赵薇 我在烈火中走过 (专访)
BAZAAR
June issue, 2008
Photographer/ Feng Hai (F's Brothers)
Fashion Planning Director/ Jewel Leng
Feature Director/ Zong Ying
Article by/ Hua Jing Yuan Dian Ming
Hair & Makeup/ Zhang MengYin (Tony Studio), Gao Jian
Hairstyle/ Elaine
Assistants/ Zheng AoNan, Lu Lu, Liu Yang
Set provided by/ Tang Contemporary Art Center
As the well-built military horse marched out its first step, Zhao Wei came to realize that, at that moment, the only thing she could have done was to grasp the bridle tightly in her hands. If (let's all forget about this unpleasant hypothesis) she happened to fall off the horse by accident, then the hoofs of the hundreds of horses following her would surely stomp over her body. The battleground surrounding her was in the midst burning flames and gunpowder smokes. Even the director had his eyes off the monitor. If there were no screams, then the scene was completed, otherwise...
This was the inside story most familiar to filmmakers — the more exciting the scene, the more dangerous the actual shooting. In the next few seconds, there was nothing in this world, tangible or intangible, that could have protected her. Before the director called out "cut", she was required to lead the thousands of horse-riding soldiers to the predetermined camera position. Since Sun ShangXiang had done it 1700 years ago, today's Zhao Wei must also achieve it. It is said that when John Woo sought after Zhao Wei for the role of Sun ShangXiang with a feminine flair, he felt the strong similarities between Zhao Wei and Sun ShangXiang: one has to do with the tomboy personality, courageous and strong; another has to do with not needing protection from others.
If it was not for galloping through the battle fields, Zhao Wei would seem a bit laid back in her everyday living. She enjoyed wearing a huge t-shirt, matched with a pair of jeans with worn hems, a style that made her look quite frail. "So we meet again," she greeted me, "have some water, and then we can take our time chatting." She always had the ability to transform any place to her own living-room, allowing you to relax.
We started off with congratulating Zhao Wei for winning the Best Female Singer of the Year Award (mainland) at the newly unveiled 8th Music Chart Awards. Her new hit [Angel Suitcase] had been very popular lately. If you were a karaoke lover, you would have known how high the hits for this song were. You would have equally known that the high keys in the second half of the song were hard to hit.
In 1998, Zhao Wei sang publicly for the first time; by 2008, she has received the award which represented the highest honour in the Mainland music industry; in 1998, beginning with [Princess Returning Pearl], viewers remembered Zhao Wei by her pair of big eyes; by 2008, she has long became an A-list celebrity in China; in 1998, the viewers and Zhao Wei were still unfamiliar with one another; by 2008, we discovered to our surprise that we "have been friends for many years".
We chatted for a while on the subject of ten years. Time can indeed help a woman learn how to discard vanity, and see herself in a more objective way. In 2006, Zhao Wei who just turned 30 back then made a decision that was hard for others at the time to understand: she went back to her old school to pursue graduate studies. On campus, Zhao Wei was no different from all the other university students: attending classes from 9 to 5, wandering around bookstores with no makeup, watching DVDs, and eating lunch with classmates in the cafeteria. During this time, she turned down numerous film offers. It seemed like she gave up a lot of productions, but please consider the old saying: when holding a tight fist, you own what's in your hands, but when opening up the hand, you can feel the entire world. Thus, when [Red Cliff]'s producer Terrence Chang called Zhao Wei, Zhao Wei thought of the opportunity with [Red Cliff], the biggest production in Chinese history, as another encouragement from fate.
