Tribute to a Legend: The 10th Anniversary of Leslie Cheung’s Passing

As most of you already know, April 1^st 2013 marks the 10 year anniversary of superstar Leslie Cheung’s death.  Given how important Leslie was to the HK entertainment industry, there will undoubtedly be a lot of tributes and events taking place in the next few days to honor his memory.  The event that I’m really looking forward to this year is the special tribute concert that Leslie’s former manager Florence Chan will be putting together, during which some of Leslie’s closest friends in the entertainment industry will gather together with his fans at the HK Coliseum and perform many of his greatest hits.

Even though 10 long years may have passed since Leslie left us, the memory of him and his tremendous contributions to the entertainment industry continue to live on in our hearts.  Of course, nothing can replace the pain that many of us went through when we found out that one of our most beloved entertainers decided to leave us forever…and not surprisingly, many of us still find it difficult to come to terms with this horrible fact.  Regardless of whether you’re a fan of his or not, I’m sure you would agree that Leslie was a charismatic entertainer and overall great person who impacted the lives of many, many people – be it his friends, colleagues, fans, and even people whom he didn’t even know!  

No one knows what the future will bring and in the case of the HK entertainment industry especially (depending on how you look at it), the outlook may not necessarily be a positive one – but no matter what happens in the coming years and what direction things end up going, one thing’s for sure:  Leslie will always be an important part of HK entertainment history – an absolutely irreplaceable legend whose influence and impact will continue to be felt for decades to come!

For my personal tribute to Leslie this year, I’ve decided to ‘re-visit’ some of the older posts I wrote about him on my blog and in so doing, ‘re-live’ some of those past ‘Leslie moments’ – be it happy moments or sad ones – that had made me either laugh or cry at some point.  I’ve included the links to some of these past blog posts below in the event that anyone who reads this is interested in ‘re-visiting’ as well (though one ‘disclaimer’ I have to make is that this list is NOT all-inclusive, since I only update my blog whenever I have time and so there may be a lot of things that I wanted to write about but didn’t get a chance to yet).

A few last words....

Rest in peace, Leslie!   No matter what happens, you will forever be in our hearts…MISS YOU MUCH!! 

.*******.

Post #1:  Book Review – Now and Then (從零開始): Leslie Cheung

Post #2:  Remembering Leslie Cheung:  Jacky’s Eulogy Speech at Leslie’s Funeral

Post #3:  2003 HKFA Awards Ceremony (Tribute to Leslie)

Post #4:  Jacky and Leslie’s Taiwan Trip (11th Annual Golden Melody Awards)

Post #5:  Tony Leung’s 50^th Birthday Party:  Leslie’s friends pay tribute to him

Post #6:  Jacky pays tribute to Leslie during his ½ Century Concert

Post #7:  Book Review – Now and Then (從零開始):  Anita Mui

Post #8:  Book Review – Now and Then (從零開始):  Danny Chan

Oriental Daily Interview with Felix Wong (黃日華) -- PART 1

For those of you who, like me, can never get enough of 80s/90s TVB nostalgia…well, I’ve got some great news: Oriental Daily did an interview with Felix Wong recently and the interview is being published as a 5-parter this week. Of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to post about Felix and the 5 Tigers (LOL), so no doubt that I will be ‘following’ this interview the entire week and posting up the translations as they come out!


Here’s the first of the interviews (which was published this past Sunday), along with some supplemental commentary that Oriental Daily also published about Felix’s series.

Enjoy!

.---.


Oriental Daily Interview with Felix Wong [Part 1]: “I was never mad at Tony [Leung]!”

Source:  Oriental Daily -- PART 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d

Translation:  llwy12

The HK television industry of the 1980s was full of talented artists – that was also the era that brought us TVB’s 5 Tigers: Felix Wong (黃日華), Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Michael Miu (苗僑偉), Kent Tong (湯鎮業), and Andy Lau (劉德華). Despite being promoted together, all 5 siu sangs had different personalities and ended up going down different paths, both in life and career. A few years ago, when the Tigers reunited to film a movie, Tony Leung was not part of the group, leading to rumors that the ‘brothers’ relationship had ruptured and media speculation that perhaps Tony was the cause.

For the next 5 days, during our an interview with Oriental Daily, Felix Wong will talk about the various trials and tribulations behind the 5 Tiger relationship. In addition, he will also speak candidly about the marriage ‘crisis’ he and his wife had experienced, his path to fame as well as how his life was like working for TVB back in the 80s.


** Felix speaks:

Back then, TVB was going through a ‘poaching’ crisis and the company lost quite a few siu sangs – therefore, they decided to push the newer siu sangs up to take their place. The strategy was to take the current popular siu sangs with the most potential and put them together – I was picked as one of those to be promoted, along with Michael [Miu], Kent [Tong], Tony [Leung], etc. Actually, at the time, the 5 of us had never officially worked together – our first collaboration was in a charity event in 1982 where we performed various stunts together. Since there was some difficulty to the stunts that we had to do, we all practiced together for close to 2 months – we saw each other practically day and night at the time, so that’s how we become more familiar with one another. To be honest, we never really spent a whole lot of time together outside of those 2 months – once the charity event was over, we pretty much only saw each other in the makeup room, though our relationship overall remained pretty good. You might not believe it, but all these years, the only TV series that all 5 of us collaborated in was The Yang’s Saga《楊家將》.


Kent Tong was known for being the most good-looking one

Over the years, I know there have been a lot of rumors surrounding the 5 Tigers. One of the rumors was that our relationship with Tony was ‘ruptured’ because he was rarely seen together in public with us. To tell you the truth, back when we [the Tigers] were at the height of our popularity, there truly were a lot of ‘crises’ that we had to endure. At the time [back in 1984], TVB wanted all of their artists to sign a long 5 year contract with them, however quite a few artists had already started movie careers outside of TVB – in order not to be tied down, we had once discussed among ourselves about not signing the contract. One day, we suddenly received word that Tony had already signed the [5 year] contract – of course we were shocked because we didn’t understand what was going on at the time, however I wouldn’t say that we felt ‘betrayed’ because everyone has the right to pursue a career path that works best for them. Besides, it’s not like we had actually come to an agreement not to sign – it was just something we had lightly talked about, so of course we wouldn’t be mad at Tony [for signing].

