2000 News [2]

6/11/2000, Tony Leung's Private Party was held last night at a restaurant bar nearby Jet Tone Production(WKW's film company). More than a hundred celebrities and friends were there to congratulate the Best Actor of Cannes 2000. HK paparazzi had a field day last night. Among the celebrities who attended the party, they caught the red hot shots of Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse holding hands, Stephen Chow ducking in, beauties such as, Go Li and Rosamund Kwan wearing transparent night-gowns. The party lasted till 1PM.

5/31/2000, Tony kept himself busy with interviews, luncheons, and receptions eversince he came back from Cannes. A HK Theater planned a mini Tony Leung film-fest, showcasing "Happy Together", "Flowers in Shanghai", "A City of Sadness" between June 3-6th. (I read on the paper saying the admission is free, Free? There is such thing in this world? Well, I have to contain my sarcasm for now.) During the press interview, Asked which movie he enjoys the most, Tony blunts out the words of wisdom , " I have to say the latest (ie. In the mood for love). I didn't pick these movies. Very few people understood the meaning of these three films. I know what I am doing in the film, but I fear nobody else would." (Ha!)

Asked when 2046 will resume shooting, Tony said he will start working on HUP GWUT YUN SUM (HEROIC BONE KIND HEART) first then 2046 follows. Amid all the questions, the funniest was perhaps this, "WKW's films always took so long to make, should we expect to see 2046 until the year of 2046?" Tony definitely hopes that's not the case. 2046 is set for location shots in Korea and Japan.

Listen to Tony's Radio Interview at RTHK Radio Station (5/25/2000).

5/28/2000, After winning Cannes' award, Tony is bombarded with requests of dinner and celebration parties. To avoid an over-exhaustion, Carina plans to ask all of their friends to come at once. But looking at a 4 page long guest-list, Tony had a migraine attack. During the last Golden Horse Award party Carina planned for him, Tony disappeared for more than one hour. So this time, Tony makes sure he is being heard loud and clear, "Expect me to be disappeared for the most of the night." At Cannes, Tony went to a series of post-award parties, he stayed about 5 minutes then left. Carina had hoped he stayed longer, she enjoys parties, but that's just not Tony. He simply could not bear it any longer.

Stephen Chow was one of the first friends to congratulate him. They were born on the same year and month, and they had known each other for years. Many people consider Tony being the luckier one, but Tony thinks everyone has a different fate in life. Stephen Chow has his share of fame and fortune.

During a radio interview, Tony denied all the rumors of Carina and Sherman. He said he totally trusts her and all of the gossips are just ridiculous. Yada, yada... (If you look at his answers from previous interviews, it's pretty much similar in style. Though I don't doubt the truth behind his words, I do have a question for Tony. Doesn't he care? This is not your flying-out of nowhere stories. All of the stories have pictures backing them up. I am the one who tends to believe pictures worth more than the words. If Carina keeps her high-flying party life, then I guess we will be subjected to the same rumors day after day. Personally, I do wish, and pray that I don't have to read and translate these kind of news any more. I am so sick of it. I often doubt if this is worth my time to translate. My time could be invested more wisely than this. About a year ago, I got so fed up with rumors, I thought of close down the site for good. I am afraid to say I am reaching to that point again.)

5/23/2000, Tony came back HK yesterday. As soon as he was out of the gate, he was swamped by cameramen. Several Bodyguards were assigned to rescue him. He finally made it to the press room in one piece. Tony's Mother was the surprise guest greeted him in the press room. She handed him flowers then left. They plan to have a dinner later at night. Nearly a hundred press were smashed inside of the press room. Flashbulbs went on and off for minutes before the interview started. Tony had to stand on a stool to make himself visible for the press in the backrow. Tony was calm and coorperate during the whole time.

Asked if he is happy(what a dumb question), he said, "I wanted this for four years. It's a real disappointment when I was one vote short for Happy Together, then Flowers In Shanghai was another dismal experience. And now finally this, it's a dream coming true, having your talent being recognized by the international film critics." Rumor had him drunk after the night of celebration, he quickly denied,"I had to do 60 interviews in three days. It's simply too tiring to drink." He said he went to sleep early each day. (Well, if he wants to get drunk, this is the perfect time. Have a Toast! But I doubt if he needs alcohol, he would be perfectly happy staying up somber reliving the exciting moments of crowning. If you look at his pictures after the award, his face is almost numbed. Maybe a few more days in HK will descend him back to the earth. Heehee...)

More immediate plans.... Will he take a salary hike now? No, he plans to finish all of his film commitments which have been already filled up to the year 2002. He also wants to take a shot at producing and learning more on the backend process of the filming. (Good Luck, Tony. Very Few Actors have made the transition from acting to directing, or producing. What comes down to, is that you really can't have the best of the both worlds. But, why not give a try, just don't be stupid, and invest a lot of your hard-earned money on it. Be sure you still have some tears left to go around when it's all finished.)

Marriage plans maybe? "No," Tony said, "I will be very busy, and there is no time to think about it." Oscar maybe? "No, that's a little far to think about for now." (Jesus, by the questions the HK press are throwing at him, you would be wondering if they are going to say, the next president of China? the first man to travel to Mar? the man who conquer the universe? Please, the man just won a great prize, leave him alone. Let him basking the glow for a while. If there is time for another achievement in Tony's career, so be it. Stop the preposterous questions. But can't blame those people, they got a paper to fill.)

Maggie Congratulates Tony.

5/22/2000, View Tony's Winning Speech Online (Require Real Player). Courtesy of TVB. Also, click on the ForeignTV Coverage of Cannes - News From The Festival 5/22/00, it had a quick recap on the Award Ceremoney. You can catch a glimpse of Tony walking down the red carpet and posing for pictures. Plus some footage of In The Mood For Love.

