兵來將擋

本來以為開始影片工作後會有很多東西可以寫上這個blog,事實上自從十一月中開始籌備後發生了很多事，也認識了很多人，而過程中亦有很多問題發生。但這些事過了便過了，好像不值得再提。比如現在面對一些人事問題，casting沒完全做好，而開拍日迫在眉截，但我深信終可解決到，總之兵來將擋。去到最後最重要的是片子拍得好不好，五十年後誰也不會關心發生過這些事。

I found Jimmy Kwok

Through the magic of the Internet, I finally found the legendary Jimmy Kwok. Turns out there's a fan site devoted to his voice dubbing work on TVB, voicing such classic animated series as《聖鬥士星矢》、《櫻桃小丸子》、《美少女戰士》. That site listed his current email address, and by sheer coincidence he was actually on his way to Hong Kong when I wrote to him. So we finally met on the top floor of the Four Seasons Hote yesterday. He hadn't lost his sense of humour, but he seemed to be at a crossroad in his life. He had decided not to pursue a master's degree in social work, but found it difficult to find a good job with his current degree. I asked him whether he still wanted to do theatre, and he told me that it had always been a hobby rather than a career for him, a way to party with his friends. He was pondering a move back to Hong Kong, but his boyfriend's architectural career was already well established in New York. As night began to fall outside, I sensed a certain frustration in his voice, perhaps even bitterness. I hope things work out for him. He should come back and do more voice-over work and re-launch Jimmy's Corner Theatre Company. His fans miss him!

Home Song Stories

最近陳沖在金馬獎獲最佳女主角的影片 Home Song Stories,是澳洲片，導演是華人導演Tony Ayers. 九年前我隨短片《史丹利》跑影展時已留意到Tony的第一部自傳式紀錄片China Dolls. 取材自他作為同志華人在澳洲的成長經驗，拍攝風格有異一般紀錄片，以形式化的手法重現他的過去，幽默又具創意。後來我把China Dolls跟幾個半唐番同志短片包括我的《史丹利》、Raymond Yeung的Yellow Fever和Quentin Lee的 Fall 1990 結集成VCD,叫「4X香蕉同志」，封面取自Tony的短片 (順帶一提，「4X香蕉同志」在影意志的網頁有售！) 洽談短片版權時一直與版權持有人，即澳洲電影局聯絡，一直到幾年後Tony的首部長片 Walking on Water 在香港國際電影節播映時才有機會跟他見面。Walking on Water的故事圍繞著一個愛滋病患者的家人和朋友，在他死後怎樣面對他的死亡，拍得真摯感人。我記得當時他跟他當副導的男友一起出席放映後的討論會，事後跟他們談到澳洲電影工業的狀況時，他男友說Tony現在在澳洲已頗具盛名，不愁資金開戲。

果然他下一部作品Home Song Stories的製作規模更大，請來陳沖當主角，重現60年代的澳洲。影片取材自他自己的家庭和童年，說一個在上海的夜總會當歌手的母親，下嫁澳洲水手後帶同兒子和女兒到彼邦生活的故事。此片除了為陳沖取得金馬獎最佳女主角外，Tony的劇本也為他在澳洲的Australian Film Institute Awards中奪得最佳劇本獎。

Jimmy Kwok

Spent most of the day trying to track down Jimmy Kwok on the Internet. Turns out he's living in New York City, had just completed a BA at CUNY, majoring in theatre arts and psychology. From the picture, it looks like he's eating a lot of nourishing American food and not going to the gym much, probably because he spent his time studying, for while at CUNY he won a string of academic honours and scholarships, and even found time to write an English play called "Longing". After receiving his BA, he was accepted into graduate programs at NYU, Columbia and Hunter College. But the trail turns cold after 2006, so I have no idea where he ended up going. Does anyone know?

畢業禮

某留言版有這個留言:

雖然我唔係讀中大, 但我一直對CU既印象都唔錯既
但自從有班不知所謂既學生搞埋D變態學生報...
今日又整單咁既野....
讀左咁多年書, 尊重場合連小學生都識la, 仲有D學生著住袍黎拉banner, 好以D陀地咁
講真, 黑社會喊打喊殺, 講拳頭, 你唔怪得佢, 因為佢地個background係咁, D norms係咁
但係大學生搞到好以D爛仔咁, 無論背後有咩理由都唔可以接受!
點解中大會收左D咁既人??...我知CU仲有大部分既學生係識是非黑白, 而唔係只識得搏出位既, 不過好可惜, 已經因為一D不知所謂既人而受到影響
頭先有線新聞影到有人好傷心咁同D示威人士理論, 我睇到個心都好唔舒服
難委0個個什麼發言人仲好意思話"荒謬", 唔知佢地居心可在, 搞到大家咁唔高興, 畢業生一生人一次既畢業禮(尤其是拎第一個DEGREE既人)蒙上污點, 呢D唔係"荒謬", 係"合理"嗎?
一句SORRY可以大晒! 個儀式俾D人ruin左, 咁又點計....?

但畢業禮的意義是什麼?念大學的目的又是什麼?
我今天沒有去畢業禮,只能在這裡對那些學生說: I'm proud of you. I'm proud to be a CU graduate.

Midnight Oil

Congrats to Peter Garrett, formerly the lead vocalist for Midnight Oil, on being named Australia's environmental minister. Here's their mega hit from 1987, the very ahead of its time abo-anthem Beds are Burning. He looks exactly the same 20 years ago!




Now when will Bono become the president of Ireland?

Spreken ze deutch?

Innocent is coming out in Germany. What a pretty DVD cover!

The little blurb seems to say the film is poetic and "wunderschönen"--wonderful?

I hope it'll sell enough to finance my next film!

階級鬥爭

區議會選舉塵埃落定，民建聯大勝。坊間的評論不外乎說七一效應消失、民建聯地區工作較落力等。今天蘋果社評有一個較有趣的觀點，就是階級的因素。很多民建聯獲得新議席的地區，都是新移民或低下階層的集中地如屯門、新界北區等，中產階級較多的地區如港島南區、黃埔、太古城等，民建聯都沾不了甜頭。選舉結果的另一啟示是香港的階級化越來越嚴重，但吊詭的是，為何低下層要選擇保衛一個壓抑和剝削他們的制度？因為他們害怕失去他們僅有的一點點：失去工作、失去現有的生活，還有失去荔枝團與蛇宴。馬克思在Communitist Manifesto 說工人 have nothing to lose but your chains,當時已是錯的，放在香港更加不合時宜。爭取民主變成中產階級和專業人士的專利,說穿了，只因他們 have the most to gain from democracy而非民主是inherently superior的政制。

選民都是自私的，投你一票時都想知道 what's in it for me. 以我的選區為例，其中一個候選人的口號是「始終係你嘅好幫手」，另一個是「望夫石下，上馬」(因為他姓馬)，最後你猜是誰勝出？這樣說當然是馬後炮，又ignore左好多其他因素如政績等，但亦顯示民主派的一個問題，就是往往著眼一些大原則(如民主是絕對好的，就如陳太的口號：請投良心一票)，往往忽略了民主政制的基本遊戲規則：說服選民what's in it for them.

