WU Xiubo (FINDING MR. RIGHT) at the red carpet of 4th NYCFF (Nov. 5-7, 2013). Photo by Ruth Li.
CineVue: One aspect of the film that really moved me was your portrayal of recent Chinese immigrants in the US. A lot of these immigrants were highly educated intellectuals in China, but when they came to the United States, they would work in jobs entirely unrelated to their education because of language barriers and other things. We don’t usually see this population represented in TV and on screen. How have you prepared for such a role, and how much direction did you receive from director XUE Xiaolu?
WU Xiubo: I felt very fortunate to have participated in this film partly because, despite the fast paced environment of commercial film production, the investors of this project still allowed us time to experience the life portrayed. We arrived on set a month before the shoot to communicate and interact with the local Chinese immigrants. Your observation about the immigrant experience is also what touched me the most. My designated driver was an intellectual like that; he and his wife were senior engineers in China. But after they got here, the husband works as a driver, and the wife tutors children. I was struck that they are doing things totally unrelated to their old professions, and then I realized that after a lot of immigrant families struggled to migrate and settle down, they had to start their lives from scratch.
CV: The film has been screened on a couple of occasions in the US, so have you heard about the feedback from the audience, especially the immigrants among them?
WX: I have heard some people say that the character Frank was really them and his life their lives. I have also heard Chinese American audience express that this truly was a story about Chinese Americans.
CV: Congratulations.
WX: Thank you.
CV: Was this role a challenge for you in any way?
WX: The film industry in China is really growing right now with productions being done one after another; so everything is fast-paced. Most films are quick, targeted and intensely dramatic. The screenplays are written quickly, the production periods are short, and the films move at a fast pace. When I read this script on a train, I found it rare since it was a much more relaxed piece of work. I really envy the tranquility and peace the character feels toward life after he has gone through a lot to reach that stage, so I try my best to ease into his sensibilities at an early point of filming.
CV: From an outsider’s perspective, Frank is too nice a guy who fails at his career and his relationship; however, the film slowly reveals his complicated character and life, allowing the audience to understand his helplessness and dilemma through dramatic set-ups. How do you understand his character?
WX: After the film’s release, many audience joked about tests online that asked what would happen should Wen Jiajia meet Frank first and then Lao Zhong. That is actually a test to people’s emotions and desire. Film is different from life. A protagonist in a film has to be given some type of triumph, either in their emotional or professional life. But there are people like Frank in real life, good people who may not have their chances in relationships, but good people nevertheless. When people believe Frank to be a good person, it’s not hard to tell what parts about him are “good”: he is able to accept his loss with grace and an open mind while still treating everyone kindly. Respect and sacrifice are indispensable parts of the conscience of human society, have been and will be.
CV: There is a lot of talk that the success of Finding Mr. Right [Chinese Name: When Beijing Meets Seattle] marks the maturing of the romantic comedy genre in China. The incorporation of Seattle in the film’s title easily reminds people of Sleepless in Seattle, an influential romance story among Chinese audience. Have you consulted such films for your acting?
WX: From my knowledge, the title comes from the investor’s attachment to the other famous film, as a nostalgic tribute. But I had never seen Sleepless in Seattle up to that point. After I was contracted for Finding Mr. Right, I was more afraid to watch it, fearing that it would somehow block my creative efforts. I still haven’t seen the film.
CV: Can you talk about the director XUE Xiaolu? Her previous work Ocean Heaven also starred famous actors, and it was a composed and unrushed film. How do you evaluate your collaboration with her?
WX: XUE Xiaolu is an excellent and rare woman screenwriter and director in China. When I first read the script, I enjoyed its female subject, female perspective on life, and its portrayal of different female positions. I have known Director XUE for a long time; I had the good fortune to work together with her on a TV drama almost ten years ago. She has a great deal of experience creating television, and is also a superb professor in the film academy; but on top of her professional and mature writing, she keeps the sincerity like a child’s, which is hard to come by. Her ability as a woman writer to create works of such serenity and sensitivity in this restless commercial environment is very precious.
CV: Finally, could you talk about your collaboration with Tang Wei and the twin sisters, how did you reach that level of rapport and understanding?
XW: Every film experience was like a traveling experience to me, an enjoyable and merry journey, so was the collaboration with Tang Wei and the lovely two girls. Even now that the film is done and has almost gone through its releases, I still remember scenes in the film clearly as if they were my own life.
