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Stephen Chow
周星馳
Born (1962-06-22) 22 June 1962 (age 61)
British Hong Kong
Occupations
  • Director
  • Film producer
  • Playwright
  • Actor
  • Political advisor
Years active1980-Present
Parents
  • Chow Yik Sheung (father)
  • Ling Po Yee (mother)
FamilyChow Man Kei (sister)
Chow Sing Ha (sister)

Stephen Chow Sing-chi (Chinese: 周星馳, in Mandarin Zhou Xingchi; in Cantonese, Chiau Sing-chi, born 22 June 1962) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, martial artist, actor [1] and also a political advisor of Chinese People's Political Consultive Conference [2] [3]. Stephen Chow used to be successful in acting career due to his amounts of comedy films in the 1980s-1990s in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries [4]. In a recent year, Stephen Chow focuses on producing and directing in movie industry, and some of his movies earn several of records at China Box Officer on opening days [5][6][7][8].

Early Life and Education edit

Stephen Chow Sing-chi was born on June, 22 1962 whose parents are Ling Po Yee (凌寶兒) and Chow Yik Sheung (周驛尚) - both were alumnus of Guangzhou Normal University and immigrants from Ningbo, Zhejiang, China [9]. Stephen Chow has two sisters: the elder sister's name is Chow Man Kei (周文姬) and the younger sister's name is Chow Sing Ha (周星霞) [9].

Stephen Chow's parents divorced when he was seven years old, after that, Chow continued to live with his mother [9]. He attended a Christian primary school which was Heep Woh Primary School associated with Hong Kong Council of the Church of the Christ in China in Kowloon, Peninsula [9]. Stephen Chow then continued his secondary study at San Marino Secondary School where he had a chance to study along with Lee Kin-yang whom later also became an actor [9]. After graduating from secondary school in Hong Kong, Chow continued his studies in TVB's acting class. He graduated from TVB's acting class in 1982 [9].

When Chow was thirteen years old, he found fascinating about Bruce Lee - who at that time was a superstar in martial arts [10]. Chow also revealed that he started to practice Kung Fu and tried to learn the styles in Bruce Lee's movie [10]. When he was young, he also saved his money to pay for a master in martial arts to teach him Lee's styles - the Wingchun school; however, the circumstance did not last long because he was only affordable for three months [10].

Stephen Chow's education of acting was not easy, and he "struggled for years to enter the acting school TVB network" [10]. Stephen Chow was first rejected because of his lack of idol looks, but he later successfully got into the acting program of TVB [10].

Acting Career edit

1980s-1990 Acting Career: Beginning edit

Chow graduated from TVB's acting program in 1982. He began his career as a temporary television program actor as an extra in Rediffusion Television [10] [11], and he became the host of a television program daily show for children called "430 Space Shuttle" [10]. He revealed that he had no choice at that time, and he would want to find a spot in drama action [10]. After 6 years in the television acting, Chow later then entered the filming industry in China [10].Chow started his acting in 1988, beginning with a supporting role in the movie called "Final Justice" [10] which landed him the award Taiwan Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor [11].

Chow appeared in a TVB Hong Kong series of comedy, which is called The Final Combat (1989), making him become well-known and earning stardom in China [10].

Chow then started to earn a main playing role in a movie called "All for the Winner" in 1990, and he began to be a blockbuster in movie industry in China [11]. The movie in 1990 was a parody of Chow Yun-fats' life as a "God of Gamblers" [10]. This character made him become well-known in comedy movie industry [11].

1990s-2000 Acting Career: Active in mainland China edit

Stephen Chow became more active in comedy filming industry by becoming main role in Fight Back to School in 1991, which is a gangster comedy movie [11]. He then continued in an action comedy film Justice, My Foot! in 1992. Both of the films gained him some more success in Hong Kong and mainland China [4]. These movies were involving "nonsensical gags" that people assigned them with the name "mo lei tau" humor [11]. The 1990s became the era of "mo lei tau" Cantonese comedy that was associated with Stephen Chow [11] [4].

Stephen Chow played in many other comedy films during this period. One of the film that was released in America is “God of Cookery” in 1996, gaining him some fandom outside of the mainland China [4].

In the latter half of 1990s period, Stephen Chow's humor in his comedy film became synchronized with people in mainland China, and he became a Stephen Chow Phenomenon (周星驰现象) which is referring to humor or funny [12].

