Celebrity Life
Chadwick Boseman Net Worth
Chadwick Aaron Boseman, born November 29th 1976, was an American actor. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016, but kept his condition private until [...]
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Disha Patani becomes brand ambassador of Fossil India
While the pandemic has slowed down all the happening in the tinsel town and the brand world, glad we live in the virtual world where things are still running smooth and in the same league, Fossil recently announced the addition of sultry beauty Disha Patani as its newest celebrity brand ambassador in India. The youth […]
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Eklovey Kashyap: I love to surprise myself and explore every bit of life
It is often said that life is too short to be lived dull, playing one character. Eklovey Kashyap took it quite seriously and made most of it at a young age. Eklovey is an actor, singer, director, producer, and co-founder of Hoot and a Half Productions. He has also co-devised Cyclogical as a part of […]
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Amitt K Singh: You need to be honest to the character to bring the best
Amitt K Singh for TMM He is calm, sharp, intelligent and a handsome cop, who knows his job right. Probably this is the impression we all could make out from the screen presence of Amitt K Singh as Vinod Sharma in Bhaukaal, a web series with more than 100 million views on MX Player. The […]
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Vidyut Jammwal : If you can do a simple thing well, you can achieve difficult things too
During the lockdown, Vidyut Jammwal has been inspiring people to train their body and mind through his fitness sessions. Words: Deepali Singh for TMM You don’t have to look beyond Vidyut Jammwal if you need a fitness inspiration. Movies like Force, Commando and Junglee have proved that when it comes to fitness and physical agility, […]
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Rishi Kapoor: The ultimate heartthrob of Indian cinema
Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and underwent treatment for almost a year in New York. After fighting with cancer for almost 2 years, he passed away at Sri H.N.Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday at the age of 67. He was admitted to the hospital after deteriorating health a […]
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Sonal Chouhan:- skin and hair care routine amid SARS COV-2 Lockdown
Sonal Chouhan divulges her lockdown skin and hair care routine Words:- Kartikya for TMM Sonal Chouhan has been indulging in a simple skin and hair care routine during the lockdown. In a conversation with TMM online, she talks about her quarantine beauty regime and shares tips on how people can nurture their skin and hair […]
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Salman Khan:- Pyaar Karona
Salman Khan Pyaar Karona:- TMM exclusive News Using minimal resources, Salman Khan composes a song of love in the fight against Corona! The world is shaken due to the Corona Virus pandemic and trust India’s number 1 superstar, Salman Khan, to inform and inspire his countrymen using the powerful and universal language that everyone understands – […]
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Celebrating every woman: Katrina Kaif
The Sizziling Katrina Kaif : TMM Cover pride Words: Deepali Singh Some of the oft-used words used to describe Katrina Kaif over the years – apart from ‘gorgeous’, of course, – are ‘professional’, ‘hardworking’ and ‘passionate’. You can see all of that in her journey to becoming one of the top actors in Bollywood today. […]
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Exploring Love Aaj Kal with Sara Ali Khan & Kartik Aaryan
Words by Deepali Singh Sara-Kartik: All about Love Aaj Kal It’s that time of the year when love is in the air again. And who better than the nation’s sweethearts, Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan to talk about all things love Aaj Kal! The lead pair of filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s intense, romantic […]
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Donnie Yen is The Man of Action
As Donnie Yen prepares to bid farewell to the role that has defined his career, he talks to us about what he's learned, what's coming next and why he'll never stop striving for filmmaking perfection.
When the movie Ip Man was released in 2008, it conjured up an image of the martial-arts grandmaster as a gentle and cultured mentor with remarkable kung fu skills. That same persona has also become synonymous with the actor who portrays him, Donnie Yen, so the December release of the final chapter in the film franchise, Ip Man 4, is expected to impact not only the cinematic story of Wing Chun, aka Ip Man, but also Yen himself.
With the Ip Man series now in its 12th – and, one assumes, last – year, how does Yen regard the franchise, not only in and of itself, but also in terms of its place in Hong Kong cinema, not to mention its effect on his own career as an actor and filmmaker? What, in other words, does Donnie Yen think about Donnie Yen – and where does he see himself going from here?
