Movies planned to mark massacre

A Hollywood co-production inspired by Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking is one of three movies expected to be screened in China next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the slaughter, state media reported. Produced by US company Viridian Entertainment, a number of British investors and the Jiangsu Cultural Industry Group, the movie will focus on a mother and daughter who try to help others escape the massacre. Some reports touted actresses Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh to star in the movie. "We hope we can make the film a classic on the massacre … just like Schindler's List about the miserable experiences of Jewish people during the war," said producer Gerald Green. The news emerged Monday, the day before Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of his country's surrender in World War Two. Koizumi's visit was once again criticized by Beijing as the shrine honors a number of Class A war criminals as well as Japan's war dead.