2012年11月27日 星期二

給我驚喜 - 湯唯

今日係微博睇到一篇有關湯唯既文章, 真係對佢另眼相看!! 


很多人觉得我是花瓶,实际上并没有什么实力。

我有自己的底子,而这些底子长久以来被大多数人忽略了。我凭借自己的实力考进中戏导演系,刚入学就做了职业模特;大学期间,还学了表演、播音、美术,获得了羽毛球国家二级运动员资格;我演过电视剧、话剧,做过话剧编导;我拿过很多奖,虽然不是什么国际大奖,但这些奖项印证着我一步步的脚印。
《色戒》在成就我的同时,也轻易将我此前的成绩轻轻抹去。我的过往无人提及,仿佛我是一个空降兵,直接落到了金马奖的颁奖台上。送给我的形容词都是幸运、机遇……这些与自身努力无关的字眼———我的确很希望成名,但不是以否定自己的付出为代价。

然后,我被封杀了。我很冷静地盘点大红大黑后的收成:金马奖最佳新人奖、某化妆品广告代言、花瓶、一脱成名、过火表演、对青少年有不利影响……我就像上证A股,疯狂地冲到了历史最高点后,稀里哗啦地崩了盘。

我选择出国一段时间,不是逃避什么,只是不想总有人喋喋不休地追问我未来的计划。在我看来,未来,不是说出来的,是做出来的。

我去了英国,带着全部身家:《色戒》片酬50万,广告代言费80万。签合同时说好代言费600万,可新广告没播几次就被叫停,虽然我可以坦然将这600万税后的480万据为己有,但君子爱财取之有道,我最终退还了400万。

出去之前,我不知道要在国外待多久,也不知道这笔钱能用多久。但我不发愁,我觉得,我一定能让自己过得很好。

我本打算找个学校读书,去了才发现很不现实。首先,英国的艺术院校,对学生的基础要求很高,雅思成绩要在6.5分以上,托福至少要在1550分以上。我的英语水平远达不到可以被录取的要求。其次,英国学费高,哪怕是伦敦艺术大学这样的公立高校,对于正规录取的学生收费也在每年1万英镑,对于我这样的自费生,则是3万~4万英镑。

我掂量了一下钱袋,打消了自费就读的念头。接下来我找了个语言培训班,专攻英语。我的目标是以好成绩争取到全额奖学金。我打听得很清楚:伦敦艺术大学的最高等级奖学金是每年1.8万英镑———有了它,不仅可以免费上学,还能从中赚到所有生活开支。

之后,我开始考虑经济问题。手里的钱在国内可以买一套房子外加一辆车,可在英国,不过是一个白领的年薪水准。而我,还不知何时才有赚钱的机会,所以,我不想动用这点老本。而我知道,只要一个人肯开动脑筋,就肯定会想出两全其美的办法。

我在大学学的两样东西派上了大用场———美术、羽毛球。在英国,街头艺人是一份很有“钱途”的职业,只要有一技之长,且可以在街头展现出来,就能获得回报。

我的第一次“卖艺”是做街头另类时装秀,我用旧报纸撕出大概的衣服样子,再用大头针别在身上。我穿着纸衣服,站在街边,面前摆个帽子,就算开始营业了。为了配合时装的色系,我扑了厚厚的粉,画了个类似日本艺伎的妆。看我造型奇特,创意新鲜,不一会儿路人就开始热情地投硬币纸币。我腰里别着MP3,塞着耳机听英文歌,姿势摆累了就换一种。在路边站了两小时后,我有了26英镑55便士的收入。
在英国人眼里,任何与创作有关的行为,都被视为艺术。我用油彩在脸上画出京剧脸谱,有钱收;拎一桶水,用海绵做的毛笔在人行道上写书法,有钱收;搬一张椅子,替路过的人画肖像,也有钱收……每天抽出两个小时,琢磨个点子,总能有几十镑收入。这些钱足够我每日开销,这些钱也让我在英国的日子渐渐不那么拮据。

