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The Year of Michelle Yeoh
Source: Edward Douglas
December 5, 2005
www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php
If you're a fan of martial arts films, you already know Michelle Yeoh (pronounced "yo") from her long line of Asian action films dating back to the mid'80s, and if you're a James Bond fan, you may remember her from the movie Tomorrow Never Dies. The rest of the world quickly caught up and saw both Yeoh's skills as an actor and martial artist in Ang Lee's epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which pitted her in an unforgettable fight sequence against the Chinese ingénue Zhang Ziyi.
Now, Yeoh is reunited with her young costar from that film, this time playing her matronly mentor Mameha in Rob "Chicago" Marshall's adaptation of the Arthur Golden bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha.
During her recent visit to New York, ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk to the gorgeous 40 plus actress about what went into becoming the perfect geisha, her thoughts on the general concept of geishas, and more.
CS: When you arrived on set and saw Zhang Ziyi, did you two restart your great battle from "Crouching Tiger", just for old time's sake?
Yeoh: No, we've done that before and we've moved on to do other things. We weren't like "Did you bring the hammer this time?"
CS: What was the attraction of playing this character to you?
Yeoh: First of all, I think the greatest attraction to this movie was Rob Marshall. I had been a big fan of the book initially. I guess there wouldn't be a lot of people who had read the book and who hadn't loved it, and in their mind, they had already visualized what each character and the place looked like. When I heard it was Rob Marshall going to direct the film, I really felt that he was the perfect guy, because he had that sense and sensibility, the masculine and very feminine side of him. What appealed to me tremendously was because he came from a dance background--he was a choreographer--and it felt like this movie really needed that fluid side of the rhythmic dance to where the geisha really had to flutter about. As far as why Mameha appealed to me was because it was one of the biggest challenges to date as an actress, not purely just on the physical side, because I had been trained for years to be a dancer and a martial artist, so moving from one movement to another, it was a familiar background. Still, it was a very specific style of movement that I had to learn from scratch. Mameha is the sensei and she was the epitome of the geisha. I had to teach on-screen Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi's character) what to do, how to bow correctly, how to kneel, how to get up, how to walk, everything, and if I didn't do it well, it would be a disaster. I think Rob would have drawn me out and shot me on the first day.
CS: What kind of geisha is Mameha?
Michelle Yeoh: The best. Yeah. The only kind there is. I think she was too hard on herself a lot of the times, and I don't think she allowed any sidetracks. There was none of that. You have to know why you're here, how you got here and then know that this is a privilege that you're in this position right now and you should do the best that you can and there's no second best in her eyes. Geishas had very strict rules that they lived by, and Mameha followed those rules religiously. It was like during the times when we were putting each layer of the kimono, the hair was going up, the make-up was being put on, I felt all those restrictions come on. There is no love; you do not talk about love. You only think of yourself as the artist, your music, your dance, your calligraphy, your rituals, all those kind of things. You're not a wife. There are so many rules to obey and to observe. What I think was the most difficult was Mameha really, truly denied herself all that. In the movie, love is the biggest theme and love is a theme that we all live by and we passionately need and want, and it was very hard as a woman, and then as a character to say "No, does not happen" even though she wanted it and had it deep inside her, it was that sheer "I am the perfect geisha and it's not there." I think that to me, was the most difficult part.
CS: Having worked with Ziyi before, did you two have a shorthand that made it easier to play two different characters?
Yeoh: It definitely makes it much easier, because when we did "Crouching Tiger", that was at least four or five years ago, and from then, we already had this bond. I think in my eyes, she's always going to be my little sister and in her eyes, I am the big sister. I think Rob saw that right away and it's very important that these two characters have that bond. You know what sisters are like--it's that love/hate relationship.
CS: Was it a challenge getting into the mindset of a Japanese character, because you're Malaysian-Chinese yourself?
Yeoh: I think once you approach a film, you know very clearly what you're going to be playing. At the end of the day, I hope that we're good professionals. Once you attach yourself to that and have the mindset, I am playing a Japanese geisha. At the end of the day, the most important thing for me was that I'm playing the vision of Rob Marshall. He is celebrating what it is like to be a geisha, and I think it was very important for us to have that mindset, and to play with him and to realize his vision. And I think he has an amazing vision.