中女OL陰謀論

明天便區議會是投票日。
立會補選陳太與葉太之戰，會否如民意調查的預測，陳太大熱勝出?
葉劉在推銷23條的時候乞盡香港人的憎，但仍有三成多的支持，究竟投她票的是什麼人？那天我坐火車時便碰到兩個人版。她們是四五十歲的中女OL，其中一個說：
「梗係選葉劉淑儀啦，嗰個陳方安生出黎選，都係為啖氣啫！」
「係咩？點解呀？」
「佢阿哥嗰單野俾人揚晒出黎，佢梗係唔「份」氣啦，所以咪要出黎選咯！」
99年模特兒彭楚盈的屍體被發現在方曼生名下物業內，事件不了了之，是否有政治因素？律政師師長剛上場便決定展開死因聆訊又是為什麼？整件事都是香港回歸以來的一大疑案。但就算陳太出任議員，也不見得可以抄黃仁龍魷魚，中女OL大概看TVB的大家族連續劇看得太多了！

識於微時

最近開始了casting的工作，其中一個男孩很可愛，幾乎是love at first sight,他一進來不用開口我已覺得他很適合，希望價錢談得攏吧。拍了幾部戲，也沒發掘過什麼演藝奇材。主角中只有第一部短片《別鄉》的Oliver有繼續演戲，在imdb有一個演過一些電視片集的Oliver Williams不知是不是他。《史丹利》的Wes現在是芬佬(hedge fund manager)，最近回流香港，幾個月前在CWB街頭碰見過。還有《心灰》的那個黃成業，現在已失去聯絡；《只愛陌生人》的Tim 在Aids Concern工作。

近日《蝙蝠俠》在香港取景，主角Christian Bale說他是第二次來港，第一次應該是二十年前，拍在大陸取景的Empire of the Sun的時候吧。究竟是史匹堡慧眼識英雄，看中了當時只有15歲的他的star potential,還是他演過史匹堡的戲之後得到更多注意和機會？也許兩者是互動的吧：有潛質和天份也要得到人家賞識才能發揮出來，而獲得重用才可使才華得到磨練，令演員變成明星。

End of an Era

Raymond Chow (who shares the same birthday as me) just sold his stake in Golden Harvest to Chengtian Entertainment Group, signaling the end of an era for Hong Kong cinema (although in terms of film production, the end happened four years ago when the studio made what was to be its last film, 行運超人 with Tony Leung and Miriam Yeung--hard to imagine Tony Leung in a comedy anymore!) . When will Mr. Shaw make his move? Hong Kong cinema now is a little reminiscent of Hollywood in the 1960s, with the old moguls retiring, old stars fading out (John Wayne/Clark Gable = Jacky Chan/Chow Yun-Fat?) and the whole industry in decline. But will we have our own Coppola, Scorcese and Spielberg to save the day?

Fight it, homegirl!

報載，「住好D」創辦人楊志超對「拾肆K」產品惹起軒然大波表示始料不及，並就事件向公眾致歉。

Don't be a wimp! You have nothing to apologize for! Fight the charge, you'll win!! Stand up for freedom of expression, Douglas!

To send a message of support to him, click here.

言論自由

基本法不是確保言論自由嗎?這分明是以言入罪，T-恤甚至沒有說「我是拾肆K」。警方一名黑社會專家表示：「 著住嗰件衫去收 陀地、晒馬，唔出聲都已經顯示 咗你嘅身份啦！」但收 陀地、晒馬才是罪，賣或著一件只印著「拾肆K」的T-恤不應是罪！

World is Everything

屈指一算已是第五次看Sylvian的現場演出了，第一次是大專會堂那個Japan告別演唱會,第二次在Toronto,好像是Massey Hall, 第三次很特別 ,是backpacking時在意大利無意中看到Sylvian/Fripp的演唱會海佈,那晚專程坐火車去看的。最好看是日本東京那次,是in-between唱片的搵食tour,Sylvian很識做的唱了很多首本名曲,那次的座位和現場氣氛都超正。這一次又在香港跟他相會，去看的多是我這樣的熟男,都是支持他多年的超級fans,聽到舊歌大家都反應很興奮，尤其是他唱我喜歡的Ride ,那一刻我有點毛管「棟」，可惜感動一閃即逝。演唱會後我反覆的問自己，是否現在太老餅所以才覺新不如舊，還是他的新作無論在melody以至arrangement都不及以前？是否脫離了大公司的他沒有商業壓力,所以pop味更少?憑我在演唱會上聽到的,9 Horseshit, I mean horses, 實在淡而無味，我最後捧場的Sylvian大碟是Blemish,碟如其名,令我心裡留下污點!

從網上抄下來的Run-down--大家評評道理,舊歌使唔使攪個串燒medley呀,大佬!

Wonderful World
It'll Never Happen Again
World Citizen/I Won't Be Disappointed/World Citizen
The Day The Earth Stole Heaven
Ride
Playground Martyrs/Transit
A Fire In The Forest/Ghosts
Snow Borne Sorrow
Mother And Child
Waterfront
Atom And Cell
Sugar Fuel
Brilliant Trees/Before The Bullfight/Nostalgia/Before The Bullfight
The Librarian

[1st encore]
Medley: Every Colour You Are/Riverman/Every Colour You Are

[2nd encore]
Wanderlust

Currently reading

A scathing attack on religion. Lucid and well argued.
But can one believe in a God who is not the primer mover, the supreme designer, the creator of the universe?
What if God is not an old man living in the sky, but connected to a part of us, our spirits? Some scientists think consciousness is just a function of brain activity, but to me the strongest evidence it is something more is near death experiences (NDE). People who have no brain functions, who have flatlined on the operating table, for example, have reported startling lucid after death experiences that they are able to recall with accuracy. Some have suggested that this is merely the dying brain randomly firing off neurons, but if this were the case then everyone who have had near death experiences should have the same kinds of visions, but in fact only some do. Also NDEers have reported verifiable out of body visions, like blind people who can see their own bodies. One Dutch study on NDE that has been published in the scientific journal seems to verify its supernatural nature. These studies provide strong proof that we are more than our physical self.

