Issue No. 18 - September 01, 2003
Website:
http://leonnews.tripod.com ============================================
Quote of the Week
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"Tell your loved ones you love them before it's
too late"
-- Leon Lai in "Heroic Duo"
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From the Editor's Desk
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My apologies for the late issue due to my
heavy schedule. Will try hard to issue in time
in future. As all should know by now, the movie
"Heroic Duo" did not do as well in Hong Kong
as it did in China and S.E. Asia. But, many
who saw the movie agreed that this is a great
movie of the year, so that is all that matters.
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Current Affairs
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW : LEON'S INNER CIRCLE
Below is a translation of an exclusive interview
with Leon done by Ming Pao on August 1st, 2003:
Probably because Leon nowadays doesn't bother about
how people view him, but on 'how you look at Leon'
point of view doing this exclusive interview, the
reporter discovered that the Leon of today is a
much more open-minded and straightforward person.
Leon agreed on this interview, and unlike others,
he doesn't ask what questions will be fired at him,
nor did he caution the reporter on what sensitve
issues to avoid. He left the interview to take its
natural course. An example was when you asked
about his love life, he would say: "From historic
experience, which couple who revealed their relationship
has a good ending? Answer -- 1:99"
When asked again about how others view him and Andy Lau
as a very 'competible' pair from music to movies,
Leon's reply was : "If I am a reporter, probably I
would use these two names as comparison too, but as
long as you have the right attitude for competition,
there should be no harm. I do not have a lock inside me,
just principles". We should understand that
we've scolded Leon for being 'stupid' the day he
announced that he would not be receiving any music
awards in Hong Kong, now we know that those
over-anxious people are just over-reacting because
Leon has long laid down a plan for himself -- he is
the brainest of all artistes. From this interview,
you could look at the different angles of Leon.
Leon played a very intelligent and cool hypnotist in
the movie "Heroes Duo". Before filming, he has the
opportunity to meet up with a professional hypnotist
to understand what hypnotism is all about. After
learning the basic skill, who would Leon like to
reveal the truth to? Leon replied laughingly :
"Hypnotism is a very interesting skill - it not
only brings out the truth from you, it could also
be used to understand your inner feelings - find
the lost path, use to forget about something
unpleasant, or could even use different angles to
look at things. Now that I understand the basic skill
of it, I could use it to look at things differently
in a more lighter way. Examples are when someone said something that I
would feel is against me, now I would use this skill to brush these
thoughts off my mind, and could also use it to organize my words in a such
a way that when I said something, others could understand me
better."
Afraid to expose his inner feelings:
When asked if he has tried hypnotism, Leon shook his head and said :
"No, I have no courage to try it".
"Was it because you didn't want your inner feelings to be exposed?"
Leon thought for a while and said : "Probably. Artistes should always
protect themselves, though there might not be anything serious, but
it's always good to have some privacy. There is a step in hypnotism where
you could express your feeling freely. I am afterall a human, I do not
want to say anything crude or vulgar when I am at that stage, not very
nice."
What else would Leon like to protect?
After some thoughts, Leon said : "I don't know, actually I do not have
any secrets. I feel that if there is trust, there will be confidence.
How much can something hurt you depend on how you look at it. If you
feel that there is no value in certain things, there should be no harm
done."
Leon has always given the impression that love life is his biggest
privacy. No matter how it was reported on his on-off affair with Shu Qi,
his interest for Faye Wong, Leon has never openly talked about it -
could this be his biggest secret?
Leon said: "Love? There is no need to talk about it. From experience,
once that is made known to the media -- even if there is 7 good
reporters out of 10, the other 3 would write what they fancy in their
articles, that would be enough to jeopardize a relationship after a while".
The reporter quickly give a good example of Lau Ching Wan and Kuo Oi
Ming. Leon agreed but emphasized that this is only 1:99.
Never want to admit his relationship with Shu Qi, was it because he
doesn't want to be one of the 1:99?
Leon smiled and said: "Know me for so many years, you should know my
attitude. I don't have to say much, you know what kind of a person I am.
I don't even have to say anything, you guys know what I am doing.
Sometimes, I understand that you just want me to admit on certain things,
but you know I will never do that, so just let things rest.."
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LEON IS MORE OPEN-MINDED AND AWAITING TO CO-STAR WITH ANDY LAU
Ming Pau - August 1, 2003
There were organizers who had asked Leon to do an October concert this
year, but he rejected flatly, citing 'not ready' as his reason. He
said unless there are five 'Leons', otherwise it's impossible for him to
do a concert this year as he is too busy and not ready. He doesn't want
to have a concert for the sake of having one. He does not want to meet
his fans when he is not ready, it would not be fair to his fans.
