Interview with Wada Emi

Can you start to talk with your first meeting with Leslie in "The Bride With White Hair"(93) when you were in charge of the costume?

It is still too hard to watch this movie again. Because the last scene of the movie will remind me of my first meeting with him... He looks like Mori Masahiro (Japanese actor).  It was my first impression of him. He  wore an old sweater with a pair of jeans, also not a new one, holding his legs and sitting at the corner of the room.  He liked the costume I designed for him. Then, he asked me, "What about my hair style?" and I suggested covering up his face with hair. Both he and Director Ronny Yu were interested in my idea and adopted it. The hair style of covering up his face had two purposes, one was to remove his former image, and the other was to increase audiences' expectation to see his face. In fact, at the premiere, the audiences were thrown into an uproar, screaming with "Show me your face! Leslie".  Since then, Leslie would consult me about his act and concerts. Sometimes, he would invite me to his concert, gifted me his CD, gradually, he contacted me more often and that's how we were getting closer to  each other.  We would chat and eat together whenever we met by chance overseas or on a date.  He looked relaxing and was always telling his real feelings.  He seemed enjoying chatting with me. I thought he had made up "The Star Leslie Cheung" by himself.

Moreover, the gap between him and Star Leslie had widened until uncontrollable. In spite of Though saying that he'll quit his career as an actor, he performed the role of "Leslie Cheung" when he Though saying he'll stop career as an actor, appeared in public. Leslie was a person who had an art-intention originally. He respected Director Peter Greenaway very much.  But he could not be, like him.

You were asked to be the costume designer of his first directing movie which were supposed to start filming last year, weren't you?

I thought there were many staffs and actors who would be eager to work for his first directing movie.  Also, there were many producers who wanted to film him if he played as an actor or singer.  However, there was nobody who was willing to support him as a film-director in Hong Kong. When he had made up his mind decided to film, he needed to fight alone. He tried so hard to rush here and there but at the same time he still was very considerate to the actors and staffs. The film was scheduled to shoot in the Mainland.  The structure of staff and casts were a mixed team from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Those who once have had co-operated with Leslie supported his work and that's how the project began. Regretfully, no one from Hong Kong was among them. Individually, I guess he had once approached a Hong Kong movie business person, but they fail to reach a mutual compromise.

Did you take a part in this film as a producer?

Yes, I was going to bet Leslie himself though I had no idea about his ability as a director. Although it was a few, I was already beginning to draw the design of costumes. It was difficult to gather money for the film because Leslie would not appear as an actor in this film. Mr. Zhong Usong from Korea was supported to act main role. The title was not decided yet. The script was an original story. The background of the story was about the same period as with "Springtime In A Small Town" by Tien Zhang Zhang. He showed me ten or more movies which described this period  for information. As an actor, singer and an entertainer, I do believe that he had splendid talent. As for Chen Kaige and Wong Kar-wai, I think Leslie contributed a lot to make them famous. Of course I praised his performance. He did not say but I guess he wanted to get Best Actor Awards.

Since "Days of being wild", he didn't get any even though he had been nominated. He was bad luck for Awards!!

 I heard that Leslie was a hard working actor. For instances, he studied very hard to master a language specially for playing his role perfectly. What do you think?

Yes, he was indeed a very serious person. If he were an irresponsible person even a little, I could say to him should not care about getting the awards, or it's fate and so on.  But I could not say it so... Because I knew very well that he would do his best. I don't know how to describe about him, but he seemed like he was always trying to please the teacher who gave him homework. Honestly speaking, it would be so tough for such a kind person to make his original work. Leslie sometimes asked my opinion about his works timidly " How about this?" I was generous in my judgment to his works. But once in a while, I told him my unsparing opinion. ...........I never imagined that he passes away.

There were many rumors about the cause of his death.  I think the age of 46 years is too old to die for love affair. How do you think?

He'd like to keep himself as he used to be and overcome his age.  I met him last...He would have appeared on Director Yukisada Isao's film "SAYONARA TSUKA".  I 'm in charge of costume on the film. I measured his body size, the first time after The Bride with White Hair then I did not measure him for long years. I was amazed his size did not change even one cm. since at the time. He kept youth on his body even though he decided to be a director.  He told me with smiling slightly, that he can undress in a movie even now, he smiled only at this moment. In fact, he was 46 years old. But he has changed neither his feeling nor his body size since he was his 20s.

I heard director Tui Hark wanted to make a film with Leslie.

Although there were many offers to him as an actor, however he did not accept and refused all offers for his own movie since March in last year. But the plan of making film his film went on the rocks. He said that he could not sleep because of the pain in his body causing by stress.  I had got a phone call from him at midnight; he said that he couldn't sleep. Leslie repaired his house two years ago as a director's house. He wanted to show it to me. I visited there last the lunar New Year. At that time, I told him, "Leslie, in this house, you cannot become a director. This is not a house for a creator who makes a movie; however, this is a house for the actor who plays the role of director." The creator's house must be littered with scraps of paper. Proceeding works files and the past work's files were piled in jumble around here and there in the house. It is never put to rights, like his house. The house seems to be a house for the person who is writing memoirs. Cannot relax like the Schloss Neuschwanstein of Mr. Luchino Visconti. According to him, the house was designed by William Chan.

I do not want to hear and I do not want ask why he went to Mandarin hotel, why the window in the hotel was opened. When we met at the Central, we used to meet at the Conrad hotel.... The window of this hotel is not opened....At any rate...... I was happy if he makes a film even though it is success or not.  I really wanted to say him, "Leslie, You did it!"

 kinema