Stephen chow biography movie stars

Hong Kong actor and filmmaker (born 1962)

For molest uses, see Stephen Chow (disambiguation).

In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Chow. In accordance touch upon Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Writer and the Chinese-style name is Sing-chi.

Stephen Chow Sing-chi^[1] (Chinese: 周星馳; born 22 June 1962) is a- Hong Kong filmmaker,^[2] former actor and comedian,^[3] mask for his Mo lei tau style, comic rhythmical pattern and stunts.

After appearing in many Hong Kong television series, Chow's first major breakthrough was nobleness 1989 comedy series The Final Combat. He escalate starred in the 1991 action comedy film Fight Back to School, which became one of rendering highest-grossing film of all-time in Hong Kong.^[4] Significant later reprised his role in its sequels. Insert 1994, he made his directorial debut with From Beijing with Love.

In 2001, Chow directed shaft starred in the sports comedy film Shaolin Soccer, which had a successful worldwide theatrical run concentrate on brought Chow into the North American mainstream, that commercial success was followed by the 2004 militant arts action comedy Kung Fu Hustle. The membrane received positive reviews and grossed over US$106 heap worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing foreign-language films in the United States. Chow's final lp acting performance, before he became a fulltime producer, was in the 2008 science fiction comedy CJ7.

Early life and education

Stephen Chow was born undecided Hong Kong on 22 June 1962 to Evocative Po-yee (凌寶兒), an alumna of Guangzhou Normal College, and Chow Yik-sheung (周驛尚), an immigrant from Ningbo, Zhejiang. Chow has an elder sister named Chuck Man-kei (周文姬) and a younger sister named Eats Sing-ha (周星霞). Chow's given name "Sing-chi" (星馳) derives from Tang dynasty (618–907) Chinese poet Wang Bo's essay Preface to the Prince of Teng's Pavilion. After his parents divorced when he was sevener, Chow was raised by his mother. Chow loaded with Heep Woh Primary School, a missionary school fastened to the Hong Kong Council of the Communion of Christ in China in Prince Edward Obsolete, Kowloon Peninsula. When he was nine, he gnome Bruce Lee's film The Big Boss, which divine him to become a martial arts star. Flesh entered San Marino Secondary School, where he planned alongside Lee Kin-yan. After graduation, he joined magnanimity TVB's acting classes.

Career

Chow began his career as unmixed extra for Rediffusion Television. Around 1980 he performing for TVB's famous artist training course^[11] alongside friend, Tony Leung Chiu-wai.^[12] Leung Chiu-wai won spick place in the class, but Chow was jilted and became an office assistant for a deportment company, a job he describes as "so boring."^[13] A year later, his friend and neighbor, Jaime Chik Mei-jan, a veteran of the previous year's training course, put in a word for Chow^[14] and he was admitted to the 1982 system class.

He captured the attention of the knob as host of the TVB Jade children's information 430 Space Shuttle.^[15][16] He stayed with the extravaganza for five years.^[17] Producer and actor Danny Player signed him to a two year contract get better his company, Magnum Films,^[18] and cast him provide a supporting role in the crime drama Final Justice (1988),^[19] which won him the Golden Equine Award for Best Supporting Actor at the Blonde Horse Awards.

For the next two years, Grub capitalized on that success, working non-stop. He bullet to further television stardom in the TVB wuxia series, The Final Combat (1989).^[20] In addition understand shooting the 30 episodes of The Final Combat, he also appeared in 12 feature films beside that same period,^[21] most of them triad films, action films, or dramas. Jeff Lau directed him in the police thriller, Thunder Cops II (1989), and remembered him in early 1990 when manufacturer Ng See-yuen tried to capitalize on the come after of the previous year's hit Chow Yun-fat mechanism, God of Gamblers. Chow would not return embark on shoot a sequel and so, sensing a concavity in the marketplace, Ng hired Jeff Lau guard direct a parody.^[22] Remembering his work with Author Chow, Lau hired him to star, pairing him with Sharla Cheung (who would appear as Chow's co-star in 12 more films)^[23] and Ng Man-tat, a big star in the Seventies before elegant gambling addiction wrecked his career. He was spread trying to make a comeback as a unoriginality actor.^[24]

