Sunday March 8, 2009
Chow holds court
By SETO KIT YAN
Chow Yun-Fat lends his star power to the live-action film based on the Japanese comics about a globe-trotting boy on a search for all-powerful Dragon Balls.
FROM exciting rides through city streets in tuk-tuk operated by wannabe F1 drivers to quiet candlelit dinners by the famed Chao Phraya river, one could easily get spoilt by life in Bangkok ... and it’s no exception for the Dragonball: Evolution party.
During the Asia-Pacific press tour for the Hollywood production at The Oriental Bangkok in the sunny Thai capital recently, its cast and director rave about the balmy weather and good food galore.
Justin Chatwin plays the Dragon Ball-hunting main character Goku. When Chow Yun-Fat, who is dressed in his signature all-black turtleneck and pants, is given the prominent central seat during the media conference, the Thai master-of-ceremonies promptly extends a warm welcome to the Hong Kong superstar.
Turning to the wide-eyed lad, Chow replies – alluding to his role as King Rama IV in the movie Anna and the King – “This is my kingdom, I welcome you.”
In a country that deeply reveres its monarch, few people could pull off a playful greeting like that. But of course no one is taking Chow seriously. Besides, he will be excused, not least because of his association with the role of the 19th-century Siamese king but also because the veteran star is such a personable, jovial and likeable guy.
On this day, Chow and members of the Dragonball: Evolution ensemble cast, Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, Joon Park (of the Korean pop group G.O.D.) and James Marsters, together with the director James Wong, are gathered at the luxury hotel to promote the upcoming 20th Century Fox feature based on a hugely popular Japanese comic series. Other stars featured in the film are Eriko Tamura, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson.
Chow plays Master Roshi while the protagonist Goku is portrayed by Chatwin (War of the Worlds).
As a live-action movie adapted from the cult manga series Dragon Ball created by Akira Toriyama in 1984, the makers of Dragonball: Evolution have had to contend with a franchise that has spawned best-selling graphic novels, feature-length animated movies, video-games and a phenomenally successful TV series.
The acclaimed Japanese manga artist Toriyama himself joined Tim Van Rellim as executive producers for the project while Asia’s beloved comedy king Stephen Chow donned the producer’s hat.
In Bangkok recently to plug the movie ... (standing, from left) director James Wong, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Jamie Chung and James Marsters; crouching in front are Chow and Joon Park. This cinematic incarnation shows the young spiky-haired warrior Goku going round the world and racing against time to secure a set of seven magical orbs called Dragon Balls that will grant the bearer unlimited power. All before the vengeful Lord Piccolo (played by James Marsters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) gets to them.
Admitting that he has not read the manga prior to making the movie, Chow duly declares that he was in complete control during the filming. “I did whatever I had wanted to on the set. Even when the director said I didn’t have to do something, I’d do it if I thought it fitting.”
The Asian screen legend is in his element during the press conference. Holding court while exchanging friendly banter with the reporters, the good-humoured 53-year-old has every scribe eating out of his hands.
Pop him any question and his witty repartee will have you in stitches. But go too far and you’ll find yourself the joke of the day as certain journos discover.
Chow Yun-Fat plays Goku’s mentor Master Roshi in the actioner Dragonball: Evolution. – Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox When the question of retirement comes up, Chow cheekily responds: “Retirement would mean one is already very close to God. I’m not ready to meet Him yet.” He then continues with a straight face: “I can eat, I can sleep, I can shit, so I continue to work.” A typical Chinese reply no doubt but one that sounds quite hilarious when uttered in English!
On his experience on Dragonball, Chow happily reveals that he enjoyed working with his younger castmates.
“The youngsters are very active and energetic. And they speak in a language that is different from what we learn in class. Being with them on the set every day made me very happy and I’ve even grown younger now,” he offers.
An accomplished actor who straddles the East and West with ease, Chow’s acting credits include Chinese classics Man in the Net and The Bund TV serials, A Better Tomorrow, All about Ah Long as well as Hollywood blockbusters like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
Dragonball: Evolution is Chow’s first experience at playing a “cartoonish” character. “I feel as an actor, sometimes we have to release ourselves or we’ll go crazy one day.”
Chow’s Roshi is the master who guides Goku on his epic quest to save the Earth from the forces of darkness. Dubbed Turtle Hermit, Roshi is an eccentric old man with a thick beard and a moustache who goes around bearing a huge turtle shell on his back.
