https://www.scmp.com/rss/142076/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Although Covid-19 has disrupted shooting schedules and closed cinemas all over Asia at different times over the past two years as various waves of the pandemic have moved across the region, a reassuring number of films made it into production and should be available to audiences later this year. This was evident at Filmart Online in Hong Kong last week (March 14-17), the biggest film industry trading platform in Asia, where many new works were being promoted or discussed, from big-budget action... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3171394/hirokazu-koreedas-broker-park-chan-wooks-decision-leave-10?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3171394/hirokazu-koreedas-broker-park-chan-wooks-decision-leave-10?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Mar 2022 09:15:12 +0000 In 2013, following a full year of negotiations with the author’s son, Beijing-based producer Wang Donghui secured the rights to make a Chinese television series based on Dutch diplomat Robert van Gulik’s series of Judge Dee historical mystery novels. He also had one of China’s biggest TV stars, Zhang Jiayi, on board as his producing partner and to play Judge Dee. With the huge popularity of crime shows such as Sherlock and CSI on Chinese streaming sites, Wang believed he had the beginnings of a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2007951/british-screenwriters-adapting-china-based-judge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2007951/british-screenwriters-adapting-china-based-judge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:21:54 +0000 Omnibus films, once regarded as box-office suicide, have become fashionable in recent years, particularly in Asian cinema. First we had pan-Asian horror triptych Three and its sequel of sorts, Three ... Extremes, which have both been successful with Asian horror fans worldwide. Wong Kar-wai recently contributed a segment to portmanteau film Eros, alongside offerings from Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni, and LA-based John Woo is one of seven directors shooting a short for a Unicef... https://www.scmp.com/article/476183/message-love-fuels-asian-omnibus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/476183/message-love-fuels-asian-omnibus?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Oct 2004 16:00:00 +0000 PUSAN, A BUSTLING container port on the southern coast of South Korea, doesn't look like an obvious setting for a film festival. Sure, there's a beach and a sprinkling of luxury hotels, but the horizon is dotted with cranes, not palm trees, and the town, with its acres of concrete, has a distinctly industrial feel. None of which seems to bother the thousands of movie fans who flock to the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) each year. Since its inception in 1996, it has become one of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/474910/korea-path?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/474910/korea-path?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Oct 2004 16:00:00 +0000 NEVER IN THE history of Asian cinema has an unreleased film generated so many column centimetres, aroused so much speculation and prompted so many jokes about its completion date as Wong Kar-wai's 2046. Finally, after five years in production and that nail-biting, last-minute arrival at Cannes this year, the film is today released in Hong Kong. And although the 2046 people will see isn't exactly the same as the one that premiered in front of Quentin Tarantino's jury at the Cannes Film... https://www.scmp.com/article/472255/loitering-intent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/472255/loitering-intent?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:00:00 +0000 LONG BEFORE Michael Moore held aloft the top prize of the Cannes Film Festival - the Palme d'Or - at the weekend, it was clear that politics would dominate this year's event. During the first few days of the festival, the streets were crowded with striking French arts workers and, although festival organisers finally reached an agreement with trade unions, peace wasn't restored before a few scuffles had broken out. Catching the mood of dissent, the staff of the Carlton Hotel - the festival's... https://www.scmp.com/article/457173/carrying-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/457173/carrying-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 May 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Filmmaker He Jianjun didn't just sit around bemoaning China's pirate DVD problem - he made a film about it. But the resulting Pirated Copy isn't a simple denunciation of the illegal trade. It's a clever drama exploring how illegal DVDs have become a cultural phenomenon in China, affecting all levels of society. What's more, among all the social observations, he manages to tell some rattling good stories. He, who shot to fame as a leading light of China's independent 'Sixth Generation' with... https://www.scmp.com/article/456729/wave-fakes-buoys-piracy-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/456729/wave-fakes-buoys-piracy-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 May 2004 16:00:00 +0000 