SCMP Article: Hong Kong film: from ‘Hollywood of East’ to China’s supporting cast?

After months of not posting anything (mainly because I've been super busy and haven't had time), I am finally back with an article I came across in my reading today that I wanted to share with you all.  I like this article because it provides keen insight into how the Hong Kong entertainment industry has evolved over the years and the impact that Mainland China has had on that evolution (or "de-evolution" depending on which way you look at it).  This article is lengthier than most of the other articles that SCMP puts out, but not long to the point of being a tedious read, as the amount of detail is sufficient to get the main points across.  I especially recommend this article to those who may not be familiar with the HK entertainment industry back in its glory days (the late 1970s, entire 1980s, and early 1990s), as the historical context gives a good glimpse into the past and also puts the current state of the industry into perspective.

Note that I only included the text of the article in this post, as I always have problems trying to get pictures to come out right when I do these blog posts via mobile.  Therefore, I highly recommend just going to SCMP's website and reading the article there so you can see the pictures that originally accompanied the article (there's a video clip too!).  The link is included above (in the "Source" section).

Hope you enjoy this one (I sure did…but then again, with the deplorable state of the industry currently, I've been in a nostalgic mood for a while now so articles like this – as long as they are done right – are usually nice reads for me).  Feel free to post your thoughts about the article below!

** Sidenote:  My apologies for not keeping up with this blog!  It's been a rough few months for me from a time management perspective and in weighing my priorities, unfortunately some things had to give.  With all that said, I'm not sure when I will next have time to post, but most likely I'll try to squeeze one more post in before the end of the year (I may do one about the TVB Anniversary Awards – depends on whether they piss me off enough to make me want to hop on my blog and rant about it until it's out of my system, lol).

*********

Article published November 30, 2018

Hong Kong film: from 'Hollywood of East' to China's supporting cast?

Source: SCMP

https://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/2175516/hong-kongs-film-and-tv-industry-after-40-years-chinas-opening

The past 40 years of reform and opening up in China have not only been about massive investments, infrastructure projects and turning the country into the world's second largest economy. The years of the Cultural Revolution left mainlanders with little to watch on television and at the movies other than propaganda. As China opened up, Hong Kong television dramas and movies offered a glimpse of the outside world, city life and of what China's big changes might bring.

When the mainland was ready to grow its own television and movie industry, Hong Kong producers and filmmakers played a crucial role, but the tables soon turned on the "Hollywood of the East". 

Today, mainland Chinese television serials and movies are immensely popular in Hong Kong, and dominate in terms of output, viewership, and box office receipts.

On a single Sunday in August this year, an episode of mainland Chinese television hit The Story of Yanxi Palace clocked up 530 million views online, setting a record.

Packed with drama, betrayal and intrigue, the 70-episode period drama won over audiences not only on the mainland, but also in Hong Kong, where it is 2018's most popular drama aired by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), the city's largest television broadcaster.

Costing 300 million yuan (HK$338 million) to produce, the series is about a maid who goes to work in the imperial palace to investigate her sister's death and ends up a concubine of Emperor Qianlong.

Its huge success epitomises a major shift in the television and moviemaking scene over the past 40 years of China's economic reforms and opening up.

Where mainland audiences once lapped up made-in-Hong Kong serials and movies, mainland productions now dominate in output, box office takings and viewership, including online.

There is occasional tension and controversy over red lines – political taboos and censorship – as the mainland government has become more assertive.

And where once the themes and plots were scrutinised, today the political beliefs and public actions of artists can become the issue, and some are made to pay the price.

For the Hong Kong entertainment industry, the big question is whether future success lies in integrating with the mainland, or staying distinct.

Recalling the glory days, Hong Kong cinema veteran Tenky Tin Kai-man said: "We were the Hollywood of the East. A large number of talented individuals gathered in such a small place, competing with the finest, and selling to markets across Asia."

The actor and producer, who heads the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, was a teenager when he joined the industry in 1979. Now 56, he said he felt lucky to have been part of the golden era of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Between 1979 and 1999, Hong Kong made an average of 133 movies annually, peaking at 200 a year in 1992 and 1993. Meanwhile on the mainland, fewer than 100 movies were made each year in the 1980s and the cinema industry even declined in the 1990s when television prevailed.

Dr Lo Wai-luk, a Baptist University associate professor specialising in the history of Chinese cinema, recalled that in 1983, the Jet Li martial arts movie The Shaolin Temple was watched by 50 million people on the mainland.

It was one of the few distributed widely in mainland cinemas in the 1980s because it was produced by state-funded Chung Yuen Motion Picture.

Many other Hong Kong titles by independent companies such as Cinema City and Golden Harvest, including those starring comedian Stephen Chow Sing-chi, circulated by videotape.

"Can you imagine people in Xinjiang gathering to watch a Stephen Chow movie by playing a shared tape?" Lo said.

Hong Kong movies had an appeal because of the mainland's restrictions on the themes, plots and characters in movies made there.

Tin said: "Hong Kong could produce plots that mainland producers dared not make, for example, about cops committing crimes and officials being under fire."

By the mid 1970s, the city's three television stations were churning out drama series more than 100 episodes long, whereas on the mainland, the Cultural Revolution had not yet ended and it was still years before the earliest television series would be produced.

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, a wave of dramas from Hong Kong swept across the mainland.

Actress and emcee Liza Wang Ming-chun, a Hong Kong television veteran of more than 50 years, remembered being invited to Guangzhou for her first live stage show there in 1979.

"There weren't many private cars. The bridge across the Pearl River was full of bicycles during rush hour. And the people there were dressed in black, white, grey and blue – very modest in general," said Wang, now 71.

"I could see their envy as they stared at us, the stars from Hong Kong."

Rediffusion Television's The Legendary Fok was the first Hong Kong drama imported and shown on the mainland, in 1983, two years after it was aired locally.

The hero, patriotic martial arts master Fok Yuen-kap, or Huo Yuanjia in Mandarin, was so popular that the 20-episode series was eventually broadcast across the country and even at prime time by state broadcaster CCTV.

Drama serials adapted from the martial arts novels of the late Louis Cha Leung-yung followed, including The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Duke of Mount Deer. Stars such as Felix Wong Yat-wah, Barbara Yung Mei-ling, Michael Miu Kiu-wai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah soon became household names on the mainland.

A defining moment for the popularity of Hong Kong productions arrived with The Bund, starring superstar Chow Yun-fat and former beauty queen Angie Chiu Nga-chi in a sprawling tragic romance that has been dubbed "The Godfather of the East". Its Cantonese theme song remains popular to this day among the mainland's Mandarin-speaking audience.

