Body double demands recognition

Beijing (Reuters): A Chinese actress who played Hollywood movie star Zhang Ziyi's naked body double in ''The Banquet'' wants her name in the movie's credits, state media reported today. ''The Banquet'', a Feng Xiaogang-directed film set for release in China in the autumn, stars ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' actress Zhang Ziyi and features several body doubles to play her in nude and fight scenes, the Nanfang Daily newspaper said. Shao Xiaoshan said she was paid 20,000 yuan (2,500 dollars) for shooting several nude scenes in comments carried by the paper.

''Feng Xiaogang was very satisfied with my body, and asked me to play the 'naked double','' the paper quoted Shao as saying but the actress feared a lack of exposure, hearing that her name would not appear in the credits and having her calls ignored by the director, the paper said. ''Zhang Ziyi at Venice told the whole world's journalists that her naked back was someone else's, so I just want everyone to know that it was mine,'' Shao said.

The movie's producer, Huayi Brothers&Taihe Movie Investment Co., questioned Shao's motives. ''The movie hasn't even screened yet. How could she know that her name isn't in the credits? Isn't this clearly a beat-up?'' the paper quoted Wang Zhongjun, the production company head, as saying. Huayi's deputy head, Xu Li, said Shao's name wouldn't appear in the movie's credits due to contractual issues and decried the actress's posting of the dispute on her blog. ''We don't understand this action. These things can be discussed. There's no need to adopt such measures.''