The New Paper - 24 Aug 2004
Bai Ling loves to hog the limelight By Wendy Teo
[email protected]CHINA-BORN actress Bai Ling sure likes to hog the limelight.
Currently doing the publicity rounds of her latest movie Three Extremes, the always outrageously-dressed babe has been providing much fodder for the press with her antics.
At a Hong Kong press conference last Tuesday, she caught everyone by surprise when she grabbed co-star Miriam Yeung and planted a smacker on the shocked girl's lips.
The next day, at the Taipei press conference, Bai Ling tantalised the media with the confession that she has had 50 boyfriends and is currently on her 51st - acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
Yet, the 34-year-old toned it down and played coy during a phone conference with local reporters last Friday.
'I was only joking!' she said with a laugh when asked about the intriguing revelation.
'I don't know how many boyfriends I have had, I can't remember! You have to give me some time to think.'
Bai Ling also refused to reveal more about her relationship with Doyle, dismissing questions with the excuse that she didn't want the focus to veer away from the movie.
PUBLICITY STUNT
She also brushed off her kiss with Miriam as just a publicity stunt on her part.
Sounding amused at the furore she has created, Bai Ling said: 'I like Miriam a lot, so I just thought I would give her a kiss. That's just me, the mischievous genie.
'Anyway, it's good for publicity. And the kiss was so brief that I can't even tell you what her lips taste like!'
Three Extremes marks the Hollywood-based starlet's first foray into Asian cinema.
Bai Ling, who moved to the US in 1991, had angered the Chinese government for appearing in the controversial movie Red Corner - which exposed the corrupt Chinese legal system - with Richard Gere four years ago.
She then went on to appear in movies like Anna And The King and Star Wars: Episode III.
But now she is better known internationally as the Chinese actress who's forever appearing in sexy dresses in US supermarket tabloids.
In Three Extremes, Bai Ling plays an unlicensed midwife who makes dumplings out of aborted foetuses and placenta, and sells them to tai tais desperate to restore their youth and beauty.
But in reality, Bai Ling says she doesn't believe in such unconventional methods.
She has never tried such 'exotic' soups, and has no intention of doing so.
'I don't dare to. You never know what weird effect it might have on you after drinking it. Anyway, I don't believe in such methods, I believe that beauty should be from within.'
She had been disgusted when she learnt too late that some of the placenta used on the movie set were not props but the real thing.
She said: 'So there I was, poking them around and then going on to eat watermelon seeds without washing my hands. I only realised something was wrong when the seeds tasted funny and there was this stench. I was so furious with the props department for not telling me.'
While Bai Ling is known for her vanity, she claims that she is not too worried about ageing.
'The only form of exercise I do is dancing. I love clubbing very much, and I go every other night, so that's my regular exercise. But I also like to eat a lot, especially desserts.'
Despite her flamboyant party animal image, crooner Chris Isaak's ex-squeeze insists she is no loose woman.
'I'm very loyal to my feelings. I can't do it if I have no feelings for the person. I have to admit that I've met many good men on my travels around the globe, and that I've had the chance to be close to them. And I've learnt quite a bit from them too.'
And the still-single lady doesn't have plans to settle down as yet.
'When I see old couples, I feel very envious. But I don't want to set goals for myself. I prefer to live for the surprise, when every day is like opening presents on Christmas Day.'
Which brings us back to the question: Exactly how many broken hearts has she left in her wake?
Bai Ling giggled, before replying with the media savviness that she is so known for.
'I really can't remember. Why don't you ask me the next time you interview me?'
Three Extremes opens in cinemas on Sep 9.
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SEQUEL TO HORROR TRILOGY
THREE Extremes is a sequel to the 2002 horror trilogy Three.
It consists of three short movies by directors from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.
Dumplings is the story of an ageing tai tai (Miriam Yeung) who wants to regain her youth and beauty, at any cost, in a bid to win back her straying husband.
The Korean movie, Cut, stars popular actor Lee Byung-Hun.
He plays a horror movie director who returns home after a shoot to find his wife being held hostage by a psychotic extra.
Box, directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike, stars actors Kyoko Hasegawa and Atsuro Watabe in a story about a popular female writer who hides dark secrets from her childhood.
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Very wild in person, easy for her to get into character
THREE Extremes' director Fruit Chan doesn't mind his thunder being stolen by flamboyant actress Bai Ling.
The affable 45-year-old had joked at a press conference earlier that he won't be getting any media coverage for his movie, because all the limelight would be stolen by Bai Ling.
But during a phone conference with reporters last Friday, Fruit only laughed when reminded of his comment.
'There's actually no need for her to do publicity stunts, because she is already getting all the attention with her daring dressing.'
According to Fruit, both producer Peter Chan and himself had picked Bai Ling for the role because of her experience in Hollywood as well as her Chinese background.
He added: 'The character she plays is an immigrant from China.
'We didn't want to get an actress from Hong Kong because she won't be able to portray the idiosyncrasies of a Chinese native.'
The filmmakers even tailored the role to Bai Ling's personality in real life.
'She is very wild in person, so it was very easy for her to get into the character.
'And because she's so open, it was very easy to work with her,' he explained.
Fruit also had praises for his other leading lady, Miriam Yeung, who plays a tai tai trying to regain her beauty to win back her straying husband in the movie.
He said: 'She didn't know beforehand, what the movie was about.
'Miriam was keen to sign on, because it was a departure from her usual comedies.
'So she probably regretted it when she learnt about the disturbing nature of the movie.'
There was a scene where Miriam had to seduce her husband (played by Tony Leung Kar Fai), and Fruit had been worried that she might not be comfortable with it.
BRAVE
He said: 'A lot of singers are very conscious about their image, but Miriam was very brave.
'At first, we cleared the set for her, so that she would be more comfortable filming the scene.
'But after a while, she was so engrossed in her character that she didn't mind the crew of 30 looking on.'
Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
