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Meetings with Wu Jing in Hengdian, the City of Films

Author :  Ninnie, in Chinese

Date :  22 -24 August 2001

Translation :  Martial Arts Movies and TV Series - Wu Jing

Original Compilation :  Jing Wu Men

This is a series of reports detailing our conversations with Wu Jing during our stay in Hengdian. Due to the complex nature of the content, I shall divide them in into a few parts to share with you.

Part I - New Filming Plan

When enquired about what shows Wu Jing would be doing, he said he currently had 12 scripts and had yet to decide which show to take on. One was a movie, Tsui Hark's Romance of the Book and Sword, where he would be playing Emperor Qian-Long, to which he would give his first priority, should Tsui Hark approach him. However, as the sponsors wanted fresh faces for the movie and Wu Jing's chance of being in the movie was slim. Wu Jing emphasised that the main problem lay with the sponsors, and it was not up to Tsui Hark who did not have much control over whom to cast.

The second production was a drama serial entitled The Empire is of More Importance. The leading actor has to act as two persons: One as Emperor Qian-Long, another as Emperor Qian-Long's younger, common folk brother. (Emperor Qian-Long yet again? We commented Wu Jing was fast becoming Youngster Emperor and Wu Jing immediately shook his head, " No, thanks.") Our immediate reaction to Qian-Long's brother was Chen Jia-Luo. Wu Jing clarified it was not Chen Jia Luo, and that Chen Jia Luo is more of a fictitious character, with origins traced to the fables of Haining at that time. This show attempts at bettering Imperial Court of Emperor Yong Zheng. I interjected, " Isn't that a historical drama?" Wu Jing responded, "It's not really historical drama; It belongs more to the genre of 'political correctness.' I believed this show will also afford me a good chance to improve, refine my acting skills."

Some other shows were mostly what Wu Jing described as "riotous," such as the one with Ng Man Tat ( Wu Jing mentioned that when he worked with Ng Man Tat in Love in Turbulent Times, "Uncle Tat" was a really nice fellow.) and Cheung Man ... Before he could finish, we began our own discussion on Cheung Man's emergence. However, Wu Jing would only be in the series after the first 10 episodes, and he hadn't read the entire script, so he had yet to decide if he should accept the offer.

Another drama serial was Valuables of the Palace, a parody of My Fair Princess. We were wondering about the modish trend towards the riotous shows nowadays when Wu Jing stated, "As everyone is into making impish productions, I ought to choose a 'politically correct drama' instead." It is quite obvious why he placed The Empire is of More Importance on the top of his list.

We did not forget to ask if there were any contemporary dramas in his drama offers. He shook his head and I queried about Never Yielding, an adaptation of Gu Long's work. Wu Jing replied that the serial is scheduled for production in December and it is still too early to talk about it. Then, he checked with us what type of contemporary dramas we wished to see him doing and someone blurted out police-and-robber. Wu Jing said there was once when he put on a police uniform he borrowed his police friends but it just looked to be stolen. We laughed heartily and said he could be a plain-clothes detective.

Wu Jing revealed his original script is set in the contemporary era and presently, a few producers had expressed their interest and intention to invest in the production. In the soon-coming years, Wu Jing should have the opportunity to act in the drama he scripted. But the drama is geared towards Beijing culture and he was not certain if it would be able to penetrate the Taiwan market.

Wu Jing also brought up that Director Cheung Sing Yim had sought out a few investors from United States of America who would be sponsoring a few million dollars for a production. It should be a movie but Wu Jing didn't make it clear. However, as Cheung Sing Yim was currently afflicted by illness, it had to be postponed. On the other hand, Wu Jing is highly likely to do a movie by Cheung Chi Leung next year. It appears that Wu Jing is getting more chances of doing movies and it could jolly well be his dream to raise his public awareness through movies in the international film arena.

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