Hong Kong actor Francis Ng's maiden directorial work Tracing Shadow (Zhui Ying), which will premiere tomorrow, satirizes three superstars in a hilarious way.

The film stars three copycats of Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Andy Lau. The copycat Chan always encourages people to buy traditional Chinese clothes, something he does in real life, too. The quasi-Li promotes life buoys, saying a tsunami could happen even in the desert, a nod to Li's own survival of a tsunami and the establishment of his charity foundation in response. The mimic Lau scares children with his horrible singing, which may irritate the star whose singing skills have been criticized for many years.

Ng said he wasn't worried about offending the stars. He said Lau loves singing, and Hong Kong people have got used to his voice. He said he doesn't understand why people should wear the traditional clothes Chan promotes. As for Li's foundation, he says it is never an easy job to do charity work, but being made fun of may be part of it.

(China Daily July 29, 2009)