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News Article
Her Magic Touch
Buried beneath the deserts of Dun Huang is an ancient relic that holds the essence of a Buddhist holy man. Michelle Yeoh and Brandon Chang are siblings from a long lineage of acrobats, setting forth on a hazardous journey to uncover its secrets...
From Tomorrow Never Dies to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to her latest
self-produced The Touch -- does everything Michelle Yeoh touch turn to
blockbuster gold?
Nicolette Ho
Tom Cruise did it. So did Jack Neo, Singapore's comedian. Now Michelle Yeoh says she's finally done it. Produce a movie that stars the producer ownself, that is. "It wasn't a spontaneous idea," the 40-year-old says in a phone interview. "I didn't wake up one morning and ask, 'Why don't I be a producer?' It's something that needs a lot of thinking, and I've been thinking about his for the past five to six years."
Frankly, we would be surprised if the fisticuffing actress zings through life on a mere whim. Now 18 years into her acting career since her debut film in Sammo Hung's The Owl vs Dumbo (1984), the former Ms Malaysia 1983 is, in person, so disciplined, so assured, so... full of beans, it's easy to believe this is the same woman on another professional crest as producer and leading-lady in the Cirque du Solei-meets-Indiana Jones-meets-Lord of the Rings movie The Touch, directed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon cinematography Oscar winner, Peter Pau.
In the US$20 million production, Michelle Yeoh plays Yin Fei, the head of an acrobatic family. Together with Ben Chaplin and newcomer Canadian Brandon Chang, she goes on a quest to search for and save the sharira (a Buddhist relic containing the essence of a holy man) from rich creep Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge's evil duke).
But back in the '80s, London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts graduate Yeoh Chu-Kheng really just wanted to dance. When an injury smashed that dream to smithereens, she changed her name, moved to Hong Kong, and trained eight hours a day to adapt her ballet training for martial arts.
Starring in Yes Madam (1985), Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), Royal Warriors (1987) and Easy Money (1987) made her Asia's hottest action queen. Yet she coolly gave that up to wed Hongkong business mogul Dickson Poon. The marriage broke up in 1992, and Michelle threw herself back into the game in Jackie Chan's Supercop.
In 1997, she reportedly turned down a Star Wars sequel for the Bond flick, Tomorrow Never Dies. Today, the sometime Cannes juror says she dismissed roles in The Matrix follow-ups to focus on The Touch. But Hollywood, it just keeps a-knocking and a-knocking, doesn't it? Rumour has it that the Ipoh girl is on the list of ladies who might pilot the invisible jet in that long-in-the-works Wonder Woman movie.
And if Michelle ever plays the superhero, she's already got one nifty superpower under her belt - she's muck-proof. Two years ago, her breakup with her US cardiologist fiancé and the arrest of her businessman brother Bobby Yeoh in Kuala Lumpur for criminal breach of trust registered baby blimps on the tabloid scale. While other stars lose their ratings and religion over tired loves and triad kin, Michelle seems to just inspire stories about home decor (her own Peak abode in Hongkong), Malaysia's best buys, and, of course, her movie, The Touch.
8Days: The Touch is an 'action-adventure'. Is it Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon all over again? Michelle Yeoh: Well, it's not gun-toting, bomb-throwing kind of action. It's not pok-pok-pok-pok-pok [imitates a machine gun] action. It's also unlike Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in which the characters use qinggong (the nimble-footed art of lightness). That's because the story is set in contemporary times, and I don't believe anyone will believe that you have that kind of ability today. My character uses her physical ability as an acrobat to climb up walls. And when she fights, she uses a scarf to help her swing from place to place.
Does the movie have a message? Michelle Yeoh: The film is not about treasure-hunting. It goes much deeper than that. It's about protecting something that you truly believe in and, at the end of the day, return it to its rightful place. What it's trying to say is that we have to believe in ourselves before we can achieve anything.
Why your shift to producing now? Michelle Yeoh: It's not a shift - I'm not giving up acting. This industry is not about one-man shows. It's about finding the right partner because I don't know everything. So if i did not meet co-producer Thomas Chung [Gex-X Cops, Purple Storm, 2000 AD] at a film meeting in 1999, I would not have made this step.
Is this a step towards more control over your work? Michelle Yeoh: Producing is not about being in control. I've gone into production because I have great passion for the film industry.... Another good reason is that I would like to see stronger female roles. A lot of roles written for the guy are meatier. It's very obvious, isn't it, to see who the attention goes to? Perhaps this is because there are more male scriptwriters and studio heads.
Why does Hollywood think Asian women are only good at fighting? Michelle Yeoh: They think Asians are only good at fighting, period! Typecasting is always something you have to be careful about. I love action films. I will continue to do action films. But not for action's sake, not because the plot's too quiet. There has to be a propelling reason for action.
You are disciplined and confident. The advantages of experience? Michelle Yeoh: Everything comes with experience. But of course I was once a giggly teenager. God forbid that there's a teenager who's not giggly. When you're a kid is the best time to behave like a kid. But it's important to know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I don't climb upwards, I go forward. But Michelle Yeoh is a public persona. So how everyone sees me is very different.
How do you see yourself? Michelle Yeoh: I don't let the flashbulbs take me a few feet higher! [chuckles] When I look at myself, I find a happy contented person. I don't sit there and think of what I don't have. For me, two things in life are guaranteed - life and death. Every day is a gift because you don't know what's going to happen two years from now. But if I sit here for two years and do not appreciate what I have today, I am a fool.
Has being Asian ever worked against you? Michelle Yeoh: I will never let it work against me.
Has it ever worked for you? Michelle Yeoh: I will make it work for me.
_________ The Touch opens in cinemas this week, on 1 August 2002. The Making of The Touch is showing on TCS 8 at 9.30, on 9 August 2002.
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