Derek Yee pleases mainland market
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail
CRI, January 16, 2012
|
|
Veteran director Derek Yee is the man behind almost all of the highest-grossing Hong Kong crime films in recent years.
He produced Overheard, a film that cost 15 million yuan ($2.38 million) and grossed 94 million yuan in 2009. His directorial work Triple Tap became the first to rake in 100 million yuan in the summer of 2010.
Among Hong Kong directors, the 55-year-old is known for being discerning when it comes to screenplays and the market. He is also considered to be pragmatic and perspicacious - and seldom loses money or causes investors embarrassment.
But that does not mean he always stays in his comfort zone of Hong Kong crime dramas. He has set his latest work, The Great Magician, in Beijing. It's his first comedy for almost 30 years.
The film, based on a popular novel set in the early 20th century in the capital, reveals how a magician wins back his lover from a warlord.
The novel is a melancholy melodrama, but Yee has turned it into a comedy to please audiences.
"I took the subway in Beijing when looking for film locations, and I found people looked very tired," he says. "They were even more tired than those in Hong Kong and Tokyo. So I want to relieve their stress in the holiday season."
The film was intended for the Lunar New Year season from the beginning. That is exactly Yee's style: identifying a clear target market.
He did not want to do slapstick, so he found top actors, such as Tony Leung, Lau Ching-wan and Zhou Xun - all known for their sophisticated acting skills - to lead the cast.
"To create laughter, but not in a vulgar way, is more demanding than making one cry," he says.
Producing a comedy does not mean that it is all fun on the set. Shooting a film totally on the mainland actually challenged the Hong Kong veteran's patience and wisdom.
In Hong Kong, 150 people will be on the set at most. But on the mainland, where the box office has continued to soar 30 percent annually since 2003, a film often requires a crew of about 400.
He had to deal with "many more things than the film itself".
Some actors brought along their personal assistants, who held umbrellas for them at auditions. Yee persuaded lead actor Tony Leung to let his assistant go. Other actors followed, rapidly.
"The film industry has prospered in recent years, so even if actors don't work hard they still get offers every day," he says. "But I should say the important thing is that, even during the bad times, you still get offers. I come to work with a professional crew - not to train amateurs."
He also has to deal with censorship.
Yee sent the film's first version to the State Film Bureau and was told to modify about 20 parts, including some characters' names that may offend the descendents of real historical figures. He revised the film immediately.
"I made it clear it is a commercial film for the holiday season," he says. "So why waste time arguing for nothing?"
His next project, The Disappearing Bullet, is also set in the early 20th century.
"The story depicts corruption," he says. "If I set it in the contemporary period, it would be a headache for distributors."
The Hong Kong-born director also has to work hard to present a convincing Beijing in the film.
Unlike many Hong Kong directors who have set up their studios or homes in the mainland to better approach the tempting market, Yee has mainly focused on Hong Kong stories and has never lived in the capital.
"I cannot live in a city without the sea, or should I look at Liangma River (a canal in east Beijing) all the day?" he jokes.
The Great Magician premiered on Jan 12.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)