Crouching Tiger Guy And Girl Rely On Mutual Fear 
Film Special Interview - September 29, 2000
The public agrees that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ngor Fu Chong Lung)'s most eye catching cast members are of course Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh (Yeung Chi King), but actually Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen had more screen time. She is from Beijing, has loved making movies since childhood, and is serious about everything; he is from Taipei and has an aloof and do what he wants look. How can they work together? EASY FINDER earlier grabbed them during their Hong Kong visit and chat with them a bit. Actually during their collaboration they constantly scare each other!
How To Scare Each Other?
Ziyi : "In the scene in which Chang Chen and I kissed goodbye, before the shoot he kept warning me to be careful after the kiss because the girls in Taiwan will be very envious and proceed to hate me; I responded in kind, telling him that if Mainland men saw that they won't let him off easy. That's not scaring each other?"
The Most Difficult Scene
Ziyi : "Soon after the opening Chang Chen and I rode horses on the desert. His bad robber stole my favorite mirror box and flag, and I chased him on horseback. After all that he even lost his balance and fell off."
Chang Chen In The Heart Of Zhang Ziyi
"Chang Chen is a lot of fun and reacts very quickly. Luckily before knowing him, China didn't show his movies. I don't know about his superstar status, so the collaboration was rather relaxed."
Zhang Ziyi In The Heart Of Chang Chen
"She absolutely is not the kind of girl that I would think is pretty, but she has quite a quality." (Chang Chen, don't be so "common"!)
Zhang Ziyi's Regret
"This time after the Hong Kong promotion, I can't go to promote in Hong Kong, perhaps due to the problems between the shores. I am very sorry about that."
Chang Chen's Dream
"I am working on a youth romance with Angelica Lee Sum Kit. The schedule is very tight and very tough, but I hope the effect will be good!"
Chang Chen's 7 Year Metamorphosis Oriental Sun - July 8, 2000
By Siu Go
Chang Chen wants to be a wild cat so he can wander around. Chang Chen wants to go to Russia and see the world via the railroad. Chang Chen wants to go out to the streets and escape from the endless interview. Chang Chen wants too much......after A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY (GOO LAN GAI SIU NIN SAT YUN), Chang Chen in MAHJONG was only an actor and a part of the prop crew. He did not deliberately manage nor did he particular care, yet time and time again he has won admiration from famous directors from everywhere. Perhaps Heaven wants him to be extraordinary.
GOOD BYE A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
Chang Chen was born in Taipei. His father is actor Chang Kwok Chu, so film has grown up with him. Yet he has never learned that knowing movies does not mean knowing how to act.
Chang : "On the set of A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY the cast were all teenagers (at the time I was only 13), so before production everyone is messing around, but when shooting began everyone became tense because director Edward Yang (Tak Cheung) is very mean and demanding. If we didn't do good enough or couldn't reach his demand, we were guaranteed to get yelled at. The most memorable time was when he yelled for almost 8 hours."
Today's mature Chang Chen is obviously different from the immature one from the BRIGTHER days. He credits everything to Edward Yang.
Chang : "Now when I watch BRIGHTER again, I have an unique feeling. First the old me besides not knowing how to act was silly and dumb; secondly in childhood I didn't know how tough my father's job was. I really have to thank Yang Tak Cheung. His strictness has allowed me to grow and not to continue to be a youth who knows nothing."
DOES NOT THINK HE LOOKS LIKE TAKUYA KIMURA
Chang Chen's glory cannot shine everywhere, but it does allow others to see him. Chang Chen's performance does not all win awards, but it does win the admiration of thousands.
Chang : "In the past I have tried to become a singer. The feeling is quite different from acting. When I was a singer, the distance between me and fans is very close. They can see closer to the real me. Yet now I mostly appear on the big screen. Whatever I am on the screen, that is how the audience sees me. Like when I worked on a Taiwan version of a beverage ad and 2046 as Takuya Kimura (Muk Chuen Tok Joi)'s former self, people would say I look a lot like him. Actually we take very different roads. He is an idol, I am an actor, we aren't that much alike right
(Chang Chen made a face toward the mirror and said)?!"