"Hong Kong stood for novelty, affluence, fashion and opportunities for mainland audiences coming  out of decades of isolation," said Zhu Ying, a Chinese television culture studies professor at Baptist University's film academy.

"Hong Kong dramas provided a window for mainland audiences to peek at the outside world."

Lo said Hong Kong movies made in the 1980s by a new wave of independent production companies and featuring more outdoor, real-life locations, had the same impact.

"Audiences on the mainland now could really see the city – for example, the shopping mall in Taikoo Shing where Jackie Chan was chasing after thieves in The Police Story series – as well as modern transport, the urban way of dressing, and business situations such as board meetings," Lo said.

All these images of Hong Kong city life gave mainland film-goers, long fed anticapitalist propaganda, a glimpse of things to come in China. The "capitalist poison" label previously stuck on these movies was gradually removed.

"People on the mainland realised that outside the mainland there was a place with its own cultural system called Hong Kong, where they could find things not available at home," Lo said.

But then the mainland began encouraging its own television and movie industry, and Hong Kong helped by supplying capital, professionals and know-how.

Wang said: "We made really big contributions to the mainland at the early stage of the reform and opening up process, bringing them techniques, art directors, machines, operational models and professional crews, because we knew much more than them.

"They didn't stop at purchasing copyright. They would hire the whole team behind a programme to run the show till they grasped every bit of the craft."

'Economic power confers cultural status'

The reversal of fortunes started in the 1990s, when new television stations mushroomed on the mainland, programme production boomed, and the country welcomed private and overseas capital for joint productions.

Mainland audiences soon had much more choice. There were still programmes about the Communist Party's revolutionary history and ancient literary classics, but popular new shows such as The Aspiration and A Native of Beijing in New York showcased themes of migration and entrepreneurship.

Perhaps the last major Hong Kong drama serial to be a hit on the mainland was War And Beauty, a 30-episode TVB period production about four warring concubines of Emperor Jiaqing in the Qing dynasty.

The 2004 series was aired on the mainland two years later and is believed to have inspired a hugely popular new wave of period productions about palace intrigue and infighting.

In 2011, there were at least eight such series made on the mainland, including the 76-episode Empresses in the Palace, which drew so much attention that Hong Kong's Cable TV picked it up to broadcast in 2012.

By 2007, mainland China had become the world's largest producer of drama serials, cranking out 15,000 episodes every year.

Output was so massive that traditional television channels could not keep up, and by 2013, the internet had become a major platform. The following year 250 series with a total of 2,918 episodes were made by or for online streaming portals.

Over in Hong Kong today, all three free-to-air broadcasters are relying increasingly on dramas imported from the mainland and South Korea.

"Things have changed now that the mainland has acquired its own level of chic and fashion and technique in producing its own sophisticated dramas," said Zhu of Baptist University. "The mainland has aggressively rebranded itself as the new land of opportunity. Economic power confers cultural  status."

Over the past decade, a number of popular mainland dramas have been directed or co-directed by Hong Kong directors.

"The mainland has a lot of space, talent and capital," Liza Wang said, pointing out that the sprawling Hengdian studio complex in Zhejiang province had full-size replicas of ancient palaces for period dramas, something space-starved Hong Kong could not provide.

The mainland pays better too. "Some artists can earn several hundred thousand yuan by singing a few songs. This is unimaginable in Hong Kong," Wang added.

Walking the tightrope of censorship

The Hong Kong movie industry has noted the talent drain, Tin said.

"The mainland market has yet to reach its peak," he said, adding that the big money was not only for stars but also backstage crews, with strong support for the cultural industry from local governments.

Last year the mainland's total box office takings reached a record of 55.9 billion yuan, almost 3.5 times that in Hong Kong.

But access to the mainland market has been difficult for Hong Kong productions, because China sets a quota of 64 to 74 imported movies per year.

However, joint productions offer the city's moviemakers a way in. An agreement treats movies co-produced by companies from the two sides as domestic productions and gives Hong Kong producers 35 per cent of ticket revenue, instead of just 15 per cent. The agreement was part of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) signed between the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong governments in October 2003 to boost the city's economy, when it was struggling to recover from a downturn following the Sars epidemic that year.

Over the past 15 years, the proportion of joint productions leapt from about 15 per cent to over 60 per cent of all Hong Kong output. Three of the top 10 movie blockbusters on the mainland were joint productions, which earned between 2.44 billion yuan and 3.65 billion yuan.

But the issues of taboo subjects and censorship remain.

"Red lines have always existed," Tin said. "We don't know where they exactly are, or when and against whom they will be used.

He said many movies had not managed to clear mainland censors over the years, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

The result, he said, was that some Hong Kong producers adopted self-censorship, while others planted a few scenes they hoped the nitpicking censors would snip quickly and clear the rest of the movie.

When the authorities are displeased, their wrath is plain.

Taiwanese artists who openly supported students taking part in the "sunflower movement" protests against a services trade deal with the mainland in 2014 were severely criticised by state-owned media on the mainland as "smashing the rice pot they eat from".

Punishment may range from a torrent of online bashing, to having contracts cancelled, a heavy reduction of screen time, or outright bans on performing on the mainland.

Singer-songwriter Anpu, award-winning director Wei Te-sheng, television host Kevin Tsai Kang-yung, and actor Leon Dai Li-jen have all paid a price.

Several Hong Kong artists met the same fate for supporting civil disobedience protesters in the Occupy movement, which shut down several business areas for 79 days in 2014.

They included singers Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and Denise Ho Wan-sze, who participated in the protests, and actors Chapman To Man-chat and Anthony Wong Chau-sang, who defended the demonstrators and criticised authorities.

Hong Kong film with Chinese characteristics?

Hong Kong comedian Wong Cho-lam, who has been active on the mainland since 2010 and set up his own studio there two years ago, said: "Nowadays contracts stipulate that if an artist or director causes damage to the production as a result of personal ethics, a criminal offence or political stance, the person will be liable."

Wong, who sits on the political advisory body to the Guangxi government, was frank about pressure on cross-border artists.

"Some Hongkongers might put me under fire when I say I am a patriot, but if I refrain from saying so, some patriotic audiences might put me under fire," he said.

Wong said he did not believe in joint productions as a way to keep Hong Kong's movie industry thriving.

"I would rather make a movie either catering to the mainland, or in the Hong Kong style," he said. "Why don't we make something with a genuine taste and character of Hong Kong and introduce it to the mainland audience?"

Lo of Baptist University did not think joint productions would destroy the flavour of Hong Kong movies.

