Stephen Chow
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Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chaiu) (traditional Chinese : 周星馳 ; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; Cantonese Romanization: Chow Sing Chi ; pinyin : Zhōu Xīngchí) (born June 22, 1962) is a highly popular Hong Kong actor and director, whose expertise in the comedic field has led him to be dubbed the king of comedy by the Hong Kong entertainment media.
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[edit] Professional career
Chow learned his trade at the Shaw Brothers TVB acting school, and co-hosted a popular Hong Kong children's program, 430 Shuttle, as a character named "Black and White Vampire". His early film career offered no outstanding performances. At that time, Stephen Chow mainly portrayed dramatic roles, but his performance in Jeff Lau's smash-hit All For The Winner (1990) launched him almost exclusively into comedy films.
His subsequent films were built on this success, and he developed his distinct brand of humour known as mo lei tau (loosely translated as nonsense) which makes frequent use of euphemisms and double entendres in Cantonese slang. He regularly demonstrated his talent for improvisation, suggesting gags to directors to enhance the comedy, which would often lead to rewrites of the script. By 1994 he was writing and directing some of his own films.
The films themselves often followed a similar template: Chow portrays an under-achiever who beats the odds or an arrogant overachiever who is then humbled and learns a lesson. Fight Back to School (1991), From Beijing With Love (1994) and God of Cookery (1996) are notable examples. Sometimes his films would have a historic setting, but still exhibit the same style of contemporary humour, for instance in Justice, My Foot (審死官) (1992) and Flirting Scholar (1993).
Occasionally, Chow would break from this mould: one of his more serious films is A Chinese Odyssey (1994), loosely based on the classic Chinese story Journey to the West. Although still essentially a comedy, Chow himself was able to develop his character more seriously than usual. It was a box-office smash in Hong Kong and developed a cult following in Mainland China.
Recent films have begun to focus on comedic action and special effects sequences instead of verbal humour, to appeal to a wider international audience. The film which launched him in the West was Shaolin Soccer (2001), which made heavy use of CGI and was directed by Chow himself. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) is also directed by Chow and in February 2005 went on to surpass Shaolin Soccer as the highest grossing domestic movie in Hong Kong.
In July 2006, Chow has started filming of his latest film, A Hope, in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo [1]. Rumoured to have the biggest budget ever for a Chinese film of 100 million Chinese yuan (US$13 million; €10.2 million).
This latest film will introduce newcomer Zhang Yuyi as his romantic lead - continuing Chow's successful tradition of introducing young female artists who frequently go on to have successful film and music careers. These "Chow's Cuties" who have received major career boosts from starring in Chow's blockbusters include current mainstays such as Gigi Leung, Karen Mok, Cecilia Cheung, Eva Huang Shengyi, Cheung Man, Christy Chung and Michelle Reis.
[edit] Trivia
- Every movie that Stephen Chow produced and stars in has his character named Sing (星) in it. Sing is a part of his real Chinese name and means star. Sometimes one of his characters has Chow Sing in it.
- Chow learned Kung Fu by watching TV when he was young because his parents couldn't afford lessons. He enjoys watching instructional Kung Fu videos to this day.
- There is often a cameo by an ugly bearded nose-picking cross-dresser in his films, and the role is almost always portrayed by Kin-yan Lee, a personal friend; his character is always called 如花 (Cantonese: yu fa; Mandarin: ru2 hua1) (meaning "flower-like" in Chinese) in those films.
- Chow is a big fan of Bruce Lee, and his films often contain references to the late actor.
- Chow, for a time, was the president of the Bruce Lee fan club in Hong Kong and had a statue of Lee built.
- Chow learned Wing Chun as a youth, an offshoot of Shaolin Kung Fu.
- Chow often collaborated with Lee Lik-chee (李力持) and Vincent Kok (谷德昭), both actors and directors, in the early stage of his career.
- Chow is mentioned in the Regurgitator song "My Ego".