LOVE LIFE IS A LUXURY
To a 20 year old, love should be the most abundant and in the most need of release, but to Chang Chen, love actually is quite a luxury.
Chang : "I haven't walked a lot of roads, and haven't experienced too much. What I have now I am already very satisfied with. The only thing I might be after might be time because time always seems to be lacking. I don't have time to sleep, I don't have time to eat. Love? I don't even dare to think about that. Sigh! The only relaxation I get out of life is reading fan letters. Their letters and pictures give me a lot of encouragement and support, which definitely is better than the accomplishment of 20 girlfriends......(he was silent for awhile, then he smiled). Actually I really like to hear other people's praises. This is the effect of hard work. I really am not as cool as you might think. You might see me as a freak, really!"
Chang Chen is really mischievous, like a child.......actually he really is a child.
BEHIND THE SCENE HE LIKES TO PLAY AND LAUGH
On camera Chang Chen always gives people that feeling of someone who does his own thing and cannot easily get close to. Behind the scenes however he is like the boy next door. He likes to talk, to laugh, to have fun.
Chang : "Life begins with waking up. Whether your life is exciting depends on what angle you take. A lot of people say military service is tough, I thought it was pretty good. Everyday there is a stable job to do. Everyone works hard in order to accomplish the same thing. When it's done then you can do your own thing. Was it tough? A little, but it was rather fun! Actually I rather like to play, perhaps I am that type that can't sit still. On the set I like to talk with the crew. If I was overseas, during breaks I would walk around. When I am home I would go to KTV (Karaoke) with friends because Taiwan doesn't have too much entertainment! Ha ha....."
POST NOTE
"People say you are handsome, how do you feel?"
"Don't say that, I will blush!"
"You have quite a pair of eyes. You should attrack quite a number of girls right?"
"Ha......that's good it's true."
"Since arriving at the scene you already have won admiration from everywhere, are you happy?"
"That is really luck! I also have to thank God."
God really is unfair!
COPYRIGHT : (C) 2000 Oriental Press Group Ltd.
The Making of a Star -- Chang Chen 
www.dotlove.com - July 7,2000
By Ruby
A 14-year-old guy doesn't usually have his life's career at the forefront of his thoughts. Any pretension to The Future is wiped out by thoughts instead of your first love, your football game. It's an age of innocence and happiness. For Chang Chen, the 14th year of his life was destined to be the most exciting and possibly the most momentous in his life. That year, his father Taiwanese actor Zhang Guo-zhu took him to a gathering where he was spotted by director Edward Yang and was invited to star in his A Brighter Summer Day (1991). And Chang began his road to stardom.
The unusual Chang Chen plays an unusual role in A Brighter Summer Day-- a hot-headed teenager who murders his girlfriend in early 1960s Taiwan. Although it's the first time he acted in a film, his charisma is immediately evident. Once you've seen it in action, you won't easily forget it. After a few years, he appeared once again in Yang's Mahjong (1995). This time, he plays a mischievous flirt. And he even bares his behind for the film, a beautiful display of his manliness.
Chang's charisma in A Brighter Summer Day and beauty in Mahjong has not only made him a singer (he has released his own collection in Taiwan), it also attracted the attention of Hong Kong indie director Wong Kar-wai, who invited Chang to act inHappy Together (1997). Chang again shows his personal flair in the film, although he is acting among the biggest Hong Kong film names, Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung. In the film, Chang takes the sad moans of Lai Yiu-fai (Tony Leung) to the end of the world. In reality, Chang made a huge impression in the hearts of Hong Kong movie fans.
Many people compare Chang Chen with Japan's Kimura Takuya. Maybe it's because both of them play the same role in Wong Kar-wai's latest work 2046. However, the future of this already accomplished Taiwanese actor and singer seems even brighter than the handsome Japanese idol (who also acts and sings), since Chang's already debuted on the international film scene with a major role in Ang Lee's latest work, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where he plays opposite Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh. Having been under the spotlight for a decade, at 24, Chang Chen is still a young actor, but he is already on his way to stardom. Will he be the next Chinese superstar on the international film scene?
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