Zhao Wei International Net Family -

Vicki's Message (07/08/2008)

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:51:55 +0800

Good morning all - Zhao Wei, 07/08/2008, 09:15:52

"Little Swallow" helping the needy with scholarship in her hometown, 2007 Wuhu Zhao Wei Scholarship and Bursary distributed yesterday

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:34:43 +0800

“小燕子”家乡奖学助困 2007年度赵薇奖助学金昨发放

Dajiang Evening News

18/07/2008

At 4PM yeaterday afternoon, as Zhao Wei entered the multifunctional hall in the municipal youth palace to award the Zhao Wei Scholarship and Bursary for the 2007 year, she received a warm welcome from both the recipients of the scholarship and bursary and her fans. The 2007 Zhao Wei Scholarship and Bursary Fund is distributed to students from elementary and secondary schools: 24 academically outstanding students for the scholarship and 81 financially needy students who also excel academically for the bursary. The total amounted to $67,600.

At the ceremony, the leaders from the municipal education bureau expressed their gratitude for Zhao Wei's concerns and contributions to the development and the education system in her hometown. Zhao Wei encouraged all the award recipients to cherish the educational opportunity they have, set goals to become successful, and be well educated so that they can give back to the country and to their hometown. Accompanyed by the leaders from the municipal education bureau, Zhao Wei distributed the scholaships and busaries to the students, and took a picture with the students.

Zhao Wei established the Scholarship and Busary Fund in Wuhu back in 2004. Since then, the Fund has received a lot of support and an increasing number of donations from the public, expanding the scale of the fund and the number of students benefiting from the fund. Up until April 2008, the fund has received donations from 68 groups and individuals. Up until 2007, Zhao Wei Scholarship and Bursary Fund has awarded and helped a total of 368 people, distributing a total fund amount of $226,600. In the few years of existence, most recipients of the Zhao Wei scholarship had been admitted into well-known universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, University of Science and Technology of China, and Renmin University of China.

Reporter: Wang JunJie

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

Zhao Wei confront the "Every woman has a share of responsibility" controversy: that horse has its share too!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:39:37 +0800

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)

[Red Cliff]'s opening weekend box office reached $180 million, Zhao Wei's performance received the most approval (excerpt)

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:09:18 +0800

《赤壁》首周末票房1亿800万赵薇表演最受肯定 (节选)
Beijing Youth
14/07/2008

As the most costly Chinese movie ever with a star-studded cast, and as John Woo's first Mainland China production, coupled with the Three Kingdoms theme, [Red Cliff] was an attention grabber even before it was screened. Yesterday, a well-known website launched a survey concerning [Red Cliff]. Web users thought that the part where the Zhou Yu couple named a horse "Meng Meng" was the most "lightening-struck" (translator's note: it's a term with negative conotation used to describe the feeling that someone is being shocked or surprised as lightning strikes him/her) scene. Even such discussions helped to raise the box office numbers for [Red Cliff] further along the way. On the opening night alone, [Red Cliff] earned $25 million in Mainland China, plus $2 million in Hong Kong and $4 million in Taiwan, making it this year's box office winner.
　　
●"Scoring chart" for the cast
　　Zhao Wei "Best Performance"
　　Lin Chiling "Worst Performance"

　　The most surprising part of the "satisfaction of the perfomance of the cast" survey was the landslide win for Zhao Wei who portrayed Sun ShangXiang in the movie, as according to web users, she delivered the best performance out of the entire cast, with an overwhelming 60% of the votes. The funny thing was that Zhao Wei did not have a very big role in the movie. Out of the real leading roles, ZhouYu had relatively more votes, defeating Zhang FengYi's Cao Cao. Zhao Wei's Sun ShangXiang was very similar to "Little Swallow", so the role was easily approved by the audience.

　　In the "who delivered the worst performance" survey, Lin Chiling who portrayed Xiao Qiao won the title with 45% of the vote.
------------------------------------------------

Sohu Entertainment
14/07/2008

Confirmed by China Film Group, John Woo's epic movie [Red Cliff] recorded a total of $180 million for the opening weekend. According to the current trend, the $300 million target is within reach as [Red Cliff] is on its way to create a new era for the "made in China" blockbusters.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

Changchun Film Festival: Huang XiaoMing and Zhao Wei were afraid of romantic rumors

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:35:00 +0800

长春电影节黄晓明、赵薇怕传绯闻

Metropolitan Entertainment/M1905.COM/Sina Entertainment

07-08/07/2008

　　Recently, Huang XiaoMing, who once had a secret crush on Zhao Wei during the university years, reunited with his classmate Zhao Wei at the Changchun Film Festival. Perhaps due to fear of creating another romantic rumor, when Huang XiaoMing walked down the red carpet with Zhao Wei, he also had Huo SiYan, an actress from his agent company, on his right. Surrounded by two beauties, he seemed to enjoy the attention.

