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Tony's interviews during <Red Cliff> promotion
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:39 am    Post subject:

Sorry,
but after all our talking about everything but Tony's interview,
Nobody's volunteered to translate it?
Pllleeeeaaassseee....?
Kat
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ben



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 40
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:04 pm    Post subject:

Looks like a great interview. Wish I could understand it..

Watching films has helped me pick up some Cantonese here and there, but haven't even attempted to learn to read..

If anyone's got time at least to give a summary of what the interview was about, that would be appreciated.
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Eri



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 589
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:48 pm    Post subject:

Hello Kat and ben,

Chinese is not my mother tongue, but I can read and understand the meaning, so I translated the interview.

(If any Chinese speaker find mistakes, please make correction. Very Happy )

SHU YU is the Perfect Man.

Q: Before shooting Red Cliff, what kind of person was SHU YU in your view ?

T: In my imagination, SHU YU was an unfortunate musician who loved peace and his family very much. He also loved his soldiers.

Q: After you read scripts, did you find a big difference between Director's image of SHU YU and yours ?

T: After working with Director John Woo, I found out that his SHU YU was an ideal hero and had a strong sense of justice, he was also a very human.

Q: Do you also think SHU YU is a perfect man ?

T: I think in John Woo's script, SHU YU is the perfect person.

Q: Which part of SHU YU were you most attracted to ?

T: His desire for peace and very strong sense of justice.

Q: Did you have any arguments with the director about this role ?

T: Actually, before shooting this movie, I talked to him that I wanted to make SHU YU a little humorous and a person with full of humanity.

Q: You had worked with the same director in the past, was there anything which is different this time ?

T: I thought he was a director who can make the audiences attracted to each scenes and movements. He had very strong John Woo style which is now getting stronger and stronger. He is more and more talented as well, however this time, Red Cliff is a such a big project, he had to think about so many different things, so I usually worried about things for him because he is very very good person.

Q: You were casted as KOU MEI ( Kaneshiro's role) at first, you turned down to do this role, and then later decided to act SHU YU ?

T: At that time, I had a problem myself so I couldn't take KOU MEI's role, then later John Woo had a problem, so I thought if there was anything I could do to help him. He asked me to do SHU YU to help him, so I thought it was not too hard to do.

Heat, Sword Dance, Playing Harp

Q: What was the hardest part ?

T: When I joined, it was very hot and we had to wear winter costumes and armers, so it was very hard.
I haven't been involved with so many historical movies before, and this time I had to do things like horse riding, bowing arrows, calligraphy, I had to do things that I am not used to, so these were some experiences for me.

Q: Are historical movies harder than modern movies to take?

T: It is harder to have make-up done. It takes longer.

Q: When Shooting Red Cliff's war scenes in very hard condition, was it possible for you to hold out ?

T: Had to. It was certainly very hard to work in very hot wether wearing heavy clothes for all of us. I sometimes didn't feel well. However, when I remember now, there might not be another chance to do this kind of movie, so I think it was good to do this movie and it is memorable.

Q: You had to do a lot of fighting scenes, were there any accidents ?

T: Horse riding is very dangerous. Being an actor, I have to protect myself, because shooting movies can be dangerous activities. If you are hanging down from a horse, it is very dangerous. The scenes with so many horses were frightening.
I didn't have any accident myself, but I've heard that one of my stunts got burned. At that time, I was ill and the scene had to be taken, so one of my back stunt did the scene. The flame became too big and he was so close to it he got burned (scalded). I feel sorry for him.

Q: SHU YU had to do sward dance and playing harp, how difficult were they ?

T: Of course difficult. We are not living in old days and not used to these things. Director tried to improve as much as possible, so SHU YU was a romantic person in the movie. When I did the Sward dance, I was listening to the instructions thru ear phone. That was difficult.

Tony's Hero Complex

Q: In Red Cliff, SHU YU is the one hero with complex, how about you ?

T: I don't have much Hero complex myself. I only think doing things to help others is good. I am not going to do any more gangster movies for letting young people know clearly it is not good.

