"Lyceum Theatre" is Gong Li's first appearance in a film directed by Lou Ye. The film is set from December 1 to 6, 1941, a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The female star played by Gong Li returned to Shanghai from Hong Kong in a dusty manner, triggering speculation about the real intentions of the big star. (Infographic/Figure)
(This article was first published in Southern Weekend on September 26, 2019)
"When you make a movie, you should devote yourself to doing this role well in these months, which is the responsibility of the actor." There is also a reward for the audience. A lot of viewers like you, and there are a lot of dislikes, it doesn't matter, but I will do my best, so that I will not regret it. ”
"No convincing, no convincing at all."
Asked about the beginning of the cooperation with director Lou Ye, Gong Li seemed to be rushing to answer.
"Lyceum Theatre" is Gong Li's first appearance in a film directed by Lou Ye. After reading the script, she did not hesitate to agree to play, and did not hide her love for the female role of Yan: she was a big star on the Shanghai theater stage during the War of Resistance Against Japan; she was an orphan girl and a female spy on a secret mission, not allowed to move emotionally, but experienced life and death tests with her ex-husband and lovers. It can be said that Yu Yan is a complex and secret complex of identity.
"I really think this role is a bit unseen in a hundred years, and the richness of the characters is very high." Gong Li described, "Her complexity attracted me, and the mystery fascinated me. ”
In order to perform well, Gong Li prepared for more than two months in advance. She collected a large number of materials and pictures about spies, learned hypnosis with teachers in Shanghai, practiced dismantling guns in her motorhome whenever she had time, and assembled guns and loaded bullets professionally. In this way, the audience will be convinced.
Lou Ye used "very good" to evaluate Gong Li. "She did her homework very carefully, and all the characters, the dialogue of the script, she studied it carefully, including the actors who played with her. She is also willing to do some risky experimentation. The so-called "adventure" is the way she is not familiar with the way of acting and shooting. If an actor wants to take risks, I think it's very good. Gong Li's openness allows her to explain this role very well. He told Southern Weekend Reporters.
Lou Ye originally designed a scar on Yu Yan's neck, vaguely explaining her past like a symbol. But when it was made into the film, he thought the detail was superfluous: "Gong Li's own charm is enough, and the sense of mystery and history she conveys to people is completely enough." ”
On September 9, 2019, Gong Li accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Southern Weekend.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> When you first saw the film "Lyceum Theatre", did you like the state of blending the virtual and the real?
<b>Gong Li:</b> I definitely like it. In a relatively impetuous environment, director Lou Ye made such a movie, and I am very honored to participate. I think this is a movie that can go down in history, and I really think this role is a bit untouched in a hundred years, and the richness of the characters is very high. It's not pure hip-hop entertainment, it's entertaining, but it's also artistic.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Your "Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge" is also set in Shanghai. Will shooting a domestic film set in Shanghai form some kind of connection, memory or contrast?
<b>Gong Li:</b> They are completely different stories, completely different characters, completely different eras. The film reflects a period of crisis in China, which is basically a period of disaster for Chinese. We hope to make this film well, and we hope that everyone can remember this history. When I was shooting, I felt that without a country, you would have nothing. We shot very realistically, and all the soldiers and invaders in the video were very realistic, and there was a real feeling of deep water. Immerse yourself in the scene, and the feeling is different.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> How did director Lou Ye convince you to play this role?
<b>Gong Li:</b> I was not convinced, but I was very happy to cooperate with him after reading the script. I used to want to work with him, and everyone wanted to have a suitable role, and finally found it. I was willing to try a role I hadn't played before, and her complexity appealed to me and the mystery fascinated me. At the same time, it's a feminist movie, and I love it. In that era, when China was facing such a big disaster and complex environment, I believe there were many such women.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> There are a lot of long shots in the film, which is the usual practice of director Lou Ye, the longest one is twenty-seven minutes. Is it hard for you to perform this scene?
<b>Gong Li:</b> In fact, this "twenty-seven minutes" is a passage of chat between me and Zhao Youting in the café, it is not difficult, that is, first say what the woman has to say, and then you can chat casually. Because he and Tan Na (Note: the role played by Zhao Youting, drama director) are still lovers, one of them comes back to perform a mission, and the other is to take him away. That shot was very interesting, the director gave the actors a lot of space, and the two of us were tired, tired and still talking, maybe the director wanted the two of us to talk about the tired state.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Is there a script here?
