Zhao Wei’s box office smash 'So Young' is a tale of lost youth
Actress Zhao Wei went back to school to learn how to direct and graduated with a box office hit. Rachel Mok talks to one of the most influential women in mainland cinema
Zhao Wei was always an exceptional student. At the age of 20, she entered the competitive Beijing Film Academy’s Performance Institute after attaining one of the highest scores in its entrance exam. Now the 37-year-old’s directorial debut So Young, a graduation project for her master’s degree in directing at the academy, has made more than 700 million yuan (HK$880 million) at the mainland box office to date, making it one of the top 10 grossing films in Chinese cinematic history.
Zhao has consistently been one of the mainland’s most popular and prolific actresses since her 1999 breakthrough in the television drama Princess Pearl. She has appeared in a number of blockbuster films such as Shaolin Soccer (2001), Red Cliff I (2008) and II (2009), and Painted Skin (2008) and its last year sequel.
Over the course of her career, the Anhui native has metamorphosed from someone who people associated primarily with Princess Pearl’s adorable Xiaoyanzi (Little Swallow) into one of the most independent and influential women in the mainland film industry.
Zhao looks exhausted as she nears the end of a long day of publicity duties for So Young, but it’s clear that she is in control of the proceedings: she knows how many interviews are left, and directs the wardrobe changes for her photos. While rubbing her tired eyes, she reels off facts and figures about her first feature film.
Reflecting on the film’s commercial success, the actress-turned-director calmly states, “I did expect the box office to be pretty good, but for it to be this good is a nice surprise”.
The initial goals of her first film were modest, she says. “I just didn’t want to embarrass myself. After all, I am an actress with some achievements already.