rainie yang
![Credit and Source: Marie Claire HK May 2012 Issue
Original Article By: Helen Leung
Translation: gwx11 @AF
Yang Chenglin No More Regrets:
Yang Chenglin (Rainie Yang) is famous in the industry for shooting dramas, commercials, singing and hosting. Her work schedule is thus fully loaded. This time she came to Hong Kong (“HK”) to shoot the cover of Marie Claire, where I witnessed her passion and professionalism. Shooting had been scheduled during dusk of that day. The star of focus had a tight schedule, beginning her busy day at 6AM dawn. By the time of our interview, 15 hours had elapsed and it was past 9PM. Just when I thought she was not going to be in a mood to chat due to being so lethargic, she, full of simile, told me “I am still quite awake, please ask away.” She then told me “I don’t need to get up so early every day, but there are times when my work hours can be extremely long. I remember during my teens, I would want to fall asleep whenever it gets to a certain time, my eyes could not open, and it would be like this even when I was shooting dramas. However, I was not sure when this started: That I could be use to working long hours, however, I am not a machine, it is still normal for me to fall asleep. I tend to feel tired while having my makeup put on [for a second or third time.] Once I face the camera, I will naturally awaken again.
NO LONGER DEPENDING ON FEELINGS
Just looking at Rainie’s appearance, its hard to imagine that she had already been in the industry for 12 years. Regardless of how I observe her from left and right, it was difficult to find traces of the passing of time. It is no wonder that the tile, “Princess of Cute”, still fits her to this day. She also feels that her appearance had not changed that much through the years. “Except for myself, friends who have known me since childhood believe that my appearance has not changed much. However, they feel I am different from my emotional expressions and feelings.” Prior to 25 or 26 years of age, she considered herself to be a 20 year old. “Now that I am 28, I feel my way of thinking is more like a 28 year old. At the same time, perhaps I know that I’ll be 30 in 2 years, my sense of responsibility is greater than before. My attitude towards work and relationships cannot be impulsive, like I was in the past.” She does not deny her impulsiveness. “Often, I will follow my feelings, with unmatched courage. Perhaps it is also due to the fact that I still have youth left, and have the chance to go back even if I erred. Of course, I still believe I am young. But many friends who are older than me tried to scare me when I was not yet 25, saying, after 25, I would be this and that. As I approach 30, they again informed me that, after 30, I would be so and so. So under their continuous attempts to scare me, I constantly reminded myself that I have already grown up. Many things cannot be done based just upon feelings. Rainie’s first television drama was Meteor Garden, starring F-4. Her first starring role was in the 2002 drama, Tomorrow, with Shawn Yue and Eddie Peng. I also started paying attention to her due to this drama that was adapted from a Japanese Manga. In the drama, she played her role from the ages of 17 to 24. She was also 17 years old when she accepted the script. Rainie gave this analysis when reminiscing now about her acting back then. “If I am now in Tomorrow, I would be much, much, much better at my role. Its normal to be dissatisfied with my performance, since I was 17 at the time. It was a huge challenge back then to play a role from 17 to 24. As a 17 year old, I would not even know what an 18 year old person wants, much less having to play a 24 year old person. This was especially the case when my character joined the workforce as a secretary, and had to love a man for 8 full years. I had not experienced any of this, much less tried to imagine it. So there are many plots and dialogues that, if I revisited them now, I would find much [greater] interest there. I did not have those feelings back then, so I could only play the role to the best of my ability. It would be so much better if I did the same script today. It is without question that looking back, you will find some areas where one could have improved upon. However, as long as I attempted my best at the time, I would at least be without regret.”
