"The Banquet" is a modern day remake of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." The big star of the flick is Zhang Ziyi.

I wrote about how down-to-earth it is reported that she is. But, down-to-earth and well read are not the same.

When asked if she reread the "Hamlet" to prepare for this role, the actress, 27, replied "I didn't want to be affected by the original. After all this is an adaptation. The characters have similarities, but they're not identical."

This sounds like something my students would say. It sounds like an excuse I used to give to my teachers when I didn't want to struggle through Shakespeare either.

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