除了“卖艺”,我还“卖身”。打羽毛球给我带来了更高收入。
在英国,人工费非常昂贵。我找了一家俱乐部,跟驻场教练打了一场球,再跟老板谈谈,就成了俱乐部的兼职陪练。每小时80镑,老板收取20镑的管理费,我自己净赚60镑。每周大概陪练15小时,收入900镑———正好承担了房租和上语言班的费用。

就这样,到伦敦一个月后,我就从吃老本变成了自给自足。这种自给自足,不仅给了我安定的生活,还让我变得更加自信。

来到伦敦4个月后,我接到一个陌生电话,是韦恩斯坦兄弟电影公司总裁Bey Logan打来的,说想初步接触一下,看看有没有合作的可能。

一个星期后,当我正裹着一次性桌布改造的“时装”在街边表演行为艺术时,Bey Logan笑眯眯地出现在我面前。他称赞我极具创意和美感,我们进行了第一次简单的交流。让我最开心的不是他的夸赞,而是我可以很流利地用英语与他沟通。我们聊了一刻钟,然后Bey Logan邀请我一起吃晚餐。约好晚餐的时间地点后,他离开时,在我的帽子里搁了一张100欧元的纸币。他说,作为合作伙伴,他请我吃晚餐;作为路人,他为我的行为艺术买单。

做街头艺人和羽毛球陪练终归是赚小钱,我觉得我的才干不止于此,所以,我将目光瞄准了我的老本行———专业模特。

因为有Bey Logan的引荐,我认识了英国本土的影视界资深人士,通过他们结识了一批在英国有名的化妆师、形象设计师,最终联系上了每年都与“伦敦时装设计周”有固定合作的服装设计师加雷。
我告诉加雷,我曾是专业模特,有丰富的舞台经验,而且我有着他麾下别的模特不具备的东方神韵与气质。我把自己的写真带给他看,我相信那种侧面特写、嘴唇鲜红的老上海风韵足以打动任何设计师。
我成功了,2008年的“伦敦时装设计周”上,我成了加雷的“御用模特”。我穿着他最新设计的歌特式面罩时装,走上了时装发布会的T台。我没有经纪人,价码是我跟加雷亲自敲定的。我做了一周的模特,拿到的薪水是2万欧元。

加雷对我非常满意,在他的帮助下,我先后认识了众多国际一线品牌的设计师。可以这么说,只要我愿意在英国时装界发展,我相信我会在短时间内成长为最受关注的时装模特。

正当我为前途做着乐观规划时,我接到了来自香港的电话,因为“优才”计划,我获得了香港居民身份证,港方邀请我前去发展。

在香港迎接我的,是与张学友合作新片《月满轩尼诗》的合约。准备出演新片时,我不得不再次去补语言课,因为我的粤语很烂。我觉得,在一个新环境,要想获得良好发展,与人沟通必不可少。身边的人都讲粤语,我改变不了这个环境,就只能去适应环境,因为无论在什么时候,都是适者生存,人只有融会贯通,才能走得更远。

2012年11月25日 星期日

The making of "Life of Pi"

Just watched a really great movie today and read this article online - USA Today:

<Life of Pi' took Ang Lee on an epic journey of his own>

It was supposed to be the "unfilmable" book. But the Oscar-winning director brought the story to life in a labor of love.

