Hong Kong 1990: From stuntman to King of Kung Fu

Chapter 89 Fierce Competition in Crane Costumes

April 20, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.

The 11th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held here again.

At this moment, a 100-meter-long red carpet was laid directly to the roadside outside the venue.

The red carpet was lined with reporters and photographers from various media outlets, and a number of celebrity fans gathered not far away.

With the growing strength of Hong Kong cinema, the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony has become an annual grand event in Hong Kong.

Its influence even surpasses that of the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, which has been established for nearly 30 years.

Although the Golden Horse Awards have a wider selection scope, they still often need Hong Kong artists to attend and support them.

This naturally puts the Golden Horse Awards at a disadvantage compared to the Hong Kong Film Awards.

As celebrities walked the red carpet, some reporters and photographers kept their eyes glued to the entrance.

They were waiting for Liu Jialing.

At the last Hong Kong Film Awards red carpet, Lau Ka-ling shone brightly.

They were quite looking forward to seeing what kind of red carpet dress she would bring this time.

Perhaps the organizing committee understood the expectations of the media and some fans for Liu Jialing, and directly placed the "Chicken and Duck Love" crew in the final position.

At this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, Lau Ka-ling was nominated for Best Actress again for her role in "Chicken and Duck Love".

Compared to her limited role in last year's "Days of Being Wild," she is now the absolute female lead.

The film director is Tang Mingji, one of the leading figures of the Hong Kong New Wave cinema.

"Chicken and Duck Love" tells the story of Sam, a top male dancer played by Simon Yam, who meets Ah Hung, a woman from mainland China who comes to Hong Kong to make a living.

Ya Hong asked Sam to train her to become a high-class escort so that she could earn the most money in a short period of time.

During their daily teaching interactions, a subtle affection gradually developed between the two.

Sam only begins to confront his feelings after Ya Hong successfully attracts the attention of Di Chen, a wealthy businessman played by Fang Zhongxin.

The film's box office was low, only a little over nine million.

Many viewers went to see the film because of its title. The film was rated IB, but parents were advised to accompany their children.

This led them to believe that the movie would have many steamy scenes, but they were greatly disappointed after watching it.

Unlike many poorly made films of the time, director Tang Jiming made this film very interesting, and the media praised it as entertaining without being obscene.

The film incorporates elements from "Pretty Woman" and is rich in drama.

There are almost no explicit scenes in the entire film, with only one minor actress subtly contributing two points.

The reason it was rated IB and recommended that parents accompany the audience is not because of the film's explicit content, but because it directly depicts the sex worker and male escort industries, touching on sensitive topics.

When Liu Jialing received the notice, she misunderstood and thought it was for a pornographic film, so she refused.

She's more concerned about this now. She knows Tang Long doesn't like it, so she generally doesn't accept movies with many intimate scenes.

Even when some things were unavoidable, she insisted on using a body double or a substitution.

This left some directors with an impression of her being unprofessional, but she persisted.

Later, director Tang Mingji personally brought her the script and explained it clearly, which put her mind at ease.

Liu Jialing's performance truly carried the entire film and received widespread praise from the industry.

This nomination can be considered a significant affirmation of her acting skills.

At the same time, this film is also a highly representative work in Simon Yam's acting career.

He played a series of gigolo roles in the 90s, which established his status as the top gigolo.

The crew of "Chicken and Duck Love" finally arrived late, much to the anticipation of the media reporters.

First to appear were Simon Yam and Fong Chung-shun, followed by director Tang Ming-chi, and finally Liu Chia-ling, dressed in a crane costume, made her appearance.

The bright red background adorned with nine cranes instantly drew everyone's attention.

Liu Jialing listened to the loud shouts of fans not far away, watched the commotion in the media area, and enjoyed the continuous cheers and flashes of light.

She strolled forward, waving as she went, with Simon Yam and Fong Chung-shun following behind her like two dutiful bodyguards.

Even after entering the venue, Liu Jialing was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

The feeling of being the center of attention was just like the feeling Tang Long gave her, which fascinated her.

She took a deep breath, composed herself, and went to the theater lobby.

With a quick glance, he spotted Tang Long.

Compared to last year when he could only stay in the corner, this year Tang Long's position is more conspicuous, second only to the center position.

After all, "New Dragon Gate Inn" is no small production team; Tang Long, Brigitte Lin, and Zhang Manyu are all currently popular artists.

Perhaps it was a telepathic connection, but Tang Long looked over at that moment, and the two smiled at each other.

As Liu Jialing walked towards their film crew's location, she once again attracted a lot of attention.

Zhang Manyu withdrew her amazed gaze and looked at Tang Long: "Did you design this again?"

"That's right, it's not bad, is it? This dress was entirely hand-embroidered and took four months to complete."

"You really care about Liu Jialing."

Zhang Manyu felt a little envious. Why couldn't she meet someone who cared about her so much?

"Can your body really handle it?" Brigitte Lin interjected.

"Of course, you know how healthy I am."

Tang Long naturally understood the meaning behind Lin Qingxia's words.

On the set of "Swordsman II", she witnessed firsthand that she lived with Rosamund Kwan.

Adding Liu Jialing to the mix, she was wondering if her body could handle two women.

In public, Tang Long wasn't afraid of her driving.

But Brigitte Lin looked on with suspicion. Let alone two, most men couldn't handle even one woman.