5/22/2000, "Thank you Juries, Thanks you WKW, and Everyone who watched the movie, I feel like In the Mood to Shout." These are the words when Tony stepped on the podium accepting the Best Actor Award. (I did a translation from Chinese to English. If anyone have seen the award, and remembered his exact word, please do correct me) Italian Actress Monica Bulucci handed out the award. When Tony stepped down, Carina was first to greet him. She immediately asked, "Are you still conscious?" (Tony had an episode of memory relapse last time he won the Golden Horse Award in 1994. Later he could only remember flashbacks of the experience.) Tony gave her a sounded YES and hugged her. Both WKW and Maggie Cheung were absent, did Tony show up because he knew he had win? "No," he replied. After a night of celebrations, Tony will return to HK and hold a Press Conference in HK Airport.

More on IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, Tony watched the film twice since he arrived to Cannes. His favorite scene is the final sequence where he follows the tradition of whispering the guilty secret of his vengeful motive for the affair into a hole in the wall. The scene carries depth and the angle of the entire movie. "Love" back in the 60's, is discrete and secretive. The two lovers never need to say 'I Love You', but the feeling is strong and mutual. There is a whole new level of comprehension on what Love really means. And that's exactly why WKW cut all the love-making scenes of Tony and Maggie from his final version. (Oh, Poor Sap, All the intimacy showed on the posters were just flakes. WKW is never predictable.)

5/21/2000, Tony won the best actor award in Cannes. The award is definitely long overdue. Besides taking home the best actor award, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE also won the Technical Prize for cinematography and editing. Other notable winners: Von Trier, Bjork Won Golden Palm with Dancer in the Dark. The runner-up Grand Prize went to Chinese director Jiang Wen's Devils on the Doorstep. Bjork scooped up the Best Actress award for her acting debut in Dancer in the Dark. Edward Yang from Taiwan won the Best Director award for A One and a Two.

You know, I had a hunch this is Tony's year. Read my thoughts down below. Well, WKW certainly kept his side of bargain. In 1997, when Tony went one vote short on the Best Actor Award, WKW made a promise to Tony. So here it comes, their very next film, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, made Tony the grand winner. Certainly all these months in Thailand paid off for Tony. I am very happy for him not only because I am one of his fans, but I know how much he'd wanted and hoped for this. He certainly deserved it. Like I said above, it's a long overdue, he should win it years ago. Just about every other year, he's got a film competiting in a major international film festival. A City of Sadness in 89, ChungKing Express in 94, Cyclo in 95, Happy Together in 97, Flowers in Shanghai in 98, and now finally In the mood for Love. He has come a long way from disappointment and trying years. I couldn't think a better way to cap off years of dedication and frustration.

5/20/2000, Go to Cannes official Page and click on May 20th Live Video, you will be able to see In the Mood for Love Live Video from Cannes. According to the paper I just read, everybody who watched the film thought it was quite a success.

Quote from the Official Cannes Website. "Atypical artist at the heart of the Hong Kong film industry, Wong Kar Wai has made a name for himself as one of the most original Asian directors. After taking home in 1997 the Golden Palm for 'Happy Together' Kar Wai returns to official competition this year with 'In the Mood for Love' The year is 1962, the city is Hong Kong. Chow and his wife move into a new flat. He becomes friends with his neighbour’s wife, the young and beautiful Li-Zhen, also a recent move-in with her husband. Their respective spouses often absent, Chow and Li-Zhen take advantage of the time. For this venture, director Kar Wai once again calls upon the talents of actor Tony Leung, and actress Maggie Cheung, frequent faces in his films."

5/19/2000, Tony, Carina, William Chan and WKW all arrived in France today. In the Mood for Love will be shown on May 20th, the last day of the competition. Since films showed on the last day of the competition tends to be the grand prize winner, it's natural for reporters to ask WKW if he is confident winning the big prize. WKW said it's only because the post-production of the film took so long to wrap up and that's why it's been postponed till the last day.

As for which poster he will use for Cannes (See Below), WKW intends to use both. In the Mood for Love had been sold to an American film distributor for a record amount of 1.2 Million Dollars. It has received rave reviews among the film distributors in Europe. WKW plans to release the film in HK around Sept.

Carina accompanied Tony to Cannes. She's wearing a low-cut V-neck, quickly become the spotlight for the cameras. Contrary to Carina, Tony looks skinny and dark-complexed. Tony was in Thailand the past month. Thailand is well-known for its sizzling temperature, and low humidity. Tony said it felt like stuck in saunas all day. Is it where he got the tan? No, he said it's from the recent surfing trips.

Maggie was been quoted in an interview saying she thought "In the mood for love" took too long to make. In the mood for Love started filming since Last Feburary. Asked Tony, he said it's the longest time he had spent filming any movie. He can totally understand Maggie's point of view, but a director has to do what's the best for the film. If it takes a year and a half to finish a film, so be it. (WKW must be standing dangerously close to him when he said those words. Heehee... Oh, Dear Lord! But it's smart for him to say that. Think it this way, the time has already been spent, why not make a good face, and claim how much you appreciate it.)

Any hopes for winning the best actor award? The award slipped by him three years ago when he was one vote short (Happy Together, 1997). Tony replied he had yet to see the other films in competition to make judgement call. Only a handful of films make it to Cannes, and much less will be participating in the competition. That alone, is quite an accomplishment. (Oh, How modest and unassuming. Your typical pet talk before the big night, my friend. But if Tony is going to win some big prize, it's either now or never. It's about Payback time. Yes?)