Many of them appeared only for several seconds in the 140-minute movie. World-famous kungfu legend Jackie Chan, for instance, hoped to play Chairman Mao, but instead wound up playing a reporter with just a couple of lines. Acclaimed action movie director John Woo's scenes, on the other hand, have been completely removed.

A look back in history

The plots allow for participation of many other stars, however. The movie depicts the historical period from August 1945 after the victory of the War Against Japanese Aggression to the time marking the founding ceremony of the new republic on October 1, 1949. This period witnessed many landmark events that involved a host of important characters.

"The movie has major historical events as its narrative thread and focuses on the portraying of important historical figures," Han said. "It concludes at the founding of a new state, that is, the People's Republic of China."

The core event is the meeting that decided the future of the nation—preparations of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

At the time, CPPCC members overcame numerous obstacles in order to go to liberated areas from overseas, Hong Kong and regions under the Kuomintang regime. "It is a historic moment on China's political stage with rich conflicts, crises and suspense," said screenwriter Wang Xingdong.

The movie, moreover, focuses on the political wisdom of Mao and other CPC leaders in the effort to build up the united front and unite and win members of all democratic parties and patriots from all walks of life.

In the end, they realized the goal of ruling the country through multi-party cooperation and the political consultation system. The First Plenary Session of the CPPCC was successfully held to elect the leadership of the new government and legitimately gave birth to the People's Republic of China.

Commercial success

In addition to the important subject matter, stars rallied for the movie also because of the influential figure Han Sanping, Chairman and General Manager of China's largest state-owned film enterprise, China Film Group Corp. (CFGC).

Han was elected as one of China's economic leaders of the year 2008, an honor offered by China Central Television, for his contributions to movie commercialization.

The group's big-budget and high-return movies took over 50 percent of the country's movie market last year. Han, in particular, was also involved in the production of all eight domestic movies that generated more than 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) at box office last year.

As a result of its vertical integration in the industry value chain, the CFGC today has a number of businesses under its wing, including film and TV series production, movie distribution chains and cinema operations, as well as film import and export businesses.

The group has invested only 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) in this movie as many actors and actresses volunteered their services for it. "We finished the script just 10 months ago and all our resources were used for the production, such as equipment, props and costumes," Han said.

In the final deal splitting box office revenues, usually the film production company claims 45 percent, while the cinemas take the remaining of 55 percent. As a result, receipts of 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) at the box office could yield investors nearly 40 million yuan ($5.86 million).

It was reported in the media that the producer of The Founding of a Republic has eyed receipts of 450 million yuan ($66 million). If attained, this film would break the domestic box office record earnings of 430 million yuan ($63 million) set by Transformers II during its release in China over the summer.

"If the movie proves to be a box office success, it may become a model for tribute films," Han added.

Counting the stars

The movie also offers the audience unique entertainment in terms of identifying their beloved actors and actresses. Yet, the cast will not divert their attentions from the plots and characters thanks to a well-done typecasting.

ALL-STAR CAST: "We need the most famous stars to attract a greater audience to go to the cinema," said Han Sanping, General Director of The Founding of a Republic

The guiding principle behind the casting of actors, according to Han, was the resemblances the performers shared with the appearances and attributes of the characters they played.

Chen Kaige, for example, played the legendary general Feng Yuxiang because "Chen, tall and sturdy, weighs more than 100 kg and, at the same time, he is a director enjoying worldwide fame," said Han, "and has a personality similar to a strategist like Feng."

When they could not find ideal matches in terms of appearance and personality traits, they focused more on personality and mannerisms, said Han.

He pointed to the iconic Chen Kun, who played Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's elder son, as an example. Seventeen of the 20 directors did not approve of his casting since Chen's overall physical appearance doesn't resemble the character at all.