1. Gong Li appeared nervous during the shooting of a scene in the film. After she lit the cigarette, she forgot to close the lid of the old-fashioned lighter and put it on the table. The flame was burning all the time. Fortunately, there was no flammable material nearby, and she didn't find it until the director called to stop.
2. During the filming process, Chow Yun Fat would take the initiative to greet the extras and break the embarrassment by asking which province the extras are from. When it comes to having fun, Chow Yun Fat even whispered heartily, "I'm filming outside. For so long, I have been in contact with many foreigners. Although I get along well with them, I still can't communicate very deeply."
3. Shooting of the film started in early 2008. It was originally planned to be shot in Shanghai. It is reported that because the film involved prostitutes and opium use, the film was not approved for filming in the Mainland. Instead, it was filmed in Hong Kong and other places. At the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival, "Shanghai" officially announced that it was renamed "Shanghai".
4. The story of the film comes from Mike Medavoi, who was born in Shanghai in 1941. When he created this story, Harvey Weinstein bought it. At that time, Weinstein was still at Miramax.
5. The film took 8 years to produce.
6. Johnny Depp once expressed interest in participating in the film.
7. During the filming of the film, Franka Potente was threatened by a suitor. So throughout the filming and production period, she used a pseudonym.
8. The director of the film, Heffa, is from Sweden. Like Luc Besson, he said that he would not continue to be a director after making ten films. "Shanghai" is his fifth film.
9. During filming in Bangkok, director Heffa suffered from food poisoning. In order not to delay the filming, the protagonist John Cusack directed the play of buying a phonograph on his behalf. Gong Li said she liked it very much.
10. Gong Li once taught Cusack to sing the Chinese folk song "Little White Rabbit" on the set.
11. The Japanese actor Ken Watanabe gave Gong Li two sushis before filming. After Gong Li ate them all, he discovered that one of them was for Cusack.
12. The film was shot for more than 6 months, and 80% of the lines were in English. Gong Li could only speak Chinese when he was with Chow Yun Fat
.
13. Gong Li has made a lot of hard preparations for the role of Anna. In addition to reading the script and memorizing the lines, he also needs to practice his British accent and dance.
14. The whole piano solo of the film was composed and completed by Lang Lang
.
