Promoting "House of Flying Daggers," director Zhang Yimou was in Tokyo for the fourth time in as many years recently, after visiting with "The Road Home," "Happy Times" and "Hero."
Accompanying him were action director Tony Ching, and stars Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhang Ziyi, the latter two representing the "killer app" of Asian cinema. Kaneshiro enjoys that special adulation the Japanese reserve for one of their own who's succeeded abroad; Zhang, meanwhile has gone from "new face" in "The Road Home," to hit after hit: "Crouching Tiger," "Hero" "Musa," and then there's the new Wong Karwai film, "2046."
On playing their roles: