1.
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
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The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, apart from the main campus in Wanchai, Bethanie, the site of the institutions Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam, has housed the School of Film and Television since 2007. Its educational policy reflects the diversity of Hong Kong with an emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions. Every year, the Academy enrols about 750 students for its programmes and around 770 students for its Junior Music Programme. Furthermore, its extensive EXCEL programme offers part-time personal enrichment courses, the government responded with a proposal to develop an academy for the performing arts. On 15 September 1981 the Jockey Club formally announced plans to build the academy on a piece of vacant land in Wan Chai, granted by the government, the academy was established in 1984. In the early 1990s, the APA became a degree-granting institution, the main campus was designed by local firm Simon Kwan and Associates, who were among six firms invited to submit designs in a limited competition. It comprises the Academy Block, the Theatre Block, and the Administration Block, the Administration Block was ready for occupation in July 1985. The Academy Block was formally opened on 18 September 1985 by Governor Edward Youde, the Theatre Block was opened by the Duchess of Kent on 3 February 1986, the same day the inaugural opera season began as part of the 1986 Hong Kong Arts Festival. The 1981 model produced for the competition is now held by the M+ museum. In 2006 the academy established a campus at Béthanie in Pok Fu Lam. It mainly houses specialist facilities for the School of Film and Television, the original campus was designed for a student population of 600 students. The academy has been facing space constraints as enrolment has gradually risen, the 334 Scheme further exacerbated the problem. In June 2012 the Legislative Council approved funding of $444.8 million for construction of a nine-storey annex block, the expansion will house classrooms, studios, laboratories, music rooms, offices, workshops and support facilities. The academy is working with the West Kowloon Cultural District, which is construction, on education plans. The academy is governed under the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ordinance, under the legislation the academy is mandated to foster and provide for training, education and research in the performing arts and related technical arts. The academy is funded through tuition fees as well as a subvention provided by the Home Affairs Bureau and this arrangement differs from most other post-secondary institutions in the territory, which are funded by the University Grants Committee. Kevin Thompson was director of the academy from 2004 to 2012, Thompson also initiated planning for campus expansion
2.
Wan Chai
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Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west, the area north of Gloucester Road is often referred to as Wan Chai North. Wan Chai is one of the busiest commercial areas in Hong Kong with offices of many small, Wan Chai North features office towers, parks, hotels and an international conference and exhibition centre. As one of the first areas developed in Hong Kong, the locale is densely populated yet with noticeable residential zones facing urban decay, arousing considerable public concern, the government has undertaken several urban renewal projects in recent years. There are many landmarks and skyscrapers within the area, most notably the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Central Plaza. Wan Chai originally began as Ha Wan, literally meaning a ring or lower circuit. As one of the earliest developed areas in Hong Kong along the Victoria Harbour, Central, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai literally means a cove in Cantonese from the shape of its coastal line. The area is no longer a cove, however, due to city development. Wan Chai was first home to the many Chinese villagers living along the coastlines in proximity to Hung Shing Temple. Most of them were fishermen, who worked around the area near Hung Shing Temple overlooking the entire harbour, Hung Shing Ye, the God of the Sea, was one of the deities worshiped by the locals. With the growth of the British Hong Kong administration, centred in old Victoria, Wan Chai attracted those on the fringes of society, such as coolie workers, a focal point of development at that time was Spring Gardens, a red-light zone. By the 1850s the area was becoming a Chinese residential area. There were dockyards on Ship Street and McGregor Street for building and repairing ships. The edge of Sun Street, Moon Street and Star Street was the site of the first power station in Hong Kong, operated by the Hongkong Electric Company. One of the first water-front hospitals was the Seamans Hospital, built in 1843 and it was then sold to the British Royal Navy in 1873 and subsequently redeveloped into the Royal Naval Hospital. After the Second World War, the hospital was revitalised as the Ruttonjee Hospital, the district was home to several well-known schools. One of these schools was established by the traditional teacher. Started as a shushu in 1919, the school was renamed Dunmei School in 1934 after him and it taught classical Chinese writings and Confucian ethics
3.
Hong Kong
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Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
4.
