Van Ness Wu appreciates being named F4 Taiwan drama Meteor Garden brought four boys to fame throughout Asia. It has been almost eight years now and many people still remember F4. One of its members, Van Ness Wu, was in town recently to promote his movie. He said, in an exclusive interview with MediaCorp News, that he does not mind being in the shadow of F4 and looks forward to future collaborations with the other three members - Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou and Ken Chu. Q: Your latest movie Kung Fu Chef was recently screened in Singapore cinemas. In the film, you had great culinary skills. How are your skills in real life? Van Ness: I think it's not bad. But I have no idea how others feel about it. Q: What's your own cooking specialty? Van Ness: Fried egg. It's so simple; I don't think it can go wrong. Q: Besides cooking, your character Lung Kin-Yat also loves the Chinese culture. What about yourself? Van Ness: Yes, I like it very much. Understanding the culture allows me to find my roots. Q: Actors of the film come from many different countries -- Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan; all of you speak different languages and have different lifestyles. Were there any interesting things that happened, or moments when you were lost in translation? Van Ness: I was lucky this time round. Cherrie Ying and Sammo Hung both speak English; and even Kago Ai speaks a little English, so we had no problem communicating. The two girls are cute and comical. We had fun together and in the end we became buddies. Cherrie is really more like a 'brother'; she has the strong personality of a guy. Kago Ai, on the other hand, is a little sister. I think she's really talented and I can see her efforts in the film. Q: In the film, you had to be thrown around and beaten up. Was it tough? Van Ness: Not very tough but suffering injuries from action films are inevitable. You need to be mentally prepared and extra careful. But usually there'll be people around to look after us, so I have no fears. Q: How many movies have you made so far? Van Ness: Five. Q: How do you feel about them? Van Ness: I'm glad that they picked me to be in their movies. In fact, I've recently set up my own movie production company together with Sammo Hung's son, Jimmy. He has written a script for which he'll be directing. Q: Will you be acting in the film? Van Ness: Yes. Q: You were saying that this is your fifth movie. How much have you grown and what have you gained from the five films? Van Ness: I've become more natural in front of the camera, and am able to perform more freely. There are rooms for different experiences and it's really fun. Q: You grew up in the States and usually converse in English. Is language a barrier when you are filming Chinese movies or dramas? Van Ness: Inevitably, it is. I still need to work at my Chinese. Q: Besides movies, what about other aspects of your career? Are there still new plans or arrangements for your singing career? Van Ness: Yes. Besides movie productions, I will be releasing my third album this year and will be working on music in Japan. Besides performing, I've also started designing accessories and set up my own brand this year. I've loved drawing and designing since I was a child. Q: Everyone knows you from the boy band F4 and in fact the four of you are still classified as a group. Do you mind? Van Ness: No, not at all. After all, this is how I stepped into the scene. I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to work with the other three of them. It was really hard for us to get to where we are today. We're really lucky that people still remember us as F4 after seven or eight years. Q: Do you guys often get together? Van Ness: Not really. We are all busy with our own work. But we send SMS to find out how each other is doing. Q: Do you look forward to working together again? Van Ness: Yes, of course. Q: Have you ever imagined yourself pursuing a performing career? Van Ness: No, I've never thought of it to be this way. Q: Do you intend to continue doing this? Van Ness: I do not. But I have no idea what God intends for me. I'll leave it to Him to decide. Q: We believe your diligence will pay off and go a long way. Here's wishing you success in your career. Van Ness: Thank You.
