Tuesday December 11, 2007
Display of emotions
JET LI is set to become the highest-paid Chinese actor. The Chinese action star is said to be getting 100mil yuan (RM45.4mil) for his role in The Warlords.
“I have never played a character like that (General Pang), so I thought I would give it a shot.
“Everyone knows that director (Peter) Chan Ho Sun’s forte lies in making movies about love and romance. So, for the first time ever, he is making an action movie or, rather, a war movie. It has an anti-war message.
“When he initially approached me, the first thing he said was, ‘This is not a wu xia pian (martial arts film) nor is it about wushu (martial arts) at all.’
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Easy-going, peace-loving Jet Li is not the least bit like the character he portrays, but he is not disturbed by the comparisons. |
In the movie, Li’s character General Pang eventually plots the death of his sworn brother Zhao Er Hu, played by Andy Lau. However, he is not concerned about negative implications.
“It’s a movie and I’m just an actor playing a character that is new to me, which can be quite a challenge.”
Although the weather was extremely cold in Beijing, Li says he had an enjoyable time on the set.
“Making this movie was quite fun because we could contribute ideas and flex our creative muscles. The director respected our opinions and welcomed our ideas. Many a time we would discuss and make collective decisions before continuing with the filming.”
This particular production has Li projecting a wide range of emotions, the most ever seen from the action star.
“Yes, this character is more complex. He has been through a growing-up process of sorts, from the initial dejection to despair, then discovering hope and forging a new path in life. Hence, his attitude towards life and his outlook on war make him a more complicated personality.
“He’s a very intense and selfish man. He looks at things only from his point of view and does not consider other options.”
Easy-going, peace-loving Li is not the least bit like the character he portrays, but he is not disturbed by the comparisons.
“An actor has only to interpret the story that the director has in mind, whether it’s romance, brotherhood, or battle.
“I’ve written in my blog that I spent all day fighting and killing people in battle on the set. Then after filming wraps up for the day, I go straight to doing charity work,” says Li who founded a global charity organisation called The One Foundation.
He is usually been the main draw in a production. How does he feel about sharing screen credits with other heavyweights?
“It’s been great as it’s not often that we get to work with so many others.
“It’s the first time I’ve collaborated with Andy Lau and we became very, very good friends. During filming and even after, we’ve been working together on other projects. We even did charity work together. And, he also volunteered to write songs for me to promote the charity.
“Before that, we’d meet and just nod our heads at each other. But, after making this movie, we’re now very close xiong di (brothers), sort of tou ming zhuang (brotherhood).
“After the filming wrapped up for this production, I immediately started working on two other movies. Now, we’ve wrapped up the filming for those as well,” says Li, whose other movies are The Forbidden Kingdom and The Mummy 3: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
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