A very young Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 (right) directing Leslie Cheung 張國榮 (left) and Anita Mui 梅艷芳 (middle) for Rouge 胭脂扣 (1987). Kwan would win the Best Director title for the film at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Stanley Kwan 關錦鵬 is not only a famous director from Hong Kong, but also the first well-known openly gay figure in Hong Kong entertainment. He came out of the closet in 1996 (before Leslie Cheung, who did so in 1997), in the documentary he directed for the British Film Institute named Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema 男生女相:��語電影之性別. His works had garnered accolades for their in-depth portrayal of female characters, at the time when women in local movies often did little more than being pretty and screaming a lot.
(Under the cut: Director Kwan's own words on one of his most famous works and a gay film classic in Chinese-language cinema, Lan Yu (2001), in 2022 after BL culture has entered mainstream)
Most BL fans know Director Kwan via his gay-themed film Lan Yu 藍宇 (2001), about the eponymous Bejing university student falling in love with a wealthy, closeted businessman, Chen Handong. The film, based on a popular online novel Beijing Story 北京故事, has remained censored in mainland China for its queer content and its mentions of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Its fate of being perennially censored was never a surprise—the film was shot in Beijing in secret, with the crew pretending to be shooting commercials around the capital. Digital filming also didn't exist then, and so the 100,000 ft + of film had to be smuggled out of China later to be developed.
Lan Yu was a project about love. Of love.
The poster of Lan Yu in Cannes Film Festival (left), Hong Kong (center), Taiwan (right), at the time of its original release.
In 2022, Lan Yu celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 4K remastered version. Among the interviews of Director Kwan made for the celebration was one by The Initium 端傳媒, during which Kwan shared some of his views on Lan Yu, in the context of how public reception of queer media has changed over the years after the film's release.
These views may deviate from what some fans, especially those in BL circles, would expect. Precisely because of that, however, I'm posting them here. After all, maybe, hopefully, Kwan will collaborate with Dd (and Gg) one day. Maybe, fans like ourselves will interact with Kwan on social media spaces one day.
I hope Kwan's views will be kept in mind, considered and respected.
Due to the length of the full interview **, I'm only translating the two parts that are relevant (lazy turtle here 😊):
Although Lan Yu is a classic Chinese-language gay film, in many interviews in the past 20 years, Kwan has mentioned that the film was adapted from the online gay novel Beijing Story, popular in mainland China at the time, and that he actually didn't like the novel at first.
"The original novel basically looks at a gay relationship from a voyeuristic point of view, especially the erotic relationship between male bodies, and there are many explicit sex scenes. The author (of the novel) himself knows that these descriptions will make the novel popular."
Kwan continued, "But before making this movie, I had been out of the closet since 1996. And I thought, as a gay director, I shouldn't exploit this subject, so when I saw the original novel expanding, zooming in on the eroticism -- the processes of anal sex and oral sex, for example -- I told the producer at the time that if the novel's content is to be filmed without changes, I won't do it.”
2.