色戒裡的演出

一直在想為何「色,戒」在外地得不到應有的評價?是因為對中國歷史的不了解，還是其他文化的原因？是否戲中的角色不夠忠奸分明，令人難以代入？其中王佳芝這角色的描寫，既不是愛國女英雄又不是femme fatale,曖昧而耐人尋味，正是全片最引人入勝之處。

李安把關鍵放在演出這母題上 (我的theory 是：東方人善於戴著不同的面具做人，所以他們都instinctively明白這個角色的掙扎。)王佳芝的「愛國」情懷在舞台上被激發，當她大叫「中國不能亡」時引起觀眾的認同，這種演出帶來的intoxication是王後來加入刺殺陰謀的重要原因，所以李安把那一場戲設計在劇院裡，起初王一個人在舞台上徘徊，彷彿回味演出時的情境，然後坐在觀眾席的同學叫喚她一起商討大計。後來他們第一次約易太太去街，易太太與他們閒聊，演王的丈夫的同學結結巴巴，鄺裕民也緊張得木口木面(王力宏被批評演技生硬，但他演的正正是個彆腳的演員，一個「愛國學生」的stereotype)，只有王佳芝應對自如，她是一個natural，遠超於其他同學，所以在那屋子中她被孤立了--留意那女同學望著王的表情，往往帶著幾分妒忌。電影跳到幾年後的上海，王一個人容顏憔悴地輪米，回到家後親戚在打牌，被摒棄於另一重要舞台--麻將桌之外。後來她再被安排入易家，第一場就是她穿戴整齊地坐在易太太後面看牌局，與輪米的一場成強列對比，一下子她的自信和glamour都回來了，風情萬種地瞄著剛回家的易先生。(她回歸「舞台」的過程也是循序漸進的，這一場她就像劇場裡的understudy。)

Performance這母題一再在電影裡出現，王與易先生每一次交往、造愛，究竟有幾分真幾分假？真與假之間的張力成為這部片最大的動力，王對那長官的那一場outburst,說易先生善於戲假情真，其實有一半也是說她自己吧，在日本飯店那一幕的「演出」，成功地征服了易先生，也感動了她自己。

舒琪在他的影評裡都miss了這些細節，沒留意到李安描寫這個角色的曖昧性和複雜性，只說她的動機由頭至尾只有一個，就是「暗戀鄺裕民，所以樂意被他擺佈和為他犧牲──直到最後發現他原來也是軟弱的」。若她由頭至尾都暗戀鄺裕民，她便不會在他吻她後只冷冷地說了一句「三年前你本來可以的」，若她那麼簡單地深情，比較煽情的處理應讓她流著兩行淚慨嘆時不與我吧。前文也提到她被槍決一幕拒絕望向鄺裕民。舒琪還說李安沒有拍出小說裡王佳芝的虛榮，但事實上李安都拍了出來，還拍得很好。李安(和編劇)最成功之處就是把書裡面沒有的細節編出來，把原本很barebones的故事很豐富地表現出來，同時又忠於原著的母題。

另外舒琪又提到王與她的同學沒理由那麼容易暪得過易先生和易太太，之前我已提到全都是王佳芝撐場，那個演丈夫的同學之後已被叮走，沒有再參與「演出」。另外當時易先生逃難到香港，人生路不熟，當時又未掌大權，沒有細查王的底細也不出奇，而且片中也沒說易先生深信不疑。第一幕施暴式的床戲，正正表達他的不信任。

Lust, Caution

Finally saw Lust, Caution. Masterpiece!
Can't understand why Western critics panned it. New York Times said it is just "a sleepy, musty period drama". Village Voice called it a soap opera, that it is neither sexy nor thrilling. Is the blindness limited to American critics? Did it win the Golden Lion because of Chang Yi-mou?

The mind boggles. Is it because they are unable to appreciate the film's ambiguities, the fact that one is never sure about the characters and their intentions? Mr. Yee is not your typical villain, nor is Wang what one expects of a patriotic heroine. Up until the end she remains an enigma. When the Lee-hom character turns to look at her, she refuses to turn his way, but instead stares straight ahead , as if to confront her own mortality. During their first love-making scene, Yee ravishes her violently, almost raping her. But Ang Lee ends the scene with a shot of her lying alone in bed, a half smile on her face. Is she savouring the experience, or glad that she's finally succeeded in seducing him? The film is full of these wonderfully suggestive moments.

Ang Lee has taken Eileen Chang's sparsely written novella and managed to craft a purely cinematic masterpiece out of it, once again proving that he is one of the greatest film directors today.

三條窄路

競逐金草莓最爛男配角的大熱演出，為你誠意獻上。

區議會選舉

這個有為青年(不，右邊那個，哈哈)叫馬愉生，是長毛的議員助理(長毛議員的助理?)，年初時去慧貞老師家拜年時見過他，並跟他討論區內事務。他頗有見地，更重要的是他沒有很多香港人(包括我)的犬儒和negativity,人如其名，很正面和樂觀。想不到八個月後又在家樓下碰到他，原來他正為出選區議會拉票，我還做了他的題名人。

除了馬愉生外，社民聯還在黃大仙派出一個叫盧海鵬的31歲候選人，不知能否如長毛般創出奇蹟呢?

矢 志 不 渝

「同志戀人」事件後看到一集「鏗鏘集」，重訪十年前被訪問過的專業人士，談十年後他們對香港回歸後的意見。他們在回歸前都表示擔心香港前途，但仍決定留下來。十年過後，其中一個被訪者說希望見到香港實行普選。於是我去信廣管局說香港普選是具爭議性的議題，該節目中反映支持普選的立場而沒有相反意見，違反了廣播條例中持平的原則。這個案經多月投訴/上訴程序後終於有回信，這答案很值得分享。

廣管局的信中說該節目內「其中一名專業人士表示希望香港實行普選，並質疑內地一黨專政的管治，而其他受訪者則表示信任中央政府及對內地發展有信心。廣管局認為有關節目描述了三名專業人士的不同意見，節目的表達方式並非不可接受，亦無偏袒。」

原來在他們心目中，希望香港實行普選和對央政府及對內地發展有信心是對立的意見，即是說在這些官員到今時今日還認為，希望香港實行普選的都是反中亂港之輩！

(節目重溫可按此)

狗屁的歲月

這幅鬆郁曚的照片是當評審譚家明宣佈亞洲新導演獎得主是市井昌秀時，他太太掩面而泣的情景。當天我跟影展職員一起坐地鐵去戲院時，我們還以典型港式犬儒口吻嘲笑這個獎既沒獎金也沒獎座，只有由sponsor送出的低檔DV機作獎品，但那一刻看到市井的太太的反應，我不由得十分感動，並醒覺到其實獎品是什麼不是最重要，這個獎的意義，(也是整個影展原來的意義)，是給對電影有堅持的電影人肯定和鼓勵。

0506HK

Saw my second HKAFF film last night, Quentin's 0506HK. I didn't have very high expectations of it going in, to be quite honest, but I ended up enjoying it. I liked the fact that there's not an ounce (well, maybe just a gram or two) of pretension in it. He is brutally honest (if not a little too earnest) about himself and those around him. At times he comes across as being self centred, as when he turns every comment from his interviewees, whether it's about Hong Kong politics, culture and what not into ruminations about his own identity and direction in life. But that's Quentin for you. Having opened himself up to critical examination, however, the film doesn't really go far enough. We don't hear much about his love life, or his life in L.A. (what does he do all day? What is it about his LA life that he finds so compelling?) or even how the issues of cultural identity influence his works. Running at 63 minutes, the film could have easily spent another 10-15 minutes exploring those points.

Paris squirming on Letterman

I love the way Letterman just breezes through the first couple of questions, and then go in for the kill. Remember when she just got out and went on Larry King, she talked about how jail was such a life-changing experience and now that she's out all she wants to do is help people? Now she doesn't even want to hear about jail, and wants to just focus on herself, as always!

