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Vivienne Chow

Bruce Lee's daughter accepts Star of the Century award for her late father

The spirit of the late Bruce Lee was alive and kicking at last night's Hong Kong Film Awards, with the legendary kung fu master honoured as the Star of the Century as part of the centenary of Chinese cinema celebrations.

'Thank you for your support and the love for my father,' his daughter Shannon Lee said in accepting the award. 'I hope people can also remember his philosophy. My father's spirits lives on. He made us remember him.'

Kung Fu Hustle star Stephen Chow Sing-chi, a big Bruce Lee fan, praised Lee for changing people's perception of kung fu as a martial art and its portrayal in films.

Fans were also delighted by the announcement of plans to build a two-metre statue of Lee on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association on November 27 and the Bruce Lee Club, which will raise $500,000 to $600,000 for the statue.

The star-studded awards show, held as part of the city's first Entertainment Expo, took place at the Hong Kong Coliseum rather than at its previous venue, the Cultural Centre.

Andy Lau Tak-wah,  last year's best actor, approved of the new arrangement.

'I hope it can be held at the Coliseum every year so that more people can join in,' he said.

Lau and fellow heart-throb Leon Lai Ming  arguably drew the biggest cheers from the 1,000-strong crowd that had gathered for the curtain-raiser, the blue-carpet ceremony - blue rather than red because this year's event was sponsored by soft-drink giant Pepsi.

The crowd was treated to some of this year's most glamorous moments in showbiz.

And driving the frenzy was a corp of about 340 members of the press - from as far as Finland - surrounding the 72-metre carpet to witness every gesture of the arriving stars.

Renowned actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai  turned up hand-in-hand with actress girlfriend Carina Lau Ka-ling.  Other internationally famous stars such as Maggie Cheung Man-yuk,  Zhang Ziyi and  Jackie Chan,  dressed in suits or revealing evening gowns decorated with luxurious jewellery, arrived one after another to walk the carpet's gauntlet of flashing cameras and screaming admirers.

The fans displayed feverish devotion to their idols, demonstrating support with neon banners, as the stars slipped past protected from the rain by the awards' official black umbrellas.

Renowned directors such as Ang Lee,  Tian Zhuangzhuang  and Feng Xiaogang  were special guests at the awards, hosted by Do Do Cheng  and Lawrence Cheng Dan-shui.

Apart from presenting 19 awards, plus a special award to Jackie Chan for professional achievement, the theme was to celebrate the centenary of Chinese cinema. A film comprising footage from the most memorable screen moments in more than 100 films of the past 100 years was shown.

Film professionals from Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan shared their views on the history of Chinese cinema, with more than 50 overseas guests attending.

This year's Hong Kong Film Awards received the highest voting rate of 70 per cent. The votes came from registered members of the film industry.

For the first time, members of the general public were able to attend the awards show. About 1,500 tickets were given away last Sunday.



Stars share spotlight with history and a legend