In 2010, a magazine invited Zhang Jingchu to take a set of sexy cover photos, she was so nervous that she couldn't close her eyes overnight, sent a message to the agent in the middle of the night, and the agent replied to her: "Don't think too much, sleep well!" She took a sleeping pill and went to sleep in a daze.
"Every time I try something new, I do this, I want to challenge myself, but I'm scared and overwhelmed because I don't know what to expect!" This is Zhang Jingchu's voice, after experiencing many disturbances, she admitted that the 42-year-old self has become natural, but the inner personality still has no way to become exquisite, it seems that she and the entertainment industry are inherently out of touch. "I'm not a jerk, so I don't know a lot of the rules of the adult world."
Regarding the rumors of Zhang Jingchu, "director harvester" can be said to be the most widely known, and every time she is talked about, many comments are inseparable from this keyword. It hurt her, and it went on for a long time. "It was vomiting blood, it was hurtful, it was painful. I went through a long digestive process and I couldn't understand why someone would so viciously slander and hurt another person I didn't know. ”
At a time when her career was in full swing and her film contracts were continuing, she decided to give up everything after filming "Tangshan Earthquake" and went to New York to study acting and drama, she just wanted to feel the pure fun brought by performance.
After returning, Zhang Jingchu has had fewer masterpieces over the years, and even many of her works are unmemberable, but she does not feel that this is an unacceptable thing. "Being expected is one of the most tiring things, the equivalent of people putting on high heels for you, can you still run a marathon?" So I think how good it is now, you'd better not expect anything from me, but I have a few pounds in the profession, and I have a number in my own mind. ”
Zhang Jingchu is Buddhist, and when there is no drama, she often posts her life on social platforms: reading, running, buying fruits, watching dramas... The loneliness and loneliness in the eyes of others is exactly what she pursues. A leisurely afternoon, a cup of tea, a book, just sit and watch the clouds rise and fall, feeling the tranquility and nature.
Forever "Lone Ranger"
Perhaps it is the reason why she was brought up by her grandmother since she was a child, Zhang Jingchu has had a sense of alienation from her parents and brother since she was a child. Since coming out of the small Fujian town of Yong'an, she has always maintained a "lone ranger" posture, which she believes is an innate trait because she has been accustomed to living alone since she was a child. "I went to fuzhou normal school at the age of 13, I was the youngest child in the class, washing sheets by the pool and laying a few bricks, at that time my grandmother was particularly distressed to see it, but I felt free myself, and the children in the dormitory who were a few years older than me often hid in the quilt and cried, only I had no heart and lungs, and I felt particularly happy."
Her solitary personality is obviously not suitable for the entertainment industry, in this well-connected environment, she said that she and other people will always be just a work relationship, and when the work is finished, it will be dispersed.
Because of this, she never thought she would set foot in the entertainment industry. At the beginning, she was studying art teachers to learn painting, and her dream was to go to Beijing to study art academy after graduation, but she did not expect to accidentally hit the Chinese opera, and she still studied the directing department.
During her studies in Chinese opera, she also did not think of being an actor, because in her opinion, actors need all kinds of exquisite qualities, all actors like to live under the spotlight, but she is different, she does not like to be the focus, she just wants to quietly do what she wants to do.
During the graduation performance, Zhang Jingchu played the heroine Atong in "XiHe".
Therefore, when she was in college, she was obsessed with going to graduate school, or thinking of going to New York to study at film school after college, and then coming back to be a college teacher, which was the most stable and noble career for her.
After graduating from university, she stayed in Beijing, but not as a university teacher. She joined the North Drift family, filmed advertisements, and shot fifty or sixty in half a year. She used the money from the commercial to support herself and learn English, but at that time she did not realize that she would become a great actor.
At that time, I heard that the "Peacock" crew was looking for an actor to play a "sister", and she was very excited to see the role introduction, which was a role she hoped to be crazy about, so she opened up the so-called reservedness, face and self-esteem, and she chose it! It was also from that film that she knew she could be an actress.
"Peacock" made her shine, and she realized that she really fell in love with acting, and she would desperately pursue the script and characters she loved.
After becoming popular, she was selected by Jackie Chan to go to Hollywood to shoot "Rush Hour 3", when Jackie Chan hoped that Zhang Jingchu could stay in Hollywood to develop, but as soon as she finished filming, she rushed back and cooperated with Zhang Jiahui to shoot a small production of "Red River". Jackie Chan and American directors both feel that it is a bit strange for her to give up the big and the small, but she does not think that only making big films is the progress of her career.
Her sense of accomplishment comes from every character, and as long as the character is addictive, she is satisfied!