Reincarnation

I've just reading this book that Lawrence lent me. It's written by a psychiatrist who was treating this young patient for a host of psychological problems including recurring nightmares and a host of phobias. He's been treating her for 18 months using ordinary therapy techniques, but nothing worked. Then he tried hypnosis. The patient to recall with minute details her past lives, going back thousands of years. As she began to survey these past lives, it becomes apparent that her phobias such as fear of dark rooms and choking are related to past life experiences in which traumatic events took place. More astonishingly she began to speak in other voices, the voices of 'master spirits' who guide us both in this life and the next. The masters tell the psychiatrist that we are put here on earth to learn lessons, that the people we come into contact with in this life may have been known to us in the past, and that we are constantly working out karmic relationships with these souls. This idea that one's soul travels through many lives building wisdom is a wonderfully attractive one, humbling yet life affirming at the same time.

Guilin Trip

The obilgatory tourist experience in Guilin is a riverboat trip down the Li River (漓江). For the privilege of being stuck in a cramped cabin with a hundred or so chain smoking, loud-talking Chinese tourists one pats 245yuan. The trip lasts for 4 hours from Guilin to Yang Shuo, during which every attempt is made to squeeze one's wallet dry. Soon after the ferry got going a guy whom I thought was the guide took the mic and started to tell us about the various sights we'd encounter along the way. He began to talk about the kinds of camera lens most suited to taking in the panoramic mountain views, and I thought, how interesting, the guide was a camera buff. But of course he was really offering his service as a photographer. For something like 150 yuan one can get 10 pictures taken of one standing in front of various scenic spots along the way . Then there is lunch. It is included in the price of the ticket, but if one wants more than the soggy vegetables they serve, one can pay 300-400 yuan for a fixed menu for 4 consisting of soggy seafood, or rather river food. So a typical Chinese family of three could easily drop well over a thousand yuan on this crummy boat trip.
My happiest moment on the trip was when I took this picture. I'd arrived at this roadside restaurant after hiking for a whole day through the river valley. The hike was quite easy by Hong Kong standards. The paths were flat and well trodden. But it was quite long--20 km, and the day was scorchingly hot. All along the way bamboo raft operators and touts kept pestering me to take a raft. I refused them all, so I felt quite proud of myself when I arrived at the end of the journey. It was around 4pm. I guess since it was neither lunch nor dinnertime the owner made no effort to serve me. He simply invited me to take a seat and left me alone to enjoy this rare uncommercialized corner of China.

Islamic School

Sanjog is now studying at the Islamic school in Tuen Mun. He has to take a bus from Shumshuipo every day. The other thing I'm not too happy about is that he probably won't learn much Chinese. 80% of people of South Asian descent in Hong Kong is illiterate in Chinese. They are relegated to menial jobs like construction and security guards.

If the department's policy is that children of non-Chinese speaking families be integrated into the local school system, then why was Sanjog's father simply sent away with a list of English language medium schools? On the other hand, would the person at the Education Bureau got Sanjog a place at a local school if his father had insisted? It's as if there's a vast conspiracy to keep the poor in its place, with the active involvement of the underclass.

Executive Producer

最近為電影節的catalogue當編輯，為了一部影片的工作人員職銜的中文翻譯引起了一場爭議，這職銜是Executive Producer,我譯作「高級監製」，有人馬上說，有冇搞錯，梗係譯執行監製啦。他的原因有二:第一，跟本沒有聽過高級監制這名詞，第二，Executive,即係execute 個 producer嘅意旨啦。

但Executive有決策人或manager的意思，如Chief Executive行政長官，相對於執行是較高級，如行政長官定下的措施交由部門執行。

而在荷李活, executive producer往往是唔使做的一個，在很多製作中是個虛銜，用來安置一些重要人物，如劇本/小說的版權持有人，又或者是片廠派來監控一部片的studio executive,在片場通常是Producer話事，那個studio executive 只是偶然落場看看而已。另一種executive producer 則負責搵錢，跟片廠/發行傾成個production deal. IMBD 網的glossary 說executive producer "is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues." Executive producer 在片場沒有實際工作，所以很難跟執行二字扯上關係。

香港電影很少有Executive producer,因為通常大老閭是出品人，沒有其他人需要安置。而港片中的執製(執行製片)較接近Associate Producer 或Production Manager,負責安排有關制作的一切事務如搵景搵演員埋班安排器材等，位置在製片之下。而Executive Producer 無論是傾deal或虛銜那種,職級都在producer之上,不信的話下次看電影時不妨留意一下邊個個名出先？比如近期很賣座的Transformers, 導演是Michael Bay,Executive Producer 是史匹堡,片子是史匹堡當老闆的Dreamworks製作,若說史匹堡任Michael Bay的執製是不是很好笑?

這爭議最後那個贏？當然顧客永遠是對的啦。不過話又說回來，那個列有executive producer 的電影是香港/中國製作，可能大家都說chinglish,同聲同氣，反而譯作執行監製更接近那個人的職務也說不定。

(註:Chinglish這個term無貶意)

煽情片

一直有看蕭若元在蘋果的口述回憶錄，每次看都感歎香港電影圈衰落，恐怕以後再難吸納這樣的人才。蕭才子不但有小聰明也有大智慧，在創作背後有很好的理論支持，像以下這編說melodrama便很「中」，有些道理是我常常對Jessey指出的，不知她看後明白否?(若你以為自己不是拍煽情片，你比我想像中更不知自己做什麼)

煽 情 片 的 大 原 則 是 「 可 惜 」 ， 但 怎 樣 為 之 可 惜 ？ 那 是 看 著 一 個 人 逐 步 步 向 死 亡 ， 不 是 他 幸 福 結 婚 ， 然 後 一 出 街 仆 低 被 車 撞 死 ， 你 只 會 覺 得 他 戇 居 ， 不 會 覺 得 他 慘 ， 慘 的 是 你 看 著 他 快 要 死 ， 但 仍 不 停 掙 扎 ， 想 逃 過 死 亡 的 命 運 ， 卻 偏 偏 逃 不 了 。

舉 例 ， 寫 一 個 人 患 絕 症 死 ， 爾 冬 陞 就 撞 到 新 火 花 。 《 新 不 了 情 》 中 袁 詠 儀 的 癌 症 病 人 ， 她 是 樂 觀 的 ， 你 看 著 她 快 死 ， 但 她 努 力 掙 扎 ， 很 有 生 命 力 ， 這 才 慘 ， 日 日 攤 在 床 上 唉 聲 嘆 氣 等 死 的 主 角 ， 只 會 令 觀 眾 睇 到 。