CS: Was Rob Marshall surprised by your work ethic?
Yeoh: I think Rob Marshall didn't look at any of us where we came from, different cultures or whatever it was. Rob Marshall, from the very first stage, said to us, you are the people that I have chosen, because I believe that you are the character I have chosen you to play, and when he spoke to us, it was purely about how we could make his vision come true. He was relentless. It was very clear in his mind, and we needed a director like that, because you're talking about a big ensemble cast. You're talking about two of the best Japanese actors around, then there's Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang and myself, and everybody wanting his time and energy. But he was very, very focused. He would remind each and every one of us, because our paths diverged, but it still had to converge and meet correctly at the right time. I remember I had this scene with Sayuri after when I felt very betrayed and he would come up to me and say, "Remember, you are Mameha". And all he had to do was say that, because it means that "You're not Michelle Yeoh, the actress, or a woman trying to express your feelings, how you would feel in a situation like this. You are my Mameha". And that was it. I'm Rob Marshall's Mameha.
CS: But some have made an issue that three world-famous Chinese actresses are playing Japanese geishas.
Yeoh: I sincerely hope that's not an issue, because this is a fairy tale, and an amazingly beautiful love story. I hope that we have done a good job, that we take you into this world where you're breath will be taken away and you will appreciate what we have done in there. Honestly, in Asia and in Japan, it's never been an issue, so I don't see why it should be made an issue and take away from the greatness of the film itself. Maybe we should hope there will be more movies that allow us these wonderful, amazing Asian actresses to have bigger participation. Seriously, I think it's been a long time coming, that it's come to this. Hollywood America is the biggest market, and you have movies that cater to your own stories, and your own lifestyles and your own culture, and it's taken a long while where you suddenly realize, "Hey, guess what? In your society, there are so many of us Asians." We're here. But in a lot of the stories, it seems like it's an afterthought that we should have that. Thank God on TV now you have the newscast reader who is Asian, and then on TV, you see more Asian faces, but it's taken time, and thank God that Sony said "We have to be the leaders in saying we are confident enough that an all-Asian cast can do very very well in the American market" then it's really good for us, because you know, we seriously need this. I mean, our world is not that big.
CS: What was the vibe like with all these well known Asian actresses from different countries on the set?
Yeoh: We had great interpreters on set, but Gong Li and I just hit it off from the first day. It was so funny. By the end of the day, after rehearsing, she just stepped up to me and said "I really like you" and I was like "Girl, guess what. I really like you, too!" Rob has immense patience. When you have a room full of girls, it's not easy. So there's me, Ziyi and Gong Li going "ninininininininin" in Mandarin, there's Kaori Momoi, Youki Kodoh and interpreters going on at full speed in Japanese, and then we'd turn to each other, and we'd be talking. I'm not sure what language we were talking in, but we knew exactly what we were saying and Rob would just stand there and let us have our moments, and go "Girls, director here. Talk to me now" So we had a great time, and it was one of those things where we truly loved being there on set and we loved we were given the opportunity to do, so we had a really fun time. We worked together really well. We all threw things at each other and said "What if you did this and I did that and how do we work it out?" and we watched each other's backs, basically.
CS: What was the most difficult part of learning the geisha movements?
Yeoh: We used to laugh about this, but it's actually not that funny. We called them the 7 Rooms of Torture. During the practice, rehearsal period, we had a room very specifically for learning how to do the shamisen [ancient Japanese lute] because that is a musical instrument that to be a true geisha, you had to do that perfectly. And to be Mameha, I had to play that for Sayuri when she did her performance at the teahouses. Then, the second room was where we learned how to do all the rituals of pouring sake, handing the cup…it was very specific, and I think we needed to do that so that it was second nature to us, so that by the time we got onto the set, we put on our kimonos, we've done this millions of times, but it was not easy to do. Everything had its own particular place and we had to do it effortlessly. Then, the other room was when we had to learn the dance. Just walking in kimono was a different thing, because once you had the kimono on, you had to make the tail flutter, and you had to glide across the room, so to first learn how to walk, we had to tie our knees together, and put a thin slip of paper in between, so that if the paper fell, you failed, and you had to get to the back of the class. It was embarrassing, because there were a lot of us and we were trying to outdo the other one. We had an amazing geisha consultant, Liza Dalby, who was there. I think the essence of being the geisha is her understanding her place and what a geisha is about. That she believes that a geisha is about truly being an artist, so that's why she spends her entire life, all her time, practicing her skills, so that when she's out there, she is on show. She's literally a moving piece of art with her kimono, the way she is dressed, her make-up, her hair, so when she dances or even she talks to you, it is a moving art form. For me, it was not just the mental side, but also the physical side that embodies the different parts of being a true geisha.
