There is no problem with Zhao Wei’s driving skills; brand name attire patched with much effort to portray the wanted “Taxi Sister” look.
《夜。上海》剧组响应质疑 赵薇车技没问题，“的姐”造型费心思 名牌打补丁
Shanghai Morning Post/ Oriental Morning Post (新闻晨报 / 东方早报)
May 4th, 2006
Zhao Wei’s driving skills never worried the filming crew
Currently, the China-Japan co-production [The Longest Night in Shanghai] starring Zhao Wei and Masahiro Motoki is being filmed in low profile. Yesterday, for the very first time, the filming crew revealed the look for Zhao Wei’s role as a female Taxi driver in the film. Reporters learned that her simple and plain look was a great hassle to create.
Brand name attire patched to fabricate “the common person” look
[The Longest Night in Shanghai] is the first movie that Zhao Wei has accepted to film this year. It tells the story of a professional Japanese makeup artist who got lost in the streets of Shanghai, and by chance met a female taxi driver. In the recent years, Zhao Wei, who has become more and more careful in choosing films and roles, has her favoritism towards portraying the average person. Following the strong recommendation from her manager Chen Rong, Zhao Wei was deeply touched by the welcoming mood created by [The Longest Night in Shanghai]. After a thorough reading of the script, she fell in love with the role of the female taxi driver who drives through the streets of Shanghai while the city is asleep. She hoped that this film would bring surprises to the audience.
Compared to the glamorous looks in previous movies, this time around, Zhao Wei hoped to prove her acting skills through portraying a small potato. Since her role is a taxi driver, Zhao Wei is in uniforms in the film: plain and simple, but consistent with the script. Even in a difficult life, she has her own world. She has the heart to pursue beauty with an artistic aura. In an effort to portray the protagonist’s taste and pleasure, the filming crew especially invited the best costume artist from Japan to alter the average uniform by working on some minor details. The collar and the sleeve of the attire are not only laced up, but also have attractive patches stitched on. Do not overlook this seemingly plain attire. The attire are exceptionally expensive Japanese Designer brand from Tokyo. Coincidently, one blouse among the many is of Zhao Wei’s personal favorite brand. After the purchase, the designer made the brand-new clothes look old. Every patch, every stain and every worn tear was carefully thought over. Zhao Wei was extremely pleased with this look. Additionally, Zhao Wei will have a ‘beautiful transformation’ in the movie, however, this is not simply a “sparrow turning into phoenix’ ending. How the ending actually is will be a puzzle waiting to be revealed to the public when the film will be screening.
Zhao Wei proclaimed to be a ‘veteran driver’
Before the filming, both the production crew and the director were considerably worried about Zhao Wei’s driving skills, but ever since Zhao Wei’s test-drive, everyone was very much satisfied with her driving skills. Recently, the paparazzi sneakily photographed Zhao Wei during the filming process, during which time there were substitutes who backed up the car and washed the car for her. Thus, they questioned Zhao Wei’s driving skills. In reality, this was due to the fact that the rushed filming. After each scene, Zhao Wei needed to prepare for the subsequent scene by discussing with the director. Thus they allowed others to substitute for her. Zhao Wei smilingly proclaimed: “I myself am already a veteran driver. I am no longer unfamiliar with driving. However, this time, in the process of driving, I need to express emotions for the role. While sitting in the car, It is a challenge for me to interact with my customer who doesn’t speak the same language as I do.”
When mentioning the male leading actor Masahiro Motoki, the best actor of the Tokyo International Film Festival, Zhao Wei expressed that the cooperation is pleasant. Besides having already watched Masahiro Motoki‘s [Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t], Zhao Wei felt that he is a particularly outstanding actor. In the progress of filming, both of them have steadily established their tacit understanding, and had a number of chemistry sparks. It is reported that after May 1st, there will a press conference arranged for the film where director Zhang YiBai, actors Masahiro Motoki, Zhao Wei, Naoto Takenaka, Guo PingChao, Naomi Nishida, Li Cansen, Takashi Tsukamoto and also Feng Li will all be present.
Zhu Meihong
Translated by Rain(Malaysia), edited by ShenXianMeiMei(Canada)
