Starring: Lau Ching-wan, Huo Siyan, Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung
Director: Lawrence Ah Mon
Category: IIA (Cantonese)
A love of Hong Kong cinema permeates My Name is Fame, a bittersweet look at the local industry that, despite being set in the present, has a buzz harking back to the glory days of the early 1990s. In delineating the struggles of two performers on the fringes of fame, director Lawrence Ah Mon paints a lighthearted yet evocative portrait of an often cruel business whose allure proves irresistible for those enamoured of creating celluloid magic.
The script (by Richard Yuen Sai-sang, Jessica Fong Ching and Law Yiu-fai) is a variation of A Star is Born, with Poon Ka-fai (Lau Ching-wan) the veteran on his way down and Faye (Huo Siyan) the extra on the verge of stardom. Not that My Name is Fame is a copy of its Hollywood predecessors. The twist is that Poon has never been a glittering celebrity. Showered with best-newcomer accolades two decades earlier, he's now middle-aged and known within the industry as an actor whose undeniable talent is matched by a tactless honesty that has earned him the label of being difficult.
Possessing a face that will never be of pin-up calibre, Poon's star appears to be in permanent eclipse. The film focuses on his relationship with Faye, an ambitious but naive wannabe from the mainland, who overcomes Poon's indifference to become his pupil and, in the process, reignites his enthusiasm.
