ULTIMATE SHUQINET: The Ultimate Shu Qi Website Parts Two and Three

PART TWO

August 2010

JPM: Allowing herself to be photographed nude has been part of Shu's career, both acting and modeling, from the very beginning. With such a beautiful face and figure, she hardly has anything to worry about, but in her most recent projects she seems to be moving away from it. As part of the Asian audience, is that how it seems to you as well? Do you have a definite rule about not allowing nudity on shuqinet ?

sweetasia: I would never post any nude photos of Shu on my site. It is a dark period of her life during which she felt insecure and unprotected as she has said. I respect Qi Shu for her acting skills and for the strength she has. Shu has tried to move on and become a serious actress. It would be such a disgrace to post any nude photos or/and videos on a site like Shu Qi Net. Shu Qi Net respects Shu as an actress.

JPM: Shu Qi has at least three major films set for release beginning any day now, one of which is The Assassin, directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. As it happens, HK action queen Michelle Yeoh also has a new film, Reign of Assassins, set to open in September. The two stars seem to be in similar territory; in fact, Michelle shot quite a bit of her film in Taiwan. Do you know of any interest on the part of Asian audiences in seeing both Michelle Yeoh and Shu Qi in a film together? ( They have both worked with Jackie Chan, and I'm surprised it hasn't happened already! )*.

sweetasia: I haven't really noticed an interest of the audience to see Shu and Michelle working together. There are many action stars in Hong Kong and I am sure that one day they might work together. Shu had the opportunity of working with Michelle Yeoh on the 2000 action movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". However she did not take on the film and Zhang Ziyi was cast in the role instead. As far as I know, Shu has regretted the fact that she turned down the film. * (JPM notes: I'm adding this as an afterthought, but they do not necessarily have to be adversaries in such a film. I would not wish it on anyone to be looking down the wrong end of that sword at Michelle!).

.......

JPM: I would like to encourage Shu Qi fans to become members of your site, which they can do by signing up on your Guestbook page, as I did, I find it very worthwhile. Can you give us any hints as to what kind of special features you have planned for the future?

sweetasia: I want to keep updating the site. Now it is summer and I have lots of time, however I do not know if I will have a lot of time during winter. But I will definitely keep running the site. I am planning on adding many more photos of Shu into the gallery. I want to build a bigger forum for all Shu Qi fans. I am also trying to post Shu's news in both Chinese and English. I am also planning on adding more features at the site, I want to allow the members of the site to communicate more with each other and be able to add more on the site. I am definitely planning on setting up a shoutbox on the site and I have another idea for a more fun page (not a forum) with some trivia and fun stuff, such as the transformation of Shu during the years, the hairstyles she has had and stuff like that. I am open to any ideas and suggestions.

.......

JPM: And finally, sweetasia, do you expect to hear from Shu Qi herself?

sweetasia: As for whether I am expecting to hear from Shu the answer is not really, I just want to make her fans happy and keep running a decent site. If she ever wants to drop a message to our site or write on the forum or send a thank you message, it would be very nice. I am a very low profile person. :)

JPM: Thanks, sweetasia, keep up the good work! sweetasia: Thanks a lot! Cherryl. ....... Many thanks to Cherryl for her thoughtful answers. You can find her website, Ultimate Shuqinet, at www.shu-qi.webs.com. A link to the site will be posted permanently at the top of this page. According to Cherryl's ShuQi News blog, City Under Siege, in which Shu plays a scheming TV reporter named Angel, has already opened in Beijing on August 1, elsewhere in China on August 6. Making of videos and other related photoshoots are available on Ultimate Shuqinet. We can only hope that a DVD release will follow here soon!

An expanded version of this interview will be published in an upcoming special edition of ART OF THE ALL NITE TWO LEAF, which will go to all members of our mailing list.

PART THREE

December 2010

Our two part interview with Ultimate ShuQi Net website owner Cherryl, who signs in as 'sweetasia', had to have been the high point of 2010 for Two Leaf Gallery. It was posted to our Gallery Visits blog in August. Cherryl is a university student from Beijing, China, she is very busy at this time of year, and we really appreciate her participation in this special feature...

JPM: Cherryl, as this year comes to a close, I was wondering if you would like to update our interview by answering a few more questions. This will be published only in our ART OF THE ALL NITE TWO LEAF newsletter, as a special holiday gift to our Two Leaf Gallery members and mailing list...

sweetasia: Hi James!!! Sorry for the late reply but I was really busy!!!! Now I found the time to answer to your questions...

JPM: It's been several months since we first spoke, and with so much going on, you've still found time to maintain and develop your website, Ultimate Shu Qi Net, which is at http://shu-qi.webs.com. Are you pleased with the way it's going so far? Are you getting the kind of response you hoped for? sweetasia: I am happy enough that there are some really dedicated members to the site, always supporting Shu Qi Net and I am really happy to keep Shu Qi English speaking fans happy and content. I hoped that the site would be more popular. It is hard to find time to maintain a decent site but as long as there are a bunch of loving supporters out there I will try my best. And I hope that there will be some more members in the future.

JPM: Let's get right to the star of the show! Shu Qi has had two new movies open, theatrically and also on DVD, since August... with a third coming in just a few weeks. Have you seen either of them? Can you give us a brief review, as well as your reaction to them? How did they go over with the Asian audience? sweetasia: I didn't have the time to watch any of Shu's latest movies. 'City Under Siege' is a Hong Kong movie, directed by one of my favorite action movies director, Benny Chan, so I hope that I will have a chance to watch the movie in the future. The movie was quite popular among young audiences... About "Legend of the Fist", the movie didn't really apply to me so I didn't have the lust to watch it, but it was a really successful movie in China. I really hope that I will watch "If you are the one 2" (set for release on December 22 ) because I am a fan of ( director ) Feng Xiaogang.

JPM: Shu travelled to Beijing for the premiere of the second film, in October. Is there a chance that you or your friends got to see her in person? sweetasia: Even though I respect Shu much as an artist, I am not a typical fan who idolizes the person. Since I am also an artist I really respect some of her work and the progress she has made so far in terms of acting. Therefore I am not that interested in meeting her in person, I just enjoy watching her movies, such as "The Eye 2" and "So Close".

JPM: Here's an easy one to finish with. You've posted a poll on the 'Welcome' page that asks guests to vote for the kind of film they'd like to see Shu Qi do more of. One of the categories listed is 'erotic drama'. Can you tell us which of her recent films might come under that heading? Does she herself have any preference for what kinds of projects she's looking for that you know of? sweetasia: I personally enjoy both watching and acting in erotic dramas. By using the term "erotic" I absolutely don't have in mind any sexual material, but I use erotic to describe the passionate feelings among lovers. An erotic drama for me is a dramatic movie that explores the most intimate feelings that can be developed between human beings and how far one can go for his/her loved one, and how love survives or dies through tragic experiences (such as the pain a love triangle can create). Shu hasn't really done any erotic dramas so far. I think as an actress, Shu Qi just wants to try out many different and challenging roles, but because the most successful movies belong to the category of either "(light) romantic comedy" or typical "action", most agencies navigate the actors into picking such projects.

JPM: There are always more questions to ask about Shu Qi, so we hope to talk to you again in 2011. Thank you so much, sweetasia!

sweetasia: Thank you James for your questions, I always find it much fun to be interviewed by you.

That concludes this volume of ART OF THE ALL NITE TWO LEAF. If you'd like to contact me for illustration or art direction, I can be reached at jmcgrfx@yahoo.com.

Happy 2011 from Two Leaf Gallery!

© 2017 by James P McCabe