Michael and I were classmates in the same year Acting Class and since we pretty much ‘grew up’ together, our relationship is especially close. Kent is actually considered our ‘senior’, since he graduated from the Acting Class right before ours, however we were still able to get along pretty well – amongst us Tigers, Kent was known for being the most good-looking one. As for Tony, he truly was the most reclusive one in the group – he didn’t like to talk much and in fact, he could actually go an entire day without saying a word! We once tried to ‘influence’ him and get him to talk more – it worked for awhile, but he very quickly went back to his old ways again.


Tony likes to stay at home, turns down socializing opportunities

Even though he likes to be silent, Tony truly does take his work very seriously. As soon as he starts working, he is 100% focused on what he is doing and doesn’t play around, though he does sometimes have a brief conversation with those he’s working with on a particular scene. Even after work, Tony is the type who leaves quickly and doesn’t participate in any social activities -- he has his own little world. Every time we invite him to go out, even if we get Michael to ask him, Tony’s answer is always the same: “No, you guys go play, I’m going to head home.”


Informed about Barbara Yung’s death, Felix’s initial reaction was: “Stop playing!”

Back when we filmed Legend of the Condor Heroes《射鵰英雄傳》together, Barbara Yung (翁美玲) was actually a newbie at the time. I feel that she was a very smart woman who took her work seriously, worked hard, and had good relationships with each of her colleagues – she got along well with pretty much everyone. Even though I knew that she and Kent were dating, we actually didn’t see each other often because I was very busy with work. Later on, I remember very clearly that I was on vacation in Malaysia one day when a colleague called to tell me that Barbara had passed away – I couldn’t believe it and even told the colleague: “Stop playing!” However, after I found out it was true, I immediately cancelled the rest of my vacation and rushed back to HK to help with pall bearing responsibilities [at the funeral].


Carina Lau would have been crowned TV Queen

During his tenure at TVB, Felix had collaborated with many of the station’s most popular leading actresses -- his collaboration with Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) in 1989’s Looking Back in Anger《義不容情》 is considered a ‘classic’ in the TV industry. Speaking of his ‘old partner’, Felix laughed and stated: “Her character was a pretty big challenge, as she went from being a willful rich girl to a mature woman who was willing to give up the person she loved to someone else. As the filming went on, Carina threw herself more and more into her character. If there was such a thing as the TV Queen award back then, she would have gotten it for sure!

As for his co-star in 1995’s Racing Peak《馬場大亨》, actress Amy Chan (陳秀雯), Felix indicated that their collaboration was a very happy one. In the series, Amy’s character was quite ‘extreme’, as she not only smoked, drank, and had a gambling habit, she also was money-crazy – even Amy herself said that her performance back then was so ‘borderline’ that she wouldn’t let her son watch the series. In any case, Felix and Amy had great chemistry in the series and both had fun filming it.

It is known that Felix likes to help out newcomers by giving them advice on acting. Back when he filmed the series Time Off 《生命有take 2》 [produced in 1998, aired in 2000], lead actress Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) was a newbie who had just come out of the Miss HK pageant. Having to take on a lead role with little to no acting experience, Charmaine was under a lot of pressure – at the time, she didn’t even understand how the camera positions worked. Seeing this, Felix gave Charmaine some acting tips and advice. Even though later on, Charmaine herself said that her performance [in that series] was not up to standard, Felix felt that she did okay: “For a newbie, her performance wasn’t bad – she was able to pick up on things fairly quickly!”


Felix chooses his favorite performances

Felix Wong achieved fame during the TV industry’s ‘golden era’ and throughout that time, he participated in many popular classics. Out of all the series that he had filmed in his career, there are 4 that he views as his most satisfactory performances:

.—Soldier of Fortune《香城浪子》: In the series, Felix portrays Wai Lok, a rascal of sorts who grew up in a shady part of town but ends up developing a relationship with a wealthy heiress played by Patricia Chong (莊靜而). His character’s catchphrase in the series (吹乒乓) became one of the most popular phrases amongst audiences at the time. Felix’s meticulous performance in that series helped to secure his ‘first-line siu sang’ position at the time.

.—Legend of the Condor Heroes《射鵰英雄傳》: Felix Wong and Barbara Yung’s portrayal of Kwok Jing and Wong Yung was extremely well-received by audiences and still considered ‘classic’ even today. Felix’s portrayal of the overly honest yet extremely righteous Kwok Jing brought the character to life and made him a household name with audiences.

.—Looking Back in Anger《義不容情》: Felix Wong and Deric Wan’s (溫兆倫) portrayal of two brothers with a conflicted relationship who end up becoming enemies proved to be breakthrough roles for both actors, whose popularity quickly rose back when the series aired. With his performance, Felix’s skill as a ‘talent-path’ actor was finally established.

.—Racing Peak《馬場大亨》: This series paired 2 strong actors Felix Wong and Amy Chan together as a married couple and under the leadership of series producer Wai Ka Fai (韋家輝), their pairing proved to have great chemistry. Felix’s convincing portrayal of the main character’s ‘rags to riches’ story as well as his eccentric personality in the series both left deep impressions on audiences.

Carina Lau personally reveals the details of Tony Leung’s ‘star-studded’ 50th birthday party

Here's a sweet little article I'd like to share with everyone, especially with fans of Tony Leung!  This past June 27th was Tony's 50th birthday and so his wife Carina Lau arranged a birthday party for him where she invited about 20 or so of their close friends. 

Personally, I was excited to see Jacky was present at the party (which is not surprising considering he's close friends with the couple), but what was most suprising and exciting for me was seeing his wife May May there as well (obviously, it's very rare for her to show up at these types of events).  Oh, and the 'matching couple hats' they wore were so cute!! LOL!

