David James Ziyi Zhang and Ken Watanabe star in "Memoirs of a Geisha," directed by Pittsburgher Rob Marshall. Click photo for larger image.

KYOTO, Japan -- The decision to cast Chinese actresses in the main roles of "Memoirs of a Geisha" was widely debated at Sony Pictures -- a Japanese company -- and by the movie's producers, including Steven Spielberg. In a movie without a big-name male lead, Ziyi Zhang's rising star power in the West had appeal. She is already a superstar in Asia and is well-known in Japan.

She even does a Japanese shampoo commercial, although she doesn't try to pass herself off as Japanese. The product is called Asiasense, and the marketing promises to give Japanese women a pan-Asian look.

	Japanese, Chinese cultures have troubled history KYOTO, Japan -- Cross-cultural casting is nothing new to Hollywood. After all, Al Jolson was not just a white man in blackface. He was a Lithuanian Jew. Director Rob Marshall of "Memoirs of a Geisha" points out that the coveted role of Scarlett O'Hara went to English rose Vivien Leigh, Egyptian Omar Sharif played the Russian Dr. Zhivago, and American Johnny Depp was credible as Scotsman J.M. Barrie last year in "Finding Neverland." But the Chinese-Japanese relationship is significantly more fraught than the one between the United States and Scotland. The Asian neighbors share a history of invasion, occupation and brutality over the past century that has left millions dead and memories scarred.

"We talked about it at length and we said, 'What about this or that Japanese actress, would she work?' " director Rob Marshall recalls of the casting discussions. "And I said: 'Yes, but you know what? She's not as good.' And everybody agreed." Marshall, a Pittsburgher, directed the Academy Award-winning film, "Chicago."

Unlike "The Last Samurai," which was well received in Japan and used Japanese extras, casting calls for extras in "Memoirs" asked only for "light-skinned Asians." Asked if there were any limits to nontraditional casting, Marshall replies: "None." Asked if there were any roles that might be sacred to a culture, making nontraditional casting inappropriate -- such as hiring a Palestinian actor to play an Israeli political hero -- he again responds that he isn't a political person. "That's another world for me," he says.

Some of his cast members had doubts, however.

Marshall says he could tell that Japan's Ken Watanabe, who plays the leading male role of the Chairman, was "reticent" about the casting. He says Watanabe was won over seeing rushes of Ziyi's performance.

At least one Asian actor balked at taking part.

"Since it is a film by Steven Spielberg and Rob Marshall, I first thought maybe I should just close my eyes tight and just do it," said Kim Yoon-Jin, a Korean American actress now starring in the U.S. TV drama "Lost," who says she was offered -- but turned down -- a supporting role in "Memoirs."

"Even if it is Hollywood, I don't want to start by playing a Japanese geisha," she told the Korean media. "It's a matter of pride."

Marshall says he was encouraged by the reaction of the Japanese media to the movie after he and some of the cast gave a news conference in Tokyo at the conclusion of filming. He showed a few clips from the movie and described the reaction as "unbelievably supportive."

But there was some grumbling about the preview clips in Japan's combative large-circulation weekly magazines, whose reviewers picked apart "mistakes" they said damaged the film's authenticity. In particular, they complained about a scene where a young girl is whipped by a geisha, something experts say never happened during that period.

"Well, I'm doing a version of the book," Marshall says. "And in Arthur [Golden]'s book, they were whipped."