Q: As being one of important actor yourself, do you have any indicator to choose movies ?

T: It doesn't matter for me if it is a big project or minor work, every movies and every role I played are going to stay in my heart. I don't forget these forever. This time was a very good experience to work with John Woo, and also it was good to have a chance to work with so many Chinese actors.

Q: A lot of audiences seem to think that you are a genius actor, and can perform anything. Do you feel so by yourself?

T: I don't think so. (laugh) Recently I certainly had played a different types of roles. It is very challenging, and I find it very interesting, however I don't feel I am a genius. By acting one role, you make some sacrifices, and get some rewards for it. The actors cannot play any roles. The actors do one very painful work, and it is also one very happy occupation.

Q: Did you worry about your SHU YU being very different from the one in audiences' recognition ?

T: A little. I think everyone has their own image of SHU YU, and as I easily worried about things, I felt a little pressure.

Q: How do you grade your SHU YU ?

T: I don't know. Because I don't know the results. After the movie's shown, I will probably know. I don't have any control over if others satisfied with my role or not. I just try to do what I can do and enjoy the process of that.


Last edited by Eri on Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:41 am; edited 1 time in total
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Safran



Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 1322
Location: Austria

PostPosted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:52 pm    Post subject: Translation

Dear Eri,
Thank you very much for taking time to translate - for us fans who are not able to understand chinese, cantonese.....spoken or written!
Fellowfans like you make it possible for us to follow the activities of our admired actor and man Tony Leung Chiu Wai!
Thank You
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mary



Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 251
Location: Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:40 am    Post subject:

hello eri
i would also like to thank you for your translation of tonys interview it is very good i admire people who have the talent of understanding different languages i am quite envious because i have to depend on the kindness of others to share their knowledge .... thank you.... mary
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:00 am    Post subject:

Thanks Eri,
You did a long job but all the non speaking or reading chinese are so happy now!!! You made us feel part of the whole!
Tony is very opened in this interview, maybe more than usual. The film is impossibly, mindboggling huge and Tony is great (as usual).
For us not asian, well, we don't know the story so we don't have a preconcept image of Shu Yu. For us it is all new and, from what I have seen, the film is crazily beautiful. I can understand that Tony is quite excited about the success of this project and this can be the reason he was so unusually opened and talkative.
It surprised me when he declared that he doesn't want to shoot crime thrillers because he doesn't want to set a bad example. This is a new!
Thank you again
and thanks to Ben that gave me an assist to have this translated.
Bye
Kat
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Eri



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 589
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:44 am    Post subject:

You are welcome, everyone.

I hope I didn't make a big mistake. Wink

To Kat,

Tony didn't say "He doesn't want to shoot crime thrillers".

It is just the word I used. "Gangster movies" means "The movies which make young people to think Mafia like gangsters heros and encourage them to be one". I think Tony doesn't want the next generation of people to be involved with criminal activities.
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:08 am    Post subject:

And don't we all?
Sorry Eri, it was my english that is poor. Your translation was perfectly clear. Tony doesn't want to portray a gangster and make him likable, appealing. But, the new is that he took a decisive stance and made public a part of his decision making about roles or scripts. Easily he loses opportunities because of this pedagogic intent, and gives a really important message. That if Tony believes in something, he does (or doesn't) what he sees fit to make it happen.
Before this translation (thanks again and again from all us) we could think something of the sort, but now we know for sure, "from the horse's mouth", so to speak.
Thank you Eri
Kat
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francisc4



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 249
Location: Beijing, China

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:21 am    Post subject:

Dear Eri,

thanks a lot.... Smile

Cisca
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:42 am    Post subject:

My Dear Eri,
Tony said: "...you make some sacrifices, and get some rewards for it". In other occasions he said "No pain, no gain". I think this is his philosophy, the good, positive ethic that drives him.
Bye
Kat
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Info



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Posts: 1691
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:30 am    Post subject:







專訪梁朝偉 我在演吳宇森

梁朝偉重感情更重承諾,既然答應了導演吳宇森演好《赤壁》,就連跟劉嘉玲的婚姻大事都要趁空檔進行,婚前婚後都忙於為《赤壁》上、下集做宣傳。婚後的偉仔雖然低調,但一講到戲經便說得興起,分享跟吳宇森 、李安及王家衛導演合作的苦與樂,享受揣摩每個角色的過程,他坦言演戲要慢功出細貨才夠好玩! 
撰文:陳禮恆 攝:蔡家緯

繼90年代的《喋血街頭》及《辣手神探》後,相隔多年,如今再跟吳宇森導演合作,可有新的睇法?