When I asked her what kind of person John Woo was on the set, she thought about it, and then said, he is a man capable of taking charge. No matter what happened on the set, and even if no one was in a good mood, he was still the only one who steadily handling the situation. Having him around was like having everybody's backbone. "Then you must have aspired to become a director like John Woo, for we know that you have long aspired to be a director." Zhao Wei expressed that it depended according to the conditions. If one day, however, the responsibility would fall on her, she firmly believed that her collaboration with John Woo had rendered her to be calmer and stronger. Her most pressing challenge was not about becoming a director, but it has to do with performing in another female production. She told us that she had just accepted to star in Director Xia Gang's [A Woman's Epic Poem], a TV series adapted from writer Yan GeLing's novel by the same name. In the series, Zhao Wei played the leading role Tian SuFei from 16 years of age to 66 years of age, "This was the first time I starred in a role with such a large age span, and I enjoyed the challenge." Zhao Wei happily reflected upon her time on the set, "In the series, the girl playing my daughter is already 19 years old, every time I hugged her, the director would say, Zhao Wei, your gaze has to be more motherly, haha."
Right then and there, I looked at Zhao Wei's eyes, indeed, they were memorable. Such big eyes would be unsuitable if they were matched to any other fashionably small-faced pretty woman, but for Zhao Wei, thoses eyes became her trademark. Girls with such comical eyes mostly had delicate personalities that would win sympathies from people, and would definitely not remind people of yellow sands, battle horses and combats. Her lashes were very long, and you can even hear the pata pata sounds from the lashes when she blinks her eyes, I wondered if it was done on purpose by her makeup artist. How can I make it more clear, the sound seemed moist, like the way leaves would fall into the pond after the rain, "pata", and then there would be rings of ripples started in her eyes.
The hair stylist turned on the hair dryer. It was said that the style today would be expecially luxurous and brilliant. I did not understand what it meant, however, when the hot air from hair dryer curled up her hair, it reminded me of how she would look while riding on a horse. The hot air from the hair dryer blew her hair in front of her eyes, almost covering half of her face. This way, she was not able to see herself clearly in the mirror. When a person looks into a mirror, another self would appear in the mirror. However, from the viewpoint of physics, at that very moment, you are still alone by yourself. Unfortunately, not everything can be explained by laws of physics. For example, you cannot explain why every two years, she would always be buried under some unfounded negative rumors from the media. As she stood on stage to receive applause for the many loveable roles that she portrayed, there was always someone hidden in the corner, letting out a sneer.
"Whenever those negative news appeared, would you become disappointed in the world as a result?"
"I have absolutely no idea who fabricated this negative news, neither do I know what kind of mentality these people had when they decided to fabricate these things. Nonetheless, I have come to accept these things. Praise and blame always come hand in hand. You have to choose to cherish everything that you own. You have to be happy with what you own, and not stress over anything else."
After the above words, Zhao Wei was silent. We remained silent, as the sound of the hair dryer filled in, until she spoke again, "yes, I don't understand politics."
In [Red Cliff], a story filled with men, battles, and politics, Sun ShangXiang was designed to be a woman who did not understand politics. She only did what she thought was right, laughed when she wanted to laugh, cried when she wanted to cry, giving you sweets when she felt happy, and giving you a thrust when she felt mad.
If Sun ShangXiang came to this era, when faced the many controversies, blames, and defamations, would she respond with her sword? After all, the people from the Cold Steel Age can only use their Cold Steel mindset to resolve problems. Their way of resolving problems were much simpler than the current way. In an era where information travel at a flying speed, the pieces of news coming out of nowhere are the knives that kill.
In one of the latest episode of the animated parody [South Park], the writers allowed Britney Spears to continue living after having half of her brain shot off, but in the end, she was killed by cameras. In reality, Britney is constantly being followed, with her every word and action recorded and magnified out of proportions. The mass are used to consume her craziness. Perhaps it is in the basic human instinct to consume disaster. And in the end, the one being consumed would, consciously or unconsciouly, take on the role of the one that proceeds to gradual breakdown. Ruan YuLing said it best: "Gossip is a fearful thing." Regardless of the time and the country, it was something that many women were unable to avoid.
"I don't want to loose a lot of very important things in life to such rumors," this is Zhao Wei's response to everything, "If from the first day, you were subjected to so much criticism, then you would only have two choices: either you can let these words slowly penetrate through your body, and become doubtful, sensitive, frightened, and as a result cover yourself all up, or, you can choose to conquer it. Your opponents in this battle are not those invisible opponents, instead, they are those negative emotions of hate and depression inside of you. If commenting on me can help those who don't have a life to gain some sort of satisfaction, then let them be, I don't care."
