Post by lonelyviet on Aug 27, 2007 18:50:51 GMT -5
Name: 周星馳 (周星驰) / Chow Sing Chi (Zhou Xing Chi)
English name: Stephen Chow
Profession: Actor, director, producer, and writer
Birthdate: 1962-June-22
Birthplace: Hong Kong
Native place: Shanghai, China
Height: 174cm
Weight: 60kg
Star sign: Cancer
Chinese zodiac: Tiger
Blood type: O
Series
The Thief of Time (TVB, 1992)
It Runs in the Family (1990)
Final Combat (TVB, 1989)
My Father's Son (1988)
Mo Ming Kap Sin Fung (1988)
Behind Silk Curtains (TVB, 1988)
Sung Meng Chi Loi (1987)
The Price of Growing Up (1987)
The Justice of Life (TVB, 1983)
But dou san hung (1983)
Legend of the Condor Heroes (TVB, 1982)
Wut lik sap jat (1982)
Movies
Kung Fu Hustle 2 (2008, producer and actor)
A Hope (2007, writer, producer, and actor)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004, producer and actor)
Shaolin Soccer (2001, producer and actor)
God of Cookery (1996, writer, producer, and actor)
A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box (1995, producer and actor)
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1995, producer and actor)
The Mad Monk (1993)
Flirting Scholar (1993)
All For The Winner (1990)
Legend of the Dragon (1990)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese: 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; often Romanized as Chow Sing Chi; pinyin : Zhōu Xīngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong.
Chow is considered the finest Hong Kong screen comedian since Michael Hui, and a mucho, macho-superstar to all concerned in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, epitomized by his nickname 星爺 (Sing Yeh, lit. Grandmaster Sing). However, his brand of mo lei tau comedy, which includes puns, double entendre and poking fun at Chinese culture, meant that few of his earlier films could exercise much impact in the West until his later films, Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004).
Professional Career
Chow was a graduate 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", and though this was a stepping stone for his career, it limited it, offering no outstanding performances. At that time, Stephen Chow mainly played dramatic roles in Hong Kong TVB television series, in one of which called [Dun Fei Final Combat] (蓋世豪俠) (1989), Chow has outstanding performance and started to gain popularity in Hong Kong. Also, in those television series, he started the long-term collaboration relationship with director, LEE，Lik Chi (李力持)and actor, Ng Man Tat (吳孟達). In 1990, his performance in Jeff Lau's smash-hit All For The Winnerlaunched him in his comedy film career, which is now his prime genre.
His subsequent films were built on the success of All For The Winner, and he developed his distinct brand of humour known as mo lei tau (nonsense or "no-brainer") which makes frequent use of euphemisms and double entendres in unoffensive Cantonese slang. He regularly demonstrates his talent for improvisation, suggesting gags to directors to enhance the script, allowing chances to make rewrites of the plot. By 1994, he was writing and directing some of his own films.
The films themselves often follow a similar template: Chow portrays either an under-achiever who beats the odds, or an arrogant overachiever, who is himself then humbled and receives a lesson in humility before fighting back. Stephen Chow tends to use the underdog or rags-to-riches story to portray his character. Fight Back to School (1991), From Beijing With Love (1994) and God of Cookery (1996) are notable examples of this style of work. Sometimes, his films would utilize a historic environment, but demonstrate the same use of modern-period cross-cutting comedy, as in the films Justice, My Foot (審死官) (1992) and Flirting Scholar (1993).
Occasionally, however, Chow would break from his comedies. One of his more serious films is the second part to A Chinese Odyssey, Cinderella (1994), loosely based on the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West. Although essentially a comedy at heart, Chow was able to develop his character more seriously than before. It was a box-office smash in Hong Kong and even ignited a cult following in Mainland China.
