Translated by Daydreamer in February 2006
Legend:
Lam: Victoria Lam Kin Ming
Leslie: Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, or Gorgor
Maggie: Maggie Cheung Man Yuk
Tony: Tony Leung Kar Fai
Lam: What a coincidence! In the “Under the Stars Talk Show” tonight, we have with us our heartthrob Gorgor Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, the “Best Actress” Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, and the “sexy lover” Tony Leung Kar Fai [Note: Tony Leung’s movie “Lover” was on the big screen around that period of time.].
Leslie: no, the international star.
Maggie: lover…
Lam: It’s great to have you all here. Long time no see, how are you all? Right now, under the circumstances, let’s treat ourselves as equal. Gorgor has just finished his “RED” concerts. I was also there that night when the two of you attended. What a coincidence!
Maggie: Why didn’t he [Leslie] announce your name then?
Lam: He didn’t know I was there.
Leslie: I didn’t realize that she came to my concert that night. I thought she would go to the last night of my concert because I gave her the tickets for that night.
Lam: I bought my own tickets. So all of us have been to your concert. There was one thing I liked most about the concert.
Leslie: What’s that? The high-heels?
Lam: No. Of course I liked the high-heels, but what I liked most is there was no encore. You know, for a lot of singers, they just pretended and put on an act. We all know that they would come out again and that they were just hiding behind the curtain waiting for the encore request from the audience. But for you, done is done, and the concert was finished in good taste too; just that simple. It was great!
Leslie: The rundown list was already very long. I had more than enough songs for the concert. There was encore for the first night. I said so in advance two weeks ago before the concert started. I told everyone that there would not be any encore because I had enough programs for you to see. That’s enough.
Tony: There were a lot of fans waiting outside for your car. Everyone thought that I was Cheung Kwok Wing. My car was blocked and I could go nowhere.
Lam: Before I went to the concert, I have read a lot of reports about the concert, and there were so many rumors, accusations, and negative comments about it. After I watched it with my own eyes, it was a different thing. Do you feel that some of the reports were really …… actually you must go and look at it yourself to find out the truth.
Leslie: I really have to thank them, that way, it jetted up the sales. If no one said anything about it, let it be negatively or positively, no one would know of its existence. It doesn’t matter to me. You may say what you want and I can’t stop you anyway. If you haven’t watched the concert, but said that ……
Tony: Don’t get excited. The concert was for those who knew how to appreciate it.
Leslie: No, no, I wasn’t excited. Doing a show is for those who know how to appreciate it, as well as for those who don’t appreciate but only criticize it. That is why I don’t mind; instead I thank them.
Lam: That’s why in order to find out the truth, you must go and see it yourself and not just listen to others’ baseless criticism.
Leslie: If you’ve found out the truth, then you won’t criticize anymore. On the contrary, you will even compliment it.
Lam: Also, the issue of “coming back” has been a hot topic for a long time. I think that you are really incredible because people seem to love you more after you came back. There’s nothing wrong to come back. It’s not like you are doing something wrong -- killing someone or setting a fire. You just said you wouldn’t sing anymore but then now you sing again. But still that is not a harmful thing.
Leslie: Actually every person at a certain stage will make a certain decision, and then when you reach another stage, you may change your decision again, right?
Maggie: When I was 22 years old, I said I would get married, but I didn’t, perhaps I’ll do so at 32…..
Leslie: Is that so? Just like me immigrating to Canada. I did really go and lived there. At the beginning, I thought it was a paradise, but then after living there for a while, I discovered that it wasn’t what I thought it should be. The true paradise actually was Hong Kong. But have I made a mistake? I do not think so because if I did not go and try to live there, I wouldn’t know. I discovered the truth later on and found it boring and could not stand it any more. When I first landed in Canada, I felt that it really was a paradise! My mountain was on top of the sea of clouds. Wow, it was so fantastic! I felt like an immortal who could enjoy some wine and write some poems there. But then I realized that when I woke up every morning it remained the same! After three weeks, I saw a deer coming into my garden eating my flowers. Not bad at all, isn’t it, for having a deer for me to look at. But you know what, after six weeks, it came again eating my flowers. I gave it a name “Bambi”. “Oh, Bambi, there you come again eating my flowers? Go away and don’t eat up all my flowers!” Life in Canada was like that, and then I thought it was a bit too early to live a life like that. I felt like waiting there for my life to come to an end.
