Hong Kong to Hollywood

A "ridiculous amount of interest" in Hong Kong cinema is redefining Tinseltown

by Patrick J. Gorman, Esq. | Published January 29, 2003

Uma Thurman stars in director Quentin Tarantino’s Hong Kong-influenced Kill Bill (2003).

Hong kong films once ruled their domestic box office, but that seems like a long time ago. In recent years the film industry there has had to come to terms with the lagging popularity of its homegrown product in the face of Hollywood's relentless onslaught.

Ironically, in contradiction to the slide in gross receipts and self-esteem, new Hong Kong films and talents have been earning international recognition—even in the difficult-to-crack American market. A new creative surge from across the Pacific is leaving its mark on Hollywood, as audiences in the United States have learned to appreciate the unique excitement of Hong Kong cinema.

The Hong Kong film industry came of age during the '60s and '70s, with a typical export being heavy on martial arts action and light on production value. But Hong Kong distinguishes itself with strong brand image. The internationally acclaimed talent, grand choreography and stunt tradition and mastery of the action genre are a winning formula—for which there is constant demand in the American market.

An average of 141 local films were released each year in Hong Kong over the past decade, but—with the downturn in the economy in the last half decade—the number of films produced locally has fallen substantially. Of the 383 films approved for public exhibition in 2001, only 126 were local productions. Surveys reveal that locals prefer non-Hong Kong films in spite of the commonality of language and culture that their own films offer. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is a major worldwide exporter of motion pictures of all genres, and ranks first in proportion to its population. Hong Kong pictures have a major presence in Korea, Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia—and action flicks have been the most successful of these films for export from Hong Kong to the United States.

In recent decades established Hollywood directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone have credited the influence of the Hong Kong film style on their work. In fact, Hong Kong films have probably been more influential on Hollywood than any other international cinema of the past several decades. Miramax Vice President of Publicy Hiromi Kawanishi states flatly that "the success of action and martial arts movies from Hong Kong over the past 30 years has had an incredible effect on mainstream Hollywood films."Kawanishi is currently working on three upcoming Hong Kong-influenced releases—Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Zhang Yimou's Hero and Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer.

Stephen Chow writes, directs and stars in Shaolin Soccer, the biggest box office hit ever in Hong Kong.

Clearly, Hong Kong films have surpassed their cult status. Hong Kong superstars have stormed the U.S. to the point where their influence is now beginning to define aspects of Hollywood itself, with the internationalization of Hong Kong talent, such as Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li and John Woo continuing to raise the profile of Hong Kong cinema. Yes, crossover popularity means that homegrown stars are beginnning to act in English, but the bright side for the Hong Kong film industry is the constant turnover that makes room for budding new talent. The effect is that Hong Kong cinema culture stays alive and vibrant. In fact, it's this reputation for innovation that has always made Hong Kong cinema so distinctive.

In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the most prominent recent hit with significant Hong Kong origins, it was more than just the action that attracted international audiences. They also found a compelling story line with intriguing characters. The tale of mystery, love and revenge, as conveyed in the poetic dialogue, proved irresistible to Americans in spite of the fact that these sentiments were conveyed in subtitles. Hong Kong is increasingly becoming known for its comedy, with the groundwork laid by Jackie Chan and the new inroads being made by Stephen Chow. While Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, Shanghai Knights) is the most renowned contemporary Hong Kong star in the West, writer-director-actor Chow has been ruling the Hong Kong box office with such locally-produced comedies as The Tricky Master and The King of Comedy, and now seems poised for stardom in America. As a result of its crossover, a higher standard of technical and creative novelty are now expected of the Hong Kong film industry.

Although Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an international film by virtue of the fact that main elements were assembled worldwide, the film has deep Hong Kong roots. It stars Hong Kong's Chow Yun-Fat and the choreography of Yuen Wo Ping. Peter Pau won the Oscar in 2000 for cinematography. Tim Yip was nominated for an Oscar for costume design and won the award for his art direction. With its best foreign language film Oscar, Crouching Tiger has inspired other Hong Kong moviemakers who want to break into the international marketplace, as well as opened the minds of a broader Western audience to the cinematic offerings of the East.

Crouching Tiger is not the only Hong Kong-related production that has gained wide recognition and exhibition internationally. More and more Hong Kong films are being picked up for distribution in the U.S., including Johnny To's Fulltime Killer. Hong Kong companies like Emperor Multimedia Group and Media Asia were very active at Cannes in 2002, forging international relationships and selling their product to the United States. A survey of some of the latest international movies with a Hong Kong connection should give pause about any dire predictions for Hong Kong film.