　　The apperance of the Huang XiaoMing + Zhao Wei + Huo SiYan combo created a commotion that was comparable to that of such idols as Li YuChun and SJ-M, to say the least. Their fans by the red carpet screamed excitedly at the sight of the three celebrity. Together, the elegant Zhao Wei, the handsome Huang XiaoMing and the clean Huo SiYan became a beautiful scenery on the red carpet at this year's Changchun Film Festival.

　　Nonetheless, Huang XiaoMing was not spared the trouble. Indeed, the loose tongue Li Xiang pulled off a joke as soon as she saw the threesome, "XiaoMing, did you hold Huo SiYan's hand walking across the red carpet because you were afraid of more romantic rumors with Zhao Wei?" Huang XiaoMing responded with a smile, "that(referring to the crush he had on Zhao Wei) happened 12 years ago" and praised how Zhao Wei was still as beautiful as she was back then. Zhao Wei, on the other hand, expressed that her old classmate Huang XiaoMing had become increasingly handsome since then.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

[Red Cliff] Chengdu Premiere: Zhao Wei compliments Tony Leung to be "consistantly handsome"

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:35:48 +0800

《赤壁》成都首映赵薇夸伟仔“十年如一日的帅”

Chongqing Evening News/MTIME/M1905/Sohu Entertainment

04/07/2008

The three stars on stage: Tony Leung, Zhao Wei and Lin Chiling

　　At the event, the most popular celebrity was good old Tony Leung. Received the most applause, he was also the most popular guy among women. The host purposely kept him on stage with Ling Chiling and Zhao Wei. In black, blue and red respectively, the trio was definitely an eyeball grabber.

　　On stage, when "Sun ShangXiang" Zhao Wei was requested to comment on Tony Leung, she was in the spotlight to compliment Tony Leung. She had nothing but praises for Tony Leung, stating that he was believable in each and every character he portrayed, and that he was an actor that gave others a sense of security. She also said that he was "constantly handsome", attracting waves of laughters from the audience. Tony Leung was also very cooperative as he discretely told the host that he had blackmailed Zhao Wei to compliment him the way she did. His wife "Xiao Qiao" was not about to fall behind. When Lin Chiling was asked which male actor she admired the most, she expressed, "Xiao Qiao only have Zhou Yu in her heart..." Zhao Wei added from the side that "they are the most sappy 'couple'." Zhao Wei also revealed jokingly that she once said Tony Leung had the most comfortable time in the crew, because while everyone else was fighting in battles, he was the only one in a romantic relationship. Tony Leung elaborated on what she said, "I was fighting battles while in a relationship, that's why it was romantic."

　　Zhao Wei: The status of woman had long been elevated
　　In the beginning, Zhao Wei wanted to take on the role of Xiao Qiao, but in the end, she portrayed Sun ShangXiang. In fact, this role was more suited to her acting skills, for Sun ShangXiang has an outspoken and straightforward personality that's a lot like attributes of a man. Zhao Wei herself even said, "this role can prove that the status of woman thousands of years ago were very high."
　　
Working in such a big film crew, Zhao Wei exclaimed at the degree of preciseness and care taken for each and every task. Her most memorable scene was when the horse had to fall over when she applied pressure on its acupressure points. Before the shooting, she thought over how such a scene would be filmed since horses do not take orders as well as humans do. Through anesthesia or by force? It was only when she arrivd on site that she found out that the horse trainers had already trained the horses to automatically fall over. The results of the hard efforts were so amazing that the scene was done in one take. Thus, Zhao Wei also fell in love with that "extremely obedient" horse that she fed him a lot of bread bread crumbs.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

Sun Shangxiang in [Red Cliff] lively and optimistic; Zhao Wei feels she is not like Little Swallow

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:07:10 +0800

163 Entertainment

4 Jul 2008

On 3 Jul, there was a lavish opening premiere for [Red Cliff] in Chengdu, John Woo’s first Chinese epic war movie after his foray into Hollywood. Zhao Wei, who starred as Sun Quan’s sister Sun Shangxiang, attended the premiere. When the media commented that her lively character of Sun Shangxiang is similar to [My Dear Princess]’s Little Swallow, Zhao Wei frowned and pointed out that the characters are different. However, she admitted that Sun Shangxiang was the bright spot in the war setting.

