Monday May 18, 2009
Filmaker Zhang Yimou honored at Boston University
BOSTON: Zhang Yimou, the Chinese filmmaker who produced the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, received an honorary degree at Boston University on Sunday.
He did not, however, attend the commencement ceremonies and will receive his degree at another time, the university said.
University President Robert Brown said last week that Zhang's films "have offered worldwide audiences both a perspective on the people and culture of China ... and a window into universal aspects of human nature and yearning."
Boston Celitcs basketball legend Larry Bird and director Steven Spielberg were also honored with honorary degrees at the school's 136th graduation.
Zhang will start shooting a new movie in late May or June, his assistant told the Associated Press last month, marking the "Raise the Red Lantern" director's first project since designing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
Zhang, whose credits include "To Live," hasn't made a movie since the 2006 historical epic "Curse of the Golden Flower."
Zhang wowed audiences with a stunning Olympics opening ceremony that saw retired Chinese gymnast Li Ning soaring through the air carried by wires to light the Olympic cauldron.
The opening ceremony won a Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media.
China's government has appointed Zhang as director of a gala celebrating the communist regime's 60th anniversary on Oct. 1.
Bird is now president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, while Spielberg recently directed "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano of Massachusetts delivered the commencement address.
He challenged the graduates to help improve the world.
"You can get a job, climb the ladder of success, make money and build a very comfortable life for yourselves. But if that is all you do with your life, you will not feel fulfilled," Capuano said.
"You will always know you didn't challenge your intellect to improve society. You didn't use your voice to protest injustice. You will pass through this life without leaving much of wake behind you." - AP
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