 Question : In HK, this movie is rated Category 3 (over 18), which version is it here in mainland China?
|
| Tsui Hark: The version in HK is the same as in mainland China , 2H30. |
| Question : How did you convince theatres to show a 2H30 version and how much cost the movie? |
| Tsui Hark: I made 2 versions, 2H and 2H30 and let them choose, and in the end they took the 2H30 version. The investment for this movie was RMB140, 000,000 (USD18 million). |
| Question : I want to know what the function of the main actresses in the movie is. I think you talk too much about relationships between men and women. |
Tsui Hark: Society is composed by human beings, so does Jiang Hu, a world of human beings. Martial art is the behavior of human beings in Jiang Hu.
I just want to make it close to the real life, for the young girl (Zhang Jing Chu), she becomes the leader of a group in Jiang Hu. At first, she doesn't like violence, but gradually becomes violent. She wants to compromise to solve problems, but the reality makes her see the way society works, she has to change and compromise with reality.
Charlie Young and the young girl are like freshly graduated students who have to face reality and themselves in society. It's like a growing-up process.
As to the Korean girl (Kim So Yeon), I just want to show that anyone can be attracted by the materialistic side of life. The biggest asset of human beings is emotion and love. Emotion is beyond all materialistic possessions. She eventually chooses love. |
| Question : Does Seven Swords show the potential way martial-art movies will develop into? |
| Tsui Hark: I always think that nowadays kung fu movies becomes more and more abstract, so abstract that I feel it's a time to make it go back to the real stuff. Just like a statue, keep the surface and take the inside away, it doesn't mean it will collapse; it's still a solid thing. That is why in the movie, I made characters who cannot fight. People are used to see that in wuxia everyone can fight. It doesn't work like that here just a few masters can really fight. |
| Question : Nowadays, more and more directors come back to mainland to make movie… |
| Tsui Hark: You should not define yourself just in a certain place. It would be good to go to different places to make a movie. It's my dream to do so. Plus the majority of audience is in mainland, I can do the best for them. |
Question : Do you want to make kung fu movies the old school way because you are fed up with new wu xia pian from directors like Zhang Yimou?
|
| Tsui Hark: Every director has his own way and own style. When I do a movie it's not against anyone. I just like to show audience a movie from a Liang novel. Zhang Yimou made two kung fu movies, the 2 nd is different from the 1 st one. I am sure his next one will be different |
| Question : Which is your most favorite martial-art novel? Which character do you want to be? |
| Tsui Hark: It's “Shen diao xia lu” by Jin Yong (Brave Archer and His Mate aka Return of the Condor Heroes). I want to be Yang Guo.
[Zhang Jinshu also likes this novel best and wants to be Xiao Longnu, the friend of Yang Guo]. |
Intext Links