An athletically-built six-footer, Chow – whom the US magazine People once called “one of the most beautiful people in the world”, and Los Angeles Times had termed “the coolest actor in the world” – is obviously nothing like the frail and balding Master Roshi that fans knew from the manga.
In the comics, Roshi is a wise but lecherous martial arts master – a character typical in shonen manga (manga for young men). But the movie version of Roshi differs from the original. “Well, that wouldn’t be good for young people to watch so they changed it,” explains Chow.
Like any self-respecting thespian, Chow says he constantly looks forward to playing fresh characters and prefers roles that do not portray Asi-ans too negatively. For now, he yearns for more romance. “Action movies would take me a couple of years to build my body, so I’d like to say more romantic lines for now.”
Last seen in Escape from Huang Shi in 2008 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End two years ago, Chow has two movies in production, The Red Circle and Shanghai, this year. The Red Circle is an action film directed by Hong Kong’s Johnnie Toh with an international cast that includes Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom and Alain Delon. The dramatic thriller Shanghai, too, features international stars including John Cusack, Gong Li and Ken Watanabe.
Directing Dragonball
From the start, James Wong (The One, Final Destination) makes a big deal of courting his idol Chow for the role of Master Roshi. “We wanted an iconic Asian actor to be the centre of the movie. We needed someone who stood out not only as an actor but as a character on a world stage,” Wong says at a roundtable interview with the press.
“I remember being so excited about getting Chow Yun-Fat because he has been an idol of mine from long ago,” the American director gushes.
Wong (right) on the set of Dragonball: Evolution. The director was chuffed when Chow agreed to act in the movie. Though born in Hong Kong, Wong moved to San Diego, California, with his family at age 10 and hence does not have a strong command of Cantonese.
“I called my brother and asked him for tips about some Chinese pronunciation in the hope that it would give me an edge in convincing Chow to work on Dragonball. My brother called me back later and I wrote the words down phonetically before I got in touch with Chow. I started off with all the Chinese I knew before we proceeded to discuss the movie in English.
“I don’t remember any of it but it was certainly worth it as it worked! All I had was one conversation with him and I got the call saying he wanted to do it,” Wong says in his American-accented English.
“I think Chow liked the script and the challenge of playing the character. It’s not like anything he’s done before. He’s always the leading man, but this character is kind of wacky; he’s funny, irreverent and a womaniser ... I think he liked the idea of doing something so different,” he adds.
The 49-year-old filmmaker admits that casting was difficult and took a long time. “We had casting agents from different countries so I’d be looking at tapes, in the middle of the night, from Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Vancouver ... We went everywhere to look for people who could speak English to be part of our show. We needed people who could train and look good doing action on camera.”
“In the Dragon Ball manga, there’s a great mix of ethnicity and world views. They even have animals as characters. I wanted to include that in the movie so I sought people from different parts of the world to create that kind of mix.”
Mai (Eriko Tamura) is an assassin who works with the villain Lord Piccolo (James Marsters). On criticisms of him taking liberties with the cult manga, Wong admits that while the comments are valid, the movie stands on its own. “If I am a fan and my favourite thing about the manga is not in the movie, I’ll feel the same. Yet, I can only pick those things that I think would work in the movie. There’s no point making an exact copy of the manga. There are some things we put into the movie that are really cool.”
The father of three will have you know that all things aside, it’s really a difficult and demanding task to put a movie of this nature together.
“Technically, the most challenging scene was where the character Chi Chi fought herself because there was only one Chi Chi and it took a while for us to figure out how to even shoot it. Also, some of the fantastic action sequences were the ones where Goku and Piccolo confronted each other. It put you in an ‘otherworldly’ place where they were fighting in ways unknown and unseen.” (Chi Chi – Goku’s love interest – is played by American actress Jamie Chung, 25.)
There were problems, too, with the weather of Mexico, where the movie was shot. It was a tad too cold for comfort for even the ultra-professional Chow. The weather was often unpredictable with occasional dust storms fanned by windy conditions.
Chow chips in: “Daytime temperatures were close to 30°C and that’s fine. But at night it got so cold it was probably subzero and quite unbearable. Remember, you can prepare the whole set but you cannot fight Mother Nature. The weather can destroy the set and ruin even the most carefully laid-out plans.”
“To avoid all this, for the next project we should all move to Bangkok. That would eliminate all these problems and make things very different,” jested Chow, who owns a home in Bangkok.
For sure, the kingdom will welcome this delightful superstar with open arms.
More on Dragonball: Evolution and movie ticket redemption in StarTwo on Tuesday
‘Dragonball: Evolution’ begins its run in Malaysia on Thursday,March 12.
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