly controllable. Third Master’s displeasure with
Manager Qiu derives precisely from the relationship his father established for the
two of them: a master-slave relationship based on fear. Lord Kang, like all imperial
rulers, firmly believes in the Legalist thought system that focuses on psychological
manipulation.
Third Master, however, is a Confucian man who aspires to follow his own
conscience and searches for like-virtues in his fellow men. Third Master finds a
kindred spirit in Manager Dai whose impeccable professionalism and behavior
intimidates Lord Kang. Based on their like-mindedness, Third Master chooses Dai
as the CEO of his era. Theirs is a relationship based on mutual respect and equal
partnership.
Turbulent Times
At the end of the 19th Century and the early 20th Century, the setting of EMPIRE
OF SILVER, China was going through a cultural civil war between its conservative
factors and its Westernized factors. The Boxer Rebellion, the Allied invasion and
the Nationalist Revolution were all part of the process. Bankers, who need a stable
society to conduct business, became the road kill on the grand highway leading to
the great changes.
Well-traveled and schooled, the Shanxi merchants were quite Westernized, even
trendy. I included the West in the story in order to show the bankers as
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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cosmopolitan in their attitudes and lifestyle. Historically, the Nationalist
Revolution was also Western influenced. The Boxer Rebellion was, on the other
hand, like the fundamentalist movements in many parts of the world today, antiintellectual as well as anti-West. The outcome of the chaos and the Allied Forces’
invasion had a direct destructive impact on the bankers.
After the Republic was established, the new era brought further changes in the
monetary system. Piaohao becames shadows of themselves. Some converted to
actual banks, some closed. But they never regained the glory they had during the
100 years of financial dominance in the Qing dynasty.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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About The Shoot
The shoot lasted four and half months, from September 2006 to Jan 31, 2007, and
finished on schedule. We shot completely on location. We moved nine times, shot
the film in four provinces (Gan Su, Qing Hai, Shanxi, Hebei, all in the west,
northwest and north of China), all together 13 counties and cities, on 40-some sets.
All the buildings used in EMPIRE OF SILVER were real buildings that survived
disasters and time. They are all considered museums now. The 500-year-old Ming
building used in the abacus scene is one of the two surviving buildings in China
that has gold flakes in the surface paint. The bridge on which the salt-deficient
poor lay is a Yuan dynasty bridge and is at least 700 years old. The big Kang
family compound was shot in three such complexes still existing in Shanxi. The
large Western-style bridge is in Tianjin. Computer graphics work had to be used
throughout the film to erase modernity from the actual locations.
Music
There are six basic music themes in EMPIRE OF SILVER and the music was
composed by three composers: Su Cong, Seikou Nagaoka, Lin Hai. Su Cong is the
Oscar-winning composer of Bertolucci’s THE LAST EMPEROR.
Using the most traditional Chinese instruments among the three, Su Cong’s pieces
are used in the present-day love scenes of the adult lovers. We can say Su Cong did
the theme of Madame Kang. Nagaoka handled the grand and philosophical themes:
ancestral theme, business theme, and Third Master’s own philosophical theme.
Lin Hai took on the emotional themes of the family relationships and also the
battle music. I listened to the styles of the composers, spotted the music in-and-out
points and assigned different segments of the film to the composers by matching
the emotional content of the scenes with their styles.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Costumes And Props
The men’s costumes were made for the film, but the decorative details, such as
jade pendants, jade pieces on hats, rings and buttons were all authentic antiques.
The women’s costumes, especially those of Madame Kang’s, were pieced together
with antique pieces and new materials. The women’s headdresses were also
antique pieces, some were too faded and had to be re-plated with gold.
Some hand props were reproductions based on historical references: tea cups,
brushes, and the big abacuses (made on scale based on the museum’s collection).
But almost all the set decorations, porcelain and furniture were authentic antiques.
Everything had to be carefully guarded on the set 24 hours a day because of their
extreme value. I was very aware of the trust given to me by the various museums
and private collectors to include them in the movie because we all shared the desire
to record on film what Chinese dynastic life was really like. I studied the colors of
the porcelain pieces, the wood of the furniture. They all exemplified a quality and
technology that we no longer possess. Working with these precious artifacts was a
very moving experience for me.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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The Cast
Aaron Kwok (as Third Master)
Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok has earned a huge following of fans and
acclaim for his films, TV and commercials as an actor, and for his music and stage
performances as a singer.
Kwok is a rare consecutive two-time Best Actor winner at Taiwan’s coveted
Golden Horse Awards. In 2005, Kwok won for his moving performance in Benny
Chan’s DIVERGENCE. He won Best Actor again in 2006 for his role in Patrick
Tam’s AFTER THIS OUR EXILE. Kwok’s other film credits include: Oxide Pang
Chun’s THE DETECTIVE, Stanley Tong’s CHINA STRIKE FORCE, Johnnie To’s
THROW DOWN and THE BARE-FOOTED KID, Dante Lam’s AMBUSH, Waikeung Lau’s THE STORM RIDERS, Jing Wong’s SUPER SCHOOL OVERLORD,
Gordon Chan’s 2000 AD and Chung Man Yee’s AND I HATE YOU SO.