"Project Gutenberg was loved by mainland audiences," Lo said, referring to a film released in October.

Made with investments and stars from Hong Kong and the mainland, the movie had Hong Kong scriptwriting and directing. Lo did not think the story about a frustrated painter who becomes a master banknote counterfeiter could have come out of the mainland or Taiwan.

"Hong Kong movies must find their own ethos," Lo said. "Hong Kong movies do not have to seek distribution on the mainland if they can manage the budget and attract local audiences."

Tin thought Hong Kong artists should continue working to remove the negative labels on their peers who have run foul of mainland authorities.

"To isolate or ground someone who is found politically incorrect will cause a chilling effect, which is unhealthy," Tin said.

"To some extent, Hong Kong movies have lost their charm because we agreed to compromise our professional judgment and expertise."

Liza Wang believed Hong Kong's younger talent in television and movies had a land of opportunity in the "Greater Bay Area", which has close to 70 million people who understand Cantonese.

Beijing's vision is to connect Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province and create an innovation and technology powerhouse to rival California's Silicon Valley.

"There are so many people there who can understand our language and enjoy our work," Wang said. 

"And the market size is not as huge as the whole mainland so it should be suitable for young talent to get some exercise."

In March, Wang, kung fu star Jackie Chan and veteran comedian Eric Tsang Chi-wai were involved in forming a committee to help Hong Kong artists make their way into the mainland.

While Wang said she respected those who held firm to their political beliefs, she also said: "If you want to tap into a certain market, you must think twice about whether you should test the rules there."

 Additional reporting by Jane Zhang

Entertainment Newsreel #5: Mostly movies and a little bit of TV news...

Lots of movie news this past week due to the start of FILMART + HK Film Festival and also award show season with the Asian Film Awards and Director's Guild Awards, so the focus this time will be on movie industry news.  There is some TV industry news too, but not as much compared to the recent happenings in the film world.

Also, FILMART actually just started yesterday but I didn't want to wait until the end of the week to do this post, since there is so much info already, so if need be, I'll do a follow up later in the week to cover whatever may emerge from there, whether movies or television (I actually have a feeling the news we are waiting for on OCTB will be announced at FILMART – just a hunch, no inside info or anything….anyway, I'll post something up once I hear further).

Movie industry news

ASIAN FILM AWARDS & DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS

-          The big news coming out of the HK film world this week (aside from Leon's news but I'll get to that later) has to do with one of this generation's most prolific movie actors – Louis Koo.   This year's Asian Film Awards and Director's Guild Awards were held within days of each other and Louis won Best Actor at both award ceremonies (for his role in the movie Paradox, the much touted second installment in the SPL franchise).   As Louis himself said during his acceptance speech at the Asian Film Awards (which was held first), this is his first ever movie-related award so of course it means a lot to him.  I'm glad to hear him say this because in my opinion, being able to win at the Asian Film Awards is more "prestigious" than winning in one of HK's awards shows because the artists are going up against other artists / movies from across Asia – to be able to defeat other talented actors outside of Hong Kong is quite an accomplishment!  Congrats to Louis!!

-          Personally, I've never been a fan of Louis' acting, whether back when he was at TVB or after entering the movie world and filming boatloads of movies (honestly, the word "prolific" is an understatement – at one point, Louis seemed to be in every single movie out there, lol).  Don't ask me to explain why because I don't know – his acting just never appealed to me for some reason.  With that said though, I do have a lot of respect for Louis as a person and that respect has grown over the years after learning about his charity work (which he rarely talks about) as well as seeing his contributions to the film industry and his efforts at improving the industry as a whole.  [Sidenote: Louis was recently voted in as HKPAG (Hong Kong Performing Artists Guild) Chairman (taking over for previous Chairman Jackie Chan) and hearing his ideas on how he plans to support the industry was very encouraging!]  I'm happy for Louis with both his wins and I'm sure this is a boost of confidence for him heading into the HK Film Awards next month – he's up against some tough competition though so even though he is the "hot favorite" to take him the award there too, the results are hard to predict so let's see what happens.

-          At the Director's Guild Awards, the highlight of Louis' win is that people kept playfully teasing him about going up on stage and gracing the audience with his singing again.  This was actually a reference to Louis attending the annual HK Film Workers' Spring Dinner event last week  where he was pulled on stage during one of the performances and invited to sing a few lines from one of his songs with them.  Louis actually obliged (and was very gracious about it) – the video of him singing was uploaded online and of course it took the internet by storm, since it's very rare nowadays for Louis to be willing to open his "golden mouth" to sing.  So now, at every event, his colleagues as well as the reporters "tease" him about going on stage and singing for them – of course, Louis politely turns everyone down, but I love that he is so good-humored about it, even playing along with them in some instances and "pretending" to leave when the word "singing" is mentioned, lol.  It's rare for us to see Louis' playful side (he always looks so cool and serious) so I can definitely see why everyone is taking the opportunity to "tease" him while it lasts.  My respect for Louis actually went up a few notches this past week after seeing how he handled the whole "singing" thing….

-          On the Best Actress front – Sylvia Chang took home the Best Actress award at the Asian Film Awards for her performance in Love Education, which she also directed.  She wasn't able to repeat the win at the Directors Guild Award, however she did end up taking home the Best Director Award at that ceremony.

-          The winner(s) of the Best Actress award at the Directors Guild Awards ceremony were Teresa Mo for Tomorrow is Another Day and Stephy Tang for The Empty Hands.  Yes, you heard right – there were 2 winners for Best Actress because both actresses ended up in a tie and so the Guild decided to award both.  There's actually a funny story to this, which Teresa Mo told during her acceptance speech.  Teresa said that she threw away her husband Tony Au's voting form for these awards because he was away on a trip and she didn't feel it was right to vote on his behalf, even though she knew that he would've cast his vote for her in the Best Actress category anyway.  It turns out that 'one vote' mattered in this case, since it meant the difference between her winning the award and having to share it. 

-          The Best Actress race at the HK Film Awards next month will be interesting, as all three actresses -- Sylvia Chang, Teresa Mo, and Stephy Tang – are in contention for the coveted award (rounding out the category are Zhou Xun for Our Time Will Come and Chrissie Chau for 29+1).  The Directors Guild Awards is generally seen as a precursor to HKFA, as the winners there usually go in to win at the HKFA as well – true or not, I'm pretty sure they are not going to do another "shared win" thing at HKFA (can't remember the last time – if ever – that they had such a win at HKFA).  Personally, I'm rooting for Teresa (since she's an awesome actress and also one of my favorites) – this will be her 7^th time being nominated for HKFA Best Actress so it's about time she won, though in all honesty, doesn't really matter to me who wins since I haven't watched any of the nominated films this year so can't really complain.  From various reports, I know that Stephy has done a great job this year and has already won multiple Best Actress awards already at other awards shows, so she is definitely the "hot favorite" going into HKFA, however I think both Teresa and Sylvia will give her a run for her money.  I'm fine with whoever ends up winning in this category. 

