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62-year-old Andy Lau: After filming “Mr. Red Carpet”, I grew up
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Li Li
The Year of the Dragon Spring Festival schedule has recently started pre-sale, and each of the six major movies has made a surprising amount of money. Among them, Ning Hao and Andy Lau brought “Mr. Red Carpet” into the live broadcast room of Dong Yuhui, a famous Douyin star, “Walking with Hui”, creating a lively scene with 1.7 million people watching at the same time. 300,000 movie tickets were sold out in seconds, and when the number was finally increased to 600,000, netizens complained that they were “not available at all.”
Dong Yuhui, who has always been calm, seemed a little excited when facing his childhood idol. Andy Lau also spoke freely. He explained why “Mr. Red Carpet”, in which he starred in his true self, is the most special movie he has made in more than 40 years of acting. He also rarely revealed details about his family life, including educating his daughter.
“Crazy Stone” 16 years after their relationship
Andy Lau and Ning Hao collaborate again
Many people know that Andy Lau is Ning Hao’s boss – the latter’s director’s famous film “Crazy Stone” is the investor of Andy Lau. In Dong Yuhui’s live broadcast room, Ning Hao recalled in detail the process of their relationship: “Before “Crazy Stone”, I had made a literary film called “Green Grass”. That year I was taking the film to participate in At the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hua Ge’s partners approached me and asked if I wanted to cooperate with them and join Hua Ge’s Asia Rising Star Director Program.”
Andy Lau admitted that the cooperation between the two was the right time and place. At that time, he had just established a new company. “I don’t know why, but I always had a great sense of responsibility in my heart and felt that I needed to find fresh blood for the future of Chinese films.” Finally, he found Ning Hao, and it turned out that he had not made a mistake. In 2006, “Crazy Stone” directed by Ning Hao was released and received high box office and word-of-mouth reviews. It not only became a model for small-budget films in the industry to “do big things with small things”, but also broadened new expressions for China’s black humor comedy genre.
Ning Hao revealed that in fact, there is a little story about the fate of the two that even Andy Lau didn’t know: “I first learned to paint, but after painting, I discovered that I was color weak, so I had to switch to shooting commercials and MVs. . But the first and only poster I drew many years ago was for Brother Hua’s movie. After I finished drawing, hand-drawn posters became obsolete and everyone used printers.” At the time, Ning Hao never expected that, Many years later, the male protagonist on that poster turned out to be his most important guide on the road to movies.
After “Crazy Stone”, Andy Lau always wanted to work with Ning Hao again as an actor, but always missed it: “I once had the opportunity to shoot Ning Hao’s “No Man’s Land”, but later due to schedule issues, the cooperation failed. I have always been very sorry.” It was not until 16 years after the release of “Crazy Stone” that “Mr. Red Carpet” made up for the regret. In this movie, Andy Lau not only became Ning Hao’s actor, but even acted with him.
Starring in his true colors as the King of Superstars
Andy Lau said he was “a little scared” at first
Hong Kong superstar Liu Weichi has been in the movie industry for 40 years and has always longed to win the Best Actor Award. He decided to collaborate with director Lin Hao on a rural-themed film, which earned him international fame at film festivals. To this end, Liu Weichi went deep into the countryside to experience life, personally solicited investment, and refused to use a substitute, which triggered a series of absurd farces that made people laugh and cry…
The above is the plot summary of “Mr. Red Carpet”. It is not difficult to guess that the Hong Kong superstar Liu Weichi in the film is played by Andy Lau, while Ning Hao plays the director Lin Hao. Although he almost acted in his true self, Andy Lau admitted that he was “a little scared at first”. He is afraid that the audience will think that he is too similar to the character, and he is even more afraid that his colleagues will misunderstand that they are satirizing the entertainment industry.
Ning Hao revealed that he didn’t read the script to Andy Lau at first because he felt “I had to tell him personally.” “Since he supported me in filming “Crazy Stone”, it has been my inner wish to cooperate with Brother Hua. Although we have never officially agreed on this matter, we both know in our hearts that there will be this opportunity.” Ning Hao Said, “I have been looking for a suitable story. When it comes to the subject of “Mr. Red Carpet”, I think it is Brother Hua. No one else can play this role.”
Ning Hao specially flew to “tell stories” with Andy Lau. After telling the plot of “Mr. Red Carpet”, Andy Lau did not speak for more than ten seconds. Ning Hao recalled: “I told Brother Hua at the time that modern people like to shoot short videos, and everyone is a recorder of the times. We filmmakers can also learn this method and shoot some of the life we are familiar with and the topics we care about. “In the end, Andy Lau was convinced.
