Calling the Shots
Having stepped away from her acting career, Maggie Cheung is enjoying her freedom - and the last thing she's going to do is tie herself down with a man, children or a job she doesn't believe in.

Such praise, however, was not enough to keep Cheung on the silver screen. After completing Clean, the actress drifted away from cinema, leaving critics to presume she has retired from the business altogether.
"No, I'm not retired; I am letting it be," she explains in a soft English accent. "I'm not looking to do another film but I am not saying yes to much else either. The only thing that could draw me back to getting up at 5.30am, being on the set at 6am, and doing hair and make-up for five hours, is something very special. It became the same cycle for every film; I don't need that cycle any more.
"I am at such a nice time in my life and I don't want to end that for something that I don't 100 per cent love. You have to defend a film that you have done no matter what - professionally and personally. I'd like to speak about my next project with passion, but I just feel that it's not going to happen. I have done 75 films and that makes me think that it's OK not to do 76. If I do choose another movie, I'd like to walk on set and say, `Wow! I love being here', instead of thinking, `Why am I giving up my life to be here on this bloody mountain in the middle of nowhere?'
"When you take on a part, it's actually quite a beautiful process," says Cheung, who has earned a reputation for playing "heavy" roles. "Just to understand another woman ... to imagine what it can be. I don't live the parts but I analyse them until I really understand who they are and I try to imagine them physically.
"But now [that I've stopped] I am much lighter as a person. It's amazing to be able to live as you wish. You are able to plan your day yourself and do whatever you want. Right now I don't feel like being stuck or committed to anything full time. Even my relationship - it's still part-time, as I travel and work."
Cheung's wanderlust may have stemmed from her childhood desire to be an air stewardess, she jokes, and she still makes frequent trips to Paris, where she once shared a home with ex-husband and Clean director Olivier Assayas. More recently, though, she has been spending a significant amount of time at her home in Beijing, where she enjoys the anonymity.


"I feel so sad about what the Hong Kong press have become. Even though people [in Beijing] still recognise me, and do or don't like me, the way they behave is purer. Hong Kong people have become more critical because of the media," which have been known to camp outside Cheung's Repulse Bay home.
"It's a bad education for the heart, the soul and what you want for others and what is important: the value of life. It's f**ked up. The media are f**king Hong Kong up and I am angry about that.
"In Beijing I feel that with anyone I am in touch with, whether they know who I am or not, they are genuine and not judging me on how I look. I don't always want to be alert and on my guard."
She may not feel charitable towards the Hong Kong media, but Cheung has begun working with Oil of Olay and Audi (she represents both brands in China) on projects aimed at educating mainland youths.
"China is growing so fast but if the education of the next generation is not up to it, it can backfire for the country," she says. "Now I can do something for society. I always wanted to but have been so busy up to now. I am not a great saint who is giving up all her time to charity; it's something I am serious about and that I really want to do. Apart from the charity work, I'm still out there looking for fulfilling projects.
"I like to do things properly. What I have in my hands now makes me busy and I just don't want to overload myself. I want to be happy and lighthearted."


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