For many people, Donnie Yen is Ip Man, just as Robert Downey Jr has become Iron Man. So will it be Yen who’s playing his next character or Ip Man? The conundrum brings to mind the words of the famous Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang on the subject of acting: “Those who look at you do not see your own self; when you look at yourself you don’t see your own self either. Whoever performs a certain character, whatever it is, has the duty to look like that.”
Playing Ip Man has undoubtedly advanced Yen’s career, and after more than 10 years he’s developed quite a feeling for the role. “At the beginning, no one predicted that Ip Man would be so successful,” he says, “though now I realise I’ve studied for this role more intensively than for any other. He’s a master who’s introverted and represents the character of the Chinese nation.”
Yen also acknowledges the gradual evolution of the character, from Ip Man to Ip Man 4: “Compared to the action style of traditional martial-arts movies, I believe that people can see how my style and my performance have developed.”
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Of course, there’s much more to Yen than Ip Man, though just as his portrayal of Chen Zhen in the 1990s TV series Fist of Fury kicked off his acting career, the role of Ip has filled his sails immeasurably. “I can honestly say that because of Ip Man, I’ve been given many opportunities by the movie industry. It’s my biggest achievement,” he says.
The 56-year-old actor’s more recent repertoire includes playing the mythological Sun Wukong in The Monkey King, Guan Yu in The Lost Bladesman and the Hong Kong gangster Crippled Ho in the Wong Jing and Jason Kwan-directed Chasing the Dragon. He’s even stepped out into the international arena to play the blind monk Chirrut Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the agent Xiang in xXx: Return of Xander Cage and taken on the role of the commander in Disney’s soon-to-be-released Mulan.
“As an actor, it’s important to have opportunities,” says Yen. “You get a good role [and you’re the first one to play it]. Of course, luck works to quite a large extent, but whether you can seize the opportunity depends on whether you work hard enough. I understand that, as an actor, you shouldn’t lose yourself in transient success – you have to progress continually.”
Yen also understands that because of Ip Man’s success, he’s needed to redouble his efforts so that audiences can appreciate his range as an artist. Although he now has an impressive body of work behind him, there’s also the pressure that comes from being defined by what he’s done before. “It’s actually the biggest problem for an actor,” he says. “I’ve never stopped worrying about it.”
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Fortunately, says Yen, there’s a realisation that everything has to stop sometime – and for him Ip Man 4 is less an ending than a new beginning. “When you’ve finished playing one role, the new task is to break through the shadow that the role has cast over you. Professional actors should never stop searching – it’s how you constantly make progress and move forward.”
As to the fans who are unwilling to see him abandon his most famous role, he says they should wait and see: “Perhaps the future holds some surprising performances from Donnie Yen. So stay tuned.”
As well as his performances in the Ip Man series, Yen is also highly regarded as an action director in his own right, learning his craft from the influential martial-arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping in the 1992 Tsui Hark-directed Once Upon a Time in China 2, in which he played the role of Nap-lan Yun-seut; the famous “cloth stick” fight scene was Yen’s idea. He made his directorial debut in 1997 with Legend of the Wolf, following which he was invited to choreograph fight scenes and play cameos in numerous Hollywood movies (Highlander: Endgame, 2000; Blade II, 2002).
Yen’s contribution behind the scenes continues to this day. Much of Chirrut Îmwe’s style in Rogue One was born of Yen’s imagination, as were the ideas for the music, settings and social atmosphere in Chasing the Dragon. “There were many opinions and disputes over Chasing the Dragon,” he says, “but the results proved me right and provided my working partner Wong Jing with six nominations from the Hong Kong Film Awards for the first time in his career.” Yen’s modest pride in his filmmaking input is palpable, and if the effects the film presents can be interpreted differently, the determination of Yen to take his own path is obvious.
Yen believes that his involvement behind the scenes as part of the production team has spurred his own progress as a filmmaker. “No matter what I’m doing, I don’t give up for a second, and I find fun in the process of search and discovery. Because of this I can be passionate about what I do. The whole team learns and grows together. People shouldn’t shirk from sharing their feelings. This is the way to achieve the best results.”
