Zhang Yimou, the force behind this year's spectacular Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing, is one of four runners-up for Time magazine's Person of the Year.
The Chinese movie director's ceremonies were watched by a third of the world's population, according to the article's writer, Steven Spielberg.
An excerpt that ought to inspire anyone who's been told they're too old to start a new career:
There is much mythologizing surrounding Zhang's rise to prominence, given that his first job was as a farmhand and then a laborer in a cotton mill. But the story I enjoy most is that he gave blood over a period of months to earn enough money to purchase his first camera. He was 25. When the Beijing Film Academy reopened in 1978 after the Cultural Revolution, he was 27, already considered too old to become a filmmaker and lacking many of the necessary credits. Undaunted, he offered his portfolio of photographic works and was admitted to the department of cinematography.
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Lewis Lin, AKA Seattle Interview Coach of WA 12:16PM December 18, 2008