The below article was published in the latest issue of Mingpao magazine, which came out today.  In it, Carina personally gives everyone an 'inside look' at some of the special moments that occured at the party.  It was definitely a very enjoyable read (the last part especially about Tony being 'forced' to reveal his birthday wish brought a smile to my face...haha!).

Looking through all the pictures and reading the part about the movie "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" really brought back so many great memories for me -- and at the same time, it made me miss Leslie even more...even though he couldn't attend the party, I'm sure he was watching from above and smiled when his friends sang his song!

Happy 50th Birthday, Tony!!  All the best to you and Carina!  :o)

****

Carina Lau personally reveals the details of Tony Leung’s ‘star-studded’ 50^th birthday party

Source:  Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2277

Translation:  llwy12

On Christmas Eve back in 1991, Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) held a costume party at her home – she dressed up as Joker from the Batman movies, her boyfriend at the time Tony Leung (梁朝偉) dressed up as Michael J. Fox’s character Marty McFly from the Back to the Future franchise, Sandra Ng (吳君如) dressed up as Veronica Yip (葉玉卿), etc…..those were the days of being wild….

In the blink of an eye, Tony has already reached the half century mark. To celebrate the milestone, his wife Carina once again hosted a party at their home, except this time, the guests didn’t have to ‘dress up’. Instead, the guests -- which included long-time friends such as Brigitte Lin (林青霞), Jacky Cheung (張學友), May Lo (羅美薇), Kenny Bee (鍾鎮濤), Lui Fong (呂方), Alex To (杜德偉), Cecilia Yip (葉童), etc. – engaged in light conversation and singing, with laughter interspersed throughout. As Carina herself states: “It was a very warm party. When we were young, of course the thought was to experience everything possible, but now that we have all matured, we understand how to enjoy a different phase in life.”

Carina personally takes the helm and describes for us the ‘superstar birthday party’ that she had arranged for Tony.

June 27th was Tony Leung’s 50th birthday. His good friends John Shum (岑建勳), Nansun Shi (施南生), Derek Yee (爾冬陞), etc. had already stated early on that they wanted to celebrate the special occasion with him, however the shy birthday boy shook his head and politely declined their offer with a valid ‘excuse’ – on that day, he would be in Kaiping [China] re-doing some scenes for his upcoming movie The Grandmaster《一代宗師》. Carina smiled and recounted: “Nansun [Shi] had suggested visiting Tony on the set in Kaiping and celebrating there, however the environment over there was not ideal , as the set was very small and narrow – besides, Tony wouldn’t have time to take care of everyone. When this was relayed to Nansun, she still insisted that even if the production team won’t relieve him, everyone will still go celebrate with him!”

Tony Leung Kar Fai overslept

Unexpectedly, The Grandmaster’s director Wong Kar Wai (王家衛) announced last minute that Tony would be relieved from filming that day. Once she found out that Tony would remain in HK for his birthday, Carina immediately called a few of their closest friends, all of whom agreed right away to attend: “Since it was so last minute, I was only planning to invite about 10 friends or so, but in the end, more than 20 people came. Many friends, such as Jacky [Cheung] for example, said that if we were to throw a party, he would definitely come, even if he has to rearrange his schedule to do so. The biggest surprise was May May [Jacky’s wife May Lo] – she normally wouldn’t attend, but after putting her daughters to bed, even though it was already very late in the night, she still came – truly very grateful to her!” Regrettably, the couple’s other good friend Tony Leung Kar Fai (梁家輝) wasn’t able to attend – Carina explains: “His wife called to tell me that he had caught a cold and after taking some medicine, he slept past the time. If it was back in the old days when we were all young and playful, I would have told her to awaken him, but now, it’s best to let him have his rest.”

In a rare ‘reunion’ of sorts, several members of the cast from the 1993 comedy The Eagle Shooting Heroes《東成西就》were present at the party: even though the ‘Southern Emperor’ (Tony Leung Kar Fai) was not able to attend the party for the ‘Western Venom’ (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) due to illness, luckily there was still the ‘Northern Beggar’ (Jacky Cheung), ‘Third Princess’ (Brigitte Lin), ‘Wang Chong Yang’ (Kenny Bee), and ‘Zhou Bak Tong’ (Carina Lau) to represent the ‘Condor Heroes’ group.

Carina expressed: “We didn’t really arrange any special program for the night – it was pretty much everyone sitting around chit-chatting. With everyone usually so busy with their own lives and careers, we thought that perhaps chatting a little here and there on Weibo would be sufficient, but actually it’s better to get together every once in awhile.”

‘Forced’ to reveal his birthday wish

At the party, when Jacky Cheung and Kenny Bee saw that Tony had a nice guitar in the room, their ‘occupational disease’ broke out and they started an impromptu singing ‘marathon’ of various Chinese and English classic songs. Even Tony himself, who usually is not willing to open his ‘golden mouth’ to sing, could not help being ‘infected’ by the ‘song bug’ – when the group sang one of his own classic hits “In the hazy rainy night” 《朦朧夜雨裡》, he sang right along with them. Carina expressed: “Even though Mr. Leung (Tony) is not very ‘professional’ at it, he does play the guitar occasionally when he is at home – whether it’s folk songs or rock songs, he’s quite entertaining.” Amidst their joyous celebration, the group also took the time to remember another one of their good friends – the ‘Eastern Heretic’ Leslie Cheung (張國榮) – together, the group sang the song that Leslie had used back when he participated in the ‘Asia Singing Contest’ in 1977, which also happened to be one of his favorite English songs:《American Pie》.

