1997 TV Interview by Victoria Lam Kin Ming – “Under the Stars Talk Show” – Part 5 of 5

Cont'd

Lam: Now sitting here at the round table, it is the telling-the-truth time. I will ask the three of you one question each. Then you ask the others one question each, but you must tell the truth.

Maggie to Leslie: Everyone said you are good looking. If you were a woman, then you wouldbe a real beauty. Have you ever worried about not looking good anymore?

Leslie: Something like this cannot be controlled. As one grows older, one will be aged, right! Everyone will be aged as time goes by, you know, and will look old and so on and so forth. But most importantly, I think there is a very good English phrase, that is ‘to age gracefully'. That is to let people realize your 'real' (internal) beauty, your gracefulness and elegance. 'Aging' is a stage that everyone must go through, thus everyone should be prepared to face it.

I seldom look at the mirror these days. I don’t take too much notice of my appearance. I don’t care about it [I am not too bothered about the appearance]. Okay, of course, when I perform on the stage, there will be professional people helping me to do my make-up, to do it in the way that is suitable for the stage performance. However, in normal days, I will not put on any make-up to make myself look better. I am not that sort of people.

Maggie: Luckily you are not a woman.

Leslie: I don't even wear sunglasses when I go out. Some people said, “Why doesn’t Leslie wear sunglasses when he goes out?” Hey! Why should I wear sunglasses? If I do have wrinkles, that is because I am really getting old. Too bad if people cannot face that fact, isn't it?

Maggie: It’s not abnormal.

Lam: Everyone will get old. To be born, to get old, to get sick and then to die are the stages that everyone must go through. Maggie: But I feel it is something that’s really difficult to take, and you will be scared if you always get compliments from others of your good look.

Maggie asking Tony.

Leslie to Maggie: Are you very strict in accepting your roles in movies? Do you always consider very carefully before you accept a movie?

Maggie: I will assess whether I will be happy in the next three months after I accept the movie. That’s including…

Leslie: partners, directors...

Maggie: The type of movie, and whether the crew I am going to work with will make me feel happy or not. Because the way I think is different now than when I was 22 years old. I am not young anymore and after having been in this field for over ten years, I just want to enjoy everyday of my life.

Leslie: Yes.

Maggie: I don’t even want the three months to be a big regret. To face someone that you don’t like for three months is really a big regret.

Lam: Your acting skill is so good, I really want to know how do you analyze and try the way to do it? Do you have any special method?

Tony: Special method?

Maggie: How to analyze and find a method to do it?

Leslie: I thought you started to know how to act in “[Yellow Story??] (黃色故事)”, right, Maggie?

Maggie: Actually it’s “As Tears Go By (旺角卡門)”.

Leslie: It’s “As Tears Go By”, is that right?

Maggie: I started to put in my heart when filming “Yellow Story”, but I still did not know what I was doing. I was thinking of working hard to improve but did not have the method to do it. When I shot “As Tears Go By”, I seemed to understand a little bit more that acting is not merely having the facial expression.

Lam: How?

Leslie: In your heart.

Maggie: Yes, if you are thinking of something, your eye can see it. I am lucky because I am relatively sensitive in my character. I like to observe others, so it helps when they all add up.

Leslie: I wanted to ask you, that autopsy scene in “Comrades, Almost A Love Story”, you know that one ….

Maggie: Actually I was not acting too well in that scene.

Leslie: Let’s not talk about how well you acted. Let’s first talk about the tears. How can they come by so quickly, really incredible? The question for you from “Under the Stars” is what were you thinking at that time?

Maggie: I tried to think of the situation.

Leslie: What if it does not work?

Maggie: Normally it will work. But if the script is really bad, so bad that I cannot put myself into it, then I will think of something sad.

Leslie: So in “Comrades, Almost a Love Story”, it worked for you.

Maggie: Yes, it worked that time. But very often I have to rely on the stories.

Leslie: My question is over. You may ask me.

