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Home , Aaron Kwok, Alan Mak (director), Andrew Lau, Andy Lau, Ann Hui, A Simple Life

FEATURE

You Are The Apple Of My Eye: biggest ever Chinese-language release in Imports get to the core of local tastes US, Taiwanese and even Indian titles overshadowed Hong Kong fare at its home box office in 2011. Liz Shackleton reports on a territory looking abroad for its next blockbuster

big surprise at the Hong Kong box offi ce end of April, had grossed $3.57m in in the number of releases from 286 in 2010 to 276 over the past year has been the success of Tai- Hong Kong, while Love In The Buff, which follows last year. Twanese romantic You Are The Apple a Hong Kong couple in , had grossed Hong Kong movies had only a 20.2% market Of My Eye, which grossed nearly $8m at the end of $3.6m. share in 2011 compared to 22.6% in 2010. Local 2011 to become the biggest ever Chinese-language But on the whole, Hollywood fi lms, particularly producers are making fewer fi lms specifi cally for release in Hong Kong. effects-laden 3D spectaculars, continued to rule the the local market and Hong Kong tend to A huge hit in , where it was also released roost in Hong Kong — Apple ranked third in the reject the bigger budget Hong Kong- co- by Fox, the fi lm fl ourished on word-of-mouth and 2011 top 10 behind the latest instalments in the productions, which make most of their returns on repeat viewings. Based on the director’s own expe- Transformers and Harry Potter series. the mainland. Tellingly, the two Hong Kong fi lms riences, the story features a young man on his way Likewise, last Christmas, Hong Kong audiences to rank in the top 10 — erotic drama 3D Sex And to a wedding, reminiscing about his days at high favoured Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy and I Love Hong Kong — were school. ‘You Are The Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows over the big not co-productions with China. “It had a unique way of capturing young movie- Apple Of My Chinese end-of-year release, ’s Flying Hong Kong audiences also seem to have turned goers as well as older ones,” says Fox’s senior vice- Eye had a Swords Of Dragon Gate, despite the latter’s high- their backs on Korean and Japanese fi lms — no president, Asia Pacifi c, Sunder Kimatrai. “Those quality 3D sequences. And during this year’s Chi- Korean releases and only two Japanese fi lms (The experiences of fi rst love, fi rst heartbreak, are so unique way of nese New Year holiday (January 23-25), Journey 2: Borrower Arrietty and Umizaru 3: The Last Mes- universal they translate to any culture, but they capturing The Mysterious Island streaked ahead of the local sage) ranked in the top 100 in 2011. However, hadn’t been told in this way in this part of the young movie- and ’s another surprise was the success of world before.” globe-trotting adventure . title 3 Idiots, which grossed $3m to rank number With its combination of romance and gross-out goers as well As elsewhere around the globe, this trend 14 in the year-end chart. Edko Films released it humour, the fi lm also managed to appeal to both as older ones’ towards premium fare is resulting in an overall nearly two years after its Indian release, as they sexes. More recently, two Hong Kong productions Sunder Kimatrai, upwards trend in ticket sales. According to were waiting for the film to pass censorship in released in March — ’s A Simple Life and 20th Century Fox the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Associa- . Pang Ho ’s Love In The Buff — became International tion (MPIA), box office grew by almost 4% to Edko’s Audrey Lee says it was 3 Idiots’ humour much-welcomed hits on home territory. By the $177.8m (HK$1.38bn) in 2011, despite a decrease and subject matter, especially the storyline about »

■ 32 Screen International at Cannes May 18, 2012

FEATURE

the pressures of the education system, that struck a eral cinemas have closed recently, including the UA chord with local audiences. It remains diffi cult to Cinemas site in the Times Square mall, which release most Bollywood fi lms in Hong Kong. closed at the end of January when it could not “We polished the sub-titles to help Hong Kong match the rent paid by a luxury brand retailer. people understand the references,” explains Lee. The Hong Kong Theatres Association has “It catered to a wide , professionals, par- referred this matter to the Hong Kong Film Devel- ents and retirees, and it’s been a long time since opment Council, observing that Hong Kong has we’ve seen people in the cinema laugh so fre- only around 45 cinemas with 199 screens, com- quently.” pared to more than 120 cinemas in the 1980s. A Bollywood fi lm 3 Idiots Less of a laughing matter is the impact of Hong special taskforce has been formed to look into the took an impressive Kong’s sky-high rents on the exhibition sector. Sev- problem and fi nd possible solutions. Is $3m in Hong Kong

HONG KONG TOP 10 2011 (JAN 6, 2011-JAN 4, 2012) HONG KONG TOP 10 LOCAL FILMS 2011 (JAN 6, 2011-JAN 4, 2012) Rank Title Country Distributor Release date Gross Rank Title Distributor Release date Gross of origin 1 Transformers: Dark Of The Moon US Par/Intercon June 29 $11m 1 3D Sex And Zen: Extreme Newport Apr 14 $5.3m 2 Harry Potter And The Deathly US Warner Bros July 14 $9.9m Ecstasy Hallows: Part II 2 I Love Hong Kong Intercon Feb 3 $3.4m 3 You Are The Apple Of My Eye Taiwan Fox Oct 20 $7.9m 3 Newport Aug 18 $3.1m 4 Pirates Of The Caribbean: On US Disney May 19 $5.9m 4 All’s Well, Ends Well Newport Feb 2 $2.6m Stranger Tides 2011 5 3D Sex And Zen: Extreme Ecstasy HK Newport Apr 14 $5.3m 5 Shaolin UA/Emperor Jan 27 $2m 6 Panda 2 US Par/Intercon July 21 $5.1m 6 Don’t Go Breaking My UA/Media Asia Mar 31 $1.59m 7 Mission: Impossible — Ghost US Par/Intercon Dec 15 $57m Heart Protocol 7 UA/Emperor Jan 13 $1.57m 8 I Love Hong Kong HK Intercon Feb 3 $3.4m 8 Life Without UA/Media Asia Oct 20 $1.09m 9 X-Men: First Class US Fox June 2 $3.33m Principle 9 Mr & Mrs Incredible UA/We Feb 3 $1.05m 10 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of US Warner Bros Dec 14 $3.29m Shadows 10 Wu Xia UA/We July 28 $1.03m

Source: Rentrak Source: Rentrak

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SS6059_Microscope.indd 1 08/05/2012 16:22 ■ 34 Screen International at Cannes May 18, 2012

Feature

Blind Detective

Starring and , ’s most recent directing project tells the story of a detective — forced to leave the police service after turning blind — who solves cold cases. It marks the first pairing of Lau and Cheng sinceYesterday Once More in 2004. The duo previously starred together in To’s 2000 hit , Needing You. Contact Media Asia, Ricky Tse [email protected] The Bullet Vanishes

Nicolas Tse and Lau Ching Wan head the cast of this suspense , directed by Law Chi-leung and pro- duced by , which is in post-production. Backed by China’s , the film revolves around a series of mysterious murders in China’s largest armoury during the Republic era. Contact Emperor Motion Pictures, May Yip [email protected] Chinese Zodiac

Jackie Chan directs and stars in this globe-trotting action adventure which is scheduled for release in both regular and IMAX versions on December 12. Diva Produced by Chan’s JC Group, Huayi Bros and Emperor Motion Pictures, the film was shot in Bei- jing and France where it took in locations including the Chateau de Chantilly. The story is under wraps but is understood to revolve around a global search Tuned in to demand for ancient treasure related to China’s history. Contact Jackie & JJ International, Ramy Choi Hong Kong producers are debating their future strategy in the face of regional [email protected] competition and the booming mainland market. Liz Shackleton reports Cold War