The ‘highlight’ of the night occurred when it came time for Tony to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Recalling that moment, Carina could not help but laugh heartily: “Seeing how small the birthday cake was, you can tell I wasn’t expecting that more than 20 people would come. But none of them seemed to mind, as everyone was satisfied with having a small ‘taste’ – maybe they all wanted to keep fit!” Prior to cutting the cake, the birthday boy had to go through the traditional ‘ritual’ of making a birthday wish. As all the guests took out their cameras and cell phones and pointed them at him, hoping to capture the moment, a cute expression of ‘misery’ crept onto Tony’s face – he was silent for a moment, then groaned: “Why do you guys have to ‘force’ me to say it [his birthday wish]?” Jacky playfully suggested: “How about if we wrote the script for you?” while Brigitte teased: “Just pretend you’re acting – how about if we put a camera in front of you, would that be better?” In the end, it was Carina that knew Tony the best: “When everyone’s attention is focused on him, he feels very uncomfortable.” Therefore, she helped her hubby ‘resolve’ the matter by saying: “Tony’s birthday wish is for everyone to be healthy!”

We also wish Tony and Carina a life of carefree happiness and health!

From the 2010 Time Vault: Margie Tsang Interviews Carina Lau

Back in December 2010, a 'historic' moment occurred -- Tony Leung's ‘first love’ Margie Tsang sat down with his current wife Carina Lau and spoke candidly about life, career, and, yes, Tony! Why is this considered 'historic'? Well, of course, one reason is because of the 'ex' factor -- namely, Margie being Tony's former girlfriend throughout most of the 1980s (they famously broke up and got back together 3 times throughout that period) plus the fact that the two of them were a popular and endearing couple both on and off-screen at the time. But in my opinion, the reason why this interview is so significant is because of the fact that all these years (more than 20 years now), Margie has rarely talked about Tony in public (except for a radio show interview she did with Carina in the 90s – more on that below) – of course, other people always try to mention his name in interviews with her and such since they were such a famous couple, but the 'mention' is almost always very brief (it's almost as though Margie just 'glosses' over it) and almost every time, Margie usually changes the subject to steer away from having to talk about him. So for Margie to be willing to sit down with Carina and talk so candidly about Tony -- in a public forum no less – is definitely a rare and significant event!

This interview is actually a television interview that Margie had face to face with Carina -- it was a special program that aired on TVB’s Entertainment News Channel on January 2, 2011 (the actual interview took place in December but the program aired in January). The interview was arranged by Carina’s management company and the purpose was to promote her latest film – they invited Margie to be the ‘special guest host’ for the program.

I actually have the DVD version of the program, but to be honest, I have not had a chance to watch it yet (unfortunately, I'm a bit behind on my DVD watching) -- however, I was able to track down the 'written' version of the interview that was printed in Mingpao Weekly Magazine back in January (Issue # 2199, dated 01/01/2011). Of course, until I watch the 'real thing', there's no way for me to know how closely the 'written' version mirrors the original -- but from a translation standpoint, it's much easier (and quicker) for me to translate the written interview than it is for me to translate the actual television one. Plus who knows when I'll have time to watch the TV interview -- I didn't want to hold off on this post any longer, so I figured I'd go ahead and post the translation for the written interview first, then when I actually get around to watching the original TV interview, I will definitely do a follow up post at that time to clear up any discrepancies (to be honest, the written interview seems way too short to me, so I can’t help but think it might not be the complete interview).

One clarification that I do have to make though – this is NOT the first time that Margie has interviewed Carina and talked about Tony. Back in the mid-90s, when Margie was host of a radio show, Carina was a guest on her show then as well – at that time, they had also talked candidly about Tony (of course, Carina was his ‘girlfriend’ back then and not yet his wife) and they also refuted reports in the Media that they didn’t get along by clarifying that they are still good friends.

.****.

So here is the ‘written’ version of the TV interview....hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Source: Mingpao Weekly
Translated by: llwy12

**Note: Only the actual interview part was translated – in the magazine, there are additional pages of commentary by Mingpao that I will not be translating here. **


MT = Margie Tsang
CL = Carina Lau

MT: We’ve known each other for 28 years and were classmates in the same Acting Class, yet very seldom have we talked candidly in front of a camera about our ‘grudges’….

CL (couldn’t help interrupting): What ‘grudges’?

MT: Just kidding! Anyway, even though your main purpose this time is to promote your movie, I still should ‘formally’ welcome you. Welcome, Carina!

CL: Wah! What’s with the formalities!?

(The two ladies embrace cheek to cheek and excitedly greet each other)

.**.

MT: If you were to film another movie, who would you want to collaborate with the most? Tony Leung?

CL: No, no!

MT: Haha! Either Tony Leung or Margie Tsang (points to herself) is fine! Hahahaha!

CL: Ha! Hey, with these types of things, never say never! No one knows what may happen in the future, but for now, it’s not a good idea for me to shoot a movie with him [Tony] because I prefer that my personal life be separate from my work, otherwise, it can get quite awkward.

MT: Plus if you guys had just gotten into an argument that day, then to have to shoot scenes together, it’s a bit…..

CL: Hahaha! Actually, we rarely argue nowadays! Not like back when you two were together, arguing all the time – we hardly argue now.

MT: You know, back then when we [Tony and I] were together, it definitely wasn’t the same. At the time, we were truly very young and both of us had fiery tempers!

CL: Well, did you ever do some self-reflecting?

MT: I did not.

CL: You never reflected on it inwardly?

MT: What is there to reflect upon? Everyone was like that in their youth! At the time you were…..(quickly changes the subject). Hey, I gave you a ‘good card’! [referring to Tony]

(The two women laugh loudly together).

MT: The issues that we [Tony and I] had, I’m sure he wouldn’t repeat them with you.

CL: No, but I still feel there is a need to reflect and understand what happened in the relationship. Perhaps changing a little bit will help a relationship.

MT: No, I’ve always felt that different things will happen at different stages in life. You say that there may be self-reflection or regret….true, self-reflection may occur, but not regret – I feel that once a situation has passed, let it be.

.**.

MT: In terms of male artists, who do you want to collaborate with the most?

CL: Male artists, it doesn’t matter, as long as their acting is good.

MT: How about female artists?

CL: Actually, doesn’t matter either. Of course, I would prefer to collaborate with someone who acts well.

