AceShowbiz -

Action apparently is Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi's favorite genre. One of the most well-known Chinese movie stars is about to prove her another ability, playing in the forthcoming action drama "The Banquet".

A loose adaptation of "Hamlet", "The Night Banquet" is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet.

Though so, in an interview posted Sunday August 20th on the Chinese Web site Sina.com, Ziyi said she didn't reread "Hamlet" while preparing for the film for "I didn't want to be affected by the original. After all, this is an adaptation. The characters have similarities, but they're not identical."

Being directed by Xiaogang Feng, the movie project is slated to be released later this year.

Further Ziyi adds "I wanted to present the character with my personal style. Maybe my presentation will have a modern interpretation, but I think this is a modern work in the sense that it is created by modern people. It may be more meaningful."