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Zhang Ziyi Promotes for AIDS
Actress Zhang Ziyi joined director Gu Changwei in Beijing on Tuesday to tout the making of China's first feature film to address the country's growing HIV/AIDS problem in what producers hope will be a commercial release at the end of 2010."Life Is A Miracle" -- budgeted at about 20 million yuan ($3 million) by Beijing-based Stellar Megamedia and Beijing Forbidden City Film Co -- also stars Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok and Pu Cunxin, an actor who has spearheaded China's official AIDS awareness campaigns.
Much of the current rapid spread of HIV in China has been through intravenous drug use and prostitution, resulting in as many as 1.5 million people affected, with some estimates going much higher.
Gu, whose film "Peacock" won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2005, was feted at a news conference by members of the government for tackling a rural love story following two HIV infected characters played by Zhang and Kwok in their first on-screen collaboration.
"The point of this movie is to use the medium to show our society caring for AIDS victims," a Ministry of Health representative said. "Only then can we create a good atmosphere for treating the prejudice they suffer."
In many rural areas of China during the 1990s, particularly in the province of Henan, hundreds of thousands of farmers were infected with HIV when they donated blood to state-run programs that used contaminated needles.
Ana Ivanovic Hot Gossips
The 2008 French Open saw Ana Ivanovic reach the pinnacle of the women’s game. The young Serb had won her first major title and risen to the World No. 1 ranking. Having previously failed in two major finals, she had cast off the tag of being a "choker" and it seemed as though everything was falling into place. She was destined to win more major titles.The big problem, however, is that once you reach the top, often, the only way is down. In the two years since her finest triumph, Ivanovic has certainly learned this lesson.
As soon as she had reached the top her game, her mind began to disintegrate. She departed from Wimbledon that year in the third round and it wouldn’t be until March 2009 when she would reach the final of a premier event, although she was the runner-up in Linz in October 2008.
In defense of her French Open title she stumbled to a fourth round defeat to Victoria Azarenka, who was World No. 9, only one place below Ivanovic. Clearly, she hadn’t been disgraced.
On the face of it, just glancing at her results since her French Open victory, there would’ve only been a slight cause for concern. She was still ranked inside the top 10 and she was by no means being embarrassed on the scoreboard.
If you saw her matches, however, it was clear that something was wrong. We had previously seen glimpses into her lack of confidence, most notably in the 2007 French Open final when her ball toss was somewhat erratic.
Ivanovic later said, in her own refreshingly honest way, that she had been overwhelmed by the occasion and was crippled by nerves and despite going on to win there a year later, her nerves would continue to reappear.
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