Compared to her attire at the promotional event in Beijing, Zhao Wei was much more ladylike and sexy at Chengdu. However, her character of Sun Shangxiang in [Red Cliff] is more akin to Hua Mulan, the legendary lady who disguised as a man to go to war. “Before filming, the director asked me to learn archery and horse riding.” That was why when she saw a bow crafted by an artist in Chengdu, she took it excitedly and even jokingly aimed the bow at co-actor Tong Dawei.

Her character Sun Shangxiang is also a mischievous and lively person. Zhao Wei shook her head when she heard the media comparing Sun Shangxiang to her previous character of Little Swallow in [My Dear Princess]. “If you watched both the first and second parts of the movie, you’d realize that the theme is very serious, and all the characters matured quickly.” However, she admitted that Sun Shangxiang provided much humour in the movie.

Zhao Wei, who is currently studying directing in the Movie Academy, felt that it was very tough being a director after participating in [Red Cliff]. “It’s (Being the director) really a tough job. I think no director in Chinese history had the leadership ability to film a movie like [Red Cliff]. If you don’t have a certain sort of charisma, you won’t be able to handle such a massive cast. From director John Woo, I really learned the art of fighting to the last.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhao Wei reflects on “Also a lady’s responsibility”; need not be too critical of details

Sichuan Online

July 4, 2008

The most talked about topic in the movie premiere should be the dialogue between Sun Shangxiang and Zhuge Liang in the movie, when Sun announced “it is also a lady’s responsibility to ensure the survival of a country.”

The original phrase should be “Every man has a responsibility to ensure the survival of a country.” However, the phrase was only mentioned during the Qing Dynasty, which is more than one thousand years later than the Three Kingdoms era. Hence, several critics panned the use of the phrase in [Red Cliff].

At the premiere press conference, Zhao Wei commented that language and text are ever-changing, and it would not be strange if the phrase had indeed originated from the Three Kingdoms era. In addition, Zhao Wei hoped that the audiences would not focus on such minute details, as a movie is produced for the audiences’ entertainment, and the phrase was included in the movie as part of Sun Shangxiang’s humour.

Director John Woo also added that this phrase was specially added during the brainstorming session with the intention to brighten up Sun Shangxiang’s dialogues.

Zhao Wei remarked that she had only attended the promotional events in Beijing and Chengdu because she had signed on another movie assignment, and hence could only choose the venues she wanted to attend. She had decided on Chengdu together with Tong Dawei, because she hoped that by attending the movie premiere in earthquake-stricken area of Sichuan would help stimulate interest and unity amongst the Chinese.

Translated by 小妹子

[Red Cliff] Beijing Premiere and Press Conference Comprehensive Report

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:22:24 +0800

《赤壁》北京首映发布会综合报道

Sina Entertainment/Mtime/Chinafilm/CCWB.net/Netease Entertainment

02-03/07/2008

Zhao Wei was bright like the peach blossom

Transcript from the press conference:
Zhao Wei: it was a blast playing the heroine

Ju WenPei: Next, let's interview Miss Zhao Wei, hello.

Zhao Wei: Hello.

Ju WenPei: She was a legendary female in history. (In the movie,) you can communicate with horses and control horses with their acupressure points. Was is a blast playing such an heroine?

Zhao Wei: Very much so, I'm very glad and moved that the director can recreate a historic female character with such modern characteristics. In fact, very little is said about her in history, so it was easier for us to work with such a character. Since no one's familiar with her, a lot was left to interpretation. Also, I feel that to have a Chinese woman from thousands of years ago to be so brave in doing exactly what modern women do, it was a very progressive mentality in that period. I'm very glad to play a rebel from that period. Nonetheless, the main theme was definitely patriotism. To make sure that our homeland was not invaded, despite being a woman, she was still willing to sacrifice everything.

Ju WenPei: You said that you were very willing to take on the battle. Zhou Yu also said that after this battle, he would no longer want to engage in battles. What are your thoughts about the battle scenes from the movie?

Zhao Wei: I feel that that were very magnificent. Based on my character's personality, I would want to fight a second battle after the first one.

Ju WenPei: We look forward to the sequel (aka part 2).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changjiang Daily

03/07/2008

◆Was the line "Every woman has a share of responsibility for the fate her country" purposely added to bring out a laugh?

　　Response: to make Sun ShangXiang more lovable

　　John Woo: Some lines are especially designed to bring out a good laugh. The line "every woman has a share of responsibility" was a joke made by the writer, to make Sun ShangXiang seem more lovable and courageous. It doesn't matter that people are nitpicking, as long as it has a good effect on the characters.

