2046 Tony Leung Press Conference

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Tony Leung Chiu-wai Attended STAR CHINESE MOVIES’ Press Conference In Taiwan For The Premiere Of 2046

2046 Garnered Widespread Acclaim From American Critics;
Leung Favoured to Take Home Oscar Next Year

Manila, 26 August 2005 – International movie star Tony Leung Chiu-wai attended STAR CHINESE MOVIES’ press conference on 18 August 2005 for the premiere of director Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 in Taiwan. Leung indicated at the conference that he would now concentrate on working on the kung fu epic, LEGEND OF IP MAN (temporary title), with director Wong before heading west to Hollywood!

When 2046 premiered in North America early this month, the film drew full houses nearly everywhere. More interestingly, many media critics spoke highly of 2046, and 91% of them gave a huge thumbs-up to the epic on Rotten Tomatoes – a website that collates reviews and information from the Chicago Sun-Times, The New Yorker, USA Today, and many other leading publications. That result was better than the worldwide classic, STAR WARS (82%) and Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s KUNG FU HUSTLE (89%). The site, used by over 5.4 million readers for critical reaction on movies from the nation’s top print and online film critics, posted rave reviews about the film – a sign that Leung could be favoured to win an Oscar next year!

The New York Times feted director Wong as one of the few filmmakers working in commercial cinema who refuse to be enslaved by traditional storytelling. The article describes him and fellow renegade filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien of Taiwan, as the precious few filmmakers in recent years who create meaning through visual images instead of just words. Time Magazine also applauds 2046’s sentimental line: “Want to watch a splendid kissing scene? Check out Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Gong Li’s performances in 2046.” Similarly, kudos has been given for Zhang Ziyi’s performance in the film as well.

Piggybacking on the wave of glowing reviews for 2046, Leung is making moves to break into Hollywood. But before launching his acting career all over again in new lands, the actor will first finish his part in Wong Kar-wai’s LEGEND OF IP MAN, where he plays a kung fu master.

In 2046, Leung co-starred with big names like Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Takuya Kimura, and girlfriend Carina Lau Ka-ling. He said at the press conference, “There was always new excitement on the set in the past five years, because it’s exciting to play opposite these icons!” When girlfriend Carina Lau was mentioned, Leung frankly replied that because they knew each other too well, it felt awkward for them to be playing opposite each other; hence he would try to decrease the chances of doing so.

When asked whether he would star in a similar genre as 2046 in the future, Leung expressed that he would stop for now. Currently, he’s keeping fit and immersing himself in his starring role in Wong Kar-wai’s LEGEND OF IP MAN. Leung said he would also begin to learn the Chinese martial arts technique of Wing Chun, a style of Chinese martial art made popular by Bruce Lee.

Would Carina Lau worry about him getting hurt in this action epic? Leung stated that he would give his best to carry out the role. Whether he was going to get hurt or not was hard to predict, but no matter what, he had to effectively portray the kung fu master image! Leung jokingly continued, “If the portrayal turns out to be a failure, the film will only have five minutes of kung fu action scenes, because the [picky] director is Wong Kar-wai.” The audience immediately burst into laughter.

With the prospect of international stardom in Hollywood looming, Leung alleged that he’d never thought about whether he would make it into Hollywood or receive any awards. He only wished to give his best performance at all times. He added that due to his introverted personality, acting was not only his means of expressing himself, but it was also a way to share the sense of accomplishment along with other professionals upon the completion of each film.

Recently, Leung met Lawrence Block, a famous spy novel author, in New York. The novelist plans to custom-make an investigative script for Leung, which will very likely be the actor’s debut in Hollywood. Leung also hopes to be the film’s executive producer.

Big talent. Big hopes. Big dreams. Right here, right now, Tony Leung looks like he can live up to them all.

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