Tang Long gave her a look that seemed to say, "Do you want to give it a try?"

"What do you mean by 'can't handle it'? What does that have to do with your health? What kind of riddle are you talking about?"

"There were no riddles. Sister Qingxia was just concerned about whether I had recovered well, since I was injured while filming recently."

"By the way, Sister Manyu, are you confident you can win Best Actress this year?"

Maggie Cheung rolled her eyes upon hearing this: "Do you think I own the Hong Kong Film Awards and can just take it whenever I want? This year's competition is very strong."

Don't talk about me, do you even have the confidence to win Best Actor?

"If you have no confidence, I have even less confidence. I know my own limitations; I'm just here to make up the numbers."

The competition for Best Actor and Best Actress this year is fierce.

Eric Tsang in *Twin Cities Story*, Leung Wai-wai in *To Be Number One*, Stephen Chow in *Fight Back to School*, and others in *Once a Thief*.

Chow Yun-fat and Tang Lung from "New Dragon Gate Inn".

He replaced Lau Tak-wah in the original timeline of "The Legend of Lui Lok, the Five Hundred Million Dollar Inspector".

Historically, Andy Lau's Best Actor nomination, like his, was also just a filler.

Despite the considerable influence of "Lee Rock," Andy Lau's performance was mediocre, falling significantly short of the others.

The competition for the female lead role is even fiercer.

Cecilia Yip in "Marriage Without Words", Anita Mui in "When Will You Return", Carol Cheng in "Hello, My Cousin 2", Lau Ka-ling in "Chicken and Duck Love", and Cheung Man-yuk in "New Dragon Gate Inn".

Zhang Manyu replaced Zhang Min in "Dancing with Dragon".

Historically, Zhang Min and Liu Dehua were able to be nominated because of Win's Entertainment's strong support.

After signing Stephen Chow, Win's Entertainment's momentum grew stronger and stronger, almost on par with Golden Harvest.

This year, with Stephen Chow's breakout success, Win's Entertainment even surpassed Golden Harvest in box office performance.

This makes Win's Entertainment a very important force in the Hong Kong film industry.

Even disregarding the background of the Xiang brothers, the influence of Win's Entertainment alone would command respect from most people in the film and television industry.

If Andy Lau and Sharla Cheung's performances hadn't been so unconvincing, Win's Entertainment could have easily secured Best Actor and Best Actress awards for them.

With Zhang Min replaced by the outstanding Zhang Manyu, the Best Actress nominations this year are truly a battle of titans.

Each of these five individuals delivered a brilliant performance, and any one of them deserved to receive an award.

After the cast of "Fight Back to School" made their grand entrance as the last film to appear, the awards ceremony officially began shortly afterward.

Chan Yan-kin continued to serve as the emcee, but his partner changed from Mui Yan-fong to Cheng Dan-shui.

After the opening ceremony, the Best Newcomer award was presented first.

The nominees are Lu Songxian, Sunny, and Liang.

Needless to say, Lu Songxian is a good example. Sunny was the female lead in the original film "The Blade," but later chose to retire from acting and become a nun because she was disgusted by the bad atmosphere in the entertainment industry.

However, the Best Newcomer award was given to Liang Zheng, who is not well-known in later generations.

Tang Long, who was last year's Best Newcomer, presented the award to Liang Zheng.

It was my first time being an award presenter, and it felt quite novel.

Seeing Liang Zheng's excited expression, Tang Long thought of himself last year.

The Best Original Film Song award went to "It Seems Like an Old Friend Has Come," composed by Lo Ta-yu, with lyrics by Lin Hsi and sung by Anita Mui.

The Best Original Score award was once again won by James Wong for "Once Upon a Time in China".

The Best Action Choreography award was given to the Yuen Clan, while Ching Siu-tung received two nominations for his work on "New Dragon Gate Inn" and "A Chinese Ghost Story III".

However, he ultimately lost to Yuen Woo-ping and failed to win the award for the second consecutive time.

Subsequently, Andy Lau's Teamwork Motion Pictures invested in "Saviour of the Soul," which won Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

The Best Editing award went to Mak Chi-sin for "Once Upon a Time in China".

"Once Upon a Time in China" has already won three major awards.

Next up was the award for Best Screenplay, and Tang Long straightened up involuntarily.

He received two nominations for his roles in "New Dragon Gate Inn" and "Reign of Assassins".

Last year, I missed out on this award due to a lack of qualifications.

This year he filled this gap and even received two nominations, which gives him high hopes for Best Screenplay.

However, his competitors are equally formidable.

Mak Tai-hung and Siu Yuk-yuen in "To Be Number One", Chan Man-keung in "Lee Rock", and Wong Bing-yiu and Gordon Chan in "Fight Back to School".

The presenter for Best Screenplay was Ni Kuang. Under everyone's gaze, he opened the envelope and slowly read out: "The winner of Best Screenplay is 'To Be Number One,' co-starring Michael Mak and Siu Yuk-yuen."

Upon hearing the result, Tang Long couldn't help but smile wryly, then applauded and watched as Mai Dangxiong and Xiao Ruoyuan went on stage.

Tang Long was convinced of their award; "To Be Number One" is indeed a very high-quality film.

"Don't be discouraged, Ah Long, you're still young."

"I understand, Sister Qingxia, I'm just a little disappointed."

One day I'll win that damn Best Screenplay award; I refuse to believe I'll always be a runner-up.