在《藍宇》面世的年代,電影確實意識大膽。但二十年後,當電影得以重新修復,社會氛圍其實亦有了翻天覆地的轉變。近年不但多了同志題材的作品,甚至大行其道,人人消費,成為一種時令的商業元素。譬如人氣男團會拍 BL 電視劇,而過去幾年的華語電影節,最快售罄的場次,都一定是同志電影。
此情此景,在《藍宇》剛上映的年代簡直不可思議,電影當年在香港的票房談不上亮眼,普羅大眾對同性戀故事有所抗拒,而本身就是同志的觀眾,想看卻不敢購票入場,怕被旁人標籤。二十年後世界變了樣,甚至總會看到「腐女」在 BL 電影的宣傳海報前打卡拍照。關錦鵬笑說:「是呀,前陣子的確有朋友跟我說,她其實是一名腐女。腐女族群喜歡看男同志電影,但到底喜歡看什麼呢?她某程度上都承認,想看的就是身體,是兩個好看的男人身體如何做愛。」
然而,這恰恰就是他當初對執導《藍宇》有所卻步的顧慮。當同志題材今日已走入主流,變成一種受歡迎的商業元素,關錦鵬則仍然有所警惕,跟潮流保持距離:「可能有些腐女都會喜歡《藍宇》,但我想未必完全是她們那杯茶。它真正要說的是兩個男人從色情買賣演變成一段感情關係,尤其是魏紹恩替我改編劇本之後,陳捍東這個角色,在我看來不一定是男同志,而是他在藍宇身上找到一些連自己都不知道的感覺。」
但關錦鵬也承認,從好的方向去看,在 BL 作品蔚然成風的助力之下,至少令同志以及 LGBT 性少數族群,相對容易被今日的大眾主流接受:「這是令人開心的。近幾年,特別是年輕人,確實會用比較開放的態度去對待 LGBT 族群。」稍頓,關錦鵬解釋道:「換個說法,關於 LGBT 議題的重點,現在就不再放在色情之上,而更多是感情關係,甚至是性少數族群認清自己身份之後,於生活上如何面對社會。那起碼是朝著一個正確的方向。」
In the era when Lan Yu was released, the film was indeed bold in its ideology. Twenty years later, however, at the time when the film gets its restoration, the social atmosphere has actually undergone earth-shaking changes. In recent years, not only have there been more gay-themed works, they have even become very popular and consumed by all, becoming a kind of fashionable commercial element. For example, popular boyband members are willing to make BL TV dramas, and in the past few years of Chinese-speaking film festivals, the fastest sold-out shows have all been gay movies.
[Pie note: The reporter was unlikely to be referring to Gg and Dd with their mention of "popular boyband members". Instead, they were probably thinking of Edan Lo and Anson Lo from Hong Kong's local boyband MIRROR, who starred in the BL drama Ossan's Love.]
This phenomenon is unbelievable in the era when Lan Yu was first released. The box office of the film in Hong Kong couldn't be said to be impressive. The general public resisted gay stories [Pie note: Hong Kong hadn't decriminalised homosexual relationships until 1991, 10 years before], and the audience who were gay wanted to watch it but didn't dare to purchase tickets, for fear of being labeled by others. Twenty years later, the world has changed -- BL fans can be seen photographing themselves in front of the promotional posters of BL movies.
Kwan smiled and said, "Yes, a friend told me a while ago that she's actually a "rotten woman" (Pie note: = woman BL fan, translated from the Japanese term fujoshi). The "rotten women" group likes to watch gay movies, but what do they like to watch? She admitted, to a certain extent, that it's the body. It's the body, how two good-looking men's bodies make love."
And yet, this was precisely the concern that made Kwan hesitant to direct Lan Yu at the beginning. As gay themes enter the mainstream and become a popular commercial element, Kwan has remained vigilant, and has kept his distance from the trend: "Maybe some "rotten women" enjoy Lan Yu, but I don't think (the film) is entirely their cup of tea. What the film really wanted to express was how two men evolved from a transactional sex relationship to an emotional relationship, especially after Wei Shaoen adapted the script for me. The character of Chen Handong, in my opinion, didn't necessarily have to be a gay man; instead, he found on Lan Yu a feeling that even he himself couldn't understand.”
But Kwan also admitted that, from a better perspective, with the aid of popular BL works, it has become relatively easy for gays and LGBT sexual minorities to find acceptance in today's mainstream: "This is a happy thing to see. In recent years, especially young people have indeed treated the LGBT community with a more open attitude.” After a short pause, Kwan explained: “In other words, the focus of LGBT issues is now no longer on salacity, but more on emotional relationships, and even, on how sexual minorities face society in their daily lives after recognising their (sexual) identities. At least it's moving in the right direction.”