- Despite having a comic persona onscreen, in the public eye Chow is known to be the opposite, maintaining a serious manner.
- Is also a big fan of the popular anime/manga series, Dragon Ball.
[edit] Quotes
Mo lei tau comedy became popular because of Chow's performances. The scripts begin in the TVB drama The Final Combat. "飲杯茶，食個包" (Drink a cup of tea; Eat a piece of bun) is most memorable phase at the time.
Other quotes:
- "燒雞翼~我鍾意食~ (Grilled chicken wings~ I love to eat~), from Flirting Scholar (1993)
- "一個字: 絕!" (One word: Excellent!)
- "你估我唔到!" (You can't figure me out!), from God of Cookery 食神 (1996)
- "你睇我唔到!" (You can't see me!), from God of Gambler II (1991)
- "Ladies and Gentlemen, 五條煙!" (Five cigarettes, also a homophone of 'Aces' in Cantonese), from God of Gambler II (1991)
- "波並唔係咁踢既" (This is not the way to play football!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
- "地球很危險，你快點回去火星吧" (Our Earth is dangerous, go back to Mars!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
- "曾經有一份真诚的愛情摆在我的面前, 但是我没有珍惜. 等到了失去的時候才後悔莫及. 塵世間最痛苦的事莫過於此. 如果個天可以比個機會我返轉頭嘅話, 我會仝個女仔講我愛佢. 如果係到要喺呢份愛加上一個期限, 我希望係... 一萬年.(There was once a truest love that was put in front of me, But I didn’t go realize it. Until it was gone then I regretted it. This dusty world’s most painful experience. If Heaven can give me a chance to go back, I will tell the girl I love her. If a time limit must be added upon this love, I hope it is… ten thousand years.), from A Chinese Odyssy II-Cinderella(1994)
[edit] Filmography
- Kung Fu Hustle 2 (2007) (announced)
- A Hope (2006) (started filming July 2006 for release in mid-2007)
- Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
- Shaolin Soccer (2001)
- The Tricky Master (1999)
- Gorgeous (1999) (cameo in deleted scene)
- King of Comedy (1999)
- The Lucky Guy (1998)
- Lawyer Lawyer (1997)
- '97 All's Well, Ends Well (1997)
- God of Cookery (1996)
- Forbidden City Cop (1996)
- Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995)
- Out of the Dark (1995)
- A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1995)
- A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box (1995)
- From Beijing with Love (1994)
- Hail the Judge (1994)
- Love on Delivery (1994)
- The Mad Monk (1993)
- Flirting Scholar (1993)
- My Hero 2 (1993) (cameo)
- Fight Back to School III (1993)
- King of Beggars (1992)
- Royal Tramp II (1992)
- Royal Tramp (1992)
- Justice, My Foot (1992)
- Fight Back to School II (1992)
- All's Well, Ends Well (1992)
- Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992)
- King of Beggers (1992)
- The Banquet (1991)
- Magnificent Scoundrels (1991)
- God of Gamblers Part III Back to Shanghai (1991)
- Fight Back to School (1991)
- The Gods Must Be Crazy III (Crazy Safari) (1991) (narrator)
- Fist of Fury 1991 (1991)
- The Top Bet (1991)
- Legend of the Dragon (1991)
- Tricky Brains (1991)
- God of Gamblers II (1990)
- Triad Story (1990)
- When Fortune Smiles (1990)
- All for the Winner (1990)
- Look Out, Officer! (1990)
- Sleazy Dizzy (1990)
- Curry and Pepper (1990)
- The Unmatchable Match (1990)
- Lung Fung Restaurant (1990)
- My Hero (1990)
- Love Is Love (1990)
- Thunder Cops II (1989)
- Tragic Heroes (1989)
- Dragon Fight (1989)
- Faithfully Yours (1988)
- Final Justice (1988)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Stephen Chow at the Internet Movie Database
- Stephen Chow at the Hong Kong Movie Database
- Stephen Chow Forum (English)
- Stephen Chow: More than just nonsense
