2006.04.02 “The Reminiscence of Leslie’s Artistic Life” Seminar - Part 3

Leslie Cheung’s Real and Sincerity in the Movies
Date: 2006.04.02
Guest Speakers: Mr. Jacob Cheung and Mr. Jason Lam Kei To
2006.04.02 張國榮影像中的真與誠….. 張之亮先生、林紀陶先生

Translated by Daydreamer on March 14, 2007

PART 3

Leslie Cheung’s Real and Sincerity in the Movies – Part 3

Questions and Sharing

Jason Lam Kei To:

Perhaps some of you would like to post some questions on Director Cheung. I have never been in close contact with Gorgor like Director Cheung did, for that I am envious of him, because it was always enjoyable to have Gorgor around. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity and raise our questions.


“An actor who is worthy of my appreciation is his manner and attitude towards life”

Audience 1:

I know that on many occasions, young actors would “ad-lib”; extemporaneously said some lines that were not put down on the script. How did Gorgor handle that situation?

Jacob Cheung:

I remember that there was a scene in “The Kid” whereby Gorgor was about to separate with Ming Jai. Most of the time, the stage properties were arranged in advance in order to make them look good; in that scene, the fried eggs and ham were therefore prepared beforehand. I told Gorgor that I wanted that scene to look like a normal everyday life, something he used to do daily with a feeling that came out naturally and not deliberately. I believed that the more natural and unintentional it was in handling the situation, the more anguished and sorry the audience would feel for the adult who had to, in a moment’s time, leave the kid who did not really belong to him. On the other hand, for the sake of the kid, he had to act so lightly that as if nothing had ever happened. According to the script, Gorgor was to put a slice of ham into Ming Jai’s month. For fear that Ming Jai would be burned by the ham which was pretended to be hot, Gorgor therefore had to take a bite first to ensure that it was just right for Ming Jai, then the ham be put in Ming Jai’s mouth. However, Ming Jai suddenly said, “It is cold!” (it was an “ad-lib”). Gorgor immediately reacted by saying, “I am afraid that it’s too hot for you!” Originally, I originally planned to say “cut” but then I was curious to find out how Gorgor would react. Since the response was good, I was happy with it! (Jason Lam Kei To: It thus became a good take!)

Most of the times, an actor may control the situation and communicate with his opponent by means of dialogues. He would come across a lot of “ad-libs” if he had to act against a four-year old kid. However, we could not repeat shooting the same scene too often because the kid would refuse to do so over and over again. Moreover, he would feel defeated and frustrated and would think, “I did not do anything wrong, the food was really cold!” Just as Gorgor said, the horse and the trainer, the kid and the dog, they were most difficult to play against. However, Gorgor still controlled the situation splendidly and he hoped that the opponent could keep on playing smoothly. (Lam: We could see that the kid really treated Gorgor as a family member and was very close to him.)

At first, there truly were some difficulties; luckily Gorgor was very experienced in movie-making. I remember there was a scene in which the kid was home alone. He took a pineapple bun out of the refrigerator; however, it fell on the ground. The kid stepped on it and then said, “Oh!”. At first, I thought two hours should be enough to get that scene shot. I therefore arranged for Gorgor to come by later so that he could have some more rest. Luckily, Gorgor arrived early that day to teach the kid and to lead him along. What method did we use to make a four-year old kid understand and achieve the effect that we required? When Gorgor rehearsed the lines with the kid, he wanted the kid to imprint them on his brain. According to our experience at film academy, even adults found it hard to memorize long dialogues, let alone a little kid. Another method was shooting the scene section by section, however, requiring a little kid to link up with the previous scene would be even harder. For example, this time the hand should be put in the front, while the next time it should be put at the back. If we cut the scene up and then shot them separately, it would be more troublesome. Gorgor would make the whole thing happen as a matter-of-factly and necessarily. He would very attentively let the kid know about the whole thing and use the dialogue to build up a kind of relationship with the kid.

When I appreciate an actor, I do not care about how good or formidable his performing skill is. The actor whom I appreciate and admire most is his attitude towards life and towards his opponents, and that he completely cares about them and not just selfishly considering his own performance. Gorgor really was very good.

“We know who is our most beloved in our hearts”

Audience #2:

Looking back at the history of the Hong Kong Film Awards, several times Gorgor was defeated by Tony Leung Chiu Wai in the Best Actor category. Director Cheung, in your view, what were the main elements that affected the results of the awards and did the winner really deserved those awards? Also those results were often very much different from the results of the awards of other organizations, such as the Golden Bauhinia Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Association, Golden Horse Awards, etc., I am interested to know a bit more about it.

