Film shows U.S.man's link to mao(1)

　　BEIJING-A film about a U.S.journalist's friendship with mao tse-tung despite a threatened lawsuit by the j ournalist's widow.

　　The film is a "screen adaptation" of edgar snow's 1 938 book about his experiences visiting the communist l eader when his guerrilla army was battling for survival in northeastern china, the government's xinhua news ane ncy said.

　　It chronicles snow's and mao's "devotion to the gre at undertakings of the founding of new china," said the report, referring to the events leading to the communis ts' eventual victory in 1949.

　　The premiere of "mao ze-dong and snow"-using the re vised spelling of the chinese leader's name now favored in china-was held sept. 29 in the central chinese city of nanchang, the film's director song jiangbo said.