CS: Did you get to keep any of your kimonos?
Yeoh: At that time, we were thinking wouldn't it be great if we could? You know what was the most difficult? Deciding which one we wanted to keep. For the life of me, I couldn't decide and that was horrible. But you know what? It will always be immortalized on film, so sometimes it's much better that way. You don't have to keep the physical thing. It will always be there, and it's fantastic. What it's really taught me is like the kimonos, they're so precious but then after that, they're kept in their boxes, and they're put safely away. For every movie that I've done, they're like a kimono. I packed them very neatly and very preciously in a box but they're kept in my mind, and I really don't need a physical thing to say "Hey, remember this time when you did this?" It will always be here (points to head) and here (points to heart).
CS: Do you have any opinion about the sexism that underpins the concept of the geishas?
Yeoh: Honestly, doing this movie was already such a privilege and an honor, and I think what we tried to do was try to celebrate a culture that we really are learning about. It's not so open that we can say this is right or wrong or this is black or white. Also, you know, this culture descends from a period of time when parents were trying to do the right thing for their kids and people were trying to survive. I think it's also a culture that's been elevated to an artform, so for me, I don't look at it that way. I look at beautiful side of it. I come from a dance background. When I first learned about geishas, it was about their dancing. It was like seeing this amazing doll that had this white face, and all their movements were so exquisite and it was almost unreal, very, very mythical. That was what I wanted to portray, even though there are so many different interpretations of how it's going to be. I hope that people will go in and just really have their breath taken away and for a moment have a glimpse into a part of a world that we don't really know that much about.
CS: But what about the very real situation of Asian girls getting sold into slavery like what happens with Sayuri?
Yeoh: I think everything should lead you to that, and let you have a moment where you think about that. Unfortunately, to think that in this century, in the affluent life that a lot of us have, that this still happens very randomly in Burma, in Vietnam, and in Thailand, it's horrifying. I see that because I live in Asia, and it's terrifying that that still happens. I don't know whether they're just doing it because they thought that the kid would have a better life and there are some really people, whether it's the Triads or the Mafia that are doing it for all the worst possible reasons, so in a way, you can't really compare the destitute that was then and now on the same level, because times have really changed. You know, I'm a great fan of Jackie Chan, and in China they revered the son, because he is the heir. When he was a very young boy, he was sold to the acrobatic house, because his parents believed that if he went there and trained, he might have an opportunity to be an acrobat. And look where he is today. But if his parents said "Oh, no. I can't sell my child. I'll just keep him at home." Where would he be? So we have to take a step back and say "I see there is something there" but not to just lump it all together and say "This is bad" or ‘This is not right". There is a different way of approaching it.
CS: Where do you see your career going from here?
Yeoh: From the looks of it, it looks like it's very bright and shining. (laughs) I think when you're an actor, your dream is to be able to reach out worldwide internationally, and at the present moment, it seems like to be a Hollywood actor, that would be the fastest way, that would be the surest way that you do reach out to the most people. I hope that in time, the Asian productions or the Chinese productions will catch up, but until our markets are as sophisticated as the American market, it will take us a lot of time. It's like India has an amazing, huge, film market, but it's really basically for themselves, because they make movies very close to what they like and they don't have the illusion that they can export it outside because they don't have that kind of contacts, but I find with the Asian films right now, they are crossing. Even whether it's just remakes or coming across here or getting straight into DVD, but it is reaching out. It's no longer just the people who have the interest in watching European films or Asian films. It's more general right now, so hopefully, as an actor, yes, if it's to be working in Hollywood films that I get to show my work to the world, then yes, I would do it. Absolutely. Honestly, I don't choose the place that I work; I really choose by the character and the director. The director, for me, is very important, because I really truly believe that he's the soul of the film. You can have an amazing script, but if you don't have a director that has the passion, the dedication and the vision for that, it would go a little soft, and I think a lot of you could understand that, and I don't choose to say that I'm only going to concentrate on working in America or just in Asia. I hope to find a balance where I can go where the best character and the best director is.
