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Fluff from March 14th and 15th, 2001

March 14th

          

Above images courtesy The Sun (right) and Oriental Daily News (left, centre).

Thirty-four year old singer Shirley Kwan Suk-Yi has not released an album in over six years. Reports have emerged recently suggesting that Kwan has signed a three year - HK$8 million contract with Andy Lau Tak-Wah's New Melody Group (nmg) production agency. Her first album under the contract is slated for release sometime this year. At a charity ball in a Wanchai district hotel the night before last, Kwan (left) was evasive when asked about the details of her comeback. However, she did say: "I don't know if it (her new album) will be released this year. I hope it will. Right now, I've started to write songs for it. It's the first time I've tried my hand at writing music." Related image (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ec1p.jpg

Newcomer Rain Li Choi-Wah makes her film debut with Ekin Cheng Yi-Kin (centre) in Jingle Ma Chor-Sing's new film GOODBYE MR. COOL. Co-starring Karen Mok Man-Wai, the film tells the story of a triad gang leader (Cheng) trying to make good by escaping the triad lifestyle. Director Ma is blunt when it comes to talking about the purpose of his latest film. Ma: "In this movie, I'm looking at more than just the surface of the triad lifestyle. I hope that it will stop some young people from joining the triads when they see that it isn't at all glamourous."

Shot entirely in Paris, the new film FALL FOR YOU stars Francis Ng Jun-Yu and Kristy Yang (Yeung Kung-Yu) and tells the tale of a romance between a starving artist turned chef (Ng) and a young immigrant from the Mainland (Yang). Although they had spare time during the Paris shoot, Ng and Yang did not get a chance to see the famous Eiffel Tower because the lines were too long. While Ng was disappointed, Yang was not since it gave time for her to do some shopping. Yang: "I really love to check out the latest cosmetics and designer hand bags. I bought a leather jacket for around HK$1,000. It was a real good deal!" Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ea301.jpg (Ng as a starving artist.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ea302.jpg (Ng and Yang.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ea303.jpg (Ng and Yang.)


 ZOOM          ZOOM

Above images courtesy The Sun.

Loletta Lee Lai-Chun (left) and Andy Hui Chi-On (centre) began work on their new horror movie CHAT HO CHAI KWOON (lit. POLICE STATION #7) yesterday. Co-starring in the film are Simon Lui Yu-Yeung, Cheung Tat-Ming, Fennie Yuen Kit-Ying and Kwan Lai-Kit. In all her years in the entertainment circle, the film is the first time Lee has donned a uniform for a role. Asked for a comment, Lee remarked: "I don't think I could be a nurses in real life. I don't know how to take care of others plus I can't stand the sight of blood."

As for Andy Hui, he revealed that director Derek Chiu Sung-Gei is interested in casting him in Chiu's next movie CHUM JAU AV NUI LEUNG (lit. LOOKING FOR AN AV GIRL). Nevertheless, Hui will not be accepting the role. Hui: "I'm too busy with my music concerts this summer. I have no time. Besides, I don't think I would fit well with the subject matter." Related images (courtesy Apple Daily unless otherwise indicated):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ed7p.jpg (Loletta Lee)
http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew11p1.gif (Loletta Lee. Courtesy Oriental Daily News.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ed8p.jpg (Andy Hui)

Gwennie Tam Kwun-Yi (right) is currently in the Phillipines with Cheng Pei-Pei, Terry Fan Siu-Wong and Samuel Leung Cheuk-Moon working on the new action movie HAK HUP LIT JUEN (lit. DARK HERO FIERY LEGEND). In the film, Terry Fan plays a superhero while Cheng Pei-Pei plays the villain. Although they play enemies on screen, Fan and Cheng are very close off screen. In fact, Cheng became Fan's "godmother" while the two were working on location in Xinjiang last year on Sammo Hung's martial arts film LUNG TUNG FU YUEK (lit. SOARING DRAGON LEAPING TIGER). Cheng: "Actually, I've been quite active recently. In a little while, I will be going to Taiwan to work on a new television series about the Yang Family women soliders. The only reason I squeezed this movie in was because of Terry Fan. He's the lead in this film and he is working hard at it. So, I thought that I would come and support him by taking the role." Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010313/Article_ent/13et50p.jpg (Cheng and Fan fight on top of an airplane.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010313/Article_ent/13et3p.jpg (Cheng)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010313/Article_ent/13et1pzoknew1.jpg (Fan)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010313/Article_ent/13et2p.jpg (Fan)

 

     

Above images courtesy The Sun.