In this "Red River", she starred as a stupid girl with only a 5-year-old child's IQ, "I didn't know how to act at the beginning, and I didn't want to add any external actions to her, that is, a very superficial fool, and then I found the state of the child." I looked at the five- or six-year-olds and found that their concentration was actually very strong, and they were completely immersed in their own logic and then very simple and enthusiastic. Later, when I played Ah Tao and saw Zhang Jiahui, because one of her father's moles grew in the same place, I thought it was her father, you said stupid is not stupid. Then I also found a sense of shape, that story takes place on the Border between China and Vietnam, and I lie on the Sino-Vietnamese Bridge every day to watch the Vietnamese coming and going. I bought those clothes from old Vietnamese ladies, who were all very slim and had worn many clothes for more than twenty years. I also deliberately wear a pair of big slippers, and children don't like to wear big slippers for adults. Finally, the director said that every time I entered the editing room, I didn't think this person was you. ”
Turn yourself into every role, this is the charm of Zhang Jingchu.
There is always only a "stupid way" to treat the role
But in fact, Zhang Jingchu said that she did not have any clever way to play the role, and she was very stupid in this regard.
Director Er Dongsheng reminded her that it is said that the road of acting will take a long time, don't be too desperate, and those who can use acting skills do not have to try it themselves. Zhang Jingchu said that she also understood the meaning of this sentence, but she was actually a stupid person, and she couldn't do it. "I understand why he said that, but I'm actually a stupid person, I can only use stupid methods, and I can only play the role that I have experienced." The roles I play are either particularly bad or very good, and there is no middle. The reason it sucks is that I don't believe in the character yet, the whole person is outside the role, good because I've completely gone into the role, I don't use 'acting' to complete a role, I don't have the ability. Therefore, I fight very hard every time I perform, that is, I will not hesitate to do anything. As long as the actor spares his strength, the audience can feel it. What you take out with your life is a gift to the audience, they can receive, which you can never replace with skill. ”
Yes, at that time, Ah Fen, played by Zhang Jingchu in "Disciple", the last scene was crawling with rats, which was really filmed.
She said that the mice used for the shooting were all stained by mice, but she was not particularly afraid, but because of the scene, her mouth was wide open, and she was worried that the rats would burrow into her mouth. Because of her efforts, the film has added a lot.
The stubbornness and extremes of her personality are all well brought into the role by her, such as the spicy Yi girl Fengmei in "The Bride with a Flower Waist", the depraved drug addict Ah Fen in "Disciple", the female student in "Rabe's Diary", and Fang Deng, who refuses to forgive her mother in "Tangshan Earthquake"...
Zhang Jing was also particularly desperate when filming. In 2010, when filming "Gravity", there was a scene that was an indoor scene, there was an iron gear hanging on the stairs, Zhang Jingchu and Guo Tao went downstairs while arguing, when the gear fell down and hit Zhang Jingchu's feet, she immediately issued a heart-rending scream, the director did not shout to stop, Zhang Jingchu could only grit his teeth and continue to play the scene where the two people behind them tore each other and wrestled. Later, the director told Zhang Jingchu that the scream was that she thought she was acting.
At that time, after the end of the play, Zhang Jingchu found that the thumb of her left foot lifted a large piece of flesh, and she simply stopped the bleeding and continued to perform the next day. "I think it's not a fatal injury anyway, and I can't continue to act if I can't be paralyzed." It must be very painful, but this is the work of the actor, if the lead actor rests, the whole group has to rest, so many people, how much money do they have to lose every day. The pressure is too great. ”
Supposed to be popular, but choose to "disappear"
Zhang Jingchu, who has good acting skills and dedication, chose to study abroad after the filming of "Tangshan Earthquake" at the peak of her career, and she pushed off all the film contracts and went to New York to study acting.
This move makes people speculate that it was her scandal with Gu Changwei, Feng Xiaogang and other directors that caused her trouble. These speculations are not without reason.
At that time, when "Peacock" was filmed, Gu Changwei and Zhang Jingchu had a scandal, and during the shooting, local residents of Anyang said that Gu Changwei often went shopping alone with Zhang Jingchu, and the two behaved intimately. Locals thought they were lovers. For the scandal between the two, Zhang Jingchu did not respond too much. Her attitude is to be self-purifying, and she mentioned in the interview: "Most people don't want to see others good. If a woman succeeds, they will assume that she is scheming, relationshipable, and lucky, and no one wants to acknowledge her efforts. ”
In 2006, Gu Changwei began to shoot the sequel "Li Chun" of "Peacock". "Li Chun" heroine Wang Cailing is played by Jiang Wenli, who added 30 pounds to the play and learned Italian, Czech and piano. Originally, Zhang Jingchu had a lot of scenes, but when the movie was released two years later, the audience found that Zhang Jingchu's scenes were all deleted.
