By: Izumi Hasegawa August 12, 2018
Out of the gate, I have to say that I absolutely loved that this film not only features a woman in the lead hero role, but an Asian woman to boot. One of the most beautiful Asian actresses today, Li Bingbing stars as, Suyin a marine biologist, shark expert, and the film’s unsung heroin opposite Jason Statham who plays Jonas Taylor. Taylor has to battle his own demons in addition to a shark the size of a two TMZ tour buses in order to save people on a sunken submersible, Suyin being one of them. But who is really saving who here?
I sat down with Li to talk sugar, sacrifice, and shooting The Meg.
Q: You look amazing at your age. How do you stay so youthful and what are your anti-aging secrets?
I am a very strict person for myself. I don’t eat anything fried. French fries or any fatty acids and snacks. I don’t eat sugar or chocolate.
Q: What about this drink? (she is drinking something yellow with brown seeds drink).
This is granadillas. (She searched it with her smartphone and showed the screen of result). It’s very sour and no sugar. It tastes like a lemon and is very healthy. It’s very healthy and good for your throat.
Q: Do you also avoid all carbs, or maintain a gluten free diet?
I eat rice that is gluten free, and I do a face mask every day. Exercise is also a big part of my life and very important to me.
Q: As a woman over 20 and of Asian decent who plays the heroin that saves a Caucasian male in this movie, which is Jason Staham no less. I would say you hit a home run, this movie is amazing! That being said, how do you top this? How do you see yourself at forty-five and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am pretty satisfied with my life and my career too. But it’s not enough. We are in a very good time for people in this age because we learn a lot from life and we experience a lot. And we can explore and express ourselves at this age. We have more vivid experiences to tell more people right now. That’s why I want to say that within the future I can play a role that has more story to share our experiences from the life we learned.
Q: What are your personal life goals?
The past twenty years my focus has been on work. There is no personal life. I live to only work and my parents. They are the most important people in my life. I don’t pay attention to other things, just work. Recently I have not felt very good about three years ago when I was shooting this movie. I have no problems, but I was not very comfortable and I don’t know why. That’s why it was so hard for me to finish this movie. It was so hard for me to persevere. I didn’t tell anyone. That’s why I felt so accomplished when I watched the final cut.
Q: Was what you were experiencing more physical or mental?
Nobody knows. I went to the hospital and they didn’t have any answers. I did not feel very well. Our art director and some of the crew might know a little bit but not completely.
Q: You said you only had two weeks to prepare. Did this project come to you last minute? Was it unexpected.
This project came three years ago and they kept chasing after me wanting me to do this. The first time I said no immediately because of the cold water. I thought I can’t put myself in the cold water. Like I told you, I didn’t feel very well so I can’t work in the cold water. I told them no immediately. So, for the whole year, they kept chasing me for me to join them. I told them, no, no the water is so cold, I cannot work in that situation. I didn’t want to be unprofessional actress. I am a very, very professional actress. I could not allow myself to do those kinds of things. So, I said no immediately. They kept chasing me until they started to shoot the movie, finally I said yes.
Q: What about having time for yourself?
These last several years I have thought about myself. Sometimes your body starts to shut down and listen to you. A lot of things can change that is out of your control. So I started to accept what happened to me. There are no answers to why I didn’t feel very good. No answers and I don’t know why. But right now, I have become a lot better. During the shooting in New Zealand, the nature heals me. I love the beautiful grass land every time we go there and look out onto the grass land, it’s just endless and so beautiful. My heart opened and absorbed a lot of positive energy from the beautiful sunshine and the beautiful view. It really healed me a lot. After that, I just fell in love in New Zealand. I have to go back.
Here the fact about filming in New Zealand for the film. Now we all feel to need to visit there!
The MEG is showing in theaters nationwide. For more information visit the film’s official website at, http://www.themeg.movie/
Interview by Izumi Hasegawa – https://twitter.com/HNW_Izumi
Edited by: Jody Taylor – https://twitter.com/RealJodyTaylor
Follow Us: What’s Up Hollywood at https://twitter.com/WhatsUpHWood