Annie Man Jung-Han (left) continued work on her new TVB series DAI TONG LUNG CHU (lit. TANG DYNASTY DRAGON PEARL) yesterday with Benny Chan Ho-Man. Recently, Chan has been beseiged with rumours that he and TVB actress Michelle Yip Suen are dating. Adding to the speculation were pictures published in the latest edition of a local magazine showing Yip and Chan in the same car. Chan: "She was in Causeway Bay that day and I was nearby so I called her to see if she needed a ride. It's as simple as that. We are just friends. There's nothing else to it."

Symapthizing with her co-star, Annie Man commented: "Usually, I just drive girls in my car. If Benny asks me for a ride, I probably wouldn't give hime one. I don't want paparazzi following me around all the time when the rumours start." Related images:

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ed9p.jpg (Man and Chan. Courtesy Apple Daily.)
http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew09p1.gif (Man and Chan. Courtesy Oriental Daily News.)

The stunning Sonija Kwok Sin-Lei (right) was also at TVB Studios yesterday as work continued on her TVB series A STEP INTO THE PAST. Speaking to reporters, Kwok revealed that the series is shooting on an almost around-the-clock basis and that she does not get to bed on most nights until four in the morning. As a result, she is looking forward to the end of the shoot later this month. Related image (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex13p.jpg

A special charity edition of TVB's THE SUPER TRIO SHOW will be held this coming Sunday night (March 17th) at the Hung Hom Coliseum. Marking the one hundredth episode of the popular game show, hosts Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Chin Kar-Lok and Jerry Lam Hiu-Feng will be welcoming eighteen celebrity guests. Among them will be: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Nicolas Tse Ting-Feng, Dicky Cheung Wai-Kin, Ruby Lin (Lam Sum-Yu), Florence Kwok Siu-Wan and Shum Bo-Yi. Tsang had originally planned to hold the event at Hong Kong Stadium but decided on the Hung Hom Coliseum so that weather would not be a factor. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ej11p.jpg (Florence Kwok)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ej12p.jpg (Shum Bo-Yi)

In other TVB related news, a special ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT spring concert was taped at Victoria Park last night. Performing at the event were Cass Phang Ling and Leo Koo Gui-Gei. Related images:

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14es4p.jpg (Phang. Courtesy Apple Daily.)
http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew13p1.gif (Phang. Courtesy Oriental Daily News.)
http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew13p2.gif (Phang. Courtesy Oriental Daily News.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14es5p.jpg (Koo. Courtesy Apple Daily.)

Cass Phang is one of the subjects of today's edition of Stalkin' The Stars as she was seen shopping at a food market recently. Asked about food shopping at the concert, Phang replied: "I've been learning how to cook different things for my daughter so seeing me shopping for food isn't out of the ordinary." Related images (courtesy Oriental Daily News):

http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew13p3.gif
http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20010314/ent/0314enew13p4.gif

In other stalking-derived news, reporters followed Tony Leung Chiu-Wai again yesterday to see if he had indeed moved out of the May Towers flat he shares with Carina Lau Ka-Ling. Unfortunately, the rumours of a breakup appear to be true as Leung once again drove to his mother's flat after meeting yesterday evening with director Joe Ma Wai-Ho. Ma and Leung are collaborating with Sammi Cheung Sau-Man in the new romantic drama FIGHTING FOR LOVE (TUNG GUI NUI YAU; lit. LIVING WITH THE GIRLFRIEND). As has been his practice of late, Leung refused to speak to reporters. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea501pzoknew1.jpg (Leung)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea502p.jpg (Leung surrounded by reporters.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea701p.jpg (Leung in his Land Rover driving to his mother's house.)

