張叔平獲奧斯卡最佳服裝設計提名

William Chang Suk-ping was busy on a Beijing film set when he got a phone call from his octogenarian mother, who lives in Hong Kong. She'd read in the newspaper that his costume designs for 'The Grandmaster,' directed by Wong Kar-wai, were nominated for an Academy Award. She told him: 'You have to go!' Several friends also got in touch, urging him to attend the March 2 ceremony. 'Everyone is calling, trying to convince me to go because they all thought I won't go since they know I don't like attending awards,' Mr. Chang recently said, laughing. 'But of course I'm going to the Oscars. At least once, right?'

當張叔平(William Chang Suk-ping)接到他年邁的母親從香港打來的電話時，他正忙着爲一部電影佈景。他的母親在報紙上看到了他憑藉《一代宗師》(Grandmaster)獲得奧斯卡金像獎(Academy Award)最佳服裝設計提名的消息。她對張叔平說，你必須去！還有幾位朋友也聯繫了他，力勸他出席3月2日舉行的奧斯卡頒獎典禮。張叔平笑着說道，大家都給我打電話，想要說服我出席典禮，因爲他們都覺得我不會去，他們知道我不喜歡出席頒獎典禮，不過，我肯定會去奧斯卡的，至少得去一次，對嗎？

The Oscar nomination recognizes the 60-year-old Mr. Chang's meticulous interpretation of Chinese style from the early 1900s to the 1950s. The honor comes after almost four decades of filmmaking punctuated by dozens of international accolades--including a technical prize at Cannes for 'In the Mood for Love,' set in the 1960s Hong Kong of his childhood. Famously publicity-shy, the multitasking Mr. Chang has art-directed, designed costumes for, and edited all of Mr. Wong's feature films, and has worked with nearly every major Chinese director.

奧斯卡提名是對張叔平細緻入微地刻畫從二十世紀初到二十世紀五十年代中國風格的認可。在近四十年的電影製作生涯中，張叔平曾摘得數十項國際大獎，其中包括憑藉《花樣年華》(In the Mood for Love)在戛納電影節獲得的技術大獎。張叔平多才多藝，常常身兼數職，王家衛導演的所有故事片都由他擔任藝術指導、服裝設計和剪輯。他和幾乎所有中國大導演都有過合作。

Straight from dim sum in Hong Kong with his mother and brother, he spoke with the Journal about his careers in film and interior decoration, shopping on eBay for inspiration, and his pursuit of authenticity in Chinese design. Edited excerpts:

從香港的點心聊起，張叔平和本報記者談到了他的電影和室內設計工作、在eBay購物尋找靈感以及他對中式設計真實性的追求。以下是訪談摘要：

Usually editing, production design and costume design are different jobs on a movie set, but you did all of these for 'The Grandmaster.' How did you juggle them?

問：通常，剪輯、造型設計和服裝設計在電影製作中屬於不同的工作，但你在《一代宗師》中卻身兼三職，你是如何做到同時兼顧這些工作的？

They all concern the look of the film. Art direction is about the texture, the feeling, the lighting. Editing is creating the rhythm, the timing, a sense of flow. Mixed together, you can create a world. It makes people believe.

答：這些工作都與電影的視覺效果相關。藝術指導是關於質地、感覺和燈光。剪輯則是創造韻律、節奏和流動感。這些工作加在一起，就可以創造一個世界。它讓人們相信。

What was your biggest challenge in making sets for 'The Grandmaster'?

問：你在《一代宗師》佈景工作中遇到的最大挑戰是什麼？

The brothel is so elaborate. We found a similar house with gold carving in Guangdong [province in southern China]. We hired carving guys, did the gold leaf. The lighting fixtures we hand-made. Everything we created. We needed quantity so we could not just buy. Even spoons, bowls, silver chopsticks, wineglasses--all of this we had made.