Directed by Hong Kong's Cory Yuen, The Transporter is a Hong Kong-style action film with an English male lead (Jason Statham), a Taiwanese female lead (Shu Qi) and a French producer (Luc Besson) that was shot in France. But the film was produced in English and released theatrically in the United States. Similarly, Ronny Yu's The 51st State, which was released by Sony Screen Gems in October 2002, is an American production starring Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle, but reflective of the Hong Kong tradition through the influence of its director.

Stephen Chow's comedy, Shaolin Soccer, was the biggest box office hit ever in Hong Kong. Miramax picked it up at Cannes for U.S. release in spite of the fact that most of the locally-referenced, English-dubbed humor will roll right between the legs of American audiences when it's released in April (though it did make a splash at its AFI Fest premiere at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood). Chow's 1997 film God of Cookery was bought for remake by Fox and is set to star Jim Carrey. Chow was even initially supposed to direct this new A-list remake of his own film. "I like to make movies that people in both the East and the West can enjoy—that is the perfect formula,"says Chow.

In 2003, miramax will also release Zhang Yimou's Hero, starring Jet Li and featuring the work of one of the most important creative force in Hong Kong, DP Christopher Doyle. His breathtaking cinematography has distinguished numerous films, including Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love. Hollywood has not overlooked Doyle's contributions—his camerawork has been the cornerstone of Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence, Jon Favreau's Made and Gus Van Sant's Psycho. Doyle is one of the silent—but vibrant—forces defining Hong Kong cinema today.

Quentin Tarantino's latest undertaking, Kill Bill, is an unabashed homage to the Hong Kong and martial arts genre starring Uma Thurman. Shot at the Beijing Film Studio and featuring Sonny Chiba and David Carradine, Kill Bill is a sword-swinging, blood-letting revenge piece that attempts to evoke the old-fashioned style of the Shaw Brothers' action films by commissioning choreographer Wo Ping to re-enlist 20-year-old material. "I want this to be the Apocalypse Now of kung fu movies,"says the director.

After premiering at Sundance in 2002, Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow found distribution with MTV Films, and is slated for release in February.

The wave-making independent American film Better Luck Tomorrow is a microcosmic example of how Hong Kong cinema has gotten under the skin of Hollywood motion picture culture. Written and directed by Asian-American moviemaker Justin Lin, this shot-in-America indie with an all Asian cast depicts the sometimes depraved life of a group of suburban high school students. Bucking the conventional wisdom in Hollywood that films with Asian-American leads—much less an all-Asian-American cast—cannot achieve great heights in American cinema, Better Luck Tomorrow was accepted into competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where it found distribution through MTV Films. Better Luck is now slated for theatrical release in the U.S. in February. Says Lin, "The title of the film, Better Luck Tomorrow, was inspired by [John Woo's] A Better Tomorrow and [Wayne Wang's] The Joy Luck Club."It could be argued that the impact that other Asian and Hong Kong product and talent has had on the American film establishment and consumer sensibility was enough to open the door for the theatrical release of this provocative, Asian-American-themed film.

Writer-director Wayne Wang (The Center of the World, Smoke) is currently riding the wave of his latest studio outing, Maid in Manhattan. Starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes, the romantic-comedy is a departure from his typical art house fare. Though born and raised in Hong Kong, Wang studied film in the United States. After learning the basics of the craft in his home country, he returned to the U.S. to establish himself as a director. Conscious of the duality of his identity, Wang says that "As much as I'm both Chinese and American, as much as I live on the west coast and the east coast, as much as I make independent films and studio movies, I really like being contradictory and having those two worlds."

The concept of a "Hollywood" movie commonly refers to the mass-distributed, formulaic motion pictures that comprise international cinema. That used to mean English-language acting, American stars and mainstream themes. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon defied those conventions with Asian leads speaking Mandarin in a period martial arts drama that was produced with elements from various non-Western countries. Times have changed. The next big thing out of Hollywood could well be an English-dubbed movie about kung fu soccer misfits in Hong Kong.

"It's a very exciting time to be involved in Hong Kong movies,"says Hong Kong producer Philip Lee (Hero, The Emperor and the Assassin). "In Hollywood there is a ridiculous amount of interest in our movies right now."One could say that Hong Kong films are a force that is redefining the identity of Hollywood itself. As Stephen Chow's character in Shaolin Soccer likes to declare: "Ho!" MM

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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

Comment by David on 4/10/08 at 9:00 pm

There are many awesome Hong Kong movies out there, but if there are anyone who want to see an Asian American movie, check out “The Motel”.

Comment by hotel in hong kong on 11/05/08 at 3:01 am

Agreed!! Many Hong Kong movies were also re-made by Holliwood film companies such as The Internal Affair and they’re quite successful worldwide.

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