But the final reel should make it to red-carpet event Acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's latest film will miss its scheduled debut at the Cannes Film Festival today because the final reel cannot be delivered in time. The official press screening of 2046 was due to be held at 8.30am today. It may also miss the 2.30pm show, but festival organisers insisted it would be ready in time for the 7pm red-carpet screening which the director and stars - including Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Gong... https://www.scmp.com/article/456403/wong-kar-wais-2046-miss-planned-debut-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/456403/wong-kar-wais-2046-miss-planned-debut-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2004 16:00:00 +0000 One year after the Sars outbreak scared away foreign film crews, there are signs that Hong Kong and China are once again becoming hot locations for international productions. Following in the footsteps of Hollywood vampire flick Ultraviolet - which recently wrapped the Hong Kong portion of its shoot and moved to Shanghai - the producers of several big-budget US and European films are considering shooting here or on the mainland. Among the filmmakers who have been checking out locations in... https://www.scmp.com/article/454999/cheap-crews-priceless-locations-foreigners-focus-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/454999/cheap-crews-priceless-locations-foreigners-focus-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 May 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Asian filmmakers will be out in force at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which should please Quentin Tarantino - the president of this year's festival jury and a self-confessed devotee of Asian cinema. Of the 18 films that have been selected for the slimmed-down competition section, six are from Asia, including Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. Asian titles are also present in the festival's expanded Out of Competition section and most of the sidebars, including Un Certain Regard,... https://www.scmp.com/article/454219/asia-hopes-its-got-it-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/454219/asia-hopes-its-got-it-cannes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Fresh from their success with horror sequel The Eye 2 (which has topped the box office in several Asian countries) co-directing brothers Oxide and Danny Pang are gearing up to start shooting again, although this time they'll be working on separate movies. At the beginning of May, Danny starts work on an action drama, Leave Me Alone, which will star Ekin Cheng Yee-kin and Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin. Later in the month, Oxide is scheduled to start directing a thriller, Abnormal Beauty, which was... https://www.scmp.com/article/453325/leave-me-alone-says-danny-its-abnormal-me-says-oxide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/453325/leave-me-alone-says-danny-its-abnormal-me-says-oxide?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Next time you feel like you're working too hard or have a punishing schedule, spare a thought for director Johnnie To Kei-fung. At the more artistically driven end of the Hong Kong film industry, directors such as Wong Kar-wai can spend four years making a single film. But To, who is a proven hit maker and pursued by every film company in town, juggles two or three films at the same time. This revered filmmaker is so busy he was unable to collect the best director prize bestowed on him at the... https://www.scmp.com/article/452546/hit-man-hurry-director-johnnie-running-adrenaline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/452546/hit-man-hurry-director-johnnie-running-adrenaline?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 YOU MIGHT HAVE heard the urban myth. An unwary business traveller has one drink too many and wakes up with a cracking hangover in a bathtub full of ice. The victim glances up and sees a note taped to the bathroom mirror: 'Call a doctor. You've just had a kidney removed.' As with all urban myths, the details change with the storyteller, but thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the basic story has been circulated from Saskatchewan to Shenzhen. Three or four years ago, when it was doing... https://www.scmp.com/article/451919/visceral-thrills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/451919/visceral-thrills?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 We may live in an enlightened age, but there are still certain subjects that the film industry shy away from - particularly if they're deemed controversial or not commercial enough. Movies about gay relationships are often consigned to the 'too risky' basket by investors, and actors tend to think twice about playing gay characters - even if they don't have a problem with homosexuality in real life. So, writer and director Mak Yan-yan knew she faced an uphill task putting together the... https://www.scmp.com/article/451670/home-sweet-homosexual-love-triangle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/451670/home-sweet-homosexual-love-triangle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Although it may be a bit early to declare a full-blown revival of Hong Kong cinema, the first three months of the year have been encouraging for the local film industry. Apart from a few weeks in which The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Thai kickboxing flick, Ong-Bak, held sway, Hong Kong movies have topped the box office every week. And while we haven't seen any hits of the magnitude of Infernal Affairs, there have been a number of strong performers in the past three months,... https://www.scmp.com/article/450925/signs-are-good-class-2004?