Leon and Andy have always been used to compare -- from music to movies,
from the days of 'Four Heavenly Kings' to today's "Internal Affairs
III". Leon doesn't bother about the comparison nowadays, it doesn't
bother him any more. On the contrary, Leon said : "it's a good thing to
compare. No matter what others said or write, it's their point of view.
I know what I am doing. Even if I am being backstabbed, as long as you
are ready to accept that, accept others, understand that movie is
teamwork, as long as working together under healthy competition, be
open-minded, don't bother about who has a more important role". Leon
emphasized that he doesn't have a 'lock' in him, just principles.
Not Working for the sake of Money:
Because of this principle, Leon has rejected an offer -- he has not had
a concert for the last two years, though there were offers knocking on
his door, he has rejected it. Leon explained : "That is Leon's
attitude -- I can't meet my fans when I am not ready. It's because of this
principle and attitude that during the SARS period, I've asked Mark Lui
not to compose any songs. Though he might have the spirit to do it, I
do not have the mood to do the recording. Though that doesn't mean
that I could not do a good song, but the feeling and enthusiam will not be
there."
Although he is at his peak, he is still looking for change, looking for
improvements, looking for new ideas. That is one of the reason why
Leon's fans have been with him for all these years. Leon laughed and said
"Human beings have to keep improving, or it will be a serious matter.
But whether it is self-motivated, or being forced to, it is a difficult
task to achieve, that is why everybody who is working is supportive and
that helps a lot".
Was it because he no longer vie for any music awards that he could view
the whole music scenario on a third-party viewpoint?
Leon said that from day 1 in this circle, he is already a third-party.
Before, he said, he was the party involved and when you are involved,
you need to follow the rules of the game.
Would he feel much relief now that he has no contract?
Leon said that relief is only physologically. Once you are in the
game, you have to follow the rules, you will still have to shoulder the
burden.
Leon has numerous successful and unforgetable movies like "Comrades,
Almost a Love Story", "City of Glass", and the recent 'Three-Going Home"
where he achieved the Best Actor Award. Will be be considering working
backstage now?
Leon said: "When I just started with Asia TV, I did think about that --
if I am not successful as an actor, I will be an assistant director and
work myself up from there. But today, I am able to double up even as a
helper when I am not acting. I can differentiate now and that is Leon.
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Leon to star in movie with Maggie Cheung
--Sina News ? September 5, 2003
News was received yesterday that the casts for the new movie ?Song of
Misery? has now been decided. Although the author of this friction,
Wang An Yi, preferred to have Ng to act as Wang Ji Yau, but director Kuan
Jin Pern has chosen Hong Kong International Star, Maggie Cheung
instead. Leon has been named to act in the role of ?Mr. Chen?.
The author, Wang An Yi, has chosen Jacelyn Ng for her girl-next-door
image which is very suitable for the role. However, the role requires
her to act from age 17 to 57 which requires a great deal of experience.
Director Kuan, however decided on Maggie because of her acting prowess
and her international fame. Wang has no objection to pairing her off
with Leon as they were thought to be very compatible and Leon, with his
gentle charisma and not over-reacting posture, was thought to be very
close to the role of ?Mr. Chen?.
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LEON PUT ON 10 LBS FOR THE SAKE OF FILMING ?HEROES DUO?
-- Yahoo News ? August 7, 2003
Leon and Ekin Cheng have both received rave reviews on their roles in
?Heroic Duo?. Though the Hong Kong box office has not matched up to
China?s and the South East Asia, Leon was interviewed by Asia Times. Read
the interview at
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/art...-472903,00.htmlLeon left for Shanghai to continue his work on ?Big City Trivial
Matter?. When asked about the special feature in Times Asia, Leon laughingly
commented that ?their subjects were very broad?.
When asked over the long-distance interview by Far Eastern News about
his successful role in ?Heroic Duo?, Leon attributed all credits to the
director. At times of the interview, because of the humid weather and
the airconditioning, Leon suffered a relapse of his allergies.
Leon disclosed that he has put on 10 lbs for this movie as he felt that
one should put on weight when in jail. He ate 4 to 5 bowls of rice
every dinner and after filming, he went on a fast diet to reduce the 10
lbs. He hopes the sacrifice will give audience a whole new feeling.
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Resource Center
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Check my website at
http://leonnews.tripod.com for all resources pertaining to Leon.
Check out this site for a very interesting article
about Leon. If you don't know Leon well, you should
read this:
http://dawn.leonfamily.com/leonnews/leonnewsletter8pt3.htm ===========================================
Leon's Calendar
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-- July 2003: Location filming for new movie
"Big City Trivial Matter" with Faye Wong in Shanghai.
-- September 2003: Starting filming "Internal Affairs III"
where six Best Actors will be in the same film.
-- December 2003: Filming Kuan Jin Pern's new movie "Song of Misery"
with Maggie Cheung.