[2012.03.17] HOU HSIAO-HSIEN OPENS SHU QI'S MIND

courtesy of takungpao.com

Shawn Yue Man Lok and Shu Qi were guests on tonight's atv program CLIFTON KO MICROBLOG to promote their upcoming new film release.  Shu Qi revealed that in the film she played two sisters and the performance was very tough.  "At first when I received the script I felt it was very challenging as I was able to play different characters in the same film.  Yet after the performance I thought having to play several characters was very tough and truly regretted it a little!"

Although during the shoot Shu Qi constantly had to brave the chilly weather to perform in the water, she joked that she learned to "make the best of a tough situation".  She said, "In one scene I had to shoot in sewage, so I could only 'make the best of the situation' and imagine myself shooting on the Maldives beach and water!"  In her years in film, she admitted that Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien had a rather large influence on her.  "In the past my acting was only based on instinct until I ran into Hou Hsiao-Hisen, who made me realize that the director should guide actors into performing and actors needed to fully follow the director's guidance to have good performance."

In addition, Yue Man Lok's film production rate in recent years has been numerous, with five to six releases on average every year.  He explained, "I didn't start with any drama academy or performing art training class, I can only learn my craft from practice.  I wanted very much to perform in many films so I could absorb experience as quickly as possible and build a good acting foundation."  Among his numerous work, MOSS (CHING TOI) with director Derek Kwok Chi Kin was the most memorable for Lok Jai.  Because the director and the actor both set off spark, everyone daringly worked so this was his favorite film.