MT: Then would you mind if, let’s say, someone were to ask you and Maggie Cheung [Man Yuk] to collaborate on a movie together? [TN:Throughout the years, there have been many 'rumors' of Tony and Maggie being an 'item' due to their many collaborations and on-screen chemistry]

CL: Of course yes! A movie with her and me – don’t know if there would be an appropriate script or such an opportunity. I feel that if the 2 of us were to collaborate in a movie, just the poster itself would be very pretty!

MT (laughs): How would you arrange the standing positions in the poster?

CL: Have you seen Tony and Andy’s poster for “Infernal Affairs”? Nothing needed to be said and already, you felt like you wanted to go into the theater and watch that movie. If one day, there’s a good director, a good script, and Maggie and I are invited to collaborate, I feel that the movie will be a very good one!

MT: If you and Maggie were to collaborate in a movie, what do you think the theme should be?

CL: I was just thinking about that.

MT: How about adding Tony Leung to the movie? Hahahaha!

CL: Haha! Of course! I feel that he is a great candidate for the male lead role!

MT (playfully): Maybe I’ll do a cameo and be the one…. (laughs heartily)….I mean the flashback....(at this moment, Carina can’t help laughing as well) of Tony Leung’s ‘puppy love’ [first love].

CL: Let us think about it more….definitely continue to think about it more! Haha!

.**.

MT: Based on the Tony that I know, he gets jealous sometimes – for instance if you were to have overly intimate scenes in a movie, are you afraid that he may feel jealous?

CL: Oh, I don’t know! Haha!

MT: So that means ‘No’?

CL: Actually, no, he wouldn’t be jealous. It’s possible that if he were to watch those scenes, he may feel uncomfortable, but that’s very normal. In reality, the ‘discomfort’ will pass very quickly because at the end of the day, we both understand that it is only a scene in a movie.

MT: When he [Tony] filmed “Lust, Caution” (can’t help laughing again), did he let you know ahead of time that there would be such a ‘daring’ scene and get your permission first?

CL: Yes, he did.

MT: Did he really?

CL: Yes, he really did. I also felt that he absolutely should have filmed that sequence….

MT (interrupting): …So is this the way he would say it – ‘Carina, honey! I have an intimate scene with Tang Wei that may involve skin to skin contact’?

CL: Actually, what we audiences end up seeing is very ‘basic’ stuff on the surface. I understand that when director Ang Lee wanted to film this scene at first, there was a lot of thought that went into it. What Tony needed the most was my support – it’s actually not that big of a deal – we should look at it ‘professionally’ rather than apply a ‘gossip’ attitude toward it.

MT: I’m sure he [Tony] probably struggled with it though.

CL: Sure! For an actor to have to do those types of scenes with a ‘stranger’ pretty much, no matter what, there will be some pressure. It’s the same as when he filmed that intimate scene with Leslie Cheung in the movie “Happy Together” back in the day – he was so scared, he called me from the set…he was definitely scared….(when recalling the moment, she smiles tenderly and sweetly).

MT: So it was more like ‘Carina, you film it! I don’t want to film it with Leslie!’

CL: It’s because he ‘couldn’t’ film it – he had to calm himself for a long time.

MT: How about you? If you were to come across such a role, would you ‘go all out’ like that? If it was necessary to further the plot, that is?

CL: At my age now, I wouldn’t think about this type of thing. A sexual relationship is a normal part of life, there is no way to avoid it. A movie is just a way to express what happens in real life. I feel that we should take a mature and professional approach to the matter.

.**.

MT: Carina, in all seriousness, we honestly have known each other for 28 years already.

CL: Yes, with the blink of an eye, 28 years have passed already.

MT: We’ve known each other for so long – at one time, honestly, you, me, and Sandra [Ng] used to be known as the ‘Three Musketeers’.

CL: Yes.

MT: There was a period of time when we were very close, yet to sit down together and chat in front of the camera like this, it was very rare.

CL: Very rare.

MT: While chatting with you today, the feeling that I get is that both of us have matured greatly.

CL: Of course! It should be that way!

MT: I feel that, it seems, I used to know you really well, then later on not so well, but now after seeing each other again…

MT and CL (in unison): …feels like we know each other really well again!

MT: The feeling is very interesting….when the names ‘Margie Tsang’ and ‘Carina Lau’ are placed side by side, many people tend to ‘add’ a lot of ‘things’ in between. I want to take this opportunity to clarify once and for all – a lot of people feel that there is a certain ‘subtleness’ to our relationship, all because of one Tony Leung – some of them think that back then, something must have happened….actually, I’m telling you guys [the audience] right now – it is not the truth! Nothing happened!

CL: Hahahaha!

MT: I really….you understand, right? To this day, there are still people who think that way.

CL: Yes.

MT: That’s why I truly want to clarify at this point in time….it truly had NOTHING to do with Carina Lau! (laughs loudly) [TN: Margie is referring to her breakup with Tony Leung – some people believe that Carina was the ‘third wheel’ in the relationship and that she ‘stole’ Tony from Margie]

CL: With this matter, when the time comes, the truth will come out.

(The two ladies laugh together heartily).

MT: Really though, it has always been a mystery to me why people would think that. Plus I feel that the Media divided us a little and caused our relationship [referring to her relationship with Carina] to be a bit distant.

CL: Hm…I didn’t!

MT: It’s true, because there was always the feeling that something was between us….but in reality, there is nothing between us! Sometimes, friends may not see each other all the time, but the friendship is still there.

CL: Yes!

MT: That’s why I’m very happy today, to truly be able to chat with you like this!

CL: Thank you, thank you to you!

.**********.

POLL RESULTS: Final Scene in “Looking Back in Anger 義不容情”

First, my apologies for the delay in putting up this post, as I’ve been quite busy lately so haven’t had a chance to work on my blog as much as I would like (plus I got sidetracked with the LOTCH reunion show...LOL!).

Anyway, my latest 80s/90s poll asked the question: In the famous final scene of the series “Looking Back in Anger (義不容情)”, in your opinion, who do you feel is the ‘mystery woman’ who leaves the note for Felix Wong’s character Ding Yau Kin (丁有健)?