Interview questions by Lesley Yiping Qin
Translated by Yongle Wang
CineVue：您的电影非常打动我的一点是您对当下这批在美国的华人新移民的状态的描绘。他们在国内可能是高级知识分子，来到美国后却由于语言不通，会做着一些跟他们的教育背景 不相称的工作。我们其实并不常在电视剧和大银幕上看到这个人群。您为这个角色做了多少功课，薛晓路导演给您做了怎样的指导？
吴秀波：其实参加这部电影让我觉得非常庆幸的是，在这么快商业节奏制片的情况下，这部影片的投资方依旧给了我们体验生活的时间。我们当时提前一个月到了拍摄地，跟当地 的华人移民接触、体验生活。对我来说感触最深的也就是你刚才说的那点。其实剧组给我派来开车的司机本身就是一个高级知识分子，他们夫妻二人在国内是高级工程师。到了国外以后，丈夫在开车，他的妻子在给一些孩子补课。我也很惊讶，他们移民之后其实是不能从事原本的工作的。我这才知道，许多的移民家庭千辛万苦地完成了移民，但是他们的生活却要重新开始。
CV：影片在北美已经有了一些放映，您是否听到了这边的观众，尤其是这部分移民观众的反馈？
吴：我听到有人说Frank演的就是他们的工作状态和生活状态。也听到有美籍观众说，这的确讲述的是美籍华人的故事。
CV：祝贺您。
吴：谢谢。
CV：出演这个角色对您有任何挑战吗？
吴：其实国内影视行业正处在热火朝天，不停地完成生产的阶段，所以所有的节奏都非常快。所有的戏都非常快，更具有功能性，有更大的起伏。剧本写得很快，拍摄的时间也快，表达的节奏也很快。我在火车上看到这个剧本，很难得的，我发现这是一个非常舒缓的作品。其实剧中主人公在整个人生历程到了这个阶段以后，他感到的那种生命的安静让我羡慕不已。所以前期我尽可能地让我自己进入他的感知节奏。
CV：可能从外人的角度看，他是个老好人，他在事业和爱情上都是双重失败，不过电影会慢慢地让我们看到他复杂的内心和生活，也用一些戏剧设计让观众有信心去了解他人的无奈和困境。您怎么理解这个角色的性格？
吴：电影播出以后很多观众玩笑地在网上做过类似的测试题，说的是如果文佳佳一开始遇到的是Frank， 后来才遇到的老钟，会怎么样？其实这是一个对所有人情感和欲望的考量。电影和生活不一样，电影的主人公一定要给他一次成功或者一次胜利，不管是在情感上还 是在事业上。但是在生活中这样的主人公比比皆是，他们可能没有那一次情感上的胜利，但他们依旧是个好人。所以如果大家相信Frank是个好人，不难找出他好在哪里。他用平常心来面对失去，依旧满怀希望地善待每一个人。其实尊重和牺牲是在人类社会——不管从前现在还是未来——不可或缺的良知。
CV：大家都在说《北京遇上西雅图》的成功标志着浪漫轻喜剧这个类型在中国的成熟，比如“西雅图”三个字极易让人想起《西雅图夜未眠》这部对中国观众影响很深的浪漫佳作。但是您在表演时是否参考过这样类型的片子？
吴：就我知道的而言，电影的名称来源于投资方对曾经那部非常有名的影片的缅怀。但是凑巧我没有看过《西雅图夜未眠》，接到《北京遇上西雅图》以后以我就更不敢去看那部片子，我怕创作上会让我有障碍。至今还没有看。
CV：那您能否谈谈薛晓路导演？她的前作《海洋天堂》也是有著名的演员参与，但是非常沉着舒缓。您会怎样评价与她的合作关系？
吴：薛晓路导演是非常罕见的国内优秀的女性编剧和导演。我最初看这个剧本，就很喜欢这个女性题材，它从女性的视角诠释着女性对生命的态度，并且诠释着对不同女性立场的理解。我跟薛晓路导演认识的缘份由来已久。将近十年以前，我曾经有幸拍过她创作的电视剧。她有大量的电视剧创作的经验，同时又是电影学院优秀的教授。最难得的是虽然她写作如此之职业和成熟，但她依旧有一颗孩子般天真的心。在如此快节奏的商业环境下能写出如此沉静的、情感如此细腻的剧本的女性作者，的确极为罕见。
CV：最后请您谈谈您和汤唯以及双胞胎姐妹花的合作。你们是如何达到如此默契的？
吴：其实每一部片子的每一次拍摄对我来说都是游历，是一次非常非常愉快的人生旅行，不论是汤唯，还是两个天真可爱的女孩儿。直到现在影片拍完了，也几乎快播放完了，影片中拍摄的情境依旧历历在目，好像那是我真实的生活经历一样。