Director Tang Hon Keung’s Recollection of a Good Friend Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing: No One was Ever as Content and Happy as He was

Translated by Daydreamer on November 1, 2006

Source: Chungking Morning Post
The interview in Chinese can be found in
http://china.sina.com.tw/ent/s/h/2005-04-02/1513692601.html; http://ent.sina.com.cn

Date of Source: 2nd April, 2005


Yesterday, in a studio located in Causeway Bay overlooking the sea view of Hong Kong, the reporter interviewed the Hong Kong young director Tang Hon Keung who was busy promoting his maiden work “B420” (all his friends call him Ah Keung and by using this name he has once published a collection of informal essays entitled “Real Friends Honest Words”. The movie he is now promoting has recently been screened in the Hong Kong International Film Festival) and listened to his four encounters with Leslie Cheung on business related matters.

Reporter: How did you get to know him?

Ah Keung: In 1993, in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the world’s motion pictures, a French television station decided to make a special documentary about the world’s one-hundred greatest directors, one of them was Chen Kaige. The film crew came to Hong Kong and asked me to be their producer. We then traveled to Suzhou where the set of “Temptress Moon” took place. When the editor of the “Film Biweekly” knew this, he entrusted me with the task of conducting a special interview with Leslie Cheung.

Reporter: What was your first impression of him?

Ah Keung: I felt that he was very attentive and diligent towards his work. In the movie “Temptress Moon”, the Mandarin dialogue was spoken by him.

Reporter: Then the next time you met him was at the drama team of “He’s a Woman, She’s a Man”. Right?

Ah Keung: That’s correct. In 1996, Gorgor [Leslie’s nickname] played in the movie “He’s a Woman, She’s Man 2” which was a comedy. For other people, they would merely treat this as a playful task, but for Leslie he took it very seriously. I was the assistant director then, the last time I saw him was two years ago in Suzhou, and I said to him, “You probably do not recognize me.” Then he said, “How could I not recognize you, you’ve interviewed me before. Were you not a reporter? Since when did you become an assistant director?” In that encounter, he also scolded Wong Ka-Wai; actually I shouldn’t put it that way because it was merely a little complaint. He was a very earnest person, but then Wong Ka-Wai did not have any script when filming the movies, so he said, “How could I act without a script? I probably would not play in his movies any more.” However, eventually he did play again.

Amusing and Playful

Reporter: Was he usually playful in the drama team?

Ah Keung: Yes, he was playful! It was a very tiring job to be an assistant director and I did not sleep well. One day, I believe it was Anita Yuen Wing-yee, she saw me and pointing at Leslie, she said, “Look at yourself, how come Leslie looks so much younger than you when you are actually smaller than him?” At that time, I was in my early 30s and Leslie, I believe, was eight years older than me. Then someone said, “It is an inborn that Leslie looks young and no one can compare with him on that!” Leslie said it was not completely inborn, “I started to do facial mask skin care before I turned 30 years old. To maintain in good shape, one has to start early.” Leslie really loved beautiful things. He was very particular about how to dress. Sometimes at the drama team, only wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt casually, he could still look exceptionally nice. He was one of the very few actors in Hong Kong who loved to act. In Hong Kong, there are many actors who are merely movie stars but Leslie was an artist. He was very easy-going and did not put on any air of a big movie star.

Reporter: Did he not have any shortcoming at all?

Ah Keung: If he had one, then it was that he could be emotional. Occasionally, he would lose his temper a little bit on the set, but they were very minor ones and he never lost his temper with you merely because you were a stage manager or a caretaker, since he would treat the director the same way. But his fit of temper was never severe; just that some times when you asked him to be in place, he would merely sit there silently without paying any attention to you. However, after a couple of minutes, he would pull himself together.

Reporter: How about the third encounter?

Ah Keung: This time, he was to act in the movie “The Kid” which script was written by me. I spent more than four months on the script but at that time, he did not know that I was the scriptwriter. Before the camera started to roll, Jacob Cheung, the director, invited us to sit down and discuss it. When he saw me, he said, “How come it’s you again? What is your role this time?” I said I was the scriptwriter.

Reporter: He spoke like a kid, that was very playful!

Ah Keung: Certainly. Our last encounter was even more amusing. At that time, he was to play the main role in the movie “Double Tap”, and the director of that movie was Lo Chi Leung who was a friend of mine. When I arrived, Leslie recognized me right away. This time, I was an actor; of course, I was merely playing a very minor role.

Comprehensive

Reporter: How did you know about Leslie’s tragedy two years’ ago today?

Ah Keung: That day, I was playing basketball with some friends. Then I received a short message on my cell from a friend saying “Leslie killed himself by jumping down a building”. Since it was the April Fool’s Day so I thought it was merely a joke, but my friend said it has already been broadcast on the television.

To tell the truth, all of us were very shocked. He was neither old nor unpopular, yet he chose to leave us at his peak and when everything went so well. Until this very moment, I still find it very hard to accept it as a fact.

Reporter: It has been two years now, how do you look at him now?

Ah Keung: There are just too few good actors in Hong Kong. His passing away makes the list even shorter. Jackie Cheung’s singing technique, Andy Lau’s fame, and Tony Leung Chiu Wai’s acting skill, unilaterally they are stronger than him, but comprehensively, none of them are better or can be compared with him. Whoever possesses the completeness and happiness like he did? None, and yet ironically the most complete and happiest person chose to commit suicide.

Reporter: [Sigh]

Ah Keung: For some, being an actor and being his true self are two different things, however, for him, they are the same. Even when he was off the stage without any make-up, he still possessed the charisma and charm. On stage, he was even more dazzling. He truly belonged to the stage. It’s strange that in that year, Roman Tam and Anita Mui who passed away before and after Leslie also belonged to the stage. Leslie sang, so does Jackie Cheung, but Jackie Cheung is merely a singer, while Leslie and Anita, when they stood on the stage, their radiated charm and glamour were irresistible. They are larger than life!