[2017.01.18] STEPHEN CHOW: LAW KAR YING IS MORE HANDSOME THAN KRIS WU

Stephen Chow tries to visit the set to "steal ideas", but Tsui Hark immediately "stops production".  Stephen Chow calls him "petty".

Kris Wu says that he "scared" off all of his hair while playing the Tang Monk
courtesy of on.cc

Kris Wu, Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark promote JOURNEY TO THE WEST 2

Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark argue from the beginning to the end but they rather enjoy the process

Kris Wu was a little scared at the audition, when Stephen Chow wants him to play a deranged mental patient.

Stephen Chow says in comparison to Law Kar Ying in looks, "Really sorry Chairman Wu."
courtesy of mingpao.com

Stephen Chow Sing Chi decided to completely retreat behind the scene with the 2013 film JOURNEY TO THE WEST: CONQUERING THE DEMONS (SAI YAU GONG MOR PIN), which performed just as well critically and commercially. Last year's Lunar New Year film MERMAID (MEI YUN YU) performed well as well. This year Chow Sing Chi returned to the JOURNEY TO THE WEST series as JOURNEY TO THE WEST: THE DEMONS STRIKE BACK (SAI YAU FOOK YIU PIN) heads toward the Lunar New Year. Even though he left the directing to Tsui Hark he still was unwilling to return to the screen. "Let's see everyone's reaction first! Now there isn't much response." Would he consider playing Sun Wukong again? He shook his head. "Let's not!"

Chow Sing Chi has always directed his movies. This time he asked Tsui Hark to direct. Tsui's fantasy with his own infinite creativity would push the film to another level. In the process Chow Sing Chi felt that the biggest difference was having to argue from the beginning to the end. He said, "Before I did it all, this time was an all new experience. The result was newer. I felt that this was very important, actually I liked that. Director Tsui was someone who truly worked to make movies for creativity. I have always admired him very much, so I felt that this time would be a process that I would enjoy very much. On one hand we had different opinions, but on the other we finished the project with different opinions. No one needed to take a step back because we could bring everything out in the open to talk about."

Did their arguments become heated? He asked Tsui Hark, "That's right! Where did all your fire go?" Tsui Hark relied, "I took it all to cook with! We haven't gotten to heated, actually before working together I was already mentally prepared. Creatively we both have different ideas. Sky is the limit for me, beyond the sky for him. With both of us in the air how do we get to the ground? We would put together the good stuff and avoid the bad."

This time not only the director is news, even the cast is all new. The Tang Monk role went to the last time's Wen Zhang to the red hot "Fresh Meat" Kris Wu Yifan. Wu Yifan stated that during the audition he was shaking a little when he faced Chow Sing Chi, not out of fright but of nerves because he asked him to play a deranged mental patient. Finally Chow Sing Chi chose his Chairman Wu to be Tang Monk. He even joked, "Actually he wasn't scared at all, he wasn't nervous either. He said that he liked to play this type of character. I never would have guessed that about him, but after watching him I was rolling on the floor laughing. He didn't look like he was crazy at all. He looked like he was convulsing."

Speaking of the Tang Monk, everyone would recognize the 1994 Chow Sing Chi's CHINESE ODYSSEY (SAI YAU GEI)'s Law Kar Ying as classic. They have not worked together in 22 years and were even rumored to be at odds. This time Brother Ying was invited to provide his voice to the Cantonese version of the film and the classic team had the chance to appear on the screen again. Chow Sing Chi mentioned Brother Kar Ying and showed respect. He said, "I feel Tang Monk himself was just like that, because Buddhist people should look pretty. For example Law Kar Ying, everyone knows how he is. It's very obvious!" Who was the more handsome between him and Wu Yifan? He immediately said, "If compared to Law Kar Ying, I'm really sorry Chairman Wu!"