Chungking Express
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Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong drama film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman. The first story stars Takeshi Kaneshiro as a cop who is obsessed with the break-up of his relationship with a woman named May and his platonic encounter with a mysterious drug smuggler. The second stars Tony Leung as an officer who is roused from his gloom over the loss of his flight attendant girlfriend by the attentions of a quirky snack bar worker. The film depicts a paradox in that though the characters live in densely packed Hong Kong, they are mostly lonely. The English title refers to Chungking Mansions and the Midnight Express food stall where Faye works, the film comprises two different stories, told one after the other, each about a romance involving a policeman. Except for a moment when the first story ends and the second begins. However, the three characters from the second story each momentarily appear during the first. The first story concerns Taiwan-born cop He Qiwu, also known as Cop 223, qiwus girlfriend May broke up with him on 1 April. His birthday is 1 May and he chooses to wait for May for a month before moving on, every day he buys a tin of pineapple with an expiration date of 1 May. By the end of time, he feels that he will either be rejoined with his love or that it will have expired forever. Meanwhile, a woman in a blonde wig tries to survive in the drug underworld after a smuggling operation goes sour. On 1 May, Qiwu, looking for romance, approaches the woman in the blonde wig at a bar, however, she is exhausted and falls asleep in a hotel room, leaving him to watch old movies alone all night and order take-out food. He shines her shoes before he leaves her sleeping on the bed and she leaves in the morning and shoots the drug baron who had set her up. Qiwu goes jogging and receives a message from her on his pager wishing him a happy birthday and he then visits his usual snack food store where he collides with a new staff member, Faye. At this point, a new story begins, in the second story, the unnamed Cop 663 is similarly dealing with a breakup, this time with a flight attendant. He meets Faye, the new girl at the snack bar, the flight attendant waits for the cop around the snack bar, and finds out he is on his day off. She leaves a letter for the bar owner to give to the cop
5.
He's a Woman, She's a Man
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Hes a Woman, Shes a Man is a 1994 Hong Kong romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Peter Chan and starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, Carina Lau, Eric Tsang and Jordan Chan. Its many awards garnered include Best Actress at the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards for Yuen, the film was followed by a sequel, Whos the Woman, Whos the Man. The theme song is Chase was recorded in Cheungs 1995 album, Wing is a sassy girl who deeply idolizes Rose, a pop singer, and Roses boyfriend, top record producer and songwriter Sam. Rose has been groomed by Sam, achieving stardom and international acclaim, with her success, Sam decides to try his hand at bringing up a male singer. He decides to announce a country-wide, males-only talent search, much to his former protegées chagrin, Wing, desperate to meet her idols, seizes this opportunity and enters the contest disguised as a male. Her childhood friend trains her to perfect this whimsical idea, as fate would have it, Wing succeeds in the audition thanks to the poor quality of those auditioning and in part to Roses taunts. Rose challenges Sam to see to the idea of him bringing up a talentless Wing, Wing is later invited to stay at Sam and Roses home for her/his musical education. Wing tries unsuccessfully to reconcile the two lovers difference, trouble and comedy ensue as she finds herself falling for Sam and vice versa, despite him thinking she is a he
6.