Recent films by Chow have begun to focus on comic action and special effects sequences rather than verbal humour to appeal to a wider international audience. The film which launched him to international fame was Shaolin Soccer (2001), which made heavy use of CGI and was directed by Chow himself. A later film, Kung Fu Hustle (2004), was 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 started the filming of his latest feature, A Hope, in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo. [1] It has been rumored to have the biggest budget ever for a Chinese film, costing over 100 million Chinese yuan (US$13 million; €10.2 million). In August 2007, it was rumoured that the title A Hope has been changed to CJ7, Chang Jiang qi hao, a play on China's successful manned space missions - Shenzhou V and Shenzhou VI.
This latest film will introduce newcomer Zhang Yuqi as his romantic lead - continuing Chow's tradition of introducing young female actresses who eventually go on to have successful film or music careers of their own. These "Chow's Cuties" include well-known names as Gigi Leung, Karen Mok, Cecilia Cheung, Huang Shengyi, Cheung Man, Christy Chung and Michelle Reis.
Recently, Chow did a collaborative project with Hong Kong entertainer and JUICE owner Edison Chen, which they designed t-shirts underlying vulgar messages.
Trivia
When he was young, Chow learned Kung Fu by watching TV because his parents couldn't afford lessons. He still enjoys watching instructional Kung Fu videos to this day. Chow learned Wing Chun as a youth, and is himself a huge fan of Chinese Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee, and his films often contain direct references to him. Chow was, for a time, the president of the Bruce Lee fan club in Hong Kong and had a statue of Lee built.
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. This character is almost always called 如花 (translated loosely as "Miss Flower") in these films.
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, Chow is known to be the opposite in the public eye, often maintaining a serious demeanor.
Chow is also a big fan of the popular anime and manga series, Dragon Ball.
His total net worth as of 2006 is over 100 million USD, he gains most of his wealth through real estate. He is a good friend of Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau (劉鑾雄).
Chow was denied emigration to Canada twice because of supposed links to the Triad society.
There is a recurring "martial art" in a few of Chow's films which loosely translated means "Splitting the Mountain, Hitting the Cow". In this move, someone is standing right next to someone else. Chow punches one person (usually frequent co-star Ng Man Tat), creating something of a domino effect resulting in a much more powerful hit for the person standing next to the one he initially punched. In God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai, he failed to literally punch someone across the street with this move, after creating an effect through some 15+ people.
Quotes
Mo lei tau comedy became popular as a result of Chow's performances. The opening phrase in the TVB drama The Final Combat, "飲杯茶，食個包" (A cup of tea to drink, a bun to eat) was one of the most memorable phrases of the time.
Other quotes:
"燒雞翼~我鍾意食~ (Grilled chicken wings~ I love it~), from Flirting Scholar, a period comedy (1993)
"一個字: 絕!" (One word: Excellent!)
"!" (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, 5 til yin!"(Ladies and Gentlemen, Five Aces! - seemingly impossible from a single deck of cards, but the double entendre 煙 can mean aces as well as cigarettes, which the character promptly shows a handful of), from God of Gambler II (1991)
"波並唔係咁踢既" (This is not the way to play soccer!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
"地球很危險，你快點回去火星吧" (Earth is very dangerous, hurry back to Mars!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
"曾經有一份至真嘅愛情擺喺我面前, 但係我冇去珍惜. 到冇唨嘅時候先後悔莫及. 塵世間最痛苦莫過於此. 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." from A Chinese odyssey II-Cinderella(1994)
"小強！小強你點呀小強！小強你唔好死呀！我同你相依為命、同甘共苦左咁多年，一直將你當係親生骨肉咁供書教學，估唔到今日白頭人送黑頭人。" (In this scene, Chow's character Tong Pak-Fu is trying to become a worker for a wealthy family. Not to be outdone by someone who's pet dog and entire family has just died, in itself a double-entendre for "going to hell", Tong grabs a cockroach a girl just stepped on and goes into this tirade about how he and the cockroach spent their time surviving up until that moment, naming him 小強. This name appears again in the acclaimed 2001 TVB serial War of the Genders, as the name of a real pet cockroach), from "Flirting Scholar" (1993)
"陷家剷泥齊種樹 汝家池塘多鮫魚 魚肥果熟嫲(撚)飯 你老母兮親下廚 ", from "Flirting Scholar" (1993)
English name: Stephen Chow
Profession: Actor, director, producer, and writer
Birthdate: 1962-June-22