真係好多年沒有同吳宇森合作,所以好期待,雖然古裝片的確唔係我杯茶,唔知呢!可能係命運嘅安排,輾轉之下又接演《赤壁》,更從諸葛亮換成周瑜這角色,都係一個很好的經驗。

我跟吳導演不同,我係一個好容易放棄的人,我覺得《赤壁》簡直是個不可能的任務,所有條件令整件事變得更難,天氣變化很大,加上起用內地製作班底,導演希望把經驗帶給新人,出發點雖好,但首次合作就是如此龐大的計劃,牽涉咁多錢,咁多人,真係難上加難。不過,導演比較樂觀,無論環境有幾困難,他在片場都表現得好從容。我相信導演都有好多困難、好多壓力要面對,只是他從沒表露出來,全部自己承受晒,我好佩服他!

你曾說過本身對周瑜的認識不深,後來更乾趣把導演投射在角色身上,為甚麼?

起初唔知怎樣去演周瑜,因為吳宇森創作這個角色,一定會放入自己的價值觀,我覺得導演控制成隊crew,待人接物,工作態度,就好像周瑜對部下一樣,所有責任都自己孭上身,就算導演病到入醫院吊鹽水,都無畀大家知道。

吳宇森並非從《三國演義》角度出發,他希望多些貼近史實。但其實歷史上有關周瑜的描寫不多,他是一位軍事家,精通音律,就係咁多!我都唔知點樣去演。我覺得導演把周瑜這人物完美化,既愛國又愛家,好有量度很少缺點。又唔係拍歷史片,始終要跟返吳宇森的想法,角色行為代表咗導演的性格,所以點解我話好似演緊吳宇森。

演出《赤壁》可有遇到甚麼困難?

導演在片場要兼顧的實在太多,我免得在現場再煩他,我希望減輕他的負擔,起碼做好自己,如果有問題,他自然會出聲啦!加上要控制很多大場面,閒閒地10個主要演員,後面再加500個演員,加上天氣好熱,大家要守規矩,唔好有甩漏,所以每個人都好大壓力,逼自己千祈唔好出錯。因為若要NG,起碼要再等30至45分鐘,一個上午只可以拍到3個shot,死喇!成部戲咁長,所以配合上好難。

我穿上20幾磅的盔甲,你話攞住20磅物件幾分鐘就無問題,但着住幾個鐘就好鬼死重,實係好難頂!作為一個主要演員,我都熱,但點都唔敢除,因為隨時又會拍另一場戲,我寧願埋位等,整個拍攝進度好緊迫,實在唔敢再耽誤時間。

你是否覺得增強了意志力?

一向都強!可能以前拍電視劇訓練有素啦,這是team work,而且續集《赤壁決戰天下》有更多打鬥場面,包括「火燒連環船」,上集反而好似介紹人物出場。動作多就係一定,這是吳宇森的trademark!

近年每每跟國際級導演合作,如吳宇森、李安及王家衛等,籌備工夫相信也不一樣吧?