Do you still remember the Andy Lau partner who extended a cooperation invitation to Ning Hao in Hong Kong? His name is Yu Weiguo. He founded the Cyclorama Production Company with Andy Lau in the 1990s. In 2004, he served as the chief operating officer of Andy Lau Yingyi Entertainment Co., Ltd. Yu Weiguo is also a director, and has also directed “Say I Love You Again” starring Andy Lau, Yang Caini, and Charlene Choi. This time, Andy Lau’s old partner also starred in “Mr. Red Carpet”, truly showing Andy Lau’s “circle of friends”.
Facing malicious public opinion on the Internet
Andy Lau and Dong Yuhui are afraid that their family members will be injured
In the view of Ning Hao and Andy Lau, the real entertainment industry shown in “Mr. Red Carpet” is only the “surface”, while the real “inside” of the story is the most distressing communication problem for modern people.
“Why do some things become more difficult to understand each other the more we communicate?” On that day, Ning Hao used a word with characteristics of the Internet industry to explain, “In fact, the ‘granularity’ is not aligned.” Another reason is more profound, “We used to When I was studying, I learned about documentaries. The teacher told us that documentaries are the most real, but it is also very easy to form an angle, and it is difficult to say whether that angle is real or not.”
Regarding the topic of “ineffective communication”, Dong Yuhui, who was just involved in the topic a while ago, also has something to say. He lamented: “Language is the tomb of expression. Many times the more you speak, the less people listen. As a vegetable seller in front of the camera, I have felt that my life has been a bit thrilling in the past two years – I often need to speak on my own. Proof of innocence, but the picture often gets darker and darker.”
There is a scene in “Mr. Red Carpet” where superstar Liu Weichi feels that he is being chased by everyone and is panicking. Dong Yuhui was very touched after reading this: “In today’s Internet, everyone can be the initiator and promoter of speech. Many times, public opinion is overwhelming, regardless of the truth, and only cares about the outcome of winning or losing.” Ning Hao said about this Agreed: “When communication becomes ineffective, it can easily turn into a vent of emotions. Everyone has their own obsessions, and it is difficult to see problems from the perspective of others. We all know that there is a saying called ‘Long live understanding’, but There are really very few people who have the ability and patience to understand others.”
Regarding the malicious public opinion from the outside world, Dong Yuhui and Andy Lau have a common feeling: they can hold on, but they are afraid that their family members will feel uncomfortable if they see it. Dong Yuhui said: “My parents are both farmers and are still living in the countryside. When they see others praising me, they will feel that their children have done a good job. When they see others criticizing me, they will be sad. Because the people around them speak well. It’s so nice, I don’t understand how someone can express it like that on the Internet.”
Filmed for 42 years
Andy Lau thinks “Mr. Red Carpet” is the most “special”
It is said that “life is like a play, and play is like life”, but after more than 40 years of filming, Andy Lau did not fully understand this sentence until he joined the crew of “Mr. Red Carpet”.
Ning Hao revealed that in order to maximize the sense of reality, everyone in the crew became actors – Andy Lau played the star, Ning Hao played the director, the costumer played the costumer, and the props master played the props master… He said: “Because I am myself I’m also an actor, so when I call for cut on set, the photographer is often confused about the situation—he doesn’t know whether it’s a cut in the play or a real cut.”
Andy Lau said: “If in addition to the crew, there is a documentary shooting team to record everything on the scene, then everyone will see that everything that happened in the play happened again in real life.”
“Making this movie is actually very simple, because Brother Hua is the most experienced actor I have ever seen.” Ning Hao said, “Basically just take a scene and don’t need to have a particularly in-depth discussion.” Andy Lau said, At first he thought “Mr. Red Carpet” was like “Crazy Star”, but later, he discovered that Ning Hao had been doing subtraction. In the end, Ning Hao removed all the technical aspects of his performance, and Andy Lau and Liu Weichi became one person.
Andy Lau described the feeling of acting in “Mr. Red Carpet” as “very special and unforgettable”. “I have been filming for 42 years, and this is the first time I have felt this way.” He said: “I have grown up after filming this movie.”
Dong Yuhui asked him what impact this drama would have on his life. Andy Lau admitted: “Until now, I haven’t really communicated this issue with myself. I haven’t understood it yet, and I don’t have an answer yet. Maybe I can wait until everyone gives us some feedback after reading it, and then I can understand it.”
