Movie Box Review

Star Cheng Pei Pei, director Ann Hui On Wa and others last Sunday attended a forum about late great director King Hu (Wu Kam Chuen). Sister Pei Pei revealed that she and members of the King Hu foundation will hold a King Hu 80th birthday memorial exhibit in Massachusetts. The Taipei Film Archive that stored King Hu's items is arranging for display items to be shipped to the U.S.

When Wu Kam Chuen passed, Sister Pei Pei took care of a lot of the director's items including scripts, drawings, costumes and Director Wu's large book collection. At the time Sister Pei Pei intended to hand them to Hong Kong Film Archive for storage, but Hong Kong Film Archive just opened then and could not accept such a large donation. She said that later Taipei Film Archive was willing to accept the items. Thus Wu Kam Chuen's valuable items were stored at the Taipei Film Archive.

This year would have been Wu Kam Chuen's 80th birthday. Sister Pei Pei and the foundation members planned to organize an exhibit in Massachusetts to remember this Hong Kong director who made great contributions to Chinese film. Sister Pei Pei said that Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON had Wu Kam Chuen film's shadow. She also said that Director Ang Lee's wuxia film style was very close to Director Wu and was just as involved in action scenes. They would know like other directors who just minded the dramatic scenes and leave the action scenes to the action director.

The American Academy of Film Arts and Sciences yesterday announced the 83th Oscars Best Foreign Film second round nominations. Mainland China's AFTER SHOCK, Hong Kong's ECHOES OF THE RAINBOW (SHUI YUET SUN TAU) and Taiwan's MONGA all took an early exit. For the eighth year in a row Chinese films were not nominated.

Nine films made the second round, including the Golden Globe Best Foreign Film IN A BETTER WORLD, Mexican film BIUTIFUL, Japanese film CONFESSIONS and Algerian film OUTSIDE THE LAW. According to the rules, the jury will select five final nominees from them.

Since 2003 when Chinese director Zhang Yimou's HERO was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Chinese films have not received a nomination. In the Oscar history, seven Chinese films have been nominated but only Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON won.

Light and shadow is the first lesson of photography but also the deepest. It is very easy to understand, very easy to pick up. Like the line for Jazz beginners "easy to play but hard to feel", to be great at all, you must put time into studying it.

R: Has your experience in camera sales make you interested in photography?

C: No, actually I started to become interested in light and shadow and nature after making CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON. I remember at the time Ang Lee took me away from Beijing and Shanghai to Huangshan for the so-called glimpse of the small mountain scenery. My eyes really were stunned. Back then when I made movies I didn't appreciate the wonders of the Creator. Only in the recent decade did I truly come in touch with photography. It's different from just the life photos before, I wasn't as feverish as I am now. It is another type of enjoyment!

R: Why do you only like black and white photo?

C: Black and white is another world that gives people infinite space for imagination, with much more imagination like a dream. Yes, color can attract people, but to me, it doesn't satisfy what I want.

R: So far do you have any photo that you are satisfied with?

C: Not a single one, really no! Actually photography is like life or acting, like a singer who no matter how famous and how popular he is may only have one hit his entire life! Or like Van Gogh, people only know how beautiful his paintings are after his death. Actually luck plays heavily in photography. You can go to Huangshan ten times without one time that is good. Sometimes you have to wait for people's information to know when would good light and cloud appear.

R: Usually when do you take off for pictures?

C: I am very casual with photography, first and foremost is not to get too tan, so I don't go unless it's early morning or sunset! Actually every season has different objects, in June and July lotus blossoms, in winter we shoot wilting lotus. Different times have different scenery.

R: Do you like to develop yourself in the dark room?

C: Yes, this is definite. When I go to the dark room I am in there for a dozen or so hours. Because of the newer chemicals, the results are different. When I go in I lose track of time, I don't know whether it's light or dark outside, but I know what time dinner is!

R: At the Manila hostage crisis, every photo is shocking, how would you shoot it?

C: I wouldn't have enough guts to. It is an unfortunate incident, I really couldn't shoot it. I don't want to have any sad ideas in the photos.

R: How do you feel about this, could it have been handled better?

C: This is a great tragedy, an entire family was destroyed in a moment. It is really very saddening! Actually you can't say how to handle the incident. From the angle of another nation, we can't control it. Maybe Heaven arranged it to prove that life takes unexpected turns, human has endless desire, but actually can go at any time. Why do we need to be so intense? However the tour group deaths abroad ending is truly tragic.

Since he has both fame and fortune, why would Fat Gor still take the bus, the MTR, is he a glutton for punishment? He could not stop smiling about this as he slowly told the idea that the bus was really comfortable. "Many people say Chow Yun Fat you are miserable, taking the bus! Yet crossing the harbor you would have to kill me to drive. Actually the bus is really very convenient, no parking issues, you can ride a several million dollar Volvo, the air conditioning is strong, the seats are genuine leather, it is really very comfortable. You can cross the harbor in 20 minutes...you know! I am so picky when I shop, and the distance from the parking lot must be very far. Should I bother to drive?"

Seeing Fat Gor's old model "Moto" photo and only fish and vegetable diet, many city people could not stand this type of lifestyle.