Gong Li Interview, Hannibal Rising

MoviesOnline recently sat down with actress Gong Li at the Los Angeles press day to promote her new film, "Hannibal Rising,” directed by Peter Webber ("Girl With a Pearl Earring”) based on a screenplay by Thomas Harris.

Gong Li has been called China’s Greta Garbo and the similarities are obvious. Like the legendary Swedish actress, she has an almost otherworldly beauty and a remarkable acting range; her two score movie credits to date continue to explore new ground. Also like Garbo, Gong is an intensely private woman who struggles to balance her desire for privacy with the publicity that her profession and art entail.

Born in Shenyang in December 1965, she grew up in Jinan, the daughter of an economics professor. A music lover from early childhood, Gong dreamed of a singing career, but when she failed to gain entrance to China’s top music school in 1985, she opted for the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, from which she graduated in 1989.

Gong’s presence was quickly noticed. While still a student, she was cast as the female lead in "Red Sorghum” (1987), the debut feature by Zhang Yimou. The film launched two careers. Along with the film, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Gong’s performance, as the meek bride who becomes a powerful woman after her husband’s death, won international acclaim. Gong quickly went on to become one of China’s and the international cinema’s leading young actresses of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Physically slender and demure looking but possessing a naturalistic verve and strength on screen, Gong embodies a new generation of Chinese women, brought up amid old traditions but reaching towards feminist values.

Gong was linked with Zhang both professionally and romantically for several years. He directed her in some of the most memorable Chinese films of the last decade – "Ju Dou” (1990); "Raise The Red Lantern” (1991); "The Story of Qui Ju” (1992) for which she won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival; "To Live” (1994); and "Shanghai Triad” (1995). She has also worked with other Chinese directors, particularly Chen Kaige, with whom she has collaborated in three highly regarded features – "Farewell My Concubine,” which won the 1993 Palme d’Or at Cannes, "Temptress Moon” (1996), and "The Emperor and The Assassin” (1999).

Along the way, her work has garnered critical acclaim and awards around the world. She served as a member of the jury at the 50^th Cannes Festival in 1997 and presided over the jury at 2000’s Berlin Festival. She has lent her name to campaigns for children’s and environmental protection, and in 2000, Gong Li was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in Paris by the Director-General of UNESCO in recognition of her dedication to the organization’s ideals and aims. The same year, she was also nominated as Ambassador of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO).

In early 2001, Gong was the only Chinese actress chosen by the Chinese Government to be the image of the China Olympics. She traveled to Moscow with the Chinese Olympic Committee, led by the Vice Premier, for the successful bidding of the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing.

The glamorous actress is also the face of L’Oreal cosmetics in Asia and one of People magazine’s "Most Beautiful People.”

"Breaking the Silence” (2000), her first collaboration with director Sun Zhou, won her the Best Actress award at the Montreal Film Festival, the ninth China Golden Rooster Film Festival and China Hundred Flowers Film Award. It was chosen as the special screening film for the 2000 Berlin International Film Festival. "Zhou Yu’s Train,” a contemporary Chinese love story, was her second film with Sun Zhou.

In 2004, she joined the filming of "Eros,” an anthology of three films directed by Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-Wai. The same year, the Cannes Film Festival named the Wong Kar-Wai romantic, science fiction, drama "2046,” in which Gong Li stars as an official selection.

In 2005, Gong Li debuted in her first American movie, captivated by Rob Marshall’s offer to play in the adaptation of the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden. In 2006, she appeared in the American movie adaptation of Michael Mann’s television series "Miami Vice” and in "Curse of the Golden Flower,” directed by Zhang Yimou.

In "Hannibal Rising,” Gong Li plays the beautiful and mysterious Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki, who welcomes the young Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) into her home after he flees from Eastern Europe to Paris in search of his uncle at the end of World War II. However, even her kindness and love cannot soothe the nightmares and sorrows that plague him. The film also stars Rhys Ifans and Dominic West.

Here’s what the always fascinating Gong Li had to say about her latest role:

Q: Have you seen the other Hannibal Lecter movies before?

Gong Li: Yes, I’ve seen them all.

Q: Do you have a favorite?

Gong Li: Yes, I liked the first one, "Silence of the Lambs,” the most.

Q: What was it about that movie?

Gong Li: I liked it because it was a real psychological horror film; it’s the kind of film that asks a lot of questions. It made you want to know why he was the way he was and why he did all those things, etc. And the two lead actors in it were just wonderful, so it’s quite different from a lot of other horror films where you just watch it and forget about it after that. "Silence of the Lambs” was quite different because it made you want to know more about those things. And the script was very well written, the dialogue is amazing.

Q: Why do you think Hannibal Lecter is such an iconic character?

Gong Li: Well, it comes originally from the novels, the Hannibal Lecter character is such a profound human figure, and the emphasis is on the dark and evil side of his human nature. And, of course, most people – probably everybody – would probably deny they have a bad side to them; everybody thinks ‘I’m a good person.’ If somebody does something bad to me – ‘Why did they do something bad to me?’ And people find it hard to admit we do have some sort of dark side to us. So what appeals to people is that this emphasizes precisely this sort of evil side; it shows that it is there, something else is there, that’s written in a very memorable and profound way, and it leaves a deep impression on everybody.