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/450925/signs-are-good-class-2004?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Most directors find it difficult enough dealing with only a handful of actors when shooting films. But not Barbara Wong Chun-chun. This up-and-coming young director seems to have adopted the principle of 'the more the merrier'. Her first narrative feature Truth or Dare: Sixth Floor Rear Flat followed the dreams and disappointments of a group of six twentysomethings sharing an apartment. Her upcoming film also has six main characters - this time all male - and takes a light-hearted look at... https://www.scmp.com/article/450096/it-may-be-mans-world-woman-runs-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/450096/it-may-be-mans-world-woman-runs-show?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Mar 2004 16:00:00 +0000 The Beijing Film Studio, which has hosted many high-profile productions from China and abroad, has been bombarded with press and onlookers this week. More than 150 journalists have been camping out at the studios' gates, and 50 burly security guards have been hired to keep them at bay. The reason for all the excitement is the start of production of mainland director Chen Kaige's new film, The Promise (Wu Ji), a big-budget fantasy epic that involves some of the hottest talent from around the... https://www.scmp.com/article/449088/kaige-kicks-promising-year-mainland-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/449088/kaige-kicks-promising-year-mainland-film?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Mar 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong superstars Jackie Chan and Andy Lau Tak-wah certainly seem to be sticking to their promises to support up-and-coming talent. Enter the Phoenix, the directorial debut of actor Stephen Fung Tak-lun, is close to completion and scheduled for release on April 8. The film, which stars Daniel Wu as the gay son of a deceased triad kingpin, is wholly financed by Chan and Albert Yeung's JCE Movies. JCE has also co-financed Hainan Chicken Rice, the first mainstream film from promising new... https://www.scmp.com/article/447222/plenty-new-blood-and-plenty-blood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/447222/plenty-new-blood-and-plenty-blood?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Mar 2004 16:00:00 +0000 With the holiday season out of the way, Hong Kong's film studios have already started shooting the first of the new movies that will be released over the coming year. And now that the mainland has lifted restrictions on the importation of Hong Kong films, many of the studios are planning fairly ambitious productions. One of the biggest - Emperor Motion Picture Group's US$10m The Twins Effect II - started production last week. Emperor's film arm has been quiet since it made the first Twins... https://www.scmp.com/article/444587/eye-mainland-chance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/444587/eye-mainland-chance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Just five years ago, Thai films were a rare sight at international film festivals, which makes it all the more extraordinary that no less than four Thai movies have been selected for this year's Berlin International Film Festival, which opened on Thursday. Apart from action drama Beautiful Boxer, which is screening in the festival's Panorama section, three Thai films have been selected for the Forum of New Cinema - Nonzee Nimibutr's comedy drama Okay Baytong; My Girl, about a young man who... https://www.scmp.com/article/443728/kick-flicks-and-other-knockouts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/443728/kick-flicks-and-other-knockouts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000 LOCATION AND TIMING are everything when it comes to film festivals. This year's Bangkok fest had the location sorted - fabulous hotels and palaces to host lavish parties, breezy sunshine, and a fireworks display and awards gala that could give the Olympics Organising Committee food for thought. But when it came to timing, the Bangkok International Film Festival was far from ideal. Organised for the second year by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the festival dates of January 22... https://www.scmp.com/article/443358/bad-timing-had-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/443358/bad-timing-had-all?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Derek Yee Tung-sing is one of those rare directors who turn out films that not only pull in the crowds at the box office, but also make an impression with the critics. His 1993 melodrama, C'est La Vie, Mon Cherie, was one of the top-grossing films that year at the box office, and also swept the board at the Hong Kong Film Awards, winning best picture, best director and another four prizes. Subsequent films, including Full Throttle, with Andy Lau Tak-wah, and Viva Erotica, with Leslie Cheung... https://www.scmp.com/article/442870/yee-turns-down-dinner-berlin-nite-mongkok?