BELLO, YEOH BRING 'MUMMY' TO LIFE.

Byline: Bob Strauss

Film Writer

At first glance, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" looks like another slam-bang action movie.

Opening Friday, it stars the likable Brendan Fraser as intrepid explorer Rick O'Connell, who comes out of retirement to take on an ancient Chinese ruler (Jet Li) who has risen from the dead with his army of animated terra-cotta warriors.

But wait! It's also got two of our favorite actresses: Maria Bello, the smart and sultry star of such notable indies as "A History of Violence" and "Thank You for Smoking," replaces Rachel Weisz as Evelyn, Rick's adventurous English wife. (The film takes place soon after the war, a good decade later than its Egyptian predecessors).

And former Miss Malaysia Michelle Yeoh, who shot to Hong Kong movie fame as Jackie Chan's most formidable leading lady and broke hearts worldwide as the soulful swordswoman in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

MARIA BELLO

We think of you as an indie girl, not an action heroine. How'd you wind up in this thing?

It's been my dream since I was 7 years old and addicted to romance novels that were about the young girl sneaking onto pirate ships dressed as a man, fighting with swords and shooting guns. I think one of the reasons I became an actor was I wanted to be Indiana Jones.

A month before my 40th birthday, I finally gave up. I realized I'd done all these amazing roles and worked with great people, so maybe it's not something I'm supposed to do in this lifetime. Two weeks later, (director) Rob Cohen called me.

Why did he think of you?

He wanted an American's sensibility and sexuality in this woman, but with a sophisticated English exterior. He knew that the character had become different from the Rachel Weisz character in the first two movies. He said, "If she was Audrey Hepburn, this one is Katharine Hepburn."

So then you went off to all of these cool locations. What's most impressive?

When we were shooting the Himalaya scene, I hoped that it looked like we were cold. It was 105 degrees in Montreal on that set with fans blowing and fake snow and wool jackets. We were just sweating. So, after every take, they had to come up and pat the sweat off our face and we tore off our jackets and I think I was just in a bra underneath mine because I was so hot. So to see how it looked in the end was really, really fun.

Fraser seems like a fun guy to be around.

Brendan and I played a lot and had a really good time. I joke with him a lot because I was falling in love during that time and my boyfriend was always there, and something stupid came out in a magazine, like "Maria Bello broke up Brendan Fraser's marriage" and I see him after that and I'm like, 'Sorry to hear that I broke up your marriage. That must've been real hard for you.' So we laugh a lot about all of that, and he got to be friends with my significant other.

You've got a couple of movies coming up, "Towelhead" and "Downloading Nancy," that have caused controversy at festivals.

They are very provocative films that make people think and talk, and that makes me happy. I like films for entertainment's sake, like "The Mummy." But I also love film that mixes things up a little bit and makes people think and feel in a different way.

MICHELLE YEOH

You've been in a couple of big Hollywood productions, but there's something special about this "Mummy" movie, right?

This is, I would say, the biggest American production in China up to now. The "Mummy" franchise is well-loved, and I'm a big fan, so we were very happy to hear that this was going to be made in China. I think it's a wonderful showcase and a great way to pique the interest of kids to learn about a new place.

Did Rob Cohen, a self-proclaimed Sinophile, get the cultural stuff right?

Honestly, Jet and I kept saying, "Jeez, he looks Caucasian but he's actually Chinese inside." I think with his Buddhist philosophy and because he does love the Chinese culture so much, Rob has great deference to it. He wouldn't ridicule it at all. And it's so easy to swing it that way in a popcorn adventure, make it more chingy-chongy and like that. Rob didn't do that at all.

You've worked in the past with Jet Li.

From the first movie we made together, we got along like a house on fire and have been buddies ever since then. The most difficult part was keeping a straight face when we had to stare each other down!

But the two of you haven't fought before?

Never. This was the first time. But it's easy because he is such a professional. He is very accurate and in absolute control of his moves. He's powerful, so if he does hit you ... but it's fine because you know it's necessary and it's never random. When you have to be careful is when you're fighting with someone who's new and is a little too excitable and they don't realize that maybe they've got the wrong moves and are still coming.

I think everybody else on the set was more afraid than the two of us because our scenes really aren't about fancy moves. It's really about 2,000 years of anger exploding.

There aren't a lot of computer graphics in Asian action movies, so this must have been a novel experience.

I don't like working with CG, but the CG in this movie was phenomenal. I mean, if you look at the yeti -- oh my, they are so real. But when you're there, there's just a ball on a pole and everything else is in your imagination.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Maria Bello: "We tore off our jackets and I think I was just in a bra underneath mine."

(2) Michelle Yeoh: "(The fight scenes are) really about 2,000 years of anger exploding."

Box:

Fraser to appear