A letter to Leslie Cheung
Author] Maggie Cheung.
I remember when I first met him, I told myself:It's the prettiest face I've ever seen in my life! 』
It was the spring of 1984, when I was 19 years old, and I starred in my second film, Fate, starring Leslie, Amei and me.
19 years later, the memory of this film has faded, but what is unforgettable is that this play is the starting point of a well-known actor at the time to embark on a real star journey, and the very popularity of that theme song also confirms the new era of Cantonese pop songs, after which many of Leslie's songs have appeared on the pop charts, and it is fair to say that he has contributed a lot to Hong Kong films to international fame.
Although we worked together seamlessly, we were never very close friends because of our very different personalities and worldviews, but that didn't stop me from admiring his beauty, as well as the sensitivity he exudes in the film and his talent as a singer.
I remember a night shift scene in "The True Story of A Fei", and I noticed one thing in particular, we were preparing to shoot the last scene of the night.
It was close to daylight, and the scene was about my character returning to the house of the man who had broken her heart and picking up her personal belongings.
The camera is facing me, you only see his back, and eventually he leaves the camera and goes back to the room, everyone is tired, and we only have one thing on our minds, which is to go home and sleep early after the shoot, and while the crew is busy with the lights and preparing the cameras, I see Leslie rehearsing alone, and he has to practice until the footsteps towards the end of the hallway are as accurate as possible.
Ah was one of the early simultaneous recordings of Hong Kong films, and I was so impressed by the fact that Leslie realized how important these details were to the film and its actors, and I must admit that I had quietly stolen from him and used it in my future films.
I admire his courage, Hong Kong's celebrities are rarely willing to disclose their sexual orientation, and it is indeed not easy when the requirements of this society for beautiful women are still twenty-two years old, with a flawless face, no tanning, and the hands and feet and even the nails must be perfectly groomed.
Over the years, the paparazzi have been pressuring him to come out, and he is willing to take the biggest risk in his career (his fans are young people) to stand up, without feeling the slightest shame and proud to speak out about his sexuality, I remember saying to myself: Leslie, I'm happy for you! 』
On a personal note, I would like to recall the last two meetings I had with him, the first of which was at my friend Anna Kamiyama's wedding reception last year, which was a big one.
Leslie was rarely present in so many people, I thought it was a surprise to meet him there, we found a place near the bar to avoid the crowds, and I heard from my assistant Teresa (who was also Leslie's assistant) that he was not in good shape, so I was a little worried about him, and we talked about life, about health, about his depression getting worse.
At the end of the day, he said, "I'm very eager to work with you again, but maybe I'm not handsome enough to play your lover." I was shocked, I couldn't imagine a confident man saying something like that, I wanted to find something to comfort him and tell him that he had always been great, but at that point someone asked me to take a picture and when I rushed back to the bar to look for him, Teresa told me he was gone.
The last time I saw him was at the end of last year, we were attending Chen Ziqiang's dinner with some acquaintances, I was going to the toilet and he said he wanted to accompany me, and finally we could talk in detail...An interesting place, an interesting conversation, concocted by Leslie.
At noon the next day, he asked Teresa to ask me to call him, and we continued to talk. He wished to keep the conversation confidential.
Finally he told me that I deserved this wonderful life and told me to take care, and we said goodbye and hung up.
Dear Leslie, I promise you that I will listen to you and do my best!
Maggie. 