Above: Yang Mi with Kat Graham from “The Vampire Diaries”. Many mainland Chinese leading actresses are trying to enter Hollywood. The most recent one to take a shot at international stardom is Yang Mi (楊冪). Earlier, she confirmed that she will be producing a Chinese version of American teen drama, Gossip Girl. This week, Yang Mi met with entertainment and media mogul and founder of E! Entertainment Television, Larry Namer, and the popular actress from The Vampire Diaries, Katerina Graham. Yang Mi was later interviewed by Hello! Hollywood. During the past few years, favorite mainland Chinese stars, Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), Li Bingbing (李冰冰), and Xu Jinglei (徐靜蕾) have started their own production studios to have greater creative control over their own projects, while targeting an international market. Following their footsteps is Yang Mi. Her popularity in the greater China region increased after she starred as Luo Qingchuan in TV drama, Palace <宮>. Attempting to expand her profile and career overseas, Yang Mi appeared at the Cannes Film Festival and also setting her eyes on Hollywood. Earlier this year, Yang Mi established her own production studio. Aside from working on short movies for new media, Yang is moving into TV series production. In March, Yang Mi stated that with the cooperation and support of Larry Namer and others, she will be producing a Chinese version of the American television series, Gossip Girl. The working title of the drama is currently dubbed as Chinese Girl. Yang Mi was seen in Hollywood this week meeting with Larry Namer. Aside from discussing details about the Chinese version of Gossip Girl, Yang Mi is likely paving for a career in Hollywood. Larry announced earlier on his blog that he will be meeting with his favorite mainland actress, but failed to disclose whom. Pictures of Yang Mi’s visit were later uploaded to his blog. The pictures reveal that Yang Mi was interviewed by Hello! Hollywood, and then met with Katerina Graham, who plays the witch Bonnie Bennett in Vampire Diaries. Although Larry was not forthcoming about motives of Yang Mi’s visit, netizens speculated that Yang will have a guest appearance in The Vampire Diaries or she could be working on an entirely new project. Creds: Oriental Daily
