Friday April 25, 2008
White-haired man-hating spirit
Actress Li Bingbing finds it stimulating to play the White-haired Demoness in The Forbidden Kingdom.
By SETO KIT YAN
skyseto@thestar.com.my
APART from introducing popular Chinese culture to the West and showcasing the first film fight between top Asian action stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan, The Forbidden Kingdom notably introduces lovely Chinese actresses Li Bingbing and Liu Yifei to a worldwide audience.
Acclaimed mainland Chinese actress Li, who picked up another best actress award at China’s prestigious 12th Huabiao Film Awards held last August, was extremely satisfied with her performance in the fantasy action-adventure film, which marks her Hollywood debut.
Li Bingbing stars as the White-Haired Demoness Lian Nichang and brandishes her whip in a scene from The Forbidden Kingdom. The 32-year-old beauty from Harbin, Heilongjiang, plays the White-haired Demoness Lian Nichang, which was inspired by Ronny Yu’s wuxia (martial arts) film The Bride with White Hair.
That movie, made in 1993, was based on Leung Yu Sang’s 1954 novel of the same name and starred Taiwanese star Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia as the titular character.
“I feel very fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to play the Bai Fa Mo Nu (White-haired Demoness) character in the movie,” Li said at an interview in Beijing.
“At first, the White-haired Demoness did not exist in the script. The character was originally Bai Mei Dao Ren (White-browed Taoist priest, a Shaolin martial arts master fictionalised in the late 70s Hong Kong wuxia flicks).
“Then the script was brought to China, where it was discovered that present wuxia enthusiasts were better acquainted with the White-haired Demoness compared to White-browed Taoist (who is historically often portrayed as a traitor).
“I personally feel that many women viewers would like White-haired Demoness, for she is single-minded in love, unwavering in her convictions, and outstanding in martial arts,” added Li.
One of three Asian actresses shortlisted by Canadian-based casting director Poping Auyeung, Li aced the audition with producer Casey Silver and director Rob Minkoff with her flawless interpretation of the English dialogue, which she had learnt phonetically.
“While waiting, I studied with a dialogue coach who helped to guide my pronunciation and phrasing. I’ve never felt my English was good.”
The script hadn’t been changed yet when she read the lines during the casting. It was all written for a man, the White-browed Taoist.
Director of photography Peter Pau, who won an Oscar in 2001 for his vivid cinematography in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, was also the cinematographer for The Bride with White Hair, so he suggested the change as he felt audiences could better accept the more contemporary character.
“It must have been some 15 years since Pau made the movie. It’s like his precious baby. He particularly loved the White-haired Demoness immortalised by Brigitte Lin. I feel that they created a legendary character on the Chinese stage, who made such an impact that she has become a classic wuxia figure widely loved by audiences.
“Now, almost two decades later with such technological advances, our challenge lies in recreating the White-haired Demoness for the new millennium. It was a very stimulating exercise for us.”
When she was filming, she could feel Pau paying special attention to detail.
“While I was filming some mid-air fight scenes, Peter would rush up on a platform some two to three metres high and gently fan me so my hair would flit about my face lightly just the way he wanted it.”
As the sexy man-hating female warrior, Li got to crack her whip and fight just about everybody in the movie. She also had to learn archery and horseback riding for the role. Even her long white tresses had take on a life of their own and turn into a deadly weapon.
Li, in particular, had many wire-hanging scenes in the action-packed movie. Although she can be considered an experienced action actress, having featured in action flicks such as Johnnie To’s Love for All Seasons (2003) and Jingle Ma’s Silver Hawk (2004), Li was no kung fu expert.
“Jackie knew I had numerous fight scenes, so he gave me a special wire-suit, the very best for the wire-acts, costing a whopping US$1,600 (RM5,000). The ordinary ones we usually use only cost RMB1,000 (RM450). He takes very good care of everyone on the set. He even taught me kung fu while we were filming.
“During my fight scenes with Jackie, he’d be the one getting injured. I’d be alright because, I was wearing very thick padding and a metal armour. He gets very worried when fighting with me because I’m no kung fu expert. But, I’m very happy when fighting him because he can adapt to every action, even if I make the wrong move, hit too high or too low. He’d be able to make everything look just right.”
Action sequences shared with her other female co-star Liu Yifei was also a cause for concern.
“My fight scenes with Yifei (who plays the orphaned Golden Sparrow) were most frightening as we are both non-professionals. We would cringe when we had to fight each other. I often was worried that I might accidentally hurt her and she felt the same way too.
“Then, action director Yuen would stop us and say it wouldn’t look realistic if we didn’t hit each other hard enough,” said Li.
Although Li has successfully broken into the film market, she said she will continue making TV dramas given the opportunity.
“China is still very much a television-watching nation. With such a large population, there is a huge market out there to tap.”
The Forbidden Kingdom, distributed by Buena Vista Columbia Tristar (M) Films, is showing in cinemas nationwide.
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