[2009.11.14] CHOW YUN FAT TAKES A BREAK AFTER 300 MILLION CHALLENGE

Carina Lau Ka Ling

Fresh fish is Fat Gor's favorite

Fat Soh takes great care of her leading man

To Jiang Wen, no one can be replaced.

48 takes for the demanding Ge You

In a suit, Chow Yun Fat has shades of his THE BUND days

courtesy of on.cc

Earlier hospitalized due to the flu, Chow Yun Fat has been working hard on the Emperor Motion Picture production LET THE BULLETS FLY. Due to the film's three Best Actors Chow Yun Fat, Jiang Wen and Ge You, investors are confident that the box office will exceed 300 million yuan RMB. However Fat Gor did not pay attention to the box office. Instead he would like the most to be able to stop making movies next year to enjoy the world and life.

Despite being hospitalized earlier, Chow Yun Fat not only invigorated himself with the film's Beijing press conference but also the production itself. His professionalism has won everyone's admiration. Due to the recent chill in Beijing, when Fat Gor was not in a scene, he kept warm in a thick down coat. Fat Soh not only wore a "couple matching coat" but also kept him company throughout.

Full of acting experience, Fat Gor in the new film had an unusually refreshing look. He grew facial hair, whether in a Chinese costume or in a suit with a top hat he still was radiating charisma and drama. Before every shot, he would discuss the story in detail with director Jiang Wen. Jiang Wen would intensely provide opinions and they were full of exchanges.

Because Fat Gor's CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER and Ge You's IF YOU ARE THE ONE both were Mainland hits, with the former exceeding 280 million and the later reaching 340 million, even director Jiang Wen's partner, one of LET's investor Ma Ke thought the film could break 300 million RMB. Was Fat Gor confident about the prediction? He said, "Most importantly the movie has to be good. Actors only focus on making the movie. The box office can be left for investor to be concerned with!"

After completing the Beijing shoot, Fat Gor will work on location on the 20th in Taishan. The production will wrap in January next year. Although Fat Gor was in great shape, due to the nonstop film schedule this year with SHANGHAI earlier and CONFUCIUS, he planned to rest next year and enjoy the world. He said that if he ran into a good script he would not eliminate "making an exception".

Actually this time Fat Gor's performance was not easy at all. Director Jiang Wen arranged for a Putonghua instructor to follow Fat Gor during the shoot to prevent any pronunciation error. Fat Gor did not have any opportunity to improvise. "The three of us would discuss anything that came up, about what needed to change before changing it. Because the Putonghua had to be very clear, every line I had to be fully prepared and wouldn't improvise." Fat Gor also pointed out that originally he, Ge You and Jiang Wen had Sichuanese lines, but due to the poor screen test results that Ge You did not have the confidence to "hit the mark" the idea was scrapped.

After days together, Fat Gor had nothing but praise for Ge You and Jiang Wen. Everyday at work was very pleasant. "I feel Ge You is very funny, the feeling is like (Stephen) Chow Sing Chi. He doesn't have to do much to be hilarious already." He also praised that Jiang Wen's work was getting better and better.

Director Jiang Wen's production of LET THE BULLETS FLY was very comfortable and stress free. He joked that he distributed the stress to two big brothers -- Chow Yun Fat and Ge You. He said, "When I used new comers I carried the pressure, but this time the stress isn't with me. So I feel it's very fun and am very confident about the box office. (With higher demand, do you have many bad takes?) Yes, Ge You had a take, for example, that took 48 takes because everyone was more demanding. It wasn't because it was bad. Actually Fat Gor and Ge You are just as amazing. They clearly read the script and familiarized themselves with every line. I am truly impressed."

Later another scene will take ten minutes in one take. It also has a lot of dialogue. Jiang Wen honestly said that he had a lot of confidence in both Big Brothers.

Were Fat Gor and Ge You arrogant? Jiang Wen said, "Absolutely not. (Did this movie have to wait a long time for Fat Gor?) Actually none of the three leads can be replaced. Their characters are all tailored, like foreign film stars Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro."

Carina Lau Ka Ling not only had no scene with Chow Yun Fat, Fat Gor even revealed that his character will be the death of her. However they had something in common. While Fat Gor had the idea of properly resting from acting, Ka Ling also had the same idea before taking this

role.

When she first completed DETECTIVE DEE, Ka Ling originally planned to stop acting for now. However LET's story and cast were very attractive, due to her good friend William Chang Suk Ping Ka Ling set aside her plan to rest.