Director Zhang Yimou on his latest movie “Curse of the Golden Flower”

Curse of the Golden Flower takes place in the Later Tang Dynasty, more than 1,000 years ago. The brief Later Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD) stands in sharp contrast to the Tang Dynasty of earlier centuries (618-907 AD). It was an ostentatious and flamboyant time. The story focuses on a dysfunctional Imperial Family.
Curse of the Golden Flower takes place in the Later Tang Dynasty, more than 1,000 years ago. The brief Later Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD) stands in sharp contrast to the Tang Dynasty of earlier centuries (618-907 AD). It was an ostentatious and flamboyant time. The story focuses on a dysfunctional Imperial Family. Like any big family in feudal times, beneath the glamour, within the palace, deep secrets are hidden. This is Zhang Yimou’s third action film, who believes that action is only a means to tell a story.

Asiance sat down with Zhang Yimou in New York City where he is preparing for his New York Metropolitan Opera directorial debut. He will direct Placido Domingo in the world premiere of composer Tan Dun’s original opera, The First Emperor, beginning January 2007.

ASIANCE: This is your third martial arts movie. How did you approach it differently than Hero and House of Flying Daggers?

Yimou: Actually I don’t think it’s a typical Kung Fu movie at all. It’s a story about the Imperial Family and just by chance there are Kung Fu scenes in there. The stories are totally different and that’s why it’s different.

ASIANCE: In terms of conducting the choreography with Tony, I was wondering how that was done? Did you work closely with him? Did you give him a general idea and he just ran with it?

Yimou: I’ve known Tony (Tony Ching – “ acclaimed Hong Kong action director – “ worked with Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) for over 20 years. We are very good friends. This is the third movie that I worked with him. The way I work with him is that we started earlier before we made this movie. We start to create a unique style for the Kung Fu scenes that we’re going to use in this movie. Once we discovered the style, Tony will start teaching the actors and actresses about 2 months before we start shooting it. During production, I just looked at the screen while he is actually directing the moments of the actors and we just keep discussing it.

Gong Li and Zhang Yimou

ASIANCE: Obviously this is your first movie with Gong Li in over 10 years. How did you decide about going to use her again? And did you have any trepidation about having to approach her? She’s been in all of your movies to a certain point, so how did you go about deciding to approach her?

Yimou: Actually I just thought Gong Li was the best candidate for this role no matter. It’s the right age and correct characteristics. The role is so famous in China because it’s the story based on the original play. Everyone knows who she is. I don’t think there are many actresses in China who could play this role successfully. And I think Gong Li is the best choice that I have. That is why I approached her and I thought this is why she would accept because it would be a challenge for her as well.

ASIANCE: Can you give us three words to describe Gong Li?

Yimou: Mature, highly qualified, great actress

ASIANCE: What do you see as the future of the Chinese film industry and what does it need to compete with Hollywood and Bollywood?

Yimou: Actually the Hollywood movies dominate the Chinese movie market. Over 95% of the movies you see in China are from Hollywood, not many from Bollywood or even from Europe. That’s a question us Chinese moviemakers are constantly asking ourselves. I think the solution is that we try to make different types of movies to attract a younger audience. It will take quite a long time to be able to compete with Hollywood movies but we are doing our best.

ASIANCE: Up until the point of Hero, you were making movies like Not One Less and The Road Home and more recently, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Are you making these period pieces due to consideration of market or for awards and acclaim? I’m sure a lot of directors in China have looked at Crouching Tiger with its humongous success and want to duplicate it. I’m wondering if that has anything to do with the fact that he’s made these 3 period pieces more or less in a row?

Yimou: It’s really hard to copy the success of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. This kind of miracle only happens once. But the type of Kung Fu in the movie is traditional in China. The Chinese audience and young generation likes those movies. That’s why Jackie Chan, Jet Li are big stars in China. That’s why a lot of directors want to make these types of movies. It is our way to compete with Hollywood movies and compete for some of the market because the young generation likes this kind of movie.

