[2013.01.30] XU ZHENG WANTS TO WORK WITH JOHNNIE TO

courtesy of mingpao.com

Xu Zheng wrote, directed and starred in LOST IN THAILAND, which made 1.3 billion RMB in the Mainland and will open in Hong Kong tomorrow. Xu Zheng earlier came to Hong Kong to promote and admitted that he never expected it to be such a hit. "Many people said the film was a dark horse that would have over 1 billion at the box office. I thought it was a white horse. Everyone underestimated it. I thought it would make 300 to 400 million. However after a week it already broke 300 million at the box office. When it was about to reach 1 billion, I thought it was crazy. It already had nothing to do with me, it has become a phenomenon. Everyone was going out of curious." Why neither the poster nor the promotion was focused on Fan Bingbing? He pointed out that if he put all the big stars on the poster, he did not think it would be better. When viewers saw Fan Bingbing in the movie they were pleasantly surprised.

As for the film's Hong Kong release, he humbly said, "Will it reach 1 or 2 million? If next time I have a movie release in Hong Kong it should have a Cantonese version like LET THE BULLETS FLY, then Hong Kong viewers would be able to relate to it." Xu Zheng said that he grew up on Hong Kong films, Stephen Chow Sing Chi, Johnnie To Kei Fung, Peter Chan Ho Sun, Derek Yee Tung Sing, Wong Kar Wai and John Woo (Ng Yu Sum) were all directors who he admired. He said, "I hope to get more Hong Kong film offers, they don't have to be comedies." Was he worried that he would be typecast in comedy? He said, "That would depend on Director To Kei Fung to turn it around."