Ning Hao concluded: “Brother Hua said that I was brave for filming this movie, but in fact, he is the one who is truly brave.”
Controlling daughter’s use of electronic products
Andy Lau told her to “read more books”
In this live broadcast, Dong Yuhui transformed into a fanboy and asked Andy Lau a lot of “gossip”. For example, what does Andy Lau do when he is not working?
“When I’m not working, I stay at home and don’t go out much.” Andy Lau replied, “I have many work partners, and we all have a very good relationship, but there are not many friends who can really just chat without talking about work. Sometimes we only see each other for a month. Less than once.”
And diet. What few people know is that Andy Lau has been a vegetarian for many years: “I used to eat meat, but I have become a vegetarian in the past ten years. Of course I will pay attention to supplementing more protein.” He said that he has never paid attention to appetite. “I have enough nutrition.” Just fine.”
Do you live such a simple life deliberately to maintain your health, or is it just your nature? “I have always been like this. From the time I finished filming “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” in 1983 to now, I have always been like this.” Andy Lau said, “I used to live with my parents and stay at home when I had nothing to do. There was a time when I liked I bowled, but then I didn’t.”
Dong Yuhui exclaimed that it turned out that the lives of the two of them were similar. “I don’t usually socialize much. Apart from work, I basically stay at home, drink tea, read books and take notes. I pace when I think about things and lie down for a while when I’m tired. Growing up, my family encouraged me to make more friends, so I always have something to do. I feel frustrated and feel that my life is not in line with my family’s expectations of me.” He said, “I used to doubt myself. I don’t have many friends. Is it because of my withdrawn personality? Is it because of my living habits that I don’t eat well? Is it caused by bad things? But I feel relieved when I hear that Brother Hua’s life is so simple.”
Andy Lau also has something in common with many parents when it comes to his daughter’s education philosophy – he will control the time his daughter uses electronic products. Many people love to watch short videos, but Andy Lau said that he rarely watches them. “My family watches them, but they only watch short videos in which I appear.” As for his daughter Liu Xianghui, he said: “She is still a bit young, only 12 years old in the Year of the Dragon, so I don’t really show her entertainment stuff, only study stuff.”
Andy Lau used to love reading. But he admitted that he rarely read after having children. He blamed himself: “Every day I tell my children that they should read more books, but I don’t read them myself.”
Ning Hao admires Andy Lau’s self-discipline the most
Stick to principles and not be confused by interests
In “Mr. Red Carpet”, superstar Liu Weichi can do plank support. Andy Lau said that planks and push-ups are also his daily routine: “Someone once told me that if you can’t sing the high notes during recording, just do 15 push-ups. I found that you can really sing after doing it.”
Dong Yuhui also believes that exercise can help improve work status: “I used to be an English teacher. During the summer vacation, I would teach 10 hours a day for dozens of days, and people would feel very tired. So before each class, I would Do 30 push-ups afterwards, and you will feel energetic immediately.”
Andy Lau revealed that he used to like riding bicycles outdoors. “But since I fell while riding a horse, I started to feel a little scared. I would worry about whether the car behind me would hit me, and I would have to wait for a long time after the red light ended before I dared to continue riding.”
When the crew is busy filming, Andy Lau will find time to walk more. “There is a break of one and a half to two hours after lunch every day. I spend 15 minutes finishing my meal, and then keep walking around the scene until the director calls me to stop.”
Ning Hao said: “I most want to learn from Brother Hua’s self-discipline. I have never seen his level of self-discipline. Even when I proposed to learn his self-discipline, I felt a little nervous.”
In addition to paying attention to diet and exercise, what Ning Hao admires most is Andy Lau’s insistence on principles: “If he feels that something has a bad impact on society, no matter how great the benefits or pressure, he will never do it. This kind of insistence on principles I admire them every time I see them persevere. Maybe this is the so-called ‘unity of knowledge and action’.”
“Unity of knowledge and action” is not only reflected in major events. Ning Hao said: “The first time I went to the hotel to find him, I saw him packing boxes. There were so many things to pack and so many clothes to sort out, and he did it all by himself.”
“Can anyone else do this kind of thing?” Andy Lau asked in surprise, “Other artists should be similar to me, right?”
He revealed that in fact, compared to his wife Zhu Liqian, this is nothing. “My wife really loves to be clean, so she has slowly trained me up.” Ning Hao confirmed: “Yes, I once took my children to their house for dinner and found that the house was so clean that my children did not dare to move around!”
