'Seven Little Fortunes' return for academy's 50th anniversary

It was a feast the students of the China Drama Academy (now called the Hong Kong-China Opera Institute by its members) never saw in their younger days. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, martial arts legends Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung Kam-bo, Yuan Qiu, Yuen Wah and Yuan Biao arrived at the InterContinental Hotel on Friday night to celebrate their late master Yu Zhanyuan. As cornerstone members of the 'Seven Little Fortunes', they joined the other 30-plus former members who had returned for the charity dinner to support the Education Development Foundation Association. 'All of us are now scattered around the world,' 'big brother' Sammo Hung said. 'We spent more than a year to set up this dinner.' The 50-table affair included a stage that resembled the old institute. Hung (centre) led some of his little brothers in a Peking opera performance, while Chan did some acrobatics (including a cartwheel, pictured) and sang the Beijing Olympic anthem with Sandy Lam Yik-lin. The most touching moment came when Yu's daughter, Yu Suqiu, now 81 and a resident of San Francisco, accepted a T-shirt signed by every member of the Seven Little Fortunes. An emotional Yu choked up as she explained: 'Every time I meet with all my brothers and sisters, it reminds me of my beloved father.'

Before the dinner, Yuan Biao confirmed he plans to make a film about their youth. 'We are too old to do all these stunts anymore, so we will give the roles to younger actors such as Eason Chan Yik-shun, Ronald Cheng Chung-kei and Jaycee Fong Cho-ming.' But he added: 'The real Seven Little Fortunes may appear as extras in the film.'