April 13th, 2007
Hong Kong Film Awards: Go! Lau Ching-Wan! Go!
My apologies for the long gap between posts. Healthwise, I am doing all right … though I still spend more time than I’d like to in waiting rooms at various medical facilities. Thanks, by the way, to the three people who wrote in this week to ask how I was doing. It’s just that I’ve been struggling with my writing of late. Before, when I used to do news reports, the articles would write themselves. Now, every paragraph is a grind as I debate questions like: Does anybody besides me find this interesting? Is this too mundane to even mention? Should I cut this part out or leave it in?
For the past three weeks, I’ve been working on a post about Hong Kong television serials. It started out as a review of CCTV’s HEAVEN DRAGON: THE EIGHTH EPISODE but the pre-amble on television serials and how they got me sucked into the HK entertainment circle went on and on and on as I indulged heavily in a trip down memory lane. The post approached 10,000 words and I hadn’t even started talking about HEAVEN DRAGON: THE EIGHTH EPISODE!
Consequently, I’ve decided to shelve that post temporarily and put one up on this Sunday’s Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA). But first, an announcement: I am going to gird up my loins and put up a HKFA report here somtime Sunday afternoon/Sunday evening North American time. It’ll be just like the ones I used to do at Hong Kong Entertainment News In Review … except I won’t be wearing an Armani tux (er, Men’s Wearhouse knockoff) while I’m typing it out.
Sometime in the near future, I will be posting a revised version of that mammoth treatise on HK television serials so stay tuned.
On to the day’s business:
Since I’ve seen only a handful of films from 2006 and am still catching up on the events of the past year, I don’t have any real insight on who I think will win or should win at this year’s awards (go here to see list of nominations). However, I will be offering a fine white lamb or, if I can’t find one, six pigeons to the Entertainment Circle gods if they make the following happen:
- A win for Alive’s “Adam’s Choice” from THE HEAVENLY KINGS in the Best Original Song category. Having seen both THE BANQUET and FEARLESS, the songs from those films don’t play as integral a part in their respective movies as “Adam’s Choice” does in THE HEAVENLY KINGS. Besides, for a song that is essentially a joke, it’s pretty damn catchy.
- My greatest wish (an additional lamb or six pigeons to the Entertainment Circle gods if it comes true): A win for Lau Ching-Wan in the Best Actor category. Lau has done better work in his storied twenty-plus years career than he did in MY NAME IS FAME but I really hope he wins this year. Chow Yun-Fat (three wins in this category) and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (five wins — most ever in the Best Actor category) already have enough awards. Jet Li has his international acclaim and, quite frankly, his Huo Yuanjia is just a slightly different version of other kung fu heroes he’s played in the past while Aaron Kwok Fu-Sing is, well, Aaron Kwok Fu-Sing. Webmaster Kozo of LoveHKFilm says that he hears the race is between the Kwokster for his glamourous role as a deadbeat dad and Lau. Here’s hoping that the HKFA ignores the award-baiting and allows Lau to come out on top. It will be a little bit of a “Martin Scorsese wins Best Director for THE DEPARTED” situation but, without Lau’s sympathetic portrayal keeping it grounded, MY NAME IS FAME could have easily been pretentious and self-serving rather than a delightful love letter to the HK movie industry.
Chinese Lesson of The Day: “Ching Wan” means “high and noble in virtue and ambition”. “Ching Wan Jik Seung” (see graphic above) means “may you soar higher and higher” and is used as a well-wishing expression like: 身體健康 (sun tai gin hong, “may you have good health”) or the familiar Lunar New Year greeting 恭喜發財 (gung hei fat choi, “congratulations and may you be prosperous”).
See you Sunday!
April 13th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
I think Aaron Kwok is going to win. My Name Is Fame has no hau pei .
April 14th, 2007 at 12:46 am
I wish you 青雲直上. I’m looking forward to your next post entry.
April 14th, 2007 at 3:05 am
did you use to go to HKFA to do your reports? is that why you were weraing armani knockoff to type it?
April 14th, 2007 at 3:29 am
Sanney, good to see you writing again! Don’t worry, your posts are interesting enough to most of the world and not just your loyal fans!
Given the hype of After This Our Exile and what has been dubbed Aaron Kwok’s big comeback performance, I think just on hype he will win. (I have yet to see the film yet, but will pick it out of my pile of DVDs to watch this weekend.)
However, I share your sentiment that Lau Ching Wan deserves an award also. His homage to the HKFA in My Name Is Fame might, however, be seen as negative by a judging committee. But whether MNIF was a good enough film to carry a Best Actor though, I’m not sure.
I’ll be looking out for your posts on Sunday. Who better to hear the critique of the HKFAs off than a candidate for Entertainment Circle god himself!
April 14th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I look forward to your Awards report!
I too am rooting for Lau Ching-Wan even though I have not see the movie in question.
And I learned a new Cantonese phrase too.
excellent to have you back on the web
Lisa R-R
April 14th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Hi Sanney –
FWIW, my HKFA Best Actor vote would most definitely go to Lau Ching Wan too.
Granted that Aaron Kwok’s AFTER THIS OUR EXILE performance is better than, say, the one which won him a Golden Horse Best Actor award for the first time. But it also features another crying scene that got me thinking that Aaron Kwok really isn’t very good as those! ;D
However, I really like Jay Chou’s song for CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER more than “Alive”’s THE HEAVENLY KINGS song.
April 15th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Salve Sanney,
“A fine, white lamb or six pigeons.” I never thought I’d see a Titus Pullo quote in a blog about actors and other unclean tradesmen.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:16 am
It’s Sunday morning. Am anxious to learn the winners of HKFA! Lau Ching Wang is my favorite too. Great movie.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:50 am
OK, I found the results at www.monkeypeaches.com/
April 15th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Hooray for Lau Ching Wan, Patrick Tam, Jay Chou (at least, for his singing!) and all the other winners at the Hong Kong Film Awards! OTOH, must say that I feel rather sorry for Johnnie To. Still, I’m sure that he’ll have his chances and wins in the years to come!