 In Life of Pi, young Pi Patel finds himself marooned at sea on a tiny lifeboat, surviving a 227-day ordeal with a hungry Bengal tiger.
There were times, director Ang Lee says with a wry smile, that he envied his fictional film subject.
"Sometimes we go through things in life that are equivalent to that journey," Lee says. "You wish the test could be as simple as drifting across the ocean with a Bengal tiger. Sometimes things feel harder. Such as making this movie."
Life of Pi has been a four-year epic journey for Lee, 58, who struggled to bring Yann Martel's 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel to the screen. The story of a young Indian boy exploring his spirituality before heading out on an ill-fated journey with his family and a menagerie of animals across the Pacific was long considered unfilmable — especially because a storm leaves Pi alone on the raft with the tiger for much of the story.
But the Oscar-winning Lee (best director for 2005'sBrokeback Mountain and best foreign film for 2000'sCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) persevered just as surely as Pi eventually finds land.
Life of Pi opens Wednesday to a growing chorus of critical praise and is widely touted as a best-picture contender. It has been heralded for its 3-D cinematic achievement — notably by Avatar director James Cameron, who calls it "a magical vision ... a masterpiece" and Lee "a master filmmaker."
It comes at a cost to Lee.
"I feel exactly how Pi was when he finally reached the Mexican shore," Lee says, explaining the feeling of completing the project. "I literally felt like I was adrift with the tiger."
Sitting in a sparsely decorated production office on the 20th Century Fox lot in Los Angeles, which has been his editing home for the final six months of the project, Lee has the look of a survivor. Although he appears calm, his hair is ruffled, his eyes express weariness, and he gives a nervous laugh as he talks about the "tiger" that he, too, had to control to complete the project.
His tiger represents much more than the challenging film-making obstacles. Life of Pi, with its budget estimated at $100 to $120 million, is far more expensive than similar literary properties turned to films. 20th Century Fox, which produced the film, is gambling that a broad audience will be pulled in to see what is being marketed as a 3-D adventure story.
"It's a highly anticipated movie, an expensive movie," Lee says. The tiger "is your opponent, which is audience expectations. My biggest anxiety is: Can it play as a popular film?
"There's also the inner tiger," he adds. "That's the beast that wants to make the movie, that wants to explore."
This inner tiger is the force that set Lee on the challenge four years ago. "Unlike Pi, I chose to take this journey. Pi did not have a choice," Lee says. "But it sort of chose me."
Lee initially declined directing the project despite being an admirer of the "mind-boggling" novel.
"For what it was, it was way too expensive to make, if it was filmable at all. Everything put together, it was like the number pi, irrational. If you know the business, there were a lot of no-nos."
The project moved through potential directors, including M. Night Shyamalan, before coming back to Lee again in 2008. This time he made the leap. It helped that he found his Pi after a search of 3,000 wannabe actors in India. Although Suraj Sharma, now 19, had no acting experience and had attended the audition just to keep his actor brother company, Lee saw true promise.
"Suraj has the most compelling face," Lee says. "When I met him for the first time, I began to see the movie. When you see him you see Pi. (He) is such rare talent. Even though he has never acted before. It's like little Buddha. His previous lives have been doing this all along. I just reminded him."
Lee also insisted that the movie be shot in 3-D, his first effort in the medium, to reach a broader audience. That was a harder discussion before Cameron's Avatar "legitimized" 3-D in 2009, Lee says. Despite the cost, Fox went along with it.
"I said 2-D, even though it's cheaper, it is maybe a bad idea. 3-D is a risk. But there was an upside to it," Lee says. "I imagined the audience would give it more of a chance."