現 在 觀 眾 進 步 了 ， 你 好 朋 友 中 槍 ， 在 你 懷 中 死 去 ， 這 不 會 煽 情 ， 是 要 將 情 緒 掌 握 得 恰 到 好 處 ， 有 環 境 反 差 才 夠 慘 。 一 個 患 絕 症 的 人 ， 幾 時 死 才 夠 慘 ？ 就 是 他 有 希 望 醫 好 的 一 刻 ， 那 知 噗 一 聲 瓜 了 ； 明 知 他 就 死 就 死 ， 果 然 死 了 ， 你 就 不 會 覺 得 他 慘 。

今 次 是 《 元 憶 錄 》 最 後 一 回 ， 滾 滾 長 江 東 逝 水 ， 回 想 從 前 香 港 通 俗 文 化 稱 霸 全 球 ， 是 自 由 競 爭 氣 氛 。 這 幾 年 來 ， 我 們 逐 漸 失 去 電 影 和 電 視 劇 霸 權 ， 大 家 想 想 近 年 創 辦 的 台 灣 《 蘋 果 日 報 》 ， 以 香 港 《 蘋 果 日 報 》 為 藍 本 ， 都 打 贏 所 有 台 灣 報 紙 ， 可 見 香 港 人 的 厲 害 之 處 ， 正 是 從 激 烈 競 爭 中 走 出 來 。
故 此 ， 香 港 娛 樂 圈 倒 退 的 致 命 傷 ， 翻 版 並 非 主 要 原 因 ， 真 正 致 命 傷 是 沒 有 人 才 ， 以 前 人 才 由 電 視 台 培 訓 出 來 ， 自 從 無 線 壟 斷 後 ， 人 才 被 扼 殺 ， 亞 視 又 不 爭 氣 ， 強 弱 懸 殊 。 官 僚 統 治 下 ， 往 時 創 作 人 員 大 晒 ， 現 在 是 行 政 人 員 大 晒 ， 陳 志 雲 的 專 長 是 甚 麼 ？ 我 不 知 道 ； 樂 易 玲 也 不 懂 創 作 。 這 樣 下 去 ， 娛 樂 圈 自 然 死 ， 然 後 香 港 人 返 內 地 拍 戲 ， 但 內 地 又 有 意 識 形 態 管 制 ， 很 多 東 西 不 能 拍 ， 於 是 戲 就 不 好 看 。

和 內 地 合 作 拍 戲 ， 是 激 死 你 為 止 ， 內 地 審 批 電 視 劇 後 送 來 的 評 語 ， 我 看 後 當 堂 笑 出 來 。 你 說 我 這 樣 寫 ， 在 意 識 形 態 上 不 對 ， 我 接 受 ， 但 評 語 是 「 這 場 戲 的 男 女 主 角 是 不 是 可 以 浪 漫 一 點 ？ 」 喂 ！ 你 教 我 寫 劇 本 ？ 點 浪 漫 呀 ？ 咁 你 寫 啦 ！ 你 只 是 負 責 審 查 咋 ， 真 被 吹 脹 ， 所 以 近 年 內 地 電 視 劇 的 質 素 才 會 漸 走 下 坡 。

球賽

昨天那場球賽實在太好玩，忍不住回味再三。最高興的是以前鄙視我的人看到我進步了，紛紛讚我打得好，感覺像吐氣揚眉。當然我知道我還有很多地方有待進步，包括殺波冇力，驚攔網等，希望慢慢可改進。其實我打得不錯都是因為其他隊友合作，特別是setter，在此希望他感情有好結果，好人有好報!

Sanjog's B'Day

Sanjog's '10th' birthday party, although he's really 9 by 'our' standards. I loved the way they made an effort to decorate the place and invited everyone they knew to come. I'm glad I asked Ivory to come so at least I had someone to talk to.

The school term has started but as of today Sanjog is still not enrolled in school. Li Cheng Uk is full, and his dad is considering sending him to Delia, which costs $2000 a month , or a Nepalise school in Yuen Long, which makes even less sense. I'm trying my best to persuade him to send Sanjog to Primary 3 in a Chinese school, because that's the only way he could integrate into HK society, and gets the chance to work in jobs other than construction or security in the future.

亞洲電影節記招

這天的記招在志淙的pop bites舉行，這兒的食物很好吃，那些pasta據說是志淙老婆親手造的。記招上奉上的是些小fruit tarts同很chewy 的曲奇。

志淙大概啱啱訪問完他的永遠偶像Sylvian太感興奮,開場白時無端端話「David Sylvian都話好留意亞洲電影，可見亞洲電影嘅重要性」彷彿DS除了是音樂人外還是電影權威。

訪問祖明時忍住口沒問他有關祼背的問題，誰知第二天電影公司連正面貼膠紙那張相也發了出來，真是無所不用其極。但第二天娛樂版的頭條卻被湯唯露三點以及梁朝偉露蛋蛋打真軍等驚天動地的新聞霸佔了。連姜文李安的電影也要賣肉才拿到版位，香港的電影宣傳難道只有這種方法？

Oral defense

My academic career is rapidly drawing to a close. My oral defense, which I've hardly prepared for, is today. Wish me luck!

Update: The oral defense went really well, aside from my inability to form complete sentences and the fact that I stumbled badly on some of WC's questions. WC's 9 year old daughter was present, and at one point was playing with the newspaper rack, causing a ruckus. I thought that was hilarious, and it put me in a more relaxed mood. After my presentation HG was gushing with praise, even saying it is publishable. LK had to practically calm her down, basically saying calm down, it's just an MPhil paper. Usually the supervisor has to try to defend the student and fend off critics, but in this case she actually had to do the opposite.

魔術男

這天訪問了黃修平新片《魔術男》的演員和導演，包括我一直很喜愛的楊淇。那天她很準時，比約會時間早了十五分鐘到達Kubrick，自己一個靜靜坐在一角看書。我上前介紹自己並談談訪問內容，她表現得很cool，誰知道魔術男Anjo 出現時她又展露出開朗好玩的一面。原來他們倆很friend，我安排他們一起接受訪問，他們一起不斷開玩笑又玩魔術，令訪問生色不少。很少看到演員之間有那麼好的chemistry,希望在銀幕上也看得出來吧。

Anjo是個很charming,很可愛的大男孩，原來他是兩年前在黃修平前作《碧咸與奧雲》的放映後與導演認識。他小時候已拍過很多戲，後來又跟Harry哥哥學魔術，《魔術男》的故事就是他跟修平一起度出來的。

Anjo很有表演天份，又具喜劇感，我對他說現在杜文澤消聲匿跡，說不定你可紅起來呢。他說：我想做梁朝偉播！

靦腆嫖客

週末當了Vincent新片的老臨,我飾演一個靦腆而麻甩的嫖客,是從影以來演技最大挑戰!和我做對手戲的王亦藍,我想找他演我的戲,但他聽到要演同志大為恐慌,不知最後會不會答應。他是個很大情大性、粗枝大葉的人,但我覺得若他能表露他柔情和vulnerable的一面,便能演好我的角色。

Sanjog's back!

Sanjog's back! Except for a pair of retro glasses, he looks exactly the same as a year ago.
His family has moved to a bigger apartment, which they share with two other Nepali families. His mom and dad have both found jobs, working in the same field as before, except his dad now works the day shift, so Sanjog is home alone during most of the day. Looking forward to spending more time with him.

