AFM 2018: The buzz titles from Hong Kong and China
BY LIZ SHACKLETON 2 NOVEMBER 2018
Despite dipping box office and a censorship process slowing up the production pipeline, there are some knockout titles to get excited about for Chinese New Year.
SOURCE: WANDA PICTURES
‘AIRPOCALYPSE’
Mainland China’s film industry is going through a turbulent period. Despite the success of Bona Film Group’s Project Gutenberg, which grossed nearly $160m over the National Day holidays, box office was on a downward trend in October 2018 compared to the previous year. In addition, the censorship process has slowed following the Chinese authorities’ overhaul of their regulatory infrastructure and the government’s recent request that talent and production companies pay their back taxes has sent the industry into a spin.
As a result, production is expected to slow down in the last quarter of this year, which could result in a shortage of big titles in the second half of 2019, but there is still a large volume of films in production and post-production that are on offer at AFM. Big titles scheduled for release before the end of the year include Wanda Pictures’ fantasy drama Airpocalypse and Huayi Brothers’ action adventure Mojin: The Worm Valley.
Although it is still early days for scheduling, films jostling for release during the peak Chinese New Year holiday period in February 2019 include Mega-Vision Project Workshop’s Enter The Fat Dragon, starring Donnie Yen; Emperor Motion Pictures’ Integrity, directed by Alan Mak and starring Sean Lau and Nick Cheung; and Jackie Chan’s The Knight Of Shadows: Between Yin And Yang.
Airpocalypse - dir Xiao Yang
Xiao Yang is directing and heading the cast of this fantasy drama, about four gods who are relegated to living on Earth and create an environmental catastrophe in their attempts to get back into heaven. Jennifer Du and Xiao Shenyang also star in the film, which is scheduled for release on December 21. Xiao previously directed Old Boys: Way Of The Dragon and stars in both of the hit Detective Chinatown films.
Contact: Wen Mengchen, Wanda Pictures
Anita - dir Longman Leung
Currently in production, this long-awaited biopic of Anita Mui stars model Louise Wong, making her acting debut, as the hugely popular singer and actress who died in 2003 aged just 40. Produced by Edko Films and Irresistible Films, the drama also stars Terrance Lau and is due for release next year. Director Leung is co-director of hit action dramas Cold War and Cold War 2 with Sunny Luk.
Contact: Julian Chiu, Edko Films
Bodies At Rest - dir Renny Harlin
Nick Cheung, Richie Jen and Yang Zi head the cast of Renny Harlin’s Chinese-language action thriller, which is in post-production for release in April 2019. Scripted by David Lesser, the film follows a group of masked thugs who break into a morgue demanding access to a body that contains evidence of a crime they committed. Wanda Pictures and Media Asia co-produce, with the latter also handling international sales.
Contact: Fred Tsui, Media Asia
Chasing The Dragon II: Master Of Ransom - dirs Wong Jing, Jason Kwan
In post-production, the second instalment in Wong Jing’s Chasing The Dragon series is based on a real-life spate of kidnappings that terrorised Hong Kong’s elite in the 1990s. Tony Leung Ka-fai plays the kidnap king, while Louis Koo is the undercover agent who infiltrates his gang. Wong and Kwan also co-directed Chasing The Dragon, based on the true story of drug dealer Ng Sek-ho, which was a hit in Hong Kong and China last year.
Contact: Angela Wong, Mega-Vision Project Workshop
A City Called Macau - dir Li Shaohong
Fifth Generation filmmaker Li Shaohong (The Door, Stolen Life) directs this Macau-set romantic drama from a script by Yan Geling (Youth). Bai Baihe, Huang Jue and Wu Gang head the cast of the film about a woman working as a VIP client servicing manager at a casino, who falls for a charismatic gambler. Produced by Bona Film Group, the film is currently in post-production.
Contact: June Wu, Distribution Workshop
Enter The Fat Dragon - dir Kenji Tanigaki
Donnie Yen and Wong Jing both produce and star in this action title about an overweight cop with emotional issues who is tasked with escorting a convict to Japan. Scheduled for release over the Chinese New Year holidays in February 2019, the film is directed by renowned action choreographer Kenji Tanigaki, whose credits include The Monkey King and Japanese manga adaptation Rurouni Kenshin.
Contact: Angela Wong, Mega-Vision Project Workshop
Hotel Soul Good - dir Anthony Yan Pak-wing
Produced by Hong Kong’s Plus One Motion Pictures, this romantic comedy features an ensemble cast of Hong Kong talents including Chrissie Chau (29+1), Louis Cheung (Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight), Eric Kot (Fantasia), Maggie Shiu (PTU) and Richard Ng (Vampire Cleanup Department). Chau plays an executive in the hospitality industry who opens a new hotel when she loses her job and boyfriend after a meteor shower enables her to see dead people. The film was released in Hong Kong on October 18.
Contact: Tiffin Shing, Golden Dragon Pictures
Integrity - dir Alan Mak
Director Alan Mak and producers Felix Chong and Ronald Wong, who worked together on the Overheard trilogy, are reteaming on this crime thriller, which is in post-production for tentative release over Chinese New Year 2019. The story follows a leading anti-corruption agent who is forced to team up with his ex-wife to salvage an investigation in which both the defendant and the whistleblower have disappeared. Sean Lau, Nick Cheung and Karena Lam head the cast.
Contact: Raymond Liu, Emperor Motion Pictures
Invincible Dragon - dir Fruit Chan
Max Zhang (Ip Man 3) and mixed martial-arts expert Anderson Silva star in Fruit Chan’s $12m action film about an undercover agent who helps the police solve mysterious cases, but clashes with a Macau detective and a US army veteran with a secret link to his past. Scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2019, the film also features behind-the-scenes talent such as DoP Cheng Siu Keung (Election) and action director Stephen Tung Wei (Operation Mekong).
Contact: Kat Yeung, Mandarin Motion Pictures
Ip Man 4 - dir Wilson Yip
The fourth instalment in producer Raymond Wong’s blockbuster Ip Man franchise will again star Donnie Yen as the eponymous hero, along with Chan Kwok Kwan, Vanness Wu and Scott Adkins. In post-production, the $52m film follows the eponymous kung-fu master to the US where his student Bruce Lee has upset the local martial-arts community by opening a Wing Chun school. Yuen Wo Ping is again on board as action director.
Contact: Kat Yeung, Mandarin Motion Pictures
The Knight Of Shadows: Between Yin And Yang - dir Vash
Jackie Chan stars as a demon hunter defending humanity from an inhuman invasion in this period action comedy, which also stars Ethan Juan, Elane Zhong and Lin Peng. When a mysterious force starts kidnapping village girls to feast on their souls, Chan’s character encounters another demon hunter who is not fully human. In post-production for release during Chinese New Year 2019, the film is produced by Kiefer Liu (The Monkey King series) and backed by iQiyi Pictures, Beijing Sparkle Roll Media and Golden Shore Films & Television.
Contact: Tiffin Shing, Golden Network Asia