Birthplace: Hong Kong
Native place: Shanghai, China
Height: 174cm
Weight: 60kg
Star sign: Cancer
Chinese zodiac: Tiger
Blood type: O
Series
The Thief of Time (TVB, 1992)
It Runs in the Family (1990)
Final Combat (TVB, 1989)
My Father's Son (1988)
Mo Ming Kap Sin Fung (1988)
Behind Silk Curtains (TVB, 1988)
Sung Meng Chi Loi (1987)
The Price of Growing Up (1987)
The Justice of Life (TVB, 1983)
But dou san hung (1983)
Legend of the Condor Heroes (TVB, 1982)
Wut lik sap jat (1982)
Movies
Kung Fu Hustle 2 (2008, producer and actor)
A Hope (2007, writer, producer, and actor)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004, producer and actor)
Shaolin Soccer (2001, producer and actor)
God of Cookery (1996, writer, producer, and actor)
A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box (1995, producer and actor)
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1995, producer and actor)
The Mad Monk (1993)
Flirting Scholar (1993)
All For The Winner (1990)
Legend of the Dragon (1990)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese: 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; often Romanized as Chow Sing Chi; pinyin : Zhōu Xīngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong.
Chow is considered the finest Hong Kong screen comedian since Michael Hui, and a mucho, macho-superstar to all concerned in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, epitomized by his nickname 星爺 (Sing Yeh, lit. Grandmaster Sing). However, his brand of mo lei tau comedy, which includes puns, double entendre and poking fun at Chinese culture, meant that few of his earlier films could exercise much impact in the West until his later films, Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004).
Professional Career
Chow was a graduate 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", and though this was a stepping stone for his career, it limited it, offering no outstanding performances. At that time, Stephen Chow mainly played dramatic roles in Hong Kong TVB television series, in one of which called [Dun Fei Final Combat] (蓋世豪俠) (1989), Chow has outstanding performance and started to gain popularity in Hong Kong. Also, in those television series, he started the long-term collaboration relationship with director, LEE，Lik Chi (李力持)and actor, Ng Man Tat (吳孟達). In 1990, his performance in Jeff Lau's smash-hit All For The Winnerlaunched him in his comedy film career, which is now his prime genre.
His subsequent films were built on the success of All For The Winner, and he developed his distinct brand of humour known as mo lei tau (nonsense or "no-brainer") which makes frequent use of euphemisms and double entendres in unoffensive Cantonese slang. He regularly demonstrates his talent for improvisation, suggesting gags to directors to enhance the script, allowing chances to make rewrites of the plot. By 1994, he was writing and directing some of his own films.
The films themselves often follow a similar template: Chow portrays either an under-achiever who beats the odds, or an arrogant overachiever, who is himself then humbled and receives a lesson in humility before fighting back. Stephen Chow tends to use the underdog or rags-to-riches story to portray his character. Fight Back to School (1991), From Beijing With Love (1994) and God of Cookery (1996) are notable examples of this style of work. Sometimes, his films would utilize a historic environment, but demonstrate the same use of modern-period cross-cutting comedy, as in the films Justice, My Foot (審死官) (1992) and Flirting Scholar (1993).
Occasionally, however, Chow would break from his comedies. One of his more serious films is the second part to A Chinese Odyssey, Cinderella (1994), loosely based on the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West. Although essentially a comedy at heart, Chow was able to develop his character more seriously than before. It was a box-office smash in Hong Kong and even ignited a cult following in Mainland China.
Recent films by Chow have begun to focus on comic action and special effects sequences rather than verbal humour to appeal to a wider international audience. The film which launched him to international fame was Shaolin Soccer (2001), which made heavy use of CGI and was directed by Chow himself. A later film, Kung Fu Hustle (2004), was 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 started the filming of his latest feature, A Hope, in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo. [1] It has been rumored to have the biggest budget ever for a Chinese film, costing over 100 million Chinese yuan (US$13 million; €10.2 million). In August 2007, it was rumoured that the title A Hope has been changed to CJ7, Chang Jiang qi hao, a play on China's successful manned space missions - Shenzhou V and Shenzhou VI.