2001-2010 Acting Career: Reallocate to Directing, Writing Screenplay and Producing edit

In the beginning half of new decade 2000s, Chow continued his acting career. In 2001, his movie named "Shaolin Soccer" earned him a lot of success hitting worldwide in United States of America: New York and Los Angeles [13]. The movie was directed, produced, and starred by Stephen Chow grossing over $50 US millions worldwide [13]. With Shaolin Soccer, Stephen Chow won several awards: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003, Chinese Film media for Best Actor in 2002, and Hong Kong Film Awards in 2002 [14].

Continuing the success in worldwide, Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" in 2004 crossed over $160 millions all over the world [4][10]. Chow's name associated with this movie became well-known in the United States of America and other countries in the same region due to the release of Kung Fu Hustle in 2004 [4]. With this movie, Stephen Chow was nominated and received several awards: Amsterdam Fantastic Festival film awards in 2005, Golden Horse Film Festival in 2005 for Best director, and nominee for Golden Globes awards in 2006 [15].

 
A Poster of CJ7 on Hong Kong Street in January, 2008

In the later half of decade 2000s, Chow reallocated himself to new focus of directing, screenplay-writing and producing in the filming industry [16]. Stephen Chow played a role of screenplay-writer, director and producer of CJ7's which was released in 2008 [16][17]. The film featured a new type of comedy in science-fiction, and also brought Xu Jiao (played as a boy in the movie) to become an overnight stardom [16][17].

2010-Present: Focus on Producing edit

Chow continued his career as a director and producer in movie industry by releasing the movie named Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons in 2013 [4]. This film in 2013 became the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time, earning $215 millions [6]. The movie directed by Stephen Chow also earned very high at its opening day in China with $52.5 millions in total [6].

In 2016, Stephen Chow released a new film in science-fiction comedy called The Mermaid, breaking the highest record of box office on the opening day in China, earning 2.7 yuan billions (equivalent to $417 millions) in the first two weeks [5]. The movie also became one of the highest all-time earning in China with $436.2 millions up to February 23, 2016 [5]. In total, The Mermaid made a net grossing over $500 millions at the Chinese Box Office [7]. With The Mermaid, Stephen Chow was honored Golden Angel Award Film in 2016 at 12th Chinese American Film Festival [18].

In 2019, Stephen Chow revealed that he plans to release the sequel of Kung Fu Hustle which is called Kung Fu Hustle 2 directed and produced by his company [8]. The movie, according to Stephen Chow, is going to be a "spiritual sequel" of Kung Fu Hustle which he plans to release on screen in 2020 [8].

Some Notable Movies edit

During the 1990s and beginning of 2000s, Stephen Chow has appeared in more than 40 comedy movies [4]. Some notable and shinning films that he appeared: "Journey to the West", "Kung Fu Hustle", and Sunday Television Show in China. In 2005, the film "Kung Fu Hustle" gained success in United States of America and other countries in the same region. This movie grossed 17$ million, which was at that time impressive for a foreign-language movie in the North America region [4].

During the late 2000s, Stephen Chow has been appearing less on air in TV shows and even movies: since then only 4 movies in total [4]. The reason to this fall of Stephen Chow in the late 2000s is due to the fact that the 21st-century movies emerge with "polished, comprehensible and expensive digital effects" that were absent elements in the Stephen Chow's movies that he had appeared before [4]. In an interview by BBC's Four with film critic Johnathan Ross, Stephen Chow underlined that he uses technology and digital image in his movies recently in assistance to tell the story, but he did not want his movies to depend on technology [19].

As a producer role, Stephen Chow's 2 movies breaks some records of China Box Officer [6][5]. Two of his movies in 2010s are Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and The Mermaid (2016) becoming one of the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time - earning $215 millions, over $500 millions at the Chinese Box Office respectively [6][5][7]

Mo lei tau (冇厘頭) Stephen Chow's contributions edit

Mo lei tau (冇厘頭; Jyutping: mou4 lei4 tau4) or ( some Hong Kong people may refer to Mou lei jau) is a sub-culture integral in Hong Kong's popular culture [20]. It means that talking about something that makes no sense or story is told to be nonsensical [20]. According to Luisa Tam, it became very popular in Hong Kong during the period of 1990s - Stephen Chow's active appearance in movie industry [20][11][4]. Some of the classical Stephen Chow's movies that use Mo lei tau element are All for the Winner(1990), Fight Back to School(1991) and Justice,My Foot!(1992) [11]. Stephen Chow's mo lei tau optimizes fast and impossible-to-translate speaking style - ignoring the narrative convention - to create comedy and wordplay in most of his movies [21]. An example of Chow's mo lei tau is in Out of the Dark (1995), speaking to the waiter "see jup jing chang!!" which can be translated into "steamed orange with black bean sauce!!" [21]. The example shows how the combination of words putting together that is "juxtaposition" and incongruous of elements that is not used popularly for a Chinese eater [21].