Period Piece

The kind of artistic movies I use to make. The quality is as good as any western movie but it doesn’t sell. If you want to make the same kind of profit as the Hollywood movies, you just have to make these types of movies in China. It’s not just me who chooses to make these types of movies.

As a result, the Chinese director who chooses these types of movies will make more at the box office than the Hollywood movies. There will be more movies like that coming out. It is a traditional way of making Chinese movies.

ASIANCE: In the scene where Chow Yun Fat is fighting his son, it is a much choreographed scene. Chow Yun Fat has gone on record saying he isn’t a martial artist. How did you go about that?

Yimou: It’s Tony’s work. We have great choreographers in China. They can teach actors who know nothing about Kung Fu to fight like Masters. Like the choreographer for the Matrix, Woo-ping Yuen. He made Keanu Reeves a Kung Fu master. Of course in movies it’s easy to use “covers” in these types of scenes. Even if you still have covers you still need to be a good choreographer for this type of scene.

But of course it’s also impossible if the actor doesn’t want to learn. So it’s actually impossible to make it look real unless the actor wants to make it work.

ASIANCE: Talk about the war scene. It looked like you had 5,000 people there.

War scenes shot separately with the same actors in two different wardrobes, then merged together on film to look like one scene.

Yimou: We had about 1,000 soldiers. There were less than 20 shots that were computerized because it’s really expensive and takes a lot of time. We only had nine months to shoot this movie from start to finish. So you can’t use the computer for many scenes. It’s also something I’m good at. I can use fewer people to create such a big scene. For example, in Hero, we only had about 70 horses. It seemed like hundreds. Same here. The same team just changed costumes. One night they wore the golden and the next day they wore the silver.

ASIANCE: Who would you like to work with that you haven’t already?

Yimou: There are a lot of good actors in the States. I discussed this with Quentin Tarantino and I told him there are a lot of good actors in the States. When I write the script I think about that person or this person but in the States if the actor doesn’t have time to make the film, you can choose from a variety. I can still choose from several candidates. I’m really envious because there are not that many good actors in China. So if I think Gong Li is the best candidate for my film, it’s hard to think of a second choice. That’s why I like a lot of American actors. I wish I could work with them. If we had that many good actors it would be much easier for my work but the problem is I don’t speak English. (laughs)

I like Tom Hanks. I like him a lot.

ASIANCE: What about actresses?

Yimou: Lots of them. More than male. Meryl Streep about 10 years ago and Julia Roberts.

ASIANCE: In the film, The Emperor’s assassins look like they are ninjas but they are Chinese. Can you talk about that more? Why did you decide to use them in general?

Yimou: It’s such a secret force for the Emperor. When I was talking to the choreographer I told him to make it look like the special force. The costumes they wear in China and Japan are quite similar. When we look at the ninja from Japanese movies we also think it’s very familiar and similar to the Chinese assassins.

For the Western audience, it’s pretty hard to differentiate. But the Chinese and Japanese audiences can recognize the difference. It’s the weapon they use that is different.

ASIANCE: How do you go about finding ideas for your films?

Yimou: I was looking for the right script at that time. I couldn’t find a good story. It was very difficult. I saw the play. It’s like an Asian Greek Tragedy, very dramatic story. And the theme is very good. This was two years ago. So I suddenly recorded this play and I thought this is a good story, why don’t I adopt it? It seemed like nobody ever did it before. The play was made into a movie a long time ago. It wasn’t an adoption. It was just a play into a movie. Nobody ever thought about changing this play into a script, so I was very excited. It’s pretty challenging for me. The good thing about adopting the play is that it has a very good foundation. With a solid foundation, you can create an even better story.

ASIANCE: What can we expect with the Opera?

Yimou: It won’t be that big a scene as in the movie because the space is limited. We tried to create some big spectacular scenes because the Emperor is one of the most important Emperors in the Chinese history. He is probably the most famous and most controversial Emperor. Our set design is very unique. It’s a combination of classic and modern. It’s nothing you are used to seeing. You expect to see a Chinese palace or something like that. We use very abstract metaphors. Mainly, we use the stones and the ropes in building the grey wall as the basic elements. We incorporated a lot of the Peking Opera in the music and also the folk opera melodies from the Shaanxi Province which is where the Tang Dynasty was. There are a couple of rows in the Opera. The Met hired traditional Peking Opera Singers. The singing style, for a western audience, is very unique and exciting.