** None of you see this footnote, but a copy of the interview without a paywall can be found here. 😊
With his wife Bonnie. The two had been lovingly married for over 30 years and decided not to have children because of Bonnie's heart condition. His wife's illness eventually took a turn for the worse. Rivers (according to friends) was overwhelmed with grief and regrettably, decided to join his wife barely two months after her passing.
同佢收養嘅狗仔。河生河太都好鍾意狗。有一陣仲收養咗總共十三隻狗仔添!
With his rescue dogs. Mr Rivers and his wife loved dogs and at one time had as many as 13 rescue dogs under their care!
In this video, you can hear Rivers performing a cover of Adam Cheng's 《笑看風雲》 (this song is one of my favourites, I found the lyrics very meaningful and did a translation before, please do check it out). Although the original video came with footage and is taken from a Mainland Chinese singing competition, this video only has audio, but it has lyrics in Traditional Chinese to follow along with.
I deliberately chose to upload a video without competition footage because I find these singing competition shows' format really annoying; feels like you'll often see more of the audience and judges' faces than the contestant on stage! But if you wish to view the original footage, here it is!
During his lifetime, Rivers's biggest dream was to be a Cantopop star. Although he never did become one, thanks to his celebrity connections, he did get opportunities to sing on stage on several occasions, even managing to organise his own mini concerts with celebrity pals, of which part of his earnings often went to pet rescue shelters.
Justin Chien ✨ was born in Taipei and grew up in Hong Kong. He came back to Taiwan to study in high school at the age of 12, and then went to the United States to study at university and develop his career at the age of 18. You may have seen him in a TV commercial a few years ago, and he starred in it many years later. A Hollywood-produced #NETFLIX work has been introduced to the global audience. He is the male protagonist of "# Sun Jia Brothers" (The Brothers Sun)── #Justin Chien. In this gangster action series set in Taiwan, Justin plays Michelle Yeoh's son. As the eldest son of the family, when family members become targets, he is ordered to fly to Los Angeles to protect his mother who has been separated since childhood, and in the process he thinks about gangs. future and the meaning of life, and also established an unprecedented family bond with his mother and younger brother. The whole drama of "Brothers of the Sun" is run through with the four words "protect family". When it comes to the similarity between myself and the characters, family is definitely an element that cannot be ignored. "My parents always set an example and taught me how to be a hard-working and kind-hearted person." , upright people, and we all value family. I love my family very much. I am very close to my parents, brothers and sisters, and we are very protective, so whether it is the people we care about, or I want to support and protect the team around me." As the eldest brother of four brothers and sisters in the family Justin is a good son and a good brother. He hopes to be a role model and can provide timely assistance to his younger siblings when they need guidance and help, because this family is his strongest support and the main reason for shaping him. "I I once saw someone say, "You raise me and I will grow old with you." This sentence really touched me, and because of this I really couldn't imagine a life without my family, so I assumed I should move back to Taiwan within ten years." There is no hesitation in his eyes, just like the perseverance of his character in the play. In the future, he promises that he can return to his hometown to develop, stay with his family, and do his best to take care of his parents. Justin Chien ♡ Unusual trajectory 🔗Full-text interview
🔗全文專訪 ➠ https:\mctw.io 5kdzusTalent/錢裕揚 @justin_chien Chief Feature Editor/JuJu Chen @you.hapigText/JunYen Ke @junyen_ke\Photographer/Hazel chiu @hazel_chiu \Photographer Assistant/Vita liu @miliumimm 、ZO @zooohu Digital Content Director/Ren Chen @pojuichen Film Editor/Milky Lin @milky_the_poop Styling Director/Kris Lin @beloveapril Makeup&Hair/Sunny Hsu @sunnyhsu734 追蹤 @marieclairetw 時髦好玩的都在這\#marieclairetw #juju #豬編 #JustinChien #Justin #TheBrothersSun @netflixtw @brotherssunnetflix
Justin Chien ✨ Justin Chien has loved acting since he was a child. He started to stand on the stage in elementary school. In high school, he made up his mind to pursue his dream of being an actor, and applied to two acting universities in the United States. From then on, he started to interact with many Taiwanese actors. Actors have completely different acting paths. "I continued to live in Los Angeles after graduating from college. I worked hard for about five years before I got the opportunity to perform in "#孙家哥". It was a long process." He has been working hard as an actor for many years. He had also encountered a low point and spoke so calmly and frankly. In this way, Justin, who stands out in Hollywood, not only puts his own life experience and family experience into this role that coincides with him, but also challenges the martial arts and comedy themes at the same time, giving full play to his martial arts skills. I am 100% devoted to the plot and story as before, "I prepare for scenes every day and practice hard on my fighting scenes, and there will be at least 11 times a week before filming starts."
Stunts and weight training. ” He learned Muay Thai in Taiwan at the age of 17, and recently won a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He further shared, “I can speak Chinese, English, and Cantonese. I also hope to challenge my language skills in the future, and I look forward to the future.” I can film a locally produced drama in Taiwan." In addition, he showed off his good figure in the drama, and he also intends to challenge roles in the future that require him to change his body shape to be closer to the plot. "I really want to take on roles where I can change my body shape. I think this is a life role that an actor needs to challenge." He then laughed and said, "I actually wanted to be a singer before. If I had the opportunity to perform music, Relevant theater experience, whether it's playing guitar or singing, should be very interesting." With the discussion caused by the release of "The Brothers" series, Justin did not predict the future, "I just Don’t overthink and appreciate what happens every day. ”Embrace all possibilities and cherish all experiences. Only in this way can you calmly deal with opportunities when they come. "Privately, I love eating and playing. It's just that unlike the character in the drama who likes to bake desserts, I love cooking and my best dishes are sea urchin pasta and steak." He said generously. The seemingly indifferent attitude is the result of years of practice. In this industry where strength is only the basic and luck and time are the key factors for success. When asked why you still want to be an actor? Justin seems to have gone back to the time when he first stood on the stage to perform as a child. "I just like to read stories, understand why I read a story that moves me, and then try to create a character to move the audience." In his sincere and determined words In his expression, he always has a pure original intention and enthusiasm for acting. This belief and motivation seem to be injected into his blood. "Brothers of the Sun" is just the starting point, and he is ready to embrace more possibilities. ♡ Justin Chien ♡ An unusual trajectory
Justin Chien ✨\n#Justin Chien has stepped onto the world's biggest stage, starring in the #NETFLIX series "#SunBrothers" (The Brothers Sun) opposite Michelle Yeoh. After many years of pursuing a dream in the United States, it finally came to fruition. When talking about setbacks, I still believe in myself. What seems easy is actually the accumulation of many years of life. Talking about his acting career, Justin participated in a lot of stage performances when he was in college. "My dream is of course to perform in TV series and movies, and I hope to perform in high-quality works; I know that if I want to achieve these If there is a chance, you need to develop your own skills and strength first, so I feel that starting with a stage play is the best opportunity to hone your acting skills." After years of honing the foundation of stage plays, he recalled that whether it lasts long, An actor's career, which is not short at all, can meet the right role. It takes the accumulation of life. There were six or seven roles that were not selected in the final round, but Justin chose not to blame others but to believe in himself, "Because I knew I was capable. I remember that I actually had two choices at that time. One was to challenge the universe. Angry, or decided to believe that there will be better opportunities in the future." He maintained his self-confidence and persevered, and perhaps it was destiny. Justin received an audition invitation for "The Brothers" a month later. The audition process lasted for nearly two months, from online to physical meetings with the team. After three or four rounds of selection, he tried his best. When he got the role, he had mixed feelings and couldn't help but cry, "Not to mention as an actor. For an actor, if he auditions for three to four scripts a year, it is considered too much if he can basically resonate with the character. This time, the role of Charles in "The Brothers" is the first time I have participated in acting in the United States for so long. Among hundreds of role auditions, this one moved me the most."♡ Justin Chien ♡ Unusual trajectory🔗Full-text interview