<b>Gong Li:</b> There is a script. The most basic points to be made are to be spoken. The last time "I" left after a mission, suddenly disappeared, Tan Na did not know where "I" went, "I" said to travel to some places, did some likes and dislikes. After that we'll talk about it casually. Can't say that it becomes that I chatted with Zhao Youting, or go according to the settings of the characters, it is Yu Yan and Tan Na's dialogue. At that time, we already knew the characters very well, and anything we said was within the atmosphere of the characters.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Director Lou Ye is very good at showing lust, and there is an impressive erotic scene in "Lyceum Theatre" that takes place between Yu Yan and fan Bai Mei. How do you understand this play?
<b>Gong Li:</b> In fact, this is the communication between women and women, mysterious communication. The two people's lives are the same, she is an orphan, and "I" is also an orphan. At first, I didn't know that it was to use the relationship, as a professional spy, "I" was very attentive to everyone. In the first scene, she talks to "me", and "I" know that I can get some information from her, and she has a lot of information. But the relationship between women and women is difficult to say, and at a certain time, Bai Mei really likes Yu Yan, a big star. Later, she didn't care if you were a star or a spy, her identity didn't matter, she just liked you. For "me", feeling that seeing the shadow of "me" in her, we are all the same people. When we talked about that scene, she said that her father, "I" also talked about "my" father, and talked a lot. It's an emotion that can help and sacrifice each other, and it's easy to understand. I think this scene is beautiful, there is no need to say a lot, everyone can understand, in the end they are helping each other.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> What is the biggest difference between director Lou Ye and the directors you have worked with before, such as Director Zhang Yimou?
<b>Gong Li:</b> Actually, there is nothing particularly different, they are all very good directors, all professional directors who came out of film school. That serious, competitive attitude is the same, so it's very easy for us to work together. Director Zhang Yimou is from a photography background, and director Lou Ye is also very sensitive to lighting, photography, and cameras, and they have a lot in common. Director Lou Ye's characteristics are to show his characteristics in the film, and when you look at this work, you will know that it is his, which is more distinct. Director Zhang Yimou's characteristics are many different attempts, both real and virtual. Each director has his own different personality, and director Chen Kaige and director Sun Zhou are all very good, very serious, very personal directors.
Another identity of the big star Yu Yan is a spy, and Gong Li has been preparing for this for more than two months. She collected a large number of materials and pictures about spies and learned hypnosis from her teachers in Shanghai. Yu Wei's marksmanship was superb, and Gong Li practiced dismantling guns, assembling firearms and loading bullets when she had time. (Infographic/Figure)
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Yu Yan is a big star and a spy, an adopted daughter, and her identity is complex and secret, how do you understand and step by step into this role?
<b>Gong Li:</b> To put it simply, she is a professional spy who has been trained since she was a child. She came to play the big star, not the big star to play the spy, so she understood.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Yu Yanming's identity is an actor, which is very compatible with your identity, will you associate the two when shooting?
<b>Gong Li:</b> No, it doesn't matter at all. Yu Yan is an actress, but she is also a spy. She spoke many languages, and at that time she spoke five Chinese. I was going to speak a little German, but when I was talking about intelligence, that paragraph was cut out. Such a professional spy, must be a good actor. She is a spy to play an actor, and an actor to play a spy, so she will present a more complex inner world.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Yu Wei is already a big star who shines on the stage as soon as he appears, and his past is not explained in the film. Did you write her a prequel?
<b>Gong Li:</b> Yes. Because it is a black and white image, everyone may not pay special attention, in fact, she has a long scar on her neck. That's her history, which can be seen on closer inspection.
She grew up as an orphan, and her adoptive father trained her to become a spy, first as an actress and then as a spy. In fact, she didn't have real emotions, because spies can't have real emotions, and in the end, until this movie, she said to her adoptive father: This is the last time, I don't do it. In fact, she also knew that spies could not do it, and they could not give up. Do you say you can do it without doing it? Maybe he was assassinated in one corner. A spy can't make himself give up unless someone else makes you give up. We also read a lot of information, spies are cultivated from an early age, have faith, and will not give up some things for anything. But Yu Yan did not care, she had to have her own life for love, and for the sake of the country, she had to make a different decision. These made me think that this woman was particularly great and brave, and when the country clashed with her own profession, she chose the state and gave up professionalism and professionalism. She is such a person and very attractive to me.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> What did you prepare for this role in more than two months?
<b>Gong Li:</b> First of all, we must look at a lot of information about spies, as well as photos. They are different from ordinary people, and they have to study their behavior and speech. There was basically no expression on their faces, and the joy and sorrow were not on their faces, which were very gentle. Usually you certainly don't know where she is, this person may be reclusive, may work in a bookstore. She must have a job, maybe a very ordinary person who sells things, but can't be an unemployed vagrant, this is the nature of her profession. When she performs her mission, she becomes a completely different person.
