Wu Nien-jen

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisWu.

Wu Nien-jen
Ngô niệm thật
Born	(1952-08-05)5 August 1952 Houtong,Ruifang Township,Taipei County,Taiwan(modern-dayRuifang,New Taipei)
Nationality	Taiwanese
Alma mater	Fu Jen Catholic University
Awards	Golden Horse Awards–Best Original Screenplay 1981Classmates 1984Second Spring of Mr. Muo 1990Song of the Exile 1992Hill of No Return Best Adapted Screenplay 1986Father-son Relationship

Wu Nien-jen(Chinese:Ngô niệm thật;pinyin:Wú Niànzhēn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Gô͘ Liām-chin;bornChinese:Ngô văn khâm;pinyin:Wú Wēnqīn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Gô͘ Bûn-khim;5 August 1952) is a Taiwanesescreenwriter,director,and writer. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in Taiwan and a leading member of theNew Taiwanese Cinema,although he has also acted in a number of films. He starred inEdward Yang's 2000 filmYi Yi.Wu is a well-known supporter of theDemocratic Progressive Partyand has filmed commercials for the party.

Early and personal life

Wu was born into a coal miner's family in 1952 and raised in the mining town ofJiufen.He went into the army after high school, and after being discharged in 1976, went to work at a library while pursuing a degree in accounting at theFu Jen Catholic Universitynight school.He started writing short stories for newspapers in 1975, when he was still an accounting major. After penning his first screenplay in 1978, Wu enteredCentral Motion Picture Corporationas a creative supervisor and worked with several leading Taiwanese New Wave directors such asHou Hsiao-hsienandEdward Yang.Wu has since written more than 70 screenplays that were made into films, and has become one of the leading artists of theTaiwanese Cinemaof the 1980s. Wu has also set the record for winning the most Golden Horse Awards to date (Taiwan's Film Awards), including a collaboration with the internationally acclaimed Hong Kong directorAnn Huion her filmSong of Exile,a.k.a.Ketu Qiuhen(1990). His novels and screenplays have also made him one of Taiwan's best-selling authors.

Currently, Wu runs his own production company Wu's Productions and actively writes, directs, produces and performs in commercials and television programs. He is an artist of many versatile talents, being a published novelist, author, writer and well-respected Taiwanese filmmaker.

Wu's son, Chien-Ting Wu, is also an actor in Taiwan, and has starred in TV shows such asApple in Your Eyeand films such asArvin Chen'sWill You Still Love Me Tomorrow(2013).

Writing

Fiction

Wu started writing short stories while he was still a college student at theFu Jen Catholic UniversityinTaipeistudying accounting, publishing his first short story in a newspaper at the age of seventeen.In an interview with film scholar Michael Berry, Wu stated that "I was already working in Taipei at that time, and the extra money I earned from publishing my stories in the newspapers actually added up to more than my salary, which made me very happy and inspired me to keep on writing."He started making a name for himself on the Taiwanese literary scene with a series of popular and commercially successful short story collections, includingGrab on to Spring( bắt lấy một cái mùa xuân ) (Zhuazhu yige chuntian)(1977).Other popular novels by Wu include:Special of the Day( đặc biệt một ngày ) (1988),Taiwan, Tell The Truth( Đài Loan niệm chân tình ) (2002),Year-old a person to travel( tám tuổi một người đi lữ hành ) (2003),These people, those things( những người này, những cái đó sự ) (2010) andTaiwan, Say the Truth( Đài Loan niệm chân tình ) (2011).

One of Wu's role models and mentors as a writer wasCheng Ching-wen,who wrote the short story collectionThree-Legged Horse.Wu said of the mentorship provided by Cheng:

"Cheng Ching-wen was really a kind of role model for me. I was twenty-something when I was discharged from the military. At the time, it was extremely difficult to find a job if one was not well educated. I knew that taking on an apprenticeship to learn a trade would require much more time than just entering the university, so I decided to do the latter. I knew Cheng Ching-wen and consulted him when I was trying to decide what to study and which universities to apply to. Cheng was working in a bank and writing fiction in his spare time. His job at the bank provided financial stability for him and his family while writing accommodated his own interests. He once told me," You can only truly enjoy writing as an act of literary creation when there is no financial burden hanging over your head. "This really resonated with me, and I decided to apply for something that would eventually help me to find a job - business school became my first choice. But I never went into business because by my senior year I was already working for CMPC, writing screenplays. I did eventually finish my studies, however."

Screenwriting

Wu's storytelling talents and penchant for realistic dialogue caught the attention of a Taiwanese movie studio named Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC), which hired him as a scriptwriter and creative supervisor while he was still finishing his college studies.By 1981, Wu had won his firstGolden HorseBest Screenplay Award for writing Ching-chieh Lin'sClassmates(Tong ban tong xue) (1981).

Wu would go on to win 5 more Golden Horse "Best Original Screenplay", "Best Adapted Screenplay" or "Best Original Film Song" awards later on in his career, for the films:Lao Mo de di er ge chun tian(1984) (Best Original Screenplay, 1984),The Two of Us(1987) (Best Adapted Screenplay, 1987), Kun Hao Chen'sGui hua xiang(1987) (Best Original Film Song, shared with Yang Chen),Anne Hui'sSong of the Exile(1990) (Best Original Screenplay, 1990), and Toon Wang'sWu yan de shan qiu(1992)(Best Original Screenplay, 1992). Wu also ended up winning a Best Screenplay Award from the 1993Asia-Pacific Film Festivalfor Toon Wang's historical film,Wu yan de shan qiu(1992). In total, Wu ended up writing over 90 feature film screenplays and numerous TV dramas.