《赤壁》上集我要同金城武鬥彈古琴,現場跟住音樂去彈,雖然彈錯未必有人知,但自己都會覺得唔自在。吳宇森同李安好唔同,我們在《色,戒》開拍前做了好多準備工夫,大家要study好多書、畫和音樂,從中捕捉感覺,來刺激想像空間,這個過程其實很有趣。王家衛則唔同,一部戲可以拍足5年,基本上把準備工夫和拍攝工作都放埋一齊。

今次《赤壁》的參考資料無咁多,準備時間亦有限,有些港式「即食」風格,但又唔似王家衛,根本乜都無,去到現場才知點發展,好似拍緊實驗電影咁,試試吓!好似開拍《花樣年華》時,只得一段音樂加幾頁紙故事,呢個就係你個角色!至於李安,則似荷李活的拍攝模式,要做足充分準備,到達片場起碼要有90分,他再要求你做出120分。

我鍾意慢工出細貨,希望有半年、一年時間去準備角色。對我來說呢個過程更好玩。當然在香港有好多環境因素限制,唔係咁容易afford到。

林志玲首次拍戲便跟你有一幕情慾戲,雖然導演已澄清續集未有「加碼」,你覺得ChiLing的整體表現如何?

林志玲是一個很聰明和勤力的演員,起初卻表現得好驚,因她完全沒有演戲經驗,首次演出便參與咁大製作。所以我會主動找她傾偈,其實無話邊個係大明星,在片場入面就係一個team。好似跟湯唯一齊拍《色,戒》時也一樣,但湯唯有較多演戲經驗,而且李安導演訓練新人好叻。

後記:訪問當日,偉仔跟大隊進行密集式宣傳,在他準備步出酒店房之際,追問他會否考慮再出唱片?豈料他斬釘截鐵地答:「唔會喇!退休了!(樂壇方面)」偉仔將會繼續沉醉於揣摩角色上,更透露會邀請心儀作家寫劇本,尋求突破。

It has been a long time since you last cooperated with John Woo in <Bullet in the Head> and <Hard Boiled> in the 90s, what do you think of the John Woo now?

Yes, we haven't worked together for a long time, so I really look forward to it, although I don't really like working in a historical movie. I don't know, but it is fate that I ended up working in <Red Cliff>, and from the role of Zhuge Liang to Zhou Yu. It's a good experience.

I am different from John, it's easy for me to give up. I think <Red Cliff> is a mission impossible! Every conditions made it more difficult - such as the weather conditions, and the use of Mainland production team. John wanted to share his experiences of producing a big production with the Mainland crews, his intention was good, but it is really difficult to work with a new team on such a huge project which involves large investment, and thousands of people. However, John is an optimist, no matter how difficult the situation was, he was so calm on location. I believe John faced a lot of difficulties and was under great pressure, but he never showed his feeling, he just bore the burden himself. I admired him a lot!

You mentioned that you were not familiar with Zhou Yu, and you ended up projecting John Woo to the character, why?

At the beginning, I don't know how to present Zhou Yu. But this role is created by John Woo, he must have injected his own value in this character. I think how John led his production team, how he treated people, his working attitude, are similar to how Zhou Yu treated his subordinates. John bore all the responsibilities, even though he was sick and was admitted to the hospital, he wouldn't let us know.

John created this movie not from the story of <Three Kingdoms>, he wanted it to be closer to history. However, there was not much description about Zhou Yu in history. I only know he is a military strategist and good at music, that's it. I really don't know how to present this role. I think John has created a perfect person, Zhou Yu loves his country and his family, he is generous, with very few weakness. As we were not producing a historical movie, we don't need to follow the real character truly, but follow what the director wants the character to be. The role represented the director's character, that's why I said I was not acting John Woo.

Any difficulties in shooting <Red Cliff>?

The director had to take care a lot of issues on location, I tried not to bother him for advice or instruction, I hoped to minimise his burden. At least I should do my best, and if he had any comments on my acting, he would let me know. He already had to be in charge of a lot of major scenes, with at least 10 main casts, and over 500 supporting. With the extreme hot weather, we had to be very discipline and avoided any mistakes, that's why everyone was under great pressure. Cos each take would need at least 30-45 mins, and we might only take shoot 3 shots in a morning. With such a long film, that means it would take a long time, and it's really difficult to work it out.

I had to wear the armour which weighted over 20 lbs. It's ok if you just needed to hold 20 lbs weight for a few minutes. But if you need to wear it for hours, it's really heavy! As a main cast, I also felt very hot but I won't take it off, cos you never know when would you need to shoot the next shot, I prefer to standby and wait, cos the shooting schedule was really tight, we couldn't afford to waste any time.