Wong Kar-wai
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His film In the Mood for Love, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, notably garnered widespread critical acclaim. Wong Kar-wai was born on 17 July 1958 in Shanghai, the youngest of three siblings and his father was a sailor and his mother was a housewife. By the time Wong was five years old, the seeds of the Cultural Revolution were beginning to take effect in China and his parents decided to relocate to British-ruled Hong Kong. The two older children were meant to them later, but the borders closed before they had a chance. In Hong Kong, the family settled in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, as a youth, Wong was frequently taken to the cinema by his mother and exposed to a variety of films. He later said, The only hobby I had as a child was watching movies, at school he was interested in graphic design, and earned a diploma in the subject from Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1980. After graduating, Wong was accepted onto a course with the TVB television network. He soon began a career, firstly with TV series and soap operas, such as Dont Look Now. He worked as part of a team, contributing to a variety of genres including romance, comedy, thriller and he is credited with ten screenplays between 1982 and 1987, but claims to have worked on about fifty more without official credit. Wong spent two years co-writing the screenplay for Patrick Tams action film Final Victory, for which he was nominated at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards, by 1987 the Hong Kong film industry was at a peak, enjoying a considerable level of prosperity and productivity. Gangster films were popular at the time, in the wake of John Woos highly-successful A Better Tomorrow, specifically, unlike Hong Kongs other crime films, he chose to focus on young gangsters. The film, named As Tears Go By, tells the story of a youth who has to watch over his hot-headed friend. Because he was acquainted with the producer, Alan Tang, Wong was given considerable freedom in the making of As Tears Go By. His cast included what he considered some of the hottest young idols in Hong Kong, singer Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, as Tears Go By was released in June 1988 and was popular with audiences. It was also a success, as several journalists named Wong among the Hong Kong New Wave. While it was a crime film, critic David Bordwell said that Wong out from his peers by abandoning the kinetics of comedies. As Tears Go By received no attention from Western critics upon its initial release, for his follow-up film, Wong decided to move away from the crime trend in Hong Kong cinema, to which he felt indifferent. He was eager to make something unusual, and the success of As Tears Go By made this possible
7.
Tsui Hark
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Tsui Hark, born Tsui Man-kong, is a Vietnam-born Chinese film director, producer and screenwriter. He is viewed as a figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema and has been regarded by critics as one of the masters of Asian cinematography. Tsui was born and raised in Saigon, Vietnam, to a large Chinese family with sixteen siblings. Tsui showed an early interest in business and films, when he was 10, he. He also drew comic books, an interest that would influence his cinematic style, by the age of 13, he and his family immigrated to Hong Kong. Tsui started his education in Hong Kong in 1966. He proceeded to film in Texas, first at Southern Methodist University and then at the University of Texas at Austin. He claims to have told his parents he wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps as a pharmacist, and that it was here he changed his given name to Hark. After graduation, Tsui moved to New York City, where he worked on From Spikes to Spindles and he also worked as an editor for a Chinese newspaper, developed a community theatre group and worked in a Chinese cable TV station. He returned to Hong Kong in 1977, upon turning to feature filmmaking, Tsui was quickly typed as a member of the New Wave of young, iconoclastic directors. His debut film, The Butterfly Murders, was an eccentric and technically challenging blend of wuxia, murder mystery and his second film, Were Going to Eat You, was an eccentric blend of cannibal horror, black comedy and martial arts. Tsuis third film, Dangerous Encounter of the First Kind, put him beyond the pale, the thriller about delinquent youths on a bombing spree was nihilistic, grisly and pregnant with angry political subtext. Heavily censored by the British colonial government, it was released in 1981 in an altered version titled Dangerous Encounter – 1st Kind. Unsurprisingly, it was not a financial success, Tsui played his part in the process with pictures like the 1981 crime farce All the Wrong Clues, his first hit, and Aces Go Places 3, part of the studios long-running spy spoof series. In 1983, Tsui directed the fantasy film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain for the studio Golden Harvest. Here, he developed a reputation as a hands-on and even intrusive producer of other directors work, fueled by public breaks with major filmmakers like John Woo. His most longstanding and fruitful collaboration has probably been with Ching Siu-tung, as action choreographer and/or director on many Film Workshop productions, Ching made a major contribution to the well-known Tsui style. Tsui has the knack of trend-setting in film genres which earned him the name Steven Spielberg of Asia
8.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