The choices:

.> Ding Yau Kin’s WIFE, Ngai Chor Gwan 倪楚君 (played by Carina Lau 劉嘉玲) = 2 votes
.> Ding Yau Kin’s SISTER, Chan Siu Ling 陳少玲 (played by Carrie Ho 何嘉麗) = 1 vote
.> Someone else (Who? Please explain in poll results to be post in 2 weeks) = 0 votes


Before I analyze the results of the poll, let me first explain why I decided to ask the question in the first place. To some, the answer may be ‘obvious’ in a sense based on the development of the storyline that led up to that particular scene -- but upon paying closer attention, the answer actually isn’t that obvious. The fact that in the past 20+ years since the story aired, people continue to debate the ending proves that there is definitely more than meets the eye…

So is the ‘mystery woman’ Carina or Carrie? Or someone else perhaps?

Based on the votes, looks like I was the lone dissenter who voted for Carrie, who played Felix’s adopted sister in the series. Interestingly enough, as many times as I’ve seen this series, I’ve always thought that the ‘mystery woman’ was his sister – never once did I think it was Carina (who played Felix’s wife).

There are a few reasons why I feel that the ‘mystery woman’ is Carrie:

First, the ‘outfit’ that the woman wore (or at least the little that the audiences were able to see, which were pretty much the shoes and stockings) just did not look like what Carina’s character would wear. If I remember correctly, the shoes looked a bit old-fashioned and with Carina’s character having such good fashion sense, it just doesn’t seem reasonable that she would wear shoes like that.

Second, I truly believe that Carina’s character died in the earthquakes and/or landslides in Ethiopia – after Felix had been waiting 10 years to see his wife again (and on such a special occasion, their shared birthday) and she had even called him prior to the disasters to tell him she was returning home (which means she has forgiven him), it just doesn’t make sense to me that she would change her mind suddenly and decide not to return after all. Maybe it’s just hard for me to believe that Carina’s character would ‘play’ Felix like that – it just doesn’t seem like her personality at all in the series.

Third, I didn’t really catch it the first time, but after watching the series several times, I started to see ‘hints’ in the last few scenes of the series (the party scenes at the end where all of the siblings are there) of possibly the siblings knowing the truth (that Carina had died) but just couldn’t bear to break it to Felix – plus he was so adamant that she would definitely show up on their designated meeting day that they probably knew there was nothing they could say or do to convince him otherwise until that day arrived. So when that day came and Carina was a no-show, the sister decides to leave Felix the note so that he will finally be convinced and move on with his life.

So that’s my explanation….right or wrong, I don’t know, but that’s what I’ve believed all these years.

For those who voted, what is your reasoning for your pick? Please feel free to share! :o)

Book Review: 從零開始 (Now and Then II) -- post #2…Tony Leung 梁朝偉

It's time for another post about the book I'm currently reading, Cong Ling Kai Shi (for an introduction on the book, refer to this link).

One of the things that I actually forgot to mention in the introductory post to this book review series: one reason why I decided to write about the Cong Ling Kai Shi books is because many of the interviewed artists are 'big names' from the 80s and 90s (many of whom are still active in the industry today) and with me being an 80s/90s girl, I have a lot of nostalgia for the HK entertainment industry from that era (the "golden era" of HK entertainment). But it's not just about the nostalgia....I also wanted to provide some insight into how the HK entertainment industry has evolved (or, more fittingly, how the industry has 'deteriorated') and also highlight some of the struggles that those artists -- most of whom are still famous even now, 20+ years later -- went through on their paths to stardom. I guess you could say that this is my way of showing support for the artists from my generation and also sending a message to today’s generation of artists and fans on how ‘good’ they actually have it right now compared to before (so some of them can stop being so arrogant or have a false sense that fame and fortune come easily).

Ok, so moving on to the featured artist in this post: Tony Leung Chiu Wai (梁朝偉).

Tony is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and naturally talented actors on the planet (and yes, I mean ‘on the planet’ because Tony is definitely an international star now). He is also one of the most well-respected actors in the industry as well as one of the most ‘decorated’ (in terms of awards). However his road to fame was definitely not easy and after reading his interview in this book, I have so much more respect for him (he has always been one of my favorite actors, even from back in his television days).

Below are a few highlights from the interview (again, my disclaimer – this post does not cover everything that was talked about in the book – to find out more, I suggest that ‘Tony fans’ actually read the book!):


CHILDHOOD

Tony grew up in a single parent family, which is no surprise, since he has talked about this in past interviews. It’s also ‘public knowledge’ that he has a very introverted personality and doesn’t like to talk much or socialize much with people (which I also already knew about him). But what I didn’t know was the reason why he became so introverted – his father was a prolific gambler who left his wife and kids and never returned. So at the young age of 9 years old, Tony had to ‘grow up fast’ and become the ‘man of the house’, taking care of his little sister (who was only 1 year younger than him) and helping out around the house, since they didn’t have much money and his mom had to work all day in order to put food on the table.

Every day, Tony would get up early, make a simple breakfast for himself and his sister, then, holding his sister’s hand, the two would leave for school. In the afternoons, for lunch, he would go buy bbq pork rice bowl (which only cost a few dollars) for his sister (and himself), then after school, they would go home and do homework – he would always help his sister with her homework first and make sure she understood it and finished it before sitting down to do his own homework. In the evenings, when his mom got off work, though tired, she would cook a nice dinner for them to eat. This pretty much happened day in and day out through Tony’s childhood up until he graduated from high school.


CAREER: the TVB days

The story of how Tony entered TVB’s 11th year acting class is actually quite humorous – pretty much it was because of $10HKD!

As the story goes, Tony actually was friends with Stephen Chow – who at that time, had not yet entered the industry – and together, the 2 of them decided to apply to TVB’s 11th Acting Class in 1981 (Tony was 19 years old at the time). At that time, trying to get into acting class was a huge affair – hundreds of people would apply, but only a few were accepted. Tony was called in for an interview and when he reached the location, there were hundreds of people already in line – when he saw how many people there were, he wanted to give up and go back home, since he also wasn’t too confident that he would be able to pass the interview and exams anyway (silly him..LOL!). But then, he thought about how he had paid $10 HKD for the application fee and that money would be wasted – so he decided to be patient and wait it out. (Luckily for us because if the application was free, Tony probably would have left and the HK entertainment industry would not have the big star that it has today!!)