Q: Is the character of Hannibal Lecter as popular in China as he is here?

Gong Li: Yes, definitely. Definitely the Hannibal films are quite popular in Asia and China. The novels, I'm not sure if they've been released in Chinese yet or not. But certainly the films, everybody knows about those. So if you just say "Silence of the Lambs," everybody knows

exactly what you're talking about.

Q: Was it easy to develop this character because she’s not in the other films?

Gong Li: Yes, because the character that I play in this film is a bit mysterious; we don’t know very much about her from childhood starting onward until when we see her. So there weren’t a lot of reference points, so therefore there was room to create something.

Q: What kind of back story did you give her?

Gong Li: Well, because in this case, when we were discussing the story and as we were preparing the film, we worked directly with the writer because the novels themselves were writing the scripts. So I would discuss things directly with him. This character is from Japan; her father is quite rich, so she comes from a wealthy family, and when she’s young she goes to Europe at quite an early age and goes to school there and ends up staying there. So she’s a woman who comes from a very high, wealthy background.

Q: What do you think attracted your character, Lady Murasaki, to Lecter?

Gong Li: Well, I think it's a matter of the fate, or the lives, of these two characters. They're quite similar. When they meet, right away they realize that they share something in common, which is that they've suffered a lot in the war, and specifically, that their families have all died in the war. So they had to face a lot of dark experiences together. They have a lot of this pain and suffering in their hearts. So I think that's what attracts Lady Murasaki to Hannibal. And she has kind of a desire to help him and protect him, as it were, to get through this. And at the same time, I think it's quite similar for Hannibal as well. What attracts him is this feeling of possibility of

protecting and being protected. It's sort of like in the scenes in the war, we see if somebody gets killed and you want to take revenge or something, or you want to protect that person. So it's a kind of a mutual kind of dependency, as it were. They depended on each other to help them get through these difficult times.

Q: What were the challenges in your character's accent in this film?

Gong Li: In this one, I had to speak with a British accent. And it was kind of interesting because we had dialogue coaches to work with. And I had just come to this film from Miami, making "Miami Vice,” where I have a Cuban accent. So when I arrived, of course, a dialogue coach said, ‘Oh, that sounds great, but in this one, we don't want you to have all those rolling Rs, etc, with a Cuban accent. We need to have a British accent, with a kind of very high class, aristocratic feel to it.’ So with the dialogue coach, I think things worked out okay.

Q: What was it like to work with Peter Webber?

Gong Li: He’s a very warm-hearted person. At the beginning, we were filming this scene – I think it’s towards the end - where Lady Murasaki is crying, bitterly. And at that point we did the scene and he said, ‘Cut,’ and I was still crying, of course, being in the role at that moment. He just came right over and started talking to me very nicely, and tried to make me feel better so I would stop crying; he was joking about things unrelated whatsoever just to get my mind off it. But I was kind of surprised because it seemed like such an abrupt shift for me; I hadn’t quite emerged from the mood of that scene yet, so it was kind of strange for me. But from that, I learned he’s a kind and gentle man and it’s quite surprising that he can make a film like this which is full of brutality and violence with war scenes. So from this, you can see he’s quite a multi-dimensional person, a very talented director. He’s very good dealing with actors and reassuring them when – like I said – in the scenes where I’m supposed to cry or I’m overcome with emotion, he would help you get back to normal. So you can see he’s a very complex person and he’s a really good director.

Q: As a Chinese actress, how do you approach your portrayal of a Japanese character?

Gong Li: Well actually, for me, the important thing is that women in general have a lot of things in common, regardless of their background. So in this case, I didn't want to just give a kind of superficial performance of a Japanese person. I did indeed go and do a little research to understand better about the historical and cultural background of this particular character. For example, experiences that people had in the war, and the way that affected them many years later. But I didn't really want to just make my character have a Japanese appearance--the way the make-up works or certain ways of walking or talking or nodding, etc. Those things are not really important to me as part of Japanese culture. It was important, rather, to understand some

of that background. But as I said, the important thing is really to also think in a more kind of international way, to see that this woman, as a woman who was sort of international, has certain things in common with women, but also, it's not just that she's Japanese.

Q: How do you feel about not taking on the role of a Japanese woman?

Gong Li: I didn’t go through any special preparation with respect to the national aspect of the character; I think the starting point for me was she was a woman. And women, whether they’re American or Japanese or Chinese or Korean have a lot of similarities around the world; so I didn’t go around thinking I have to act in a particular Japanese sort of way – the way I hold my body or the way I walk, taking small steps or slowly or whatever. It was important for me, on the other hand, to understand the back story of the character and the experiences she had gone through in order to do this performance.

Q: Is it annoying that Hollywood thinks Japanese and Chinese are interchangeable, or are you just happy for the work?

