Article written by Ching Pui On. Transcribed and translated by Wolverine. Original article presumably online at Next Magazine (Chinese character decoder required), but since I can't read Chinese I've not yet found it. :P
For more details of CYF's inescapable genius, check out my Chow Yun-Fat: God of Actors site!
CYF ponders the imminent release of TRK. Photo by Au Kin Leung, published by Next Magazine, for their vol. 405 CYF article. |
New Film Violates ImageChow Yun Fat: if I fail I will return to comedyJanuary 23rd, 1998 can be considered a big day for Chow Yun Fat. On this day, his first Hollywood film The Replacement Killer will hold its world wide premiere in Hong Kong. Chow Yun Fat said, his mood now is half and half. Like gambling in a casino, he wants to win the big one. If he bets big and wins big of course he will be all grins, what if he bets big and loses? Chow Yun Fat joked, "At most I will be the 'gwailo' Leung Sing Bor, find a comedy to make!" |
"Gwailo Leung Sing Bor" is just a joke, but Chow Yun Fat toward his future in Hollywood indeed is somewhat pessimistic.
Chow Yun Fat said, "Although I spent a lot of time to learn English, to do everything well, but Asian actor's face is very limited. There are very few roles. One is a Chinatown mob boss, the other is a killer."
"Am I optimistic about the future? I of course hope to bet big and win big. At least with a good box office for the first film, my position is stable, the road from then on will be easier to walk down. If the box office isn't ideal, then it will be harder. However, now I am taking it as it comes!" Actually, Chow Yun Fat's schedule in 98 has already been packed. After January's film promotion, in March he will star in Oliver Stone's Corrupter, then in September he will team with John Woo (Ng Yu Sum) again for King's Ransom.
Even though The Replacement Killer is scheduled for release in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia during the Lunar New Year, Chow Yun Fat said, "Honestly, Chow Yun Fat's best movies have already been seen by the viewers in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. I am used to giving everyone 'shark fin soup' and 'swallow's nest', now I want you to have a Western meal! When the viewers go to theater to see Chow Yun Fat speak English, of course there will be no feeling! I know the Chinese really focus on flavor!"
"But, sometimes for dreams, Chow Yun Fat can only make movies that are suitable for 'gwailo'. The character I play now (action actor) actually violates the actor image I have built in Hong Kong, but there is nothing I can do, because I now have to face the foreign market. I hope after my footing is stable, I will have the power to fight for roles that I like."
Actually, Chow Yun Fat might be worrying too much, because the Asian audience still refuses to abandon him. This self-proclaimed Hollywood "Old New Comer" on December 3rd took home the honor of the Star of the Decade in an event sponsored by Singapore's Cineasia, adding an eighth film award to his trophy case.
Chow Yun Fat said, out of the eight awards, he felt the one with the most historical value is his first, the 23th Annual Golden Horse Best Actor award for Hong Kong 1941 (Dung Doi Lai Ming); the one he had the most fun with is also for Hong Kong 1941, the 30th Annual Asia Pacific Film Festival. "That time, when the presenter announced the Best Actor was Chow Yun Fat, the audience already screamed and cheered for the 'Chow Yun Fat' on stage, perhaps they feel Chow Yun Fat is really photogenic! However, I didn't personally attend that time, it was Wong Jing who accepted the award on my behalf......Ha ha ha!"
Besides the aforementioned awards, Fat Gor also with An Autumn's Tale (Chau Tin Dik Tung Wa) won the 24th Annual Golden Horse award and the 1st Annual Hong Kong Director's Choice award; with A Better Tomorrow (Ying Hung Boon Sik), Prison on Fire (Gam Yuk Fung Won), and All About Ah Long (Ah Long Dik Goo Si) he took home the second, the seventh and the ninth HKFA for Best Actor.
Now, Fat Gor has given all of his awards to City Council's Film Information Center for storage. In April 1998, City Council will hold a Chow Yun Fat exhibition. Everyone will be able to take a look at Fat Gor's awards.
Chow Yun Fat said, The Replacement Killer will give a fresh feeling to the American viewers (When The Replacement Killer test screened in the U.S., the film critics highly praised Chow Yun Fat's performance), but to viewers in Hong Kong, it's just new wine in an old bottle.
The story of The Replacement Killer mainly is about Chow Yun Fat's character John, a killer, once accepted the order of his superior Kenneth Tsang Kong to kill a 9 year old child. Because John couldn't go through with the order he is wanted by the organization......
- Cheung Pui Fong
You are probably the only person who has ever accessed this web page, while I myself have logged on times since December 23rd, 1997.
Back to Winnifred's Home Page,
or over to my page of CYF movie
reviews, pix, and links, or to the Chow Yun-Fat: God of
Actors page....
This page last officially modified 23 December 1997. Created in December 1997 with help from the NCSA's Beginner's Guide to HTML.
1997 Winnifred Louis