Xin Zhilei has been cast to play Hollywood’s first Chinese star, Anna May Wong, in an upcoming biopic.

The movie, “Sunset Boulevard – The Anna May Wong Story,” will be produced by Mark Gao’s Fundamental Films and tells the story of the actress who battled stereotypes towards Asian women in Hollywood in the 1920s and ’30s.

It will follow Anna May’s life as an LA-born third-generation Chinese American all the way through her life as an actress with movies like “The Thief of Bagdad” and “Shanghai Express”.

Regarding her portrayal of Anna May Wong, Xin Zhilei, who won Best Actress at last year’s Venice Film Festival for her role in Cai Shangjun’s “The Sun Rises on Us All”, stated, “Anna May Wong’s story deeply moves me. She remained true to her cultural background, steadfastly walked her own path, and spoke out for other women. She never backed down in the face of difficulties and doubts.”

“This film is a tribute to Anna May Wong’s courage and resilience, and I hope that the film will allow more people to remember this talented, intelligent, and ambitious legendary woman,” she added.

Mark Gao expressed, “Xin Zhilei’s remarkable career very much echoes Anna May Wong’s own ascent and groundbreaking achievements, which makes her perfect for this role. The project also encapsulates Fundamental Films’ own mandate of championing Chinese stories and culture and using our creative resources and experience to appeal to audiences both at home and globally.”

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, Vintage Beauties IG, IMDb)

Zanilia Zhao is all for sisterhood, as it was revealed that the actress has booked a theatre to watch Xin Zhilei’s new movie, “The Sun Rises on Us All”.

The actress’ studio shared the news on Weibo on 4 November, as it posted the movie poster and wrote, “Zhao Liying booked a private screening to support her “big sister” Xin Zhilei’s new film, ‘The Sun Rises on Us All’.”

“November 7th, the start of winter, go see Meiyun,” it added, referring to Xin’s character name in the movie.

Zanilia and Xin Zhilei became friends while working together on the 2024 film “The Unseen Sister”. In the film, Xin played the older sister Qiao Lin and Zanilia played the younger sister Qiao Yan. The two shared a deep friendship due to their straightforward personalities and similar experiences, and their friendship extended from the screen to real life.

Xin won Best Actress at the 82nd Venice Film Festival in September for her role in the film, becoming the third Chinese actress to win the award at Venice, following Gong Li and Deanie Ip.

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, TNT)

It was reported that Xin Zhilei’s salary has now tripled following her Best Actress win at the Venice Film Festival.

Mainland media reported that while Zhilei’s salary last year ranged from RMB 6 to 8 million, it has now exceeded to RMB 20 million, which is a significant jump in her net worth.

It was believed that her winning Best Actress for “The Sun Rises on Us All” was the reason for the hike, and that she has now surpassed the fees of top stars like Yang Mi, Zanilia Zhao, Crystal Liu and Tiffany Tang.

Currently, Zhilei stars in the upcoming film “A Writer’s Odyssey 2” and has completed projects for broadcast including the TV series “The Inner Eye” among others. Furthermore, she has recently been endorsing several high-end brands, appearing on the covers of fashion magazines, and is rumoured to be collaborating with the 24-year-old popular actor Jackson Yee in a new drama.

Speaking about the recent recognition, Zhilei stated, “I’m climbing the stairs in a straight line. Every step I take is solid, and looking back, there are traces of it.”

As for her next step, she expressed, “It’s to stay grounded, live up to the title ‘international star’ and increase the depth and visibility of my work.”

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG)

Xin Zhilei has recently slammed those who used her recent win at the Venice Film Festival as a way to disparage another actress.

The whole issue sparked after some netizens dug an old comment made by Zhang Ziyi, who once criticised Xin Zhilei’s performance in the drama “Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace” during the acting reality show “I Am the Actor” a few years back, saying her portrayal of Noble Consort Jia lacked depth.

Xin Zhilei was eliminated from the show as a result.

Some netizens now feel that, since Zhang Ziyi never won awards at the three major festivals of Cannes, Venice or Berlin, while Xin Zhilei became the third Chinese actress to win Best Actress in Venice after Gong Li and Deannie Ip, Xin Zhilei’s achievement was a “slap to Zhang’s face.”

In response to the comments, Xin Zhilei said, “Reading those kinds of comments makes me really sad. A healthy industry ecosystem should be about shared progress. Everyone is shining through their own efforts. Why can’t we celebrate together?”

She also said she received a lot of congratulatory messages from fellow actresses, denying that there are any kind of animosity.

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, Zhang Ziyi Fanpage IG)

Xin Zhilei has recently been named the latest Global Ambassador for the German luxury goods brand, Montblanc.

The news was shared by the brand across a variety of social media platforms, writing, “Over the past three years, our collaboration has proven to be the start of an amazing journey. Her daring, boundary-breaking spirit shines through her ability to captivate audiences and set fashion trends, perfectly aligning with the Maison’s DNA.”

The announcement also came with a key visual of Xin showcasing the latest Montblanc products: the Extreme 3.0 Montblanc 142 bag with M LOCK 4810 buckle in Lavender Grey and the Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date Bronze-tone Edition watch.

