dailylesliec

[dailylesliec]

and what are we going to do when the HP series comes out and we start seeing a resurgence of the fandom here including gifsets and fics. like are u guys gonna bring up your neurodivergence and cry "can we separate the art from the artist!!!!! you dont need to pay to watch it!!!!!its my comfort show and I'm DEPRESSED and AUTISTIC"

what then

[dailylesliec]

Looking for watermelons? Filming "Ashes of Time": A Story

The filming of "Ashes of Time" took place in Yulin, Shaanxi. The place they stayed in was very close to the Mu Us Desert, and was near no trace of civilisation, making it terribly inconvenient to go anywhere.

Once, Leslie heard that watermelons taste better after expanding and contracting with temperature changes when buried in sand. To spice things up, the bored Gor-gor led the rest of the cast on a quest to bury watermelons in the desert sand.

But because deserts are ever-moving, these watermelons were lost as quickly as they were buried.

Seeing the hilarious image of A-Listers running around burying and digging up watermelons brought the crew a lot of laughs. Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. This is translated from an article back in 1994 - if anyone has the link to the archive, please let me know and I'll add it to this post.

[dailylesliec]

Leslie on Louis Koo - "I feel like he would fit any kind of role"

​This dates back to a radio show in 1994. Leslie who was already an industry titan at that time made a guest appearance on Sandra Ng’s radio show. Wyman Wong asked Leslie who he would pick as a successor, but Leslie thought that would give them a lot of pressure and it wouldn’t be very fair to them. Therefore, Leslie suggested that he instead talk about rookies that he found promising. Leslie: If we’re talking about films, you guys can keep your eye out for one particular guy. He’s still new to the industry - he’s so new I barely know how to describe him. If you keep up with TV though (well usually we just watch that channel anyways), he has a role in one of the programmes. The guy I’m talking about is Louis Koo. I feel like he would fit any kind of role. Sandra: What roles has he played before? Leslie: He hasn’t really done anything; he’s only acted in a movie and a TV drama. He’s playing some minor roles right now, but I think he can make it… Sandra: You’ve worked with him before? Leslie: No, I’ve just seen his acting. Sandra: You were watching his acting from afar? Leslie: Not really, I’ve only watched him onscreen. I feel like he’s a bit of a mix between Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok. My sixth sense regarding people is pretty good.

Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. Did this one quite a while ago for Louis' birthday! If anyone has the link to the original, would be very grateful if you shared it with me ^^

[dailylesliec]

Raymond Wong recalls working with Leslie: “He’d save me a lot of money!”

黃百鳴造星無數，可他最欣賞的還是張國榮。“他演什麼像什麼，從來沒有架子，���影到外地宣傳，周潤發只帶一個人，就是他老婆，張國榮什麼人都不帶。現在的大明星，助手、化妝、發型師、保鏢通通要帶，一個人帶10個人，機票都是一大堆錢。唉，要是張國榮還在就好了，幫我省好多錢呢！”

擅長拍喜劇片的黃百鳴，近年來改拍動作片，他無奈地說：“香港很難找到好的喜劇演員了。像《家有喜事》那樣，把張國榮、周星馳、張曼玉、吳君如湊到一起的陣容，再也不可能了。”

Raymond Wong made many into stars, but he still admires Leslie Cheung the most. “He’s good for any kind of role and was never stuck up. When going overseas to promote our films, Chow Yun-Fat only ever brought one person - his wife. Leslie wouldn’t even bring anyone. The stars nowadays bring their assistants, makeup artists, hair stylists, bodyguards, all of them… one person brings along 10 other people, the airfare alone costs an arm and a leg. Aiii… if only Leslie was still here. He’d help me save a lot of money!”

Wong, who is known for his comedies, has turned to making action films in recent years. Almost helplessly, he says, “It’s really hard to find good comedy actors in Hong Kong nowadays. ‘All’s Well, Ends Well’ had an incredible cast with the likes of Leslie Cheung, Stephen Chow, Maggie Cheung and Sandra Ng. I don’t think a lineup like that is possible anymore.”

Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. Original article published by Sina News (Jan 23 2007), you can read the archived version here.

