Exclusively for Asian Cult Cinema
An interview conducted by Tony Williams
Text and additional questions by Tom Weissner
Asian Cult Cinema, Issue #19 April 1998

Permission to reprint granted by Mr. Tony Williams and ACC. Transcribed by Figster.

"This type of noble character only exists in the world of a movie"

ACC: Many people know your Hong Kong films with John Woo. but you've also worked with other fine talents such as Ann Hui who directed you in The Story of Woo Viet (1981) and Love in a Fallen City (1984).

CHOW: Right. love them. I'm also fond of my work in another dramatic film, Hong Kong 1941 (1984) directed by Leung Po-Chi, for which I won the Asian Pacific and Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in 1985. it is one of my favorite roles.

ACC: When you made Hong Kong 1941 were you (and others) conscious of making any parallels to the future situation of July 1997 such as comparing the Japanese to the Mainland Chinese?

CHOW: Not at all. We watched a lot of historical footage from film archives, like battle footage showing the Japs attacking Hong Kong. We shot the whole story based on the Japanese attacking our city. The film's momentum really concentrated on the war situation and its effect on human relationships during that period. Hong Kong 1941 has nothing to do with July 1997.

ACC: I asked this question because some Hong Kong movies have been interpreted in this light.

CHOW: Not this one.

ACC: Wasn't Ann Hui's Love in a Fallen City based on the work of Shanghai writer Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang)?

CHOW: Eileen Chang was a talented writer. Her books are very famous in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Chinatowns all over the world. Unfortunately, she died two years ago in San Francisco. I remember she was a very stubborn lady. When we began Love in a Fallen City we wanted to receive her approval. But she was really concerned about who the leading actor would be. So An Hui sent my biography and video copies of my films to San Francisco. Then, a few weeks later, she agreed to cooperate with us. The story was interesting and, like Hong Kong 1941, it was also based upon the Japanese attack. but Love in a Fallen City is more in the romantic style of Gone with the Wind. It deals with a high society love affair, considerably different from Hong Kong 1941's traditional story about relationships between normal people.

ACC: Many of us love your work with Ringo Lam such as City on Fire, Prison on Fire and Full Contact.

CHOW: Did you like full Contact?

ACC: Yes. Ringo has darker images in his films, very bleak and nihilistic.

CHOW: Right. Ringo is a very good director. We actually started together at the same television station training school in 1973. Ringo became an assistant producer in a television studio until 1978 before migrating to Canada to study film. But h's a very stubborn guy - very tough - yet very talented. On the set he gets very frantic. Ringo tends to get frustrated when people don't cooperate and, and especially when things aren't under his control. Ringo regards himself as the King on his set. He wanted total control of actors, crew, and the studio system. So, his movies tend to display a lot of pressure, lack of compromise - and much darkness and sadness. Ringo's films reveal a lot of hatred. He uses my character and other characters to express it. Ringo tried to compromise with society. But internally, he can not.

On the other hand, John Woo tries to attain a more peaceful harmony with society. He uses film to express his personal feelings about God and the Devil. John is closer to reality and human dignity. Basically - I'm glad I had the opportunity to work with two totally different kinds of directors. You know, sometimes on the set, I have a lot of discussions and fights with Ringo. But, ultimately, he's still The King.

ACC: I also admire some of your other roles especially in Johnny To's All About Ah Long. It shows the versatility of your acting range.

CHOW: Thank you. There was a lot of sadness in the tragic ending. Have you seen An Autumn's Tale?

ACC: No.

CHOW: An Autumn's Tale is more on the romantic side - closer to your heart. All About Ah long was based on The Champ. But we inserted a lot of funny elements into the story about the son. It is one of my favorite movies too.

In Hong Kong, actors must be able to deliver a wide range of performances because audiences want to see a lot of variety for their $7 tickets. Audiences push you to the edge, but you must give them what they want otherwise you can not survive in Hong Kong.

ACC: I read somewhere that you made about ten movies in one year.

CHOW: Yes. I actually shot twelve movies in 1988. I admire this about the Hong Kong film industry. You can make five to six movies at the same time but not in Hollywood.

ACC: Isn't this because the Hong Kong film industry resembles the old classical Hollywood studio system?

CHOW: That's right. Hong Kong still resembles the old Hollywood system. The biggest studios have many actors on contracts, which allows them salaries every month. They don't have that in Hollywood because the big studios can not afford it.

ACC: When you made The Killer (1989) whose idea was it to base your character on Alain Delon's Le Samourai (1966)?

CHOW: The Killer and its characters - that was all John's idea, because he loves French movies. But during the 60s and 70s John was influenced by a lot of European films, Hollywood movies and Japanese samurai films. John is a big fan of Akira Kurosawa. His films are full of influences from different cultures.