The filmmaker also was bolstered by advances in computer graphic technology to capture the film's animals, especially the Bengal tiger, called Richard Parker. Even with the technology, it was painstaking work.
"It's still handcraft. There's no button to push. There's not a program to make an animal look real," Lee says. "Every frame is a labor of love. Some shots took three months, some six months."
To help the process, the filmmakers brought four tigers and one hyena to the set to study and shot weeks' worth of reference shots for their computer images. A 7-year-old 450-pound Bengal tiger named King became the model for Richard Parker.
Visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhoffer says the tiger, which took a year to create, was so real that the filmmakers had to prove to the government of India that it was computer-generated.
"We had to show the tiger getting unhealthy was all our doing," Westenhoffer says. "They wanted to know no tiger was harmed. It was actually a compliment."
For the water shots, Lee oversaw the production of the largest self-generating wave tank ever designed and built for a movie. Built on the site of a former airport in his hometown of Taichung, Taiwan, the tank had a capacity of 1.7 million gallons.
For Lee it was vital to have scenes shot in which he could control the elements and the waves. But he also wanted to show the ocean scenes without the water tank bounce-back he noticed in other ocean movies, which he calls the "bathtub effect."
"We're imitating the open ocean, and the whole second act is on the water," Lee says. "Obviously we're not going out to the ocean."
Even with the controlled environment, the shots were challenging. During a sequence called "Storm of God," Lee had one of the most frustrating days of his movie career as the 3-D equipment became fogged up late into a night shoot.
"It was the first time in my career nothing got done in 12 hours," Lee says.
Pi cries out to God in the scene, and Lee jokes that he was going through the same feelings.
'You look up at God and say: 'How does this work? Show me!' Give me a sign or something," Lee says, looking to the ceiling of his office. " 'I did this. I did that. What more do you want?' I think everyone has those moments in their lives."
Sharma says he could see that his director, who became his spiritual mentor during a ceremony on the set, was inspirational in his outward calm on the set.
"Things got intense," Sharma says. "You could see the pressure. You could see the intensity. And he didn't break. That's what kept us going. How did he not break?"
One of the crowning moments is the sinking of the cargo ship that starts Pi's journey. All told, the storm-filled scene took nearly 77 days to shoot.
"It's hard to convince the studio when they haven't seen it. Why do we spend so much time sinking the boat? But that's a pure cinematic experience," Lee says. "That's what 3-D should be doing.
"I am very proud of it," he says with a satisfied smile.
Irrfan Khan, who plays the older Pi, says Lee succeeded in bringing the complex story to the screen.
"Ang does this film in a way the common man can identify with it, but still he leaves all the complication of the story intact," Khan says. "He doesn't compromise on that at all, and that's very exciting."
The director says he crashed right after he finished his final color corrections in post-production.
"I started to feel this aching in my bones. I didn't feel like celebrating, but I should have. Give everyone a big hug and smile. But nothing."
He recovered from the brief illness and now looks forward to bringing his project to a worldwide audience. Lee is plain-spoken about the movie's award possibilities.
"The movie looks pretty great; I am very proud of it. There's no doubt there's a labor of love," he says. "People put their heart and soul into it. I'd like to see some of us get noticed. That would great."
Lee has two months of press ahead of him to promote the film and has not decided on a next project. But don't count on him resting too long.
"I'm not really good at time off," he says. I'm a fortunate filmmaker. People send me stuff. Whatever gets me hooked, makes me feel like doing a movie, I just go do it. That will be the next one or two years of my life.
"Or, if it's like this case, it will be my next four years."