CS: Speaking of great directors, you just finished working on the new Danny Boyle film, "Sunshine", right?
Yeoh: Yes, and it was such a contrast, because at the beginning of last year, I was the geisha, right? Four hours of make-up and every day walking around like a supermodel. This movie, I'm the astronaut fifty years ahead in time, fifteen minutes in hair and make-up, and I'm like "Wait a minute. What about my eyebrow?" and [the make-up girl is] like "No, you're a real character, you're an astronaut, you're a physicist, you're a scientist. Get back to your lab." It's fantastic. That's where Danny Boyle is amazing, because if you look at his films, you don't know what to expect from him. Just like his movie "28 Days Later." There are so many zombie movies out there, so why did he make it different? Because he had an edge. Yes, this is eight astronauts going up to save the world, which we've heard that so many times before, but you have to see it. It's got an edge. I loved it. The first week of filming, he said to me "You know this is not a family movie, right?" "Danny, I know your films, it's okay."
CS: Any chance of working with Ang Li again?
Yeoh: I hope so. I'd do anything to work for that man.
CS: I'm sure most women will want to know what your secret is for looking so amazing.
Yeoh: Oh, thank you! I was thinking that I was jetlagged and blurry eyed, and you guys are going to see through me right away. I think it's just trying to be happy, cause with our kind of work, sometimes you take things personally, and you never should, but then at the end of the day, you think that you did your best. You had a really good time, and today is such a gift.
You can see how great Michelle Yeoh looks as a geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha, which opens in select cities on December 9 and everywhere else on December 23. Check back over the next few weeks for interviews with Ziyi Zhang and director Rob Marshall.
www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php
Source: Edward Douglas
December 5, 2005
www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php
If you're a fan of martial arts films, you already know Michelle Yeoh (pronounced "yo") from her long line of Asian action films dating back to the mid'80s, and if you're a James Bond fan, you may remember her from the movie Tomorrow Never Dies. The rest of the world quickly caught up and saw both Yeoh's skills as an actor and martial artist in Ang Lee's epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which pitted her in an unforgettable fight sequence against the Chinese ingénue Zhang Ziyi.
Now, Yeoh is reunited with her young costar from that film, this time playing her matronly mentor Mameha in Rob "Chicago" Marshall's adaptation of the Arthur Golden bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha.
During her recent visit to New York, ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk to the gorgeous 40 plus actress about what went into becoming the perfect geisha, her thoughts on the general concept of geishas, and more.
CS: When you arrived on set and saw Zhang Ziyi, did you two restart your great battle from "Crouching Tiger", just for old time's sake?
Yeoh: No, we've done that before and we've moved on to do other things. We weren't like "Did you bring the hammer this time?"
CS: What was the attraction of playing this character to you?
Yeoh: First of all, I think the greatest attraction to this movie was Rob Marshall. I had been a big fan of the book initially. I guess there wouldn't be a lot of people who had read the book and who hadn't loved it, and in their mind, they had already visualized what each character and the place looked like. When I heard it was Rob Marshall going to direct the film, I really felt that he was the perfect guy, because he had that sense and sensibility, the masculine and very feminine side of him. What appealed to me tremendously was because he came from a dance background--he was a choreographer--and it felt like this movie really needed that fluid side of the rhythmic dance to where the geisha really had to flutter about. As far as why Mameha appealed to me was because it was one of the biggest challenges to date as an actress, not purely just on the physical side, because I had been trained for years to be a dancer and a martial artist, so moving from one movement to another, it was a familiar background. Still, it was a very specific style of movement that I had to learn from scratch. Mameha is the sensei and she was the epitome of the geisha. I had to teach on-screen Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi's character) what to do, how to bow correctly, how to kneel, how to get up, how to walk, everything, and if I didn't do it well, it would be a disaster. I think Rob would have drawn me out and shot me on the first day.
