Despite a recent surge in big budget dramas and action flicks, Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau Wai-keung has bucked the trend with a romantic comedy, Look for a Star, which opens on Lunar New Year.
Lau's new HK$45 million project is a 'real-life' version of the Cinderella fairy tale starring Andy Lau Tak-wah as Sam, a bachelor tycoon who falls in love with a croupier (played by Shu Qi), despite their social differences.
Some have criticised the work as a rip-off of romantic comedies such as Garry Marshall's Pretty Woman (1990), starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and Notting Hill (1999), directed by Roger Michell and also starring Roberts.
Lau (left) disagreed: 'People will always compare a new film to some other memorable classic - that's expected. I have to say, neither Pretty Woman nor Notting Hill are among my favourites.
'Look for a Star isn't just a love story about Sam and the croupier; there's a romance going on between Sam's assistant [Denise Ho Wan-see] and a construction worker [Zhang Hanyu]. Even the chauffeur [Dominic Lam Ka-wah] gets in on the act,' said Lau. 'I wanted to create a comedy that people from all walks of life can appreciate - you don't need to be rich to understand the philosophy of love.'
Lau said much of the inspiration for the film came from his own experiences of married life and those of his friends. 'In every relationship there are hiccups. Although the film includes many light-hearted scenes, there are a few sad moments, but that's what life is all about.'