Bill Kong’s Edko Films and his new talent venture, he past year has been full of contradictions ing of the mainland market, and also has proactive Irresistible Films, are producing this police action for Hong Kong’s local production sector. Two Hong Kong local government support, resulting in an unex- film which kicks off with a hostage situation. THong Kong films — Ann Hui’sA Simple Life pected source of competition for Hong Kong. Directed by Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, the and Pang Ho Cheung’s Love In The Buff — have remains a Nevertheless, exceptions such as A Simple Life film has a budget of around $9m and stars Aaron been flying high at the local box office.A Simple professional, and Love In The Buff prove the staying power of Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai. It is scheduled for a Life’s also scooped best actress at last transparent Hong Kong writing, directing and acting talent. summer 2012 release. year’s and at the Asian Film Though both tapped mainland funding, they were Contact Edko Films, June Wu Awards in March. and outward- overwhelmingly Hong Kong productions in con- [email protected] But at the end of last year, a Taiwanese film, Gid- looking tent and style. dens Ko’s You Are The Apple Of My Eye, smashed production hub Hong Kong also remains a professional, trans- Conspirators the record set for a Chinese-language film in Hong parent and outward-looking production hub in Kong, previously held by Stephen ’s 2004 what is increasingly becoming a pan-Chinese mar- Oxide Pang, one half of the , is direct- Kung-fu Hustle. ket. As the list of upcoming projects below testifies, ing suspense action title Conspirators, starring Released last October, Apple finished on a tally of Hong Kong producers and talent will continue to and . The story, which is a nearly $8m at the Hong Kong box office, narrowly sell tickets and win accolades, not just locally but at spin-off from Pang’s 2007 The Detective, follows a overtaking Hustle’s $7.9m (hk$61.3m). Its success an international level, for some time to come. ns Thailand-based private detective as he travels to highlights the recent resurgence of Taiwanese cin- to unravel the truth behind his parents’ ema and raised many questions among Hong deaths. The $5m picture is in post-production after Kong film executives about their future strategy. shooting in Thailand, Malaysia and mainland China. For several years now, Hong Kong has focused Contact Universe Films Distribution, Alice Leung on producing big-budget titles aimed at the main- [email protected] land China market. Among those expected this year are ’s Chinese Zodiac, Ronny Yu’s Diva Saving General and ’s . One of Hong Kong’s hottest female directors, Hei- Hong Kong audiences often reject such titles ward Mak, directs this drama about two young sing- due to their strong mainland content, but it is ers navigating the roads of fame and romance. becoming harder than ever to produce smaller , who produced Mak’s well-received titles specifically for Hong Kong. The booming youth drama Ex, is again producing and the cast is mainland market is driving up demand for Hong headed by . Mak’s credits as director also Kong talent, making actors and directors prohibi- include High Noon and she co-scripted Love In A tively expensive. Even a medium-budget film has Puff with Pang Ho Cheung. Diva is in post-produc- little chance of recouping in a territory of just 7 mil- tion for a release in the third quarter of 2012. lion people. Contact Emperor Motion Pictures, May Yip Meanwhile, Taiwan is benefiting from the open- The Bullet Vanishes [email protected] » n 36 Screen International at Cannes May 18, 2012

FEATURE

Floating City

Produced by Mandarin Films, this historical epic stars Aaron Kwok, and Hee-ching in the tale of a fi sherman’s son who rises to become a powerful ‘tai pan’ or businessman. Scheduled for local release on May 19, it is directed by , one of the leaders of the in the 1980s. Contact Mandarin Films, Chiu-yi Leung [email protected]

Andrew Lau is directing this $15m action drama, produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan. The story revolves around an elite squad of imperial bodyguards, The Last Tycoon trained to use the deadly fl ying guillotine, who face a conspiracy against their mission. The cast is headed by hot pan-Chinese trio Xiaoming (The Message), (Monga) and (). Media Asia is handling Asian territories excluding China. Contact We Distribution, Katherine Lee [email protected] Journey To The West