In an interview of Asian Invasion - Episode 2 (2006) with BBC's film critic Jonathan Ross referred the film Stephen Chow's movies: Kung Fu Hustle, King of Comedy, etc. to a type of genre that is called "Silly Talk", and Chow was happy to accept that term as a label [19].

Personal Life edit

Working style: edit

Although Stephen Chow is well-known for his humor and a large amount of comedy films in China, he appears to be quiet and focused when working according to many of his friends and colleagues [22][23]. In an interview with Clarence Tsui of South China Morning Post in 2008, Stephen Chow revealed that he wanted to improve his skills in directing and producing by his willingness to work his film crew as a whole team [24]. He also emphasized that he wanted to add the humorous elements into martial arts and action films, and he liked to focus on the success in mainland China [24].

Dating and Outside of Acting Career: edit

 
Karen Mok - a former girlfriend of Stephen Chow - known to appear in 5 movies along with him (Taiwan in 2007)

Stephen Chow was known to have a long relationship with a Hong Kong actress - Karen Mok, whom also had appeared in 5 movies along with him [22]. Chow was also known to be dating in thirteen years with his financial consultant and longtime fans Alice Yu Man-fung [25]. In 2012, Chow was sued by his ex-girlfriend Alice Yu for $80 millions HK due to the related rate commission percent from the net profits company of her advisory stipulate fees that Chow promised to her [26][25].

Political Career edit

In 2013, Stephen Chow was elected to be a political advisor of Chinese People's Political Conference to Guangdong Province in China, which is a neighboring city to Hong Kong [2] [27].

In Chinese People's Political Conference of Guangdong Committee, Stephen Chow is one of the 978 members to be chosen as a political advisor [28].

Stephen Chow is know to be associated and affiliated with ZGD (Zhigongdang of China) which is an official party of composing of many returned overseas Chinese people [28].

Filmography [29] edit

Role: Actor edit

  1. 1988: Final Justice (霹靂先鋒); My Father's Son TV series (鬥氣一族); Faithfully Yours (最佳女婿); He Who Chases After the Wind (捕風漢子).
  2. 1989: The Final Combat TV series (蓋世豪俠); The Justice of Life TV series (他來自江湖); Thunder Cops II (贼公差婆); Just Heroes (義膽群英); Dragon Fight (龍在天涯).
  3. 1990: Love is Love (望夫成龍); My Hero (一本漫畫闖天涯); Lung Fung Restaurant (龍鳳茶樓); Curry and Pepper (咖喱辣椒); Sleazy Dizzy (小偷阿星); Look Out, Office! (師兄撞鬼); All for the Winner (賭聖); When Fortune Smiles (無敵幸運星); Triad Story (江湖最後一個大佬); Legend of the Dragon (龍的傳人).
  4. 1991: God of Gamblers II (賭俠); The Top Bet(賭霸); Fist of Fury (新精武門); Fight Back to School(逃學威龍); God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai(賭俠2之上海灘賭聖); The Magnificent Scoundrels(情聖); The Banquet(豪門夜宴); Tricky Brains(整蠱專家).
  5. 1992: Fist of Fury II (漫畫威龍); All's Well, Ends Well (家有囍事); Fight Back to School II (逃學威龍2); Justice, My Foot! (審死官); Royal Tramp 1 and 2 (鹿鼎記, 鹿鼎記2神龍教); King of Beggars (武狀元蘇乞兒); The Thief of Time (群星會).
  6. 1993: Fighting Back to School III (逃學威龍3之龍過雞年); The Mad Monk (濟公).
  7. 1994: Hail the Judge (九品芝麻官).
  8. 1995: A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒); A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣); Out of the Dark (回魂夜); Sixty Million Dollar Man (百變星君).
  9. 1997: All's Well, Ends Well 1997 (97家有囍事); Lawyer Lawyer (算死草).
  10. 1998: The Lucky Guy (行運一條龍); The Tricky Master (千王之王2000).

Role: Director, Screenwriter and Actor edit

  1. 1993: Flirting Scholar (唐伯虎點秋香).
  2. 1994: Love on Delivery (破壞之王); From Beijing with Love (國產凌凌漆).
  3. 1996: Forbidden City Cop (大內密探零零發); The God of Cookery (食神).
  4. 1999: King of Comedy (喜劇之王).
  5. 2001: Shaolin Soccer (少林足球).
  6. 2004: Kung Fu Hustle (功夫); CJ7 (長江七號).

