1905 movie network feature Nowadays, Yan Ni often appears in fashion blogger’s articles. She is slender, stylish, and not too hard. It has to be admitted that some people will become more and more beautiful with age, but more attractive than when they were young.
In Cheng Er’s latest film, Yan Ni donned a cheongsam to play Wang Ma, a formidable housekeeper by Ge You’s side. This character is not as brightly dressed as Zhang Ziyi’s courtesan, Yuan Quan’s star or Gillian’s aunt, but it is equally delicate and delicate. In the trailer, she walks down the road with Du Chun, the "killer", in a domineering and mysterious figure. No wonder that before Wang Ma appears at the beginning of the film, Ge You reminds the men at the card table, "Don’t provoke Wang Ma."
Perhaps in the impression of many people, Yan Ni is still the hot shopkeeper Tong, whose mantra is "Oh my god" in Shaanxi flavor. In order to play a Shanghai woman in the 1930s, Yan Ni practiced Shanghai dialect hard, and the effect of the practice was so good that the director replaced her from a lighter role to Wang Ma with more scenes after the start of filming. On how to learn a dialect well, Yan Ni’s method is simple and crude, "Whoever is from Shanghai, I will read it to whoever. I am bold, and I am embarrassed to listen to it." Hu Ge is also one of the "sparring partners".
The audience is more impressed by Yan Ni’s on-screen image. In fact, on the big screen, she has cooperated with many well-known directors such as Zhang Yimou, Li Shaohong, Wang Xiaoshuai, Er Dongsheng, Guan Hu, etc. When it comes to the intersection with these famous directors, Yan Ni smiles and says that she has no unreasonable thoughts, but she also hopes that there will be a real big-screen masterpiece in the future. After experiencing the "late bloomer" of actresses becoming famous after the age of 30, Yan Ni said that she is willing to wait for the "great responsibility from heaven" to fall on her.
The movie "The Death of Romantic" will be officially released on December 16.
The following is the transcript of the interview:
1905 movie network:You play Wang Ma as a housekeeper. What kind of role is she?
Yan Ni:At the beginning of the movie, Mr. Lu said, don’t provoke Wang Ma, she is a very disciplined person, just like when she dies, she has to sit and die, very dignified, very graceful, she will not forget to put down her key, she has to explain her work, even if she is facing death. She often sees such an impermanent thing of death, if she is a person who is worried all day, she will not have her demeanor.
1905 Movie Network: I heard that the director asked you to play Wang Ma at the beginning?
Yan Ni:Yes, at first he asked me to play Tadanobu Asano’s wife, and then on the first day of filming, Tadanobu Asano was also quite handsome, and I thought it was pretty good. I also learned a sentence of Shanghainese before, and after I finished speaking, the director said that he didn’t sleep well at night after he went back. He said that in fact, I have a very Shanghainese accent, and then he asked me to play Wang Ma, and Wang Ma’s role was more important. Of course, I readily agreed.
1905 movie network:Almost all the lines in the film are in Shanghainese. How did you practice?
Yan Ni:Anyway, whoever is from Shanghai, I will read it to whoever I am. I am a bold person, but I am embarrassed to listen to Shanghainese people sometimes. Then I said it there. I also told Hu Ge, Hu Ge said, oh, sister, don’t say it, I said what did you say, he said you say it again, I said it again, he said I thought you said it seemed strange, I said that I said it was not good, so I wanted you to teach me. Later, he asked a very good friend of ours to teach me, and I was very happy during that time. In fact, he just wanted many people around him to listen to my Shanghai dialect.
1905 movie network:Ge You said that he initially rejected the Shanghainese lines. Have you two exchanged this?
Yan Ni:One day I pulled Uncle Ge over, and I said, Uncle Ge, listen to what I said, do you think I can speak it? Uncle Ge listened to it for a long time, and he said, I really think you can speak it, so I said why? He said, look, outsiders like me, I don’t understand a little bit, I don’t know if you speak it well or badly, but what about Shanghai people, they think you can speak our Shanghainese, and you are willing to learn our language. They are also very happy, so they are happy, so you can speak it. He also gave me a lot of confidence, so I keep talking.