Even more Stalkin' The Stars: Stephen Chiau Sing-Chi was seen in the Central district. Asked by reporters what he was doing, Chiau told reporters before quickly running up the stairs: "I'm going to see the doctor. I think hurt my left shoulder." Related image (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea507p.jpg


MISCELLANEOUS FLUFF:

- Jackie Cheung Hok-Yau was in Guangzhou the day before yesterday shooting ads for a milk-based health drink. Appearing in the ad with Cheung are several children allowing him the opportunity to show off his parental look. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea505p.jpg
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ea506p.jpg

- At the Hong Kong Planet Hollywood, Nick Cheung Ka-Fai held his concert for the HK Commercial Radio concert series the night before last. Faces in the crowd included EEG head Yeung Sau-Sing, Joey Yung Tso-Yi, Monica Chan Fat-Yung, "Granny Dragon" Helena Law Lan, Jessica Suen Huen, Roger Kwok Jun-On and girlfriend Cindy Au Sin-Yi. Flora Chan Wai-Shan and Stephanie Che Yuen-Yuen were Cheung's guest performers. Cheung's girlfriend -- Esther Kwan Wing-Ho -- was not in attendance. Asked afterwards why she was not there, Cheung explained: "She's in Italy working on a project. Even if she were here, I don't think I would have asked her to come. I don't want people to say that I'm using her for publicity."

Cheung was also asked to rate his performance. Cheung: "I'm fairly satisfied with the ways things went tonight. I was a bit nervous and I heard myself miss a few notes." Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex1p.jpg (Cheung and Flora Chan.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex2p.jpg (Cheung and Stephanie Che.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex3p.jpg (Joey Yung presents Cheung with flowers.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex6p.jpg (Monica Chan sits near Helena Law.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ex4p.jpg (A sizable amount of Flora Chan fans were in the crowd.)

- Nicola Cheung Sun-Yu accepted an interview on HK Commercial Radio yesterday during which she talked mostly about her experiences from hosting TVB's JADE SOLID GOLD. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010314/Article_ent/14ej4p.jpg

 

March 15th

Changes are in store at TVB as rumours abound that Uncle Six Sir Run Run Shaw's wife Mona Fong will be taking over at the television station on June 30th. Fong's appointment comes at a critical time for TVB as it faces increasing competition not from its Hong Kong rival ATV but growing television industries in the Mainland and Taiwan. In fact, TVB itself used two imported series, STATE OF DIVINITY 2000 and SIU NIN BAU GUNG (lit. YOUNG JUSTICE PAO), last year and will be using at least two this year -- DUKE OF MT. DEER 2000 and CHING SUM SUM YU MONG MONG (lit. LOVE DEEP RAIN MISTY).

In addition, Apple Daily reports that Uncle Six (Siu Yat-Fu) and TVB executives are planning to put the focus on nine actors in the coming months to re-invigorate its roster of leading men and women. The nine are:

(Related images for this story courtesy Apple Daily.)

Reigning Miss Asia International twenty-two year old Bernice Liu Bik-Yi of Vancouver, Canada. Liu bears a striking resemblance to Japanese celebrity Norika Fujiwara and, as a result, has been dubbed the "Vancouver Norika Fujiwara" by the HK press.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb1pzok.jpg

Twenty year old Myolie Wu Hung-Yi -- the second runner up in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 1999. Wu impressed executives with her performance in the recent COLORFUL LIFE.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb5pzok.jpg

Miss Asia International 1999 Michelle Yip Suen. Many have remarked that the twenty-one year old Yip is -- in looks and manner -- similar to Jessica Suen Huen. Naturally, Yip will be groomed to eventually replace Suen.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb7p.jpg

Yeung Yi, a cast member in the current FM 701 (aka BROADCAST LIVE), is a graduate of TVB's performing arts classes. Many see her as an eventual replacement for Maggie Cheung Ho-Yi.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb2pzok.jpg

Thirty-one year old Michael Tong Man-Lung is a veteran of the HK entertainment circle but only joined TVB in 1999. After turning in a solid performance in HEALING HANDS II, he is being touted as leading man material for future serials.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb501pzok.jpg

Yeung Ming, twenty years-old, spoofed Nicolas Tse Ting-Feng in the comedy series SCREENPLAY. TVB is hoping that Yeung can be a television version of Tse.