ACC: Who was responsible for developing your character of John lee in The Replacement Killers?

CHOW: I think it came from the studio and the screenplay versions. They took elements of my roles in The Killer and Hard Boiled, and adapted them into an American film. It's a good idea to introduce me to America as an action hero, rather than Ah long or any of my other different Hong Kong roles.

ACC: There's been much speculation over your last Hong Kong film, Peace Hotel (1995). Who was the actual director?

CHOW: He was a new talent who came to directing after writing screenplays, Mr. Wai Kai Fai. He was known for some successful television programs. When worked in TV during the 70s Ann Hui brought me over to the big screen. So, this was like a "give-and-take" situation. I wanted to give a young director this opportunity to hit the movies. Regarding Peace Hotel, the story was not very good but the film was very successful at the box office. And Mr. Wai is now doing well as a director and screenwriter in Hong Kong.

ACC: John Woo has a producer credit on the film. Was he ever present on the set during shooting or were you in phone contact with him?

CHOW: No. We sent over the first and final drafts of the screenplay to John in Los Angeles and he made a lot of notes t send back to Mr. Wai. after the first cut, we sent a copy of Peace Hotel to Los Angeles so John could see it and make comments. Then. we edited the film again.

ACC: Were the three heroes in A Better Tomorrow, played by yourself, Ti Lung, and Leslie Cheung, based on the three heroes in the Chinese historical epic, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

CHOW: I don't think so because the original noble characters in this epic are very complicated personalities. A Better Tomorrow really revolves around the two brothers, played by Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung. My character, Mark, represents the second layer in the film. He is not related to Leslie but revolves more around Ti Lung's character. I don't see the characters in any way related to the noble folk heroes of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

ACC: Both a Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled feature your characters in scenes with the Chinese deity, Kwan-Yu. The Replacement Killers shows John Lee before the Buddha. Was the Buddha used in The Replacement Killers because American audiences know the Buddha better than Kwan-Yu?

CHOW: Right! You are the one who notices the symbolism of the god in Chinese culture. For the Chinese culture - no matter what you do - god is considered the one person who will guide you on the right track. Whether you are good or bad, you have to to be concerned about your order. In this traditional way, Chinese people deal with moral dilemmas. Just ones rely on the Buddha because he controls heaven and earth. He knows what is good and bad, right and wrong. You can see this in many Hong Kong movies, such as A Better Tomorrow. Before the explosive ending, Mark is very concerned about the Buddha.

ACC: You've mentioned that The Replacement Killers represents an attempt to translate the Hong Kong "hit-man" acting style into your first American film. John Woo has already been working on synthesizing his distinctive Hong Kong directing style into the different world of Hollywood cinema. What did you think of Face Off in this light?

CHOW: Face Off is an interesting example of how John can - sometimes - push his work over the edge. I consider Face Off as one of his best features. It is a very complicated film in terms of characterizations - of good guy/bad guy, devil and god. Both main characters exhibit a strong fighting spirit and the relationship between them is very close. I think John did a very good job particularly in the important scene where Cage and Gershon put ear phones on the young child to drown the sounds of gunfire in the apartment and the music plays, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It was astounding and very "over-the-top." Maybe, in the next film, he may want to move away from gangsters and violence and explore more peaceful directions.

ACC: What factors led to the choice of Antoine Fuqua as director of The Replacement Killers...

CHOW: Oh?

ACC: ...since he only directed music videos before?

CHOW: I think both the studio, my manager (and agent) did a good job in selecting Antoine Fuqua as my first American movie director. It's true, Antoine has a very strong musical sense in his direction. The Replacement Killers is not a Hong Kong Killer imitation - but is related to a different society. Antoine knows how to keep the young hip generation rocking. He knows how to use my Chinese killer persona and smoothly translate it for the American market. I think he did a good job here.

ACC: Every good film requires an excellent villain. Kenneth Tsang fulfills this role in The Replacement Killers. But why did the director select him?

CHOW: When Antoine saw Kenneth in The Killer. In that movie, Kenneth plays a honest cop with a good heart. Antoine wanted to give Kenneth a different type of part. I thought his role worked out very well.

ACC: It would be really great if your future Hollywood films featured other Hong Kong actors such as Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Roy Cheung and Shing Fui-on.

CHOW: I hope Hollywood studios will use some of these actors because they do play really good bad guys.

ACC: I don't know about how American audiences would react to Anthony Wong of The Untold Story fame. His "mad psycho" roles may be too powerful but he's a really interesting actor in terms of the demonic personality he brings to some of his performances.

