STAR TURN ... If his Hollywood career fizzles out, says Chow, " I'd just go back to making movies in Hong Kong."
Article written by Suraya Al-Attas for the New Straits Times of February 13th. And many thanks to Tan Yee for the URL!
For more details of CYF's inescapable genius, check out my Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors fan page!
STAR TURN ... If his Hollywood career fizzles out, says Chow, " I'd just go back to making movies in Hong Kong."
MOMENTS before Chow Yun-Fat descended from his hotel suite for the Press conference, he requested that organisers convey to the roomful of reporters that he would like the session to be casual.
But any sign of casualness was obliterated the minute the emcee - in her best schoolmarm voice - ordered us to "take your seats!"
Not that we were running around the room like schoolchildren, mind you.
A slight commotion outside the room signalled the arrival of the actor. And, to the amazement of the Press, Chow walked into the room to shake hands with everyone of us!
Indeed, Chow could charm the pants off the most hardened and cynical journalist.
(Our friend, the emcee, could learn a thing or two about public relations from the star).
It's really no wonder the recognition Chow has received from Hollywood hasn't gone to his head.
In Singapore recently to promote The Corruptor, a cop drama directed by James Foley (he of Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range fame) which sees Chow playing corrupt cop Nick Chen, the Hong Kong actor reveals a little secret: if his acting career in Hollywood were to end today, he wouldn't mind at all!
He says in heavily-accented English: "You know, when I finished my acting contract in Hong Kong in 1993, all I wanted to do was retire.
"I'd been with the same TV station for 14 years, done thousands of TV series and more than 70 films. I was just so tired.
"But my wife and manager `forced' me to try my luck in the States. They said, `though you don't want to make an action movie in Hollywood, you just have to go and take a look, meet people and agents'.
"I listened to them, and for two years I met industry people and learned to speak English. It was never my ambition to be a star in Hollywood.
"So if my career is short-lived there, it's really fine with me. The biggest relief would be no more English lines to memorise! I sometimes have nightmares about the English language!"
Chow adds, if things had been left up to him, he'd happily have stayed in Hong Kong, taking things easy.
"Maybe I was lazy in Hong Kong. That's why I'm being punished for it now!"
The hour-long session with Chow was punctuated by much laughter. When questions started to centre around his co-star Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights), he responded in mock indignation: "Why do the women keep asking me about Mark? Always Mark!"
Then there's the bit about how boring his friend John Woo (who directed him in A Better Tomorrow, the film that made Chow famous in America) is compared to Foley. "I had a lot more fun working with Jamie."
On a more serious note, Chow admits his chemistry with Wahlberg is better than with Mira Sorvino, his co-star in The Replacement Killers.
"Perhaps I have more lines in The Corruptor. Or maybe it's the brotherhood thing. I don't know ..."
The Corruptor, Chow's second American film after The Replacement Killers, is a hard-hitting tale of deception, violence and betrayal in New York City's Chinatown.
The role of Nick Chen was written with Chow in mind. Much input from him went into the script, but Chow is modest about this.
"No, just a little. Robert Pucci did a very a good job of writing the screenplay. But I did have the opportunity to discuss my view of Nick Chen and the underground society.
"Robert and Jamie gave me lots of freedom to interpret my character the way I saw him."
Although he's now working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood - Oliver Stone is executive producer of The Corruptor, and Chow's next film, Anna and the King, sees him acting alongside Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster - Chow doesn't paint an entirely pretty picture of Tinseltown.
First there's the language problem.
"Sometimes I don't understand why I have to say certain lines in a certain way. But there's nothing much I can do about it, except to keep memorising them.
"For instance, there is this line in The Corruptor which made reference to Cagney and Lacey. I never saw the series, so that line had absolutely no meaning for me. I didn't know why I had to say it. But say it I did ... you've taken the money, so I guess you just have to say the lines they want you to say!" says Chow, laughing.
He likens memorising dialogue to karaoke.
"Some people may not understand Cantonese, but they can sing beautifully in Cantonese. It's the same for me and English dialogue. I don't speak the language very well, but once I've memorised the lines, I'm okay."
The roles offered Asian actors, he says, are still confined to action movies.
"I read tons of script every day, but better roles still go to Caucasian and African-American actors."
His next project, Anna and the King, which will begin filming in Ipoh next month, marks his first non-action role in an American production.
"My character, King Mongkut, is very funny, very charming, but it depends on how the director will treat it. No, I'm not following the Yul Brynner version.
"I hope I can play the role well and handle the dialogue. This movie is very challenging, in that the language spoken in that era was quite different from the English language we speak today.
"Right now, I'm concentrating on the dialogue. I'm not concerned about my performance for now, because once Anna (Foster) has a question, I'll have to reply with about two pages of dialogue! Once I'm comfortable with the dialogue, I'll be fine.
Chow says he met Foster, and found her very down-to-earth.
"We had dinner together in LA recently. She's a down-to-earth, beautiful and talented woman."
The cast and crew of Anna and the King, says Chow, will be in Penang for four weeks of rehearsal, before heading for Ipoh for eight weeks of filming.
How long does he expect the Hollywood interest in Asian stars to last?
"It's very hard to predict. In the past, we've seen some successful actors, like John Lone. He did many movies in the 80s. After he made Year of the Dragon, he became a huge star in America and all over the world.
"But, after The Last Emperor, we hardly saw him in anything.
"The same thing could happen to me. You just never know. Perhaps after this movie, or - if I'm lucky - after Anna and the King, it's the end of my career in Hollywood. Who knows?
"It won't be a problem. I'd just go back to making movies in Hong Kong."
Now, if that should happen, you know Chow would not wallow in self-pity. He'd probably be relieved that the `punishment' is over!
You are probably the only person who has ever accessed this web page, while I myself have logged on times since November 21st, 1998. From November 19th, 1997 to November 21st, 1998, the counter recorded 188 hits.
Back to the Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors page....
The last time I decided to note that I had modified this page was 13 February 1999. Created in February, 1997 with help from the NCSA's Beginner's Guide to HTML by Winnifred Louis.