Stephen Chow, one of Hong Kong’s most bankable film-makers, is writing, producing and directing Cold War Lacuna this follow-up to his two Chinese Odyssey films, which became cult classics in the 1990s. The fi lm is David Ebner (Alice In Wonderland), and post-pro- woo star in the story of a woman asked to imperson- produced by Chow’s Bingo Group, Edko Films and Hot up-and- duction is taking place in the US. ate the daughter of a CEO in an inheritance battle. Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s new Chi- Contact Filmko, Mandarin Films Contact Golden Scene, Winnie Tsang nese fi lm-making division. coming [email protected] [email protected] Contact Bingo Group, Alice Chow directors Derek [email protected] Tsang and Once Upon A Time In The Silent War Jimmy Wan Lacuna Philip Ng and star in this $10m mar- An $18m action drama set in 1950s China, starring move north tial-arts , directed by award-winning Tony Leung Chiu-wai as a blind piano tuner who is Hot up-and-coming directors and of the border Hong Kong fi lm-maker Ching Po and pro- drafted into a spying mission due to his exceptional Jimmy Wan move north of the border for this duced by . Ng plays a poor labourer who hearing abilities. directs from a script by romantic comedy about two strangers who wake up for rom-com moves to 1920s Shanghai with dreams of making his co-writer , and Zhou in bed together, oblivious to what happened, and Lacuna his fortune but ends up using his powerful fists. Xun also stars. In post-production. have to fi gure out how they got there. Pang Ho Che- Wong Ching Po is one of Hong Kong’s hottest young Contact Mei Ah Distribution, Sara Law ung, who produced the duo’s portmanteau drama directors with credits such as Revenge: A Love Story [email protected] Lover’s Discourse, is again producing and Shawn Yue which has sold widely around the world. Yuen Woo and Jingchu head the cast. Ping (The Matrix) is on board as action director. Switch Contact Media Asia, Ricky Tse Contact Mega Vision Project Distribution, Gordon [email protected] Cheung [email protected] Formerly known as Dwelling In The Fuchun Moun- tains, this $20m action adventure is in post-produc- The Last Tycoon Saving General Yang tion after shooting in several international locations including Dubai. Andy Lau, and Lin Chow Yun-fat is starring in this period gangster Ronny Yu’s action drama is a reworking of the Yang Chi-ling head the cast. The story revolves around the thriller which tells the story of real-life gangster Du clan folk tales that have inspired countless stage famous Chinese painting Dwelling In The Fuchun Yuesheng, who built his crime empire in Shanghai plays, comics, fi lms and TV dramas. Produced by Mountains, which was split in two 300 years ago. in the 1920s and 1930s. Wong Jing is directing with ’s Pegasus Motion Pictures with The fi lm imagines the painting is fi nally to be put on board as DoP and Infernal Affairs direc- China’s Film Group and , the back together again, and follows gangs of thieves as tor as producer. The cast will also film has a starry ensemble cast including Ekin they scramble to steal it. include martial-arts maestro Sammo Hung. The Cheng, Adam Cheng, Wu Chun and Vic Chou. The Contact China Film Group, Media Asia, Ricky Tse project, previously known as Grand Shanghai (Da screenplay is written by Wong’s son, Edmond [email protected] Shanghai), is in production. Wong, who also wrote and . Contact Distribution Workshop, Virginia Leung Contact Pegasus Motion Pictures, Alvina Wong Wu Dang [email protected] [email protected] This $10m martial-arts drama showcases Wu Dang The Monkey King Shadows Of Love kung-fu, one of the two major styles along with Shaolin, and stars three established kung-fu artists Hong Kong’s Filmko and Mandarin Films Award-winning Hong Kong fi lm-maker — Vincent Chiu, and . Patrick are joining forces on this $30m 3D fantasy is producing this romantic Leung is directing the fi lm, which is in post. Corey based on Chinese classic Journey To The drama directed by up-and-coming talent Yuen (The Transporter) is the action director. The West. Soi Cheang is directing and the cast Calvin Poon, who was nominated as best story revolves around an American attempting to includes , Chow Yun-fat and new director at this year’s Hong steal treasure from the Wudang mountain range, Aaron Kwok. Hollywood technical Kong Film Awards for Hi, where legend has it the Wu Dang style originated. talent has also been brought on Fidelity. and Contact Mei Ah Distribution, Sara Law board, including VFX supervisor Floating City Korean actor Kwon Sang- [email protected] Is

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