[This is a translation. Source: News Morning, from New China Newsnet; Byline: Xu Shifen]
Gong Li was in Beijing recently to attend a premiere, and granted a press interview. However, 
reporters' questions focused on the fact that she made "Curse of the Golden Flower" with Zhang Yimou, their first collaboration in more than a decade. While praising the film, Gong Li also expressed her disappointment that the director "did'nt give me enough space, so I didn't do enough acting."
Not Obsessed With Being an Empress
[Producer] Zhang Weiping revealed in his blog that 14 years ago Zhang Yimou vowed that "Gong Li will play [Tang Dynasty Empress] Wu Zetian," so a reporter asked whether she had a special desire to play an empress. Gong Li smiled briefly and replied, "I had no craving to do that, it was just something [Zhang Yimou] said. He wanted very much to film Wu Zetian's story back then, but it didn't matter to me whether I was playing a commoner or an empress." When a reporter pressed the point by asking if her being teary-eyed at the premiere of "Golden Flower" was due to having finally realized her "Empress dream," she laughed and said "Those tears were caused by the bright lights."
Speaking of her role as the Empress in "Golden Flower," while Gong Li clearly was not obsessed by it, she also said she was very disappointed in the size of her part. When filming wrapped up, I was so surprised, and I asked Zhang Yimou "Are we done? I've hardly begun to act! To which he replied, 'You still haven't had enough? You've had plenty of time on screen!'" Gong Li then said, ruefully, "It would have been nice if I had another 10 or 20 minutes."
Speaking of Zhang Yimou: He Has Gained Self-confidence
Working together for the first time in more than a decade, the two have both gone through many changes. Gong Li said that the greatest change she observed in Zhang Yimou was that he is calmer and more self-confident, and more in control of the actors when filming. He can listen to the opinions of others, and draw on past experiences. "In the past, Zhang Yimou would emphasize the photography more, while now he gives more emphasis to other strong points of the film, such as the story."
After three years of making films outside of China, Gong Li stated candidly that other than the script, the major reason she was now making "Golden Flower" was Zhang Yimou. She said that she and Zhang know each other so well that they understand each other fully without a period of familiarization, unlike working with other directors where there is a run-up period before they can start cooperating fully. "There was never any problem working with Zhang before, and his many alterations to the script this time just showed his self-confidence." As for whether she would work with Zhang Yimou again she replied, "As long as the script is attractive, there would be no problem in working with him again."
On Zhang Ziyi: We Both Do Fine
In making a comparison between Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yimou once said that "Gong Li has more experience." Of this, Gong Li said, modestly, that both the actresses were doing just fine. "I'm indifferent to the appraisals of others. Each of us has her fans, which to me means we're both doing well." As for some people calling her "The best actress in China," she self-effacingly commented that "Actually, I have no particular strong points."
When asked for her view of epic movies in general, Gong Li said "People swarm to these big films, then find that they're often too much alike, and some of their styles are already passé." But she said her hope was that "Golden Flower" will be one that really moves people.
