By APA Staff
Quotes selected from the Los Angeles press day on October 2, 2007 and the Los Angeles red carpet premiere on October 3, 2007.
Interviews by Ada Tseng and Brian Hu
Interview translations by Junzhi Li and Winghei Kwok.
Photos by Ada Tseng
Ang Lee
on casting Wang Leehom, as opposed to a native mainlander, in the role of Kuang Yu Min
It was much easier for me to train him than some other young men from China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, because his family upbringing was rather old-fashioned. It's because they were in the US, so their thinking hadn't changed [along with the Chinese in Asia]. If you try to do this to the Taiwan youth today, it wouldn't work. It's more difficult to train their accents. And not to mention Hong Kong -- it's almost impossible for their actors to speak in Mandarin. The young people from the mainland are different too; they are carrying their mainland TV accent. But Leehom is different. His Mandarin is quite good, and not just his Taiwan Mandarin. But also the background of his grandparents was similar to students like Kuang Yu Min in the movie. Their backgrounds are very similar; I think his upbringing is very close. So when he is acting, I was thinking about old actors like Zhang Yang, more recent ones like Qin Han, Guan Shan in Sun, Moon, and Star -- the typical patriotic youth. His image and tempermant is very similar to that. Taiwanese kids nowadays wouldn't buy it.
I was not trying to be realistic, I was trying to ironize the theatrical image of a young scholar. The kind that we are used to: who wears a white hat, a long robe, the kind that bellows to the sky in desperation. I used to act in those [patriotic films] myself. [laughs]
Wang Leehom
on how Lust, Caution inspired a song on his latest album
That song is called td, which means the Falling Leaf Returns to the Root. That was the first song that I wrote after wrapping the shoot. It was an eight month long process of being in the 1930s, so I was so into character. So, during that eight month period, the record company -- they're very generous with my time, but they were really itching for me to get back into the studio and to start writing songs. So I didn't really get a break. So, as soon as we wrapped, [it was] "Time to get in the studio!"; So I went in and I started writing, and I think my character Kuang Yu Min, for such a long period, had so much inside of him that he wanted to say and he never got to say it. So the first thing that came out was this. So I think the song represents what Kuang Yu Min always felt for Wong Chia Chi. It's about leaving home and finding a new one. And I think that is what he found in her, because they escaped together.
on an acknowledgement in his CD jacket cover to his Lust, Caution costars "for finally making me feel like I grew up in Asia"
So that's the other level, returning to my roots. Because Kuang Yu Min did that. But I did that too with this movie. It's interesting because my best friends are my college friends, and I always thought there was something missing, because through my whole high school education and everything, my school days were all in the States. So I never really had tongxue [classmates] who were Chinese. And I always felt like there was something missing because everybody knows me as Wang Leehom, but I don't have that feeling of tongxue. But I finally do because for those eight months, we were able to be together every day. Tang Wei, Ko Yu Lien, Kao Ying Hsuan, Fan Kuang Yao, and Chu Jr Ying. The six of us became really good friends. Even now, we just get together and eat.
I think it is precious, because the [tongxue] relationship is very pure, you all grow together and share the experience in those very important periods of our life. Coming of age. Saying goodbye to your childhood.
Tang Wei
on filming the explicit scenes
I think the first time the director talked to me, I was mentally prepared. I think, as a girl, if I need to do that [nudity] very often, I don't think I could do it. I would definitely feel embarrassed. When I was young, I was too shy to wear even short sleeves and shorts! So at first, I was just nervous about that. But actually, when I saw the director... [I realized] he is a very nice person, and he will give me a very comfortable environment and create a very professional atmosphere. He will use his unique methods; for example, he will describe the scenes in detail, because he is himself such a very good actor, so he can tell the story in such a moving way that the actor would be led into the scenerio easily.
And then, it's Tony Leung. I can say that I truly salute his professionalism and his respect for the craft. When you are with such professional people, you can't drag them behind. I have to be more professional. So I just kept telling myself that I am an actor; only then could I enter a boundary where I can push everything to the back of my mind.
and watching Lust, Caution after it was completed
The first time I watched this movie, I watched it with Leehom, and I was watching it seriously. I was laughing and crying at the same time. After that, I told the director that I needed to watch it a hundred times, otherwise I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't start crying when I am watching it with the audience. Now, the result is that every time I watch the film, I don't watch it seriously. I dont dare. I just observe the audience's reaction -- see if they like the movie and which part makes them laugh.
James Schamus
on Tony Leung's eyes
Well, you know, we put fire into those eyes, we really did. He's already got it, and he inspired Ang and our cameraman Rodrigo Prieto to create a special light which we called the "Killer Pizza Light" -- we're not kidding you. It's because his eyes are so beautiful that we created a light called the "Killer Pizza Light" -- which looks like a pizza with little pepperonis in it with red lights -- to reflect off of those eyes to create a kind of intensity that you see in the film. So when you see Lust, Caution, think about the "Killer Pizza Light," because that's what we called it.