Hu Jun
"The Founding of a Republic", is a historical drama that is shot in many locations including Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing to re-create historical events during the Chinese Communist Revolution. The production of this film was commissioned by China's film regulator, the China Film Administration (CFA), and was produced by the publicly funded China Film Group (CFG). This film was co-directed by Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping, the chairman of the China Film Group, and includes many famous actors including Andy Lau, Ge You, Hu Jun, Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhao Wei, as well as other directors such as Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, and John Woo. The main protagonists were played by highly renowned actors, Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli, who played Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek. One interesting aspect of this film was that a CFH spokesman revealed that many of the stars that appeared in the film waived their fee, which kept the film's budget quite modest. The initial budget of the film was 30 million Yuan (USD 4.7 million dollars), however, the finalized cost was 60-70 million Yuan, which is the equivalent of US 8.8-10 million dollars.