Jacob Cheung:

Let me answer it in an official way (laugh). My view towards the awards is that we do not make movies for the awards. The evaluation judges and the evaluation committee all have their own liking, perhaps it will be fairer if there are more evaluation judges and evaluation committees on the panel, however, whether that will work or not, I cannot say. If Gorgor knew that we were discussing about this, he would also concur and say, “Different people will have different viewpoints! People may like one person but at the same he may like some others as well.” In the film awards, there are different people and different commentaries, besides, the game has its own rules. Say, for example, if the movies that an actress took part in all got nominated, it would be difficult for her to win because the votes that she got would be split up. Therefore, it is really hard to say whether it is fair or not. In the election game, whether the result is fair or not is not an important issue because, in our hearts, we know who is our most beloved!

Jason Lam Kei To:

Once, in a film awards ceremony, Gorgor was invited to present the awards. At the back stage, he met Tony Leung Chiu Wai. He said jokingly, “You would probably take away the best actor award again this time!” He even said that he had to personally present the award to Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Although they had been competing for the same award so very often, however, in real life, they were good friends. This is something which is hard to come by. This also shows Gorgor’s capacity for magnanimity.

“Ming Jai was happy when Gorgor was around”

Audience #3:

In an interview, Gorgor mentioned that there was a scene which did not require him to be present, as it was a scene about Ming Jai only. However, Ming Jai got moody, even Director Cheung failed to cheer him up. I want to know about Gorgor’s participation in this respect. How did he manage to cheer up Ming Jai in such a short period of time?

Jacob Cheung:

Basically, they were together most of the time. I wasn’t too sure which scene Gorgor was referring to. The only time that Ming Jai was not with Gorgor was when he was acting against Qiqi. In the movie, Gorgor let Qiqi look after Ming Jai. As to how Gorgor cheered up Ming Jai, well, whenever Gorgor was around, Ming Jai would be very happy and there was no need to use any special method to cheer him up. The scene of Ming Jai getting moody was according to the requirement of the script, so even if Gorgor was present, we would still have to ask him leave the set.

“The way that Gorgor played the role of father is just right”

Audience #4:

After the movie came out, I read some movie reviews commenting that Gorgor did not play the role of a low social stratum father well; unlike other actors, such as Lau Ching Wan (劉青雲), who had that feel. The poor reaction towards the movie was due to the fact that Hong Kong people could not accept Leslie Cheung playing that kind of role. I want to ask Director what are your views towards that reaction? Of course, we now all recognize Gorgor’s acting skill, but how come there were such comments in the magazine at that time?

Jacob Cheung:

I have not read those comments. When an upper-middle class fellow fell to the lowest point of his life, he should still possess some essence. He should not have changed to someone like Lau Ching Wan. (Lam: That comment is kind of weird, very one-sided.) The nature of the character had not changed. What would have been changed was his way of living only. He had to compromise at the critical moments. Compromise did not mean that he had to speak foul language; compromise did not mean that he had to be rude; because the character itself received education to a certain degree, and that’s something that would never change. In everyone’s mind, no two fathers are alike. However, if looking at their love for their children, I am sure there must be some common ground on that. I felt that Gorgor did fully grasp the character of the movie and had played it perfectly well. I do not concur with the view of the commentary.

Jason Lam Kei To:

In the movie, Gorgor played the role of a foster father. The identity of the role was fully revealed at the very beginning of the movie. Later, the layers showing how that character was transformed became very clear and detailed. If the commentary said that Lau Ching Wan could play the role better, then that commentary was very strange. Perhaps it could find a specific point to comment on, yet basically that could not be established.

“Any work he participated in was executed by him seriously and conscientiously”

Audience #5:

Director Cheung, you said a moment ago that this movie was made when the Hong Kong movie industry was at its lowest point. If we compare “The Kid” with the movie “Farewell to My Concubine” in which Mr. Leslie Cheung had made his highest artistic achievement, “The Kid” became a relatively small production. However, “The Kid” could possibly have become a very special movie in his artistic life because his role in it was different from any other roles he had ever played. I want to ask why the investors and Director Cheung chose this type of plot. Probably, movies of this type of plot could easily be found in Mainland China and Taiwan; for example, those country-style movies about human nature being directed by Hsiao-hsien Hou. However, this kind of production that talks about the will of people is not very common in Hong Kong

Jacob Cheung:

The way I look at painters’ work, sketch is a kind of paintings; one simple strike drew by Picasso could already make that painting very splendid. Another painter such as Edgar Degas, his paintings about ballet dancers were very attractive; with respect to Neil, the paintings that he painted were like the way I looked at things, very misty, unclear. What I am trying to say is that each kind of art and its authors have their own artistic viewpoint, just like each movie has its own artistic viewpoint and photographic point of view. To determine whether something is beautiful or not does not depend on how much you have put into it, the most important thing is the message that the movie is trying to convey, whether there is love in it or not. To assess which piece of Gorgor’s work is most worth-praising, or not being regretted to take part in, in his life time is very much up to Gorgor to say. In my opinion, any work he participated in was executed by him seriously and conscientiously. It is hard to say which piece of his work is better because everyone looks at things differently. However, today in this seminar, all I can say is that “all those works were things that Gorgor wanted to do very much.”

