赵薇直面争议匹女有责? 那匹马还有责呢!
Shanghai Times
17/07/2008
Zhao Wei expressed: "Both Sun ShangXiang and myself are rather cheerful persons who are somewhat tomboyish. Nonetheless, I'm not as ambitious as Sun ShangXiang. For her, there is no gender distinction. She can impersonate a male. I can't do that. I'm more feminine than she is. I have a lot of ambitions too, but they change on a daily basis. Sometimes I want to go on a trip, or read a book, other times I want to do other things. But in the end, I'm always led by the events that happen around me. Thus, my ideals are not big ones, this way, I can easily achieve them."
It was as if, all of a sudden, Zhao Wei quickly escaped from the campus life and starred in [Red Cliff], [Painted Skin], and the soon to finish production [A Woman's Epic Poem]......the continuous flow of mega-productions is over and above the full workload of 2 to 3 A-list celebrities.
Sun ShangXiang is the "Grown version of Little Swallow"
According to historical records, Dong Wu's princess Sun ShangXiang, who later became Madam Liu, was a husky woman. Lu Su described her as "extremely strong and courageous, with hundreds of servant maids who carry knives around her regularly, unmatched by males", but the matchmaker told Liu Bei "beautiful and virtuous, able to ease the role as a wife. It was said that on the wedding night, Liu Bei was scared out of his pants. In the movie [Red Cliff (Part 1)], though Sun ShangXiang was still a maiden, she already has a lot of personalities.
Shanghai Times: We went to see the midnight screening of [Red Cliff (part 1)] on the opening day. Sun ShangXiang left a very deep impression on many of the movie goers.
Zhao Wei: Thank you, what did you guys think?
Shanghai Times: A lot of people felt that Sun ShangXiang and Little Swallow are very similar......very suitable for Zhao Wei.
Zhao Wei: They are not exactly the same. Although the director said in the beginning that this role needed to be more of an eccentric spirit. You will see in part 2 the grown version of "Little Swallow". After experiencing a lot of battles, a JunZhu (literally meaning Prefecture Princess) who knew very little about the sufferings of the people transformed into a woman who understood the righteous causes.
Shanghai Times: In the end of [Red Cliff (part 1)], she went ahead to do something big?
Zhao Wei: Yes, when her brother arranged the marriage for her, she developed a big plan inside of her. At the end of part one, she has already dived her way to the Cao army. In the next episode, she would be a spy who dresses up as a male soldier to steal military secrets, a bit like Hua MuLan.
Shanghai Times: How did you prepare for the role of Sun ShangXiang?
Zhao Wei: Sun ShangXiang and Xiao Qiao are different. There are a lot of records on Sun ShangXiang. After finding out that I would portray this role, many of my fans were kind enough to find a lot of related information and posted them on my forum. I read over the researched information and printed it out. They helped me to gain more understanding of the role.
"Every woman has a share of responsibility" was nothing more than a humorous bridge plot
The most memorable was the scene where Sun SHangXiang teased Lu Su. In the scene, she shouted, "Every woman has a share of responsibility for the fate her country!" Having this well known quote appearing a thousand years prior to when it actually did caused a controversy. Zhao Wei said that the controversy around her has already been very big, but with respect to controversies, it is often because you are out of context.
Shanghai Times: Sun ShangXiang's line "Every woman has a share of responsibility" is still rather controversial.
Zhao Wei: I laughed when I read the line too. But after seeing the entire movie, you would not feel that it was very abrupt. ShangXiang said, "Every woman has a share of responsibility for the fate her country." Lu Su immediately responded, "Woa, so does that horse." This is nothing but a humorous bridge plot. There are a lot of funny plots in the movie. Director Woo never wanted to make [Red Cliff] into a mere textbook replica of the Three Kingdoms. Rather, he wishes that the historical characters are more everyday-like and modernized in the movie. In the movie, I'm rather avant-garde. Though I impersonated a man, what I portrayed was still a woman, a carefree woman.
Shanghai Times: The director wanted to redefine the Three Kingdoms?
Zhao Wei: It's an innovation. If the movie was merely a replica of the historical records, wouldn't it be very boring?
Shanghai Times: What are your thoughts on the controversy?
Zhao Wei: The actual situations is far from how frightening the media portrayed it. Some are merely lies, so I don't feel like explaining it. I seldomly speak out about things, neither am I talented at strategic planning. For me, if I feel that you are trustworthy, I would speak of whatever that comes to mind, without letting it go through my brain first. I never prepare answers in anticipation of the questions. What what can be done? As long as you don't want to get kicked out, all you can do is to endure it.