CS: What kind of geisha is Mameha?
Michelle Yeoh: The best. Yeah. The only kind there is. I think she was too hard on herself a lot of the times, and I don't think she allowed any sidetracks. There was none of that. You have to know why you're here, how you got here and then know that this is a privilege that you're in this position right now and you should do the best that you can and there's no second best in her eyes. Geishas had very strict rules that they lived by, and Mameha followed those rules religiously. It was like during the times when we were putting each layer of the kimono, the hair was going up, the make-up was being put on, I felt all those restrictions come on. There is no love; you do not talk about love. You only think of yourself as the artist, your music, your dance, your calligraphy, your rituals, all those kind of things. You're not a wife. There are so many rules to obey and to observe. What I think was the most difficult was Mameha really, truly denied herself all that. In the movie, love is the biggest theme and love is a theme that we all live by and we passionately need and want, and it was very hard as a woman, and then as a character to say "No, does not happen" even though she wanted it and had it deep inside her, it was that sheer "I am the perfect geisha and it's not there." I think that to me, was the most difficult part.
CS: Having worked with Ziyi before, did you two have a shorthand that made it easier to play two different characters?
Yeoh: It definitely makes it much easier, because when we did "Crouching Tiger", that was at least four or five years ago, and from then, we already had this bond. I think in my eyes, she's always going to be my little sister and in her eyes, I am the big sister. I think Rob saw that right away and it's very important that these two characters have that bond. You know what sisters are like--it's that love/hate relationship.
CS: Was it a challenge getting into the mindset of a Japanese character, because you're Malaysian-Chinese yourself?
Yeoh: I think once you approach a film, you know very clearly what you're going to be playing. At the end of the day, I hope that we're good professionals. Once you attach yourself to that and have the mindset, I am playing a Japanese geisha. At the end of the day, the most important thing for me was that I'm playing the vision of Rob Marshall. He is celebrating what it is like to be a geisha, and I think it was very important for us to have that mindset, and to play with him and to realize his vision. And I think he has an amazing vision.
CS: Was Rob Marshall surprised by your work ethic?
Yeoh: I think Rob Marshall didn't look at any of us where we came from, different cultures or whatever it was. Rob Marshall, from the very first stage, said to us, you are the people that I have chosen, because I believe that you are the character I have chosen you to play, and when he spoke to us, it was purely about how we could make his vision come true. He was relentless. It was very clear in his mind, and we needed a director like that, because you're talking about a big ensemble cast. You're talking about two of the best Japanese actors around, then there's Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang and myself, and everybody wanting his time and energy. But he was very, very focused. He would remind each and every one of us, because our paths diverged, but it still had to converge and meet correctly at the right time. I remember I had this scene with Sayuri after when I felt very betrayed and he would come up to me and say, "Remember, you are Mameha". And all he had to do was say that, because it means that "You're not Michelle Yeoh, the actress, or a woman trying to express your feelings, how you would feel in a situation like this. You are my Mameha". And that was it. I'm Rob Marshall's Mameha.
CS: But some have made an issue that three world-famous Chinese actresses are playing Japanese geishas.
Yeoh: I sincerely hope that's not an issue, because this is a fairy tale, and an amazingly beautiful love story. I hope that we have done a good job, that we take you into this world where you're breath will be taken away and you will appreciate what we have done in there. Honestly, in Asia and in Japan, it's never been an issue, so I don't see why it should be made an issue and take away from the greatness of the film itself. Maybe we should hope there will be more movies that allow us these wonderful, amazing Asian actresses to have bigger participation. Seriously, I think it's been a long time coming, that it's come to this. Hollywood America is the biggest market, and you have movies that cater to your own stories, and your own lifestyles and your own culture, and it's taken a long while where you suddenly realize, "Hey, guess what? In your society, there are so many of us Asians." We're here. But in a lot of the stories, it seems like it's an afterthought that we should have that. Thank God on TV now you have the newscast reader who is Asian, and then on TV, you see more Asian faces, but it's taken time, and thank God that Sony said "We have to be the leaders in saying we are confident enough that an all-Asian cast can do very very well in the American market" then it's really good for us, because you know, we seriously need this. I mean, our world is not that big.
