Remembering Leslie Cheung: An Actor Beyond Stars-Cao Kefan

The intersection between people is often casual, and whether this is important or not.

Memories 1993

It was a coincidence that I met him twice that year. For the first time, Farewell My Concubine just won the Palme d 'Or award in Cannes, and the main creator came to Shanghai to attend the premiere. I made an exclusive interview with Leslie Cheung for the "Oriental Live Room" program at seventh heaven Hotel on Nanjing Road. Strictly speaking, this is also my first star interview. The conversation at that time seems calm and trivial now, but his state, what he said, seems to be a slap in my heart. His exquisiteness and upbringing, what do you think of his artistic perfection through making music and movies? I have interviewed many people, not everyone can impress me, but Leslie Cheung can. He is irreplaceable.

Many years later, I sang Mei Lanfang, and Lisa Lu and I went to that class. Sitting behind the monitor, we all have a question: What will happen if Leslie Cheung plays it? We also asked Chen Kaige, but he didn't answer. Maybe this question is too cruel.

? I see many contrasts in Leslie Cheung-he is a very refined and cultured person in life, but he has surpassed the so-called "star". To describe him as an "artist" seems a bit arrogant to me, and the word is overdone. I like to call him an actor. The word "actor" is neutral in my personal dictionary, but I think not many people can be called "actors", which is the highest praise. Andy Lau once said something to me, which impressed me deeply. He said, "Tony Leung Chiu Wai is already an actor, and I am still a star. He can forget that he is Tony Leung Chiu Wai when he is acting, but I still remember that I am Andy Lau when I am acting. " Later, I thought this sentence could also be transferred to Leslie (Leslie Cheung).

Of course, many people will misunderstand because of his sexual orientation and Farewell My Concubine, and think that Leslie Cheung is also very feminine in life-to put it bluntly, she is "Niang"! So I don't use "feminine" to describe him. I think he is very gentle, but he is neither "Niang" nor "Niang". He is a big shot at heart. This is another positive contrast of him. Many stars wear jewels, but he doesn't. He wears casual clothes, just a leisure suit with hemp color, but it will make you feel noble. This is his aura.

A few months later, I went to Tongli to watch them shoot Romantic Moon and do his interview with the program "Famous Car" (the prototype of "But Listen"). It was autumn, and we stayed in the crew for nearly a week, eating and living with them and drinking the same water. After filming, we chatted together, and the content of the chat was very homely.

On the set, you can feel that Leslie Cheung is pursuing perfection, and every look, expression and gesture are so precise. Chen Kaige is also a serious person. Actors who walk fast and slow may have to start all over again. Many actors will return to the real world at 0. 1 second when they hear the director stop. But Leslie Cheung is too slow. He won't come back for a while. So many times, after the director stopped, people around him dared not speak, but walked quietly and spoke softly. The director will also ask the staff to turn off the lights, so that Leslie Cheung can be silent in the dark for a period of time, return to reality, and then shoot the second film.

Leslie Cheung outside the play is completely different from that in the play. He has many interesting ideas, and he is a joker. When filming "Romantic Moon", the atmosphere was quite tense because the benchmark of "Farewell My Concubine" had already stood there. A pair of embroidered shoes and a still picture can shoot more than 20 songs! At that time, there were not many seats, and each shot was more difficult. I remember a scene where everything was in place and it was finally finished. In the end, Cai Fei missed a tooth sound and it was all over. Leslie Cheung was anxious at that time and said, "Cai Feihe, you idiot, I'm from Guangdong, and I speak Mandarin better than you!" So, everyone is happy. I didn't expect Leslie Cheung to be scolded by the country. Hong Kong actors in the 1990s basically spoke poor Mandarin, but he was already very good at that time, so it's not surprising that I went to shoot The Red Lover later.

When people talk about depression now, they will think that Leslie Cheung has been pulling a long face, but this is not the case. He is very peaceful and interesting. He has moments of silence and moments of happiness. When he is happy, he talks and laughs without scruple, just like he scolds Cai Feihe. Cai Fei and He Jiong are also very involved. In one scene, she was so excited that she had a stomach cramp and trembled all over. Leslie held her and said it was okay until she calmed down. People are multifaceted, just like the song of triumph is not always serious, and Wong Kar-wai's mystery will disappear without wearing sunglasses in his life. Leslie Cheung may be a little shy when facing the camera, but in private, he is actually a very relaxed and generous person.

Sometimes it's really hard to believe that the man who once sat opposite me laughing and laughing has been dead for ten years.

The more people interviewed, the more stereoscopic his image will be.

After his death, in 2004, I began to host "But Listen". One of them is an interview with Chen Kaige. After the program, I had an idea that anyone who saw Leslie Cheung could ask some related questions. If my program can last until the tenth anniversary, I will give him a review.

? I don't like to say "Please comment on Leslie Cheung" to guests. I will ask some short stories and details about people's interaction with him. Many details are invisible in serious official history. Seemingly casual, but you can see a person. I don't want to tell you my judgment, I just show you the facts.

I have interviewed many people-Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Wong Kar-wai, Dong Chengyi, Chen Kexin, Feijie, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wu Junru, Cecilia Cheung, Alan Tam, ZhangFeng yi and Du Kefeng, and everyone has different reactions. Fat is the most talked about. About the details of life, for example, the last time she saw him was on March 26th. They have afternoon tea and pizza at the Peninsula Hotel. Du Kefeng didn't actually say anything, but his reaction was very shocking-I didn't expect him to be knocked down by this question in an instant. Tears welled up in my eyes just now, and I was scared by him. No one dared to speak for five minutes. Many people will respect him very much, and over time they are willing to think that death is a relief for him, and they feel sad but not hurt. Some people cry at the mention of him. When interviewing Paula Tsui, they told me that Leslie Cheung couldn't even talk about it, she would lose control.

