The Rooftop: Radio interview with Jay Chou and Will Liu on 28 June 2013

Radio interview with Jay and Will Liu about...The Rooftop....what else?? ;)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0T4W6IdCkE&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ7dNLQLS-2jg7zyqyc_ApIc&index=12


The DJ has actually watched a sneak preview of the movie and felt it was very intriguing...as much as Secret was.

Here are some interesting insights from the director and producer:

Jay was very intent on keeping as much as possible a surprise for movie-goers and it was extremely difficult to get him to agree to the footage to be put in the trailer.

The Rooftop was conceptualised when Jay was doing The Green Hornet; he actually had a few stories in mind but felt this was more doable.
Will says Jay is very good at improvising music to suit a particular story but such music is not suitable for pop songs. So in the end, they felt...why not a soundtrack for a movie?
They definitely hope to win awards for the music.
Jay's directing style is not definable during The Rooftop...different feel from Secret.
Jay's acting has more range here compared to Initial D.
He likes to act with his friends...more natural.
Edited out 30mins of footage to get the final two hours of the movie.

Will: When I watched it with the DJ as an audience, it was a different feel and that the movie seemed to end too soon. Which is a good thing.

DJ: There were many impromptu-like and ad-lib-like moments in the movie.

Will: Had many brainstorming sessions to work out the storyboards and visuals. Meticulous attention was paid to details.
It will premiere in North America and be the closing film for the NYFF.
Jay wants to show the world a different side of Chinese movies.
The supporting characters are played by his friends with whom he has worked with for many years.
He likes to do that as he feels they are very natural together and it comes across nicely on screen.

Will was initially sceptical about doing The Rooftop as he felt it was actually more difficult to shoot.
But Jay wanted it because it was different from the usual Chinese movie, with all that he wanted to incorporate.
Three months of shooting, in China and Taiwan.
Costumes, props, etc...all had to be as realistic as possible, even for the extras!
Jay did the shopping himself as he had his own vision...flowery shirts!
Stylist is from Hongkong and has a similar mindset as him for the vintage stuff which he likes.

Jay was inspired by the director of Romeo and Juliet, Baz Luhrmann whose style in that movie combined an old-time story with a more modern feel.

Back to The Rooftop, Jay says the name of the lead actress felt right for the character's name.
The love story and romantic style is very Jay Chou-esque.
Very old-fashioned, cute and pure.

Jay likes simple ways of showing love.
Holding hands, etc....very unlike present-day shows.
Evident from his MVs, where he does not indulge in anybig love scenes.
First love is the sweetest.

Jay says he finds it very sweet when he sees older folks walking hand in hand, more so than when young people are kissing madly in public. That was the sort of feel he wanted for the movie.

After work, Jay still hard at work doing the details, changes of scripts and Will would have to print out the new scripts early the next morning for the actors.


Let me end with some nice pics, as usual:

Cheers!