Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau is a living legend, having acted in over one hundred feature films since his debut in Ann Hui's "Boat People" almost three decades ago. He has had leading roles in such contemporary classics as Wong Kar-wai's "Days of Being Wild", Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers", Andrew Lau & Alan Mak's "Infernal Affairs", Johnnie To's "Needing You", Peter Chan's "The Warlords" and Feng Xiaogang's "A World Without Thieves". Lau is an actor of extraordinary range, as comfortable in romantic comedies as he is in action films or melodramas, in contemporary or in historical movies.
Tsui Hark had always wanted the opportunity to cast Andy Lau in a feature film having previously only collaborated with him on a short film and a music video. Tsui believes that Lau's appearance and temperament are a perfect match for his vision of an idealized Detective Dee. Tsui worked closely with both the actor and executive producer Chen Kuo-fu to realize the iconic figure on the big screen for modern audiences. It is fitting that such an iconic figure as Andy Lau should portray such a beloved character.
Lau has also played an increasingly important role behind the camera, giving opportunities to a new generation of Chinese directors. In 1997, he produced Fruit Chan's breakthrough feature "Made in Hong Kong" that was widely distributed in Europe. He also produced the landmark Focus First Cuts series, personally helping to select the project's young directors. Highlights of the series include Robin Lee's fantasy "The Shoe Fairy", Ho Yuhang's drama "Rain Dogs" and Ning Hao's caper comedy "Crazy Stone", which is credited with single-handedly changing the face of modern Chinese cinema.
© 2010 Indomina Releasing