This latest film will introduce newcomer Zhang Yuqi as his romantic lead - continuing Chow's tradition of introducing young female actresses who eventually go on to have successful film or music careers of their own. These "Chow's Cuties" include well-known names as Gigi Leung, Karen Mok, Cecilia Cheung, Huang Shengyi, Cheung Man, Christy Chung and Michelle Reis.
Recently, Chow did a collaborative project with Hong Kong entertainer and JUICE owner Edison Chen, which they designed t-shirts underlying vulgar messages.
Trivia
When he was young, Chow learned Kung Fu by watching TV because his parents couldn't afford lessons. He still enjoys watching instructional Kung Fu videos to this day. Chow learned Wing Chun as a youth, and is himself a huge fan of Chinese Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee, and his films often contain direct references to him. Chow was, for a time, the president of the Bruce Lee fan club in Hong Kong and had a statue of Lee built.
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. This character is almost always called 如花 (translated loosely as "Miss Flower") in these films.
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, Chow is known to be the opposite in the public eye, often maintaining a serious demeanor.
Chow is also a big fan of the popular anime and manga series, Dragon Ball.
His total net worth as of 2006 is over 100 million USD, he gains most of his wealth through real estate. He is a good friend of Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau (劉鑾雄).
Chow was denied emigration to Canada twice because of supposed links to the Triad society.
There is a recurring "martial art" in a few of Chow's films which loosely translated means "Splitting the Mountain, Hitting the Cow". In this move, someone is standing right next to someone else. Chow punches one person (usually frequent co-star Ng Man Tat), creating something of a domino effect resulting in a much more powerful hit for the person standing next to the one he initially punched. In God of Gamblers Part III: Back to Shanghai, he failed to literally punch someone across the street with this move, after creating an effect through some 15+ people.
Quotes
Mo lei tau comedy became popular as a result of Chow's performances. The opening phrase in the TVB drama The Final Combat, "飲杯茶，食個包" (A cup of tea to drink, a bun to eat) was one of the most memorable phrases of the time.
Other quotes:
"燒雞翼~我鍾意食~ (Grilled chicken wings~ I love it~), from Flirting Scholar, a period comedy (1993)
"一個字: 絕!" (One word: Excellent!)
"!" (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, 5 til yin!"(Ladies and Gentlemen, Five Aces! - seemingly impossible from a single deck of cards, but the double entendre 煙 can mean aces as well as cigarettes, which the character promptly shows a handful of), from God of Gambler II (1991)
"波並唔係咁踢既" (This is not the way to play soccer!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
"地球很危險，你快點回去火星吧" (Earth is very dangerous, hurry back to Mars!), from Shaolin Soccer (2001)
"曾經有一份至真嘅愛情擺喺我面前, 但係我冇去珍惜. 到冇唨嘅時候先後悔莫及. 塵世間最痛苦莫過於此. 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." from A Chinese odyssey II-Cinderella(1994)
"小強！小強你點呀小強！小強你唔好死呀！我同你相依為命、同甘共苦左咁多年，一直將你當係親生骨肉咁供書教學，估唔到今日白頭人送黑頭人。" (In this scene, Chow's character Tong Pak-Fu is trying to become a worker for a wealthy family. Not to be outdone by someone who's pet dog and entire family has just died, in itself a double-entendre for "going to hell", Tong grabs a cockroach a girl just stepped on and goes into this tirade about how he and the cockroach spent their time surviving up until that moment, naming him 小強. This name appears again in the acclaimed 2001 TVB serial War of the Genders, as the name of a real pet cockroach), from "Flirting Scholar" (1993)
"陷家剷泥齊種樹 汝家池塘多鮫魚 魚肥果熟嫲(撚)飯 你老母兮親下廚 ", from "Flirting Scholar" (1993)
