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Fifteen years after *** TV ratings history with the Princess Pearl series, Vicky Zhao is now destroying the Chinese box office with her directorial debut. She talks to Edmund Lee. Portrait by Calvin Sit.
Life’s not fair. A decade after she was crowned as one of China’s four leading actresses, Vicky Zhao finished her MFA in directing at the Beijing Film Academy with her graduation film So Young, which isn’t just a delicately narrated tale of love lost and found (and then lost and found again) but has also already cracked the top 10 of China’s all-time box office. Ahead of the Hong Kong release of her feature debut, which is named after the Suede song from the British band’s first album, the 37-year-old actress-turned-director sits down with Time Out to talk about her directing philosophy and her movie’s impressive box office triumph.
Throughout the *** of So Young, did the experience remind you of the production of any movie that you had previously performed in?
Definitely not. When I was shooting, I only wanted it to be its own movie. I did watch a few other youth movies but I had no intention to imitate them – because it’s a different social environment that we lived in. The recent youth movies in mainland China are usually quite artificial. I want to make a realistic movie about youth in China. Since its release, no-one has yet compared this film to other films and found them similar. It’s quite strange.
Do you think that you’re an actor’s director, so to speak?
The process of turning from an actor to a director has definitely helped me. I believe that there must be at least a few good parts in every movie, and for a movie to be good, it must be a consequence of the actors’ wonderful performances, because the viewers are touched by them first and foremost. A director’s technique and style always comes after [the actors]. If a movie makes no sense, nobody would keep watching, no matter how stylish it is. That’s why I think my emphasis on performance – and on the characterisation – is an advantage. When the audience believes in and develops a rapport with the characters, they’ll go on watching regardless.
So Young is actually your graduation film. Why did you go back to school and study directing back then?
Because my life was too boring.
No way…
Really. There didn’t have to be a very complicated reason. Every day I was either filming or going to events. To be honest, my acting career wasn’t so wonderful that I could always encounter interesting roles that I wanted to play. So why not go back to school and study some more?
Now that you’re *** your own movies, doesn’t it mean that you can create suitable parts for yourself to play in?
My principle is that I won’t direct a movie that I perform in, and I won’t perform in a movie that I direct – because neither is easy. If I want to prove how multi-talented I am, I can [separately] act for other directors and direct my own movies.
Given your success as an actress, it’s remarkable to note that the box office of your directorial debut has come out on top among all the movies you’ve participated in.
Yes, So Young is now the highest grossing movie among all the movies that I’ve taken part in – including even Painted Skin: The Resurrection [which took in 726 million yuan last year].
Are you surprised by how things have turned out?
I’m slightly surprised. From the pre-production stage to its eventual release, I’d been working on this movie for two years. I think there aren’t that many people today who are willing to spend two years on one movie. So even before its release, I knew this movie was going to be fine. When you’ve spent two years on a movie, the audience can sense the sincerity of your effort. The filming took place in four cities over four months, the post-production took 10 months and the pre-production took eight months. That’s why I believed that the box office was going to be okay – but, of course, it’s a bit of a surprise that it’s doing so well.
When it comes to the Mainland box office, you can see that…
The local films have been doing really well.
Absolutely. And the extraordinary thing about it is that most of these successful movies are smaller-scale projects that are not at all effects-driven. Do you agree that the domestic audience is gradually transforming?
I think so. If you want special effects, you can watch a Hollywood film. I think the Chinese audience has been paying more attention to the stories – stories that they feel like they can relate to.
At the moment, do you have your next directorial project lined up?
It’s still too early to say. I’m not going to think about this for the time being.
So Young 致青春 opens on Thu Jun 13.
http://www.timeout.com.hk/film/features/58826/vicky-zhao.html