2012年11月16日 星期五

一代不如一代

From Appledaily @ Nov 15, 2012

<職場90後 無禮不盡責缺誠信>
90後大學生今年正式殺入勞動市場了。最近網上更傳出90後上班「四宗罪」,直斥他們沒責任心、不尊重人、眼高手低和缺乏誠信。

90後下班準時閃人,請假沒提前知會;面試時批評面試官「問題問得不好」;他們「技工做不好,勞動更是拉不動」;有公司曾聘請20名實習生,四個月後只剩下三人。網友揶揄「70後:我們都是工作狂。80後:我們拒絕加班!90後:我們拒絕上班!」

2012年11月14日 星期三

一杯加鹽的鹹咖啡

From some's blog:

他和她的相識是在一個晚會上,那時的她年輕美麗,身邊有很多的追求者,而他卻是一個很普通的人。因此,當晚會結束,他邀請她一塊去喝咖啡的時侯,她很吃驚,然而,出於禮貌,她還是答應了。

坐在咖啡館裏,兩個人之間的氣氛很是尷尬,沒有什麼話題,她只想儘快結束,好回去。但是當小姐把咖啡端上來的時候,他卻突然說:“麻煩你拿點鹽過來,我喝咖啡習慣放點鹽。”,當時,她都愣了,小姐也愣了,大家的目光、都集中到了他身上,以至於他的臉都紅了



小姐把鹽拿過來了,他放了點進去,慢慢地喝著。她是好奇心很重的女子,於是很好奇地問他:“你為什麼要加鹽呢?”,他沈默了一會,很慢的幾乎是一字一頓的說:“小時候,我家住在海邊,我老是在海裏泡著,海浪打過來,海水湧進嘴裏,又苦又鹹。現在,很久沒回家了,咖啡裡加鹽,就算是想家的一種表現吧,可以把距離拉近一點。”

她突然被打動了,因為這是她第一次聽到男人在她面前說想家,她認為,想家的男人必定是顧家的男人,而顧家的男人必定是愛家的男人。她忽然有一種傾訴的欲望,跟他說起了他遠在千里之外的故鄉,冷冰冰的氣氛漸漸的變得融洽起來,兩個人聊了很久,並且,她沒有拒絕他送她回家。

再以後,兩個人頻繁的約會,她發現他實際上是一個很好的男人,大度,細心,體貼,符合她所欣賞的所有的優秀男人應該具有的特性。她暗自慶倖,幸虧當時的禮貌,才沒有和他擦肩而過。

她帶他去遍了城裏的每家咖啡館,每次都是她說:“請拿些鹽來好嗎?我的朋友喜歡咖啡裡加鹽。”再後來,就像童話書裏所寫的一樣,“王子和公主結婚了,從此過著幸福的生活。”他們確實過得很幸福,而且一過就是四十多年,直到他前不久得病去世。故事似乎要結束了,如果沒有那封信的話。


那封信是他臨終前寫的,寫給她的:
“原諒我一直都欺騙了你,還記得第一次請你喝咖啡嗎?

當時氣氛差極了,我很難受,也很緊張,不知怎麼想的,竟然對小姐說拿些鹽來,其實我不加鹽的,當時既然說出來了,只好將錯就錯了

沒想到竟然引起了你的好奇心,這一下,讓我喝了半輩子的加鹽的咖啡。

有好多次,我都想告訴你,可我怕你會生氣,更怕你會因此離開我。現在我終於不怕了,因為我就要死了,死人總是很容易被原諒的,對不對?

今生得到你是我最大的幸福,如果有來生,我還希望能娶到你,只是,我可不想再喝加鹽的咖啡了,咖啡裡加鹽,你不知道,那味道,有多難喝。咖啡裡加鹽,我當時是怎麼想出來的!”


信的內容讓她吃驚,同時有一種被騙的感覺。然而,他不知道,她多想告訴他:“她是多麼高興,有人為了她,能夠喝一輩子自己討厭喝的加鹽咖啡。 ”

2012年11月2日 星期五

Last Day 的感激

雖然唔係第一次 Last Day, 亦已經係第 N 份工, 而呢次亦都係自己認為好正確o既決定... 但真係要離別o既一刻... 個心情又的確有d 唔捨得...

老實講句, 攞到呢份工,可能真係一個福氣, 但我有些少''犯賤o既性格'', 加埋唔係好閑Hea 得,成日無所事事o既生活, 唔係o甘o岩我... 今日Last Day, 同同事 Fairwell Lunch 之後, 下晝就 Keep 住寫 Goodbye e-mails... 因為時間充裕, 俾老細同友好同事o既 e-mails, 都係 Customized 架... 非常有心!! 有好多同事都好 surprise 我要走, 但收到佢o地o既 call 同 e-mail 祝福, 心裡面都好warm~

Send 晒 e-mails 後, 作最後收拾... 我又真係放o左好多o野o係公司... haha, 前2日都 pack o左好多野返屋企o架啦, 今日就 pack d ''日用品'' cushion 呀, decorations 呀, jacket 呀, 杯呀等等... 有自己間房o既日子,真係唔知幾時先再來臨... 仲要係大大間老細房哩, I Love My Room  = )