Knowing this has been very helpful for my performance, and I have always focused on control and restraint of emotions when I act. There was a scene where the Japanese said, "Yu Yan, we like you very much, and we all know that you act very well." To take a photo. In fact, these people were definitely not her opponents when they fought, but she had been restrained and did not move. Her task had not yet begun, and there could be no exposure. If she had not refrained, she would have been killed long ago.
I'm going to learn a lot of career skills after that. For example, hypnosis, you can't be blind, there is really hypnosis. So we invited the most famous teacher in Shanghai to watch him hypnotize, and many times to listen to him. He can't hypnotize me, I'm not a hypnotist, I want to see him hypnotize others. The man slowly fell asleep, but could still talk, right in that state. I've seen it many times, and it's a very important part of the movie.
Another is shooting. The final shootout in the movie is intense. I had learned to shoot at Miami Storm, but I didn't use it. In "Lyceum Theatre", Yu Yan is a very powerful gunner, very accurate, very fast, raised his hand, and did not lose his hand. You have to train, otherwise it doesn't look like acting. I trained for almost a month, and I took the real gun, which is the gun in the movie. This kind of gun is not allowed to be taken out in many countries, we borrowed it, and two bodyguards followed, teaching how to dismantle the gun, and after all of them were dismantled, they were installed in a dark room. A shotgun that was completely disassembled, with many parts, was very difficult to load. One by one, the parts are loaded back, and finally the bullets are loaded. These are all training every day, and when I have time, I will dismantle and get guns in the RV, but some people watch, because the guns are impossible to take out. Time is very limited, but we must practice, and we must be very professional in guns and bullets, so that everyone has a sense of trust and will believe that she is a well-trained spy.
And the language. English was fine for me because I had made a lot of English films. But Japanese is the first contact, usually say "hello" and the like is no problem, but it is a special environment, is a hypnotic process of dialogue, in which there must be an air of love, but also have the softness of Japanese, with the whole environment. It was difficult, and I practiced Japanese for a long time.
These are all preparations in advance, which have been done for more than two months. Then talk to the director about the script and make the characters smoother.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> You're also famous for doing your homework before filming. For example, when you were shooting "Red Sorghum", you practiced carrying water for more than a month, and in "Memoirs of a Geisha", there was an action of throwing two fans at the same time, and you practiced for five months. There are not many actors who can do this now, and there are even actors who "cut pictures" to star. Do you feel like there aren't many peers who can resonate?
<b>Gong Li:</b> Why is this such an environment? I don't quite understand. As a professional actor, a professional actor, (doing homework) this is the basic requirement. In filming "Miami Storm" and "Shanghai" abroad, I watched foreign actors, everyone was training every day, training for two or three months, and then entering the role. Without training, I came up to act, took the script, and shot it the day after tomorrow, which I think is irresponsible. You are deceiving others and have no sense of responsibility for yourself, which should definitely be stopped.
Then there are the director's requirements. If the director really asks these actors to do this, I think the actors are willing to do it, they can do it; you don't want to do it, the director says you don't have to act, don't do it. Many directors may not ask for it, you just come as you like, just use your face, and "cut" your face down. I think it has something to do with the director's requirements, with the atmosphere of the whole combination, a film is not one person can complete, it is a whole, the core is the director. If he doesn't do what he's asked, the director can quit him. Why let such things run rampant?
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> Recently, the lack of middle-aged actresses to receive plays has become a hot topic. Will a star of your level face similar problems?
<b>Gong Li:</b> I don't think we should talk about this matter now, because it is not a problem at all. For actors, we had better turn the complaining mentality into energy, strength, to work hard, to find, to exercise, to temper ourselves. Don't waste time complaining, that's not necessary. It's an eternal profession, a profession that can always shine, and I don't think there will be any effect of complaining all the time, what different miracles will appear. You don't have to do these useless, meaningless things, just keep going.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> So, what is your artistic pursuit?
<b>Gong Li:</b> I don't have too many pursuits, I don't have any ideals, I just do every play well step by step. It's that everyone trusts each other. The director trusted me and asked me to do this, because I am a professional actor, I should be responsible for the director, this is my responsibility. When you take on a movie, you should devote yourself to doing this role well in these months, which is the responsibility of the actor. There is also a reward for the audience. A lot of viewers like you, and there are a lot of dislikes, it doesn't matter, but I will do my best, so that I will not regret it.
<b>Southern Weekend:</b> What are your criteria for selecting scripts now?
<b>Gong Li:</b> A role that has not been played, a role that our society has resonance with, can affect the audience's psychology, and serves the society, is what I am willing to play now. Next, play coach Lang Ping, reflecting the spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team, may be more inspiring in movies and videos. All of us women, all of us are able to do more for our own careers, for our own countries, for our lives. It's subtly, something inside of me.
Southern Weekend reporter Li Yilan