　　Zhao Wei: How do we know for sure that a quote that appeared in the contemporary times was not said by the ancients? I feel that (the origin of) the line is not important, what's important is the meaning that it expresses. It was written to make everyone happy. When I was filming the scene, I also laughed when I recited the line. This was designed. Because it is a popular saying, it's impossible to not know the origin.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水

Zhao Wei passes by her family home everyday without entering

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:16:47 +0800

赵薇天天过家门而不入

Jinling Evening News

27 Jun 2008

Zhao Wei is currently filming in her hometown of Wuhu. Being a central figure in the television serial, her screen-time amounts to almost 90% of the entire show. Hence, she is always stationed full-time at the filming site since filming commenced three months ago. Some of the fiming sites are situated very near her home, and she could reach her home within five minutes. But she did not return home, choosing to spend her nights together with the production crew. Yesterday, our reporter paid a visit to Zhao Wei, and saw the filming of a quarrelling scene between Zhao Wei and Liu Ye. During the break, Zhao Wei looked exhausted, and claimed, “We’ve been filming non-stop for the past three months for about 16 hours per day. I’m so tired that I just sleep once I reach my room. Where can I find the time to return home??”

Cannot bear to disturb parents

Zhao Wei was dressed in a flowery skirt that day. In today’s fashion terms, her attire would look very old-fashioned, but it suited the era of [A Woman’s Epic Poem] , and also suited Zhao Wei’s character in the serial. “My character is a pretty well-known actress in the countryside, so she needs to wear something appropriate.”

Zhao Wei has not been back to Wuhu for several years, and she exclaimed that she no longer knew the city on her trip back, as all the streets have had a makeover. However, the city dwellers are all very familiar with her, and they would often crowd the filming site to have a glimpse of her. As the vocal recording are done together with the filming, sometimes they had to stop filming when there are too many people or too much noise. Of course, the happiest people in Wuhu are Zhao Wei’s parents. “Mum knew that I didn’t have time to go home for meals, so she decided to cook and bring the dishes over. She would always cook a lot for the crew to share, and even the director felt bad about it…”

After a while, Zhao Wei decided really bad about the work her mother needed to do. “Usually, my parents just cooked a couple of dishes for their meals. But she now needed to cook for so many people. I was really worried that they would be tired out. Also, I didn’t want their normal lifestyle to be disrupted because of my filming. So I insisted that they stop sending meals to the production site”

But mothers are always mothers. Although Zhao Wei’s mother agreed to Zhao Wei’s request, she would still visit the filming site everyday to bring fruits to Zhao Wei. She pointed to some cuit bananas and honeydew in front of her, and said, “You see, my mum brought these for me earlier today…”

“I don’t really look like a mother”

In [A Woman’s Epic Poem], Zhao Wei’s role will mature from a 16-year old maiden to a middle aged woman with a daughter studying in the university. Although this is not the first time Zhao Wei has acted as a mother, her previous “children” were all babies. She admitted that it was a challenge for her this time. “There was much interaction between myself and the daughter. In addition, this daughter would often act against my wishes, and is a pretty defiant teenager.”

Initially, Zhao Wei felt some pressure. But after watching some television serials, she felt that she should be able to manage the acting of being a mother to a teenager. “In most of the shows nowadays, the mother didn’t really look like a mother; or a daughter really looking like a daughter The age gap has become much closer.” Hence, Zhao Wei did not intentionally don make up to look older as her character ages. “My focus is to act like a mother in the show, not simply to just look like a mother.”

Pinching Liu Ye’s nose for fun

In the serial, Zhao Wei and Liu Ye stars as a couple, with Zhao Wei making all the courting moves. Eventually, they got married because Zhao Wei become pregnant, and Liu Ye felt duty-bound to Zhao Wei, instead of love. As time goes by, they had arguments and betrayals, but the couple continued to stay together to fulfill the responsibility of being husband and wife. Although the duo was unhappy in screen-life, Liu Ye and Zhao Wei were actually great pals off-camera. Once the filming of an argument scene was completed, Liu Ye and Zhao Wei relaxed and Zhao Wei even pinched Liu Ye’s nose for fun. We jokingly asked if Liu Ye was trying to be on Zhao Wei’s good terms, so she could someday give him a role in her show when she becomes a director. Zhao Wei laughed, “No lah! He would just say that he’d come and help me out next time…”

Zhao Wei also commented that she is currently studying directing because she wanted to learn more things. She may not venture into directing one day. “Unless something happens, I think I’d still continue to focus on acting.”

Although this is the first time Zhao Wei is acting alongside Liu Ye, they have known each other for some years. Zhao Wei revealed that Liu Ye was her classmate when they were both studying arts in Beijing, and even acted in the same recital. “Later on, Liu Ye and myself started acting around the same time. I sometimes wondered if we would one day act in the same show together. Well, I got my wish this time!”