Lam: Did you have any pressure at all [for coming back]?
Leslie: Pressure? I didn’t have any because I knew my come-back would be much better than before. I did not feel and would not have any pressure because I had sufficient qualification and ability to do what I was planning to do this time.
Then Lam asked Leung about his moving into the music world…..
Lam: It was the three of you who volunteered to attend tonight’s talk show together. Are the three of you that intimate? What level has your friendship reached?
Leslie: I think the two of them are closer because they are of the family type. For Kar Fai, I have worked with him twice, for Maggie, several times already.
Lam: All of you know each other well because of making movies together….
Leslie: After knowing each other for so many years and having no gossips of malignant nature attacking us under the circumstances, we can therefore be friends.
Maggie: The second movie I made was with him.
Leslie: Wasn’t “Beyond the Yellow Line” the first one?
Lam: Do you see each other everyday, or whether you are just intimate friends and only meet or call each other once in a while, or whether you call each other only when there is a need to?
Tony: I think I don’t see Gorgor that often. We have different life circles. I am very family orientated,
Leslie: I am very family orientated too, but different from yours.
Tony: Yes, both of us are family orientated, but we are not of the same type. He is the kind who loves to leisurely and comfortably staying at home to attend to his business, but for me, I am the kind who has a lot of family matters that need to be attended to. The time when we were really close is when we made a movie in the desert. We spent a lot of time together.
Leslie: Yes, it was the “Ashes of Time (東邪西毒)”. All we saw there were deserts and mountains after mountains.
Tony: Right, we became pretty close after spending those times together.
Lam: Is it because the two of you have something in common?
Tony: Of course, we can only communicate if we have common topics.
Leslie: The first one who came by to visit me after I was being stung by a scorpion was Leung Kar Fai. He said to me, “Gorgor, how are you? Are you alright?”
Tony: When shooting the movie out of the country in a poor area with modest facilities, it was really harsh for everyone, besides, we stayed there for a long time. One night, when we were shooting the film, he was stung by a scorpion.
Leslie: It stung me when I was taking a pee. Brigitte Lin and I were resting on the hammocks chatting happily, then I had to go to pee. On my return I felt that something was biting me here [touching the back of his neck], and I thought it was a moth. I tried to shake it off, but it wouldn’t go. It really hurt and I thought, I was going to die! So I pulled it off with force and threw it away. I took a look, it was a scorpion. Luckily it was just a baby scorpion, still milkish in colour and hadn’t turned black as yet. If it was a grown up one, I would have to say good-bye [i.e. dead].
Lam: Do you consider each other to be confidant, intimate friend?
Maggie: I feel that over all these years, even though we don’t see each other very often, there is still a kind of common sentiment between us. You know, in this field, there are newcomers coming in every day, and new matters happening daily and yet we are still surviving.
Leslie: Still standing tall. You played the role in “Comrades, Almost a Love Story (甜蜜蜜)” wonderfully, we should toast to that. I think you really lighted up the whole film. I think it was really good for Leon Lai Ming to have the chance to play against you. He has made some improvement.
Maggie: Wow! Thank you. Thank you.
Leslie: I think that your acting skill was really good in “Comrades, Almost a Love Story”. Both you and Tsang Chi Wai [an actor doing a lot of comedians, also an MC] really shone. I am telling the truth. Leon Lai is my junior and my admirer. I said to him, “You’ve approved, but without Maggie’s motivation, you could hardly improve”.