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Tony Leung Chiu-wai is a Hong Kong actor and C-pop singer. He was the winner of Cannes Film Festival for Best Actor for his role in Wong Kar-wais film In the Mood for Love, Leung is also a seven-time winner of Hong Kong Film Award and three-time winner of Golden Horse Film Awards. Leung also stars in three Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winning films, including A City of Sadness, Cyclo and Lust, Caution, Leung also stars in Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-nominated film Hero. The 2002 book East Asian Film Stars describes Leung as undoubtedly one of the most successful and widely-acclaimed Hong Kong actors of his generation, with a broad, Leung was born in Hong Kong. Leungs early childhood was punctuated with parents quarrels and arguments about money, a mischievous boy in his early years, Leungs personality changed when his father, a chronic gambler, left the family when he was eight, he and his younger sister were brought up by their mother. Leung was a reticent, quiet child and he has said that his childhood experiences paved the way for his acting career, which allows him to openly express his feelings, You dont know what happened, just one day your pop disappears. And from that day on I try not to communicate with anyone, im so afraid to talk to my classmates, afraid that if someone says something about family I wont know what to do. So thats why I love acting, because I can express all my feelings the way I couldnt for so long, and then when I went to TV it all came out, I cried and I wasnt ashamed. The audience thinks its the characters feelings, but really its my feelings, Leung went to private school, but he quit at the age of 15 due to financial difficulties. He was a teenager who was very close to his mother. During an interview on the making of Hero, he says that he sees his mother as his definition of a hero for having brought up two children alone. After quitting his studies, Leung worked in a variety of jobs, first as a runner at his uncles shop. Around the age of 16 he met actor and comedian Stephen Chow who influenced his decision to become an actor. In 1982, he passed the courses of television channel TVB. Due to his looks, TVB cast him as host of a childrens programme,430 Space Shuttle. Leung enjoyed comedies during his years, it was for these he became well known. So, in the 1980s, he was named as one of TVBs Five Tigers along with Andy Lau, Felix Wong, Michael Miu, Leung starred in the highly successful Police Cadet TV serial in 1984. Since then they have worked together on The Yangs Saga, Days of Being Wild, Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love, Hero, interviewed by Wong Kar Wai, Leung said that he considered Maggie to be his alter ego
9.
Eric Kot
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Eric Kot Man-fai is a Hong Kong celebrity in the Chinese hip hop industry. Hi is a popular MC/pop singer/actor who studied in California and is the youngest of three brothers and he is also known to his fans by his loud clowny voice. He formed a music duo with fellow DJ and comedian Jan Lamb. Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Nomination for The New Age of Living Together Best Actor Nomination for Oh
10.
Oh! My Three Guys
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My Three Guys is a 1994 Hong Kong comedy drama film directed by Derek Chiu and starring Eric Kot, Lau Ching-wan and Dayo Wong. The film tells the story of three gay young men portrayed by Kot, Lau and Wong, good friends Kau, Hoi and Fa are homosexual men. Hoi works in an advertising firm while Kau and Fa have not found a job yet. Hois new female colleague Mei became interested in him, when Mei found out that Hoi was gay, she did not discriminate him and was determined to help him return to normal. At that time, Kau was infected with AIDS and one time during a TV interview, Hoi and Fa was eager to make the last days of Kau happy, they organized a masquerade for him. After the masquerade, Kau committed suicide and Hoi quit his job after his identity was exposed. My Three Guys at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase Oh and my Three Guys at Hong Kong Cinemagic Oh. My Three Guys at the Internet Movie Database Oh and my Three Guys Review at LoveHKFilm. com
11.
Leslie Cheung
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Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, was a Hong Kong-born Canadian singer and actor. He is considered one of the fathers of Cantopop by combining a hugely successful film. In 1989, Cheung announced his retirement from the industry as a pop singer. Returning to the scene after a five-year hiatus, Cheung released his chart-topping comeback album Most Beloved which achieved a huge market success. In 1999, he won the Golden Needle Award for his achievement as a musician at the RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He was honoured as Asias Biggest Superstar at the 2000 CCTV-MTV Music Honours, Cheung won the 1991 Hong Kong Film Award and the 1994 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for best actor. Cheungs music and films not only captured fans in Hong Kong but also other Asian areas including Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan and South Korea. He is the first foreign artist to hold 16 concerts in Japan that has yet to be broken, Cheung was ranked as the favourite actor in the 100 years of Chinese cinema. In 2010, he was voted the third Most Iconic Musicians of All Time, CNN considered Cheung as the Most Beautiful Man from Hong Kong Cinema and one of Asias 25 Greatest Actors of All Time. Cheung committed suicide on April 1,2003 by jumping off the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong, a suicide note left by Cheung stated that he had been suffering from depression. Cheung was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong, the youngest of ten children in a middle-class Hakka family, Cheung Wut-hoi, his father, was a fairly well known tailor, whose customers included American actors William Holden, Marlon Brando, and Cary Grant. His parents divorced when he was quite young, while in Hong Kong, Cheung attended Rosaryhill School at Wanchai on Hong Kong Island. At age 12, he was sent to Norwich School in England and he worked as a bartender at his relatives restaurant in Southend-on-Sea and sang during the weekends. It was around this period that he chose his name, Leslie, according to Cheung, he chose this name because I love the film Gone with the Wind. In several interviews, Cheung stated he had had an unhappy childhood. I didnt have a happy childhood, arguments, fights and we didnt live together, I was brought up by my granny. What I would say most affected me as a child, was that my parents were not at home with me, as a young kid, one could not always understand why his parents werent at home. He attended the University of Leeds where he studied textile management and he continued university at the end of his first year when his father fell ill
12.