1905 movie network:Speaking of Mr. Ge You, this time he has a different hairstyle.
Yan Ni:I think this hair cover actually did a very good job for him this time. When I saw him at the scene, I felt that this hair cover suddenly brought him to the era of the Republic of China, so I kept saying that I said this hair cover was very good, and he himself seemed to be very satisfied with this hair cover.
1905 movie network:You and Zhang Ziyi also play opposite each other. How does it feel to cooperate with her?
Yan Ni:I was very excited after watching the movie yesterday. I told Ziyi that your movie was really good. There were a few scenes that were not very good, but she handled it very well. Of course, there are also directors who can leave a lot of her things behind. I said you see, all the men in the whole drama love you, Japanese, Chinese, old men, and young people all love you. Your character loves freedom, is very uninhibited, and has to be bound by something. This character is quite rare in a movie. Maybe during the filming process, everyone didn’t think that when I saw her like this on the screen, I would also be attracted to her. I felt that at that moment, she felt different from her before, and I was also shocked by her.
1905 movie network:Do you usually exchange some experience of being a mother with Zhang Ziyi?
Yan Ni:She sometimes sends Moments, she holds her baby, sends her baby, I also take a look. At that time, I thought, when my daughter was young, why wasn’t I like her. She has a good career now, and the importance of children to her at this moment may not be the same as I did at that time, but every time I can feel a kind of radiance of maternal love.
1905 movie network:Director Cheng Er’s works are all very personal. What kind of director do you think he is?
Yan Ni:I think Cheng’er actually loves the actors very much. This movie is like All Beings, but he left behind every actor’s shining things, and he made many actors feel different. Like Uncle Ge, anyway, when I watched the movie yesterday, I didn’t think Uncle Ge was a comedian or wanted to laugh or something. He was a bit like the Coen brothers, including Ziyi and me. I think there is some tension in it. This is all thanks to the director. I think he knows acting very well.
1905 movie network:What is the current attitude towards the label comedian?
Yan Ni:I have always said that I am willing to carry out comedy to the end. If I can act in comedy, I am a very rich person, why should I care about this label? In fact, it doesn’t matter what others call me, this is my understanding of my own life. In fact, you said comedy, there is no great joy without great sorrow, and there is no complete, I feel that no matter what others do, I still know a kind of pursuit in my heart. Before I acted, I didn’t know that I could act in comedy. An actor can explore yourself through roles. Maybe I still don’t know what kind of potential I have. I also need to relate to it. I feel that if I can reach the level of a true comedian, that would be a great honor for me, but I’m still far from it. I’ll go after it.
1905 movie network:In the past two years, you have acted in a lot of big-budget movies. Do you hope to achieve good results on the big screen?
Yan Ni:Actors are just a very small part of the body. In fact, I don’t have any ideas for a breakthrough. If I have any ideas, it is to go further in the film. I hope that there can be a representative work of my own on the big screen. At least there is a work that the audience is satisfied with and I am satisfied with. This year is also very lucky. It just so happens that some movies have come to me during this time, but it has nothing to do with the production size. There are not many female characters in the movie, and there may be even fewer at this age. So you have to touch it. It doesn’t mean that you can achieve what you want to say, so I have also made a few movies this year. I hope that there is a work that I am satisfied with and the audience is satisfied with.
1905 movie network:In fact, you have worked with many great directors, such as Zhang Yimou, Wang Xiaoshuai, Er Dongsheng, etc. Are there any other directors you particularly want to cooperate with?
Yan Ni:In fact, I feel that actors are always chosen by others, no matter what kind of actor you are. As a person, I am willing to wait and wait for the heavens to descend on me, so I never want to think too much. If he falls on me, I can take down the role.
