"Why Should There Be Me" is a 1985 film directed and starred by Zheng Zeshi, the content is realistic, and the phenomenon in the film still exists. I remember that when I first saw it was in the 90s, the fat cat inside was still fresh in my memory, and even used fat cats to give my classmates nicknames. Now that wen has passed the film, his eyes are red.
"Take it away and you'll bully me"
"Not really"
Zheng Zeshi's family was poor, his father was a dock worker, and his mother worked as a domestic servant. Because his family was poor, Zheng Zeshi dropped out of junior high school to support his family, and he worked as a kitchen handyman and a jewelry mechanic. He once said that the only wish at that time was to make money and move the whole family out of the slums. In 1972, The Longbow Pictures held the first actor training class, and the 21-year-old Zheng Zeshi ran to sign up despite his family's objections. In 1976, TVB held the Sonic Film Acting Competition, which won the overall championship of the first competition and became a contracted artist of TVB.
Zheng Zeshi, who works hard, has opened up a world in the comedy industry with his highly recognizable appearance and excellent audience popularity.
In the second year of entering the industry, he became the male protagonist. Since then, the film contracts have continued, and Zheng Zeshi has starred in dozens of comedies in succession, once becoming one of the highest paid comedians in Hong Kong.
In 1985, Zheng Zeshi wrote, directed and acted in a well-known feature film "Why Do You Have Me", the protagonist is the well-known "fat cat". He won the Best Actor Award at the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards for this film.
Zheng Zeshi also began to be labeled as a "fat cat", and his career was in the sky.
In 1989, Zheng Zeshi bought a 300-square-meter mansion in Happy Valley and moved in with his family.
The sky is unpredictable, and people are blessed with misfortunes.
In 1993, Zheng Zeshi set up his own company and spent a lot of money to shoot "The Legend of the Hero After the Disaster of the Four-Nine Storms", but the film failed miserably at the box office and lost 10 million Hong Kong dollars. To make matters worse, his company has also encountered operational problems, with a funding gap of up to HK$80 million. After some investors heard about it, they went to the door to collect debts. Zheng Zeshi began to borrow money from his friends everywhere, but the cold eyes of his friends made him chill. A well-connected director advised him: "Many people like you who have failed to invest have filed for bankruptcy and have not paid it back." After the matter is over, even if it is over, why are you so bitter? But Zheng Zeshi didn't want that. He promised some of his directors friends: "As long as you lend me money to get through the difficulties, I can shoot in the future without honorariums, and I am always available." But some people have fallen into the well and said: "Now that the film market is sluggish, whether I will use you or not is a problem, you think you are worth more!" "No one borrows money, they have to figure it out on their own." Zheng Zeshi sold the mansion and the luxury car to pay off the debt. Although hitting a wall all day has allowed him to see through the warmth and coldness of human feelings, when his white-haired parents lived in a simple rental house again, Zheng Zeshi cried and knelt down in front of his mother and said: "Mom, you believe me, one day I will let you move back again." ”
In order to pay off the debt, Zheng Zeshi took the initiative to find a director to fight for various performance opportunities, even if it was a cameo role with only a few shots. But the wall fell and everyone pushed, and he was not only ridiculed by his peers on the set, but also his remuneration was severely suppressed. He is in an unprecedented predicament in hong Kong's showbiz. Fortunately, Zheng Zeshi has accumulated a lot of popularity in the mainland with the role of "fat cat". Some friends began to help him contact and star in mainland film and television dramas. He cherished these performance opportunities and never paid any rewards. It is said that he once made three cameo appearances in Hengdian in one day, and only finished work at 3 a.m., but only earned a few thousand yuan. But such a busy, Zheng Zeshi is also willing, he feels that this money is earned steadily. In order to pay off the debt as soon as possible, Zheng ze also participated in the behind-the-scenes production work, and bought boxes of instant noodles to fill his hunger without time to eat. The dedication attitude has won him a reputation, and some directors said with emotion: "Please Zheng Zeshi, it can be called a small cost and high level." "Under the word of mouth of directors, more and more directors are looking for him to produce TV series and movies.
In 2004, Zheng Zeshi, who had been in debt for ten years, finally paid off his debts. But he still maintains a frugal lifestyle, eating the crew's box lunch every day, and at most after work, he will eat a little casually in the fast food restaurant. Friends laughed at his love of money, and he smiled and said, "I have suffered hardships, and there is nothing wrong with saving." ”
In 2007, Zheng Zeshi re-purchased two mansions in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, allowing his parents, wife and children to move into a new home.
It is rare to have felt the coldness of this world and to be able to treat others with a generous heart. Zheng Zeshi, who turned over from the salted fish, did not refuse anyone's request for help, including those who had once taunted him. For this circle, Zheng Zeshi saw it very thoroughly: "In this circle, in addition to strength, half of it is luck, not purely because of your strength." Then strength is useless? No, you have a lot of strength, and when luck comes, you may last a little longer. Ten or twenty years later, the audience still likes you. If there is no strength, after a drama becomes popular, there is no following. It's like a coordinate system. Strength is the coordinate that is horizontal, and luck is the coordinate that is vertical. If your strength is strong and the abscissa is very long, then when luck comes, your ordinate will reach its peak and last longer as your abscissa continues. And if you don't have strength, the vertical coordinate occasionally has a peak, and the following is weak. That's the way it is. ”
In the 37 years since entering the industry, zheng Zeshi, who has won two Hong Kong Film Awards and experienced the ups and downs of his life, has always regarded himself as a newcomer, insisting on watching movies, TV series and various TV shows every day, and humbly learning other people's directing techniques and performance skills. As an actor, the 65-year-old also has a dream: "In addition to the 'fat cat', I can play a few more memorable roles." ”