It was supposed to be a celebration of Hong Kong's five most famous action choreographers but only four of them showed up. The buzz began early on Monday night at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, with people wondering why Jackie Chan was snubbing the awards dinner ahead of the 30th Hong Kong International Film Festival launch.
Although the official word is he's stuck on the set of a movie, it's fishy. What ballsy director is going to say to Jackie Chan, 'No, you can't leave my set to accept some silly award or you'll never work in this town again!'
Regardless, the high kicks and punches were celebrated in style, with Yuen Wo-ping, Ching Siu-tung, Lau Kar-leung (below) and Sammo Hung Kam-bo (right) receiving major kudos. Japanese star Yasuaki Kurata explained that when he first met Lau, his first impression was, 'Man, this guy is so short, can he really do the kung fu?' Scepticism turned to awe when the martial artist began showing his stuff.
As the portly Hung told CitySeen: 'In Asian cinema, anyone can be a superman. The skills and fantasy of Asian films have been implemented in Hollywood by people like us, but it's nothing like the movies here, where everyone has special powers or abilities.'
Additional reporting by Lauren Crothers