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Shanghai'S Formula One race track was seething with excitement and
screams Sunday afternoon when the whistles of dozens of Formula One racing
cars kicked off the press conference of the much anticipated car racing
movie Initial D.
Based on a popular namesake Japanese manga, Initial D is a star-studded
project with the participation of the most glamorous stars from Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Japan. Led by directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, Jay Chow, Ann
Suzuki, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Anthony Wong and Chapman To showed up
before tens of thousands of screaming fans at the conference.
It is the debut film of Taiwan pop king Jay Chow
whose songs couldn't be more familiar to youngsters in China. Without any
acting experience, he was cast as the leading
man
in the movie, which of course aroused many
doubts as to whether the cool singer was competent in portraying a
sometimes sober, sometimes crazy car racer.
When the question was raised at the conference, Chow gave much
assurance to the media and the public, saying that he was just portraying
himself in the movie because his own character was quite similar to that
of the role.
"I don't feel it was particularly challenging for me although I'm not
confident in my acting ability. Fortunately, I was just playing myself in
the movie," Chow said.
As a talented musician, Chow took on all the composing work for the
movie. Most car racing or action movies are prone to use electronic music,
but Chow said he broke the rule in Initial D. "I use a lot of hip-hop
elements in the movie. It is a movie for young people, so the injection of
hip-hop music can create a special flavor. It is very funny," Chow said.
Although Chow is good at driving, which he joked was attributed to the
crazy pursuit by Taiwan's paparazzi because he had to try his best to get
rid of them, Chow said he had encountered a lot of danger during the
acting process, sometimes even "at risk of life."
"I acted in some dangerous scenes, but the deadly sequences had to be
performed by professional stuntmen."
Action movies don't often appeal to female audience members, but
director Mak said that he didn't worry about that. "Car racing scenes
definitely attract speed-savvy male moviegoers, but when they are
intertwined with emotion, it can also strike a chord among female
viewers," Mak said. Chow developed a melancholic love story with the
leading lady played by Japanese star Ann Suzuki.
The movie is scheduled to hit Asian cinemas in June.
(Shenzhen Daily) | 
Updated: 2005-04-12 10:28