With this question, at the film conference, the reporter asked Gu Changwei in front of Jiang Wenli. At the press conference, Jiang Wenli, who was originally full of spring breeze, immediately collapsed her face and bowed her head. Gu Changwei, who was ready to respond, suddenly stuttered, "this" for half a day, and finally handed the microphone to Jiang Wenli with a strict expression on his face: "You come!" Jiang Wenli narrowed her eyes: "This is a question for you, you answer!" After pushing for two rounds, Jiang Wenli finally prevaricated with "to take care of the rhythm".
Everything became confusing, and after returning from abroad, Zhang Jingchu gave his first response in "Flowers and Flowers".
With so many rumors, what makes Zhang Jingchu most angry is that she was "banned by the director's wife group, so that she could not receive the role." Zhang Jingchu said that when he first heard this rumor, he felt very angry, he was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood, how could there be such a rumor of smearing others for no reason. "It was vomiting blood, it was hurtful, it was painful. I went through a long digestive process and I couldn't understand why someone would slander and hurt someone I didn't know so viciously. Over the past decade, I have also seen that there are many people who have been hurt by online violence like me, and even some have paid for their lives. Why are the most ordinary people likely to behave so brutally on the Internet? ”
In order not to affect her emotions, for so many years, Zhang Jingchu chose not to look, listen to or say, she felt that she was not afraid of the shadow, rumors stopped at the wise, and one day the truth would come out.
In this way, this rumor spread for several years, originally a small point, after fermenting on the Internet, it became a big snowball, and the more it spread, the more exaggerated it was. Until a friend told her that the city needs to be maintained, and if you don't maintain it, the city will only lose more and more.
Zhang Jingchu also admitted that if you put aside those unpleasant rumors, in the process of filming, she will feel that the director is a person who will exude charm throughout the process. "Because the writer and director are the soul of the whole film creation, they are the people who determine the fate of the whole movie, but I will not fall in love with people in the circle." 」
Enjoy time alone with yourself
Although her career has fallen from the peak, Zhang Jingchu's study abroad days have been very comfortable, she said that in New York, she enjoys being alone with herself for half a year, generally on campus, theater, flea market three points and one line, in addition to acting classes and sound classes, Zhang Jingchu also enjoys the feeling of visiting the bookstore, and the rest of the time continues to watch movies and dramas for further study.
"What I want is not excitement, but a sense of stability." During that time, she felt that she had returned to a free life, "When I was in school at Chinese opera, I didn't watch the full Broadway musical, and it often ended with a clip." But during my time in New York, I could watch as much as I wanted. The confusion and uncertainty that was once there was gone during that time! ”
During that time, Zhang Jingchu would go to buy flowers every Saturday, and by the way, she would buy some strange organic fruits and vegetables, and if she was lucky, she would also find some 18th-century photo albums, paintings, jewelry, clothes, etc. at the flea market, each of which was full of stories, like a movie, even more exciting than a movie.
Once in the bar, she ordered a glass of orange juice, and a girl at the bar thought that Zhang Jingchu did not have money to drink, so she ordered a glass of wine for her to drink, gave her a magazine, and recommended some movies to her. "It was actually my birthday, and I felt like she was my angel."
The unexpected encounter in life made Zhang Jingchu feel happy.
Over the years, in addition to filming, she spent most of her time alone, carrying a backpack all over the world. She wanted to enrich her experience as much as possible, to be liberated from her small self. Traveling has really changed her a lot, she has a very personal feeling for the suffering of this world, suffering makes her gaze and attention to the world, makes her have feelings for this world.
She once recalled a very shocking thing. That was when I was filming "Tangshan Earthquake", and the crew filmed for ten days in Hanwang, Sichuan, which was the hardest hit area of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.
One day, at ten o'clock in the morning, they were preparing to shoot on the ruins of the earthquake, when suddenly the sun disappeared little by little, and there was a great wind blowing around them, flying sand and stones, and the sky suddenly darkened, and there was a feeling of near the end of the world in the ruins - the eclipse occurred. She suddenly had a strong feeling: the earthquake might have been like this at the time. She stood on the ruins, her heart was extremely shocked, and for a moment it seemed as if she had penetrated life and death. "Standing on the ruins, I felt very small. I have always been self-centered and feel that my big ideas are actually wrong. ”
"I'm not afraid you'll throw me to the bottom"
Over the years, Zhang Jingchu seems to have no works!