Former police officer Joe Ma Tak-Chung, thirty-two years old, has been a supporting actor in many TVB serials. Ma drew notice with his performance in AT THE THRESHOLD OF AN ERA and is being promoted to leading man status.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb6pzok.jpg

Twenty-six year old Patrick Tang Kin-Hung got his start in the entertainment circle by winning a talent search contest in 1996. His previous acting experience includes a role in the highly successful WAR OF THE GENDERS. Tang is currently dating fellow WAR OF THE GENDERS star Marsha Yuen Chi-Wai.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb8pzok.jpg

Lam Feng, twenty-one years old, is another graduate of the TVB performing arts classes and is being touted as an eventual replacment for Louis Koo Tin-Lok. Ironically, Lam is currently working with Koo on the TVB series A STEP INTO THE PAST.

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15eb3pzok.jpg

(SANNEY: If anyone knows of English names for Lam Feng, Yeung Ming and Yeung Yi, I'd appreciate it if you'd send them in.)

Asked to comment on the story, TVB executive Siao Siu-Ming declared: "This company plans every year to groom new talent with potential. We always hope to find newcomers to meet our casting needs and, naturally, hope that they can succeed. We also take very good care of our current actors as they are very valuable to us. Actually, TVB makes so many serials each year, we need a large roster of actors."

 

          

Above images courtesy The Sun. Above images have ZOOM links. Click on picture for larger image.

Sandy Lam Yik-Lin's April concerts in Hong Kong have been postponed until October. Reportedly, Lam and the concert promoters are at loggerheads over the format of the concert. Asked yesterday for a comment, a spokesperson for the concert producers said: "We have postponed the concerts because Yik-Lin and the company want to put on the best show possible. We do not want to rush anything because there are several small details that we have to hammer out. Right now, we hope to put the show on sometime in October. However, we do not have specific dates yet."

In her new movie DIK DUI (lit. FACING THE ENEMY), Josie Ho Chiu-Yi (centre) plays a mild-mannered, law-abiding doctor who turns bad after treating then falling in love with a convicted murderer (played by Wong Ka-Keung; right with Ho). Inevitably, their love leads to tragic results. Also starring in the movie are Sunny Chan Kam-Hung and Nadia Chan Chung-Ling. Sunny Chan plays a detective who falls in love with a DJ played by Nadia Chan.

Natalie Wong Gei-Ying and Lam Suet worked the night before last on their new movie KAM YUK FUNG WAN II JI YE CHAU (lit. PRISON ON FIRE II: NIGHT CAPTIVITY). In the film, Wong and Lam play father and daughter. Wong, who's TVB contract expires in eighteen months, was asked if she will be joining the TVB exodus. Wong: "I don't have any financial responsibilities so money isn't a big concern for me. So, I value the opportunity to act more than anything else." Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15et5p.jpg (Wong and Lam.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15et6p.jpg (Wong)

 

ZOOM     

Above images courtesy The Sun.

Almost four months after the fact, Annie Wu (Ng Sun-Kwun; left) is still bearing the scars (right) from a racing accident she suffered during last year's Jackie Chan Cup. Commenting on the incident to a reporter from The Sun, Wu said: "At the time of the accident, I was really scared! I had a lot of work lined up but, in the end, I had to push them back and go home to Taiwan and rest. The doctor told me to be careful and not to do any strenuous exercise. I spent three weeks recovering at home and I'm still not completely over it yet!"