[dailylesliec]

[TRANSLATION] Art & Piece Issue 16 - Manfred Wong on Leslie Cheung

"Leslie was a unique and irreplaceable existence in this world."

THE DELICATE THOUGHT OF YOU

Manfred Wong - Screenwriter, "Encore"

I am Manfred Wong. I’ve been in the industry for many years, but my first encounter with Gor-gor actually dates back to the RTV era. I joined Rediffusion in 1977 and was in charge of variety shows. I began to notice him when he sang on shows like An Evening Party on What Day? and Nancy and Michael. Later, I began working on TV dramas, but my shows Reincarnated and Dragon Strikes didn’t feature him. I think he first began acting properly with The Spirit of the Sword, but I didn’t work on his shows so I didn’t really have a strong impression of him. I will say though that he was clearly a very polite and understanding person - “elegant”, even.

Yes, at the time he wasn’t yet a superstar and hadn’t acted in those well-known movies like Days of Being Wild or Happy Together, but that period of time was when Leslie and I interacted the most - back when I was writing Encore. In fact, the movie was made to promote Danny Chan, but Danny and Leslie coincidentally had the same manager (Tam Kwok Kei). Hence, although Danny did take on the main role, Leslie was also given a role opposite him. Although he was an antagonist and didn’t have a lot of screentime or lines, a lot of reviews at the time still told the audience to give him some attention: “This new guy’s name is Leslie Cheung.”

Playing an antagonist was just the start of his fame. Leslie started to make movies and get invovled in music. I left Rediffusion and he switched to TVB, so we didn’t work together for a while. However, every time we ran into each other, I would never be able to forget his charm and warm smile. He was always surrounded by fans wherever he went, but whenever he saw me, he would say really sincerely, “Hey Manfred, you’re here!” Sadly, I didn’t have the opportunity to work in as close a fashion as I did with Ekin Cheng in Young and Dangerous. But whether as an actor or as a singer, even if it was just seeing one another from a distance, Leslie’s demeanour and attitude was unchangingly sincere.

From my perspective, Leslie had two identities: an experienced moviemaker and a self-titled “crazy hoarder”. You have to know Leslie well to fully utilise and display his unique “vibe”. Wong Kar-wai was very good at bringing out Leslie’s unique qualities - Days of Being Wild really couldn’t have been done by anyone else. Leslie’s untethered and fearless nature, whether as a bird with no legs in Days of Being Wild or on a trip to the Iguazu Falls in Happy Together, wasn’t at all similar to the tougher personalities of Wai-zai or Chow Yun-fat. His personality was meshed with the characters to create some kind of softer, more feminine strength/masculinity. I daresay that even if you look at all of China’s male actors, you can’t find many that would be able to replicate his style.

Yes - Gor-gor could be protected by you, and he could also protect you. Director Peter Chan found some of Leslie’s unique traits when filming He’s a Man, so you have to know how to use him to fully experience his real self. Farewell, My Concubine is a good example too - Leslie had on feminine makeup. It’s lucky John Lone didn’t take the role because the film was elevated. Leslie was a unique and irreplaceable existence in this world - even if they wanted to, no one has the ability to replace him.

I feel that many celebrities can only be popular in their own era, but if they are able to remain long after their own era, like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe or Bruce Lee, then they are no longer contemporary superstars but an icon, a landmark. It’s like Zhu Ge-liang and Cao Cao in Chinese history - they’ve long become historical figures, titans. I think Leslie has already reached that status. Even in the Sun Ma-sze era or Josephine Fong era (*T/N: both extremely popular triple-threat actors in 60s Hong Kong), they didn’t have the aura and charm that Leslie did. This includes his character, his works, and the strange, twisted fascination his tragic and untimely passing brought. Think about it - the good die young, just as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Lee did.

Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. For the formatted PDF version of this article, click here.

It's been a while since I posted one of these!! Hope to get all the other pieces translated eventually ^^ (P.S. Did not proofread so someone please let me know if something is off lmao)

[dailylesliec]

Days of Being Wild (1990)

[dailylesliec]

DAYS OF BEING WILD dir. Wong Kar-wai, 1990

[dailylesliec]

DAYS OF BEING WILD dir. Wong Kar-wai, 1990

[dailylesliec]

L'officiel Hommes China commemorates Leslie Cheung in 4 different covers for their April 2025 issue

[dailylesliec]

22 years. still far too soon.