Several films that can be said have also been labeled as "bad films", in this rapidly changing entertainment industry, has she ever been anxious?
She actually talked about the variety show "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" that has been on fire in the past two years, "Everyone is saying 'Sister Riding the Wind and Waves', which is actually talking about the plight of actresses, especially middle-aged actresses." I've never been easy to take on a play, so why pick so many bad plays? I think I have to shoot two of them. Age anxiety, I may have a little bit in life, that is, at this age, whether I want to get married or not, whether I want to have children, I will have these anxieties. But at work I didn't have it at all. I've never had a moment of worry and anxiety about my career, which sounds like hypocrisy, but that's the way it is. ”
Zhang Jingchu has a very clear understanding of her acting skills, and she has not made films in these years, and she has also honed her acting skills through drama performances. "This confidence comes from the fact that you are learning. Whether you have gotten better or not, only you know, and I am not really a person who does not have a chance to perform, sooner or later I can be seen by everyone, this is the problem of long-distance running and sprinting. So I think how good it is now, you'd better not expect anything from me, but I have a few pounds in the profession, and I have a number in my own mind. ”
Perhaps she clarified the scandal in time, and taking advantage of the fire to make more movies would be more popular, but this is not what Zhang Jingchu pursued. "If I plan well, I may be more popular, but the professional ability cannot be the same as now, but the professional ability is weak, how can you go far?" 」
After the release of "Peacock", everyone said that she was "Xiao Zhang Ziyi", but she did not think so. "It's not about liking it or not, no one feels like another person. Zhang Ziyi is very good, and her achievements have not been compared to her by few Chinese actors. "In fact, in my opinion, Zhang Jingchu is more malleable than Zhang Ziyi, and the characters she portrays will not have traces of repetition.
She also admitted that this has been for nearly 10 years, and most of her filming is "bad scenes". "After coming back, it seems that there are a lot fewer opportunities, and I rarely meet the crew like "Peacock" again, and now many times we ask the crew to say, can we come earlier, we do some training in these aspects." There are also times when you arrive and the opponent actors are not there, which is the feeling that everyone is very busy. ”
The market is cruel, the actors are passive, the so-called "bad films", the actors themselves may not know before entering the group.
"For example, "Fuchun Mountain Jutu", the reason I went is that Hua Ge (Andy Lau) signed a job as a producer, I think the worst result is that this new director can't do it, there will also be Hua Ge to the bottom, and the final cut right is also in Hua Ge. But I did not expect that Hua Ge did not exercise these powers in the end. She said.
Zhang Jingchu said that his personality does not belong to the type of abandoning the ship and escaping. "I must try to save the kind of boat, knowing that there is a loophole, the water keeps pouring in, and you have to scoop the water out until the ship sinks, very weak, very desperate." I don't want to look back one day when I haven't made an effort. So I won't let myself have this regret, so I will do my best, whether it is good or bad. ”
Yes, time and works have long proved that Zhang Jingchu has acting skills, and she is a person who loves acting. I believe that with the passage of time, Zhang Jingchu's acting skills will become better and better in the future, and it will become more and more natural.
Time went back to the year she was 19 years old, when her original name was Zhang Jing. The host Chai Jing is very proud of her name, and when she was young, she did a radio program, and as soon as she opened her mouth, she would introduce herself: "The firewood of matches, the quiet quiet." Unfortunately, the surname Zhang is too common in China, the name Zhang Jing is more common, and she wants a more special name.
One day, when the train was taking a turn, she suddenly had a clever move: add a "beginning" word after the name, and the breath of the whole name was completely changed - very neutral, very special, textured, and most importantly, it was not easy to collide with others. In this way, Zhang Jing became Zhang Jingchu.
The word "chu" also represents the original intention she still insists on: "Make those meaningful and valuable movies." Not necessarily how deep, at least sincere, really fake, everyone can see it! ”
Some references:
1. "Very Quiet Distance" Interview with Zhang Jingchu
2. "Li Chun" Zhang Jingchu's scenes were all deleted, and Jiang Wenli was questioned about the black side" Chongqing Morning News
3. "Zhang Jingchu: Everyone has experienced humility in love" Southern Weekend
4. "Zhang Jingchu: No one is looking for me to make a literary film now" Movie
5. "Zhang Jingchu: Rusi Perfect Ten Years in Bloom" Bazaar Jewelry
6. "Zhang Jingchu: Never Be able to truly do the eight-sided exquisite" Southern People Weekly
7. "The Peacock Who Cannot Be Classified - Exclusive Interview with Zhang Jingchu" Window of World Cinema