Unable to depart from film and acting
Out of the "Four Great Hua Dan" (translator's note: Hua Dan literally translates to the "flower female", refering to a role in Beijing Opera for a vivacious young maiden with great emphasis on acting and singing), while one has been busy spreading the word on being environmentally friendly, one busy with her gold-digging persuits, and another preoccupied with the life of an editor, the most important part of Zhao Wei's life has still been acting. She said that she had too many ideas on her mind, and acting is the only thing that can calm her down.
Shanghai Times: Why did you skip some of the recent promotional events from [Red Cliff]?
Zhao Wei: I have been shooting the TV series [A Woman's Epic Poem] on a tight schedule. Usually I can only accept interviews after midnight. As I went on talking, I almost fell asleep myself. Or, when the interview was conducted in the makeup room, the interview was often interrupted because I had to go back to acting on set. That's an actress's life, busy and on the go!
Shanghai Times: For a lot of actreses, once they are established on the big screen, they rarely return to the small screen. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Zhao Wei: I began as a TV actress. TV series game me fame and status. Even when I have acted in some movies, [Red Cliff]. [Painted Skin], [The Longest Night in Shanghai]......so what? After all, it's not like the US over here. Abroad, the two circles are very well defined from one another.
Shanghai Times: There are also many other TV series seeking for you to star in them, why did you choose this one?
Zhao Wei: It's due to my fan-like mentality! This series is based on the novel written by Ms. Yan Geling, you have no idea how much I like her works. It's just like how back in middle school, I liked Qiong Yao's novels, and then I had the chance to act in Qiong Yao's works. That kind of excitement was definitely unforgetable. In recent years, I have read much of Yan Geling's books. To be able to act as a character in her story brings me the same type of excitement that playing in Aunt Qiong Yao's TV series once brought me.
Shanghai Times: Chen Kun said "Deep in her heart, Zhao Wei is very strong, she has always been reading a lot."
Zhao Wei: Don't ponder over how I'm artistic or about my inner self, it seems to be pretentious to talk so much about these things. Do you know what's the most significant experience that I got out of performing in this production? I feel that I have just learned how to act. In the past, when I portrayed aging characters, no matter how hard I tried, I felt that my portrayal was superficial. But now, I can find the exact feel of the character effortlessly. I want to be a good actress, and I adore very much my state of being while I'm acting in front of the camera. In this life time, I will not be opening up restaurants or invest in stocks. I do not have good business sense, and I do not know how to manage my finances. The things that I do cannot depart from movie and acting. Thus, for me, age is not a concern, but a wealth of treature.
Try hard to live a better single life
Even though she had peerless looks, the impression that Zhao Wei left always felt like there was something missing. Her sister-in-law Chen Rong said, Zhao Wei has been working very hard, but she's too nice, and she give in and compromises easily. This year, Zhao Wei began a wholistic self-reform: she eats vegetarian foods, practices heat yoga, slims down, read books...
Shanghai Times: It seems that your latest styles fit in well with you.
Zhao Wei: Indeed my style has been a roller coaster ride, heehee. This has to do with my somewhat carefree personality. Sometimes it's not just a styling problem. If I gained some weight during the period, I won't be able to show off the essence of a piece of beautiful clothing. Thus, I should focus more on the core of the problem. Previously, due to studying on campus, I gained some weight, but now I have slimmed down.
Shanghai Times: Has your graduate life been continuing on?
Zhao Wei: Haven't let go of it yet. Since right now is not a period of closely packed courses, I don't need to go to school, that is, this is the internship period of the university life. After completing this production, I will begin filming my graduation project in August. I haven't completely thought out what I want to shoot. I have too many ideas, so I'll wait until after this production to dive into the matter.
Shanghai Times: The Olympics is approaching, will you be going to watch the ping-pong matchs?
Zhao Wei: Wow! You are setting a trap for me......I want to see any match, although how can I go watch if I don't have the tickets?
Shanghai Times: Do you mind going into a romantic relationship right now?
Zhao Wei: As for love, I do feel that this is absolute privacy. Before I am sure of everything, I will not be talking about it. As for the male leading role in the rumors, I am very sorry about it, but I can't do anything about it. Some media associations always like to use celebrity's relatinoships to grab people's attention. I'm used to it, and I just hope that these thing won't hurt others. Each person has his or her limits, I'm rather conservative in this area. Even when I'm alone right now, I will still try hard to live well. (Reporter: Wang Pu)
Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)
