January 1, 2010 - Beijing News Feature - I am part of the cartoon world
In the past everyone has been accustomed to Ekin's long hair, furthermore fans have summarized his having long hair as a bringing him luck. However, Ekin reveals that when he first kept his hair long his friends said, " very ugly, and troublesome, cut it short."
" I am part of the cartoon world," Ekin said. Indeed his movies and other representative works, Young and Dangerous, Storm Riders, China Hero and Feel 100% all adapt Japanese Manga. Mainland audiences through seeing Young and Dangerous, all know him as Chan Ho Nam. In 1999 after the Emperor Record Company disagreement Ekin fell into a decline. In 2009 Storm Riders 2 was released. At 42 years old he took advantage of this momentum to release a new album and perform again in concert. It could even be said that he has " stirred up a storm". A few days ago Ekin spoke exclusively with Beijing reporters, his innocent temperament has not disappeared.
Beijing News: Originally Universe boss Lam Xiao Ming sought you to film Storm Riders 2. What were your feelings?
Ekin: That evening I was very happy. My movie career began with portrayal of Manga cartoon characters. Before Storm Riders and China Hero no one looked for me to film Manga movies, until that day when I had supper with Lam Xiao Ming. I was still anxious that he didn't have the copyright to the Manga in his hands. However he told me not to worry, "Set your mind at rest I can fix everything." I remember when I left that evening the smiles came out from the bottom of my heart.
Beijing News: Was the cheerful mood because you had special feelings for Storm Riders?
Ekin: Storm Riders was extremely popular in Hong Kong and the box office was very successful. However in that movie, Whispering Wind was barely introduced. The character still hadn't unfolded. While at the time I felt fairly certain that a sequel would soon be made and I would be able to make this character more three dimensional. I didn't expect to wait 10 years.To hear then that they want to make the sequel was like reviving old dreams.
Beijing News: I heard that before starting to shoot the movie you spent time exercising your body.
Ekin: Because at that time I had just finished shooting Rule #1.In that movie I played a fat, out of condition, policeman. ( Ekin won best actor in South Korea for that movie) The boss saw that and said, "You will engage in physical exercise and toughen your body so that you look the same as you did 10 years ago, otherwise Whispering wind , will become Fat Wind" I immediately went and found a fitness instructor. I took six months to train, meals were fewer and fewer.
Beijing News: Why do you like to adapt Japanese manga into movies? Which characters do you still want to develop?
Ekin: Because I feel the movie world should be fantasy. You need to bring the audience away from real life. Early filming China Hero the special effects were not unusual. Many people think it looks like an art movie. This role was indeed quite complicated. Hero has a heaven sent lonely star. I think his story can have many elaborations, but there probably would not be enough fight scenes.
Beijing News: I heard you are a game play dignitary. Did you learn Japanese for this?
Ekin: I play games to relax. I also play online games but only with familiar friends. Actually movie special effects are able to use a computer game frame as a reference and clip it out. For example the Final Fantasy video game was used by very many years before's Music Videos. It is actually worth while for Movie Workers to go and study them. You know there have emerged " mind set" headphones, that is they use brain waves to control things. In the future you need not use hands, merely use your mental capacity to play games.
Beijing News: Wong Jing once said you were like a blank sheet of paper. How do you regard this kind of assessment?
Ekin: Perhaps in your childhood you can be without worries, naive and unaffected. But in the entertainment world to make an answer is very difficult, it involves your fame and profit, things are very subtle and complex. Perhaps I haven't fought like that in the entertainment scene, but I think I have been fortunate, I have always had friends by my side to help.
Beijing News: In the past your love life was large scale, now with Yoyo Mung your relationship is very low profile. Is it because you are afraid of what the media might write?
Ekin: I'm not afraid, what they write about me is to sell magazines.
Beijing News: Now you have returned to singing, if you bump into Gigi Leung again, will it be embarrassing?
Ekin: I don't care too much about it, at most will be a group photograph, that's all, in such photographs everyone assembles.