Kwok’s popularity came to the foreground in the 1990s with extremely popular
films, TV series, commercials and albums. The Asian media refers to Kwok as one
of the “Four Heavenly Kings,” along with Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai.
He has also been dubbed “Hong Kong’s Michael Jackson” for his concert
performances.
TIELIN ZHANG (as Lord Kang)
Belonging to the famed FIFTH GENERATION artist group, Tielin Zhang went
through hardship during the Cultural Revolution and became one of the first group
of students accepted by the reopened Beijing Film Academy along with Zhang
Yimou and Chen Kaige.
Tielin’s early film credits include leading roles in Han Hsiang Li’s THE BURNING
OF YUAN MING YUAN, THE QUEEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS, Hark
Tsui’s films ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA and THE MAGIC CRANE, and
Chen Bai’s UNDER THE BRIDGE.
At the height of his early career as a film actor, Tielin left China and went to study
Directing at the British National Film and Television School. He received his MA
degree in Directing in 1990. From 1985 to 1995 Tielin worked as a producer and
presenter at BBC in London and Star TV in Hong Kong. Tielin Zhang has directed
several short and medium-length films, including 1990’s MAN FROM CHINA, the
documentary PEOPLE AND CULTURE OF JAPAN, and the BBC documentary,
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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THE TRILOGY OF CHINA. Tielin also wrote the screenplays for ANY MOMENT
CAN BE A TURNING POINT, SUN TZU and THE CHAIR, a feature film which he
directed himself. His scripts ANY MOMENT CAN BE A TURNING POINT and
THE CHAIR won Best Screenplay praise from the Information Bureau of Taiwan.
After returning to China in 1996 Tielin became a cultural icon through the rich
combination of his colorful lives. He is a famed art collector and calligrapher. He
has had leading roles in film and TV series such as “Princess Pearl”, “Lu Bu Wei:
Hero in Times of Disorder”, “The Bronze Teeth”, and “Aroma in Autumn”. He has
become one of the most popular stars in the Chinese-speaking world for his
portrayals of emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
While one of the busiest actors currently in China, Tielin still manages to perform
his duties as dean of the Arts College of Jinan University.
HAO LEI (as Madam Kang)
Hao Lei is one of the brightest actresses of the new generation. Her eye-catching
performances have been seen in over 20 TV series and films. An accomplished
actress, Hao Lei has been acclaimed for the diversity of her challenging roles. Hao
Lei recently starred in Ye Lou’s SUMMER PALACE, which premiered at the 2006
Cannes Film Festival. Her impressive roles in TV series like “Misty Love in
Palace” and “The Young Prince of Han” have gained much popularity for Hao Lei.
JENNIFER TILLY (as Mrs. Landdeck)
Jennifer Tilly’s unique voice and persona have made her well-known to filmgoers
everywhere. Jennifer earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of
the aspiring but hopelessly untalented actress Olive Neal in Woody Allen’s
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY (1994). She had a breakthrough role in THE
FABULOUS BAKER BOYS (1989), and other acclaimed performances in the Jim
Carrey hit LIAR LIAR (1997) and in Larry and Andy Wachowski’s BOUND
(1996). Her film credits include Neil Jordan’s HIGH SPIRITS (1988), Oliver
Stone’s THE DOORS (1991), Richard Benjamin’s MADE IN AMERICA (1993),
Roger Donaldson’s THE GETAWAY (1994), Joe Pytka’s LET IT RIDE (1989), P.J.
Castellaneta’s RELAX…ITS JUST SEX (1998), Michael Radford’s DANCING AT
THE BLUE LAGUNA (2000), Peter Bogdanovich’s THE CAT’S MEOW (2001)
and Terry Gilliam’s TIDELAND (2005).
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Jennifer’s pitch-perfect voiceover work brought deadly doll Tiffany to life in
BRIDE OF CHUCKY (1998) and SEED OF CHUCKY (2004). She has also done
vocal work for the films MONSTERS, INC., STUART LITTLE, and HOME ON
THE RANGE, as well as the children’s series HEY ARNOLD. She is also a semiregular cast member on the series FAMILY GUY, voicing the Griffin family’s
permanently pregnant neighbor, Bonnie Swanson. Her other TV work includes a
recurring dramatic role on HILL STREET BLUES, CHEERS, MOONLIGHTING,
IT’S GARY SHANDLING SHOW and FRASIER.
Jennifer is also an accomplished stage actress. She won a Theater World Award for
her performance in off-Broadway’s ONE SHOE OFF and starred on Broadway in
the 2001 revival of THE WOMEN.
Daughter of a Chinese-American father, Jennifer was born in Los Angeles, but also
spent part of her childhood in Canada.