"If one day, you encountered the people who had hurt you, what would you say to them?"
"I would genuinely forgive them, at the least I would not be holding grudges against them. That's why my brows are so much apart, signifying that I do not hold grudges (she laughes). Those that hold grudges give off a very bad vibe to others. You would always remember the conspiracy, but the next day, you still have to face your work and your life. Believe me, this (referring to holding grudges) does not do you any good.”
Perhaps it was a result of playing so many characters, she now understood that each of the straits that you were in were nothing more than one-act plays which were scripted, directed and played by yourself. Thus, the outcomes of the story, whether comical or tragic, were also within your control. It was in the last year or two that the maturing Zhao Wei has began learning about understanding herself. She discovered that the moment she attempted facing herself in a calm manner, life gave her a welcoming embrace. She started to attempt becoming friends with herself, "Sometimes, I would imagine myself as two persons," she told me, "Deep inside of me there are two Zhao Wei. They are mutually independent, yet also mutual in control. Sometimes the hidden Zhao Wei would tell me what I should and should not do."
When she was in her 20's, she was just like other girls her age who did not understand the importance of taking care of her skin, the importance of resting, and the importance of taking care of one's spirit. Now, even if she was in the middle of filming endlessly in a film city (her biological clock would turn upside down when staying up at night to shoot scenes), she would insist upon applying a facial mask every other day. During the ordinary times, she would reject makeup products that would be overly irritating. Even when attending formal events, she would only apply light makeup. Currently, she eats vegetarian, and she practices yoga, for it was said to help calm one's mind. When the stress level is high, another Zhao Wei would appear and help her confront everything in a calm manner by telling herself that life is a long one, and it would never be too late for anything. The result of all these was that recently, she became the spokesperson for the famous Marie France Bodyline. Overnight, all the streets in Beijing were decorated with photos of her in a sexy gown. I can still remember the reaction of a girl I knew when she first saw the photo — Wow!
During the entire interview, she spoke in a slow pace, deliberating over each sentence. Her eye sight was great, discovering and declining being photographed by cellphones on a timely manner. I believe that she has come to learn her to protect herself, at least, she is skilled in gaining the initiative. When you have discovered that life is uncontrollable, then you have already learned to control it on a certain level. Many years ago, she told a reporter, there is no one without sufferings, only fools have no sufferings. In her latest album [Angel Suitcase], Zhao Wei sang these words: I opened angel suitcase, then smiled beautifully, as if I have never been never hurt.
To most people, life is like how Günter Wilhelm Grass had described, like peeling one onion after another, every time a layer is peeled off, some long forgotten things are unveiled, leading people to tears. But for Zhao Wei, life is like eating one huge strawberry after another. This story came from the Buddhist texts. There was a strand of rattan hanging over a cliff, with a tiger awaiting on the top and a fierce wolf on the bottom. Two squirrels were also chewing away at the rattan, the only thing securing that person's life. At that moment, she discovered a red strawberry growing on the rattan, thus she picked the ripe fruit and placed it in her mouth, and yes, it was very sweet.
There are always those who are smart enough to enjoy the pleasures and happiness of the moment, and not get sad over an onion.
Another possibility behind Zhao Wei's feature story
When looking through the "Style Celebrity" column in the current issue, you would most probably be surprised by Zhao Wei's all new look. In fact, at the beginning of preparing for this innovative feature, our fashion planning director Jewel Leng prepared two alternatives. Apart from the one in blockbuster-style that the readers now see, another alternative was to restore Zhao Wei's natural temperament, one that's more close to the ordinary life Zhao Wei. Unfortunately, after comparing the expressiveness of the two styles, much to our regret, we had to forego the "ordinary life version" alternative. Nonetheless, this is Bazaar's way of doing things: All the productions must be unexpected! Come to think of it, isn't planning for one's life the same?
Translated by: Vicki Yan / Shen Xian Mei Mei (Canada)
(Click on the images to enlarge)
