赵薇边化妆边听老柴
Today Morning Express
03/06/2009
Intern reporter: Wang JinShuai
If an award is given out to a workholic in the entertainment business, Zhao Wei is a promising candidate who's sure to make the list.
After having just promoted the movie [Mulan] with old friend Chen Kun at the Cannes Film Festival, Zhao Wei appeared in Hengdian yesterday, to begin shooting her new movie [14 Blades].
Despite the preservance of confidentiality on the part of movie crew, the "Zhao Wei" sign posted outside of the lounge door located on the second floor of Guangzhou street accidentally disclosed the whereabouts of the beauty.
No time to take a closer look at the beaches in France or have a longer stay at her Beijing home, Zhao Wei hurried to arrive in Hengdian
Zhao Wei listened to Tchaikovsky as she had her makeup done
Why dressed in such simple costumes?
To play an ordinary yet adorable woman
[14 Blades] tells the story of Qing Long, a Ming Dynasty imperial guard who gets hunted down for discovering the imperial guards' conspiracy with treacherous court officials to murder the loyal officials. In the end, he succeeds in putting an end to the conspiracy with the help from those who also believed in justice. Donnie Yee plays Qing Long, the highly skilled imperial martial arts master, while Zhao Wei plays Qiao Hua, a woman that Qing Long encounters as he flees.
Zhao Wei stated that this character is an "ordinary yet adorable woman", so it's unnecessary to handle swords and spears or to fly through the air. "Such a woman will get an ordinary, riskless life," Zhao Wei told the reporter.
Our reporter originally thought that Zhao Wei, who had been tormented by the sand storms in [Mulan], will be able to put on fancy costumes and make a grand appearance in [14 Blades]. However, when Zhao Wei appeared on set, our reporter hardly recognized her—— in long brown jacket and silk pants in the same hue, she had her hair pulled back into a simple bun which was tied up with a a plain hairband, quite "ordinary". The boots made by the stylist did not seem to fit Zhao Wei, as she seemed to have a hard time getting on and off the horsecart.
Yesterday, the movie crew was shooting the desert scenes where Zhao Wei rode in the horsecart. To create the visual appearance of a desert, the movie crew went through the trouble of having a ton of sand transported to the set from out of town, and laid the sand over the smooth cement floor. Since the staff were come in and out of this particular area of the set, some of the sand were brought to other areas. To avoid an environmental problem, the movie crew assigned two people to clean up the sand dirt whenever it was necessary.
One thing puzzling was that although the movie was having synchronized sound recording, there was this surround sound music continuously being played on set, which was as tear-jerking as the opera songs.
What to listen to when getting makeup done?
Tchaikovsky's "Andante cantabile"
"Not enough time to take a closer look at the beaches in France, too short a stay at my Beijing home to warm it up...and now, I have to once again begin working, the way of life most familiar to me." Zhao Wei, who was in Hengdian, expressed herself this way on her blog. Apart from facial masks and computer, her pink ipod mini stereo also makes her filming life relaxing.
Although the in studio shooting for the [14 Blades] movie crew was only for one day, the arrangements done for Zhao Wei was thoughtful in every single way. On the second floor of the studio, the crew opened up a dressing room/lounge exclusively for Zhao Wei, in which there was an independent makeup mirror, a floor air conditioning unit, and there was enough space to acommodate dozens of people. OUr reporter saw a set of mini stereo system in front of the makeup mirror, with a pink MP3 player in the slot. Under the desk, there was a pair of pink slippers.
At 5:30PM, Zhao Wei finished filming the horsecart scenes. Shooting nonstop for a couple of hours in the crowded horsecart had made Zhao Wei seem somewhat tired. She was "locked into" the dressing room by the staff from the movie crew after she had a simple face-to-face encounter with our reporter.
"Andante cantabile", the second movement of Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 in D major, played in the dressing room. The combined effect of this movement, which is often used for prenatal education purposes, and the sound from the stylist's blowdryer hard at work had a strangely charming effect on the ears.
Around 20 minutes later, the music abruptly ended. Zhao Wei slowly walked out of the dressing room as she was closely "escorted" by a group of people. Her hair had been transformed into a braid. Zhao Wei still has a whole night to ride the bumps on the man-made desert in studio.
Zhao Wei is sitting in the middle
spacious dressing room
Adorable speakers
Pink slippers
Translated by:Vicki Yan (Canada)