I HATE REGRETTING
Rainie has had this experience with regards to regretting. “Before I would return home after shooting dramas and regret that I have not acted well enough. This type of regret lasted for 3 to 4 years before being replaced by satisfaction upon returning home. The feeling of regret truly sucks because I cannot tell the director the next day that I want to shoot [the scene] again. What I hate most is returning home and then continuously asking myself why didn’t I act this way or that way at the time. Eventually, I swore that I would improve, and the first step to improving is not regretting anymore.” Is it the same when trying to be one self [in real life]? She replied: “That is true. When it comes to not regretting after a decision has been made—-I wouldn’t brazenly say that I’ve never done any regrettable thing, as I am not that great. [Sadly] the things I thought I should not have done are really miniscule, as an easy example, why did I buy that piece of clothing, I would never wear it, so why spend the money?” About ten years later, Rainie starred in Love You. This love based Idol Drama has aired to popularity in Hong Kong, leading to an increase of her popularity in this city. As another drama that is based on the theme of love, how would Rainie rate her performance in that drama today? She first expressed: “Up to this point I have not felt regret.” But once the words came out of her mouth, she immediately laughed uncontrollably. Upon ridding her laughing face, she answered in a serious manner: “Its been almost a year since this drama aired. I had not acted for a while prior to accepting this drama. So it was quite enjoyable while acting in it, especially since my character, Xiaoru Lin, had a part of her personality created by me. So I really treasure having had this role. I could not resist re-watching this drama when it re-aired in Taiwan, and I would still challenge myself. At least, up to now, I have not regretted, having given my best to play that role.”
FATE WITH MOVIES:
Despite debuting for many years, Rainie’s movies can be easily counted. Why is that so? “Its perhaps due to fate. My management company would first screen [the script] for me. Often it is because of conflicts with my schedule. [In other words], every year, after I shoot a drama and release an album, I don’t have time left, so it really is a matter of fate. The other reason would be the script and the role must satisfy everyone. While I am aware that many celebrities love to shoot movies, but this is something you can only run into, not force it to come your way.” Of the movies she has been in, the most memorable one to me was Spider Lilies, where she worked with Isabella Leong. With regards to this movie, Rainie admitted a bit of regret while re-watching it, and felt she did not do as good of a job. “Initially, my company thought I would refuse this film. So they did not reveal what my role would be when handing me the script. But after reading half of the script, I quickly and enthusiastically agreed. Maybe because my role was that of a webcam girl, [my company] thought I would mind this. However, I didn’t feel there was any big deal about it. The shooting required intimate scenes with another female, and dancing while wearing little clothing, but these were not great challenges. The most challenging part was carrying on a dialogue with the computer because there were no computers or words in front of me at the time. There was no spoken dialogue that I could hear. There was really nothing in front of me, except for a lamp. I had to imagine the existence of a computer along with web users A, B, and C in front of me, acting out these dialogue scenes with blank air. I even had to go first, and the other actors would follow in response to my actions, so this was the most difficult aspect. Even thinking about it now, I cannot understand how I could have achieved. But I still stand by what I have said, if I had played that role today, I would always feel I could do a better job.”
ADAPTING APPROPRIATELY
Essentially, Rainie allocates her time every year like this: half the year as an actress, half the year as a singer to release an album. She has always loved singing. “When I am singing; and I’m not talking about singing to promote an album; that is [when you will witness] the most realistic Yang, Chenglin. I always pour my feelings into the song I sing, and that feeling at the time is truly amazing. I just really love singing, to sing to everyone. Seeing everyone being drawn in and hearing hands clapping and screams that follow, this would move me because its real, direct. This is not like acting, where the audience would not give you instant responses, although the staff on set is considered an audience and they would react, but even that resounding response cannot match live [concerts.]”