OTHER MOVIE-RELATED NEWS

-          Speaking of Louis Koo – I'm sure Louis fans will be happy to know that there is finally more news on the movie version of his "classic" TVB series A Step into the Past.  Rumors have been circulating for several years already that Louis plans to do a movie version of the series and invite back the original cast to participate.  It was confirmed last year that Louis will indeed be producing the movie and starring in it, but beyond that, there weren't a whole lot of details available.  Well, yesterday at FILMART, they unveiled the official poster for the movie and provided some more details as follows:

o   The Chinese name of the movie will be the same as the series but the English name will now be called Back to the Past. 

o   Louis's own production company One Cool Film will be producing this, which I assume means that Louis will be given the Executive Producer title for the project (I didn't catch who the director will be though), however this will also be a co-production with Mainland company Huace Pictures.

o   Filming is scheduled to begin at the end of the year.

o   Confirmed "original" cast from the series are Louis, Raymond Lam, and Jessica Hsuan (this is actually not surprising, as it was already revealed earlier on that both Raymond and Jessica signed to Louis' management company, so it makes sense that they would re-unite for this film).  

o   The big question now is whether other "original" cast members will return as well.  There was no mention of additional cast at FILMART (at least not yet), so no doubt there will be further announcements and possibly press conference forthcoming in the next few months.  Current speculation though is that most likely the rest of the cast won't return, since majority of them have retired from the industry already or are have other filming obligations, plus the movie is a co-production with Mainland, which means that they have to save a few of the "top" roles for Mainland artists. 

-          My take – I was never a fan of ASITP the series so I'm indifferent toward the news of a movie version now being filmed, but I know a lot of people out there loved the series, so if those of you reading this are a fan of the series, I'm curious to hear your thoughts – please feel free to comment!  The way I see it, one good thing about this production is that Louis is producing it himself and with how involved he had been in the series (supposedly he had even written parts of the original script) and how much he cared about it, at least you know he will put in the effort to make it good and not butcher it like others would (I'm sure people still remember the previous movie remakes of TVB series that were done by different companies and ended up being horrible / un-watchable).     

-          The other "big" movie industry news (though technically not really specifically movie-related but since the artist is a film actor now, figured putting it here was more appropriate) this week – this one is "hot off the press"….Heavenly King Leon Lai finally confirmed that he will become a dad soon.  For those who were not aware (which is kind of impossible given how big this news has been, lol), media reports had surfaced last week that Leon and his assistant Wing (she works for his record label A-Music) were dating and that Wing was photographed with a bulging belly, which in the HK media world, meant that she is "most likely" pregnant.  So of course, rumors started flying that Leon will be a dad soon, though he had yet to confirm anything.  Leon had actually attended FILMART yesterday and refused to say anything when reporters asked him, but then a few hours later he posted a formal announcement on his Facebook page confirming the news that he and his girlfriend are indeed expecting (I'm sure all the media outlets – Chinese and English – will be re-posting his FB post so not going to bother posting it here).  With Leon joining the ranks of fatherhood now, he is the last of the 4 Heavenly Kings to settle down and start a family (though whether he will marry Wing or not remains to be seen – there was no mention of marriage in the post, only that he will become a father soon).  Congrats to Leon!  Even though I'm not a fan of his, I'm still happy for him, as having a child is a huge milestone and deserves to be recognized.

TV Industry news

HKTV

-          The big news in terms of HKTV is that they have sold the rights to their series to i-cable arm Fantastic Television, who will be airing their series on their free-to-air channel starting on April 17^th.  I won't go into detail here, since I already wrote up a  post on this a couple days ago and also stated my thoughts on this already.  Those that are interested can read that post here.

FOX ASIA

-          Fox Asia released a new extended trailer for their series Stain'd.  The trailer is 2 minutes, 12 seconds long and all 3 A-list leads – Anthony Wong, Kara Hui, Tse Kwan Ho – are featured.  This article from HK01 has a link to the trailer so you can watch it there, though I'm sure Fox Asia's webpage and also Youtube channel have it as well.  I actually haven't had a chance to watch it yet so can't really comment right now, but once I do get around to watching it, I'll definitely post something up about it.  Also, if I hear any news about when Fox Asia's series are scheduled to air, I'll make sure to post an update.

OTHER TV INDUSTRY NEWS

-          This one I'm actually excited about!!  If, like me, you're a fan of the TVB series Untraceable Evidence and have been "dying" for another Bowie Lam / Flora Chan collaboration (they did film Healing Hands together, but I wasn't a fan of that series / franchise so that doesn't really count, lol), rest assured that your (our) wish might be granted some time in the near future.  Bowie and Flora attended an event the other day (no, nothing related to entertainment stuff – it was an environmental / beach cleaning event that was sponsored by one of their mutual friends, former actress Sharon Kwok) and so reporters seized the opportunity to ask them when they are going to fulfill fans' wishes for them to collaborate again.  Bowie said that it's something he and Flora have talked about and that when they had their Untraceable Evidence cast reunion dinner a few weeks ago (I saw the pictures – ah, the memories!!!), he had already told Flora to save some room in her schedule for him.  Flora's answer was more of a "we'll see" response because she is currently working on her PhD in Education and so her schooling comes first (aside from her family of course).  She said that she had agreed to film that program about marriage for ViuTV because it fit her schedule for one, and two, they allowed her to produce the program and gave her free reign to do the program how she wanted, so she decided to add some educational elements to the show. 

-          Bowie opened his own production company recently and currently has a few scripts on hand that he is reading through (I wrote in my Entertainment Newsreel #4 about Bowie's plans to produce  and star in his own series – you can read the details here) – he said that from day one of opening his production company, he was already planning to invite Flora for another collaboration.  He said that there will definitely be another chance for them to collaborate again, but he can't confirm when that will be due to Flora's studies being her top priority right now.  Both of them are for it though, so it's just a matter of time. 

