HK film director John Woo to receive honorary doctorate

Updated at 6.09pm: Internationally acclaimed Hong Kong film director John Woo will receive an honorary doctorate for his contribution to the Asian film industry.

The Hong Kong Baptist University would give Woo an honorary doctorate in social sciences next Tuesday, the government said in statement on Friday.

Woo was born in southern China and grew up in Hong Kong. The 58-year-old launched his film career in the late 1960s. He established his reputation directing action-packed gangster films and thrillers. One of his most well-known films is A Better Tomorrow from 1986 - which starred Chow Yun-fat. His acclaimed film The Killer in 1989 brought him to the attention of Hollywood.

Woo has now directed about 30 films including Hollywood films: M: I-2, Face/Off and Paycheck.

Woo will also give a series of talks and seminars from November 8 to 11 in Hong Kong.

He will discuss the development of Hong Kong and Chinese films at the Hong Kong Film Archive at 7.30pm next Wednesday. The activity will be conducted in Cantonese, the government said.