Mr. Kam

Interviewed tv/movie legend and fashion victim Kam Kwok Leung at the agnes b gallery in Wan Chai today, where they have a punk photography show in association with the new Julian Temple film about The Clash's Joe Strummer, to be shown at the Arts Centre some time this month.

As a condition for letting us use the space, the interviewee has to wear agnes b clothes, which Mr. Kam did with great pleasure. He donned a black PVC jacket with shiny black pants, no doubt as a punk homage .

Kam talked about his appearance in the Quentin Lee film 0506HK, to be shown at the upcoming Asian Film Festival. See picture below. My theory is that Kam lost his sense of humour sometime in the late-80s, about the same time as Edward Lam. Maybe they lost it in the same place?

On the set

Helped out on J's shoot over the weekend. This is the first time I get to light a scene. I'd almost forgotten about key light and fill light, like the two can't come from the same direction, duh! But as the night wore on, it all came back to me, and in the end I was quite happy with the results.

Watching another director work made me realize how hard this job is. You must have a firm vision, and know how to get the most out of the people you work with. You have to think on your feet, and constantly come up with good ideas every day on the set. It takes smarts, talent, patience, perseverance. No wonder only very few people in the world can earn their living as a director.

懷舊

對皇后碼頭沒什麼感覺，但現在一片懷舊熱下忽然很想念另一碼頭景緻：「天涯海角」。冒著出賣自己年紀的險，也要提一提這個年代標記。這個露天茶座在中環對出，要走一段walkway才到，所以稱為「天涯海角」，坐在那兒背靠中環商厦，可飽覽無敵海景。那裡的食物很平民化，都是三文治薯條之類 ，但一邊吹著海風，一面看著當年仍然寬闊的維港景色，實在是一大享受。可惜「天涯海角」不知何時結業了，若今天才被迫關門，不知人們會否為它絕食？

不知為何，當年的社交生活都圍繞著維港，又想起其他逝去的landmarks: 巴西咖啡、海運大厦樓下的超市、星光行那個整糯米磁的人。還有海洋中心有間試音室，當年很多音樂發燒友每星期都會去聽唱片，一班人坐在黑暗的房間內聽完一整張搖滾唱片，現在說出來都覺得有點匪夷所思的一個活動。

情長同志

感謝同學Janet送這本書給我，因為此書的封面實在太嚇人，我見到是絕對不會買的，哈哈!

書內有很多十分有趣的人物，我特別喜歡結過婚的Swing和他前妻和兒子的那段，充滿無奈和辛酸。另外六十多歲的施魅力的故事也很特別，尤其說到以前在大笪地看賣藝時被男人攪，又和住板間房的鄰居哥哥仔有一段情等，現在聽起來很有歷史意義，原來以前的同志是這樣生活的。

看這書時我不斷思巧這一類書的意義，除了紀錄歷史外，是否應有闊一點的含意？我是說，己現在已是二十一世紀，我們怎麼還是活在(或當自己活在)黑暗中，彷彿有一本白紙黑字的書證明自己存在過便覺得已經很empowering,功德圓滿了。或者再說清楚一點：這本書是沒有主題的，垃垃什什，有變性人有學生有離婚男人有情侶有單身有基督教有天主教，看完了之後不會覺得它advocate什麼，只是放了十二篇訪問出來，你get到什麼便是什麼。

再看被訪者的年齡與教育分佈：十二個個案中有五個是正在念大學的學生，其中兩個還是文化研究學生，一半人是二十多歲，兩個三十多，一個五十多，一個六十多，很不representative,給人的感覺是順手湊夠十二個人來做訪問，沒有make過effort去做些資料搜集，決定成本書的方向，需要些什麼樣的故事，想帶出什麼message等。

還有一樣很annoying的是訪問的段落中間，訪問者不斷加入自己的意見和見解，有些很無厘頭，像這一句「雖然校內常有低年級女同學主動上前要求認識小曹，但小曹都未曾對自己的性取向有所動搖」--彷彿性取向是一種需要堅守的信念。另外在變性人Lenny的自白中間，又不斷加插《木蘭辭》，硬把代父從軍與變性劃上等號，十分攪笑，做訪問的都是文化研究的同學，難道沒聽過要 let the subaltern speak？

國之重寶

終於有機會看藝術館的國畫展。仇英的《臨清明上河圖》只是走馬看花的欣賞，沒太大感覺，反而其他作品卻令我看得像劉姥姥進大觀園般歎為觀止--原來水墨畫無論題材與技巧都較西方走前那麼多，我的無知真教人汗顏。

特別喜歡陳容的《墨龍》，其潑、塗等技巧不正正是abstract expressionism 那一套嗎？但比人家足足早了七百年。米友仁的《瀟湘奇觀圖卷》用的點墨，也比pointilism早了九百年，而且沒Seurat那麼 gimmicky，意境也高幾皮。李嵩的《骷髏幻戲圖頁》，簡直是Hogarth再加荷蘭十七世紀流行的vanitas，畫中賣藝人與傀儡、姊姊與弟弟、藝人與妻子等幾組人物互相對比輝影，既表達生活的無奈又不失幽默，實在是難得的傑作。














最後謝謝同學仔阿高送門票給我看，不然以我的懶惰最後肯定miss了這次展覽。

Silent Worship

I walked into the small room in the annex of St John's Cathedral. There were chairs arranged in a circle, with two other people sitting on them. I took a seat and closed my eyes. More people drifted in. One of them placed a bench in the middle of the circle, on which he placed some books, a fewBibles and a lit candle. During the next hour the silence was broken only once, when someone asked us to pray for a fellow 'Friend' who had somehow chosen to sleep on the streets. The hour passed surpringly swiftly, thus ended my first Quaker meeting.

During this hour of silent worship, random thoughts drifted in and out of my head. I chased them away and tried to focus on God. At times I prayed. For the last ten minutes I picked up a book on Quakers and started reading. Then someone stood up and thanked everyone for coming.

With the worship over everyone stayed on to chat. Looking around the room, I noticed that I was the youngest person in the group--which made for a nice change! I was one of two Chinese. They asked me why I wanted to come to a Quaker meeting. I mentioned Six Feet Under and my being bored with sermons. Another woman concurred, and talked about how uneasy she felt at a service when the pastor asked people to come up and be blessed. "I don't need you to bless me!" she thought at the time. I wondered if Quakerism attracts a certain type of people--individualistic, anti-establisment type. When I leant that Quakerism started in the 17th Century, it amazed me that people back then already thought that way.

One person asked me what church I attended before. It turned out that he also knew Jackie Pullinger, and attended the Vineyard Church back in the Hangfuk Camp days. What a small world!