Interviewing so many people, it is very valuable to know what he did in the last period of his life. Because he is not only an important figure in Hong Kong pop culture, but also one of the earliest actors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Taiwan who can be accepted by the international market. Many things may not be as imagined. His depression is actually deeper, so he is not as gloomy as he thought. He still looks sunny and smiling. It is disrespectful and ignorant to describe him as "suicide" and "weakness". Everyone has the right to choose their own way of life, as long as their actions do not violate the bottom line of law and morality. I believe that society is becoming more and more prosperous and free today, as long as it doesn't hurt others.

As for confusing a person's sexual orientation with acting skills, I think it is disrespectful. Westerners have two concepts, one is called sex, and the other is called gender. Sex and agenda are separated. Sex is given by God, XX or XY. It was decided at birth, and there was no choice. The choice of gender is personal freedom, and people have the right to find gender roles that suit them. What's more, gender and acting are completely different concepts. "Because you are gay, you are a good gay." This is a very subjective and uneducated statement. Imposing one's own speculation on others is a manifestation of language violence. Of course, there are all kinds of prejudices. This is the right of others, and I fully respect it, but I also have the right to disagree.

The influence of Leslie Cheung

Many great men will be remembered after their death, but their influence and role on modern people is probably not as great as that of Leslie Cheung. Not many people can become "idols", he is one. The so-called "idol" is both an idol and a symbol, which has become a classic. What is a classic? In other words, it must stand the test of time. After n years, it can still infect and impress me. His movies and concerts have become a part of my memory, life and imagination-this is a classic. Leslie Cheung influenced not only his contemporaries, but also many irrelevant people. When he died, many "post-90s" didn't know him, but now they may feel that although this man died a few years after I was born, he and his works grew up with me.

If you want to ask him the greatest value to the world, I think one is his artistic perfection and the other is his temperament. Artists are all temperamental people. His personality is true and direct, and he can do whatever he wants. He may be one step away from a madman. He has his own unique values in his heart, for which he can do many things that others find incredible. Great artists can only be formed in this way They are timid, thinking about this and that, and they have too many distractions in their hearts. They may become "artists" or so-called "home", but they cannot become masters. Leslie Cheung doesn't read much, but he is a master. Great artists are simple and have the mentality of a child. Like many master artists I know, he has clear eyes and clean heart. There are so many people in the interview that you can know what they are thinking as soon as you sit down. 90% of the so-called masters and famous artists are unqualified. Maybe my standards are stricter. Among the people I have met, Mr Fu Cong is such a master.

I do "But Listen", in addition to recording the voices of interesting people in this era, I also want to accumulate a community of artists and see an era from one community. How much money you earn and how much fame you win these days is not difficult, but it depends on how much you can keep for the world. It depends on how many people will stay after many years-Leslie Cheung is one of them.

interconnection

Guan: When I took over "Rouge Kou", the company had already decided on Anita Mui, and there was no second choice. At that time, everyone thought that the twelve teenagers were not Leslie Cheung, but actors from two companies. What shall we do? Anita Mui said, patting his chest. Ok, I'll go to the New Art City Film Company to show a movie and exchange it for Leslie Cheung's "Rouge Kou". As a result, the big bosses of the two companies are getting bigger and bigger. These two actors are really like brothers and sisters. Leslie Cheung knew that Twelve Little's play was for Anita Mui, and he was willing to come. Today, people have been talking about remaking "Rouge Kou", but as long as you think of Flower and Twelve, who will play it? It stopped.

Wong Kar-wai: Basically, Leslie Cheung is very open-minded. He thinks he can play any play he hasn't played. He got sick when he was filming "Spring Break". One day when we were in the room, he said to me: Why did we come to Argentina to make a film? Outside the window is the iron bridge, a symbol of Argentina. He said: I was thinking that maybe I was an overseas Chinese worker in my last life and died working here, so I will come back here to do it.

It happened that we were filming Cupid? At that time, someone called to tell us the news, and everyone thought it was a joke and didn't believe it. Later, I learned that everyone was in a particularly bad mood that night, and Gong Li cried at the end of the film? But I don't think he is a bird. For me, being away for so many years is particularly impressive? So he actually kept flying.

Tsui Hark: In the past, Leslie Cheung was very lively? Later, he began to be silent, and he began to precipitate to a state where it was possible to go to other levels. At that time, I wrote a play called Teacher Wang, in which he played the leading role. I talked with him for a long time, but I didn't expect this unfortunate thing to happen at the beginning.

At that time, I had a very unreal feeling, because I had an appointment with him 10, but at 7 o'clock, I called to say that I didn't have to go tonight, and Mr. Leslie Cheung had passed away. I said, what is it? They said he jumped from the hotel building. I feel that I suddenly don't accept this thing. Is it true? Because Leslie Cheung's house is close to mine, we are separated by several houses. He is often seen pulling the dog out to meet in the street. And he is very enthusiastic. Every time we meet, we are very happy, hugging and smiling. Many things? It was not until I saw his coffin that I realized that Leslie Cheung was really gone.

I'm basically not going to shoot the script "Teacher Wang" now. Because I don't know who to find to play this role, and I can't play this role? If technology is developed in the future, Leslie Cheung will be created by computers.