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/442870/yee-turns-down-dinner-berlin-nite-mongkok?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Now China's film market is starting to open up, the range of movies that have enraptured mainland audiences over the Christmas and New Year holidays is almost identical to those being screened in Hong Kong. Infernal Affairs III - which premiered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on December 8 - was a monster hit on the mainland over Christmas, grossing xxx yuan to become the third-highest grossing movie of last year. Joe Ma Wai-ho's romantic comedy Sound Of Colours and Raymond Yip... https://www.scmp.com/article/442154/cell-hell-rings-bell-sells-well?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/442154/cell-hell-rings-bell-sells-well?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Shenzhen may seem an unlikely place for Hollywood's top computer graphics experts to be hanging out, but thanks to the efforts of brothers Anthony and Raymond Neoh, this fast-growing city is at the cutting edge of the entertainment industry's digital revolution. The brothers head up Global Digital Creations (GDC), which is close to completing a feature-length 3D animated film, Thru The Moebius Strip, based on designs by French graphic artist Jean 'Moebius' Giraud. Described as a sci-fi family... https://www.scmp.com/article/441669/wham-bam-wow-dynamic-digital-duo-kicks-ass-hollywood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/441669/wham-bam-wow-dynamic-digital-duo-kicks-ass-hollywood?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Unlike most young Asian pop idols, Taiwanese singer Jay Chou Jie-lun has resisted the pressure to double up as a movie star - until now. After turning down scores of film offers, Chou has finally agreed to star in Tsui Hark's upcoming street-racing action drama, Initial D. The US$7 million film, which is set to start shooting mid-March, is based on a best-selling Japanese manga of the same name. The 'D' of the title stands for drifting - as in a style of motor-racing (and not, as Close-up... https://www.scmp.com/article/440799/catching-drift-jay-chou-delivers-goods-road-race-ace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/440799/catching-drift-jay-chou-delivers-goods-road-race-ace?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2004 16:00:00 +0000 The Lunar New Year may still be a few weeks away, but the Hong Kong film industry has already received its lai see: the Closer Economic Partnership Arrange- ment (Cepa). The much-vaunted trade agreement, which kicked in at the start of this year, makes it easier than ever for Hong Kong producers to get their films relea- sed on the mainland. It also makes it easier for them to co-produce with mainland partners. So it's hardly surprising that Hong Kong cinema has set its sights north of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/439988/role-filmmakers-queue-mainland-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/439988/role-filmmakers-queue-mainland-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Since graduating from university in the US two years ago, Jennifer Li has lived a life most young women only dream of. She's the author of a best-selling novel, Sheep With Wings, based on her experiences studying in England. She's played herself in a film based on the book and, to cap it all, one of Hong Kong's hottest young stars, Edison Chen Koon-hei, played her boyfriend. Li, who grew up in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, went to school in England for two years at the age of 16 before moving to the... https://www.scmp.com/article/438884/author-movie-star-what-difference-seven-hours-makes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/438884/author-movie-star-what-difference-seven-hours-makes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:00:00 +0000 It could be something to do with the unsettling year we've had, but there is a series of Hong Kong films in the pipeline that are either set in the future or firmly rooted in the past. Not the distant past of swords, top-knots and fancy garb, but the fairly recent past when we didn't have to worry about deadly viruses and rising unemployment. Recently, we had Infernal Affairs II, which is set during the high-rolling early 1990s, a time when the economy was booming and the living was good. Next... https://www.scmp.com/article/438123/reeling-back-years-tis-season-nostalgia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/438123/reeling-back-years-tis-season-nostalgia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Following a lengthy marketing campaign and a premiere attended by beauty queens, champion kickboxers and royalty, Thai action drama Beautiful Boxer opened at the top of the Thai box office last weekend. Based on the real-life story of a kickboxer who fought to earn money for a sex-change operation, the film fended off competition from Hollywood releases