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Michelle Yeoh and
Thomas Chung on Silver Hawk's Seven Extremities
Nanfang City Daily 11-10-2003
Bao Qi (Hong Kong)
Silver Hawk is Tianjing Films' second collaboration with
Hong Kong's Han Entertainment. While the plot of Silverhawk is the stock
heroine's fight against villains, being set in the future and coupled with a dash of the
vibrancy of science fiction, it should still carry some degree of freshness. This US$20 million production is currently in post-production and is
expected to be completed by January 2004 and targeted for Lunar New Year release. Michelle Yeoh and Thomas Chung, the
CEO of Han Entertainment, enthused over this project and the
difficulties they encountered during the production.
The Most Anticipated - Adding Bells and Whistles at Post-Production
What have you been busy with? How's the progress of Silver Hawk's
post-production?
Thomas Chung: The post-production stage is very important, so we plan to spend
more time on it. For no matter how good the cast, director, lighting, costumes,
sets are, if the editing is done badly, the film will still be awful. We've added some computer generated images
to enhanced the movie.
What are the views on lavish use of CGIs in Hollywood
movies ?
Thomas Chung: Nowadays, action movies, such as Matrix, can make use of computers
to produce scenes that such mega-productions of yesteryear as Ben-Hur would
require millions of extras to shoot. However, something is missing. For example,
in the fight on the cars and trucks in Matrix Reloaded, the audience can
distinguish CGIs from reality, they could tell that those jumps are painted by
computers. We use CGIs to aid a movie, but not to replace live action.
The Boldest - No Double for 360 Degree Spin.
I heard that Richie Ren Qi Xian was doubled, such as a 360 degree spin.
Thomas Chung: In the movie, Richie Ren performed all the stunts himself. While
his earlier works were mostly non-action oriented, he had the stamina and basic skills.
Was it your idea to cast Richie Ren as the male lead right from the outset?
Michelle Yeoh: Initially, when we were discussing the script, on who best
fitted the role, Richie Ren came to our minds. He accepted the role after
reading the script, for this role was very different from his previous
romance movies. There were lots of actions, and as an actor, he found that very
challenging.
Is Silver Hawk kungfu, comedy and suspense all rolled into one?
Michelle Yeoh: Not really suspense. And neither is it on the earnest side. We are
presenting in a la comic-book, fused with action and comedy, to entertain the
audience. Some superheroes movies are very grey, like Batman, which reeks
strongly of tragedies. Most of these movies are about vengeance, while we
want Silverhawk to be a jocular story set in the future.
The Most Unforgettable - Flying Over the Great Wall of China
Which scene is most memorable and difficult to shoot?
Michelle Yeoh: The scene where I jumped over the Great Wall of China on a
motorcycle. We shot it at Great Wall's Nineth Gate. We took two two weeks to
prepare for the shoot, we had to find a suitable point for the leap, then we
built the set on one
side, and placed plenty of mattresses and cartons on the other, and had to take care
of safety measures. We had a few BMW motorcycles on loan. While I can operate a
motorcycle, this stunt was very demanding and I have to be completely focused.
In the end, everything went on smoothly, I succeeded at the first take.
The Most Mercurial - Multiple Outfits for Silver Hawk
Your character Lulu Wong wears many different outfits, is this the movie in
which you had the largest wardrobe collection?
Michelle Yeoh: Haha, yes. This is the first time I have such a huge variety of
outfits. Lulu Wong is a successful career-woman, and at the same time, she's
highly fashionable. She has various designs of Silver Hawk suits.
Silver Hawk's costumes are primarily in silver, but she would wear different
cuts of clothes according to her moods, including shorts and high-heel shoes.
In those movies like Batman, Superman, their costumes are forever the same. This
time, we had helped from Zhong Wen, he would discuss with the director, and go
through
the script to understand the traits of the each character, before tailoring the
costumes. For instance, Richie Ren's clothes are in darker colours, while
Silverhawk's clothes are more ethereal, when she flies, her clothes would
flutter about in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
The Most Enervating - Fighting on High-Heels
What's the most difficult part when acting as your character?
Michelle Yeoh: To strive for beauty of the scenes, the cinematographer wanted my
legs to appear more lengthy than they were. When we shot action
scenes, I still had to wear high-heel shoes or boots. While it's very exhausting, as
long as the outcome is good, I'm easy.
The Grisliest - Encounter with SARS during the Shoot
How did you deal with SARS outbreak in Shanghai during
Silver Hawk's production?
Thomas Chung: When we were in Beijing, we heard of a new type of pestilence,
but had no idea what was happening. What was reported wasn't very serious.
After we left for Shanghai, SARS happened to be at the peaks of its spread.
We took many prophylactic measures. But we had such a close shave with it -
the chauffer of a foreign actor Luke Goss, who's acting as a villain, was struck
by fever. Subsequently,
his doctor and makeup artist also suffered from fever. Fortunately, they were
diagnosed to have nothing else but an influenza.
What inspired you to shoot Silverhawk?
Thomas Chung: When we were doing promotions for The Touch in Mainland, Spiderman
happened to be showing at that time and it was massively popular. Then we
discussed with Mainland's Tianjing Films about the viability of doing a similar
type of movie that reflects the chivalry of the Chinese. Everyone thought it was
feasible. We didn't want only movies about rustic lives of Chinese to be showed
in foreign countries, we wanted something that transcended modern movies, that
showed the most modern aspects of China.
Ever since Infernal Affairs was made, Hong Kong movies
industry has entered into a period where script is the focus. How's Silver
Hawk's script?
Michelle Yeoh: When we were drafting the script, other than action, we also
spent lots of time on the story. A movie without a good story and a main theme would
be forgetton very quickly. The script is very important, even
for an action movie.
The Most Satisfying - Alliance between Director and Cast-Members
How was your collaboration with Jingle Ma Chu Cheng?
Michelle Yeoh: After watching his Tokyo Raiders, we wanted to get him. He was a
very famous cinematographer who subsequently rose to directorship. Therefore, he
has very intricate understanding of photography. He's a very nice person, a loyal friend.
The producer wisely assembled the best
director and cast. Our wonderful cast include Richie Ren and Li Bing Bing. Li
Bing Bing plays a ruthless assassin in Silver Hawk. She is a very diligent
actress.
Do you still look forward to working with Chow Yun Fatt?
Michelle Yeoh: Most definitely. I like him very much, and we have good rapport.
However, we had been talking about Hua Mulan for ages. It would require five
months of principal photography. We want to shoot the show through various
seasons, the white snow, the yellow earth. It's not something that can be
achieved in 30 days. We might have to wait till winter before beginning
production. It will depend on his schedule.
Links:
Arclight Films' Silver Hawk Trailer
Silver Hawk Official
Site
Han Entertainment
Order Michelle Yeoh movies at
HKFlix |
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