Tony went to Japan with Filmmaker Hou Shao-shen from August 25th through the 28th to promote "Flowers in Shanghai". Thanks to Nancy Nahoko Yada, I am able to obtain these wonderful Tony pix in Japan. Nancy had met Tony and followed him for two days. On Aug. 26th, Tony attended a press conference in Tokyo's Imperial Hotel Ltd. Taiwanese Film director Hou Shao-shen and the lead actress Hada Michiko were also in attandance. During the press conference, Tony talked about his role in the film "Flower in Shanghai". He said since he knew Director Hou pretty well from their previous movie "A city of sadness", he gladly took the role without any reservations. After hearing Tony's comments, Hou turned around and asked Tony, "What if I ask you to jump into a lake, will you do that?" They had a good laugh at it.
Tony and Hou were scheduled to attend a Talk show in Sinjuku HMV-South on the 27th. The entrance tickets were distributed on the 20th, and all 300 tickets were snatched within 30 minutes. On the 27th, more than 1000 fans showed up for the Talk Show. Since the place can only hold so much people, many fans chose to sit on the floor rather than leaving. When Tony finally made his entrance, a cry of excitement shouted out from the anxious crowds. Tony shyly acknowledged the fans. He murmured "Nei-hou"(hello) to everyone. During the show, Nancy's friend Fumiko asked Tony about his injured foot(It happened a while ago, Tony was O.K.). Tony looked very surprised Fumiko knew about this and thanked Fumiko for her concern. Ms. Fumiko came close to fainting out of happiness(This is exactly the way Nancy describes her friend's reaction. I think I can understand.). When asked about how he prepares himself for a role, Tony replied he never thinks about acting, but rather prefers to let the role comes to him. However, he does spend time preparing his role by observing and reading his scripts thoroughly. Another lady asked him if he ever presented expensive jewels to his sweetheart. Tony said he usually does something out of ordinary. For example, when Carina makes a business trip, he will go after her and surprise her with flowers.
"Flowers in Shanghai" is scheduled to premiere on October in Japan. Once again, Thanks to Nancy for this detailed description along with these lovely photos of Tony.