Daniel Wu and Yuan Quan in Like A Dream
It’s actually not really a new movie. Like A Dream, starring Daniel Wu and Yuan Quan, was released last year in Taiwan and despite receiving nine nominations for the 46th Golden Horse Awards, failed to win a single one. But it’s set to open in mainland and Hong Kong theaters at the end of this month, so in a way it is a new movie. The media has questioned its long, tedious plot and unrealistic story development, but lead actor and first-time producer Daniel Wu insists that the screenplay is good: “At the very least, when you finish watching it, you will remember it and discuss it.”
At yesterday’s press conference at the Shanghai premiere, reporters brought up questions about relationships, appropriate since Yuan Quan recently had a baby girl and Daniel Wu recently got married. Daniel told the reporters that this film was one of the catalysts for his recent marriage: “The movie woke me up a little; it made me look at love in a different way and made me think I ought to give my wife a confession.” So if the movie doesn’t accomplish anything else, at least we’ll know it helped to take one of Chinese entertainment’s most eligible bachelors off the market.
Since this film was director Clara Law‘s first project since her last movie in 2004, investments were slow and it was difficult to carry anything out before filming started. Daniel helped find investments himself, and even set an example by lowering his paycheck and taking on the job of producer. And apparently he threw himself so much into the role that when filming ended after two-and-a-half months, he found it really hard to come out of his character’s mindset.
Having been an actor, a director, and now a producer, Daniel Wu has clearly matured when it comes to the movie industry, and with this maturity have come insights about his career and the entertainment scene in general.
“I don’t have an objective of becoming an idol,” he told Sina in an interview. “I never have. Maybe some people want to make me an idol, but I’m an actor. I feel that this movie has meaning, and to me that’s the most important.”