Tony: Good, let me ask you. There’s one thing I want to know. Actually did you use your mood, your experience or some other things to maintain your impulse? An impulse of unceasingly making contribution to the artistic world? For me, there are times when I feel tired, or getting moody. Sometimes I would think, I don’t want to do it anymore. Why do I have to do it? But I think that you manage to maintain nicely as an artist yourself, that you have to perform, to perform as a singer, as an actor, what motivates you and what is the source of that motivation?

Leslie: Probably after so many years' experience and having gone through so many things; besides, the way I view things now is different from the past. In the past, I worked hard to earn money, but now, I work hard for my name.

As to how to maintain my reputation, I think that is very important. The only way to maintain my fame and reputation is not merely to do something but to do it excellently. You have to give your heart out. You must have a heart to do each single task, regardless of what it is. That’s why I can now still perform on the stage, wearing high-heel shoes or something. Perhaps some people felt that I did so in order to be in the limelight, to draw attention or something, well then why didn’t you do it? Can you do it? To perform unisexually on stage for two and half hours, can you do it? Do you understand how to do it?

Or let’s take movies as an example, can you play the role of Cheng Diyei [in the movie “Farewell to My Concubine”]? Or perhaps other roles, such as a little bastard, or playing in a 3x movie without giving people a filthy feeling? What I am talking about is 'real art' (the 8th art), whether or not you have the sincerity and 'the heart' to do it, people can feel it. You cannot cheat others!

Tony to Maggie: I ask you an audience’s question. What do you expect from your other half?

Maggie: Question from the audience or yourself?

Tony: Mine then.

Maggie: I want him to be a “freethinking” person. How should I say it in Chinese?

Tony: Someone who can give you a lot of space.

Leslie: who will not control you too much, and will not check on you too often.

Maggie: Not only that, not just “possessive”, but also the freethinking of life.

Leslie: Very deep.

Maggie: What I mean is his perspective towards this world. I don’t like people who care too much about money or anything specific. I wish that he would look at or take things lightly, an indifferent person.

Leslie: Then normally he will be of older age. Someone who will be many years older than you. The type of people you describe will probably be 35 years old or above.

Maggie: That’s about it.

Leslie: If you want him to be that calm and freethinking, he must have a lot of life experience.

Lam: How about the outlook?

Maggie: Not too ugly.

Lam to Tony: How long haven’t you been at work?

Tony: Over a year.

Lam: Over a year, apart from making movies, do you have any other job that is the source of your income?

Tony: No.

Lam: How then do you manage your daily expenses?

Tony: Eat better when I have more, and vice versa.

Lam: So do you have any savings?

Leslie: Don’t forget that he has made a lot of money at a time.

Tony: I believe since the beginning of time, no one had ever been starved to death in Hong Kong and this is the spirit of the Hong Kong people. That’s why today, in 1997, a lot of people have been worrying about it, but then we all went through it, it’s because of the spirit of the Hong Kong people.

Lam: That is to say you have made and saved a lot, then you can spend it slowly. How much have you made?

Tony: Another possibility is that I made a lot of money in the past, but then I used them all, now I am having a hard time.

Leslie: You are kidding only. For Kar Fai, I know him a little bit. Actually all of us here do not have to worry too much because we all have some real estate investments. Frankly speaking, if the three of us here do not have any properties, we have to beg now. Because the real estate has been doing very well from 1995 to 1996, therefore we are all very happy. We all have a few flats in hand.

Lam: You only.

Leslie: No, at least one or two flats. That’s why we can choose the job that we like. Even though Kar Fai has not been working for more than a year, he is fine because he has property. Really. Right?

Tony: I want to communicate with the audience a bit. Because I believe everyone who sit before the television set tonight watching this episode ….

Leslie: He resembles a storyteller.

Maggie: You can treat this as a chit-chat, so you don’t have to look at the camera.

Tony: When I am facing the camera, with the light on, camera #2, how can I hide?

Leslie: You just relax. Let me massage you a bit. You don’t have to face the camera when you talk.

Tony: Actually I don’t have much saving. [Tony continues to give a long speech]

Leslie: Come over here, it is about to round-up. Let’s move him away, otherwise he can keep on talking for three whole years.

All: Bye.