CHOW: Yes. He graduated from one of the important Hong Kong Fine Arts schools after studying there for four years. He's a very good actor. I like him very much.

ACC: I see that John Woo, Terence Chang, and Christopher Goodslick, each served as executive producer on this film. Obviously, they were all looking after your interests for your American debut.

CHOW: Yes. Terence is my manager as well. He was always on the set. Terence is the first man who took me to Hollywood and introduced me to some studios who signed me up. When John made his first American movie, Hard Target, he was already thinking of bringing some of the people in Asia. John introduced me to The William Morris Agency. He was very concerned about my future Hollywood career.

ACC: We were all concerned, as well. Yet Terence is a very good ally. He also introduced Michelle Yeoh to American audiences in Tomorrow Never Dies.

CHOW: Do you like her?

ACC: I like her Hong Kong films, especially Wing Chun and her early action work.

CHOW: D you think her Hong Kong work is much better than the 007 movie?

ACC: Yes. They should have made Michelle a more central character in Tomorrow Never Dies. Her martial arts abilities were great. But then, Pierce Brosnan had to rescue her at the end!

CHOW: (Laughter). It's ridiculous!

ACC: Yes. But what do you expect when you're trying to make your way into the Hollywood system - as long as you don't compromise yourself too much.

CHOW: Yes.

ACC: During the end of The Replacement Killers, you give a gesture of friendship to Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino). It avoids the "happy-ever-after" cliche of jumping into bed together---

CHOW: Yes. The studio envisaged John Lee as being very close to the original Clint Eastwood models of Dirty Harry and "The Man with No Name" where the character never relates to the lady at the end. (Laughter). Maybe we can do that (jump into bed), the next time, in our sequel. (Laughter). You know what mean?

ACC: Was your relationship with Michael Rooker as the cop in The Replacement Killers taken from The Killer? And given a new meaning?

CHOW: Right! Many interesting things happened during the filming. We had a lot of fights with the studio over John Lee's character. Finally, we won our battle, in a workable solution. Now I think the final product worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

ACC: The Replacement Killers also contains certain similarities to your work with John Woo. John Lee appears to be another version of Woo's noble heroes trapped in an alienating modern world.

CHOW: Yes. But, in reality no killer would behave like John Lee. We are talking about a particular character constructed for a movie - not the real world. The ancient type of knight from Chinese history exhibited more real loyalty to his boss or king. They also had their own dignity. But our modern urban world lacks this type of honesty and loyalty. Today, it's "every man for himself."

This type of noble character only exists in the world of a movie. I think John Woo was very influenced by the ancient swordsman heroic films he worked on in the early 70s as well as the work of Chang Che. John Woo is a very loyal man, a very good husband and father. I think these old movies influenced his personality. But I don't think John Woo really belongs to this century. I enjoy working with him because he can drive me in a certain way and add some great sparks to the characters.

A John Woo movie is not something you watch when you are eating your popcorn or drinking your Coke. It is not something you take a break from to go to the toilet in the movie theater. A John Woo movie always captivates me. He has this technique of character treatment and exhibits strong feelings about relationships involving family, friendship, honesty, and loyalty. These are things I don't usually see in Hollywood movies.

Do you like Face Off?

ACC: I felt that John was approaching 70% of his best Hong Kong directing style with this film. I also strongly feel this about both you and John in Hollywood - the best is yet to come because you are equally versatile in so many ways. Are you still involved in The King and I project?

CHOW: Yes. They delivered the final draft to me a few days ago. Producer Lawrence Bender told me the studios want to make it better and better so, perhaps, this is not the "final draft." They want to add some more elements of characterization. I think that the project offers an opportunity for me to show that I can do some different roles - besides holding a gun or a lady! (Laughter) I'm really dying to make this movie.

ACC: Will this be a remake of Anna and the King of Siam (1946) starring Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne?

CHOW: Yes. It won't be a new version of the musical, King and I (1956). But it will have a scene in a ballroom where Prime Ministers of France and London have a party.

The first time the king appears, he asks the beautiful lady, "Can you dance with me?" (At this point Chow flashing his winning romantic smile) That is the only connection this version will have with the King and I's "Shall We Dance" sequence.

ACC: I can visualize that charming smile in the scene.

CHOW: Yes. We don't have to follow the old Yul Brynner movie version.

ACC: And King's Ransom will finally reunite you with John Woo. Will this be another version of Once a Thief?

CHOW: Well, kind of. We are still waiting for the final draft. I've read the first and second drafts so I'm very excited about the opportunity of working with John Woo again.

©1998 Asian Cult Cinema. All rights reserved. Thank you to Mr. TonyWilliams and to ACC!