-          As a fan of the Bowie/Flora pairing in UE, I'm one of those waiting for them to collaborate again.  Now that Bowie has his own production company and the freedom to film whatever he wants, looks like we are closer than ever to seeing another collaboration between these two, the only thing is timing.  Flora did say during their joint interview that she also wants to collaborate with Bowie again, however she still has another 3 years to go in terms of her studies (for her PhD) so it will really depend on whether she is able to carve out some time in between.  I'm secretly praying that Flora will find the time in between her studies to take Bowie up on his offer.  PLEASE PLEASE Flora, please don't make us wait 3 years for another collaboration! 

The Menu (導火新聞線) movie - My Thoughts

I finally got around to watching The Menu movie last night (yes, I know, a bit late in the game given that the movie was from like 2 years ago).  As a fan of the HKTV series that the movie was based off of, I will admit that I was initially a bit conflicted and wasn't sure if I truly wanted to watch the movie or not.  I'm sure fellow fans can understand my hesitation but for the benefit of those who may not have been following the whole HKTV saga as closely, I will attempt to explain a little bit about my thought process.  

Back when the movie was being filmed, I had actually followed the production process quite closely and tried to read/watch everything I could possibly get my hands on about the movie.  Part of the reasoning for this is because I loved the series to the point that I became a fan, so naturally, the last thing I wanted was to see an outside company come in and film a movie version that had the potential to "butcher" the original.  Of course, one thing that made this "TV series to movie" adaptation different from what we usually see (i.e. all those past movie adaptations of a certain HK television station's popular series) is that from the getgo, it was very clear from all involved in the production that, as much as possible, the original cast and crew from the series would be involved with the movie as well.  This ended up being true to some extent in that Ben Fong was still the director/producer, Pun Man Hung was still the scriptwriter, other behind-the-scenes crew who had worked on the TV series version were also involved with the movie, and much of the cast remained the same (except for a very conspicuous absence from Noelle Leung).  Still, despite these reassurances, I was still worried, mostly because the production company that would be making the movie was Stephen Shiu Jr.'s China 3D (a company whose most significant "claim to fame" in the past was in the production of category III sex romps).  In addition, there were some "controversies" that erupted during the filming process (which I won't go into here), plus the production process itself came across as super secretive, especially when compared to the "openness" of the filming process for the TV series back in the day.  And then there were of course the questions concerning creative freedom and the possible catering of the movie to the Mainland market (a discussion that I remember having 2 years ago with a group of fellow fans of the series).   Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, given all these factors (and more), I definitely had cause for concern.

Now, after finally having watched the movie, I can say with confidence that, despite my previous concerns and reservations about the movie turning out to be absolutely warranted (and looks like I ended up being right about quite a few things pertaining to the movie), overall I am happy with the way the movie turned out (I will explain in more detail later).

Before I go further, I want to make it very clear that the purpose of this post is NOT to "review" the movie, so please don't read it expecting a movie review-type write-up critiquing the mechanics of the production, the plausibility of the plot, etc. etc.  Instead, please read the below more as a "my thoughts" post on what I thought about the movie from the perspective of a huge fan of the TV series.  Since I am writing from the perspective of a fan who has watched the TV series version more than once, no doubt that my post will lean more towards a comparison of the movie with the series, which in turn also means that there will be some things I talk about in this post that non-fans (and those who haven't watched the TV series version) will probably have no clue about.  For those reading this post who fall into the latter category, I apologize in advance if not enough detail is given in certain areas and you end up feeling lost -- I definitely won't feel offended if you decide not to continue reading the rest of this post. Oh and for the HKTV haters out there, I strongly recommend not reading further, as a large portion of my post will essentially be me waxing sentimental about the series, which I (obviously) absolutely adored!

Ok, so now that the housekeeping stuff is out of the way, on to my thoughts about the movie….

Let's start with the opening sequence.  The first 4 minutes or so of the movie was devoted to a quick recap of the main plot points from the TV series with Kate Yeung's character Mallory narrating in the background.  I felt this recap was a necessity given that not everyone may have seen the series or even if they have, might not remember everything that had happened – besides, the recap was done well and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the movie.  Earlier on, I had actually read some reviews that "complained" about this opening sequence, claiming that the director was "wasting" precious screen time to "rehash" scenes from the series.  Since I had read these reviews awhile back ago before I had the chance to watch the movie, I didn't feel it was appropriate to respond to this critique of the opening segment prior to this point.  Now that I've watched, I have to say that I disagree with the reviewers' complaints about the opening sequence being a "waste of time."  First of all, the recap was only 4 minutes and actually flew by rather quickly.  In fact, I actually felt 4 minutes was too little given the fact that the series itself was 24 episodes and there were a lot of important things that happened.  I actually applaud the production team for being able to cram the main highlights of the series into such a short time frame – if it were me, I would probably need 10 to 15 minutes!  For those who hadn't seen the series, the recap was a nice way to help familiarize them with the background/premise of the series that the movie was based on.  For those who did see the series (even fans like us who have most likely watched the series more than once), it was a good refresher, especially since the movie essentially picked up from where the series left off.  For me personally – I actually LOVED the opening sequence, as it reminded me all over again why I fell in love with the series in the first place! 

Another thing I appreciated about the opening sequence was that the team didn't forget to throw in there what happened to Noelle Leung's character Alma.  Those who watched the series will know that it ended on a cliffhanger of sorts in that Alma was supposed to be on a flight to London but then the Smartpost team received word that a flight with the same itinerary as hers had crashed – the series ended without telling us whether Alma survived or if she was even on that flight to begin with.  The movie answered that question and even though the mention was very brief (as it should be given that Noelle wasn't part of the movie), I appreciated finally knowing after all this time.

In terms of cast, since this was an area of utmost concern for me, I will spend a little more time on this aspect of the movie.  Most of the main cast from the series did reprise their roles – Catherine, Greg, Kate, Samuel Kwok, Dexter Young, Anita Chan, Li Fung…even Benji, whose character Prince died in the series, made a "special appearance" in the movie.  Speaking of Benji –  I remember having a discussion a year or two ago (when I first found out that Benji would be in the movie) wondering how Pun Man Hung would incorporate Prince into the storyline.  I was thinking for sure it would be in the form of flashback, though I wondered whether it would be new scenes or ones from the series.  Then, a few months into filming, the cast "teased" us with pictures posted to their Weibo accounts of the 'Smartpost Fantastic Four' (Fong Ying, Fai Ye, Ah Mal, and Prince) sitting around a table laughing and chatting.  Of course I recognized right away that scene was not in the series, plus Benji had talked about returning to HK to participate in the movie, so at that point, I knew that Prince's appearance would be in "new scenes" filmed exclusively for the movie.  Though it was technically only one scene that lasted only a few minutes, that was enough to get me teary-eyed all over again over Prince's tragic death in the series.  The fact that Prince was one of my favorite characters in the series plus I was a huge shipper of the group's awesome chemistry, it was hard not to get emotional upon seeing the 4 of them back together again, albeit for only a brief moment. 

