CANNES - For her film debut in the Chinese history blockbuster Red Cliff, Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin had to learn to speak like a woman.
In a 10-minute trailer shown to international media at the Cannes Film Festival, there was no trace of her trademark tinkling doll-like voice, reported China Times.
All her vocal training seemed to have paid off and in the trailer, she says in a normal voice to her co-star Tony Leung Chiu Wai: 'The sound of your zither tells me that you will fight this war.'
Leung stars in the two-part epic set in China's Three Kingdoms era as military strategist Zhou Yu. Lin plays Xiao Qiao, the beauty who marries him.
At the press conference where the clip was shown, both Leung and director John Woo praised her maiden performance.
Leung said: 'Chiling was natural to begin with and has a gift for performing. It's just that she was nervous because it was her first movie. We did what we could to help her relax.'
Woo said she had worked hard and received six months of training in Beijing for her role.
'During filming, when I listened to jazz, she listened to classical music - we were cultivating our moods. Given her passion for cinema and her love for people, she will do well whatever movie she acts in.'
But Lin, who wore a qipao- inspired gown she designed to the press conference, was more modest in her assessment of her performance.
She said there was much room for improvement but that she was honoured to have taken part in the project.