such as Kill Bill Vol 1 and Intolerable Cruelty to grab top spot. The film is one of many local productions that have topped the Thai box office... https://www.scmp.com/article/437219/thai-triumph-shines-light-hollywoods-asian-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/437219/thai-triumph-shines-light-hollywoods-asian-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong directors have long been drawn to Thailand, which is hardly surprising because it's cheaper to shoot there, the production facilities are good and there's much more space than at home. But the Land of Smiles is more than just a beautiful location. It also has a thriving and creative movie industry all of its own, and Hong Kong talent is increasingly becoming involved in making Thai films. The most recent example is Hong Kong director Daniel Lee Yan-kong who, fresh from working on... https://www.scmp.com/article/436385/thailand-gives-hk-directors-good-reasons-smile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/436385/thailand-gives-hk-directors-good-reasons-smile?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland director Wang Chao is sitting huddled behind a monitor, swaddled in a standard issue PLA overcoat with a baseball cap pulled firmly over his head. It's only October, but thickly padded army overcoats - the type designed to keep out northern China's freezing winters - have become essential on the set on Wang's new film, Day & Night, which is shooting near Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. It snowed heavily last night and today a piercing wind seems to be blowing in directly from the... https://www.scmp.com/article/434016/director-provides-cold-hard-facts-about-life-rural-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/434016/director-provides-cold-hard-facts-about-life-rural-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Fresh from slaying vampires in The Twins Effect, Charlene Choi Cheuk-yin and Gillian Chung Yan-tung are about to don masks and black spandex tights to star in an action comedy with the working title Black Roses for Universe Entertainment. Donnie Yen Ji-dan, who co-directed The Twins Effect and succeeded in transforming the fresh-faced pop duo into convincing action heroines, is lined up to helm the film along with up-and-coming female director Barbara Wong Chun-chun. Wong first made her mark... https://www.scmp.com/article/433120/all-conquering-twins-poised-tackle-comic-effect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/433120/all-conquering-twins-poised-tackle-comic-effect?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Charismatic TV chef Martin Yan will soon be transferring his talents to the big screen in a new movie, Hainan Chicken Rice, which will also star Taiwan-born actress and director Sylvia Chang Ai-chia. Described by producer Rosa Li as a dramatic comedy, the film is set to start shooting in Singapore next month. Chang will play a restaurant owner and mother of three in the film, while Yan, the star of gourmet cook show Yan Can Cook, plays a rival chef who is secretly in love with her. 'She's been... https://www.scmp.com/article/432332/yan-serve-feast-laughs-big-screen-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/432332/yan-serve-feast-laughs-big-screen-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2003 16:00:00 +0000 For most people, it would probably be enough to be young, good-looking and have a successful career as a movie star. But at the tender age of 29, Hong Kong actor Stephen Fung Tak-lun has decided he also wants to take a turn behind the camera. At the end of next week, Fung plans to start shooting his first feature as director - an action-comedy, tentatively titled Enter The Phoenix, which is being produced and financed by Jackie Chan's new production company JCE. Fung will also star in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/431550/how-pretty-boy-fung-entered-realm-helmsmen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/431550/how-pretty-boy-fung-entered-realm-helmsmen?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2003 16:00:00 +0000 As one of Hong Kong's most prestigious directors, Ann Hui On-wah can more or less pick and choose her projects. Her latest film, Jade Goddess Of Mercy, is unusual in that it's entirely produced and financed by mainland companies. While Hui has shot several films in China, including kung fu flick Romance Of The Book And Sword (1987) and period drama Eighteen Springs (1997), this marks the first time she's made a mainland film without any Hong Kong investment. Perhaps it's a sign of the times... https://www.scmp.com/article/430805/hui-strengthens-mainland-connections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/430805/hui-strengthens-mainland-connections?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2003 16:00:00 +0000 If you were hanging around near the escalator on Staunton Street at the beginning of last week, chances are you would have seen Jackie Chan lying in a dishevelled state on the street. But Hong Kong's biggest international star hasn't hit the bottle. He was shooting a scene for his new movie in which his character is discovered in an alleyway, drunk. Benny Chan Muk-sing is directing the film, which has the working title 'New Police Story', and also stars Nicholas Tse Ting-fung and Daniel Wu... https://www.scmp.com/article/430061/chan-lends-muscle-new-police-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/430061/chan-lends-muscle-new-police-story?