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Seven Swords of Mt Tian: Tsui
Hark in Xinjiang
Xinjiang City Daily, 15 June 2004
Hou Hui
The Arrival
It was 1 pm, 12 June when the reporters from various presses
gathered at Urumqi International Airport, anticipating with
nervous excitement for the arrival of Tsui Hark, a heavyweight personality of
the Asian film industry. Eventually, Tsui Hark arrived after four hours of
flight from Beijing. As on TV, he
appeared a mite guant, and despite being only 54, looked wizened with his greying hair. His smile exuded the charm of a swordsman, perhaps due to years of
shooting wuxia films. A lad who was with him on the same flight identified him
and requested for his autograph. Tsui Hark not only obliged, but also wrote a
sentence of encouragement. The lad was very happy, "Wished I had realised
earlier that I was travelling in the same plane as Tsui Hark. However, it was
still such an honour."
At the arrival hall's gate, Tsui Hark waved his hands at the reporters, his face
full of wrinkled lines as he beamed with joy. The reporters heaved a sigh of
relief at his affable gesture: This internationally renowned director carried
no airs at all. Next, he greeted the working crew, who came to receive him,
warmly. He would be spending 10 days in
Xinjiang for preview and set building of various shooting locales. He was
accompanied by Charlie Yeung Choi Nei,, who wasn't discovered initially as she was wearing
big sunglasses that covered half her face, and 20 crew members. Charlie
Yeung, who had been ill, left alone in a car and did not show up at later
meetings.
Despite being faced with Tsui Hark's cordialness, the reporters seemed not to have collected
themselves yet, and
no one dared move forward to raise questions. Everyone merely accompanied him
quietly for a few steps. Our press' reporter made the first move, and
subsequently, others also begun to pluck up the courage to encircle him and
unleashed a barrage of questions. Tsui
Hark courteously fielded all questions, such as the cast members. Someone who
was not familiar with Seven Swords of Mt Tian novel even asked why would he want
to film it in Xinjiang, to which Tsui Hark patiently explained that a
substantial part of the story occurred in Xinjiang.
The Conference
Tsui Hark, together with his crew headed to a quiet hotel. After having their meal, they
began discussing the work arrangement for these ten days. The legendary
workaholic who could go on without sleep and rest was indeed true.
When Tsui Hark convenes a meeting, he doesn't not wish to be
disturbed. So
the reporters had to wait outside. After a while Tsui Hark walked out of the
room to answer a call. His expression was very earnest, and when some
reporters began taking photographs, he signalled with his hand for them to stop,
his eyes particularly forbidding. A production member who was standing by the side explained
that was how Tsui Hark is like once he starts working.
When the reporters were allowed into the conference room, the TV was showing the
exotic locales of Xinjiang. This preview video was filmed especially by Xinjiang TV Station
for Seven Swords of Mt Tian production. Tsui Hark was fully
captivated and awestruck by the
natural beauty of the land, "Before viewing the sample video, I was
apprehensive that the locations
might not live up to expectations. I am very elated to see such breathtaking
sceneries of Xinjiang - the gorgeous savannahs, the snow mountain range, the frozen
streams, all ever-changing throughout the year, with each season carrying a unique
feeling. This is a wonderful place. I hope to showcase the wonders of Xinjiang
through Seven Swords of Mt Tian."
After viewing the video, Tsui Hark
began a discussion with the crew while glancing over the materials. He was
thoroughly absorbed, his friendliness was completely non-existent.
At the same time, some production members went to two Xinjiang acting academies
to enlist extras. Under the leadership of Tsui Hark, the preproduction work
began intensely. On that evening, Wenlian Studio's producer Wang Yong
also arrived at Urumqi. On 13, the production, including Tsui Hark, Wang Yong
and Charlie Yeung, went to the snow mountains for
location scouting. On 14, set building began.
The Interview
Have the main roles, such as Ling Mo Feng and Yi Lan Zhu, for Seven Swords of Mt Tian TV series been decided?
Tsui Hark: Yes, there are Zhao Wen Zhuo, Ada Choi, Wu Jing, Sang Wei Lin, Lu
Yi... and many more. There are too many characters to be mentioned. Zhao Wen
Zhuo and Charlie Yeung (who is doing the movie) will be in the leading roles, Wu Jing will act as Ling Mo Feng, while we haven't made final decisions for the role of Yi Lan Zhu.
How much of the scenes will be shot in Xinjiang? In which
other locations will it be filmed?
Around twenty episodes, or one third of the scenes, will be shot on location in
Xinjiang. Apart from Xinjiang's Heavenly Mountain Range (Mt Tian), lots of
events take place within the palace and Jiangnan, the scope is very wide, so we
will shoot in Beijing and Hangzhou as well.
When is the exact production date? When will you be coming to Xinjiang? How
long is the
filming duration?
We're here to determine the actual shooting locations, and to recruit some
local production crew, to communicate with them as well as giving them
tutorials, and to form a filming crew. Shooting will commence officially in late
July or early August. We will move location to Xinjiang in October. The whole
series will take 9 months to shoot.
Will you be hiring supporting roles and extras from Xinjiang?
Definitely, since lots of things happen in Xinjiang, and there are many accounts
of the lives of the Xinjiang people. We might need some twenty supporting roles,
and a handful of extras here. This is one of the reasons we are here.
There have been words that Xinjiang's singer Askar will have a part in the
series?
Correct. Askar will play a Xinjiang minstrel. He is kind at heart but is made
used of by the bad guys, and eventually ends up tragically. This character
is closely related to a few essential roles, is one of the more vibrant
characters of Xinjiang.
How much differences are there between the script and the original novel?
We are combining Qi Jian Xia Tian Shan (Seven Swords Descend Mt Tian) and its prequel Sai Wai Qi Jia
Zhuan
(Miracle Heroes Beyond the Frontiers) together,
and providing a detailed account of first and second generations of the Seven Swordmasters. Other than that, we have also broaden the scope considerably.
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