ASIANCE: How does the opera fit into these 3 movies?

Yimou: There are a lot of stories about the first Emperor. For example in Hero, that’s another story about this Emperor. The most famous story about him is “The Emperor and the Assassin.” Other than that, there are a lot of stories. For this opera, he created a fictional story. It’s trying to tell the relationship this Emperor has with music. It’s also a love story. It’s totally fictional. It was based on a movie ten years ago.

Many thought these revealing costumes were used to sensationalize for audience purposes but in reality these costumes are authentic to the 10th century.

ASIANCE: What advice would you give Asian girls who want to break into the film industry? What identifies a star?

Yimou: It’s pretty big for talking about Asian girls. You need to be cultured. If you just have a pretty face, it’s hard to portray roles. It’s what we call a “flower face” – only having a beautiful face. The audience won’t be satisfied. Of course for an actress you have to look good on the screen. There isn’t a set formula. The media always concludes my tastes. But basically it depends on the story.

ASIANCE: Was this film important for you to make?

Yimou: Very important. I made three kinds of movies like this. In China, the saying is “You can do things once, twice but not the third time”. If you do the same thing three times people will really be picking on you. I think the Chinese audience is pickier than Western audiences. They will curse at you!

Today was the opening. I hope they don’t curse at me. I hope it does well. I just received a lot of messages from all over China. It’s all sold out and I heard people are applauding, so I feel much better.

ASIANCE: What do you feel is the place for Fifth generation directors?

Yimou: I think the Fifth generation of directors is very unique. People think we should have already retired. But you’re still seen as being most talked about. Of course there are a lot of great young directors because cinema is the art form for the young generation.

We never talk about it among ourselves. It seems we all work on big productions for commercial purposes. There are a lot of people who argue about what we are doing. It’s very controversial about whether we should make these kinds of movies or not. I personally, don’t think you should generalize this as Fifth generation. Nowadays it’s really hard to divide whether this is a commercial movie or an artistic movie.

I think the future of this movie is going to be an artistic movie but also do really well at the box office. As I said before, we need to compete with Hollywood movies and attract Chinese moviegoers. We can’t say a movie just belongs to artists. We can’t ignore what an audience wants. If we do that, how can you compete with Hollywood movies? It’s impossible. It’s good for Fifth generation directors to make these kinds of movies. It’s kind of an exercise. Only when you know how to make Chinese commercial movies then you use this technique to make an artistic movie. Otherwise, it would never be a combination. These movies will only win you awards but won’t win you at the box office. What are you going to do with all these Hollywood movies? Just get awards?

ASIANCE: How do you feel about the censorship in China?

Yimou: It’s something that every Chinese director in China has to worry about. When we are selecting stories, we always think whether this will be approved. If it’s not approved, we won’t get investment. This kind of Kung Fu movie is a very traditional type of movie. It’s very distant from reality. This type of movie is not that hard to get approved. It’s easier. Of course there are censorships but right now there is no rating. Anyone can go to any movie. So they have to make changes on certain scenes and shots. We made a lot of changes.

Director Zhang Yimou

ASIANCE: What are you doing next?

Yimou: I want to walk on both legs. One leg is the artistic movie, and on the other hand I want to try different commercial movies. I really hope I can combine the two. I really believe the young moviegoers expect this from the movies. That’s what I really want to do.

ASIANCE: Has Hollywood come after you?

Yimou: There are lots of imitations ever since Hero. Some people will say, “oh you can do Kung Fu” movies. I receive lots of scripts. I don’t think it suits me. I’m still looking for stories that touch me personally.

I’m putting off directing to be Image Ambassador for the Beijing Olympics. I’m the director for the opening and closing ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. It’s a lot of work and very complicated.

Curse of the Golden Flower is in movie theaters now!