Stephen Chow
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Stephen Chow Sing-chi is a film director, actor, writer, film producer, and political adviser of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference. Chow began his career as an actor on television after high school. He graduated from TVBs acting classes in 1982, Chow began to find some success with the childrens programme 430 Space Shuttle. In 1987, Chow entered into the industry through the film Final Justice. Chow shot to stardom in The Final Combat and All for the Winner, fight Back to School became Hong Kongs top-grossing film of all time. In 1994, he began directing films, starting with From Beijing with Love, in the later half of the 1990s, China began to warm to Stephen Chow movies. He became pop-culture phenomenon in China, in 2001 his film Shaolin Soccer grossed over US$50 million worldwide. In 2004, his film Kung Fu Hustle grossed over US$106 million all over the world, Chow won Best Director at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and Best Picture of Imagine Film Festival and 20 international awards. Chows film CJ7 began filming in July 2006 in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo, in August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on Chinas successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. CJ7 became the film of all time in Malaysia. In 2013, Chows film Journey to the West, Conquering the Demons became the highest-grossing China film of all time, in 2016, he released a new film titled The Mermaid. It was released in China on 8 February 2016, on 19 February, it became the highest-grossing film of all time in China. The Mermaid released in Vietnam on 10 February 2016, on 14 March, it became the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time in Vietnam. On 31 March it became the 45th All Time Highest Grossing Movies International, now it is the All Time Highest Grossing Movie Asia. Stephen Chow became the ninth top-grossing Hollywood Director of 2016, Chow often casts relatively new young actresses to play opposite him, especially as romantic leads, and many of these actresses have gone on to have successful film or music careers of their own. Stephen Chow at the Internet Movie Database Stephen Chow at AllMovie
13.
From Beijing with Love
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From Beijing With Love is a 1994 Hong Kong action spy comedy film directed by Lee Lik-chi and Stephen Chow. The film is a direct spoof of James Bond fims and stars Chow, Anita Yuen. Golden Gun steals the cranium of Chinas only dinosaur fossil, Chow, starring as a hawker-cum-secret-agent 007, is sent to Hong Kong by a high-ranking government official to recapture the cranium. When he arrives in Hong Kong, he meets Lee Heung-kam, however, Heung-kam turns out to be a subordinate of Golden Gun. Golden Gun is in actuality the government official who directs 007 to find the cranium, Golden Gun instructs Heung-kam to send 007 on a false lead and tells him that the cranium may have been stolen by a smuggler. 007, with the help of Heung-kam, sneaks into a party held by the smuggler. Before he enters, he tells Heung-kam that he will fetch her some white roses, Heung-kam tells 007 to find evidence that the smuggler stole the cranium, meanwhile, Heung-kam hides in a tree, planning to snipe 007 from afar. The party is interrupted by a man and a mysterious woman who are out to kill 007. Taking this opportunity, Heung-kam shoots 007 several times, including once in the leg with 007 thinking another assassin has shot him,007 escapes, grabbing three white roses on the way out. Heung-kam is touched by this gesture and saves his life and she decides to defect from Golden Gun. Together, the two destroy the organization that is behind the theft of the cranium,007 eventually wins the hand of Heung-kam and is rewarded with a meat cleaver emblazoned with the calligraphy of Deng Xiaoping. 凌凌漆 is a homophone for the number 007 in Chinese. The name of the ultimate weapon invented by Tat Man-sai, 要你命3000, is also the name of a Hong Kong, the Universe Laser DVD cover of the movie parodies that of the 1987 James Bond movie The Living Daylights. The Golden Guns signature weapon is a spoof of the gun used in the James Bond novel The Man with the Golden Gun. Unlike the one from the James Bond series, this is a gold-plated Thompson/Center Contender with extremely powerful expanding bullets of piercing or explosive force, the song Stephen Chow sang while playing the piano is 李香蘭 by Jacky Cheung. It grossed a huge HK$37,523,850 in Hong Kong
14.
