Maggie Cheung comes 'clean' on filmmaking<\/p>\n
Kenny Santana, Contributor, Cannes<\/p>\n
For her role as a drug addict in Clean (to be shown at this
\nyear's French Film Festival in Indonesia), Maggie Cheung took the
\nCannes Film Festival Best Actress nod last year.<\/p>\n
In a frank interview in the afternoon before she won the
\naward, Cheung, looking as beautiful as on the silver screen, was
\ncheerful, talkative and very friendly. She was at ease talking
\nabout being in Clean, directed by her ex-husband, and using
\nCourtney Love as a role model.<\/p>\n
Question: What sort of research did you do on heroin for
\nClean?<\/p>\n
Cheung: I didn't. But Olivier (Assayas, the director) and I
\nhave a lot of close friends in this situation. They've been
\nthough it all. In fact, they're everywhere. With these friends,
\nyou could observe them in different stages (of addiction). You
\nsee differences in these people.<\/p>\n
Did you smell it on yourself when you were playing the role?<\/p>\n
No, I didn't smell so bad (laughs). Maybe I should have done.
\nI had these images about how they carry themselves when they're
\nhigh or when they need it. I saw their behavior more clearly.<\/p>\n
What attracted you to this film?<\/p>\n
Olivier and I always thought about making another film
\ntogether. During the marriage, it didn't feel normal. Then one
\nday he said, \"I have a subject for us to make a film together\".
\nFrom that point I was committed. I didn't know what I was getting
\nmyself into but I knew that I wanted to make a film with Olivier.<\/p>\n
Because it's him and because he wrote it for me, I didn't have
\nany doubts about playing in it. I knew I wanted to be there, to
\nbe the real me for him.<\/p>\n
Were you nervous working with Olivier since you had been
\nmarried before?<\/p>\n
Slightly. I did have worries -- like whether we'd scream at
\neach other (laughs). What would happen? Actually, nothing
\nhappened. I just had to get over few things, like he was nicer to
\nother actors than to me. He was more polite. He said \"please\" and
\n\"excuse me\" to other actors, but not to me (laughs). But it
\ndidn't affect anything.<\/p>\n
You mentioned Courtney Love as a model for the role in Clean.<\/p>\n
She's the obvious choice. Because she's been through this kind
\nof situation, I wouldn't say the same, although it's similar to
\nEmily (her role in Clean). I don't know enough of Courtney. As
\nfar as I remember, the idea for this film came from a newspaper
\narticle. It's about everyday occurrences<\/p>\n
What about singing in the film?<\/p>\n
It was in the script. It wasn't my decision. I was very
\nscared, shy, intimidated, because I didn't want to do something
\nthat I was very bad at. I didn't know whether I could do it or
\nnot?<\/p>\n
Was it recorded live?<\/p>\n
No, I did it the night before, and the next day we shot that
\nscene.<\/p>\n
Were you involved in choosing the other actors in the film?<\/p>\n
Not at all. From day one, when Olivier told me he found the
\nsubject to the time I got the script was a year. Between those
\ntwo dates, just once he talked about the project because I begged
\nhim to tell me what it was all about. Olivier said it was about a
\nwoman and her boyfriend who died of an overdose and how she
\nmanaged after that. I said, \"That's enough. OK, keep writing.\"<\/p>\n
Was it difficult to speak three languages in the film?<\/p>\n
English and Chinese are normal for me, but French is not,
\nbecause it's my third language. I don't speak French that well.
\nFrench actors speak very fast. Many times I didn't know that
\nthey'd finished their lines. They also changed lines. In my
\nlanguage, I do it too: You don't want to say exactly the same
\nthing in every take. It's hard, though, for a foreigner who's not
\nused to the same language.<\/p>\n
Olivier said that you're a woman torn between two cultures<\/p>\n
\"Torn\" would be a strong word. There are days when I feel
\ntorn. But it's not like that every day. There are days, also,
\nwhen I'm lucky to be in these two worlds. I get the best of both.
\nIt's true that I'm between the two; I think I'm very Chinese but
\nwith very Westernized thinking that doesn't work in Asia. My
\nfriends often don't understand me.<\/p>\n
Like what?<\/p>\n
Making a film with one's ex-husband. (laughs)<\/p>\n
Do you have a French or English perspective?<\/p>\n
Not a French perspective. I'm beginning to understand what
\nFrench people are like. But no, I don't have that. But English
\nyes. I think what did more to give me a Westernized approach was
\nmy childhood in England, the nine years that I spent there.<\/p>\n
(This article was first published in Vietnamese in Nguoi-Viet
\nDaily News.)<\/p>\n
Clean will be screened at the French Film Festival, which starts
\non May 27. Log on to www.sinemaperancis.com<\/p>",
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