Lam: It’s true, a good partner is really important because he/she can give you motivation.
Tony: I think everyone has improved, including the director.
Lam: Do you feel that you can easily make real good friends in this field? Can you all try to name three good friends?
Leslie: Three? I have them all here.
Lam: Other than Maggie and Tony.
Leslie: Anita Mui, Cherrie Chung and Brigitte Lin. I can easily name three.
Lam: Under what special circumstance makes you think that they are your good friends?
Leslie: Brigitte, she is very lovely, right?
Maggie: I don’t know her that well.
Leslie: Brigitte has a heart of gold. She’s a living legend.
Lam: Everyone who has not killed or set a fire can be considered as good.
Leslie: Frankly speaking, she hasn’t killed or set a fire, just love to dress up and make herself beautiful ….
Lam: Is there anything that’s unforgettable?
Leslie: I remember that once she cried in front of me. At that time, she hadn’t met Ying Lee Yuen [Brigitte Lin’s husband, an entrepreneur] as yet. We were shooting the movie “The Bride with White Hair (白發魔女)”. She felt miserable because she thought she wasn’t young anymore, and it was already 4 a.m. in the morning and she still had to do the sword martial art part with the stunts deep in the forest. This happened after the movie “Swordsman II (東方不敗)” in which she played the role of Tung Fong But Bi “The Undefeatable One from the East”. She was very popular at that time because of the “Swordsman II”. There are things that you cannot control, like after you accepted the role and got paid, you had to do it. She cried heartily and told me that one day, she was very tired and therefore fell asleep. When she woke up, she heard people shouting outside – because at that time they were shooting the scene of the stunts being hung on wires impersonating other people’s parts – she felt lost and asked herself why she was there working so hard. She was feeling very sad.
Lam: And now she’s finally got her happiness.
Leslie: Very much. She is a very caring person.
Lam: We all are! Full of love.
Leslie: Comparatively speaking, Michael [Ying Lee Yuen] really is a guy with a lot of love.
Lam: Good, let’s wish them happiness!
Then it was Maggie’s turn to list out the three friends.
Maggie: Cherrie Chung, because I worked with her in my first film. Up till this moment, we still have a special kind of sentiment.
Leslie: But the two of you had some misunderstanding at some point in time, is that correct?
Lam: Right.
Maggie: That’s correct. We didn’t see each other for a period of time because of misunderstanding. I felt the people around me….
Leslie: We had some misunderstanding once too.
Maggie: But you and I were comparatively direct. Our misunderstanding was because of our communication which was rather direct. But we [referring to herself and Cherrie Chung] were, I can’t say it was framed by others, but it was because of the incidents around us that made us to hate each other.
Tony: Really? So you two [referring to Cherrie and Maggie] also had some misunderstanding in the past?
Leslie: Yes.
Lam: Hated each other, that serious?
Maggie: That is because I didn’t believe in her, and she me!
Leslie: My misunderstanding with her [referring to Maggie Cheung] was because of the movie “Yuen Ling Yuk (阮玲玉)”.
Maggie: Oh, that one. It’s just a very small one.
Leslie: Don’t you remember? After I went to the premier of her film, I called her and said, “Hey, you were great!” On the other hand, I and my other friends, Wong Kar Wai (王家衛) [director of “Days of Being Wild”, “Happy Together” etc.] and other people also happened to talk about his film. Someone said, “Hey, the movie was not that good”. Sometimes I could easily be persuaded after hearing some movie workers say so and echoed, “Oh, yes, that’s correct, the movie was not that good.” And then without knowing how, this conversation found its way to her [referring to Maggie Cheung]. It’s true!
Maggie: Why?
Leslie: Then she would feel that I was hypocritical! Understand? Some times it’s this sort of thing that causes misunderstanding.
Lam: (Facing Maggie Cheung) But actually when he called you, he just said the movie was not good but you did act superbly. Basically they were two different issues.