[dailylesliec]

thank you for translating everything for us, you are a literal angel, i appreciate your hard work so much! 💗

i am insanely late replying to this but thank you 🩷🩷 work has been very very busy so haven’t had much time for translation in a good while, but hopefully will get something out soon 🤫

[dailylesliec]

I had no regrets until I met you. Now my regrets could kill me.

Happy Together / 春光乍洩 (1997) dir. Wong Kar-Wai

[dailylesliec]

[TRANSLATION] Art and Piece Issue 16 - Man Lim Chung on Leslie Cheung

"Thank you for the beauty and grace you shared with us for so many years."

THE LITTLE SPARK THAT GOR-GOR HELD TIGHT

Man Lim Chung - Assistant Production Designer, "Happy Together"

I am Man Lim Chung, a production designer and director. In my eyes, Leslie’s beauty is irreplaceable. His magnetic pull remains unrivalled. Even before I met him, he was a superstar. Leslie, Danny Chan and the like were very popular back in the day - I grew up listening to their songs.

I first worked with Leslie in 1994 on Tsui Hark’s Chinese New Year comedy “The Chinese Feast”. I was mainly in charge of settings and special props, so I rarely interacted with him as only the crew handling the costumes would have the chance to do so. That’s why even though I saw him a lot, we didn’t really talk. It wasn’t until 1996 when I had the opportunity to work on Wong Kar-Wai’s “Happy Together” that I worked together with Gor-gor in Argentina on the film for a few months.

At first, most of the camerawork was still in the preparatory stage, such as finding props and costumes in Argentina. However, the schedule grew tighter and tighter as time went on. We had long shoots almost every day, but I was getting married in November, while the crew only set off in September. So around ten days before my wedding, I told the crew that I had to go back to Hong Kong. I remember well that around two days before I left, I passed by Gor-gor’s seat during a scene change. He suddenly grabbed me and said to me, “What the hell! Getting married? I wanna get married too... we’ve been working so hard on the film, how can you just leave us all behind like this and go get married?“ He held my hands tightly - he was obviously joking, and I could tell he was really happy for me. I was so surprised and flattered. After returning to Hong Kong, I even received a wedding gift on the day of the ceremony. Even though he was terribly busy, he still remembered my wedding.

Unfortunately, after “Happy Together”, I didn’t really work with Leslie again. In 2003, I received a call from him. “This is Gor-gor”, he said. he told me he was starting work on a movie and wanted me to help with production design. I really wanted to accept, but I was preparing to work on “20 30 40” in Taiwan with Sylvia Chang, so my schedule didn’t allow for it. Upon hearing my reply, he said, “Oh, let’s see about it again later then.” I couldn’t imagine that after SARS, not only did I no longer have the chance to work with him again, but I no longer had the chance to see him ever again.

20 years. This is the 20th anniversary of Leslie’s passing. Although I wasn’t Gor-gor‘s closest companion, I’m lucky to have two remaining photos of us - one at work, another one on a day when we didn’t have to film. Gor-gor met up with William Chang for coffee and dragged me and a translator along. Just like that, Leslie and I enjoyed a rare lazy afternoon in Argentina, sitting quietly in a coffee shop and enjoying the rays of sun on our faces. Just by looking at the photo, you can see that whether on or offscreen, he was a really kind, down-to-earth star. He didn’t care about his status and loved chatting and sharing with us. He didn’t mind jokes and was nice to all the crew. On the day he tightly held my hands, I too felt the blessings he sent me. That’s why I also want to thank him - thank you for the beauty and grace you shared with us for so many years, especially when performing on stage.

No one can replace Leslie Cheung. At least to me, that statement is completely true. We dearly miss everything he gave to us.

Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. For the formatted PDF version of this article, click here.