Other notable screenplays Wu has written (some of which are considered integral films of the Taiwanese New Wave orNew Taiwanese Cinemamovement) includeEdward Yang's feature directorial debut,That Day, on the Beach(1983),Hou Hsiao-hsien's filmsThe Puppetmaster(1993),A City of Sadness(1989), andDust in the Wind(1986), and films directed byAnne HuiincludingSong of Exile(1990) andMy American Grandson(1990), and Taiwanese commercial hitsOld Mo's Second Spring(1984) andThe Dull Ice Flower(1989). Wu also wrote the screenplay for all the short film segments of the Taiwanese New Wave omnibus filmThe Sandwich Man(1983) based on stories from the collection byHuang Chunming,with segments directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tseng Chuang-Hsiang and Wan Ren.

Directed films

Wu made his directorial debut in 1994 withA Borrowed Life,which he also wrote. The award-winning movie commemorates Wu's Japanese-educated, hard-working coal-miner father. The film won the Grand Prize (Prize of the City of Torino for Best Film - International Feature Film Competition) at theTorino Film Festivalin Italy, a FIPRESCI/NETPAC Award at the 1995Singapore International Film Festivaland the Silver Alexander Award as well as theFIPRESCI Prize(International Federation of Film Critics Award) at the 1994Thessaloniki Film Festivalin Greece.The film also won a Best Original Film Song award (given toTsai Chen-nan(composer/performer) and Chen Che-cheng (composer) for the song "The Wandering Song" ) at the 1994Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards,where it was also nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actor (Tsai Chen-nan), Best Original Screenplay (Wu Nien-jen), and Best Sound Effects (Tu Duu-chih).Martin Scorsesealso has citedA Borrowed Life(Tò-sàng) as one of his favorite films, and ranked it one of the best of the 1990s.

In 1996, Wu wrote and directed his second filmBuddha Bless America,a.k.a. Thái Bình Thiên Quốc,Taiping Tianguo(1996), a political satire set in the 1960s which was also nominated and in competition for the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1996Venice Film Festival.

In 2011, Wu directed a short film segment entitled "A Grocery Called Forever" in the Taiwanese anthology film10+10(2011), starring Yung-Feng Lee.

Acting

Besides directing and writing, Wu appears in film cameos from time to time. However, it was not until he acted in several beer and food product commercials that his true acting talent was discovered. He was cast as the lead ( "NJ" ) inEdward Yang's film,Yi Yi(2000), which was critically acclaimed and won several international awards (including Best Director for Yang at Cannes). Wu also collaborated with Yang in the past by being an actor in Yang's previous filmsTaipei Story(1985) (as the Taxi Driver) andMahjong(1996) (as the Gangster in a Black Suit) and the writer of the screenplay for Yang's first feature film as a director,That Day, On The Beach(1983). Wu also appeared as an actor in Hou Hsiao-hsien's filmsDaughter of the Nile(1987) andA City of Sadness(1989).

In 2014, Wu appeared in the filmThe Boar Kingand in 2013, Wu played the character "Master Silly Mortal" in the filmZone Pro Site,the 9th highest grossing Taiwanese domestic film of all time.In 2013, Wu played the older mobster character Ho Cheng-Chih in Chien-yu Yu's 2013 (but released 2016) gangster film,Mole of Life.In 2009, Wu had a role as Chen Ting-Ho on the Taiwanese TV seriesThe Year of Happiness and Love(2009-2010). Wu also played the Tour Bus Driver in Huai-en Chen'sIsland Etude(2006). In 2000, the same year he appeared inYi Yi,Wu also acted in Chih-yu Hung'sPure Accidents(2000). Wu also appeared as an actor inBuddha Bless America(1996), which he also wrote and directed, and acted in several Taiwanese New Wave films of the 1980s, including Kun Hao Chen'sMy Favorite Season(1985) andOut of the Blue(1984) andKo I-chen'sI Love Mary(1984).

Filmography

Director

• A Borrowed Life(1994)
• Thái Bình Thiên Quốc Buddha Bless America(1996)
• A Grocery Called Foreverin anthology film,10+10(2011)

Executive producer

• Somewhere I Have Never Traveled(2009)

Screenplays

• The Puppetmaster(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1993)
• Song of the Exile(Dir. Anne Hui, 1990)
• My American Grandson(Dir. Anne Hui, 1990)
• A City of Sadness(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
• Dust in the Wind(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986)
• That Day on the Beach(Dir. Edward Yang, 1983)
• The Sandwich Man(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tseng Chuang-Hsiang and Wan Ren, 1983)

Actor

• The Year of Happiness and Love(TV Series)(Dir. Various, 2009)
• Yi Yi(Dir. Edward Yang, 2000)
• Mahjong(Dir. Edward Yang, 1996)
• A City of Sadness(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
• Daughter of the Nile(Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1987)
• Taipei Story(Dir. Edward Yang, 1985)

Bibliography

• Đài Loan niệm chân tình(2011)
• Những người này, những cái đó sự(2010)
• Tám tuổi một người đi lữ hành(2003)
• Đài Loan niệm chân tình(2002)
• Đặc biệt một ngày(1988)
• Bắt lấy một cái mùa xuân(1977)

External links

• Wu Nien-jenatIMDb
• "The Taiwan Stories of Edward Yang and Wu Nien-jen,"Harvard Film Archive
• "Wu Nien-jen becomes NCCU’s new artist-in-residence"National Chengchi University web site
• Nien-Jen Wu's official foruminTraditional Chinese,which has been established by one of Wu's TV colleagues.