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2003 16:00:00 +0000 It may seem like we've only just digested the last crumbs of moon cake, but Hong Kong's film studios are already deep into planning which local movies will be released during the next Lunar New Year holiday period. Spring Festival is a peak box-office period for film distributors in Hong Kong and on the mainland. Christmas and summer are also important, but at Lunar New Year, local films usually face less competition from big-budget Hollywood releases. It's also a time when comedies and... https://www.scmp.com/article/429333/smiles-ahead-new-year-offerings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/429333/smiles-ahead-new-year-offerings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2003 16:00:00 +0000 There must be something in the air now that Hong Kong people have cast aside their protective face masks. Sex has suddenly become a hot topic for local filmmakers but not in a furtive, Category III kind of way. The current crop of saucy comedies are witty and modern and aimed at fans of Sex And The City rather than conn- oisseurs of Japanese porn. No doubt last year's hit comedy Golden Chicken - which cleverly told the history of Hong Kong through the eyes of an eccentric prostitute - has been... https://www.scmp.com/article/428557/saucy-goings-take-modern-turn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/428557/saucy-goings-take-modern-turn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2003 16:00:00 +0000 One of the surprise hits at the Hong Kong box office this summer, comedy Dragon Loaded 2003, seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Although the supporting cast includes Eric Tsang Chi-wai and Miriam Yeung Chin-wah, the film doesn't feature any huge stars in the lead roles and it wasn't produced by one of Hong Kong's major film studios. Yet it has topped the box office two weeks in a row and at the time of writing had grossed more than $14 million. Directed by Vincent Kok Tak-chiu, the film is... https://www.scmp.com/article/427841/box-office-loaded-laughs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/427841/box-office-loaded-laughs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2003 16:00:00 +0000 It's been a long, hot summer, but fortunately for the Hong Kong film industry it's also been a busy one - both in terms of films going into production and bums on seats. Thanks to an animated clown fish and a string of local hits, including The Twins Effect, Love Undercover 2 and Good Times, Bed Times, the Hong Kong box office was up 26 per cent in June and 11 per cent in July, a welcome boost after double-digit decreases during Sars. Another positive sign for the local film industry is the... https://www.scmp.com/article/427105/screen-test-over-local-film-industry-sizzles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/427105/screen-test-over-local-film-industry-sizzles?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong filmmakers have long been aware that one of the fastest routes to box-office riches is to make movies that appeal to young people. Here, as in the United States and most of the rest of the world, teenagers and 20-somethings are by far the most frequent cinemagoers. Although people in this age group, which includes school and college leavers, have been hardest hit by high unemployment and have less cash to spend than before, their tastes and preferences still influence filmmakers in... https://www.scmp.com/article/426400/young-guns-pass-their-screen-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/426400/young-guns-pass-their-screen-test?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Thailand's film industry is on a roll, both at home and overseas, with two pillars of Thai culture and sub-culture - kickboxing and ladyboys - leading the charge. It's expected that more than 50 local films will be released in Thailand this year, up from 23 last year and 15 in 2001. The biggest hit so far in 2003 has been kickboxing drama Ong Bak, starring real-life martial artist Panom Yeerum, which raked in 118 million baht (HK$22 million), followed by the sequel to comedy Iron Ladies, about... https://www.scmp.com/article/425667/ladyboy-comes-out-swinging-box-office-knockout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/425667/ladyboy-comes-out-swinging-box-office-knockout?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2003 16:00:00 +0000 According to producer-director Teddy Chen Tak-sam, the time may soon come when we stop talking about 'the Hong Kong film industry' or 'the mainland film industry' and refer instead to a Chinese-language film industry. With the mainland easing restrictions on film production - and filmmakers from around the region collaborating on unprecedented levels - the boundaries between the film industries of Hong Kong, China and Taiwan are starting to become blurred. 'Most audiences, particularly in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/425019/movies-without-borders-give-viewers-what-they-want?