Role: Producer and Composer edit

  1. 2008: Shaolin Girl (少林少女).
  2. 2009: Jump (跳出去); Dragonball Evolution (七龍珠).
  3. 2010: CJ7 The Cartoon (長江7號愛地球).
  4. 2013: Journey to the West Conquering the Demons (西遊·降魔篇).
  5. 2016: The Mermaid (美人魚).
  6. 2017: Journey to the West the Demons Strike Back (西遊伏妖篇).
  7. 2019: The New King of Comedy (新喜劇之王); Journey to the West Conquering the Demons TV (劇版西遊降魔篇); The Mermaid TV (劇版美人魚).
  8. 2020: The Mermaid 2 (美人魚2); Kung Fu Hustle 2 (功夫2).

Awards and Honors [30] edit

  1. Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
  2. Asia Pacific Film Festival
  3. Blue Ribbon Awards
  4. Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
  5. Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
  6. Golden Bauhinia Awards
  7. Golden Horse Awards
  8. Hong Kong Film Awards
  9. Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
  10. Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
  11. Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
  12. Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
  13. Utah Film Critics Association Awards
  14. Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
  15. BAFTA Award
  16. Golden Globe Award

References: edit

  1. ^ Yu, Eric K. W. (September 2010). "Farce, Pathos, and Absurdity in Stephen Chow's Film Comedies: From Beijing with Love and CJ7 Reconsidered" (PDF). {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 29 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b "Stephen Chow elected political advisor - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  3. ^ "'Kung Fu Hustle' Star Stephen Chow Appointed to China's Top Political Advisory Body". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hale, Mike (2014-10-05). "Lightning Fast With His Feet and His Jokes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  5. ^ a b c d e Macauley, Richard. "China's top-grossing film of all time is about mermaids and the evils of human development". Quartz. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  6. ^ a b c d e Lang, Brent; Lang, Brent (2017-01-29). "'Journey to the West' Sequel Dominates Foreign Box Office With $85 Million". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  7. ^ a b c Frater, Patrick; Frater, Patrick (2016-03-06). "'The Mermaid' Reaches $500 Million at Chinese Box Office". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  8. ^ a b c # (2019-02-15). "It's Official: "Kung Fu Hustle 2" is Coming". RADII | Culture, Innovation, and Life in today's China. Retrieved 2020-04-03. {{cite web}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Hua, Cheng (2016). [Stephen Chow: Without Dream, What's the Difference between Men And Salted Fish] (in Chinese). Xicheng District, Beijing: Sino-Culture Press. ISBN 978-7-5075-4635-4.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "He's quite serious about his nonsense". Los Angeles Times. 2003-08-31. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "5 Stephen Chow movies that made him Hong Kong's comedy king". South China Morning Post. 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  12. ^ "讽刺与幽默-人民网". paper.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  13. ^ a b Kehr, Dave (2004-04-05). "Fearlessly Taking Martial Arts to the Soccer Field". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  14. ^ Siu Lam juk kau - IMDb, retrieved 2020-04-02
  15. ^ Kung fu - IMDb, retrieved 2020-04-02
  16. ^ a b c "Remember her? Stephen Chow's CJ7 co-star is all grown up". South China Morning Post. 2019-11-24. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  17. ^ a b Catsoulis, Jeannette (2008-03-07). "Adventures of a Boy, His Dad and His Alien". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  18. ^ harvard1932. "第十二屆中美電影節星光熠熠——開幕式暨金天使獎頒獎典禮耀動洛城". Chinese American Film Festival (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2020-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ a b Johnathan, Ross (January 16, 2006). "Asian Invasion - Episode 2". BBC's Four, Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ a b c Luisa Tam on Cantonese: delves into nonsensical culture, retrieved 2020-04-03
  21. ^ a b c cinema-scope.com https://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope-online/11043/. Retrieved 2020-04-03. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ^ a b migration (2014-09-14). "Andy Lau and other stars speak up for Stephen Chow, who's under attack again". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  23. ^ "Why not even Stephen Chow can stop Tsui Hark getting his way". South China Morning Post. 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  24. ^ a b Clarence, Tsui (January 28, 2008). "Stephen Chow full interview - Part 2". South China Morning Post, Youtube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ a b "Stephen Chow Sued for $70 million by Alice Yu". JayneStars.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  26. ^ "Comedian Stephen Chow Sing-chi sued by ex-girlfriend for HK$80m". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  27. ^ "Stephen Chow's role as political adviser sees rocky start - Entertainment News - SINA English". english.sina.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  28. ^ a b "Actor Stephen Chow appointed as Guangdong CPPCC member". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  29. ^ "The Best Stephen Chow Movies". Ranker. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  30. ^ "Stephen Chow". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-03.

External links edit


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