Translated by 小妹子

Nanjing Weekly visits filming site in Wuhu

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:45:38 +0800

Director’s advice: Zhao Wei and Liu Ye to cut down on late nights and drinking respectively

Entertainment Report No. 228

25 Jun 2008

Zhao Wei said that amongst the many male co-stars, Liu Ye’s looks are most compatible with hers. Hence, for this pair of good friends, it was an enjoyable acting along one another for the first time in [A Woman’s Epic Poem], a television serial adapted from Yan Geling’s novel, which was about a lovelorn lady chasing after an artistic man. Last Thursday, our reporter went to Anhui Wuhu to visit the filming site, to witness firsthand, the chemistry amongst the two big-eyed artistes.

Picture: [A Woman’s Epic Poem]: Zhao Wei enacting a happy-go-lucky lovelorn lady in love with Liu Ye.

Youngster trained in martial arts volunteering to protect his idol

As everyone knows, Zhao Wei’s hometown is here at Anhui Wuhu. Hence, she received special treatment in her homecoming to act in the television serial. The crew was filming a scene last Thursday afternnon, in which a middle-aged Tian Sufei (Zhao Wei’s character) was sending her daughter off to the army. The filming happened during the period when students had finished school. As a result, several students carrying backpacks crowded around the filming site. Those who were shy remained at the site, staring and pointing at the artistes, while those who were more passionate tore off pages from their textbooks to ask for Zhao Wei’s autograph. A muscular youth dressed in a tight black T-shirt stood up to maintain order amongst the students, disallowing reporters or fans to take photographs. He was also seen fanning Zhao Wei during filming breaks.

At first, we thought that he was Zhao Wei’s bodyguard. Later, we learned from the crew that he was also Zhao Wei’s fan trained in martial arts, and had volunteered to help at the production site to protect his idol from harm. In the following two days, we also saw many fans of all ages approaching Zhao Wei. The lady boss of the hotel, which was used as a filming site, was also seen saying to Zhao Wei, “Your parents frequently came here for meals…” She also requested Zhao Wei to sign on a picture in her office.

Zhao Wei, who is currently studying Masters in Directing, also had a chance to practice her new skills. Director Xia Gang revealed that she would often discuss on her acting, and when she had no scenes, Zhao Wei would help in advising other artistes, or to direct the work at the site. Director Xia had no qualms about her actions, as it allowed him to concentrate on other matters, and Zhao Wei was indeed doing a good job. One can say that Zhao Wei is an integral part of the production. In fact, author Yen Geling had stated that Zhao Wei must be acting the role of ‘Tian Sufei’. Being the ‘home heroine’, Zhao Wei also enjoyed the fans’ passion as well as the respect and love of the director and production crew. This “little swallow” is easily the ‘Big Sister’ in this production.

Director discloses Liu Ye’s fondness of an occasional drink

It was reported in the media previously that Liu Ye likes to drink. However, director Xia Gang had a different view. He said that Liu Ye and Zhao Wei are both outstanding artistes who did not require make-up to convince the audience of the age of their characters. Still, he had some words of advice to his main leads. “I frequently told Zhao Wei, that she should not always go out at night for events. Having an active nightlife is not good for the body. Maintaining a good body will also prolong an artiste shelf life. As for Liu Ye, he really does like an occasional drink. I also advised him to cut down on drinks. But so far, we did not have any drink-related incidents at the production site.”

When Liu Ye heard the director’s comments, he felt a little embarrassed, and replied, “Ok, I’ll quit the drinking habit!” Zhao Wei then went to the aid of Liu Ye, saying that his drinking tolerance level was only average, and would be drunk by the second drink. He was only more daring in drinking. In any case, the filming schedule has been hectic, and they have not been out clubbing for sometime.

Picture: [A Woman’s Epic Poem]: Zhao Wei has been acting to her heart’s content, starring in several recital roles such as Xi-er, Li Shuang Shuang, Sifeng, etc.

Zhao Wei: Men would hurt women

Nanjing Weekly: N
Zhao Wei: Z

N: After Ouyang (Liu Ye’s character in A Woman’s Epic Poem) fell in love with another woman, your character Tian Sufei also entangled with other man, such as the colleagues at the recital, and the character enacted by Sun Haiying.

Z: Not really, the relationship between Tian and the other men were only a little tense, and all awkwardness disappeared once Tian saw Ouyang. In Tian’s heart, none of the other men could be compared with Ouyang.

N: I guess every woman would encounter their special someone in love, but what kind of woman should be considered as “epic”?

