Adam's news >> July 5, 2007

Gui Ya Lei Says Adam has Electric Eyes

Yesterday, Adam's series "Return in Glory" held a premier press conference in Beijing. The series will be premiered on 6 cable TV stations around the same time in Beijing, Yunnan, Shangdong, Shenzhen, Hebei and Shanghai. ATV will also be airing it while Harbin station has already started airing the series.

Yesterday a grand press conference for "Return in Glory" was held and attended by various TV station managements. You could see them approaching the stage to say their speeches and you also could the director reading a long list of names thanking various TV station executives and guests. ATV management also sent their greetings. Although CCTV will not be airing the series, they also came to attend the press conference and wished the ratings do well in other stations.

When Adam was interviewed by the reporters, he was speaking in Mandarin and he could speak accurately. Adam said he used his own voice in the series. Last time his voice was dubbed in Mandarin series. Adam said he always brings a dictionary with him, the dictionary has attached a CD where you can key in the word and play and listen to it. Adam said as an actor when you read the scripts, the feelings must come from your heart. Therefore, he needed to put in extra hard work compared to other actor. The director said at first he was skeptical about Adam's Mandarin, but when he met Adam in Hong Kong at a cafe, he realized that Adam spoke his Mandarin well and he had confident.

In "Return in Glory," Adam and Gui Ya Lei play a couple. There's one scene where Gui Ya Lei's role comes forward to give her husband Li Guo Kai a hug. When the director finished filming the scene, Adam joked and told Gui Ya Lei, "I cannot let you take advantage of me, I must give you a kiss." The quiet Gui Ya Lei did not know how to respond while all the casts and crews couldn't control themselves and burst out laughing.

And there's another scene talking about Li Guo Kai's conversation with his three children on the night before he has leukemia operation the next day. The 3 children are so touched by his words and their eyes turn red. But...that scene was shot with 2 video cameras, one filmed Adam and Gui Ya Lei while the other one focused on the 3 children. After Adam said the touching lines, the 3 children get so emotional. Seeing them in such a good condition, the director didn't stop filming that scene even though it had completed. Knowing that the director hadn't shouted Cut, Adam put his head on Gui ya Lei's shoulder in a pampering way, Seeing this, the 3 children felt like laughing but they dared not laugh because the director was still filming it. They could only try their best to control themselves from laughing. When the director finally said CUT, everyone burst out laughing and complained that Adam was trying to "harm" them. Adam just gave an innocent response and said it's finished filming already so after talking to the children, it was the wife.

Gui Ya Lei said, "In my 40 years of showbiz career, I have cooperated with numerous actors and there's no actor that can joke with me behind the scene." She usually would walk off or give no response. But filming "Return in Glory" with Adam, it had changed.

During filming, Adam always used "cultural tones" to talk to Gui Ya Lei, such as, "Your elegance makes me feel happy and comfortable." It always makes Gui Ya Lei feel shy because last time she never joked with any actor before. Adam is known as a joker on set and they love to see Adam and Gui Ya Lei reaction because Adam always praised her in front of everyone and made her face blush while the casts and crews burst out laughing. When in front of Jiao Huang, Adam will joke even more by saying, "Elder brother is here, we can only be loving by looking at each other's eyes." Thus, Gui Ya Lei also felt that Adam's eyes could really charm.

At the press conference, the casts were talking about some interesting incidents behind the scene. To pick out the one who likes to play (joke) most, this must be Adam. When facing the media, Jiao Huang is always serious and doesn't seem to fit in with the entertainment atmosphere. Gui Ya Lei is the elegant and stable one. When she faces with problems, she will push the microphones to others. Only Adam is the one who can handle with ease when facing such a big occasion. He can joke and also skip the topic tactfully and make the atmosphere lively.

This is the first time Adam working with director Lee Shao Hong. On and off the scene, she is totally amazed by Adam's ability and charm. She said, "Even to add up all the casts in this series, our ability to survive is not even stronger than Adam himself alone. The director explained that Adam has many years of working experience on the filming set, thus, making him adapt with the environment very easily. At first when veteran and young actors act together, they will compete with each other quietly but only Adam can joke and play with the casts and quickly get along with each other well.

Speaking about working experience, the director gave an example of the "kidnapping scene." She said, "Jiao Huang is the serious type so he will do everything in a real way. He would ask the crews to tie him tightly to show real feeling. Adam is the more 'tricky' one, he would just let the rope tie around him and use his hand to hold the rope behind his back. And when in need, he held it tight and when not filming him, he would loosen it." When the "kidnapper" just touched him softly, he already gave a very painful expression. The director says she has work with many actor before, Adam is one actor that she really love to watch at the scene.

Adam said last time when he played emperor Qian Long, he always showed the emperor's air of authority and appearance that commands respect, but after watching Jiao Huang's emperor Kang Xi, he admired his way of portraying the role in a more realistic way. He hopes the rating of "Return in Glory" will be even better than his popular series "Qian Long."

The atmosphere at the press conference was good and emotional. At the back stage's resting room, the casts were also enjoying themselves. Since they have finished filming, they will have rare chances to see each other. Therefore they used this opportunity to take pictures with each other together and at the same time, recalling all happy incidents they shared.

When Adam, Gui Ya Lei and Jiao Huang met, they were praising each other dressing while Lin Shen and Xu Jing Yao behaving like kids. They took out their RIG's souvenir t-shirts and let other actors sign on it, competing to see who finish it faster. At the press Conference, the funniest ones were Adam and Lin Shen, the father and son. When they saw each other, they first spoke in Cantonese and later both of them showed each other a funny hand gestures and said, "I am watching you." Then we found out that both of them were fans of Robert de Niro and that was his usual hand signal. They were doing that to show their chemistry. When Lin Shen was interviewed by the press, Adam was behind making all funny expressions and making Lin Shen laugh non stop. These two funny guys are just like brothers and it's difficult to link them to their roles in "Return in glory" where they don't get along with each other.

Sources from BJ Youth, Tom, YCWB, Sina and various China news sites. Picture from "Return in Glory" promotion team and Qiu Yi. Translation by Irene.