In addition, Xin can also be seen bolding the iconic Meisterstück Gold-Coated 149 Fountain Pen in celebration of its 100th anniversary.

Said the actress, “I am delighted to be appointed as Montblanc Global Brand Ambassador, especially on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the iconic Meisterstück writing instrument. Together with Montblanc, I aspire to continue inviting people to rediscover the timeless art of writing and connect with the contemporary woman, inspiring her to leave her mark.”

Aside from Xin, Thai star Mew Suppasit has also been named Montblanc’s “newest friend”.

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, Mew Suppasit IG)

South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM has recently issued a statement saying that the upcoming Chinese drama, “Good Will Society” has nothing to do with their beloved drama series, “Hospital Playlist”.

In a statement released on Weibo on 19 July in both Chinese and Korean, CJ ENM thanked the Chinese audiences for their love of the said title, but that they have nothing to do with the other drama.

“CJ ENM and CJ ENM Studios have not authorised Lize Media to use the copyright and remake rights of ‘Hospital Playlist’, nor have they signed any legal contracts with it. The TV series ‘Hospital Playlist’ has nothing to do with ‘Good Will Society’,” the company stated.

“Hospital Playlist”, which has two seasons, stars Jo Jung-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok, Jung Kyung-ho, Kim Dae-myung, and Jeon Mi-do as five doctors in their 40s who have been friends since medical school, and they work at the Yulje Medical Centre.

Allegations of the new Chinese drama being a Chinese remake spark after it was revealed that the heroine is also a neurosurgeon, similar to Jeon Mi-do’s character.

(Photo Source: TvN, MGTV, Allkpop)

Hu Ge recently dismissed the notion that director Wong Kar Wai works with no direction when it comes to his movies.

As reported on Sohu, the actor, who stars in the lead in the Hong Kong director’s upcoming drama, “Blossoms Shanghai”, was asked about the filmmaker during the Tencent Video All Star Night 2023 in Macau.

To that he said that the rumours are half-true and half-false.

“There are still very clear directions and instructions, but he does not fix the actor’s path. He gives the actors a lot of space, so I think every actor has made great progress in these three years of filming,” he said.

However, Hu Ge stated that he has not seen the final product yet, to which co-star Xin Zhilei joked that she might not even appear in the drama in the end.

Based on the novel “Blossoms” written by Jin Yucheng, the drama stars Hu Ge as A Bao, a man who works hard to become a great businessman during the era of the economic reform in the 1990s Shanghai.

In past interviews, Zhang Ziyi, who worked with Wong in “The Grandmaster”, revealed that the movie was shot without a script, saying, “We didn’t know the whole story in the beginning but we started understanding it gradually with each day on the set.”

(Photo Source:  Hu Ge Weibo, The Star)

Her plans to save some money by using the bike-sharing system has cost Xin Zhilei even more money due to her blunder.

The actress, who has been recording the fifth season of “Divas Hit the Road”, recently chose to rent a bike – a popular travelling option in China – to travel around instead in hopes to save some money.

However, it was Xin’s first time using the system, and the actress had a hard time navigating it. As soon as she reached her destination, Xin did not lock the bike with one click on her phone to complete the payment. As she couldn’t find the way to pay and was in a hurry, the actress decided to leave it.

It wasn’t until she was asked about the amount by the programme crew in the evening that she suddenly remembered that she didn’t seem to have paid the bill. The staff asked in surprise, “Have you been paying for that bike?”

Xin quickly took out the mobile app to check and found that the accumulated mileage was as high as 20.7 kilometres, but it was only about 10 kilometres to the filming location.

She speculated that it was because the bike was not locked and was taken for riding by others, who finally returned the bike. The entire 20.7 kilometres was charged to Xin Zhilei, which made her smile helplessly and said: “I am saving another person’s money instead. That person who rode my little yellow bike, remember to thank me, I will help you pay.”

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei IG, SOHU)

As the Chinese entertainment industry is plagued with allegations of sexual harassment and assault, mainland actress Xin Zhilei revealed that she was once a victim of such horror.

On 29 June, the actress reflected on her own experience as she begins her stage show, “Prima Facie”, saying that she encountered what she deemed a minor indecent assault when she was a child, adding that she used the word “minor” as she was unsure of how to define the degree of the said crime.

“My brain would actively delete that part of the terrible memory, until “Prima Facie” reminded me of myself, and I saw the me that was unwilling to face it because of fear and self-blame. When I saw the tearful eyes of many girls, and the hesitation to speak, I know what’s behind it,” she said.

“Is being sexually assaulted a simple thing?” Xin Zhilei asked helplessly. “Someone always tells the victim that it’s not a big deal, and it’s not that serious. In turn, she blames herself for not paying attention. But I know it’s not that simple, only girls know it’s not that simple, it will make you suffer, make you blame yourself, make you doubt yourself, and make you no longer believe in the relationship between people… Is it simple!?”

Finally, Xin stated that she hopes that through this role, people will think about the issue and protect other girls from being hurt, adding, “We need to be seen! We need to be heard!”

In the stage play, Xin plays a female lawyer who becomes a victim of sexual assault herself after years of defending sexual assault suspects.

(Photo Source: Xin Zhilei Weibo)