When asked about her most memorable live performance:
“That should be end of last September’s final promotion of my album, Longing For, where I held a live mini concert. Harlem Yu suddenly appeared with his guitar as my guest performer. He asked for a duet, where he sang my “Ambiguity”, while I sang his “Thinking About You”. We combined both songs without prior rehearsal. He is my idol, but I did not have any dreams at the time. It just felt very enjoyable and happy. I can easily become nervous, so I prefer to prepare for everything. That [duet with Harlem] occurred suddenly, and I did not prepare beforehand. However, that experience allowed me to discover that, actually, performing naturally and adaptively, as long as you genuinely devote yourself, then the audience would [still] love it. Sometimes, perhaps I should be more relaxed.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4o0u3nCLS1r1zdobo1_500.jpg)
Credit and Source: Marie Claire HK May 2012 Issue
Original Article By: Helen Leung
Translation: gwx11 @AF
Yang Chenglin No More Regrets:
Yang Chenglin (Rainie Yang) is famous in the industry for shooting dramas, commercials, singing and hosting. Her work schedule is thus fully loaded. This time she came to Hong Kong (“HK”) to shoot the cover of Marie Claire, where I witnessed her passion and professionalism. Shooting had been scheduled during dusk of that day. The star of focus had a tight schedule, beginning her busy day at 6AM dawn. By the time of our interview, 15 hours had elapsed and it was past 9PM. Just when I thought she was not going to be in a mood to chat due to being so lethargic, she, full of simile, told me “I am still quite awake, please ask away.” She then told me “I don’t need to get up so early every day, but there are times when my work hours can be extremely long. I remember during my teens, I would want to fall asleep whenever it gets to a certain time, my eyes could not open, and it would be like this even when I was shooting dramas. However, I was not sure when this started: That I could be use to working long hours, however, I am not a machine, it is still normal for me to fall asleep. I tend to feel tired while having my makeup put on [for a second or third time.] Once I face the camera, I will naturally awaken again.
NO LONGER DEPENDING ON FEELINGS
Just looking at Rainie’s appearance, its hard to imagine that she had already been in the industry for 12 years. Regardless of how I observe her from left and right, it was difficult to find traces of the passing of time. It is no wonder that the tile, “Princess of Cute”, still fits her to this day. She also feels that her appearance had not changed that much through the years. “Except for myself, friends who have known me since childhood believe that my appearance has not changed much. However, they feel I am different from my emotional expressions and feelings.” Prior to 25 or 26 years of age, she considered herself to be a 20 year old. “Now that I am 28, I feel my way of thinking is more like a 28 year old. At the same time, perhaps I know that I’ll be 30 in 2 years, my sense of responsibility is greater than before. My attitude towards work and relationships cannot be impulsive, like I was in the past.” She does not deny her impulsiveness. “Often, I will follow my feelings, with unmatched courage. Perhaps it is also due to the fact that I still have youth left, and have the chance to go back even if I erred. Of course, I still believe I am young. But many friends who are older than me tried to scare me when I was not yet 25, saying, after 25, I would be this and that. As I approach 30, they again informed me that, after 30, I would be so and so. So under their continuous attempts to scare me, I constantly reminded myself that I have already grown up. Many things cannot be done based just upon feelings. Rainie’s first television drama was Meteor Garden, starring F-4. Her first starring role was in the 2002 drama, Tomorrow, with Shawn Yue and Eddie Peng. I also started paying attention to her due to this drama that was adapted from a Japanese Manga. In the drama, she played her role from the ages of 17 to 24. She was also 17 years old when she accepted the script. Rainie gave this analysis when reminiscing now about her acting back then. “If I am now in Tomorrow, I would be much, much, much better at my role. Its normal to be dissatisfied with my performance, since I was 17 at the time. It was a huge challenge back then to play a role from 17 to 24. As a 17 year old, I would not even know what an 18 year old person wants, much less having to play a 24 year old person. This was especially the case when my character joined the workforce as a secretary, and had to love a man for 8 full years. I had not experienced any of this, much less tried to imagine it. So there are many plots and dialogues that, if I revisited them now, I would find much [greater] interest there. I did not have those feelings back then, so I could only play the role to the best of my ability. It would be so much better if I did the same script today. It is without question that looking back, you will find some areas where one could have improved upon. However, as long as I attempted my best at the time, I would at least be without regret.”