Chow Yun-fat
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Chow Yun-fat, SBS, previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He mainly plays in films and has won three Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actor and two Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor in Taiwan. In 2014, Chow was the second-highest earning actor in Hong Kong, earning HK$170 million, Chow was born in Lamma Island, Hong Kong, to a mother who was a cleaning lady and vegetable farmer, and a father who worked on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Chow grew up in a community on Lamma Island, in a house with no electricity. He woke up at dawn each morning to help his mother sell herbal jelly and Hakka tea-pudding on the streets and his family moved to Kowloon when he was ten. At seventeen, he left school to support the family by doing odd jobs including bellboy, postman, camera salesman. His life started to change when he responded to an advertisement and his actor-trainee application was accepted by TVB. He signed a contract with the studio and made his acting debut. Chow became a heartthrob and a face in soap operas that were exported internationally. Chow has been married twice, first in 1983, to Candice Yu, an actress from Asia Television, in 1986, Chow married Singaporean Jasmine Tan. The couple have no children, although Chow has a goddaughter, Celine Ng, when Chow appeared in the 1980 TV series The Bund on TVB, it did not take long for him to become a household name in Hong Kong. The series, about the rise and fall of a gangster in 1930s Shanghai, was a hit throughout Asia, although Chow continued his TV success, his goal was to become a big-screen actor. However, his ventures into low-budget films were disastrous. Success finally came when he teamed up with director John Woo in the 1986 gangster action-melodrama A Better Tomorrow, a Better Tomorrow won him his first Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. It was the film in Hong Kong history at the time. Taking the opportunity, Chow quit TV entirely and he brought together his disparate personae in the 1989 film God of Gamblers, directed by the prolific Wong Jing, in which he was by turns suave charmer, a broad comedian and an action hero. The often tough demeanor and youthful appearance of Chow Yun-Fats characters has earned him the nickname Babyface Killer, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed Chow Yun-Fat the coolest actor in the world. In the mid 90s, Chow moved to Hollywood in an unsuccessful attempt to duplicate his success in Asia
15.
Treasure Hunt (1994 film)
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Treasure Hunt is a 1994 Hong Kong action comedy and romantic fantasy film written and directed by Jeffrey Lau and starring Chow Yun-fat and Jacklyn Wu. Chinese American CIA operative Jeffrey Cheung Ching was ordered to escort a Chinese national treasure to the United States, Cheung goes from America to Beijing where he stays at the Shaolin temple. There, he encounters due to culture barriers and different life habits. However, he became friends with Abbot Hung Chi and a seven-year-old monk Grasshopper, Cheung is later surprised to find out that the so-called national treasure is a para psychological girl named Siu-ching. During the process of exposing the evil sinister, Cheung and Ching develop a romance. com
16.