Leslie: No, no. Normally, people would think that you overacted or was hypocritical.
Lam: Let’s go back to the original topic, you mentioned about Cherrie Chung earlier. What was the misunderstanding between she and you?
Maggie: Actually I …
Leslie: I thought it was the media that had led the two of you into such relationship; it was none of your fault.
Maggie: It’s not merely the media, but also the friends around us. I did not realize that some people would be jealous of us simply because we were good friends. But there really wasn’t anything that would cause people to be so jealous! Say, if you and he were good friends, why should I be jealous of you? I could go and make friend with someone else!
Lam: Perhaps they didn’t want to see the two of you to be so happy!
Leslie: No, possibly it’s because both of you are top stars (movie stars), young and pretty, if you two always get along well, there won’t be any topic for them [the media] to gossip about and there wouldn’t be any information for them to report on! Therefore, they tried to break you [Maggie and Cherrie] up, causing the two of you to suspect and jealous of each other, then afterwards…..
Maggie: But not only the media, even ordinary people or the ones in the entertainment circle would say to me, “Hey, this is what Cherrie said about you!” When I think back just now, those were words they made up to make me angry. Very likely that Cherrie was told of the same thing too, “Hey, Maggie has said something bad about you!” Their goal was to instigate us (Maggie and Cherrie Chung) of our sentiment.
Lam: Why didn’t you go and explain it to Cherrie?
Maggie: I did, but only afterwards. Of course we didn’t explain or try to prove every single incident, since there were so many of them.
(Hahaha)
Maggie: Because… if someone told me that Cherrie said I was not pretty, should I go to her and ask her whether she did say so? Or if she said Maggie did not have much taste in her clothes, should I go and ask again? Oh, that’s quite impossible. But then afterwards, we got along again because we agreed in our telephone conversation to forget about the whole thing and did not care what the others said. But when you heard more and more similar stuff, all added up, and at that time, I was very busy and she had just gotten married, so it was like we were going two separate ways, and gradually we seldom communicated with each other. When matters were being put aside for too long and for not contacting each other for so long, it would be really difficult to make the first phone call.
Lam: (Getting curious and asked) Then what happened afterwards?
Maggie: Then afterwards….
Lam: How did the first call being made?
Maggie: Oh, it was Sally Yep who pulled us together. (Laugh)
Lam: How?
Maggie: She (referring to Sally Yep) asked us out for lunch. She asked me to come out for lunch, and told me that she had also asked Cherrie to join us, but I can’t remember whether she told me if Cherrie would be coming or not. So when I got there, I saw her (referring to Cherrie Chung)….
Leslie: Were you amazed then?
Maggie: I was amazed, and my first reaction was: I am not going to pay her any attention! But who would know that we kept talking, and then we got along again after some good laughs [Gorgor, Lam and Maggie all laughed]. So after hahaha, some good laughs, everything was back to normal again.
Leslie: I still remember that the year before last…. no, it was last year, the two of you took me out for a dinner to celebrate my birthday!
Lam: Took you out together for a dinner?
Leslie: Yes, I remember well! (Laugh)
Lam: Wow, look at you, what a privilege!
Maggie: Because we both missed your birthday…. that was a very nice dinner and not the casual type of meal! Very enjoyable!
Maggie: Yes, very enjoyable!
Lam: A big meal and not a small one.
(Laugh)
Lam: Apart from Cherrie Chung, who can be treated as a good friend?
Maggie: I believe Ng Kwan Yu is one I get in touch with quite often.
Leslie: You and Anita are pretty good friends too, isn’t it?
Maggie: Anita….we don’t see each other too often.
Lam: How about Kar Fai? Try to list out three good friends, any problem?
Tony: Me? I am so socialable, I can befriend with anyone.
Lam: Just like me, indiscriminating in making friends?
Leslie: He is like a “joker card” [i.e. he can make friends with everyone].