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This self-imposed requirement for constant growth isn’t easy. “The filmmaking process is hard,” Yen insists, “but in the end it’s satisfying because participation in every little thing related to the birth of a movie is a kind of creation.” He laughs, and says, “Filmmakers who are willing to keep improving seem to have a strange illness in that the busier they are, the better in spirit they seem to be. The busier the better. If I’m free, just spending time on rest and leisure, my whole person gets lax.”
This is how Yen has always been. Creation brings a kind of pressure and responsibility. “Because I hope to present the best results, to film and make the best works, and to show the best Donnie Yen from any angle, I won’t disappoint those who entrust me. My personal contribution also represents the efforts of everyone, so I believe that the final effect has to be very good.”
Yen is used to playing a multitude of roles. “Now, when I’m acting, I know that I need to concentrate on how I should play the role, to keep direction and vision, and try to present the image of the character from different angles; and if I’m behind the scenes, then I think about how I should view the script.
“A good actor needs to think from the perspective of actor, director, supervisor, martial-arts direction, props and the actual situation. You need to think clearly.” After decades, Yen believes he’s developed a method that works. “Many people have asked me how I can balance so many different identities. It may be because, after decades, I’m used to asking myself what should the on-the-scenes actor think? What should the behind-the-scenes personnel think? It’s become like a reflex.”
Isn’t that tiresome? “I hope people won’t see me as that complicated.” He laughs and says that while the Donnie Yen we see on screen may seem like a superhero, he’s actually an ordinary person. “People’s expectations of me are too high. I don’t want such heavy pressure.”
He’s the same as everyone else. He gets tired and emotional, he has his likes and dislikes, and his own ideological standpoint. “From the audience’s perspective, I hope everyone can see my enthusiasm for movies.”
As an entertainer, sometimes it’s not possible to fully satisfy an audience’s expectations. When rating a filmmaker, one can’t just evaluate him or her through one work. “You surely need a lifetime, then you give a total score. Evaluate myself?” Yen asks. “Wow, lots of room for improvement! But I’m doing my best. With passion, determination and a bit of luck, I hope audiences will come to know this is the real Donnie Yen.”
Photography Olivia Tsang
Styling Alice Lin
Hair Kenji Ng at Il Colpo
Grooming Little White
Location Rosewood Hong Kong
The post Donnie Yen is The Man of Action appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.
‘Still Human’ Stars Anthony Wong and Crisel Consunji on Their Roles of a Lifetime
Anthony Wong Chau-sang cuts a curious figure. The Hong Kong star has arrived for his Prestige cover shoot looking relaxed and ready for action but his attention has been taken by the full-to-overflowing assortment of collectibles that surround us.
They are distinctly “Hong Kong”, ranging from an aluminium-sided drinks fridge of the kind still used in crusty village corner stores to posters of film stars whose names have long faded into history. They’re used for such purposes as the backdrops for vintage-style wedding photos, or for fashion shoots (like ours), and Wong has for the moment been taken by a set of drinks glasses that seem to have transported him elsewhere.
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Jacket by Cerruti 1881 and Shirt by Ermenegildo Zegna[/caption]
“I can remember seeing these sorts of things many times but I’m not sure they were actually in my own home,” says the 57-year-old, smiling. “You know this is a bit like looking at my own history.”
Such reflections have been common for Wong over the past few months. He reveals he has spent a lot of time lately – “Really, a lot!” – thinking back over his life.
Word started to spread about his most recent film -- the drama Still Human from first-time local director Oliver Chan Siu-kuen -- at this year’s Hong Kong Filmart industry gathering in March and about how Wong’s role in it would provide a timely reminder to Hong Kong of his talent.
Arguably, Hong Kong has never really had an actor so able to master the range of roles Wong has taken on, and been acclaimed for, across more than 200 films. Three times a Best Actor winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Wong has tried his hand at everything from an utterly psychotic serial killer (Ebola Syndrome, 1996) to a social activist (Ordinary Heroes, 1999), to a simmering triad thug (Vengeance, 2009). His oeuvre makes for a line-up best described as enigmatic, a phrase quite often used when people are trying to pigeon-hole the man himself.