Jacky Cheung
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Jacky Cheung Hok-yau is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor. With more than 25 million records sold as of 2003, he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings and has deemed the God of Songs of Hong Kong. Cheung was born and grew up in Quarry Bay in the part of Hong Kong Island. His father is from Tianjin and his mother is from Shanghai, in 2007, Cheung revealed that the paternal side of his family are mostly seamen, including his father, paternal cousin, and older brother. His first language is Cantonese, but he also speaks Mandarin and he sings Cantonese, Mandarin and modern English pop songs. Cheung is known for his baritone voice. Cheung originally started working as an officer for the airline Cathay Pacific. His music career started when he won the Amateur 18-Hong Kong district singing contest in 1984 with the song Fatherland by Michael Kwan and he bested more than 10,000 other contestants. After winning the contest, he was signed by the then Polygram Records, although encouraged by a bright start, he was not able to achieve immediate supremacy in Cantopop, then dominated by Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Anita Mui and Danny Chan. In 1985 he won his first two major awards together with the 1985 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards and the 1985 Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards. In 1991 he released the song Loving You More Every Day, the album True Love Expression in 1992, as well as the subsequent release, Love Sparks in 1992, achieved audited sales of over 400,000 copies in Hong Kong alone. His subsequent albums included 1993 Me and You and 1994 Born to be wild, in the 1994 Billboard Music Awards in the US, he was named the most popular singer in Asia. He received numerous awards both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, including the best-selling Chinese singer in the World Music Awards for two consecutive years in 1995 and 1996 held at Monaco. Cheung was also elected as one of the worlds Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1999, amongst his hit songs, some of his most famous were Amour, Just want to spend my life with you and Goodbye Kiss. It made him the first singer with non-Taiwanese citizenship to win Taiwans Golden Melody Awards, the album was also instrumental in helping Cheung break into the mandopop market. Due to these songs and albums, Cheung is generally considered to be the pre-eminent member of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. He is regarded by some sources as the best singer of the four, in 1995, Cheung staged his record-breaking 100-show world tour titled Yau Hok Yau, literally a pun of friendship Jacky Cheung reusing the same Chinese characters found in his name. The tour started with 34 shows from 8 April to 9 June at the Hong Kong Coliseum, then the tour continued at Perth Brisbane Australia and returned to Taipei and mainland China
17.
To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui
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To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui is a 1994 Hong Kong crime film directed by Andrew Lau and starring Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung, Jacklyn Wu and Power Chan. Crazy Lik and his friend Pong are two cops who are sent to infiltrate triad leader Coffin Sing. Later as Sing is killed, the gang is split into two, Lik follows Hung Tais side and Pong goes to the other. Lik becomes down as he is separated from his best friend and this leads to a time where Lik gets drunk at his girlfriend Moons mothers birthday party and making a fool of himself and Moon feels disgusted and leaves him. One time in a bar, Lik meets triad member Milky Fai, Milky Fai is actually a former undercover cop who has his own problems. Later on, Lik must decide whether or not to betray his triad brothers that he has very close to completing the case for his superior whom he really hates and is hitting on his girlfriend
18.
Joan Chen
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Joan Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In China she performed in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose, White Rose, Saving Face, and The Home Song Stories, Chen Chong was born in Shanghai, to a family of pharmacologists. She and her brother, Chase, were raised during the Cultural Revolution. At the age of 14, Chen was discovered on the rifle range by Jiang Qing. Chen graduated from school a year in advance, and at the age of 17 entered the prestigious Shanghai International Studies University. Chen Chong performed alongside Tang Guoqiang in Zhang Zhengs Little Flower in 1979, Chen portrayed a pre-Maoist revolutionarys daughter, who, reunited with her brother, a wounded Communist soldier, later learned that his doctor was her biological mother. In addition, Chen was in the 1979 film Hearts for the Motherland, the songs, I Love You, China and High Flies the Petrel, sung by Chens character, are perennial favorites in China. In 1981, Chen starred in Awakening, directed by Teng Wenji, at age 20, Chen moved to the United States, where she studied filmmaking at California State University, Northridge. Her first Hollywood movie was Tai-Pan, filmed on location in China and she went on to star in Bernardo Bertoluccis The Last Emperor in 1987 and the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks as Josie Packard. She starred alongside Rutger Hauer in 1989s The Blood of Heroes, written, in 1993 she co-starred in Oliver Stones Heaven & Earth. She portrayed two different characters in Clara Laws Temptation of a Monk, a princess of Tang dynasty. The award-winning film was adapted from a novel by Lilian Lee, in 1996, she was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She later directed Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, in the middle of the 2000s, Chen made a comeback in acting and began to work intensely, alternating between English and Chinese-language roles. In 2004, she starred in Hou Yongs family saga Jasmine Women, alongside Zhang Ziyi, in 2005, she appeared in Zhang Yangs family saga Sunflower, as a mother whose husband and son have a troubled father-son relationship over 30 years. She portrayed a glamorous and unstable Chinese nightclub singer who struggles to survive in seventies Australia with her two children, the role earned her four awards including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress and the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. In 2008, she starred alongside Sam Chow in Shi Qi, directed by Joe Chow, as a rural mother of a 17-year-old in eastern Zhejiang province. The same year Joan Chen portrayed in Jia Zhangkes 24 City a factory worker once fancied because she resembled Chen herself in the 1979 film Little Flower, but who missed her chance at love
19.
