Takeshi news and interview in Nov 06

[kewpie-chan]

helena said:

thank you so much, kewpie chan! that's so very thoughtful of you! and it doesn't sound odd to me, it seems very takeshi-ish so you must have got it right =D

what does anyone think abut what was said? i was interested in the question "She acted her part as a bad woman but what do you feel the heroine's charm was?" maybe this is slightly off-topc but do you guys think sun na was a bad woman? i know she betrayed jian dong and behaved badly towards him, but honestly i don't think she's truly "bad" i can see myself in her... i feel that as takeshi says, it was hard for her, being so poor yet wanting so badly to pursue the dream, to be "someone". and i think she did really love him - it must have been so hard for her. what does anyone else think...?

Interesting you should ask helena for in the next magazine article I translated (see below) it kinda touches upon that. Thank you for your words of support! It's been tough re-translating all the articles over again after my disc got corrupted

[kewpie-chan]

Minasan konbanwa! Ohisashiburi desune! (Hello Everyone it's been awhile!)
Sorry for my long absence from the forum. I've been on restricted duties after getting injured on the job two months ago and was barred from doing anything computer related till now. I'm still not 100% as I'm still going to physical therapy for my right arm so I will do my best posting the remaining magazine and newspaper articles you all sent me. The next article translated is from CUT magazine. Hope you enjoy it!
Yoroshiku,
Kewpie-chan

November 2006 CUT magazine, No. 204 issue
Takeshi Kaneshiro
It should be the same for both man and woman to arrive at love...
A mutual love between man and woman. However the woman dumps the man in pursuit of her dream to be an "actress". Ten years pass, the woman is a star, the man becomes an actor to pursue her and they appear together in a movie. That movie is about separated lovers who meet again on a circus stage and is just like their tale. "Winter Song" is dispersed with song and dance. It's the first time since love story master, Peter Chan, chose Takeshi Kaneshiro two years ago to appear on the silver screen. We'll talk about his performance of the man whose single path for 10 years is continuously thinking about the woman, the opposite routes man and woman go and what lasting impression remains after the screen goes dark.

Q: Did you grasp the male character's singular nature of continuously thinking about the woman when reading the script?
A: Not until we were shooting. It really changed from the initial script. I told the director I wonder if I can expand this character and together we did changing the role.

Q: So in the midst of the give and take with the director the role was completed?
A: Yes, that's right. Besides that I spoke to Zhou Xun. I felt we both shared similar thoughts on how movies should be made so it was real easy to talk to her.

Q: I heard about how of all the roles you performed up until now, this is the first time you've gotten so immersed into a role. This time, can you sympathize how over the course of 10 years love can change to a role of resentment?
A: I think perhaps it's the aspect of change. As you go through your 20's into your 30's, the years start piling up and as I change I understand things from the past thinking to myself, "Oh yeah, that's happened before," so I can really relate since the story is about the hero who also goes through that phase where with each step you grow. Another is the role's age and my age is close. Furthermore, he's an actor. I also work as an actor; there are various overlaps where I felt there are some similarities. I think maybe just like him 10 years ago I didn't assert myself to my love. I feel perhaps now there's a sense of similarity of getting a bigger picture of oneself.

Q: The young man who was so infatuated over her had a different aura surrounding him after 10 years and enters the stage as a cool actor. Did you think about how to depict his story during the 10 years that's not shown in the movie?
A: Nothing concrete. Just that he was always waiting for a chance to co-star with her. And probably thinking of meeting again and if possible to make her regret dumping him.

"Men and woman aren't different, just how they associate."

Q: Was the producer, Peter Chan, someone you liked from the beginning?
A: I definitely liked "Love Song" (1996). Not only is he a famous producer but to say he has a special sense in pairing romantic movies together may sound strange but I really like it. I didn't think he'd contact me so I was really happy. But even then he understood my feelings of first wanting to read the script before starring in it and said, "That's okay, make a decision after reading the script." I felt happy that he as a producer respected his actors.

