Dialogue with the Star: Leslie Cheung

http://www.lesliesky.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=35&topic=379&show=0

Translated by Daydreamer in 2006

I am what I am

“Hong Kong does not have any reporters. I could only see a bunch of “story-makers”, very disappointing and extremely awful “story-makers”, am I right? They do not have the qualifications to call themselves reporters! They just do not have such qualifications!”

This was the speech that Leslie made in the interview, with rage and anger.

Perhaps this is the sadness about the majority of the entertainment reporters in Hong Kong. Although we are doing the same business, but my colleagues of the local electronic and print-media section who also present at this interview were all too ready to agree with this remark. This is beyond the subject.

Before the interview took place, I [Man Hong] had prepared well with an intention to explore the real Gorgor. Gorgor who was sitting right in front of me has not set up a defensive wall. Instead, he spoke freely about music, career and life. Every single word he spoke in response to my questions, he seemed to have injected into them his enriched feelings and spirits, making the atmosphere very vivid and lively.

How magnificent! Just by reading the dialogue between Gorgor and me, you could feel Gorgor’s happiness, contentment, anger, and dissatisfaction……


Willing to sacrifice for the sake of art


Enjoying happy life

Hong: Man Hong
Leslie: Leslie Cheung

Hong: My dream has finally come true! I was your super fan ever since I was young. Fortunately Gorgor is still singing; otherwise, someone like me who is a nobody will never have the chance to interview you at such a close distance.

Leslie: Oh, come on. There you go again, saying that you have listened to my songs since childhood! Haha, thanks everyone for your support. As a matter of fact, I have not produced a record for almost seven to eight years. Luckily I am still making movies, therefore I managed to maintain a certain degree of exposure.

Hong: I thought that as a media worker myself, I should report more often on diligent artists like you. Apart from the gossip news that we see everyday, let’s look at it from another angle. Leslie Cheung in these years, he has faith in his heart, persistence and never-ceasing diligence and concern about his career. What is all that for?

Leslie: If you are a friend of mine, then you will understand very well what kind of person I truly am. All my friends and colleagues can tell you that Leslie Cheung is a real artist, one who works hard to pursue his ideal, one who has expectation and demands in his work and who is willing and ready to sacrifice.

I can say that I have never treated the fans who love me unjustly, nor have I ever disappointed them, because all the time I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to my work. Having worked for so many years, frankly speaking, the struggling process has been pretty uneventful. Until now, I have a group of friends who treat me sincerely. Haha, I cannot say that my status is high, but if you ask them what kind of person Leslie is, my friends from the circle would certainly speak many kind words for me.

Now, I do not have concerns any more and I won’t be bothered with materialistic things. The most important thing now is to make some good music and good movies so that the audience could feel the products with good quality and high standard.

Right now I am living with ease and frankness and have ego ideal, but don’t be mistaken, I am absolutely not arrogant.

It’s my prime time at this moment. Now I realized what life is. Today, you should feel lucky because you may see me perform and share my happiness. No matter where I performed, the positive reports would point out that you could eventually feel the happiness and relaxation that Leslie had brought you. That’s quite enough.

Hong: Today’s Leslie makes people feel that he is full of self-confidence, isn’t it because you have already grasped the true meaning of life and is not trying to persist in anything else; thus your self-confidence has naturally been increased? Or isn’t it because you are becoming more ambitious and therefore it won’t work if you don’t have any confidence?

Leslie: Ambition? Of course, I have ambition. At that time when I made up my mind to film “Farewell to My Concubine”, it already proved how big my ambition was. To me, making “Farewell to My Concubine” was a very big challenge. Imagine at that time I had to learn a lot of things that I did not understand at all; and the language was a hardship that was not easy to conquer. For the whole half year, I did not leave Beijing at all. Of course, I managed to grab a superficial knowledge of Peking opera only. You know that I am a Cantonese. It’s not bad at all that I can now speak Mandarin so fluently which is much better than a lot of Hong Kong actors.

I hope that every movie that I make will have a certain degree of difficulty. For instance, in the movie “Double Tap” which I made at the beginning of this year, I played the role of a killer who had some psychological problems. I was able to accomplish a breakthrough in acting by playing that role with a lot of sincerity. In fact, not many actors are willing to play that kind of role because that will destroy their images. However, I don’t really care. I would like to try out different roles.

At the same time, the recognition and demand in my singing from the Asian market is the energy and force that has pushed me to look for more new creation. Do you know how much I enjoy trying out new attempts?


Asking the media for justice

Hong: Then you do enjoy possessing the achievements you have right now?

Leslie: I admit that I really have been to many places and occasions that very few people have ever had the opportunity to go; such as the Oscar Academy Award Ceremony, Golden Globe Award, Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival ….. I have a wish: If my music can be played in the Grammy Award Ceremony one day, then I really do not have any more regret in my life!

Never underrate the Asian entertainers. We certainly will go beyond the boundary one day, holding our heads high, into the international market. In respect of movies, Asian entertainers have received many international awards; for instance, Tony Leung Chiu Wai has recently got the Best Actor Award in Cannes.

I discovered that this world is getting smaller and smaller. Even Jacky Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh have all managed to successfully go to Hollywood. It’s not that difficult!

