Louis Koo Shares Outlook on HK Film

Promoting HK comedy Hit N Fun <臨時決鬥> for the upcoming CNY season, director Albert Mak (麥啟光) and cast members including Louis Koo (古天樂), Chrissie Chau (周秀娜), Louise Wong (王丹妮), Man Kit Cheung (張文傑) and Tony Wu (胡子彤) went on ViuTV’s variety program The Popcorn Show <爆谷一周> to share their unforgettable encounters on set!

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When asked how it was like getting along with Louis, who has the reputation of being known as “Mr. Cool”, Chrissie was suddenly tongue-tied and later, replied that she has not many scenes opposite Louis this time – her non-stop fighting scenes in the Muay-Thai-themed film made her very fatigued after every shoot! Meanwhile, actor Man Kit Cheung shared that he was “not at all apprehensive” about working with Louis, who was very protective and would take good care of every actor, pointing out how Louis would proactively hold on to him, if he loses his balance during a sparring scene.

Chrissie and Louis in the film “Hit N Fun”.

While comedy is all about tickling the funny bone, Louis shared his sentiments that slapstick jokes and crude humor of the past do not work anymore—and that a solid storyline which reflects the sentiments of daily life is a now a must—in order to touch audiences and evoke a heartfelt response.

The best, Louis said, if the plot seems preposterous and yet is still probable in real life, whereas narratives which deliberately play on misunderstandings no longer work. Observing that global comedy production seemed to have declined over the past three years, he wondered about the trend of filmmakers around the world refraining from the genre in unison.

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He also pointed out the somewhat ironic nature of comedy – it is tough for comedies to appeal across geographic boundaries, since anything which closely relates to everyday life tended to be culturally specific. Working with less dialogue and more body language is also equally challenging, he added. “Perhaps because information is so readily available now, it’s become much harder to trigger the audience’s sense of humor,”

As a filmmaker, Louis feels that large investments are not advisable in the current two years, but small investments may stifle some outstanding productions, hence it is best to balance both. With the cautious outlook, Louis foresees shrinking film budgets, adding that government funding will be crucial to get local film productions going.

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