攪掂晒清完場之後, 望住呢個陪伴住我1年多o既空間, 屬於我自己o既 office, 心裡面, 有一種強烈依依不捨o既感覺... 或許, 呢度已經係我心裡o既第2個家, 以往o既300幾日o既日子當中, 星期一至五都會由早到晚o係度安安定定o甘過... sense of belonging 真係好強... 好似除o左屋企, 就主要 stay o係度... 人總係要離開 comfort zone , 唉, 而家, 感覺有 d insecure...

同同事道別時, 感覺就好似同屋企人 say goodbye. 再見啦, 我要出去闖啦~

如果你問我最唔捨得係咩?

我會答你: 我間無敵大房, 自由度極高o既工作環境, 好易話為同 nice o既同事, 有一個好似大哥哥,好sharp好掂o既 partner同事(因為成個香港做 BD 只得我o地2個, haha),成日都無人理o既 management structure... long distance o既 direct manager... 當然, 每樣o野都有好有唔好... 我走一定有我 valid o既 reasons... 但無可否認, 我呢一刻, 好唔捨得我呢個 Working Environment 呀!!

回憶返呢一年多 Gallup 俾我既一切,of course 除左穩定o既收入, bonus, 5個月去5次美國: 9月(Chicago/Irvine/Washington), 10月(Omaha), 11月(Omaha), 12月(Omaha), 1月(Washington)... 雖然飛到人都顛, 但我相信世上都無咩公司o甘 dum 本去 train 佢 d 員工... 另外, 俾我呢個外行人去試做 business development, 點去 manage clients... 係公司年會對住CEO/高層等幾十人 Present, 真係好感謝 Gallup 俾我既 exposure... 等我可以完成我 MBA 後做一個 Consultant o既 journey and goal... 

感激不盡!!

2012年11月1日 星期四

香港人係o吾係真係o甘得閑?

有時,見到呢 d 新聞同對話,真係o吾嘆氣都o吾得... 唉 ~

From Appledaily @ November 2, 2012
呢期老左圈子最hit話題莫過於「港獨」,齊齊對住支港英旗噴口水。前港澳辦主任魯平接受《紅早》訪問發晦氣,話唔鍾意做中國人嘅人咪申請退籍囉,橫掂中國有13億人口,少一個唔少!網民即時起哄話要退中國籍,鼓吹城邦自治嘅陳雲就繼續挑機,促請阿爺順應民意搞「退籍專櫃」,隨時打蛇餅,入境處真係多得魯平唔少。

陳梓進:退籍唔係咁易

根據中國國籍法,退籍唔係咁易,起碼你要精神健全,加上移咗民、係外國公民嘅配偶或子女,或者「其他正當理由」,先有資格,報名費盛惠575蚊。入境處前兩年收到119人申請退籍,絕大部份移咗民。至於咩為之「正當理由」,就要視乎個別情況。
陳雲講明要留低同中共鬥長命,所以唔會退籍,但佢話好多香港人都想轉投英籍,相信魯平發噏瘋會刺激「退籍潮」,「夠膽就整個counter,排長龍都似」。facebook群組「我哋係香港人,唔係中國人」因為舉港英旗紅爆,累積兩萬幾人like。發起人陳梓進堅想退籍,早前就此問過入境處,先知退籍原來唔係咁易,噚日話:「問心,有邊個香港人想做中國人?」
民主黨FBI涂謹申話中國簽咗《減少無國籍狀態公約》,唔會畀未有其他國籍嘅人申請退出中國籍,除非有人成功入到英國或其他國家嘅國籍,先至有資格退中國籍,大鬧魯平講嚟「多餘」;工黨張國柱就叫阿爺反省香港人點解不滿,否則贏咗場交,輸咗頭家,有乜謂?