快樂死

明報有篇報導，說一個中四少女綴學後當售貨員，但感到生活漫無目的，於是決定重返校園。少女回想當售貨的日子時，令到她自省的是有一次跟同事落D，看到一個四十多歲的「亞伯」在舞池中跳舞，她不想自己將來40歲會像他一樣，所以便下定主意重讀中四。我不大明白為何她認為讀完書的人日後不會蒲D，而且40多歲的人的正常娛樂應是什麼？在家看TVB劇集？去Mustkara看艷舞？

我最大的希望是老了後當一個迷幻亞伯，到時不用再擔心健康，在世上要做的也差不多做完，可以盡情abuse自己身體，現在不敢試的毒品也統統吃掉吸掉注射掉，天天high個夠，然後開開心心地死，總好過等到生病時躺在醫院，乞求醫生給我多些瑪啡吧。

Ugly Betty

Now that I am in full-on thesis writing mode, Ugly Betty is my only source of entertainment. This is simply the best show ever--smart, funny, heart warming and so fast moving I have to watch every episode twice to get all the jokes and references. Today I saw the pilot, which I missed when it first aired. The writing is just incredible, it tugs at the heartstrings without being manipulative. The part where they made Betty stand-in on the photo shoot just made me cry! Plus Justin looks so young and adorable! Shows like this make me wonder why people like me should bother making crappy indie films, when there are entertaining, thought provoking shows onTV every week.

成班死基佬

有個小朋友拍了我們打排球的情況，以「成班死基佬」為題post上youtube。我也不知道自己打波個樣咁奇怪，好似痙孿，如果我唔識自己可能都會笑。近年我都算幾出柜，但好耐未試過被歧視的感覺，原來老皮老肉都還會覺得hurt，一下子彷彿回到去中學時代被人話死乸型或 fucking faggot，證明我道行還未夠高。又或者理智上知道價值觀是約定俗成，但不期然還是會認同主流思想，認為自己是沒價值的，可笑的。

In praise of 任達華

很喜歡任達華在《跟蹤》裡的角色，做一個低調沉實但盡忠職守的警察，增了磅的他肥肥腫腫，穿上毫不起眼的衣服，演得不showy但卻是每一場的焦點所在，而他在戲中的角色彷彿就是他作為一個演員的寫照。一向都覺得任達華是個很被under appreciated 的演員，比起同期出道的周潤發，他沒有走上國際巨星之路，拿獎也沒有梁家輝多，又沒有像另一個華仔那樣動不動振臂高呼支持電影界，但多年來以行動表態。有一段時間電影業走下坡，但他還是片約不斷，B movies,三級片，什麼戲都接、什麼角色都演，令到很多人有工開 (當然他也得到豐厚回報)，他的professionalism我覺得是最可敬的。

楊德昌

楊德昌大去。他二十多年來只拍了八部作品，數量不多，但每一部都是傑作。現在還記得初次接觸《恐怖份子》、《海灘的一天》的那股震撼。那時還不太懂得電影，但已被他電影那種沉鬱的氣氛所感染。後來四小時長的《牯嶺街少年殺人事件》，竟然把少年成長的經歷拍出史詩 的悲劇感，令人久久不能忘懷。遺作《一一》看得出他不願重複自己，一直尋找新的說故事風格，拍出不斷轉變的台灣各種面貌。一直期待楊導演的新作，原來過去七年來他一直籌備一部動畫片，但可惜因資金問題一直未能償得夙願。但他留下的作品卻是永恒的，希望有機會能一一重溫。

Zodiac

First of all I love the period details in this film--the brown coloured sets, the newsroom filled with rows of desks with typewriters, Chloe Sevigny's flower-girl hairstyle, the chance to see Jake Gyllenhaal in a Brokeback style checkered shirt, but Zodiac's whole is less than the sum of its parts. It's basically about a guy who's obsessed with a serial killer, plays amateur sleuth and digs up so-called evidence about the case, then writes a book about it. That's it. He's never in any kind of danger (unless you count heavy-breathing prank calls), he doesn't under go any changes throughout the film, nor do we understand why he's so interested in the case. It's almost as if David Fincher, after making his name with the ground-breaking Seven, decides to do an anti-serial killer film twelve years later.

It's not that the film is boring or unwatchable--far from it. Every scene is meticulously crafted and full of suspense. Yet none of it adds up to much, for the film doesn't go anywhere. We already know who the alleged killer is half way through the film. The rest of the film consists of various false leads and red herrings as the Gyllenhaal character tries to prove his case.

The irony is after seeing him go through all that trouble, the case doesn't seem all that convincing. If the killer really was Leigh, then why did the police fail to uncover a single piece of evidence after searching through his trailer? In real life the police actually subject Leigh to a 10 hour polygraph test, and he passed it. So no handwriting match, no fingerprint match, passed polygraph--yet the film still insists he's the killer! Before the final credits, there's also a title that says a DNA test performed shortly before his death failed to implicate Leigh!

To make up for the lack of story, Fincher had to resort to hackneyed suspense movie tricks to keep us interested, like the scene where Gyllenhaal goes to a suspect's house and hears creaking noises above, but it turns out to be nothing, or he is alone in the house and a shadow passes by the door--cue scary music, and--his wife enters. In real life the Gyllenhaal character spent years digging up 'evidence' and got two bestsellers out of it, but the audience has to spend 153 minutes on this film and all we get are cheap thrills.

放左人地隻狗

昨天跟Coffee玩的時候，我放了他的狗帶讓他多走動，豈料他越玩越癲，還走了出行人路不肯回來。我當時真的很怕他走掉了，不知怎樣賠給人，結果要驚動主人，我們合力把他捉回來。幸好主人沒有怪我，還問我是不是很喜歡狗呢。

教改

替一學生補習英文已有兩年多，現在她已升上了中二。她大概以為我甚麼都識，有一天她帶了些數學功課來問我，一看之下完全摸不著頭腦，我驚覺自己連中二的數學也不會做。但同時間我又很想告訴她不用太認真，還是俾心機學好英文吧，你長大了不會有任何人問你圓椎體的體積怎樣計，但學好英文卻一生受用，起碼可看多些書，看電影有更深了解，認識多幾個朋友。

為什麼學生要花那麼時間學高深的數學，除了加減乘除比較有用之外，數學對一般人一點用處也沒有。世界上有多少人做數學家、科學家、工程師？百中無一吧，而且相信現在很多數學都可用電腦計，為何為了百分之一人的利益要其餘百分之九十九個小孩受那麼多苦、浪費那麼多年的寶貴青春？那個年紀應該學些對人生真正有用的東西，如投資理財、EQ增長、電影欣賞、如何維持一段戀愛關係等。唔，不知飯焦的空缺找到人補上沒有？

Creature Comforts

I woke up early today and caught this absolutely hilarious show on Pearl, Creature Comforts, from the creators of Wallace and Grommit. Enjoy!

A friend

This is my new best friend. His owner runs the pet shop nearby. I play with him everyday before going to school. He's very cute but unfortunately not too affectionate. All he wants to do is bite things--stuffed toys, his leash, my hand. Maybe he's teething?

Is Global Warming Real?

Today NASA chief Michael Griffin commented in a US radio interview that "I am not sure that it is fair to say that (global warming) is a problem that we must wrestle with".