Faye Wong
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Faye Wong is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress, often referred to as a diva in Chinese-language media. Early in her career she used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to British Hong Kong in 1987, since 1994 she has recorded mostly in her native Mandarin, often combining alternative music with mainstream Chinese pop. In 2000 she was recognised by Guinness World Records as the Best Selling Canto-Pop Female, following her second marriage in 2005 she withdrew from the limelight, but returned to the stage in 2010 amidst immense interest in the Sinophone world. Hugely popular in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, in the West she is perhaps best known for starring in Wong Kar-wais films Chungking Express and 2046. While she has collaborated with artists such as Cocteau Twins, Wong recorded only a few songs in English. Wong is known to be reserved in public, and has gained a reputation for her coolness, in Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture, Jeroen de Kloet characterised her as singer, actress, mother, celebrity, royalty, sex symbol and diva all at the same time. The daughter of an engineer and a revolutionary music soprano. She also has a brother named Wang Yi. As a student, Wong already was involved in singing and attracted interest from several publishers, on occasions, the school had to hide her artistic activities from her strict mother, who as a professional saw singing as a dead-end career. For the last of these recordings, the producer Wei Yuanqiang chose the title Wong Fei Collection. In 1987, after being accepted to Xiamen University for college, she migrated to Hong Kong to join her father, the plan was for her to stay there for a year to fulfill the permanent residency requirement, and go to a university abroad thereafter. However, since Wong didnt know a word of Cantonese, the language spoken in the British colony, under Tais tutelage, the 19-year-old signed with Cinepoly Records after winning third place in an ABU singing contest in 1988. It was a move on the part of Chan Siu-Bo, Cinepolys general manager. As a result, Cinepoly asked Wong to change her Mainland-sounding name to a stage name Wong Jing Man. In 1989, her debut album Shirley Wong sold over 30,000 copies, Two more albums followed, similarly featuring many cover songs by artists from the US and Japan. However, they worse than her debut album, despite relentless promotions by the company. Many in Hong Kong perceived her to be backwards, lacking personality, frustrated with her career decision, in 1991 she travelled to New York City for vocal studies and cultural exchange
20.
Law Kar-ying
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Law Kar-ying is a Hong Kong-based actor. He was originally a Cantonese Opera artiste, in 1990 he turned to acting in movies. He became popular after being cast in From Beijing with Love, which also starred Stephen Chow, as Da Vinci, in 1990s, Law played Wong Yat-fei in his first movie debut in 1993 film Crime Story along with Jackie Chan. In 1994 he was cast in Jeff Laus film duology A Chinese Odyssey, Law has rarely acted in television, especially on his wife, Liza Wangs television station TVB. He is most known for cooperating with ATV, which is TVBs rival, in 2009, Law married longtime partner Liza Wang in Las Vegas. They announced their union on TVB through Stephen Chow, wai in The Scripture with No Words – Headmaster Forbidden City Cop – Fat-Yan Feel 100% – Robert Feel 100%. D. U
21.
Sandra Ng
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Sandra Ng Kwan-yu is a Hong Kong film and television actress. The daughter of Ng Kam-chuen, Ng was born in Hong Kong, encouraged by her parents, she began her entertainment career at the age of 16. She is most known through her roles, where she often pokes fun at her plain looks. She has frequently collaborated with Stephen Chow, notably in All for the Winner, Magnificent Scoundrels and Royal Tramp, in a career spanning over 20 years, she has filmed over 100 films and TV shows. She co-hosted Club Sparkle, a celebrity show, during the first half of 2009 and is also a radio personality for CRHK. Her radio program, He She Hit, aired from 12am to 2am on Monday to Friday and she received the 2003 Best Actress Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan for her role as a prostitute in Golden Chicken. She has a daughter with film director Peter Chan, sandra Ng at the Internet Movie Database
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