One of the things that I don't think was lost on any die-hard fan of the series is the obvious fact that Catherine and Kate had less prominent roles in the movie compared to Greg, who was very obviously the lead.  Of course this isn't surprising given that Greg is signed to China 3D as his management company, so naturally the company would want to promote their own people (which also explains why other China 3D artists such as Jeanna Ho, Jacqueline Ch'ng, Justin Cheung, etc. also got relatively 'prominent' roles in the movie).  I will admit that I was a bit ticked about this given how attached I was to the characters in the series (and the artists who played them) and to some extent, I'm still not thrilled about it even now – but since this was already expected even before the movie started filming, plus the final result was not as bad as I thought it would be (it definitely could've been much worse if the original production team was not involved in the movie), I've pretty much come to terms with it.  Besides, I also gave "brownie points" for Pun Man Hung's efforts in staying true to the series by giving each person on the Smartpost team a chance to contribute to the storyline.  Basically, I was grateful that the rest of the team outside of the main 3 actually had important roles to play and weren't reduced to mere 'guest appearance' roles.  In terms of Justin Cheung replacing Noelle Leung's role as the head of Smartpost, I don't have too much to say, since Noelle had turned down the opportunity to participate in the movie.  Performance-wise, Justin did fine, but I don't feel it's warranted to compare his role with Noelle's in the series, since Alma was so central to the series' plot whereas Justin's role in the movie was not as significant.

As for the new additions to the cast – I don't have too much to say other than I'm okay with the way they were incorporated into the movie's plot (mostly referencing the "newbies" to the Smartpost team as well as their rival newspaper).  Again, it could've been worse so I guess I'm just grateful that the movie turned out the way it did.  With that said though, I do want to give a shout out to the veterans that were invited to participate in the movie (i.e. Mimi Kung, Deon Cheung, Akina Fong, etc.), but especially to Ng Man Tat, whose performance was beyond AWESOME in the movie!  From his facial expressions to body language to the way he spoke the dialogue, Tat Gor did not miss a beat.  He was absolutely the one to watch in this movie and he did not disappoint AT ALL.  I'm glad the younger folks got a chance to work with Tat Gor, as I'm sure they learned a lot from him.

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Writing this post as a fan of the series, there were some things I picked up from the movie that others may not necessarily have noticed when they watched.  To be honest, I wasn't really expecting to pick up on so much, as I tried to go into it with the intention of watching an ordinary HK movie, but I guess when a series has such an impact, it's hard not to compare, which I guess I was subconsciously doing in the back of my mind.  In any case, I am going to devote the last section of this post to listing out some of the things I saw which reminded me (perhaps "reassured me" is more appropriate?) that Pun Man Hung and Ben Fong were indeed at the helm of this production. [This is not an all-inclusive list though so if fellow fans picked up on something that I missed, feel free to comment.]

·         The TV series version of The Menu was known for its meticulousness.  Over the past 3 years, I've actually talked about this in various past posts about the series (complete with examples and all) so I don't intend to go into much detail about this here.  All I am going to say is that this meticulousness was indeed maintained in the movie version, which I was happy to see.  Of course, there is no doubt in my mind that this was due to Ben Fong's role as director overseeing the production process -- if the director was anyone else but him, I'm sure things would be very different.

·         Earlier in this post, I touched a little bit on the chemistry between The Menu's cast, which was an important component to the series' success.  One of the unique things about the series was the awesome chemistry between the cast members both ON and OFF the set.  Having watched my fair share of HK television series over the past few decades, one of the things I've noticed is that the series I've been most drawn to are those that feature a cast whose chemistry off the set translates beautifully to the small screen as well.  The Menu definitely fell into this category and for me, the chemistry within the Smartpost team (especially among the 'Fantastic Four') was one of the things I loved most about the series.   Though the cast was changed slightly in the movie (referring only to Smartpost team here), the chemistry between them was definitely still there.

·         As a history fanatic, I love it when TV series or movies reference real life events or points in history that serve as inspiration / motivation for particular actions that the characters take or that shape the lives they end up living (though it has to be done well and accurately of course).  In the series, there were 2 historical references that played a significant role, not just in shaping the characters, but also thematically in the plot.  The first was the significance of the date October 16^th, 1968 in reference to athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos' Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics and the second was reference to Hungarian war photographer Robert Capa's famous quote: "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not [standing] close enough." [I don't intend on going into detail about the significance of these 2 references in the series – if you're interested in knowing, then go watch the series or for those who have watched but forgot, then re-watch episodes 5 and 6 especially.]  In the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pun Man Hung kept the same stylistic approach by referencing conservationist Kevin Kelly, his magazine Whole Earth Review, and the photograph that was a source of inspiration for one of the major turning points in the plot.

·         Another aspect of the movie I loved was the production team's recreation of the Smartpost office setting that mirrored almost exactly with the series, complete with each of the characters' distinctive personal touches.  The aesthetics were an important component to all of HKTV's series and the story behind The Menu's setting in the series was one of the most talked about back then.  Again, I won't get into details since I already covered most of this in previous blog posts about the series.  As a fan though, I was extremely moved to see the effort in recreating the familiar Smartpost setting in conjunction with how it looked in the series. [With that said though, I do have one very minor "complaint" – I noticed that the Smartpost team switched to doing their group meetings in a sectioned off area out on the floor rather than in a conference room like in the series.  I miss that conference room, lol!]

·         Fellow fans with whom I watched and discussed the series several years back will probably remember our "obsession" with the song Can't Let Go from the series and the great lengths we went to find out everything we could about the song, which ended up rubbing off on the cast and crew as well (I still remember Greg, Catherine, and Kate talking about it during that meme interview and also HKTV addressing it on Facebook as well as other social media).  The music component was more subtle in the movie than it was in the series, but still played an important role nonetheless.  I was happy to see that Kong Fai took up the role of music director once again for the movie (fellow HKTV fans will probably understand my feelings on this).  And even though Eva Chan didn't participate in the filming this time around, her new song We're Not Afraid was featured in the closing credits.  Eva actually composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the song and it was sung by her as well as the 3 main leads (Catherine, Greg, and Kate) -- another beautiful song with meaningful, heartfelt lyrics that fit perfectly with the movie!