答：妓院的佈景相當複雜。我們在廣東找到了一座類似的金樓。請了雕刻師傅來製作金箔。燈具是我們手工製作的。每一樣東西都是我們創造的，我們要求的質量很高，因而不能一買了事。就連勺子、碗、銀筷子、玻璃酒杯，所有這些都是我們自己做的。

The film spans the first half of the 20th century. What was your research for the costumes?

問：電影故事的時間背景跨越了二十世紀上半葉。你是如何研究服裝的？

Mostly old pictures, documentaries, old films. I want to show something to be as authentic as possible. I'd never done the 1900s or 1920s. There are four kinds of silhouettes [in the film]. We had to do research very carefully so we wouldn't mix up the details. Most people will hardly notice, but the details differentiate the periods.

答：多數時候是通過研究老照片、紀錄片和老電影。我希望展示儘可能真實的服飾。我們需要非常仔細地進行研究，這樣纔不至於把細節弄混。大多數人很難注意到這些細微差別，但就是這些細節把年代區分開來了。

What is your costume team like?

問：能談談你的服裝團隊嗎？

I had 18 tailors, many who I trained a long time. Then I also had eight people to do embroidery, trimming, piping, beading. We designed the jewelry. We bought cheap jade, then had real jewelers use real gold because I wanted the color and the mounting. My team is mostly from China. It took one and a half years to produce the costumes for just the ladies in the brothel. We made, like, 120 cheongsams. For winter scenes, we had others hand-stitch the quilts, to do the fur lining. We bought vintage Western fur coats from eBay and remade them.

答：我有18位裁縫師，他們中的很多人經過了長期培訓。我還有八個人負責刺繡、鑲邊和串珠這些工作。我們自己設計珠寶首飾。我的團隊大多來自中國。單是製作妓院裏的女子所穿的服裝就耗費了一年半時間。我們大概縫製了120件旗袍。針對冬天的場景，我們還有其他人縫製棉被，製作毛皮襯裏。我們在eBay上購買老舊的西式毛皮外套，然後重新改裝。

Do you use eBay a lot?

問：你經常使用eBay嗎？

Yes. I have an assistant who just does eBay searching. Sometimes just small things like handkerchiefs. The things are from all around the world. Also hats, shoes, handbags. Even if I cannot use them, I need the shape and the look I can reproduce.

答：是的。我有一位助手，他的工作就是在eBay上搜索東西。有時候只是像手帕這樣的小玩意。還有帽子、鞋和手袋，這些東西來自世界各地。即便我用不上它們，我也可以根據它們的形狀和樣子進行再製作。

Do you have an archive?

問：你會把設計過程中的點點滴滴存檔嗎？

I don't like to keep things. I do a rough sketch, give it to my tailor and he throws it away after. What's done is done. I don't reuse things for different films.

答：我不喜歡保存東西。我會畫一個大致的略圖，交給我的裁縫師，他用完後就扔掉了。過去的就讓它過去吧。我不喜歡在不同的影片中重複使用同一種東西。

Are costumes still fun for you?

問：你仍能在電影服裝中找到樂趣嗎？

Yes. I would like to do a film in the Song dynasty--very subtle, very minimal. Or the opposite in the Tang dynasty, so elaborate, so garish. I have not done these before.

答：是的。我希望參與制作一部故事背景設定在宋朝的影片，非常細膩，非常簡約。或反過來設定在唐朝的影片，非常精緻，非常華美。這些都是我以前從未做過的。

What are your other creative interests?

問：你還對哪些需要創意的工作感興趣嗎？

Everything I want to do is in art direction--I can be a graphic designer, an interior designer, a fashion designer--it's all in film. I also work on commercials. I do interiors, which is like set design. I used to paint.

答：我想做的一切事情都可以通過藝術指導實現，在影片製作過程中，我可以做平面設計師、室內設計師、服裝設計師。我還參與廣告製作。我做室內設計，就像佈景設計一樣。我過去畫過畫。

What art do you like now?