I HATE REGRETTING
Rainie has had this experience with regards to regretting. “Before I would return home after shooting dramas and regret that I have not acted well enough. This type of regret lasted for 3 to 4 years before being replaced by satisfaction upon returning home. The feeling of regret truly sucks because I cannot tell the director the next day that I want to shoot [the scene] again. What I hate most is returning home and then continuously asking myself why didn’t I act this way or that way at the time. Eventually, I swore that I would improve, and the first step to improving is not regretting anymore.” Is it the same when trying to be one self [in real life]? She replied: “That is true. When it comes to not regretting after a decision has been made—-I wouldn’t brazenly say that I’ve never done any regrettable thing, as I am not that great. [Sadly] the things I thought I should not have done are really miniscule, as an easy example, why did I buy that piece of clothing, I would never wear it, so why spend the money?” About ten years later, Rainie starred in Love You. This love based Idol Drama has aired to popularity in Hong Kong, leading to an increase of her popularity in this city. As another drama that is based on the theme of love, how would Rainie rate her performance in that drama today? She first expressed: “Up to this point I have not felt regret.” But once the words came out of her mouth, she immediately laughed uncontrollably. Upon ridding her laughing face, she answered in a serious manner: “Its been almost a year since this drama aired. I had not acted for a while prior to accepting this drama. So it was quite enjoyable while acting in it, especially since my character, Xiaoru Lin, had a part of her personality created by me. So I really treasure having had this role. I could not resist re-watching this drama when it re-aired in Taiwan, and I would still challenge myself. At least, up to now, I have not regretted, having given my best to play that role.”
FATE WITH MOVIES:
Despite debuting for many years, Rainie’s movies can be easily counted. Why is that so? “Its perhaps due to fate. My management company would first screen [the script] for me. Often it is because of conflicts with my schedule. [In other words], every year, after I shoot a drama and release an album, I don’t have time left, so it really is a matter of fate. The other reason would be the script and the role must satisfy everyone. While I am aware that many celebrities love to shoot movies, but this is something you can only run into, not force it to come your way.” Of the movies she has been in, the most memorable one to me was Spider Lilies, where she worked with Isabella Leong. With regards to this movie, Rainie admitted a bit of regret while re-watching it, and felt she did not do as good of a job. “Initially, my company thought I would refuse this film. So they did not reveal what my role would be when handing me the script. But after reading half of the script, I quickly and enthusiastically agreed. Maybe because my role was that of a webcam girl, [my company] thought I would mind this. However, I didn’t feel there was any big deal about it. The shooting required intimate scenes with another female, and dancing while wearing little clothing, but these were not great challenges. The most challenging part was carrying on a dialogue with the computer because there were no computers or words in front of me at the time. There was no spoken dialogue that I could hear. There was really nothing in front of me, except for a lamp. I had to imagine the existence of a computer along with web users A, B, and C in front of me, acting out these dialogue scenes with blank air. I even had to go first, and the other actors would follow in response to my actions, so this was the most difficult aspect. Even thinking about it now, I cannot understand how I could have achieved. But I still stand by what I have said, if I had played that role today, I would always feel I could do a better job.”
ADAPTING APPROPRIATELY
Essentially, Rainie allocates her time every year like this: half the year as an actress, half the year as a singer to release an album. She has always loved singing. “When I am singing; and I’m not talking about singing to promote an album; that is [when you will witness] the most realistic Yang, Chenglin. I always pour my feelings into the song I sing, and that feeling at the time is truly amazing. I just really love singing, to sing to everyone. Seeing everyone being drawn in and hearing hands clapping and screams that follow, this would move me because its real, direct. This is not like acting, where the audience would not give you instant responses, although the staff on set is considered an audience and they would react, but even that resounding response cannot match live [concerts.]”
When asked about her most memorable live performance:
“That should be end of last September’s final promotion of my album, Longing For, where I held a live mini concert. Harlem Yu suddenly appeared with his guitar as my guest performer. He asked for a duet, where he sang my “Ambiguity”, while I sang his “Thinking About You”. We combined both songs without prior rehearsal. He is my idol, but I did not have any dreams at the time. It just felt very enjoyable and happy. I can easily become nervous, so I prefer to prepare for everything. That [duet with Harlem] occurred suddenly, and I did not prepare beforehand. However, that experience allowed me to discover that, actually, performing naturally and adaptively, as long as you genuinely devote yourself, then the audience would [still] love it. Sometimes, perhaps I should be more relaxed.
(Source: marieclaire.com.hk)