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News
Article Leung kiss for Faye
Tony Leung teams up with singer Faye Wong for another outing that has
Chang Chen and Vicki Zhao Wei as co-stars
The Straits Times, 6 Feb 2002
By Clara
Chow
HONGKONG actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai had to 'kiss' Mandarin-pop diva Faye Wong
almost continuously for two days. They were shooting a scene for their upcoming
movie, Chinese Odyssey 2002, which opens here next Tuesday.But, Leung, 39,
asserted it was only 'fake kissing' in which clever camera angles made up for
lip contact. Said Leung of Wong: 'She just couldn't stop smiling or laughing. I
don't remember how many out-takes we had. By the end of the scene, we were
exhausted.'
The fabulous four in Chinese New Year comedy Chinese Odyssey 2002 are (from
left) Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong, Vicki Zhao Wei and Chang Chen. The
movie opens in Singapore next Tuesday. -- DESMOND FOO |
The two, as well as co-stars Vicki Zhao Wei and Chang Chen, were in Singapore on
Monday to promote the movie in which Wong and Leung play each other's
gender-bending love interests.
The pair first acted together in 1994, playing kooky lovers in Hongkong auteur
Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express. Chinese Odyssey 2002, directed by Jeff Lau, is
also produced by Wong Kar Wai.
When asked about his impressions of his co-star, known for her ice-queen
bearing, Leung said: 'Working on Chungking Express, I never saw her smile. But
she's changed a lot. She's more mature. She makes jokes on the sets.'
Wong, 32, the Beijing-born, Hongkong-based female singer, was in an upbeat mood,
but characteristically enigmatic with her answers. When asked to compare Leung
and Tony Leung Kar Fai, whom she worked with on Okinawa Rendezvouz, she said
with an amused if exasperated laugh: 'Kar Fai's more bubbly, Chiu Wai's quieter.
I don't find either sexy, I don't have that kind of feeling towards them.'
Leung was in the midst of shooting Chinese director Zhang Yimou's big-budget
Hero with Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi when he was 'recalled' by Wong Kar Wai
for Chinese Odyssey 2002.
The different experiences on the two sets, he said, was 'like going from heaven
to hell'.
'It's very comfortable working with Zhang. We didn't need to do too many shots a
day, we had nice facilities. And then you have to work more than 18 hours a day
to complete Chinese Odyssey 2002 in 20 days.'
The Chinese New Year comedy also stars mainland Chinese actress Zhao, whose
career had recently been dampened by a Japanese-flag-as-dress incident. When
asked about the patriotic backlash against fellow Chinese actress Zhao, both
actors were unanimous in their condemnation of the media attack on her.Said
Leung: 'She's professional and clever. A very nice girl. I didn't think it was
her fault. It was too unfair.'
Wong added, emitting a high-pitched whine: 'I think the whole incident was blown
up by the media. I don't believe that many people will accuse Vicki of Japanese
imperialism by wearing the dress. But I'm sure she'll be more careful from now
on.'
She, after all, has had her fair share of run-ins with the press. Recently, the
Hongkong media claimed to have spoken to her five-year-old daughter Dou Jingtong
who apparently revealed details about her mother's life with actor Nicholas Tse.
When asked about the incident, Wong's eyes glazed over and she said defensively:
'They didn't interview Tongtong. I think the media shouldn't have harrassed
Tongtong and then said they interviewed her.' She added: 'I feel very repulsed
by what they did, but that doesn't mean I'm upset with Hongkong or will consider
moving away.'
Little Swallow goes quiet
Vicki Zhao Wei lets her co-stars hog the spotlight
ON HER first trip to Singapore since the infamous faeces-smearing incident,
Chinese actress Vicki Zhao Wei remained low-key. Commenting on the fiasco - a
man knocked her down before smearing excrement on her during a live TV
performance in Hunan two months ago - she said: 'I feel that since the matter is
over, let it go.'
The attack came after patriotic Chinese became angry over her modelling a dress
with a print of the old Japanese naval flag. Since then, she has not spoken to
the stylist who put her in the dress. She told Life! on Monday: 'There's no need
to make more people worry. I don't want to drag others into it.'
Zhao, 25, who shot to fame playing the bubbly Little Swallow in the hit drama
serial, My Fair Princess, declined to give any one-on-one interviews, only
roundtable chats. She was here with Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Faye Wong to promote
the new movie, Chinese Odyssey 2002.
Later, she sat pensively in the cast's van. She attributed her demeanour to the
fact that 'everybody's so chatty'. The actress-singer also said she had caught a
cold. 'I keep coughing, so I can't speak more.'
While it had been reported that
she and Wong did not get along, both denied it. Said Wong: 'We get along quite
well. I like her straightforward nature. We often talk about acting matters.'
Leaving the radio station, where they had given a live interview, Zhao blotted
her face in the lift.
Wong promptly whipped out her own packet of facial blotters and offered it to
her, saying: 'Here, use mine, they're better.' |
