DIRECTOR Johnnie To Kei-fung is a man with a mission many would call impossible: to make 100 movies in three years. Even with Hong Kong's unenviable history of slapdash productions, that is a tall order for any film-maker, no matter how prolific. An average of 33 movies a year is almost one-sixth of Hong Kong's total film productions in 2001.
Fortunately, however, the fine print mentions he does not have to direct all 100 himself. As chief operating officer of 100 Years of Film Ltd, a subsidiary of film powerhouse China Star Entertainment, To will just have to help source and get projects into production and direct a few, if he feels like it.
'Under the 100 Years of Film banner, we have many other smaller production outfits such as my own Milkyway Image, Tsui Hark's Film Workshop and others. In fact, it would be great if we could get more production houses to do it. We also have an in-house production unit that's run by [long-time collaborator] Wai Ka-fai, and employs film-makers like Patrick Yau Tat-chi [Expect The Unexpected] and Herman Yau Lai-to [The Untold Story]. So I don't have to do everything myself,' says To.
'Having that kind of a production schedule can be tiring but we're doing this to push the industry. The second thing is we can provide many jobs, because we need a lot of people. When we've made 100 films, we'll need to sit down and evaluate if we we're doing it correctly.
'We're not going to do only big-budget movies or commercial romantic comedies. Basically, we're dividing it into three categories. Grade-A films, such as Tsui Hark's coming Legend Of Zu, are those that can hit the international as well as Hong Kong markets. Grade-B ones will feature quality scripts and cast, while for Grade C or smaller-budget ones - we will allow the director more creative space, such as Herman Yau's From The Queen To The Chief Executive.'
To acknowledges that it can be tough being a studio executive and film-maker at the same time. 'I have to attend meetings in the day and shoot my movies at night. It's exhausting. But the battle must be fought. This is a transition period I have to survive.