BEIJING, May 30 -- According to several mainland Chinese newspapers, a casting team has visited Beijing and Shanghai to search for the right actress to play the female leading role, a young college student recruited as a secret agent.

    Reportedly, Ang Lee prefers casting someone with a fresh face and only a handful of relatively well-known actresses have been contacted.

    Another report suggests this role will belong to someone from Taiwan. As for the male leading role, a high ranking puppet government official and the target of an assassination plot, mainland Chinese actor Ge You is currently in talk for the role.

    Ge You is best known for starring in comedies, especially films by director Feng Xiaogang. His performance in Zhang Yimou's "To Live" made him the best actor of 1994's Cannes International Film Festival. Most recently, he played an emperor in Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet," a Hamlet inspired drama.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)