The 62nd Golden Horse Awards announced the list of nominees on October 1st, with the Malaysian director Zhang Jie’an’s film “Mother Earth” nominated for 8 major awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. Mainland Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who transformed into a weathered farmer and wizard in the film, garnered attention for her nomination as Best Actress, albeit reports of her going “temporarily missing” surfaced, with even the film producers unable to reach her.
Fan Bingbing was previously nominated for the 53rd Golden Horse Awards in 2016 for her role in Feng Xiaogang’s “I Am Not Madame Bovary.” After 9 years, she is once again nominated for Best Actress for her performance in “Mother Earth,” competing against the likes of Zhou Xun and Ariel Lin.
Following the news of Fan Bingbing’s Golden Horse Awards nomination, there were rumors of her going missing, with even the film producers unable to reach her. Finally, the mystery was unraveled as it turned out that upon completing her work in Malaysia, Fan Bingbing was on a flight to Hong Kong and thus unable to respond immediately. In response to the Malaysian media “Sin Chew Entertainment,” she expressed, “I am very happy to be nominated for the Golden Horse Awards again. I received hundreds of messages as soon as I landed. Thank you for the support and encouragement from so many friends!”
According to reports from Hong Kong media, Fan Bingbing, who has been frequently seen in Hong Kong over the past year, had intended to settle in Hong Kong through investment immigration a decade ago, and only recently obtained the status of a “new Hong Kong resident,” currently residing in a luxury property in Mid-Levels with monthly rent of HK$650,000.
Fan Bingbing mentioned that the filming of “Mother Earth” was completed last year, and to this day, she has not seen the final product. “I asked the director if I could see it beforehand, but he said that it would spoil the surprise and asked me to watch it with the audience at the film’s premiere.”
On October 1st, director Zhang Jie’an announced on Facebook, “October 1st, double good news! ‘Mother Earth’ has just been nominated for the main competition of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival at noon, and in the evening, it received 8 nominations at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards!”
“Mother Earth” will have its world premiere at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival on October 27th, competing for the highest honor in the main competition section. Fan Bingbing expressed her joy, stating she had a great time working with director Zhang Jie’an, and this collaboration allowed her to try new things, which she enjoyed for the change it brought.
Since being embroiled in the “yin and yang contracts” tax evasion scandal in 2018, Fan Bingbing’s acting career took a hit, and she has not appeared in mainland Chinese films for seven years. In preparation for her roles as a farmer and wizard in “Mother Earth,” Fan Bingbing committed to gaining weight, wearing aged makeup, not using a body double, and personally partaking in planting crops, showcasing a stark contrast to her usual glamorous image.