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THE former Olympic champion gymnast Liu Xuan was thrust
into the limelight when it was announced that she is to play
the part of heroine in a TV series entitled My Father and I.
Liu has kept a low profile since she entered the
Department of Journalism at Beijing University. However, she
gave up her original intentions of not working in film and TV
circles as soon as she read the script for My Father and I.
“Liu was deeply moved by the story, believing that the
script closely matches her own life experiences,” producer Li
Wenxiu said.
The series portrays a touching story about a father and
his stepdaughter. To fulfill his dead comrade in arms’ last
wish of “making the child a gymnastic Olympic champion,” the
father overcomes many unbelievable hardships to support his
stepdaughter.
After reading the script, Liu couldn’t help asking Li,
“How much do you know about my life?”
In reality, Liu chose gymnastics to fulfill her mother’s
dream. Her mother used to be a very promising gymnast, but had
to give up her dream because of the “cultural revolution.”
Thus she entrusted her own hope to her daughter.
In the script, the stepdaughter quits practicing
gymnastics. Later, with her father’s encouragement, she takes
it up again.
“To reduce the negative influences upon Liu’s studies, we
will complete most of the filming around Beijing. On Mondays
and Fridays, she can concentrate on her classes in Beijing
University, and we won’t need her on location,” Li said.
Asked if this assignment marked her plan to pursue a
career in film and TV circles, Liu said, “I think many people
mistook my plan. This time, I just intended to taste the
difference between acting in front of a camera and joining
sport competitions.”
According to Li, film and TV producers started seeking
scripts with Olympic sports themes after Beijing successfully
won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games last July. However,
so far, only the script My father and I has won approval from
the government.
“We’ll start filming at the end of this month,” Li said.
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