Hong: From my perspective, no matter it is acting, singing or standing in front of the audience, you are always confident and composed in every single second; is that the real you?

Leslie: I don’t know whether you have ever listened to one of the songs “I” in my latest album which is my self-portrayal. In the lyrics, there are a few sentences which read “I forever like the way I am”, “open and upright”. I feel that people have to respect one another and must also know how to respect and love themselves. If you (those paparazzi) surreptitiously took the pictures of me and still said that I was wrong, then it really cannot be justified!

As you have just said, I had indeed let loose and become more relaxed. I do not want to achieve something which is overly startling, nor am I trying to resist anyone. I only want to ask for some justice for myself and for some other entertainers who deserve some protection.

I really found it repugnant because some reports did intentionally twist the facts. For example in the reports on Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Anita Mui, the reporters never talk about the breakthrough in their music or movies. They only talk about the photos they have stealthily taken which reveal the artists’ bodies or problems relating to their love affairs. This is absolutely nonsense because those are our private affairs and we basically do not have to explain to the media or to the public about them.

Once, they (the Hong Kong entertainment reporters) asked an entertainer [here Leslie refers to himself] why he did not give them an opportunity to interview him. It is not a matter of whether or not to give them an opportunity, the point is I have been in this field for so many years, the public knows better than me as to what I am doing. So don’t start asking me, “Leslie, how many years have you been in this field?”

If you come to interview me, that means I have to set aside some of my precious time to do so; therefore, you have to do some good preparation! Actually, I know well what their intention is; that is, merely to shoot a few pictures, then go back to the office and make up some stories. I feel like I was being cheated! I opened up my heart to tell you the truth, but what I got in return was a report of an exclusive interview with some astonishing and false contents.

Once, a reporter from China asked me if I agreed that the relationship between entertainers and media should be very close. I absolutely agree to this viewpoint because it is an interactive relationship. It’s a matter of taking advantage of each other’s strength, so you praise me and I praise you. In this way the entertainer’s name may be more widespread, and his or her movies or music may be enhanced to a more international standard. However the facts have been twisted continuously, and so the only thing I could do is to hide in my house every day.

When one has been continuously exploited by people in his own country, it has already become a game that I don’t want to play anymore. Of course, I have good relationship with the media in Asia. I am merely criticizing some reporters who behave badly.


Happiness comes from love in the heart. I treasure my group of intimate friends

Hong: From your smile and the way you talk, I could feel that you are very happy. But from listening to your songs and watching your movies, I feel that you have a very high expectation and are not the kind of person who can be satisfied easily.

Leslie: Really, I am a standard Virgo and you know how picky the Virgos are! Happiness comes from love! I love my family very much. However when my mother was still alive, I would not call home every day even though I was missing her greatly. But I will let my family feel that I am always around when they need me.

Also, the biggest gain I made in this circle is that I have made a bunch of good friends. Even though there are twisted reports, they will still stand by me and keep off those rumors and slanders on me.


Man Hong’s feelings expressed in words: Forever a brilliant superstar

Man Hong, a super fan!

There was once a little boy who was only seven years’ old. He was ignorant of everything; but every year when the HKTVB broadcast the Golden Songs Awards Presentation, he would love to stand before the television and screamed “Leslie! Leslie!” When Leslie came on stage to accept his award and sing, that little boy would sing and dance along, giving a free entertainment for his friends.

“Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Monica!”

“As unruly as the wind in the past ….”

“The wind continues to blow, cannot endure to be far away….”

“Lowering my eyes while turning off the light….”

“Who will understand these feelings of mine….”

This little boy who has been shouting the word “LESLIE” more often than the word “dad”, no matter doing it aloud or just in his heart, has grown up and spent his autistic childhood with his [Leslie’s] songs. The first English word he learned was “LESLIE”. The first popular singer’s voice he listened to was “LESLIE’s”. Therefore, he only believes in LESLIE!”

Since 7 years’ old, this little boy has been singing his [Leslie’s] songs in front of the television. To date, this little boy is 27 years’ old already. He really has to thank him [Leslie] for keeping on singing. Otherwise, this little boy will never believe that a dream can really come true!

This was my prologue when I interviewed Leslie for the first time.

I suppressed my excitement in my heart. I always reminded myself that I should not show my feeling. I had to be careful to behave well in front of such an artist who was so professional. At least I had to produce a program with him professionally. In front of us, there were four cameras from the television channel; and on the table there were two print-media recorders. How could I not be on guard?

Frankly speaking, I suddenly felt that this interview with him was very exceptional! It also makes me feel that we should keep on learning modestly and humbly. Man Hong, now you have the chance to interview so many entertainers; no matter famous or not, it surely is a privilege to have them appear in front of you.

LESLIE is an artist with extremely rich sentiments. We can use the word righteous to describe him. All you need to do is to cherish his professionalism and performance (special editions of his albums and stage performance). He does not want you to care about his other things other than that. He is very sentimental; therefore, at the end of the interview, he cried! (I was very touched too, and that was absolutely unintentional.)

Lastly, I wish to tell you Leslie: No matter what type of person you are and no matter what special kind of person you like, I will always support you! Because you are indeed a very brilliant superstar!


Note from Translator: Date of this interview is unsure. According to the text, it looks like it was taken place in China after the release of the album ‘Greatest Heat’ in 2000.