MISCELLANEOUS FLUFF:

- With their increasing popularity, Sonija Kwok Sin-Lei and Melissa Ng Yin-Hung are getting more and more attention from advertisers. Recently, Kwok became the commercial spokesperson for Doriano fashions while Ng completed her second set of ads for Ultima II skin care products. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej2pnew1.jpg (Sonija Kwok)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej3p.jpg (Sonija Kwok)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej4p.jpg (Kwok gets her makeup done.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej1pnew.jpg (Production still from Melissa Ng's ad.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej5p.jpg (Ng in black for the ad.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ej6p.jpg (Ng gets her makeup done.)

- In other advertising news, Vicki Zhao Wei has replaced Hsu Chi as the face of Red Earth cosmetics as posters of Zhao went up at Red Earth stores across Hong Kong yesterday. Zhao became immensely popular with her role in MY FAIR PRINCESS (WAN CHU GAK GAK) and is due for another surge of popularity as she has a major film -- SHAOLIN SOCCER -- and a major television series -- CHING SUM SUM YU MONG MONG (lit. LOVE DEEP RAIN MISTY) on deck. By contrast, Hsu is busy in Japan completing a role in the art film CHIN HEI MAN BO (lit. MILLENNIUM WAVE) before she heads off for a self-imposed sabbatical from the entertainment circle. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ec12p.jpg (Zhao)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ec2pzoknew1.jpg (Zhao)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/250pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ec4p.jpg (Hsu Chi)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ec81p.jpg (Hsu on location in Japan.)

- Flora Chan Wai-Shan, Rain Li Choi-Wah, Cheng Si-Wan and Gaile Lok Gei-Yi were presented with "Ladies of Uniqueness" awards by a fashion company at its Spring and Summer fashion show yesterday. Related images (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ex1p.jpg (Left to right: Chan, Li, Chen and Lok.)
http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ex2p.jpg (Chan)

- Last Fall, Tiffany Lee Leung-Yi was touted as the next Cecilia Cheung Bak-Chi as she was in line for a role in Stephen Chiau Sing-Chi's new movie SHAOLIN SOCCER. Unfortunately for Lee, Chiau decided to cast Sarondar Li Wai in the role. Nonetheless, the nineteen year old Lee has landed on her feet as she was hired by a local wedding magazine for a photo spread. Related image (courtesy Apple Daily):

http://appledaily.atnext.com/webimg/640pix/20010315/Article_ent/15ec1pzoknew1.jpg

 

LINKS OF INTEREST

(SANNEY: Thanks to John, Richard, Shelly and Tim for the following links. Due to the time lag in the production of these reports, please keep in mind that some of these links may have expired.)

The HK i-mail on the relationship between Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Carina Lau
http://hk-imail.singtao.com/inews/public/article_v.cfm?articleid=18757&intcatid=1

Paul Fonoroff reviews Raymond To's FOREVER AND EVER
http://www.totallyhk.com/TimeOff/Entertainment/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleID-20000628175429704.asp

Steve Erickson on Dante Lam's JIANG HU: THE TRIAD ZONE
J . Rosenbaum reviews Edward Yang's YI YI
http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/2001/0103/010302_2.html
http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/2001/0103/010302_1.html

Actor Simon Yam offers interior design ideas
http://www.shkp.com/eng/news/press/2000/press/f_1001004a.html

J. Hoberman writes on PLATFORM for the Village Voice
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0110/hoberman.shtml

Short Takes: Five Degrees of Sexual Ambiguity
The HK Gay & Lesbian Festival showcases increasingly experimental movies from the region

BY STEPHEN SHORT for Time Asia
http://www.time.com/time/asia/arts/column/0,9754,102013,00.html

Jonathan Rosenbaum on SUZHOU RIVER
http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/2001/0103/010309.html

The SCMP's Winnie Chung profiles the Hong Kong International Film Festival
http://www.totallyhk.com/TimeOff/Entertainment/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleID-20010315173916532.asp

Winnie Chung profiles cinematographer Peter Pau Tak-Hei
http://features.scmp.com/ZZZMNACYBKC.html

 

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

Gong's not going to Hollywood

Real people are a turn-on for Gong Li. And if she can portray them well in China, she sees no need to go West - her movies can go international

By Teo Pau Lin
-from Straits Tiems

WHEN Gong Li gets angry, you know it five seconds before she does.