問：你現在喜歡哪種藝術？

When I work in China, I go to museums and galleries. I collect some paintings by Chinese artists. I like Zhang Enli. I like more-abstract painting. For Chinese, abstract painting is not so popular, but I like things that need more imagination. I also like sculpture. I have two small ones by Antony Gormley. I love the big ones, but they are too expensive. Sculpture has construction. When I'm doing clothes, I am interested in structure. Cheongsams in the 1920s and 1930s had no darts, but had shape from the way the tailor ironed, twisted and cut the fabric. I told my tailor: 'You have to do it like this.'

答：我在中國工作時，會去博物館和畫廊。我會收藏中國藝術家的一些畫作。我喜歡張恩利。我喜歡偏抽象的畫。對中國人來說，抽象派的畫不是很受歡迎，但我喜歡需要更多想象力的東西。我還喜歡雕塑。我收藏有葛姆雷(Antony Gormley)的兩座小型雕塑。我喜歡大型雕塑，但太貴了。雕塑蘊含着結構。我做衣服時對結構感興趣。上世紀20年代和30年代的旗袍是沒有皺褶的，但裁縫熨燙、扭轉和裁剪布料的方式賦予了其形狀。我告訴我的裁縫：你必須也這樣做。

When you started as a film student in Canada, what was your dream?

問：你最初是在加拿大學電影專業，當時你的夢想是什麼？

I wanted to become a director, of course. When I came back to Hong Kong, I did fashion design for two years--the garment industry in Hong Kong was very big then. Then in the early 1980s I did art direction. One day, Wong Kar-wai, who was a scriptwriter, asked me to do the art of his first film and he asked me to cut the film. It worked well for us. Then we did it again. I thought, Why not? Why should I suffer to become a director? A lot of people are asking me to direct, but I turned them down. I'm happy.

答：我當然想成爲一名導演。我回到香港後，做了兩年的服裝設計，當時香港的服裝業規模非常龐大。上世紀80年代初，我從事過藝術指導。有一天，當時做編劇的王家衛請我爲他的第一部影片做藝術指導和剪輯。我們合作很愉快。然後又進行過合作。我當時想，爲什麼不呢？我爲什麼要受苦做導演呢？現在有很多人請我做導演，但我拒絕了他們。我現在很開心。

How do you pick your projects?

問：你如何挑項目？

I don't pick. If I have time, I accept every project. Low-budget films, big-budget films. And I'm always doing interiors for private residences at the same time. For that the clients pick us.

答：我不挑。如果有時間，我會接受每一個項目。無論是小成本影片還是大製作影片。我同時還一直爲私人寓所進行室內設計。在這方面，是客戶挑我們。

Are you expensive as an interior designer?

問：你做室內設計要價高嗎？

Not really. We charge the same as everyone. Doing interiors is like exercise. When not making a film, I work with real people, making real things that people can use in daily life.

答：不是很高。我們和別人的收費標準一樣。做室內設計就如同體育鍛煉一樣。當不參與電影製作時，我會和真實的人一起製作人們可以在日常生活中使用的真實東西。

How do you know what visuals will create the best impact?

問：你如何知道什麼樣的視覺效果會帶來最強烈的視覺衝擊？

When I encounter it, I immediately know. In 'The Grandmaster' it is the use of black. It was very risky. We used hundreds of black fabrics. Different textures, glossy, less glossy, matte, very matte. Black with blue in it, black with brown, black with red. Velvet creates a very deep black. One day my assistant said: 'Everyone is wearing black! Is it OK?' I said: 'Don't worry. I'm very sure.'

答：我一碰到時立刻就會知道。在《一代宗師》中，這一點體現在黑色的運用上。這樣做風險非常高。我們使用了數百種黑色布料。各種質地的、亮光的、光澤度不高的、啞光的、高啞光的。黑中帶藍的、黑中帶棕的、黑中帶紅的。天鵝絨可以產生一種非常深厚的黑色。有一天我的助手說：每個人都穿黑色！這樣好嗎？我說：別擔心，我非常肯定。