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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Christina Yao
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Christina Yao makes her feature film directorial debut with the historical epic
EMPIRE OF SILVER.
She has an extensive theatrical repertoire, having directed over 30 plays for
prestigious companies such as the American Conservatory Theatre and the
National Theatre of Taiwan.
Published in Taiwan, France and the US, Yao is also an acclaimed short story
writer, playwright and critical essayist. Yao’s academic background has included
Taipei’s National Institute of the Arts, Wellesley College and San Francisco State
University.
Yao holds a Ph.D. in Asian Theatre from Stanford University.
FILMOGRAPHY
2009 EMPIRE OF SILVER
1997 INTO THE SUBWAYS (short)
1983 A DAY OF ERIC (short)
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Jeremy Thomas
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jeremy Thomas has been in the business for over thirty years and has produced critically
acclaimed, provocative and successful films throughout that span. He was the producer of
Bernardo Bertolucci's THE LAST EMPEROR, which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best
Picture. In 2006 he received a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in
World Cinema
FILMOGRAPHY
2010 13 ASSASSINS
2009 EMIPIRE OF SILVER
2006 FAST FOOD NATION
2003 THE DREAMERS
2000 SEXY BEAST
1991 NAKED LUNCH
1990 THE SHELTERING SKY
1987 THE LAST EMPEROR
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MAIN CAST
Third Master ………………………………………………………AARON KWOK
Master Kang……………………………………………………….TIELIN ZHANG
Madame Kang …………………………………………………………….HAO LEI
Mrs.Landdeck…………………………………………………...JENNIFER TILLY
Manager Qiu……………………………………………………DING ZHI CHENG
Manager Dai……………………………………………………...….LEI ZHEN YU
Manager Liu…………………………………………………...KING SHIH CHIEH
Manager Sun…………………………………………………..HOU TONG JIANG
Yu Feng…………………………………………………………………..TIEN NIU
Lu Sao………………………………………………………………….LU ZHONG
Lao Xia……………………………………………………………SHI XIAO MAN
First Master………………………………………………………..SHI DA SHENG
Bodyguard Chang You………………………………………….WANG DE SHUN
Eunich…………………………………………………………CHANG LAN TIAN
Pastor Landdeck…………………………………………JONATHAN KOS-READ
Dr. Wilson…………………………………………………………JOHN PAISLEY
Second Master………………………………………………………………..HEI ZI
Fourth Mistress…………………………………………………………LI YI XIAO
Fourth Master……………………………………………………………DU JIANG
Third Mistress……………………………………………………WANG SHUANG
Bandit Head……………………………………………………………...GUO TAO
San Xi……………………………………………………………………WU FANG
Third Master’s Page………………………………………………………CHAI JIN
MAIN CREW
Director………………………………………………………….CHRISTINA YAO
Executive Producer……………………………………………JEREMY THOMAS
Producers…………………………..CHIAO HSIUNG PING & CHRISTINA YAO
Associate Producer…………………………………………...ZHANG ZHEN YAN
History advisors ………………...BO XI CHENG, HUANG JIAN HUI & ZHANG
ZHENG MING
Artistic advisor……………………………………WILLIAM CHANG SUK PING
Director of Cinematography…………….ANTHONY YIU MING PUN (H.K.S.C.)
Lighting Designer……………………………………………WAI CHUEN WONG
Cinematography…………………………………………….CHAN KWOK HUNG
Production designer……………………………………………YEE CHUNG MAN
Art Directors………………………….CHANG CHI PINGH & CHRISTINA YAO
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Costume Designers………………YEE CHUNG MAN & JESSIE DAI MEI LING
Hair………………………………………………………………….POPEYE TAM
Make-up………………………………………………………..MAN YUNG LING
Script Consultant…………………………………………………………LI QIANG
Music Composed by……………….SU CONG, SEIKOU NAGAOKA & LIN HAI
Music Producers……………………………SU CONG & NOBUHITO IKEHATA
Visual Effects Supervisors……….NG YUEN FAI, BAKER LU, BOBBIE WONG
& GARY BROWN
Editors……………..HUMPHREY DIXON, LIAO CHING SONG & TANG HUA
Action Choreography by…………………………………..STEPHEN TUNG WAI
Sound designer…………………………………………………………..TAO JING
Production Sound Mixer……………………………………………………LIU JIA
Line Producer………………………………………………………….LI CONG XI
Co-produced by Crystal Clear Pictures (Hong Kong) and Polybona Films (China)
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011
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US Distribution
NEOCLASSICS FILMS LTD.
3710 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite 230
Culver City, CA 90232
Ph: +1 (310) 559-9200 / Fax: +1 310-559-9267
www.neoclassicsfilms.com
Emily Woodburne
Frederic Demey
emily@neoclassicsfilms.com
frederic@neoclassicsfilms.com
| Neoclassics Films Ltd. – Empire of Silver Press Notes – 4/5/2011