Tony was accepted to the 11th Acting Class at TVB. I guess we could say that this class was the one that produced the most talents, as 3 Best Actors in Film (Tony Leung, Francis Ng, Stephen Chow) and 1 Best Actor in Television (Bobby AuYeung) came out of this class!

As most of us know, Tony started his career hosting children’s programs (along with his classmate Stephen Chow), but it was obvious from the beginning that he had talent (the book goes into great detail about the scene that he did for his graduation exams – from seeing how that scene played out, it’s quite obvious Tony was born for this industry!). Not too long after that – in 1982 – he was recruited to the drama department and participated in his first series, “Soldier of Fortune” (he played Kent Tong’s younger brother). In comparisons…Stephen Chow remained in the variety programs department and continued hosting children’s programs for another 4 years.

When asked why he decided to go into acting, Tony replied: “It’s fun! I really like acting – even during the acting class days, I never feared getting up in front of a lot of people and performing. A lot of people had told me that whenever they film with Chow Yun Fat, they are afraid to look straight into his eyes…but I am not afraid!”

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing artists who have no respect for the industry or their own jobs and instead let fame and fortune get to their heads as soon as they achieve just an ‘inkling’ of success. This is why I like most of the 80s artists so much – partly because they were truly talented, but mostly because they don’t have the ‘problem’ I described above – most of them had to go through a lot to get to where they are at today and so they don’t exhibit those ‘arrogant’-type attitudes that a lot of the younger people nowadays (who pretty much got stuff ‘handed’ to them and so didn’t have to suffer like their predecessors did) are notorious for exhibiting.

To illustrate my point above (this is also one of the reasons why I admire Tony and have so much respect for him as an actor and person), I would like to quote one section from the book:

People around him feel that he is lucky, but he [Tony] feels that one cannot rely on ‘luck’ alone: “Nowadays, whether I’m walking or sitting down, I’m constantly thinking about things related to acting. I like to observe people’s day to day actions and from there, derive inspiration to help me with my own acting – for instance, when I see someone drinking water, I think to myself ‘why is it that the person holds the cup in that manner?’ -- even the writers and producers say that I’m over-thinking things. But I can’t help it, as I love ‘thinking’ about things too much – sometimes, when I’m not able to think things through and there is no one to talk to or my friends aren’t available…during those tough times, I just feel like crying.”

Some people may say that Tony naturally had acting talent in him and I definitely agree with this to some extent – but I also feel (based on the above quote) that part of his success was due to his hard work…I mean, even during his own personal time, Tony would constantly be thinking about how he could better his acting and derive inspiration from even the simplest of things. (In comparison, many artists nowadays don’t even bother to practice their lines or even study their scripts for that matter, let alone use their ‘personal’ time to further develop themselves!)

.--.

A lot of us view the 1984 version of “The Duke of Mount Deer” as one of Tony’s best works and even now – more than 20 years and a plethora of remakes later – it is still a classic and considered the best version ever made. Tony definitely agrees that this series was his best ‘representative work’ (though I actually think he has too many great series to only consider this one as his best) and was pretty much the series that boosted him to stardom….BUT, what a lot of us don’t realize is this series was also the most ‘draining’ for him – both physically and mentally. And yes, the popularity that he gained from this series was the ‘turning point’ of his career, but he had to pay a price for it – after this series, he had to film series after series, one after another, with little to no rest – not too long afterwards, he started suffering from lack of sleep (he would go days without sleeping) and chronic headaches…some days, he would even have to take pain medication (for the headaches) in order to function properly! During that time, Tony would describe himself as “a dead fish on the beach.”

Of course, any discussion of Tony’s career at TVB would not be complete without mentioning the contract issue between TVB and the 5 Tigers that occurred in 1984 (TVB wanted to ‘keep’ the 5 Tigers and prevent them from venturing out by telling them to sign a 5 year long-term contract). In the interview, Tony goes into great detail about that particular issue and gives his ‘reasoning’ for signing the contract: he needed to provide for his family (he was only making about 4000HKD at that time) and TVB offered to double his salary. His first thought was that at least he would not have to ‘worry’ about being able to put food on the table for the next 5 years.

I honestly don’t blame Tony for signing, as he had a family (his mom and sister) to take care of. And to be honest, the situation with Tony and the other 4 Tigers was a little different – by the time Tony started to become popular in 1984, the other 4 Tigers were pretty much already established actors who had been in the industry for several years and were already doing lead roles – plus they already had quite a few “hit series” under their belts (i.e.: Kent had “The Demi-gods and Semi-devils”, Felix and Michael had “Legend of the Condor Heroes” plus a few other series, and Andy had “Return of the Condor Heroes”). Tony’s series “The Duke of Mount Deer” had not aired yet when the contract issue occurred. In the end, Felix also signed the 5 year contract, so both he and Tony stayed behind while the other 3 (Kent, Michael, and Andy) left TVB.

Note: Tony is well known for his illustrious film career, which is also detailed in the book…however, due to this post already being quite long, I decided to leave that part out (sorry if I disappointed anyone)…

RELATIONSHIPS

In addition to his acting talent, Tony was also know for his 3 famous romantic relationships with Margie Tsang, Kitty Lai, and Carina Lau. In this section, I will attempt to recap how each of the relationships started and – with 2 of them – how the relationships ended.

Margie Tsang: Broke up 3 times, reconciled 3 times

Margie entered TVB’s acting class 1 year after Tony – even though (ironically) both ended up hosting the same children’s program in the beginning, they actually met at a classmate’s birthday party. Tony was smitten by Margie’s sincere personality and they started dating not too long after that (this was in 1983).