Gong Li: [laughs] Well, I guess some people might still think that way, but things have really changed quite a lot, especially recently, as China has opened up more and more, and people know more about China. You know, they can see the difference, especially with the speed of economic development in China is quite impressive, and so people pay more attention to it now and are really able to see what's special about it, or what's different about it from Japan. But of course, from another perspective, you might think it's kind of like the way we look at the Europeans, and we're not quite sure, ‘Where is he really from?’ So for some people, it's a process of getting to know more about China as things open up, and gradually, people become more and more clear about the difference.

Q: Did you enjoy participating in the gruesome aspects of the film?

Gong Li: [laughs] Well, this film for me is a kind of exploration. It was an opportunity for me to participate in something and try something new for me. And of course, I knew in advance that there was going to be a lot of violence and the kind of gruesome things that you mentioned, because that's part of the story, and it is a commercial film. What was important for me to notice in my character, though, is that she spends a lot of time trying to stop that. Really from the beginning all the way to the end, she keeps trying to stop Hannibal from committing those

violent acts. But of course, in the end, she fails because he's so strong and so determined to do those things, and nothing can really stop him. But for me, as I said, when I was reading the script in advance, I noticed that, and I saw that's, for me, what was really significant about this character. On the other hand, of course, that means that there was this kind of violence and bloodiness in the film, and that was part of what makes the film what it is, especially as a commercial film.

Q: Did the violence in this movie take you aback any?

Gong Li: Well I knew from the beginning this movie was a psychological thriller, so I knew in advance what it was going to be like. At first, when I saw the script, there was a lot of violent things in there, and so on and so on. I wasn’t especially worried about that. I knew in advance it was going to be that kind of film, and there are commercial reasons for that as well. What’s important to me in considering this part was that I saw Lady Murasaki trying to stop that kind of violence throughout the film. It’s something she’s trying to prevent. She doesn’t want Hannibal to commit these vicious and cruel acts. She does try to stop him, but in the end nothing can stop him from committing all these brutal acts. But for me, it was important initially, when I was reading the script that I saw that this was my part, that in fact, she’s trying to stop these things. It’s a very important thing for me when I was considering taking on this role.

Q: What frightens you?

Gong Li: Well, something I find very terrifying is war; it’s a really awful thing, and it’s the kind of thing where the individual person ends up looking really, really small - also, the same thing with natural disasters. With war, you can think, ‘Oh, maybe I can avoid it when it starts happening and turn your back.’ But, when it actually hits you, you can’t hide, and you really become very, very small. And the same with natural disasters, these awful things no one can stop, and the human beings become tiny, just like grains of sand.

Q: How was it working with Gaspard on screen and off screen?

Gong Li: He’s a lot of fun to work with; he doesn’t like to talk a lot on the set or off the set, but he pays attention and he observes a lot of things. And he’s also quite friendly with everybody; Europeans are very interesting because they don’t speak very loudly, and they like to speak with everyone in a very intimate way to each other, so it made the atmosphere fun and very relaxed. And Gaspard, himself, is very young, he thinks young; he has a child-like heart, he’s a child at heart, and he’s a lot of fun to hang out with.

Q: How do you choose your roles as an Asian actress without being in kung fu movies? How do you think the Chinese audience perceives your work internationally?

Q: Do you believe because of your involvement in this film that it will be released in China?

Gong Li: No, I think that’s highly unlikely; whether it’s distributed in China has nothing to do with me. A film like this, if you start cutting things, you cut some of the violent scenes, the murder scenes, etc… Pretty much, you cut everything and there’s nothing left; so I think it’ll be pretty difficult for this to be released in China.

Q: How was it getting into the costumes? Did you get to keep anything?

Gong Li: I think the credit really goes to the costume designer; she was really wonderful, she has a lot of experience that has garnered her awards, and so on. When we were fitting, she said, ‘We have to measure you for the costumes, and we’re going to start shooting tomorrow.’ So there really wasn’t much time, but the production was very efficient, and very well managed; things turned out very well. So really, the costume designer deserves the credit for that. Secondly, as far as keeping the clothes, I did keep two things; one was a long nightgown, and the second thing was the leather jacket I ride the motorcycle on. By the time we finished it, we were talking and I said, ‘These two pieces are very interesting and I should keep those.’ And so they gave them to me to keep.

Q: What are your beauty tips?

Q: What about staying in shape? Do you have to work out?

Gong Li: One thing, and this has to do with what people eat in China, is that I try not to eat too many bread and cereal products like noodles and rice and starch, carbohydrates, those kind of things. Also, another thing is not to eat too many sweets, of course. One thing that’s good is a lot of Chinese people like to drink tea, especially green tea. It’s very good for you. So things like that, and fruits and vegetables, of course I like to eat too. So you have to make sure you keep the right kind of diet. It can help your body stay clean and healthy.

Q: What has the last year been like for you, with this film, "Miami Vice,” and "Memoirs of a Geisha?” And what's been the most fun thing or most challenging thing about it?

Q: What's your next project? Will it be an American or Chinese film?

Gong Li: It's probably an American film. We're still discussing it.

"Hannibal Rising” opens in theaters on February 9^th.