·         The format of the credits was similar to how it was in the series in terms of listing everyone's names in both Chinese and English (this is something that I commented a few years back that TVB has never done and still doesn't care enough to do even now, much to the chagrin of overseas audiences like me).  Initially, when I started watching the movie, I was actually paying very close attention to the characters names because I thought that when the credits rolled around, I would have to "manually" match up the names to the artists so I could figure out who the "newbies" were and also familiarize myself with artists I didn't know (this is something I've always done out of habit, whether watching TV series or movies).  With the movie though, it turns out I didn't have to do this after all, as the production team took it one step further in that each of the characters' roles were also listed out in parenthesis next to the characters' names so it was easy to identify which artists played what role and match face to name.  I wasn't expecting this at all (though I should've known better considering how, in the series, they actually featured pictures of the artist next to each character name in the credits, lol), so I was once again pleasantly surprised.  Though the production of the movie had nothing to do with HKTV, I couldn't help being reminded of one of the core elements that had set HKTV apart from their competition back then:  the sincerity and meticulous concern for quality in a production – a concept that is virtually unheard of nowadays, both in the HK television and movie industry (as well as the music industry to some extent).

Concluding thoughts….

When I finished watching the movie, I actually felt a bit sad.  This sadness had nothing to do with the plot or even the movie itself technically.  Watching the movie brought back all the memories from 3 to 4 years ago of the whole free-to-air TV license saga and HKTV's efforts to revitalize the ailing HK television industry.  This made me think once again about "what could have been" – if HKTV had gotten a license and would've been able to film season 2 of The Menu as originally planned, how would that have been like?   As much as I don't feel as strongly opposed to the movie being made now as I did originally (again, since I've talked about this before, I won't rehash the argument here), I still feel that, taken as a whole, the movie didn't have as much of an impact as the series did.  Of course, there are valid reasons for this (including the fact that TV audience tastes are different from movie audiences), but in keeping with the overall sentiment of this post, I am speaking from the personal perspective of a fan.  While the movie was absolutely a sincere effort production-wise and I definitely appreciate everything that Pun Man Hung and Ben Fong did to give the movie the same "look and feel" as the series, it is still not the same at the end of the day.  I still prefer having a continuation of The Menu via TV series rather than a movie -- I know this will never happen, but my sentiment is still the same regardless.

News Article: Hong Kong’s king of comedy Michael Hui hopes to direct a film again after 25-year hiatus - to give the city some hope

Here is a great interview that SCMP did with one of my favorite HK actor-comedians, Michael Hui.  I was actually quite a huge fan of the Hui brothers (Michael, Sam, Ricky) back in the day – loved watching their movies and of course, with Sam, loved his music too!   The Hui brothers brand of humor was quite unique and Michael especially never failed to crack me up, whether with his comedic antics in his movies or his speaking gigs on various variety shows.  One of the things I loved most about the Hui family (back then and even now too) was the awesome chemistry between the brothers as well as how close-knit the entire clan was – it was always a joy to see how the brothers always supported each other both on and off screen (when any of the brothers would hold a concert, you’re guaranteed to see the other brothers sitting in the audience).   Their type of chemistry and also immense talent within the family is hard to come by nowadays in the entertainment industry (the only other family that comes close in my opinion is the Chiang family, whom I also adore).

Reading this interview brought back so many memories of the good old days for me.  It also made me realize how much I missed the Hui brothers (Michael rarely films anything nowadays and is enjoying a semi-retired life playing with his grandkids, Sam is officially retired and only comes out occasionally to do a concert or two, and Ricky – well, kind of hard for me to mention Ricky without getting teary-eyed since he passed away 6 years ago).   I remember back in the old days whenever Sam would do a concert and both his brothers Michael and Ricky would be in attendance to show their support, then during “intermission” they would go up and do their hilarious comedic segment (which usually included a song or two – that entire family is talented in music too!!).  Michael’s comedic routines (whether solo or with his brothers) were always funny and I always got a kick out of how Michael always managed to keep a straight face during his routines when everyone else was doubled over laughing (he’s known for this actually – he’ll say the most hilarious of things but still have a serious expression on his face, lol).

One of my fondest memories of Michael is how he would constantly “complain” (jokingly of course) that his little brother Sam overshadowed him in everything, whether it be looks (yes, Sam was definitely good-looking, lol), talent (acting and singing – well, Sam WAS the first generation God of Songs, lol), popularity (yes, Sam was VERY popular back in the day), their parents’ affection (Sam was the youngest of the 4 Hui brothers and as the Chinese saying goes, “the youngest son has the keys to the parents’ hearts”), etc .  So when Michael had grandkids first (since his children were older than Sam’s), he said he was so happy and proud because finally there was something where he was “better” than Sam.  The  way Michael described his little “feud” with his brother in interviews (and in his comedy routines) was absolutely HILARIOUS – he said something along the lines of when his first grandchild was born, he deliberately took the child over to Sam’s house so he could rub in his face the fact that he had a grandchild and that finally he had something Sam didn’t….but then later on, when Sam’s sons started having kids too, Michael’s bubble got burst when Sam brought HIS grandkids over to Michael’s house to boast that HE had grandkids now too (hahahaha…just thinking about the expression on Michael’s face when he recounted that story is enough to make me laugh!).  Awww, love these brothers, lol!!  Makes me want to go pull out a Hui Brothers movie now and re-watch it!

A side note about last year’s Golden Horse awards:  to be honest, I was kind of conflicted back when I found out both Michael and my idol Jacky Cheung were nominated in the Best Actor category (Michael for Godspeed and Jacky for Heaven in the Dark) for roles that both of them performed very well in.  I would’ve been happy if either of them won, though of course I would not want to be one of the judges for that awards show because I definitely would not have been able to choose between them (I ended up rooting for both, though it turns out that neither ended up winning).

Anyway…I definitely enjoyed this interview and hope you guys do too!  Oh, and I will most certainly be on the lookout for the next film that Michael is planning to write/direct/act in! 

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Hong Kong’s king of comedy Michael Hui hopes to direct a film again after 25-year hiatus - to give the city some hope

Source: SCMP

Written by Edmund Lee 

Michael Hui in the office of his production company in Causeway Bay.

After being nominated as best director in Taipei’s prestigious Golden Horse Awards for his 1978 film The Contract, Michael Hui Koon-man thought it was going to become a habit. After all, he had just co-scripted, directed and starred in the now-classic The Last Message (1975) and The Private Eyes (1976), and would go on to cement his place as a Hong Kong comedy legend within a decade.

But for the longest time it seemed that lightning was not going to strike twice.

“I remember that when I was nominated 38 years ago, I thought a nomination would follow every year afterwards,” says the 74-year-old, who was finally nominated again – this time as best actor – for his leading role in the Taiwanese film Godspeed. “If they were to give me the prize this time, it’d be because they thought I didn’t have another 38 years to wait – it would be for humanitarian reasons.”