There are already many commercial films in Hong Kong. Perhaps my type of movies is considered as commercial movies in Mainland China; i.e. the type of movies that you said being filmed with sincerity, about the nature of human beings and developments of the society. In each social system, the requirement of human nature in the movies is different. Taiwan has its own requirement, Hong Kong has its own, and so does Mainland China. This very much depends on the orientation and direction that someone takes in creating his work; that is to say, he will do what he believes is worthwhile to do. Since Hong Kong lacks this type of movies and since many movies are one-sided stressing on one specific type of production, as a creator, in addition to my own liking, I want to find and create some movies which are outside the mainstream, yet are touching to both the audience and me, or perhaps something that the audience has long forgotten. That’s my principle. If under the summons of Creation Alliance, Gorgor was asked to make a pure commercial movie, then we needed not have him do it. In his mind, he was hoping to do something worthwhile and of value, just like the theory of “one plus one equals to three”. On the one hand, he would contribute something to the Hong Kong movie world, and on the other hand, he could promote this type of movies. Therefore, Gorgor’s performance was not merely achieving the goal of letting everyone have a job to do. The only thing I could say is that I wanted to choose a plot which was not too heavy but with sincerity. Gorgor also did not want the plot to be too heavy but emphasized more on love and care. That was also the reason why he chose “The Kid”. Perhaps Gorgor might have been invited to play in “Farewell to My Concubine 2” or “Farewell to My Concubine 3” but he probably would have refused to participate because he had already played in “Farewell to My Concubine”. Each decision and choice made is based on many different reasons at that time. I will use an appreciative attitude and manner to study each period and section of his work.

Audience #6:

When I watched “He’s a Woman, She’s a Man” in 1995, I was shocked by Gorgor’s performance. The way he acted was like blending himself into the character as one body. At that time, I did not understand how he could perform that way. Today’s seminar has untied the doubt I have had for over ten years. Thanks to the two professional guest speakers today, as well as the organizer of this seminar. I hope that this kind of seminar will continue on in future. Activity of this kind allows us to fondly remember Gorgor, and at the same time, it also allows us to understand Gorgor’s work better and learn how to appreciate his movies more.

“His behaviour and conduct are the things that count and those are the things that worth our appreciation and love”

Audience #7:

Actors like Steven Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, they have a relatively mature performing style and their images are deeply rooted. However, there are also some actors, like Lau Ching Wan and Tony Leung Kar Fai, who probably do not have a fixed pattern in their performing skill, yet they may be closer to the plot. Personally, which performing style do you appreciate more? Stanley Kwan has once said that Leslie’s good look perhaps was a kind of obstacle for him. In that case, how did his outward appearance affect his performance?

Jacob Cheung:

I just mentioned a moment ago that every performer or every kind of performing art has his or its form. Fortunately, what the movies talk about are characters, thus we need to have different types of performers. Every performer has his form and style of performing. When we talk about Michael Hui (許冠文), we naturally would think of the way he performs; same for Wu Yaohan (吳耀漢) and Ge Yu (葛優). They all have their way of interpreting the story, and because of that, it has become the actor’s shackles. When I was working at the Cinema City, I was curious why Mak Kar could not play in tragedies. Nowadays, there are actors whose successful images become their shackles, and also because of that, directors, like me, find it very difficult to look for the right actors. Majority of the actors would decline playing in a lot of movies in order to protect their images. They are not afraid of the challenge, however, they fear to face the defeat of the challenge. Facing defeat and failure means that audience cannot accept their performance, as a result, the investors will realistically consider whether such actors should be included in their next project. The actors therefore will be very careful about their images. If he was successful in performing that way, he thought he would forever be successful that way. You may come across some actors who have been around for more than 20 years, but they have never changed a bit and always remain the same.

“As to whether Gorgor’s beauty was an obstacle to him, I do not think so”

Jason Lam Kei To:

Very often we would have some allowance for the actors. The limit you just said actually is what they possess only. The image that they painstakingly built up could be easily destroyed if he took on an adventure. We will not comment on whether an actor has guts or not. Actually this is what they feel embarrassed about. If compared with Gorgor, his biggest merit is that he had guts. Actually it was a very big risk for him, however, he had guts to take it. The few actors that the audience just mentioned do have potential to develop. If actors have the guts to take the risk, the achievement that he may accomplish is a reward and I think that is something not easy to come by.

Jacob Cheung:

We should be grateful to God for giving us Leslie with such a face; a person’s beauty is not based on his face, instead it is the life that he lives and his behaviour and conduct that count. Those are the things that worth our appreciation and love.

Jason Lam Kei To:

Director Cheung’s comment will end today’s seminar. It is a beautiful conclusion.

_End_