CS: What was the vibe like with all these well known Asian actresses from different countries on the set?
Yeoh: We had great interpreters on set, but Gong Li and I just hit it off from the first day. It was so funny. By the end of the day, after rehearsing, she just stepped up to me and said "I really like you" and I was like "Girl, guess what. I really like you, too!" Rob has immense patience. When you have a room full of girls, it's not easy. So there's me, Ziyi and Gong Li going "ninininininininin" in Mandarin, there's Kaori Momoi, Youki Kodoh and interpreters going on at full speed in Japanese, and then we'd turn to each other, and we'd be talking. I'm not sure what language we were talking in, but we knew exactly what we were saying and Rob would just stand there and let us have our moments, and go "Girls, director here. Talk to me now" So we had a great time, and it was one of those things where we truly loved being there on set and we loved we were given the opportunity to do, so we had a really fun time. We worked together really well. We all threw things at each other and said "What if you did this and I did that and how do we work it out?" and we watched each other's backs, basically.
CS: What was the most difficult part of learning the geisha movements?
Yeoh: We used to laugh about this, but it's actually not that funny. We called them the 7 Rooms of Torture. During the practice, rehearsal period, we had a room very specifically for learning how to do the shamisen [ancient Japanese lute] because that is a musical instrument that to be a true geisha, you had to do that perfectly. And to be Mameha, I had to play that for Sayuri when she did her performance at the teahouses. Then, the second room was where we learned how to do all the rituals of pouring sake, handing the cup…it was very specific, and I think we needed to do that so that it was second nature to us, so that by the time we got onto the set, we put on our kimonos, we've done this millions of times, but it was not easy to do. Everything had its own particular place and we had to do it effortlessly. Then, the other room was when we had to learn the dance. Just walking in kimono was a different thing, because once you had the kimono on, you had to make the tail flutter, and you had to glide across the room, so to first learn how to walk, we had to tie our knees together, and put a thin slip of paper in between, so that if the paper fell, you failed, and you had to get to the back of the class. It was embarrassing, because there were a lot of us and we were trying to outdo the other one. We had an amazing geisha consultant, Liza Dalby, who was there. I think the essence of being the geisha is her understanding her place and what a geisha is about. That she believes that a geisha is about truly being an artist, so that's why she spends her entire life, all her time, practicing her skills, so that when she's out there, she is on show. She's literally a moving piece of art with her kimono, the way she is dressed, her make-up, her hair, so when she dances or even she talks to you, it is a moving art form. For me, it was not just the mental side, but also the physical side that embodies the different parts of being a true geisha.
CS: Did you get to keep any of your kimonos?
Yeoh: At that time, we were thinking wouldn't it be great if we could? You know what was the most difficult? Deciding which one we wanted to keep. For the life of me, I couldn't decide and that was horrible. But you know what? It will always be immortalized on film, so sometimes it's much better that way. You don't have to keep the physical thing. It will always be there, and it's fantastic. What it's really taught me is like the kimonos, they're so precious but then after that, they're kept in their boxes, and they're put safely away. For every movie that I've done, they're like a kimono. I packed them very neatly and very preciously in a box but they're kept in my mind, and I really don't need a physical thing to say "Hey, remember this time when you did this?" It will always be here (points to head) and here (points to heart).
CS: Do you have any opinion about the sexism that underpins the concept of the geishas?
Yeoh: Honestly, doing this movie was already such a privilege and an honor, and I think what we tried to do was try to celebrate a culture that we really are learning about. It's not so open that we can say this is right or wrong or this is black or white. Also, you know, this culture descends from a period of time when parents were trying to do the right thing for their kids and people were trying to survive. I think it's also a culture that's been elevated to an artform, so for me, I don't look at it that way. I look at beautiful side of it. I come from a dance background. When I first learned about geishas, it was about their dancing. It was like seeing this amazing doll that had this white face, and all their movements were so exquisite and it was almost unreal, very, very mythical. That was what I wanted to portray, even though there are so many different interpretations of how it's going to be. I hope that people will go in and just really have their breath taken away and for a moment have a glimpse into a part of a world that we don't really know that much about.