Lam: Oh, he’s a joker card and not indiscriminating in making friends?
Tony: I have a very easy disposition, and not a joker card, because as an actor, I thought I could understand well that other people would have many different moods. Let’s say the friends in my circle, they don’t call you everyday, and will not call to send their regards for very minor matters. And because I am an actor so I can understand that kind of feeling and mood, but the problem is sometimes I will also long for others’ care, and I thought it would be nice to have all of them call me to talk with me about my problem.
Lam: Really?
Tony: (Nods) Yes!
Lam: You want someone to ask rather than not ask? But that can be very annoying.
Tony: No, that’s not the case. Actually I am just a very ordinary person, I will have bad mood sometimes. As he [referring to Gorgor] said, when Brigitte was very laborious, she would cry. Actually this kind of situation has also happened to me.
Lam: Did you mention this to others?
Tony: But I am a man, therefore I wouldn’t cry in public, besides I would try not to let anyone know. I would think of a way to balance it out, right? Therefore I thought I could understand other people’s mood quite well, and I can get along with each friend pretty easily.
Lam: Can you think of three relatively intimate friends whom you think are especially good friends?
Tony: According to what you have said, the best friend would be Jacky Cheung Hok Yau if she [referring to Maggie] couldn’t be considered as one. But Jacky Cheung and I are the kind of people who will not communicate by phone even once in years.
Lam: Is that right? So it’s spiritual communication?
Tony: Yes. We seldom have meal together, and don’t meet or call each other very often, but several times, at the moment when we needed each other, we happened to run into each other or communicated by phone, it’s very strange! We didn’t deliberately call each other, but it just happened feeling that we had something in our heart.
Lam: Like having the sixth sense?
Tony: Yes. I just felt that something was bothering me, and when I called him, he told me that there was something he wanted to tell me. On one occasion, I ran into him in Shanghai and just stayed in his room and chatted until the day broke, and we talked about many personal matters.
Lam: Such as? (Laugh)
Tony: Such as ….. very personal matters.
Leslie: Since those were personal matters, why did you ask then?!
(Lam laughed heartily)
Leslie: He (referring to Jacky Cheung) is a very caring person.
Tony: Therefore he is the kind of friend whom we do not necessarily meet daily, but we are still good friends.
Lam: Who else other than Jacky Cheung.
Tony: Kwun Yu also! Kwun Yu is also a friend with whom I can get along well.
Lam: Okay, who else?
Tony: Yau Shuk Ching.
Lam: Oh, is that right?
Tony: Yes. Because at one point we worked together quite often for a long period of time, therefore we would talk about our concerns while at work.
Lam: Did you ever feel that it was very difficult to make friends in this field? Do you have any scruples or proviso?
Tony: Yes.
Lam: When someone meets you, you would think: Does this person have any intention?
Leslie: That I would not….
Lam: Would not?
Leslie: His intention….
Maggie: One bad thing is you might get along really well with someone when the movie was being shot, but afterwards, you would not be that close with her/him anymore.
Leslie: That’s right!
Lam: Apart from this field; how about friends not from this field? When you choose your friends, do you have any requirements?
Leslie: Certainly, it’s important that he/she is not of the gossiping type.
Maggie: Right!
Lam: Is that right? You could feel it?
Leslie: Yes. Some people makes friends with you because they want to fake, actually they are a real fake!
Lam: Yes, that’s what I want to say.
Leslie: This type of people is really cheap!
Lam: How can you tell whether he is that type of man or not?
Leslie: It depends on the way he looks at you and your feeling towards him. You can tell right away. That’s because you are…. because you are Tony Leung, because you are Maggie Cheung, because you are Cheung Kwok Wing, you will know right away with just one look.
Maggie: It is really easy to find out.
Leslie: They won’t be able to deceive us. We’ve been in this field for so long, some ten to twenty years. We could be called a guru in this respect.
Lam: Is that right?
