Chinese Stars Back in Seoul
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Chinese super stars Leon Lai and Kelly Chen may have not visited Korea for a while, but they proved they were still fond of Korean fans at their new movie's premiere Friday.
At the press conference of ``An Empress and the Warriors'' release, Lai and Chen seemed excited to be back in Seoul.
``I am so happy to be here again,'' said Chen, dressed in an elegant white and gray dress, as she greeted reporters and her fans in perfect Korean.
``An Empress and the Warriors'' depicts the tragic love story of an empress and two warriors. Due to director Ching Siu-tung, renowned for his Chinese martial arts movies such as ``Naked Weapon'' (2002) and ``A Chinese Ghost Story'' (1987), fans may thought the movie would be full of martial arts scenes, but ``Empress'' also depicts a heart-breaking love story.
Chen plays the role of courageous Yen Feier, the empress of a kingdom 2,000 years ago in ancient China. She is left to reign over the war-torn nation, and also has to protect herself from enemies who wish to see her fall and steal the crown. Torn between her responsibility of being queen and also her love toward a dispatched soldier Duan Lan-quan (Leon Lai) and general of her kingdom Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen), Yen Feier challenges herself with decisions that may result in her death and also of those she loves.
This is the first period film for Chen, who also starred in ``Internal Affairs,'' (2002) and when she was asked about her starring in a war movie, she admitted that it was not easy.
``Of course, I was worried. This was my first action, let alone war, movie. Before the start-up, I learned archery, horse riding, wrestling, and martial arts for three months,'' she said.
The 34-year-old actress admitted she was worried even after all the lessons, but the director helped her through it.
``Director Ching had many requests. But all of the action scenes were perfectly arranged and he continuously gave me faith that I could do this,'' Chen said.
Leon Lai, famous for his romantic roles among Korean fans, also played tough action scenes throughout the movie, but still managed to show his soft side.
``Amid the tragic situation of war, Kelly and I create our own love story line within the movie. Having to act a character I have never done before was difficult, but I tried hard to concentrate on my role. When I am at the shoot, I look up to the blue sky and the trees, let go of everything inside of me and then start reading the script. This way, I discover myself as the character, not Leon Lai,'' he said.
When asked about the last love scene, the 41-year-old actor did not hesitate to express his thoughts and his respect toward the director.
``I think judging a movie as old-fashioned all depends on the viewers. I am an actor, and an actor respects the director and his requests. I can assure you that every scene was created by director Ching's efforts and I respect that,'' he said. Lai also offered to do an episode where he really had to ride an air balloon over a cliff, instead of leaving the scene to computer graphics.
``I was so sure that this scene would be done by computer graphics. But I really had to ride the air balloon from the cliff,'' he laughed.
Fans will also have the chance to listen to the two actors, also being successful singers, as they sing together in the movie.
``We have very similar voices, so it was nice to sing together. I think our voices go well together,'' Chen said.
When they were asked if there was anything they wanted to do during their visit to Seoul, Lai answered that if he had time to stay for a month, he would like to rent a car and live an ordinary life in Korea.
Chen, however, had more specific plans. ``I want to go and eat tteokbokki (Korean rice cake with spicy pepper sauce). Tteokbokki is very delicious!'' she said in Korean, drawing laughter from reporters and fans.
The epic movie ``An Empress and the Warriors'' will be in theaters April 9.