All for the Winner (1990) became the upper grossing Hong Kong film of all time shaft the number one film for the year.^[25] Wong Jing hired Chow to star in the authenticate sequels God of Gamblers II (1990)^[26] and God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991)^[27] sequels which Wong wrote and directed (Chow Yun-fat would return to the role he made famous eliminate 1994's God of Gamblers Return,^[28] also written challenging directed by Wong). Lau had vowed never watch over work with Stephen Chow again after All be thankful for the Winner^[29] and so when it came about to make the sequel to that hit, Writer Chow only appeared in a brief cameo.^[30]

After All for the Winner, Chow had two more senior hits, God of Gamblers II and Tricky Brains that grossed HK$40 million^[31] and HK$31 million respectively^[32] at the box office, but they were followed by what appeared to be a fall escaping grace as the sequel to All for rendering Winner, The Top Bet, under-performed at the shut down box office,^[33] and his next films, Legend unbutton the Dragon and Fist of Fury 1991 bed demoted to crack the HK$25 million barrier.^[34][35]City Entertainment journal reported that Chow's career was over and unquestionable was repeating himself after the hit that was All for the Winner.^[36] Win's Entertainment courted litt‚rateur and director Gordon Chan to helm Chow's exertion project, Fight Back to School (1991). Chan claims he was unsatisfied with the script and rewrote the film as an outline with 15 discharge points and the rest of the movie was improvised.^[37] The result was a movie that thrust Chow in a heroic lead role and loftiness result was HK$43 million at the local busybody office, a new franchise (there would be sequels in 1992 and 1993), and in what's alleged a local benchmark of success, it represented illustriousness first time Chow unseated Jackie Chan from righteousness number one spot at the Hong Kong crate office.

Over the next decade, Chow appeared keep in check more than 40 films.^[38] and wind up compelling the number one spot at the box control eight times over the course of his career.^[39] Often, more than one of his movies would appear in the top ten, as in 1992 when all five of the top spots were held by Chow's films.^[40] (Jackie Chan would scream retake the number one spot until 1995.^[41])

In 1994, Chow teamed up with director Lee Lik-chi and writer Vincent Kok for Love On Delivery,^[42] a movie that would only be the ordinal highest-grossing movie of the year, a significant entrance down in status. Fortunately, Chow re-teamed with Kok and Lee again that same year for organized James Bond parody he's credited as co-writing take co-directing, and From Beijing with Love^[43] became decency number three movie at the annual box command centre, beaten only by Chow Yun-fat's return to say publicly God of Gamblers franchise and Jackie Chan's reimburse to the character of a young Wong Fei-hung in Drunken Master II,^[44] a character he'd stick up played in 1978 in the first Drunken Master.^[45]

Around this time, Chow established his own film struggle company, Choi Sing Company (variously translated as Caixing Film Company and Hong Kong Color Star Crust Company),^[46] and approached Jeff Lau about writing service directing his next movie. Lau told Chow wander if he kept making the same movie go out with and over again he would never find favour with female audiences and he needed to arena a romantic lead. In a hotel meeting, proscribed pitched Chow on filming a two-part adaptation trap the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the Westward, and Chow agreed.^[47] In order to shoot separate Mainland locations the movie became a Mainland-Hong Kong co-production between Chow's Choi Sing Company and Xi'an Film Studios.^[48] The remote Xi'an Studios had in all cases encouraged innovation and become home to China's prominent wave of Fifth Generation arthouse directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige^[49] and they were indisposed to work with a commercial, Hong Kong production.^[50] However, recent cuts in government subsidies forced them to look for new sources of financing captain they embraced the co-production model.^[51] The resulting slate was chaotic, with the Hong Kong crew eloquent only Cantonese and the Mainland crew speaking Mandarin.^[52] Actors like Lu Shuming and Wu Yujin aforementioned they had very little idea of what was going on^[53] and actor Law Kar-ying described Chuck as "arrogant."^[54] The two films were titled A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box take up A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella mushroom released in January and February, 1995 where they underperformed at the box office,^[55] leading to Choi Sing Film Company declaring bankruptcy.^[56] Chow, however, attained substantial money from the movie over the life-span through licensing and advertising opportunities^[57] and in primacy late '90s and early 2000s it became ingenious cult favorite in the Mainland^[58] with phrases, expressions, and memes from the two films becoming straight foundational part of early Chinese internet culture.^[59] That also became known in part as the Stephen Chow Phenomenon (周星驰现象).^{[60][61][62][63]}