The salient facts are these. First, the accepted global average temperature statistics used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that no ground-based warming has occurred since 1998. Oddly, this eight-year-long temperature stasis has occurred despite an increase over the same period of 15 parts per million (or 4 per cent) in atmospheric CO2.

Second, lower atmosphere satellite-based temperature measurements, if corrected for non-greenhouse influences such as El Nino events and large volcanic eruptions, show little if any global warming since 1979, a period over which atmospheric CO2 has increased by 55 ppm (17 per cent).

Third, there are strong indications from solar studies that Earth's current temperature stasis will be followed by climatic cooling over the next few decades.

Click here for full story. Is global warming just middle class guilt or is this some oil industry funded propaganda? So confusing!

im memoriam

Susan, Asia-phile extraordinaire and coolest mom, as she appeared in a scene from my smash hit Innocent, cast against type as a devout church goer...Getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to be an unpaid extra...Providing shelter and companionship for wayward young men....I'll always remember your kindness, your generosity, your sense of humour and your stoicism. Rest in peace!

劇本反思

很多寫劇本的年青人總以為悶哼哼便代表有深度，或者故事出自個人經歷便一定真摯，其實深度是要經過宏觀的反省才能引起觀眾共鳴，而藝術往往是經過很高技巧的創造才能反映capitol T的Truth。Tarkovsky,Bergman等大師的作品，哪個不是精雕細琢？但沒有人會說這些作品虛假，因為他們把自身的經歷提鍊成為更大更universal的課題，比如Scenes from a Marriage靈感來自Bergman自己的婚姻，但卻道出男女關係的真諦。

怎樣才能引起觀眾共鳴？我覺得還是離不開技巧，就像畫畫，若連基本功也沒有，畫一樣物件也不像，怎能感染到人？(當然不是所有畫也是figurative，不過這是另一個涉及現代藝術的issue這裡暫不談。)寫劇本也有基本功，怎樣才能讓觀眾投入故事，怎樣令人同情角色，有一定的方法可依。最重要的是明白電影是影像語言，要通過劇情才能讓人進入角色。而劇情不單是事件，行街傾計食飯(獨立電影最常出現的三種場景)通通不是劇情，劇情是對角色有直接影響的事件，好的劇情是能夠讓觀眾看到角色在某個situation作出的決擇和反應，不獨是交代某一件事的發生，比如說不應有一場戲單單說主角搭巴士，而是要他追巴士追九條街後衝上車大駡司機為何飛站，以凸顯主角的某種性格。

Robert McKee說過，角色不是真人，對白也不是日常對話。自然是演繹的一種風格，不要以為把一大堆「今日煮乜野餸好？」之類的對白放進劇本便代表自然。

第一世界的人生活安穩，普遍沒有深度，所以應有自知之明，向娛樂性出發，豐富劇情。若又沒深度又悶便很大鑊，可惜有自知之明的人不多，所以Tarrantino在這世代已算出類拔萃了。

以上是我對寫劇本的反思，是說給自己聽，提醒自己的，沒有針對誰，請勿對號入座，當然號碼對的人也應坐低，不要浪費這張飛。

The resurfacing of Chris Carl Chung

In Form 1 he's known as Chris. In Form 2 he changed his name to Carl. In Form 3 he insisted that we call him Chris Carl Chung, but we ignored him and called him by his Chinese name, 鍾兆基. Half a lifetime later he's resurfaced, and is called neither Chris nor Carl, but Cecilia. All this time I had assumed that he's dead (not altogether unreasonable, considering that he moved to SF at the height of the gay plague). But in fact he's a post-op transgendered gal living in San Francisco, working as a human rights commissioner. According to F, who had just visited him there, he's the same as before except he's wearing woman's clothes and make-up. Plus he's now got a brand new pussy--what balls!

男極圈送檢

你今日投訴左未大行動再收到成效，據報，影視署決定把5月分的兩期東方男極圈交往淫審署評級。東方日報在學生報事件中對學生嚴厲評擊，這次輪到自己被審裁，會否激發起另一浪關於言論自由的討論，還是令表達空間再收窄？

周末看了甘小二的「舉自塵土」，說個關於中國農村基督徒的故事，但不是福音電影。女主角小麗是個貧農，丈夫得了矽肺病，女兒的學費沒著落被迫退學。她為了生計協助村裡的惡霸在政府預備起鐵路的地上起房子，打算騙賠償費。後來教友為她籌得生活費，她馬上中止丈夫的治療，把錢用來付女兒的學費。片子以客觀的角度描述小麗艱苦的生活，沒有批判她間接弒夫，就如導演說，「審判是上帝的事情」。If only 明光社也有這樣的胸襟。

Think for yourselves

在張翠容的blog內跟她討論中大學生報事件，作為一位資深記者，她的論點出奇的保守。她說:「 我只感到中大學生報情色版的文字也實在太下流，難道我們要保護這些下流的文字嗎？」
我的回應是引述Voltaire的名句,"I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to death for your right to say it."--每個人都有表達自由，不能剝奪別的的表達權，那怕你本人多麼反感也好，才是自由社會的精神。

不過今天想說那句很出名的quote原來不是出自Voltaire之口，而是來自一本1906年出版的Voltaire傳記 The Friends of Voltaire, 作者是 Evelyn Beatrice Hall，那個quote不是說話，而是一個單引號內的characterization: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,' was his [Voltaire's] attitude now. 但後人把這句說話廣泛流傳當作是Voltaire的「名句」。Hall 後來說是paraphrase了Voltaire在Essay on Tolerance 說的 ``Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.''

雖沒有前句的慷概激昂，但同樣發人深省。不過若Voltaire知道二百多年後的今天，人們仍為這他認為理所當然的權利爭辯，會否搖頭歎息？

香港傳媒不再娘

(為何Gary要以Screen 琵琶半掩臉?)

今年香港傳媒報導康城的手法比以前進步不少，往年每逢有華人參與的作品都被吹捧成為影展大熱，得獎呼聲最高云云。其實大部分記者都不會(或不懂)看電影，評判在頒獎前也不會對外說什麼，所謂大熱只是記者道聽途說，或瞎猜出來的。可能經過幾次這類預測落空後，今年的報導比較踏實，沒有一面倒撐王家衛，和至少給人知道這個世界除了華人外還有其他人，好像今天蘋果訪問了麥聖希和黃國兆，分別品評了幾部影評盛讚的真正大熱作品如Coen Brothers 的新片《No Country For Old Men》、羅馬尼亞新導演Cristian Mungiu的《 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days 》和Sukorov的《Alexandra》等。

另外值得一讚的是有線記者陳貝兒，她在《Ocean's Thirteen》記招質問Soderberg為何片中角色醜化華人，問到他口啞啞很牛B。另外陳貝兒又很難得地訪問到木村(日本management出名排外，她在背後肯定花了很多功夫才獲得這訪問。)而木村又不負眾望，訪問中很charming，還很flirty的在陳的手掌心寫字，整個訪問娛樂性滿分。但這女孩非池中物，希望接她棒的像她一樣努力吧。