It's a scream!
Many of us may not realise that the latest American horror flick, Freddy Vs Jason, is directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ronny Yu Yan-tai. The film, which topped the United States' box office for the first two weeks of its release, is now showing in local cinemas.
Following his success with the Bride of Chucky - about a possessed doll - five years ago, Yu was invited to take part in two famous film franchises - Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street and Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th. 'I'm actually not fond of horror movies,' the film veteran said at the Hong Kong Director in Hollywood talk, organised by the Cinema and Television Department of Hong Kong Baptist University last week. 'It's because I am afraid [of watching them].'
The event attracted more than 100 students from the faculty as well as film lovers from other disciplines.
Before Yu started his career in Hollywood, his Hong Kong film credits included The Phantom Lover. His international breakthrough came with the award-winning series The Bride with White Hair, starring Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, which gained him recognition in the West.
'I received a lot of phone calls after the release of The Bride with White Hair. People from Spain, France, Australia and America said that they loved the film,' he said.