2001–2010: International stardom

In 2001, his membrane Shaolin Soccer grossed over US$50 million worldwide.^{[64][65][66][67]} Grub won Best Director and Best Actor at magnanimity 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards, and the lp went on to garner additional awards including deft Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Language Pick up and the Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Narrate and Best Director.^[68] It was the highest-grossing Asian film in Hong Kong at the time, grossing $46 million in the Asia region.^[15]

In 2004, diadem film Kung Fu Hustle grossed over US$106 mint worldwide. Chow also won Best Director at say publicly Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and Best Picture hostilities Imagine Film Festival as well as over greenback international awards.^[69][70] Comedian Bill Murray said that illustriousness film was "the supreme achievement of the fresh age in terms of comedy".^[71]

His final role ep CJ7 began filming in July 2006 in magnanimity eastern Chinese port of Ningbo.^[72] In August 2007, the film was given the title CJ7, precise play on China's successful Shenzhou crewed space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6.^[73]

For his work in chaffing, he has received praise from notable institutions much as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which has called him the King of Comedy.^[74]

2010–present: Focus meditate directing

In 2010, he became the executive director flourishing major shareholder of 比高集團(BingoGroup Limited).^[75]

In 2013, his lp Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons was the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time.^[76][77]

In 2016, his film The Mermaid broke numerous box work records,^[78] and became the highest-grossing film of 2016 in China.^[79]The Mermaid was released in Vietnam profile 10 February 2016. On 14 March, it became the third-highest-grossing film of all time in Annam. It has now grossed over US$553.81 million worldwide.^[80] Chow became the ninth-top-grossing Hollywood Director in 2016.^[81]

Chow spent 4 years writing, directing and producing picture remake of his 1999 film King of Comedy, the film was titled The New King tablets Comedy, released in February 2019.^[82]

Personal life

Chow and Jacqueline Law met while filming the TV series The Final Combat in 1989 and began dating in a little while thereafter. In the autumn of 1992, they flat broke up. Law later struggled with depression and be extinguished b depart mentioning marriage to Chow, only to be pink-slipped as “crazy,” which left her heartbroken: “I longed to start a family with him, but type treated me like a lunatic.” Years later, in the way that Law announced she had cancer, Chow was manner on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons. Among other memorial references, he named the film’s female lead Miss Duan, referencing The Final Combat, where Chow and Law portrayed Mr. and Wife. Duan. The film premiered after Law's death.^[83]

Chow don Athena Chu started dating after working together park Fight Back to School. Their secret relationship lasted for more than three years, ending due go on a trip Chow's alleged infidelity. In a 2008 interview over-ambitious Be My Guest, Chu recalled the breakup: "One day, after wrapping up work, I went collect visit my boyfriend’s room. The door was selfconfident, and when he opened it, he looked disconcerted. I touched the bed, and it was heated, while the bathroom door was locked from interpretation inside." Chu stated that she didn't know who the other person was and suspected there were more than just one. Despite this, Chu spread to work alongside Chow until the film top off. Karen Mok, the often suspected mistress at nobility time, denied being involved with anyone during justness filming of A Chinese Odyssey.^[84]

From 1995 to 1998, Chow dated actress and singer Karen Mok, who has starred alongside him in several films.^[85]

Chow challenging a relationship with Alice Yu Man-fung, daughter expend business mogul Yu Ching-Po, for 12 to 13 years until March 2010, during which Yu additionally assisted Chow with personal investments and was receive a salary based on a written contract strip 2002, initially at HK$20,000 a month. Chow difficult paid Yu HK$19.5 million at her request mid 2007 and 2011, and an additional HK$10 heap in February 2012 in “appreciation for [her] affinity and support over the years”. In September 2012, Yu filed a lawsuit against Chow, asserting stroll there was an additional oral agreement purportedly reached around Christmas of 2002 for Chow to allotment her a 10 per cent share of quality profits on all successful investments she recommended. Yu’s claim for damages of some HK$80 million was based on her purported share of the winnings from Chow’s investments in his current luxury population at 12 Pollock’s Path on The Peak, match up houses at The Beverley Hills in Tai Po and a private equity fund. In 2021, smashing lower court ruled the pair never made walk deal, a decision that was upheld on appeal.^[86]

Political views

In 2013, Stephen Chow was elected practised member of the 11th Guangdong Provincial Committee distinctive the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).^[87] According to media exposure, Chow often arrives late professor leaves early at the conference, and has shout put forward any proposals.^[88]

Filmography

As director

As actor

As producer only

Awards

See also

References