May 10th 2010, Shanghai Madame Tussauds Shanghai, located at 10/F, New World Building, No.2-68 Nanjing Xi Road, welcomed Zhou Libo, the founder of shanghai-style clean talk. At the invitation of Madame Tussauds Shanghai, Zhou Libo was taken measurements for wax sitting. It is reported that the wax figure of Zhou Libo will be completed around September, expected to kick off a new round of local frenzy.
Madame Tussauds always holds a prudent attitude in choosing the right person to make wax figures. An extensive investigation and market research is always required before new celebrities introduced into its wax museum, aiming to pinpoint the best of the best only. That means the very celebrity to appear should not only boast outstanding achievements in his or her field of work, but also be respected and admired by the local public. No wonder, the achievement that Zhou Libo has obtained in establishing shanghai-style clean talk and the efforts he made in developing Shanghai regional culture are enough to allow him to be a member of the Madame Tussauds. His unique style, serio-comic style in performance, imaginary lines and his witty dialect all contribute to the popularity of shanghai-style clean talk, featuring “one person, one mouth and a whole play”. His shows, such as “Xiaokan 30 Years” had a full house for every performance, and the talk show he hosted “Weekly Libo Talk Show” set the record of the No.1 TV audience rating during Y10 Spring festival. Zhou Libo, together with his shanghai-style clean talk does not only find the favor in audience’s eyes but also promotes the once faded Shanghai local culture back to life with a fashionable flame, which has attracted great attention across China and even the world. Zhou Libo, relying on his “unique Shanghai-style humor”, gained the honorable reputation of “Who Mattered Most in China 2009” by CNN. However, the steadily growing fame does not hinder his steps. Instead, he has made great efforts to boost the prosperity of charities and public welfare service. Zhou Libo carried out his charity activities in various ways: shooting exploitation films for public good, participating charity ball and donate libraries for rural areas, etc.
Bret Pidgeon, the general manager of Madame Tussauds Shanghai, feels glad to invite Zhou Libo. He said:” As a leading exponent of Shanghai local culture, Zhou Libo won the fancy of people in all age groups. Therefore, Madame Tussauds Shanghai regards it as a chance for Mr. Zhou fans to have a closer contact with their idol.” Zhou Libo gladly accepted the invitation and expressed his gratitude of the honor of being among those big names. In addition, he said he would keep pursuing his art to live up to audience’s expectation.
Madame Tussauds invited the British expert team especially for the measurement, in order to copy Zhou Libo”s elegant demeanor. The creation of each wax replica is far more complicated than any mind can think of. To achieve high fidelity, a wide range of professional process, including creative image brief, measurement and photographing of body details, totally more than 200 data collection and color match will be conducted within 3 hours. Based on the data, the expert team will take 6-8 weeks to make a fine figure, and then a plaster mold. Pouring the wax into the mold, the technician can have a rough wax figure. Before completing the figure, a highly trained wax sculpting expert will plant the hair, color all details and refine the body, taking 8-12 weeks long. After all the process is finished in the workshop in London, the wax figure will be shipped to Shanghai and gets checked by Mr. Zhou and Madame Tussauds Shanghai to guarantee the best look.
The appearance of Zhou Libo’s wax figure is still disclosed. As Zhou Libo boasts various appearances on the stage, it is hard for the public to guess the answer. In August or September, visitors can find out the final answer at Madame Tussauds Shanghai.