"The Great Wall," a lavish Hollywood production that looks like it cost a gazillion dollars (or, more accurately, $150 million), is directed by China's Zhang Yimou — or Yimou Zhang as he's now known on many online film sites.
In recent years, Zhang's name has been flipped into Western style — first name first — more often. And why not? "The Great Wall" marks his foray into mainstream Hollywood and in doing so, he might be looking to distance himself from the Chinese film scene.
Zhang's career kicked off in the late 1980s with "Red Sorghum," a period tale with heavy political undertones that introduced a style that has permeated the past 15 years of his work: democratic tones mixed with not-so-subtle jabs at communist bureaucracy. It got him in trouble with the Chinese government, but has endeared him to the Western market.