Do you think your will power has improved?

My will power has always been strong! Maybe this is because of the training from my TV days. It's a team work. And in <Red Cliff 2>, there are more action scenes, including "burning the chained boats", whereas Part 1 is more like an introduction of characters. It's John Woo's trademark to have a lot of action scenes.

You have been working with different international directors in recent years, such as John Woo, Ang Lee, WKW, etc., would the preparation work be different?

In <Red Cliff 1>, I had to play a musical instrument with Takeshi, and we need to follow the live music on location. Although no one may know even if I did it wrong, but I don't feel comfortable about it. John Woo is different from Ang Lee. We did a lot of preparation work before shooting <Lust, Caution>, we had to study a lot of books, drawings and music, and got the feel from them, to stimulate the imagination. It's an interesting experience. WKW is also different. He can shoot a film for 5 years, basically the preparation and shooting were put together.

For <Red Cliff>, we didn't have much reference materials, and we didn't have much time for preparation, it's a bit like the Hong Kong instant style. But it's different from WKW, which has nothing, and only develop on the spot. With WKW, we were like shooting the experimental movie through trial and error. For example, when we were working on <ITMFL>, we only started with some music and a few pages of story, and that's my role! With Ang Lee, it's more like Hollywood, with full preparation. You have to attain at least 90 points when you arrive the location, and he would push you to deliver 120 points.
I like to work slowly to create a fine product, I hope to have 6 months or a year to prepare a role. To me, this preparation process is more interesting. Of course, in Hong Kong, there are many restrictions, and it's not easy to afford such a long preparation period.

This is ChiLing Lam's first movie, what do you think of her?

ChiLing is an intelligent and hardworking actress. She was a bit worried at the beginning, cos she had no acting experience at all, and her first movie is such a huge production. I talked to her proactively, to make her feel comfortable. There is no such thing of big star on location, it's a team. It's the same when I worked with Tang Wei, although Tang Wei had a bit more acting experience, and Ang Lee is very good at training newcomer.

Post-interview notes: At the end of the interview, when Tony was ready to leave, I asked if he would consider releasing albums again. And he replied definitely, "No, I am retired (from singing)." He would continue to devote himself into different characters. He disclosed that he already invited his favourite writer to write a script for him, hoping to bring something new to the audience.


Last edited by Info on Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:17 am; edited 5 times in total
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ben



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 40
Location: Sydney, Australia

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:06 pm    Post subject:

Dear Eri,
Thank you so much for your translation. Shame that he doesn't want to do any more crime/gangster films but I respect his reason.
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katwoman64



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 662
Location: roma, italy

PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:17 am    Post subject:

Hi Ben,
maybe it is not a -don't know how to say- definitive, total decision.
Maybe Tony will not do films in which to be part of the Mafia, or Triads, is in any way appealing. Films that can show mafia to a joung man like a good way to make a living. I mean, Tony can be a policeman. Maybe he just wants scripts that say in a decisive way that there is a difference between good and bad and that some things (Mafia) are decidedly BAD. But this is a maybe, just wishful thinking on my part, I fear.
There's a big truth that we have to agree with Tony on: whatever the character he makes it appealing. He could play Jack the Ripper and we would find him a lovable, delightful person. So maybe (again) Tony's the wiser.
Bye
Kat
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Safran



Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 1322
Location: Austria

PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:40 am    Post subject:

Hi dear kat, ben.....

We "know" (read) in this forum, that Tony is or was in contact with Lawrence Block to write a script for him!
We should trust his taste and his professional instinct!
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Eri



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 589
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:39 pm    Post subject:

Dear Kat, ben and Safran,

I think what Tony said actually in Chinese is "Triads Movies" in English.

There used to be a lot of these kind in HK which made Triads members glorified and justified. (and perhaps used for recruiting new members.)

Also some of these people (Triads) used to have very strong influences in HK movie industries so some actors were even forced to be appearing in movies against their wills by threats. (I think it has changed now.)

So I don't think all crime stories were included in this category. Wink
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