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/425019/movies-without-borders-give-viewers-what-they-want?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2003 16:00:00 +0000 It seems that the days when Hong Kong filmmakers could churn out a movie from initial concept to gala premiere in less time than it takes Hollywood to organise a press conference are slowly becoming a thing of the past. It's not that the 'one-month movies' have disappeared. Hong Kong film executives used to joke that some films were looped through the projector before the chemicals had even dried - and there are still cases where that's almost true. But as the Hong Kong film industry becomes... https://www.scmp.com/article/424304/playing-hollywood-its-own-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/424304/playing-hollywood-its-own-game?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Aug 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Before the Sars virus sent film crews running scared, the mainland was emerging as a popular shooting base for foreign movie-makers looking for fresh locations and low-cost studios and crew. Quentin Tarantino's kung fu-inspired revenge story Kill Bill is probably the most high-profile foreign production to touch down in China over the past year. Tarantino shot so much footage in China, and other locations including Japan, Mexico and California, that US studio Miramax recently announced Kill... https://www.scmp.com/article/422981/cinematic-lure-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/422981/cinematic-lure-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jul 2003 16:00:00 +0000 SERIOUS ACTION movies have been thin on the ground in Hong Kong over the past few years. We've had plenty of films brimming with thrills and spills, but the producers of blockbusters such as The Twins Effect and the upcoming Jackie Chan film, The Medallion, felt they needed to inject a dose of comedy to broaden their appeal. We've also had a fair number of 'serious' films - but movies such as Infernal Affairs and Johnnie To Kei-fung's PTU relied on drama and character development, not... https://www.scmp.com/article/422569/adult-entertainment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/422569/adult-entertainment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Anyone who may have doubted the ability of fresh-faced pop duo Twins to kick serious butt in an action movie appears to have been proved wrong, at least if box office success is anything to go by. Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG)'s The Twins Effect, starring Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin and Gillian Chung Yan-tung as sword-wielding vampire slayers, has pulled in more than $27 million at the Hong Kong box office and overtaken The Matrix Reloaded as the highest-grossing film of the year. The blockbuster... https://www.scmp.com/article/422230/awesome-twosome-eye-western-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/422230/awesome-twosome-eye-western-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jul 2003 16:00:00 +0000 COMPARING THE film industries of Singapore and Hong Kong is a bit like stacking the Canadian film industry against Hollywood. Even at its lowest ebb, Hong Kong produces between 90 and 100 films a year, many of which are distributed overseas. Singapore, on the other hand, turns out an average of four or five movies a year, lacks its own star system and only occasionally produces films that travel beyond Southeast Asia. However, a handful of directors and producers have emerged in recent... https://www.scmp.com/article/420793/lion-city-filmmakers-prowl-world-fame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/420793/lion-city-filmmakers-prowl-world-fame?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:00:00 +0000 In another welcome sign that the Sars crisis is finally behind us, production started this week on a big-budget action romance involving stars and crew from South Korea and Taiwan working in Hong Kong. The $23.4 million film Star Runner is being produced by Hong Kong's Filmko Entertainment and directed by Daniel Lee, whose previous credits include Black Mask, starring Jet Li, and A Fighter's Blues, produced by and starring Andy Lau. Star Runner tells the story of a young boxer trying to win a... https://www.scmp.com/article/419386/praise-fighting-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/419386/praise-fighting-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Sars has had a serious impact on film production on the mainland in the past few months as new projects have been put on hold or cancelled. But two big-budget productions have recently been unveiled that could help restore confidence in China's production industry. Peter Loehr, the New York-born producer who is famous for establishing China's first truly independent production company, is developing a US$45 million (HK$350 million) action adventure, Murder In Canton, which is based on the Judge... https://www.scmp.com/article/418650/tales-canton-ease-china-doldrums?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/418650/tales-canton-ease-china-doldrums?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2003 16:00:00 +0000