We’re here today as a direct result of that latest star turn from Wong, as the curmudgeonly, wheelchair-bound man who forms a bond with the caregiver played -- to equal acclaim -- by first-timer Crisel Consunji.
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Coat by Alexander McQueen[/caption]
Both actors are being shot, separately and together, and their ease at interplay reflects an obvious closeness the past year has brought, as the journey has taken them from pre-production, to the filming, to the release and on to the reaction to Still Human as it swept the 2019 Hong Kong Film Awards, garnering the Best Actor Award for Wong, Best New Performer for Consunji, and Best New Director for Chan.
“I never really expected it, to be honest,” Wong says, as he waits for his turn in front of today’s cameras to begin. “I didn’t have much on with work. It’s been that way for a while. But I read the script and I just liked it. I didn’t really ask for any money. I thought it would be a small film, nothing more. Now look.”
Still Human has exceeded all expectations since its April release. It was made on a next-to-nothing budget but has returned a few million dollars for investors, giving a beleaguered local film industry a welcome boost of confidence as small Hong Kong filmmakers increasingly find their work buried under a flood of foreign blockbusters.
Back at the start of May, Wong and Consunji, along with director Chan, arrived in Udine, Italy, for the Far East Film Festival unsure of how their film might be accepted by an international audience. They walked away with the festival’s top prize.
Wong also picked up the festival’s Golden Mulberry Award for outstanding achievement, later posting on social media that the Udine experience had been the greatest of his life.
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On Crisel: Top by Celine, Dress by Bottega Veneta | On Anthony: Coat by Cerruti 1881, Shirt and Trousers by Ermenegildo Zegna[/caption]
“This has really been out of all my imagination and all my expectation,” Wong says. “I’ve really been able to feel a truth in the applause, a respect, and that has been really touching.”
Local media have claimed 2019 to be the year that marks Wong’s triumphant return, but if he was hiding anywhere it was in plain sight. There’s been a procession of supporting roles, as well as parts on TV and in theatre, the medium that gave Wong his start.
What has made Wong relatively anonymous, at least in media terms, has been the lack of fanfare surrounding his recent work, ever since an apparent ban was placed on him by Chinese authorities for his support of the 2014 Occupy Central protests.
“I don’t really know,” is Wong’s explanation. “You know, I’ve never officially been told anything. Nothing. So I’ve just been carrying on, you know, living my life.”
Little wonder Wong came out in support of the local community, as it’s one that has always returned the love, ever since he first appeared on the big screen in the Angie Chan-directed My Name Ain’t Suzy back in 1985.
Wong grew up in Wan Chai with his mum, his English father having left when he was a small boy. He worked his way through classes at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts before training at the TVB Studios -- as has been the case for so many Hong Kong actors -- turned him into a ready-made star. Roles in such seminal local hits as John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992) and the multiple award-winning Infernal Affairs (2002) saw the city take him to heart.
Those hearts were touched with the story of Wong reuniting with his father’s side of his family last year, brought together via social media. His father had passed away but Wong found he had brothers, and a new sense of his own identity.
“So much has happened to me lately,” he says. “I’ve found a new family that I didn’t know I had. It’s like a new chapter for me now, like I’ve turned a page.”
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Jacket by Cerruti 1881 and Shirt by Ermenegildo Zegna[/caption]
Crisel Consunji’s story is almost as old as cinema itself. “It’s sometimes hard to believe it has happened, and all so quickly,” she says. But Tinseltown was built on the belief that dreams can come true, that people can be plucked from obscurity and turned into stars. Just look to the classic 1937 drama A Star is Born, with a young Janet Gaynor playing the actress who appears out of nowhere to become an overnight sensation. There have been three repeat performances, starring Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and, most recently, Lady Gaga as the unknown hopeful who rises to the top.
Those films, it must be noted, were all about pure fantasy. What lifts the story of Consunji out of mere fiction and into modern reality -- and what gives it a distinctly Hong Kong flavour -- is how she landed her first film role and how the 34-year-old Philippine actress has reacted to the commotion that’s swirled around her debut.