Z: I feel that Tian Sufei can be considered as an epic and special woman because she has really encountered and experienced a lot. She is very dogged in love and very intense. I feel that in real life, every woman would meet someone like Ouyang and be hurt, but I don’t think I can do what Tian Sufei did for him.

Translated by 小妹子

The filming of [A Woman's Epic Poem] entered a climax

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:04:38 +0800

《一个女人的史诗》拍摄进入高峰期

Dajiang Evening News

25/06/2008

Every single one of the over a hundred scenes were exciting

Starting from June 20th, the senior's activity room at Wuhu's Sanatorium for Retired Marine Cadres became "68 Fushandao Avenue", Xiao Fei's home in [A Woman's Epic Poem]. According to sources, most of Ouyang Yu and Tian SuFei's life after marriage would happen in this location, including: Xiao Fei getting jealous over an artistic female youth looking for Ouyang Yu at their house; confronted with Ouyang Yu's repeated emotional affairs, Xiao Fei fought and argued, even swore to get divorced; Ouyang Yu kneeled down, pushed over dinner table; Xiao Fei was greatly saddened by the news of Du Han passing away and Ouyang Yu finally spoke out his "jealous" inner thought...full of tensions, all the emotional scenes are exciting.

The filming set, the senior's activity room at Wuhu's Sanatorium for Retired Marine Cadres is a two-storey bulding, bult in the 1960's. Staff from the [A Woman's Epic Poem]'s crew, whether it was the architectural style or the surrounding environment, the location corresponds very well with the filming needs of the period TV series. Out of the entire series, approximately 150 some scenes, equivalent to close to three and a half episodes' worth of scenes, will be shoot at this location. Thus, this shooting location will have the highest number of appearances in the series.

The entire crew working together to take care of the little actors
In Xiao Fei's home, Zhao Wei's "daughters" from different age groups will make their appearances. Apart from Jing Tian, the other four are all special actors from Wuhu, of which the youngest was only a few months old. On the set, the question of how to let the little kids act naturally was definitely not an easy task.

According to sources, in the scene where Zhao Wei led her 6 year old "daughter" to play the game "the eagle and the chicks" (see photo above), the kids' every word and every action had to be taught hand by hand. "This was not the hardest part, since theses kids were already 6 or 7 years old, so they understood what we said," staff told our reporter. Currently, the hardest part was to deal with the little baby playing Xiao Xue (aka Ouyang Xue, Tian SuFei's daughter). "She's only 16 months old, really cute and obedient, and she would smile at anyone who's holding her, but this is the problem." Staff explained that her most important scene in the series was to be frightened by her "mother" Xiao Fei to tears, "so, now we are all thinking of a way to make her stop smiling when she's acting."

Article by: Huang Mei / Photo credits: Zhao YaLing

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

Zhao Wei & Liu Ye enjoyed romance in the rain

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:06:49 +0800

赵薇刘烨享受雨中浪漫

Dajiang Evening news

16/06/2008

In the afternoon of June 13th, during the field shooting of TV series [A Woman's Epic Poem], it suddenly began to rain. The shooting process was not affected, instead, the rain added some romantic elements.

Around 4:00PM that afternoon, [A Woman's Epic Poem]'s crew proceeded to film on the boulevard inside the Tieshan Hotel. Suddenly, light rain suddenly began to drop down from the sky. Luckily, the crew was well-prepared, so the set was in order. Zhao Wei and Liu Ye's moods were not affected by the sudden precipitation. The dull Liu Ye who "had just broke up with Sun BaiHe", walked on the street. After the completion of this scene, the crew moved to the outside of Tieshan hotel to continue filming. At the same time, Zhao Wei appeared on set. Perhaps it was because she had not seen Liu Ye for a few days, the two happily chatted away (see photo), their conversation did not cease even as they were waiting in the rain to shoot the next scene. Due to the weather conditions, the scene where Ouyang Yu brought Xiao Fei for a walk on the street transformed into Zhao Wei and Liu Ye taking a stroll in the rain, a romantic gain.

During the filming process, Zhao Wei and Liu Ye appeared on the streets simultaneously, which had never happened before. In addition, the two were in military attire which were made them stand out even more, creating a big commotion. Apart from the huge crowd surrounding the set, dozens of cars were parked nearby, blocking off the entire boulevard in front of the Tieshan Hotel. Using "grand" to describe the sight is not an overstatement. At the same time, the clicking from cellphone taking pictures, the honking from cars...all the different noises brought great challenges to doing live recording. Staff attempted to control the situation, but was unsuccessful. The crew had no choice but to resort to post-recording for this scene.