CS: But what about the very real situation of Asian girls getting sold into slavery like what happens with Sayuri?
Yeoh: I think everything should lead you to that, and let you have a moment where you think about that. Unfortunately, to think that in this century, in the affluent life that a lot of us have, that this still happens very randomly in Burma, in Vietnam, and in Thailand, it's horrifying. I see that because I live in Asia, and it's terrifying that that still happens. I don't know whether they're just doing it because they thought that the kid would have a better life and there are some really people, whether it's the Triads or the Mafia that are doing it for all the worst possible reasons, so in a way, you can't really compare the destitute that was then and now on the same level, because times have really changed. You know, I'm a great fan of Jackie Chan, and in China they revered the son, because he is the heir. When he was a very young boy, he was sold to the acrobatic house, because his parents believed that if he went there and trained, he might have an opportunity to be an acrobat. And look where he is today. But if his parents said "Oh, no. I can't sell my child. I'll just keep him at home." Where would he be? So we have to take a step back and say "I see there is something there" but not to just lump it all together and say "This is bad" or ‘This is not right". There is a different way of approaching it.
CS: Where do you see your career going from here?
Yeoh: From the looks of it, it looks like it's very bright and shining. (laughs) I think when you're an actor, your dream is to be able to reach out worldwide internationally, and at the present moment, it seems like to be a Hollywood actor, that would be the fastest way, that would be the surest way that you do reach out to the most people. I hope that in time, the Asian productions or the Chinese productions will catch up, but until our markets are as sophisticated as the American market, it will take us a lot of time. It's like India has an amazing, huge, film market, but it's really basically for themselves, because they make movies very close to what they like and they don't have the illusion that they can export it outside because they don't have that kind of contacts, but I find with the Asian films right now, they are crossing. Even whether it's just remakes or coming across here or getting straight into DVD, but it is reaching out. It's no longer just the people who have the interest in watching European films or Asian films. It's more general right now, so hopefully, as an actor, yes, if it's to be working in Hollywood films that I get to show my work to the world, then yes, I would do it. Absolutely. Honestly, I don't choose the place that I work; I really choose by the character and the director. The director, for me, is very important, because I really truly believe that he's the soul of the film. You can have an amazing script, but if you don't have a director that has the passion, the dedication and the vision for that, it would go a little soft, and I think a lot of you could understand that, and I don't choose to say that I'm only going to concentrate on working in America or just in Asia. I hope to find a balance where I can go where the best character and the best director is.
CS: Speaking of great directors, you just finished working on the new Danny Boyle film, "Sunshine", right?
Yeoh: Yes, and it was such a contrast, because at the beginning of last year, I was the geisha, right? Four hours of make-up and every day walking around like a supermodel. This movie, I'm the astronaut fifty years ahead in time, fifteen minutes in hair and make-up, and I'm like "Wait a minute. What about my eyebrow?" and [the make-up girl is] like "No, you're a real character, you're an astronaut, you're a physicist, you're a scientist. Get back to your lab." It's fantastic. That's where Danny Boyle is amazing, because if you look at his films, you don't know what to expect from him. Just like his movie "28 Days Later." There are so many zombie movies out there, so why did he make it different? Because he had an edge. Yes, this is eight astronauts going up to save the world, which we've heard that so many times before, but you have to see it. It's got an edge. I loved it. The first week of filming, he said to me "You know this is not a family movie, right?" "Danny, I know your films, it's okay."
CS: Any chance of working with Ang Li again?
Yeoh: I hope so. I'd do anything to work for that man.
CS: I'm sure most women will want to know what your secret is for looking so amazing.
Yeoh: Oh, thank you! I was thinking that I was jetlagged and blurry eyed, and you guys are going to see through me right away. I think it's just trying to be happy, cause with our kind of work, sometimes you take things personally, and you never should, but then at the end of the day, you think that you did your best. You had a really good time, and today is such a gift.
You can see how great Michelle Yeoh looks as a geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha, which opens in select cities on December 9 and everywhere else on December 23. Check back over the next few weeks for interviews with Ziyi Zhang and director Rob Marshall.
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