Can Ang Lee save his ‘Lust, Caution’ actress?

Just weeks after Steven Spielberg dramatically resigned from his role as artistic advisor to the Beijing Olympics in protest at Chinese inaction over Darfur, China's state censors have risked the ire of another advisor to the Games. They have blacklisted the young Chinese actress who took the lead in Lust, Caution, the most recent film by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee.

When little-known 28-year-old Tang Wei was chosen for Lust, Caution, she was destined to become a household name across her homeland. The blacklisting has shocked the Chinese movie-going public.

In the movie, Tang's character seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence official in World War II-era Shanghai to pave way for his assassination, only to have second thoughts at the last moment. Lust, Caution was widely shown across China in late 2007, but with the film's graphic sex scenes cut