In Still Human, Consunji plays a domestic helper coming to terms with an often difficult relationship with the man she’s employed to care for. But before she won the role -- and before she was named Best New Performer at the Hong Kong Film Awards and was nominated for Best Actress -- Consunji had given the entertainment industry away. Her life for years had become focused instead on the early learning centres she’d opened in Hong Kong with her husband. But then Consunji was discovered, famously now, via Facebook.
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Jacket by Miu Miu, Top and Trousers by Dior[/caption]
“A callout was being sent around the Philippine community in Hong Kong and one particular friend said, ‘I think this has your name on it,’” says Consunji. “It was the nth time that I had received it so I thought, ‘Whatever, let’s go and see what happens.’”
Consunji’s talent won her the part but it sounds as though fierce determination was among the deciding factors. Once she’d read for the role, Consunji realised it was one that would help build on the conversation -- both in Hong Kong and across the world -- about the role domestic helpers and caregivers play in modern society. Then, there was no saying no.
“I really felt, after speaking to [director Oliver Chan] Siu-kuen, that here was a director who wanted to produce a narrative that was fair, that was empowering,” she says. “It wasn’t going to portray my people as people who didn’t have the opportunity to take hold of their lives on their own. Part of the push factor was thinking: what if someone took on the role and didn’t have an understanding? How would the story be portrayed? When the discourse began, who would be responsible to actually give a bit more of an accurate description of the topic? After reading the script I felt like I wanted to be involved, even if I didn’t get the part.”
Consunji’s own narrative begins with a stage career during childhood that took root with Manila’s Repertory Philippines theatre group. Film, back then, was never a factor.
“Those days, there wasn’t a lot of mobility from one medium to another,” she says. “Now, across the world, it’s more fluid. Before, if you worked in the theatre you were labelled, and there weren’t many independent films. My family always told me to remember that this might not be my life or my livelihood. There just weren’t the opportunities.”
At 23, Consunji moved to Hong Kong to take up a role at Disneyland and she would perform there for around three years in such productions as High School Musical.
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On Anthony: Jacket by Cerruti 1881, Shirt and Trousers by Ermenegildo Zegna, Shoes Anthony's own | On Crisel: Outfit by Fendi[/caption]
It’s the type of all-round grounding -- acting, singing, lead roles and support -- that directors cherish. Someone able to fill any vacancy, and with a passion for their craft. It was that emotion -- passion -- that drove Consunji towards the next chapter in her life when she decided her life was ready for a new challenge, and when she talks about working with children it’s impossible not to be swept up in the thrill she finds in helping shape young lives.
“As an artist you live and breathe wanting to bring a little more empathy into the world -- and that’s why I got into teaching,” she says. “That’s how we can make a difference. At our centres every day is a new day and every day is special. Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong is really tough. It really is sleepless nights. Hopefully now I can find a happy medium as I want to do both -- work at our centres and be an actress again. This whole new world has opened up so it’s made me wonder if there’s something here that will allow me to stay true to my values. Now that I’m here I want to learn more.”
Sit with Consunji for any length of time and you’ll walk away convinced that’s how, despite all the acclaim that has followed her debut film role, she seems to have remained so grounded. Over a break during our cover shoot, she recounts how, on returning home to Hong Kong after travelling to Italy for the Far East Film Festival, the mother of one of her students rushed up to her, super excited.
“She said to me, ‘You must be so proud!’,” recounts Consunji. “And I’d been so swept up in the film that I thought she must have been talking about that. But she was talking about the opening of our new school. She didn’t know about Italy or the awards, she was more concerned with real life. So, you know, in terms of getting carried away, I think I’ll be fine. The other side of my life keeps my feet on the ground.”
Photography Ricky Lo | Creative Direction and Styling Anson Lau | Hair Jean Tong for Crisel, Taky Chung for Anthony | Make-up Angel Mok for Crisel | Grooming Jolinn Ng for Anthony
The post ‘Still Human’ Stars Anthony Wong and Crisel Consunji on Their Roles of a Lifetime appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.
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