Even though Margie was not Tony’s first love (he had other girlfriends prior to her), he does admit that he “loved her the most….even if I’m talking to someone, I would be thinking about her in my mind, worrying about her…the weather is cold – did she have enough to wear?”

Margie and Tony broke up for the 1st time in October 1984 – the reason? Tony’s career started to take off and he got busier and busier – to the point that he barely had any time to sleep, let alone go out on dates. Margie describes their breakup as follows: “We did not have an argument, did not have a misunderstanding – we very calmly and peacefully separated. Even if you love someone, does not necessarily mean that you will marry that person in the future. I would much rather my [future] husband love me more than I love him.”

One thing that not a lot of people knew is that Margie had a really good relationship with Tony’s mother and sister, so even after they broke up, she continued to maintain a close relationship with them. Indeed, Mrs. Leung liked Margie a lot and actually felt sorry for Margie because Tony couldn’t spend much time with her. She actually expressed that she did hope that Margie and Tony would reconcile…well, 3 months after they broke up, Mrs. Leung got her wish, as the two reconciled and got back together (early 1985). Unfortunately though, it was not meant to be, as the two broke up again later that same year.

The 3rd time that Margie and Tony reconciled was in April 1988 (he had just broken up with Kitty Lai earlier that year) – the press found out about them reconciling when Margie was spotted at the airport with Tony’s mother (both were there to pick Tony up from the airport). At the end of that year (November 1988), Margie and Tony broke up once again – this time, for good. During that time, Tony explained the break up this way: “Margie is still the woman I love most, but because both of us have grown up now and matured, it is no longer possible to capture the feelings that we once had.”


Kitty Lai: From dislike to love

Tony’s relationship with Kitty actually started in 1986 when they were filming “The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre” together. At first, Kitty did not have a good impression of Tony at all, but after getting to know him better during their few months of filming together, they eventually fell in love and started going out.

Unfortunately, the public never really gave these 2 a chance, as everyone had already accepted Tony and Margie as a couple and felt that only they matched each other the best (the book described Tony and Margie’s pairing as 金童玉女)….so from the beginning, there was already a strain on the relationship.

In November 1987, Kitty participated in the filming of the series “The Book and the Sword" and rumors started to fly, linking her to the series’ other co-stars, including Simon Yam, Shek Shau, and Lawrence Ng. Around the same time, Tony was rumored to have been seen with newcomer Fiona Leung (Kitty’s co-star in “The Book and the Sword”) at a disco. Despite the rumors, Kitty insisted that her relationship with Tony had not changed.

Not too long after that (in early 1988), Kitty and Tony were slated to star in the series “The Two Most Honorable Knights” (aka “Chuet Toi Sheung Kui”) – at the costume fitting for the series, it was obvious that something was wrong, as Tony and Kitty seemed very ‘cold’ toward each other and did not come across like a couple at all. Shortly afterwards, Tony and Kitty officially broke up and not too long after that, he and Margie got back together.


Carina Lau: the woman who changed Tony’s life forever

Even though Tony already met Carina back in 1983 and the 2 collaborated on a few series throughout the next couple years (most notably, the series “The Clones” in 1984, “The Duke of Mount Deer” in 1984, and the “Police Cadet” trilogies in 1984, 85, and 88), their relationship was only one of friendship, as Tony was dating Margie at the time and Carina was just getting her career started in HK. It wasn’t until the two of them collaborated in a charity stage performance for the HK Artiste Training Alumni Association (which they were both members of) that they actually fell in love. However, their relationship was not made public until May of 1989, when they were spotted at the airport together.

As many of us know, Tony and Carina have very opposite personalities – Tony is very introverted, doesn’t like to talk much, and is constantly thinking about his work. Carina, on the other hand, is very extroverted, optimistic, and pretty much was a social butterfly. I guess this was the ultimate case of ‘opposites attract’, as these two seemingly incompatible people ended up finding each other. Over the years, Tony and Carina have had their fair share of ups and downs – and just like any other couple, they had arguments and disagreements on things….but at the end of the day, they continued to remain together because of one thing – Love!

Back in 1986, after 2 years of suffering from sleep deprivation due to filming series back to back without rest, Tony had made a commitment to himself that he would end his career and leave the industry in 5 years. This continued to be a major goal of Tony’s throughout the rest of the 1980s…until he started dating Carina – indeed, it is Carina who is credited with helping Tony turn his life around and caused him to make the decision to stay in the industry. Tony states: “Since we [Carina and I] started dating, we saw each other almost every day. Whenever she would see me with a ‘black face’ , she would automatically know that I was upset about my performance [in acting] again – she would reprimand me and tell me that if I continued on like this, I will go crazy someday. I thought to myself – ‘in this world, there isn’t another person who understands me as well as she does and who cares so much about me.’ From that moment on, I set a rule for myself – every day, I would completely relax for at least 5 hours a day and not think about work or acting at all. As a result, I became a much happier person.”

Despite the various rumors that were rampant throughout their 20 year relationship, Tony and Carina pretty much ignored what others would say and continued to live their lives together the way they wanted to. This well-known celebrity couple finally tied the knot on July 21, 2008 in a brilliantly (and smartly) arranged wedding ceremony in Bhutan.

Of course, there is much more to Tony and Carina’s relationship than just what I described above (they’ve been together for 20 years, after all) and there were plenty of ‘sweet’ moments described in the book, but in the interests of time, I only chose a few highlights to include here.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, after reading this LONG post, you have better insight into Tony as a person – and also have a better understanding of why he has long been one of my favorite HK entertainers!

EDIT...

I am curious to know who you guys (everyone reading this post) would be interested in reading about next...therefore, I added below the list of celebrities featured in this particular book:

*Tony Leung 梁朝偉
*Maggie Cheung (Man Yuk)張曼玉
*Andy Lau 劉德華
*Cherie Chung 鍾楚紅
*Chow Yun Fat 周潤發
*Faye Wong 王菲
*Danny Chan 陳百強
*Shu Qi 舒淇
*Stephen Chow 周星馳
*Anita Mui 梅艷芳