Her stare turns cold. Her eyebrows crease. The corners of her carefully painted lips purse a little more together.

Then, annoyance full-blown, her words shoot out - tight, terse, and slurred to the tone of a seasoned Beijinger.

'I'm not afraid,' she says, when asked if she, at 35, will see juicier movie roles handed to younger actresses.

'In fact, there will be more roles for me, because I'd have more life experiences.

'Yi dien dou bu pa.' She is not the least bit afraid.

For over a decade, the furrowed, embittered face of Gong Li has led the frontline of Chinese cinema.

She is Judou (1990), the vengeful wife of a brutal dye-mill owner who spits back at him by bearing his nephew a son.

She is Songlian, a frightened schoolgirl turned conniving concubine in a feudal household in Raise The Red Lantern (1991).

And she is Qiu Ju, an injured farmer's pregnant wife who waddles through court after court demanding an official explanation of the injustice done to her husband in The Story Of Qiu Ju (1992).

Now seated in her suite in Mandarin Hotel, it is the same face - striking, defiant, and seemingly not a day over 30 - which jolts with critical bemusement when asked how she likes to be remembered when she is 80.

'I don't know if I will live to 80,' she answers with a short laugh.

'But whether or not people remember me is not important. As long as I'm happy, I've done what I like to do, that's important.'

'What other people think is not important,' she repeats.

FROSTY AND UNIMPRESSED

IN TOWN to promote her latest movie, Breaking The Silence, she is a galaxy away from the plump, frumpy mother of a deaf boy she plays in it.

The spokesman for L'Oreal skincare and Chopard jewellery has glossy, straight hair dyed red-brown, and silky white legs crossed elegantly beneath a black leather skirt.

She is aristocratic movie star, frosty and unimpressed.

Her complete distrust of reporters is momentarily broken only on the subject of shopping, as she points down to her 10-cm-high silver heeled slip-ons.

'I bought these in Singapore. You can find some really good things in Singapore.'

There is a certain Oriental sweetness about her, which saw her at Orchard Cineleisure the night before, bowing to a small premiere audience both at the beginning and the end of her short thank-you speech.

Also, there is an almost naive lack of awareness of the immensity of her work.

Before her arrival, Western film audiences knew only the Chinese woman as Suzie Wong, every white man's Asian fetish as played by Nancy Kwan in The World Of Suzie Wong (1960).

Or as the beguiling, bosom-baring temptress made famous by Joan Chen in Tai Pan (1986) and The Last Emperor (1987).

Then, in 1987, while still a student at Beijing's Chinese Central Drama Academy, Gong was plucked by director Zhang Yimou to star in his lush, ground-breaking epic, Red Sorghum.

Playing a headstrong winery owner who instigates a village revolt against Japanese soldiers, she was a potent brew of girl-power rebellion and take-charge sexuality.

In Judou, her steamy trysts with her lover beneath sheets of dyed cloth sexed up China's peasant landscape instantly.

When it became the first Chinese movie ever to be nominated as Best Foreign Film at the Oscars in 1991, the world finally saw a new face of Chinese cinema - as crafted by China's Fifth Generation of movie directors, such as Zhang, Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang, and as embodied by Gong.

To Live, her penultimate collaboration with Zhang before their love affair crumbled in 1995, traced the tragic path a Chinese family trudged through under the folly that was the Cultural Revolution.

Is she proud that her entire body of work has captured on celluloid an important period of recent Chinese history?

'Not really,' she says simply.

'Not everything was mine. A lot of it came from the vision of the directors I worked with.

'I'm happy to have been a face of Chinese cinema, that when you talk about successful Chinese movies, I've been in many of them. I'm happy about that. But I don't think too much beyond that.'

COMPETITION AT HER HEELS

BUT hers is no longer the only face which fronts Chinese cinema.

Hongkong's Maggie Cheung has chalked up as many acting trophies as Gong has from international film festivals. Bond girl Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi have already gone Hollywood.