Q: In this work, the image is of a woman who lives for the dream while the man lives for love; Kaneshiro-san, what did you think while playing the difference between man and woman?
A: Well I only played the male part so that's all I know. (Laughs.) But the final goal for everyone was to pick up love once more, to pick it up, to understand it, to part with it once, to watch it get molded...I believe that process is the goal. That's why it's not anything in particular to do with a woman who lives for the dream or the man who lives for love. But this love is his dream and in the end, the woman's love for her dream job makes it expand more and more so it's the same. There's a love to preserve. The whole time she doesn't admit to love. While he always says, "Admit it, admit it." In the end, the very thing he preserved, at long last he feels he can let go while a new emotion blooms within her to embrace love once more. That's where it intersects. However, it should be the same for both man and woman to arrive at love.

Q: I thought the man was more sentimental and the woman was more practical.
A: But this time it's a bit different setting it up against a realistic society. Everyone's environment is different and everyone's raised different yet all have a dream. I think it's alright that you have a different view on value. To grow from it and become bigger than who you are is wonderful.

Q: In that case, for each person, there's nothing different ordinarily for male or female.
A: I don't think so too. Maybe there's something tangible for a man and woman but basically they aren't different, just how they associate. It could be coincidental that the producer set up Zhou Xun's role where he thought she represents a woman chasing her dream. She says it's okay to sacrifice myself "I want this", that's why it doesn't matter what happens to me while his standpoint is "No, you must take care of yourself" and he probably sensed this big gap and felt since he experienced this he wanted to describe it.

Q: Did you have difficulty with the musical scenes?
A: No it wasn't difficult. (Laughs.) I just did the best that I could.

Q: What was it like to become the character and sing songs?
A: The feeling of singing the script and the feeling of singing your lines. I was able to sing a different singing style compared back in my pop idol days and it went smoothly and was fun. Every time the producer came and he'd make a sudden decision fixing the dialog saying, "Sing This!"...things like that made it amusing.

Q: So at what times do you think you'll remember about this piece of work?
A: If I go to Hong Kong I'll contact Peter Chan, if I go overseas I'll think of the location overseas. If I meet Peter-san we'll talk about those days again. We'll get all worked up saying things like, "Oh and at that time it was like this huh?" (Laughs.)


*Note from Kewpie-chan: anyone who has done translation work knows sometimes there's not a close match as to what the original language says so it may sound "odd" when you translate it.*

[helena]

yay!!! kewpie-chan is back! welcome, dearie!! im sorry about your arm get well soon, as they say

thankies for the next article! there's something about interviews of tk that is so lovely. he always says meaningful things, never waffle. i feel like i'm kinda seeing into his thoughts ;D and also i love reading a translation, because it feels special to read not only tk's thoughts but also a piece of writing i know you have worked so hard on. thank you.

[kewpie-chan]

Glad people are enjoying the translated articles. The next one I'm working on that I hope I can complete in a week is the magazine article from CREA.

[cinxxx]

Kewpie-Chan!
Thank you SO much for the awesome translations! So sorry to hear about your accident. I was in a really bad accident myself awhile back, and I can totally relate to your therapy woes I was in therapy for months and months and it sucks! You feel that you can do stuff, and yet...you really can't! Frustrating!
Thank you again for these translations! I could never read or see any of this current stuff if you didn't post it here! We just don't get the info where I am, and certainly not the magazines!
I bow to your skills, Kewpie-Chan! Cinxxx=)

[cenedra]

Thank you! He always sounds so thoughtful in his interviews -I like it

[kewpie-chan]

I should have it posted up this weekend. But my arm is bothering me this week so I'm thinking maybe next week...I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

And thank you all for your well wishes. It really gives me a boost knowing it makes so many people happy. Translating isn't easy work, lemme tell ya. And for some of you newbies to this forum, I've had some folks send me personal messages thru this forum asking if I've translated video interviews and the answer is "yes". You can view one I did last year in this forum by looking for the thread in the current category this message is on called "Takeshi's 'Perhaps Love' Japan Premier". Enjoy!