Michael Hui Koon-man on the red carpet at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan in 2016. Photo: Reuters

The cruellest part of the experience for Hui is that – despite heading into the November 26 awards ceremony as favourite for the best leading actor prize – he didn’t win this one, either.

Ironically, missing out on the top honour probably suited Hui just fine: during our 45-minute chat, he shows repeated glimpses of the perfectionism that has made him a solitary artist and one who seldom feels his work is good enough.

Michael Hui as a Hong Kong native who has had a hard time since moving to Taiwan in the film Godspeed.

It’s reasonable to think Hui might have put some of his pent-up frustration into his character in director Chung Mong-hong’s engrossing Godspeed – part road movie, part violent crime drama. In the film, Hui brings his funny Hong Kong accent to the role of Old Hui, a Hongkonger who has struggled to make ends meet since moving to Taiwan 25 years earlier.

Coldly received by his family, Hui spends his days and nights driving an old taxi around Taipei to save money for retirement. Everything changes one morning when he chances upon a drug mule (played by Na Dow) who needs to travel to the south of Taiwan to deliver a package. The long and winding journey eventually renews in the unlikely pair a much-needed sense of hope – an element Hui considers essential for any filmmaker with a story to tell.

The Hui brothers (from left), Sam Hui Koon-kit, Ricky Hui Koon-ying and Michael Hui Koon-man

“The reason I haven’t made many films in recent years is because I haven’t encountered any good scripts,” he says. “This one is excellent, so it took me no time at all to accept the part. I hope the Hong Kong audience will find it refreshing to see me in this film, because I haven’t acted in this way before. I was used to exaggerating my body language and my dialogue, but there’s none of that here.”

Born in Guangzhou, Hui moved with his family to Hong Kong in 1950 and first hit the big time when he co-hosted the early 1970s TV comedy variety programme The Hui Brothers Show with his younger brother, the pop singer Sam Hui Koon-kit.

Run Run Shaw (left) shakes hands with Michael Hui at a press conference in Kowloon in 1972

The elder Hui made his film debut in Li Han-hsiang’s The Warlord (1972), and went on to appear in several more films directed by Li, although it was the box office hits he scripted, directed and starred in alongside his brothers – Sam and Ricky Hui Koon-ying – that established him as one of the biggest stars of the ’70s and ’80s, not only in Hong Kong, but also Japan, Taiwan and across Southeast Asia.

Before Godspeed, Hui’s only prominent screen roles in the past decade had been in the mediocre comedies Robin-B-Hood (2006), The Bounty (2012) and Delete My Love (2014). He hasn’t directed a film since 1992’s The Magic Touch, which he made with popular comic Dayo Wong Tze-wah, and the writer-director-actor admits frankly that persistent doubts about his ability prevent him returning to directing.

“The reason I hadn’t directed since The Magic Touch was because I’m not satisfied with myself,” says Hui. “I’m not satisfied with The Magic Touch, either. And I thought to myself, if I couldn’t come up with something new, I should hide myself deep in the mountains. I should only make a film when I have something worthwhile to say; otherwise, what’s the point?”

Michael Hui (right) as a taxi driver who inadvertently walks into some unusual situations in Godspeed.

What Hui envisioned as “a little down time to think” has now spanned more than two decades, during which time he relentlessly tried to write the one story that would live up to his impossible standards. More than a dozen original comedy screenplays now line his bookshelves, waiting to be brought to life to entertain the public.

“I’ve written a lot of scripts that I thought were good,” he says. “Usually I’d write as soon as I got the creative impulse. Then I’d put them away – I’d go fishing or travelling – and later come back to look again and see if the spark is still there. If it isn’t, it means the script isn’t working.”

The collection of finished work has caught his wife’s attention. “Once in a while, she’d come and say, ‘This stack [of screenplays] is your life, wasted. It’s becoming the past and you don’t have much time left.’ I asked why, and she said, ‘Because people get old. How do you know the scripts aren’t working?’ And I don’t know, to be honest, because I’m the one who writes, directs and stars in my films. There’s nobody to give me opinions.”

Hui is hopeful he will start shooting his next directorial effort this year. “I don’t really like to act, but it’s not up to me. The jokes have a lot to do with timing; they won’t work if an actor turns around a second too late. So I’m sometimes forced to take up a part in my own film.”

Although he hasn’t yet given the comedy project a title, Hui is adamant his upcoming films, like Godspeed, will be optimistic. “This film is especially for Hong Kong, where everyone is so grim nowadays,” he says.

“Why don’t I make anything other than comedy? Because the world is sad enough, and there’s no need for me to remind people of that. Some filmmakers like to reflect on how cruel the world is, which leaves me wondering: why do you feel the need to reflect that [when it’s so obvious already]? It’s our everyday life.”

Nevertheless, Hui says a question he always asks himself to ensure a film’s universality is: “Would it sell in Congo? Like Security Unlimited, you can show it to a Japanese audience or an African audience and it’ll still work anywhere,” he says of the film that won him the best actor prize at the first Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982.

Hui understands that his early brand of Hong Kong-centric social satire is irrelevant today because “after 1997, it’s not about Hong Kong cinema any more”, he says. “Hong Kong is now part of China and, in the future, there’ll only be ‘Chinese films’ – and not any distinction between mainland productions and Hong Kong productions. It’s just like you wouldn’t differentiate American films between those made in New York and California.”

Why, then, have we rarely seen him in any notable Hong Kong-China co-productions in the past decade?

“Because it’s not really my…” Hui trails off and then starts again. “I only care about the script. I don’t care where it’s from. Why haven’t I [done any]? First, because I’m not familiar with the China market. It’s very hard for me to write [for it]. I wrote several stories but threw them away. And I don’t want to superficially write about something that I don’t understand, with the intention to [pretend that I do].

“I’ve had several offers [to act], but they’re not like Godspeed, which I find really meaningful in the ways it echoes my personal sentiments. I’m not quite interested in those other offers. At this stage, I’d rather just enjoy life; actually, filmmaking is part of my way to enjoy life. If I were to make a pointless comedy that says nothing after all the laughs, even if it does well at the box office – don’t waste my time.”

Hui looks extremely lively for a 74-year-old, but has he given any thought to real retirement? “I retired a very long time ago,” he protests, with a laugh. “The fact is that I retired 20, or maybe 30, years ago. But when people ask me about my favourite activities in my retired life, I still tell them that I like diving, fishing and making films. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Godspeed opens on January 5.