Estranged from her ex-lover and mentor Zhang Yimou, Gong lacked her former screen sizzle while under the direction of Chen Kaige in Temptress Moon (1996) and The First Emperor (1999), and Wayne Wang in Chinese Box (1997).

She even has to witness sourly Zhang Ziyi, nicknamed 'Little Gong Li' for her physical resemblance to her, making giant strides towards international stardom with the roaring success of gongfu hit, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Like Gong Li, Zhang was still a student of Central Drama Academy when Zhang Yimou catapulted her to fame in his 1998 melodrama, The Road Home.

Rumoured to be his offscreen squeeze, Ziyi is also not short on cinematic prowess and fiery, straight-talking outbursts of Gong's proportions.

But at only 21, Ziyi is already taking on Hollywood with her role as a villainess opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the upcoming Rush Hour 2.

Still, Gong stubbornly refuses to be cowered by looking West.

'The only Hollywood roles I've been offered are the decorative flower-vase ones, which I think is a waste of time,' she hisses.

'If China has all the good roles, why should I go there? If a Chinese movie is good, it can go international.

'There are still so many roles to try in China. My roots are in Asia. And it's the 21st century. The whole world is looking to Asia for its economy. Perhaps it would pull China's arts movement forward too.'

PLAYING TOUGH ROLES

IT IS this same doggedness which led her, at the age of 19, to stand for six hours on a train from her native Shandong province to Beijing to take an entrance exam at the drama academy.

Before then, the youngest of five children of an economics professor and archivist had only wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.

'I don't know what motivated me, to take the exam, or just to leave home,' she recalls fondly.

'I've always been very rebellious. I take after my mother. We are both very strong women. If we believe something is right, we will follow through to the end. It's a very northern trait.'

Acting, she says after headlining 21 movies in 14 years, is all about transformation.

'I like playing roles which are totally different from what I am. Acting pretty is too easy, tai rong yi le,' she says.

From perfecting a pregnant woman's waddle and rustic accent in The Story Of Qiu Ju, to acquiring two chins in Breaking The Silence, she has made realism her forte.

'She commits herself totally to each role,' says Sun Zhou, the Shandong-born graduate of Beijing Film Academy, who directed her in Breaking The Silence.

He recounts how Gong spent one month in a rural Chinese village in preparation for her role - cooking, cleaning, playing, taking care of a child - with no access to phones, makeup or personal assistants.

Gong notes: 'Realistic portrayals are very important to me. I love playing ordinary people. After all, they make up 70 to 80 per cent of Chinese society. To me, they are the most lovable, and the hardest to play.'

She chooses roles that have something to say about society or the human condition, she adds, listing Judou, To Live, The Story Of Qiu Ju and Breaking The Silence as her favourite works.

'Those characters are very human, with rich human interactions. I don't know how to explain it, but I just like the feeling.'

STUDYING FOR HER CRAFT

POISED to start filming another Sun Zhou movie next month, Gong Li proves to be more than the coddled movie star tai-tai.

Married to Mr Ooi Hoe Seong, the Singaporean managing director of British American Tobacco China, she spends her free time lazing at home in Hongkong with her seven dogs, and cooking 'not very well' for her husband, she offers slyly.

But she is also taking a correspondence course in sociology with Beijing University. Exams, she says with a flicker of dread, are ahead next month and in October.

'As an actress, your experiences are limited. Once you become famous, people watch you, you don't watch people. So your portrayal of people can be shallow and you're not as sensitive to what's happening in society,' she says.

'So studying is good for my craft. It's not hard. I just don't know if I can pass,' she adds with a rare smile.

What else is there to conquer in life?

'Just freedom,' she muses.

'No limits. I don't like to be tied down to anything.'

As if to prove her point, she stifles a yawn as she poses, cat-like, on a chair for photographs at the end of the interview.

Then, seeing no need to dispense a farewell handshake, she stalks back to her bedroom, closing the door briskly after her.

When Gong Li takes her leave, you, too, know it five seconds before she does.


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