Jay of all trades

The word diao sums up Jay Chou's personal philosophy. Asia's hottest pop star thinks diao - Taiwanese slang meaning "cool" or "outrageous" - also means the ability to shock, to go your own way and not to follow others.

From a precocious piano kid to the Asian Craig David, the 28-year-old has delivered many shocks in his career and his latest artistic effort follows his diao mantra. Chou has written, directed and starred in Secret, (Bunengshuo de Mimi), which hits China's theaters today.

In his own words, it is a very diao film. It is a story about a piano, time and love, he says.

Like many directors' maiden works, the story bears a strong imprint of Chou's own life experiences.

Chou has a vintage piano in his own house. The 100-year-old French piano once belonged to an aristocrat and Chou thought there must be many stories behind the piano. Why not make a story about piano? Yes, why not a piano?

The piano has been his dearest friend since he was four. He used to focus on the keys the way other children focused on comic books and ice cream. As a child, Chou says he was very shy and extremely quiet. However it was music that made the silent high school graduate into a pop idol adored by millions.

The main filming location was Tamkang high school, where Chou graduated. He was one of the first music major students. It was also on the school's playground that Chou had his first kiss.

So, to what extent is Lun, the film's protagonist, like Chou himself?

Lun lives in a single-parent home. Hong Kong veteran actor Anthony Wong plays the father role, in a similar way he did with Chou in Initial D (Tou Wenzi D). Chou won the Golden Horse award as best newcomer in 2005 for his performance opposite Wong.

In Secret, the two men of the house both love music and lead a simple but cozy life.

Chou's own parents divorced when he was 14 but he insists his single-parent home is a happy place.

It was his sensitivity to his mother's piano playing that sent him to a piano class at age 4. In the movie, Lun is a piano genius. As a freshman, he beats the best student in the music class in front of all his classmates by his improvisational melodies.

When Chou was sent to piano class at 4, he could play and by the time he was a teen, he had developed great improvisational skills.

Maybe the biggest difference is the boy on screen is more brilliant and bright, while Chou impresses most by his "cool" style.

In his early days, Chou often wore a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes and spoke in low voice. He murmured rather than talked. Even on the covers of his first two albums, it was hard to find his eyes hidden under either caps or shadow. "I was not confident then," he says.

Chou was not born with silver chopsticks in his mouth. Unlike other Taiwan students, he did not take the college entrance examination.

In 1988, a friend entered Chou into Chao Ji Xin Ren Wang (Super New Talent King), Taiwan's version of American Idol. Chou played piano in the show, accompanying a rising singer and his extraordinary musical talent attracted Jacky Wu, Taiwan's most famous emcee and impresario, who offered him a job of writing songs and lyrics for Alfa Music, then Wu's own company.

Chou almost lived in Alfa's studio. In the small space he saw people come and go. He saw pretty boys who could hardly organize a tune, and beautiful girls who could barley reach high C.

He believes music, not a face, matters the most.

But it was not until two years later that he finally launched his first album titled Jay under the record company Alfa Music in 2000. Since then, he has released one album per year, selling several million copies each. His oriental R&B was an overnight success and he now runs his own record company JVR Music.

"Chou is definitely setting musical trends," says Hong Kong-based Ming Pao Weekly music critic Fung Lai-chi.

Chou says he never wants people to know his mistakes. He says if he presses the wrong button when taking a lift, he would ride the lift to the wrong floor, and press the lift's control panel again.

Chou also says he doesn't like to show he is hurt. One time he says he was taking a bus and his hands were jammed in the door. But he kept cool, as if nothing happened, although his hands really hurt. The Mr Cool did not call the driver to stop the bus until he really could not stand the pain.

His basketball partners say he is the type of player who focuses more on beautiful poses than on netting baskets. Often he will launch into a dazzling jump and shoot into the air ignoring where the ball goes, say his friends.

Although his passion for being cool wins him numerous fans, it appears the maturing star is growing up.

Today he seldom wears a baseball cap and sports a conservative white shirt, blue jeans and a lasting smile.

He was even joking with journalists.

Chou says he sent his film to three big-name directors he had worked with. Zhang Yimou says he was impressed by Chou's photography, rhythm and plot development as a maiden director.

Lau Wai Keung, who made Infernal Affairs (Wu Jian Dao), says that Chou's work is in a similar style to his.

Chou smiled elatedly. During shooting, he did not call on the help of the two veterans.

"I would prefer studying by my own," he says.

When Guey Lun-mei - his lead actress - was asked whether he would keep this cool when he made mistakes in directing, the girl looked at her director - who was giving her a big smile - then said:

"Because he cherishes his feather so much, he would not allow himself to make any mistake," a look at him again, "so he is a perfect director."

He seemed satisfied with the answer. "This question is very, very good."

(China Daily 07/31/2007 page18)