Article by: Huang Mei / Photo credits: Zhao YaLing

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

[A Woman's Epic Poem] shooting in Wuhu in full force, Zhao Wei discloses her preference for roles with a distinct character

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:49:56 +0800

《一个女人的史诗》芜湖热拍赵薇自称偏好个性角色

Beijing Youth Daily

09/06/2008

(Reported by Yang WenJie from Wuhu)
Since Zhao Wei had first came into the spot as "Princess Returned Pearl", this was the first time that Wuhu, renowned city in southern Anhui, became the "home court" for Zhao Wei's career. Adapted from Yan GeLing's novel by the same name, director Xia Gang's [A Woman's Epic Poem] has been in production in the local area. Zhao Wei, who has been careful about accepting TV series productions, accepted to portray the art troupe actress Tian SuFei, who sought after love during her lifetime with fiery passion.

Yesterday, when the reporter arrived on set for a visit, perhaps influenced by the personality of her character, the "mature" Zhao Wei seemed to return to "Little Swallow's" carefreeness, content yet focused.

■"Either suppress entirely or burn alive"
[A Woman's Epic Poem] is set during a period of red history, from the liberation war to the founding of New China to the Cultural Revolution, and tells the story of a woman called Tian SuFei, who sought after the scholarly soldier Ouyang Yu and devoted everything to maintain her love and marriage. During our conversation, it was apparent that Zhao Wei adored the character "Tian SuFei". Even though from today's perspective, as a simple and rash "play fool" who was "dumb in love", this woman had her share of personality weaknesses, in Zhao Wei's eyes, the "fire-like personality" was sufficient to make up for any deficiencies. As we brought up the compromising Yao MuLan from [Moment in Peking], Zhao Wei said with a chuckle that she enjoyed portraying roles with a distinct character, "either suppress entirely or burn alive."

Even though the performance required her to at a constant state of excitement, Zhao Wei revealed that she often shed tears for Tian SuFei, "When faced with setbacks from reality, most people would gradually become depressed. That was not the case with her, for she was always passionate about life." As for Tian SuFei's persistence and selflessness in love, Zhao Wei commented in a series of "I wouldn't dare", "frighteningly surprised", "extend my sincerest appreciation to her", "when dealing with similar relationship problems, women are usually not as carefree as men, everyone will have a tactic understanding of a lot of the plots, I believe that the series will create resonance with women."

■Liu Ye pinched his thighs to prevent breaking out in laughters on set
Apart from the relationships, the huge amount of "plays-within-a-story" satisfied Zhao Wei's huger for performance. Unlike Zhao Wei who had only performed in the play [Thunder Storm] once during her university years, as a stage play actress in an art troupe, "Tian SuFei" had the chance to perform in all the well-known plays during the span of a few decades. During the media visit, the "play-within-a-story" that was being filmed was the well-known play [In the Name of Revolution] from the former USSR.

On the surface, the collaboration between Liu Ye and Zhao Wei was the result of Yan Geling's personal request. Nonetheless, faith was also a factor. As Liu Ye said, "12 years ago, when the two of us applied to the central academy of drama, we were assigned to the same group to perform a skit together. It was only 12 years later that we truly collaborated for the first time, playing a couple for life." The chemistry between the two buddies was naturally great, at the same time, there were a lot of laughters on the set. Liu Ye loved to joke around, so he often brought Zhao Wei to laughters. However, during the actual shooting, he couldn't bear Zhao Wei looking all serious as she developed their romantic relationship. Though he seemed to be deeply in character, he was actually pinching his thighs so that he would not break out in laughters,“One day,while showering after a long day of work, I discovered that the inner side of my thighs were covered with red and purple bruises, all pinched by myself."

■Mom became the crew's cook
Even though her parts in [A Woman's Epic Poem] were cumbersome, Zhao Wei still felt at ease because the set was located in her hometown Wuhu, "my parents are the most excited people. It's been over ten years since I left home, they haven't had the chance to spent so much time with me for a long time." Although the set was only 5 minutes from her home, Zhao Wei rarely had the time to go home. Her mom happily became the crew's volunteer cook, delivering food especially made for her when it was time to eat. Thus, despite the 20-hour a day work schedule, Zhao Wei still "stubbornly" gained a few pounds.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)

Zhao Wei: performing in plays entailed hard work, but it was interesting

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:20:16 +0800

赵薇：演话剧，辛苦但有意思

Dajiang Evening News

07/06/2008

In the short span of a few hours, the scenes for the "plays-within-a-story" section that were sccessfully filmed entailed scenes from as much as four different stage plays. This was demanding for the cast members, and the lead Zhao Wei was not an exception (see image above).