[dailylesliec]

PSA: Tumblr/Wordpress is preparing to start selling our user data to Midjourney and OpenAI.

you have to MANUALLY opt out of it as well.

to opt out on desktop, click your blog ➡️ blog settings ➡️ scroll til you see visibility options and it’ll be the last option to toggle.

to opt out on mobile, click your blog ➡️ scroll then click visibility ➡️ toggle opt out option.

if you’ve already opted out of showing up in google searches, it’s preselected for you. but you also have to opt out for each blog you own separately, so if you’d like to prevent AI scraping your blog i’d really recommend taking the time to opt out. (source)

[dailylesliec]

[TRANSLATION] Art and Piece Issue 16 - Dora Ng on Leslie Cheung

"If you ask me what I miss most about him, I think it’d be that really kind and approachable feeling."

FLOATING BY, SWEEPING PAST, THEN REMEMBERING AGAIN

Dora Ng - Costume Lead, "He's a Woman, She's a Man"

I am Dora Ng, I love fashion, am a movie costume director/ lead, and had the privilege of snapping a few design shots for Gor-Gor. In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed. My relationship with him can probably be described as... honest acquaintances. Actually, we only worked together a few times, but the first collaboration was already the most well-known one: He’s a Man, She’s a Woman.

Being in the industry for so many years, I can’t deny that a superstar like Leslie felt very distant at first. It’s only when I got to know him that I found his friendliness and warmth could melt the ice between person and person. I first worked with him on “He’s a Man”, and at the time we frequently discussed our worries about the budget being quite small. He generously said, “Come to my house and pick out some clothes then!” He was completely serious - it was both surprising and touching. To be blunt, Gor-gor’s home was a sea of clothes, but he never hurried us or questioned us. The most memorable time was when we spent over two hours there but still hadn’t finished our work. He ended up saying, “Since this is the situation now, how about you stay for dinner together?” It was just a simple sentence. An outsider might find it hard to understand how meaningful that was, but Gor-gor was that person who is always willing to help you; always willing to give you patience, time and space.

He wouldn’t stop chatting with you, and would try his best to make you relaxed. That’s still something unforgettable for me. Other than the two He’s a Man films, I also worked with Gor-gor on Okinawa Rendez-vous and Anna Magdalena. I especially remember that Leslie refused to wear big brands in Anna Magdalena and suggested wearing regular clothing instead. He was very clear on the fact that the character was an ordinary magazine editor and not Leslie Cheung. However, my most unforgettable memory of him is still the filming of Who’s The Woman, Who’s The Man. I took a few design shots of Leslie so we could be more coordinated in changing outfits for different scenes. I remember for one of those pictures, I was really nervous while holding the stack of clothes at the side, waiting for Leslie to change. Gor-gor, being the caring and attentive person that he was, started chatting with me and then suddenly stretched out his arm and patted me on the head. He said one sentence: “Don’t worry, you have your market too.” Even for the hotel scene in He’s A Man, Gor-gor saw that I looked very nervous, so he pushed me on the bed and tickled me, saying repeatedly, “Smile a little, don’t be so nervous!” Leslie in the mid-90s was the most popular superstar - he could have just sat and waited, but he was always so caring to everyone and everything around him. He was always very sensitive and thoughtful towards us.

I definitely have feelings of regret and sadness, especially when I knew that Leslie was planning his directorial debut while filming the He’s a Man series and Anna Magdalena. Yee Chung Man and I both had the opportunity to work on that film, but when the opportunity disappeared, that feeling of sorrow and missing him was really hard to describe. If you ask me what I miss most about him, I think it’d be that really kind and approachable feeling - no wonder everyone called him “Gor-gor”.

Gor-gor, floated by, swept past, and remembered again - that memory always feels warm in my heart.

T/N: Translated the lyric “飄過掠過再記起” from the song “妳在何地/Where Are You” as “Floating By, Sweeping Past, Then Remembering Again”.

Translated by me (@dailylesliec on Twitter/Tumblr), do not repost without credit. If you like this translation, consider following me or buying me a Ko-fi. For the formatted PDF version of this article, click here.

[dailylesliec]

TEMPTRESS MOON (1996) dir. CHEN KAIGE

[dailylesliec]

英雄本色 / A BETTER TOMORROW 1986 | dir. John Woo