Maggie: Only you, not me, not yet (laugh). I am still so young.
Leslie: Yes, you are! (Laugh)
(All laughed heartily)
Leslie: As a guru, I know right away your motive.
Lam: But for those who admire you and like you, what’s so bad for making friends with them? Do you want them to look down upon you?
Maggie: But I can’t make friend with everyone who likes me!
Lam: Then what requirements do you have? Apart from the issue of like or dislike?
Maggie: Someone that I can get along with well, similar in thought, that is to say the way we see thing is close. Because for some people, I know he is a kind soul, a kind person, and there isn’t anything wrong to befriend with, but if we cannot communicate, then it’s still useless. No matter how kind you are, if I cannot communicate with you, I can only appreciate that you are a kind person, but there is no way that the friendship can be developed further!
Leslie: Because sentiment is not a donation!
Maggie: Because I have to enjoy the friendship!
Leslie: Right, you have to make me enjoy your company!
Lam: True. For example, for me, to make friends, the most important thing is he has got to be very funny, and make me feel very comfortable and happy and that’s enough, (laugh) and I don’t care about the rest.
Maggie: But that can’t be considered as intimate or long-standing friend.
Lam: That can be developed slowly.
Tony: It’s correct in a way because sentiment needs to be developed slowly, and it is very difficult to say or to determine that the other party is a good friend the first day you meet him.
Leslie: But for some people, with their intuition, they can tell on the very first day they meet whether it “clicks” here [similar in thinking] or not after discussing thoroughly on a topic.
Lam: So as a whole, how do you determine whether it “clicks” or not?
Tony: That is to say we’ve got to have a common topic. Although we don’t live under the same living condition or life circle, but at least when we are together….
Lam: He can try to give what is desired!
Tony: If you make a friend by giving what is desired, I believe everyone won’t be happy.
Maggie: Where have we got the time to make so many friends at the same time?
Leslie: Sister Ming [referring to Lam], do you know what type of people I fear most? The people I fear most are those who, as soon as you arrive, look at you from head to toe to see what you are wearing.
Lam: Really?
Leslie: I found those people really cheap, really. What are you up to? I only want to make friend with you, why look at what I am wearing?
Lam: What you meant is if you were not wearing brand names, they would look down upon you and didn’t befriend with you?
Leslie: That’s the type.
Lam: Is there this type of people?
Leslie: Of course, there are plenty of them!
Maggie: I would have scruples with those people who show obeisance to those at a higher position, but step on or look down on those who are less well off. For example, sometimes when I am making a movie on the set, he/she is very good to me, but if I see him/her treating those assistants, helpers or other people badly, I would think that the moral behavior of this person is bad. It’s just because I happen to be me so you’re nicer to me, but I don’t think I can accept this person!
(Tony nods to show approval.)
Leslie: Or perhaps for some people, that’s to say…
Maggie: How come you [referring to Lam] are so strange? The way you think is just like a 18 years old?
Lam: (Laugh) No, I feel you are right.
Maggie: You should know all this!
Lam: Of course, but I don’ know that you also feel the same!
Maggie: You look like you haven’t seen this before.
Lam: I don’t think that well as you do!
Maggie: I see!
Leslie: She deliberately zooms the lens so close for us to look at her exaggerated expression; a host’s expression.
Lam: No.
Maggie: (Turns towards Tony and says) If I knew her (referring to Lam) for the first day, I don’t think I could befriend with her. Your reaction is so exaggerated! How can I talk with you? And I haven’t even talked with you about my concerns!
Tony: That questionable look is really a little bit too excessive.
(Everyone laughs)
Lam: What I meant is, it has to be like that: Ha? You know that too?!
Maggie: How can I have secret talks with you? Your expression is so exaggerated every time!
Leslie: Let me sit over there too [Gorgor moves to sit beside Maggie and Tony]. Okay, you may ask now! We’ll just be sitting here! (Laugh)
[To be cont'd]
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