Zhao Wei's version of "Li ShuangShuang": zealous and bold

"Returned from the fields, Li ShuangShuang put on her apron and started to cook. Xi Wang who was lying around started nitpicking. Unable to endure her husband's selfishness and narrow-mindedness, ShuangShuang put down the cutting knife in her hands, and squatted down in frount of the door. As Xi Wang came by to pick out a fight again, as hard as she could, ShuangShuang pushed Xi Wang twice to the floor. ShuangShuang gave a hearty laugh after returning to the backyard..."

The vibrant character "Li ShuangShuang" was revived on stage through a series of language and action choreography. With a stubborn personality and the will the insist her principles, Zhao Wei's version of "Li ShuangShuang" was frank and outspoken, bold and zealous, kind-hearted and diligent, portraying the image of a rural woman in the New China.

During the shooting, the two senior stage play actors from Ma'anshan Drama Troupe were on set to direct the performances. To portray her character in the plays to the full extent, Zhao Wei interacted with her predecessors from time to time.

Zhao Wei: performing in plays entailed hard work, but it was interesting
From Si Feng to Tong YaNan, from Tong Mama to Li ShuangShuang, Zhao Wei ahd to transform from one character to another in the short time span. With the characters each possessing differing personalities, it was undoubtedly demanding for someone to take on the task. During prior media interview, Zhao Wei had expressed that it was very difficult to play an actress, and that in [A Woman's Epic Poem], the hardest part to play was the "plays-in-a-story" section.

To succeed in the "plays-within-a-story" section, Zhao Wei had watched a lot of the "Yangban Xi" or "Model Plays". Ever since the start of the centralized filming of the "plays-within-a-story" section, she has been going through intense rehearsing and performing, which entailed a lot of hard work. However, Zhao Wei expressed that it was nonetheless interesting. Her voice got louder, and she even practiced vocalizing with "yeeya...".

Article by/ reporter Huang Mei, photo credits/ Zhao YaLing

Translated by: Vicki Yan 龍小水 (Canada)

Zhao Wei & Liu Ye join hands for the first time on theatrical stage

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:48:29 +0800

赵薇刘烨首次携手话剧舞台

Dajiang Evening News

06/06/2008

On the evening of June 4th, our reporter was surprised to see Liu Ye in long robes on the production set of the "plays-within-a-story" section of the TV series [A Woman's Epic Poem]. According to sources, that night, Liu Ye was going to have a "cameo appearance" as Zhou Ping in the play-within-the-story named [Thunder Storm]. This was not only the first time Zhao and Liu Ye joined hands on the theatrical stage (see photo above), it was also Liu Ye's one and only apperance in the "plays-within a story" section of [A Woman's Epic Poem].

Zhao Wei "messed up in rehearsal"
In a short, pink gown with buttons down the front with her hair in braids, Zhao Wei's version of "Si Feng" (translator's note: her character's name in the play, literally means the "fourth phoenix") was cute and loveable. Though Xiao Fei (translator's note: nickname of Zhao Wei's role in the series) had a huge fight with Ouyang Yu over his infidelity, Xiao Fei still had her mind on him. While rehearsing the play [Thunder Storm] on stage, Xiao Wei had a delusion that the actor standing in front of her was none other than her Ouyang Yu. So she started to pour her heart out to him. Xiao Fei, who was completely in character, spoke in a sobbing tone until she broke down and started crying out loud. She ended up hugging the "Ouyang Yu" in her imagination, a move that was not a part of the original play.

This scene was successful in one single shot. The speed at which Zhao Wei went in and came out of the character was amazingly quick. As the word "start" is said, in an instant, the Zhao Wei who fooled around off the stage transformed into the teary "Si Feng", and as the director shout out "cut", the Zhao Wei with tears running down her face immediately resume to her normal mode.

Liu Ye always tempted to laugh
In comparison to Zhao Wei's exaggerated performance, Liu Ye's performance seemed to be more natural. "In this scene, Liu Ye appeared in Zhao Wei's imagination, so he doesn't need to perform in a stage play the way Zhao Wei have to," a director from the production crew told us.

That night, Liu Ye arrived on the set very early, where as he prepared for the role of "Zhou Ping", he carefully observed the performance of the actors on stage. However, when he did walkthroughs with Zhao Wei, for reasons unknown to us, Liu Ye "always tempted to laugh", and he couldn't help it either. "Where did you go, my stupid girl!" In the melancholy atmosphere, Zhao Wei was led to laughters by a deep and atractive voice speaking these lines with a northwestern accent. Nonetheless, the Best Actor lived up to his title. When the shooting officially began, Liu Ye delivered an outstanding performance.

Translated by: Vicki Yan 神仙妹妹/龍小水 (Canada)