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2046 & 5 Tony's films you should rent per TL

 
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Joined: 27 Jan 2003
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:22 am    Post subject: 2046 & 5 Tony's films you should rent per TL

Posted on Thu, Aug. 25, 2005

Tony Leung in '2046'.
For dynamic star of '2046,' it's never by the numbers

BY CHRIS HEWITT
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/12463866.htm

Tony Leung's new movie, "2046," opens Friday. That may not mean much to you, but, if you're a movie fan, it should.

A native of Hong Kong, Leung has never made a Hollywood movie, although he speaks fluent, British-accented English. But he is one of Hong Kong's most prolific actors. And if you made a list of the 50 best films of the past 10 years — OK, if I made that list — he'd star in at least five of 'em ("Chungking Express," "Flowers of Shanghai," "Infernal Affairs," "In the Mood for Love" and his biggest hit in the United States, last year's Oscar-nominated "Hero").

Not bad for a guy who didn't know what anyone was saying on the set of one of his first big films, "City of Sadness."

"At the time, I spoke Cantonese but not Mandarin," says Leung. "I don't know why the director picked me, because, when I met him, I couldn't understand what he was talking about. But it worked itself out. He said, 'Hmm. OK. I'll make his character a mute.' "

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THE FIVE TONY LEUNG MOVIES LEUNG SAYS YOU SHOULD RENT

1. "Chungking Express": A fizzy, inventive romance.

2. "Hard Boiled": From director John Woo, a nasty thriller.

3. "Infernal Affairs": Goofy, suspenseful and fast.

4. "Cyclo": Influenced by Francois Truffaut, it's stunningly beautiful.

5. "Happy Together": The suave Leung in a doomed (gay) romance.


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For much of his life, Leung himself was virtually mute. His father abandoned his family in the mid-'60s, when Leung was 6. "He left one day and never came back. For a Chinese family back then, that was a terrible loss of face," Leung says. "My mother never said anything about that day. So, I suppressed my emotions."

Leung suppressed himself into a job selling appliances. While working in the refrigerator world, he met a woman whose brother was struggling actor Stephen Chow (now an internationally acclaimed actor/director, his "Kung Fu Hustle" is this year's biggest foreign hit). Chow turned Leung on to acting classes, and Leung decided he was done with fridges.

"I could hide my emotions behind the characters. People would think my anger or fear was the characters' when it was really mine," says Leung. "It was wonderful because my whole life up until then, I would talk to the mirror or talk to my soup, like my character in 'Chungking Express,' but I would never talk to people."

"Chungking," a minty-fresh romantic adventure, was directed by Wong Kar Wai, who also made "2046," as well as "Days of Being Wild," "In the Mood for Love" and "Happy Together," all with Leung. Wong has been Leung's most fruitful collaborator, but he barely knows the guy.

"We never talk. We seldom see each other," says Leung of the director who has played Scorsese to his De Niro. "He likes to keep a distance and see how I change from film to film. He has the story in his head, but he doesn't tell it to me or the other actors, for that matter."

Famous for his painstaking, unscripted method, Wong can make filming of a single movie drag on for years — frequent Wong actress Maggie Cheung has said "2046" is the last time she'll work for him. When it was shown at Cannes, the "2046" screening had to be delayed because the director — who had shot enough footage for several movies — was still tinkering at the 12th hour.

"It can be frustrating, but it's also very creative," says Leung, who enjoys balancing more traditional directors with Wong, because Wong's films allow him to worry about his character and leave everything else up to the director. Another bonus of working with Wong: Until sitting down to watch the movie, Leung never has any idea what it's about.

"Our relationship is strange. He and I are like the men and women in his movies, always testing and teasing each other," says Leung, neatly summing up the theme of Wong's movies. Sometimes, they are comic, usually they are tragic, but they always feature couples who circle around each other, unable to connect.

Unlike Cheung, Leung will work with Wong Kar Wai again — Wong is about to start a film with Nicole Kidman, but he and Leung are planning a kung fu movie about Bruce Lee's teacher after that. In the meantime, Leung says he's open to working in Hollywood.

"I grew up on Hollywood movies. I'm a great fan of Martin Scorsese," says Leung (ironically, Scorsese's remake of the Leung film "Infernal Affairs" will open this Christmas, starring Leonardo DiCaprio). "But they have a lot of talented people in Hollywood, so there are not a lot of opportunities for Asian actors."

Not that Leung is planning to go back to pushing dishwashers if Hollywood doesn't put him on speed-dial. He says he doesn't like to plan too far ahead, and he never expects much of his films, despite winning Hong Kong's equivalent of the best-actor award five times (including for "2046") and scoring huge hits. That attitude is something he learned when he was selling appliances.

"Expectations only upset you," Leung says. "I like to let things surprise me."

Chris Hewitt can be reached at chewitt@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5552.
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Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 1772
Location: U.S.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:34 am    Post subject:

One thing I found that it vary from article to article is the reported of Tony's age when his father disappeared. I read age ranging from 5 to 10 years old. Does anyone else notice the variation?
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Pungyo



Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 400
Location: New Jersey, U.S.A.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 12:12 pm    Post subject:

I've read 8 years old and 15 years old at other places.

In the article that I read where he was 15, and I don't remember where it was... it was quite a long time ago... they said that because of his father leaving, he left school to help support his mother and sister... the reason why he never went on to college.

I guess, unless we actually talk to Tony about it, we won't really know for sure. But, of course it is very personal, so we shouldn't ask anyway.

The important fact is that we all love him enough to let him keep his personal life... personal. And take everything you see in print with a grain of salt.

-K
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wan yu



Joined: 03 Jun 2005
Posts: 187
Location: singapore

PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 8:38 am    Post subject:

in most articles i've read, its says 5-8 yrs old.
pungyo your right ...we won't really know for sure..but as his fans, we shouldn't probe to much in to his personal life

wan yu
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