Article written by Ching Pui On. Transcribed and translated by Wolverine. Original article online at Next Magazine (Chinese character decoder required). For more details of CYF's inescapable genius, check out my Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors site!
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Promo for TRK published by
Next Magazine, for their vol. 364
CYF cover story.
Article written by Ching Pui On. Transcribed and translated by Wolverine. Original article online at Next Magazine (Chinese character decoder required). For more details of CYF's inescapable genius, check out my Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors site! |
Almost three years of planning, Chow Yun Fat finally landed in Hollywood to take the lead in The Replacement Killer.
During the first day of work, Columbia (Pictures) boss and 13 high level executives appeared on the set for a show of support. Toward the new working environment, Fat Jai honestly said he was a little tense and took a little getting used to, but with a full mouth of fluent American English, Chow Yun Fat soon submerged himself into work and the nervousness quickly disappeared.
What also disappeared is the fat Chow Yun Fat has managed to gather for the past three years.
On location at an old building in the Los Angeles Chinatown appeared a few size thinner, 28 inch waist Chow Yun Fat.
Actually, Fat Jai after returning to Los Angeles for a month this year actively worked out. "Since Peace Hotel, Chow Yun Fat waited for a film role (waiting to go to Hollywood), without work and pressure he ate and got a lot fatter. When he returned to Hong Kong last time he walked for 2 hours every morning and lost 10 pound; when he returned to L.A. he joined a health club, "walking the meter" (tread mill) for 20 minutes, bike for 10 mins, he then hit the weight machines and finally he would stretch and relax for 10 minutes. After the half a hour daily regiment, he lost ten pounds in a month." Fat Jai said, when he was heaviest he was at 180 pounds, now he is around 160.
Every member of the crew (foreigners) said the thinner Chow Yun Fat doesn't look 42, maybe 30 something at most. "Mrs. Chow is even younger, everyone thought she is 28, now even I call her Chow Ya Bat (Chow 28)!" Fat Jai joked.
First time in Hollywood film, Fat Jai brought the Hong Kong filmmaking "model: to Hollywood, when he has free time he would joke with the crew, so this crew which was used to stressing standard every minute liked Fat Jai and his wife a lot after being in contact with them. "Once, I treated the entire crew to a Chinese meal, taking up ten tables, they all showed up in a suit and tie. Whoa! Actually it isn't a custom here to treat people to dinner!" Fat Jai happily said.
Before the shoot, Fat Jai went to class with his tutor for 2 hours everyday, learning the pronunciations of the American language, like curling his tongue for the R and accentuate the th sound; the tutor even personally went to the set to guide Fat Jai through his dialogue, when Fat Jai completes a scene, the tutor would joyfully praise Fat Jai's improvement.
Although Fat Jai's English has already improved with speed, he still doesn't sound American when he spoke the dialogue, so, for perfection, he would rather each scene's dialogue be fewer and shorter.
All along, holding a gun with one hand is Chow Yun Fat's trademark, but, when Chow Yun Fat arrived in Hollywood, the first thing people said was wrong was his gun holding stance. "They said shooting with one hand wouldn't hit the target, the shot would fly upward, so, they wanted me to learn shooting everyday. Actually with one hand it really doesn't work, now when I do a shooting scene, I would automatically use two hands."
Making a movie in Hollywood, there are only five working days, and weekends are off days, so Fat Jai and Fat So (Mrs. Chow) would take these two days to do grocery shopping in Santa Monica's farmer market; Fat So would take Fat Jai to eat at special places the travel guide introduced, like the 150 year old Pinkdog for hot dogs. "Actually, our life in L.A. is just like in Hong Kong, the same simple meals." Living in L.A. for nearly three years, Fat Jai Fat So still don't haven't taken a liking to American burgers.
Columbia Picture's US$30 million investment The Replacement Killer has a total of 60 sets of shots (each lasts 8 hours), in other words, each days costs HK$4 million in production cost. Hollywood filmmaker is amazingly slow, on the two day visit of the set, the director has been filming the same shot, only at different angles. It is no wonder after each scene, Fat Jai would joke, "If it is Wong Jing, he would have taking different angle shots at long time ago! What a waste of film!"
As everyone knows, Chow Yun Fat is best known for his gun toting killer image, so Killer is no exception. Fat Jai plays a professional hitman John Lee who came to America from Beijing; Mira Sorvino plays a foul mouth but righteous passport counterfeiter who is thrown into the chase between Chow Yun Fat and the organization he works for, in the end she goes from looking down on the Chinese to developing a relationship.
On the day of a visit, Fat Jai and Mira has a scene together, but each time before the camera rolls, Mira would complain or curse, then all of a sudden she would scream out of nowhere! Actually, the entire crew is used to Mira's screams, when she opens her mouth with the word Fuck, the crew would notify everyone over the walkie-talkie, "Hey! The shooting started! Be careful of your eyes!"
In the film, there is a scene in which Mira has to sell a fake passport to the Killer Fat Jai. In the dialogue Mira added many country's names, one of which being Hong Kong's 97 passport, at the time, Fat Jai immediately explained after 97 Hong Kong would have its own special district passport. Then Quentin Tarantino who was visiting his girlfriend said, "I have a lot of friends from Hong Kong, I could ask!" Sigh, Hollywood films.
- Cheung Pui Fong
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