Celebrity Life

Eric Khoo talks about the future of film with Yeo Siew Hua, the man behind A Land Imagined.

The post The evolution of Singapore cinema appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Eric Khoo talks about the future of film with Yeo Siew Hua, the man behind A Land Imagined.

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A Walther PP pistol used in the first-ever James Bond movie will go up for auction next month in Los Angeles.

Scottish acting great Sean Connery, who passed away last month at the age of 90 at his home in the Bahamas, wielded the gun in 1962's Dr. No. It is estimated to fetch US$150,000 to 200,000 (HK$1.16 million to 1.55 million).

"The silhouette of 007 holding this gun would go on to become the James Bond franchise's most iconic image and one of the most recognisable pop culture references of all time," said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions.

In Dr. No, James Bond is ordered by his British Secret Service bosses to reluctantly trade in his old, misfiring Beretta gun for the Walther, which has "a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window."

"The American CIA swear by them," Bond is informed.

Versions of the Walther remain 007's signature firearm, some 25 films later. The deactivated handgun prop, one of two used in Connery's debut film, was owned by the original movie's armorer until it was sold off in a 2006 auction.

It will be one of more than 500 items in the "Icons & Idols Trilogy: Hollywood" auction held in Beverly Hills and online on December 3. Other notable memorabilia will include a pilot's helmet worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun and Arnold Schwarzenegger's leather motorcycle jacket from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

[caption id="attachment_212194" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The late Sean Connery's Walther PP pistol used in the first-ever James Bond movie will go up for auction next month in Los Angeles. (Image: AFP)[/caption]

Bond's next cinematic outing — believed to be the final movie for current 007 Daniel Craig — has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No Time To Die is currently scheduled for an April release.

Connery earned lasting worldwide fame and adoration for his smooth, Scottish-accented portrayal of the suave licensed-to-kill spy over several films.

The first actor to utter the unforgettable "Bond, James Bond," Connery is seen by many fans as giving the definitive portrayal of novelist Ian Fleming's creation. He suffered from dementia in his final years, according to his widow Micheline Roquebrune.

(Main and featured image: Julien's Auctions)

The post Sean Connery’s James Bond Gun to Go Under the Hammer in December appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As the dust settles on yet another month of isolation, I’m beginning to think films are my best chance of an escape this year. Despite…

The post The 12 Best Movies Set in Africa appeared first on World of Wanderlust.

Twenty years after working on Wong Kar-wai’s seminal movie In the Mood for Love, photographer Wing Shya talks to us about capturing the essence of that film, and his own career as a director.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Wong Kar-wai’s In theMood for Love, arguably the Hong Kong film -- and certainly the one that exported a romantic, nostalgia-tinged vision of our city to a global audience.

This year’s Cannes film festival, though cancelled due to Covid19, was expected to celebrate the movie, on which a relatively inexperienced photographer, Wing Shya, captured still photographs of protagonist lovers Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung under moody lights and dramatic shadows.

[caption id="attachment_208567" align="alignnone" width="1388"] Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love[/caption]

“We worked day and night on that film," says Shya. “At that time we just worked like that. It was a small team and not a big budget ... And we really didn’t know the film would become so huge and famous."

Twenty years on and the man who subsequently became Hong Kong’s most famous photographer is fast becoming an established film director in his own right, with some of his movies - like the ones he’s been shooting lately - being produced by Wong Kar-wai’s film company, Jettone. The tight-knit duo have been working together on-and-off in some capacity for 25 years.

“When I started taking photos for Wong Kar-wai on his films,"Shya says, “the first film job was for Happy Together with Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, in Argentina. I didn’t really know anything about photography ... and it was kind of the same with being a film director. I learned so much on the job just on my first movie, Hot Summer Days, with Tony Chan.

“It’s so different from doing photography - when you’re a photographer you can be very emotional. You take the picture and it can be very focused. As a film director you always have to think about all these different elements - the visual, the actors, the dialogue, the mood - constantly thinking every second of shooting. It’s hard work and so difficult."

[caption id="attachment_208569" align="alignnone" width="1384"] Leslie Cheung[/caption]

Acclaimed writer and film director Tony Chan teamed up with Shya for Hot Summer Days, after asking him to help direct a script that he’d been working on. Shya says it involved almost a year of sitting down with each other in Starbucks to work on the film. Remarkably, especially for directing newbie Shya, it became the first Hong Kong

Chinese film made by the giant 20th Century Fox “We went for a five-minute presentation with the guy from Fox, as he was about to go to the airport. It was so rushed but he loved it, and three months later they decided to fund the film. It was really crazy, they met a lot of other directors in Hong Kong and China but decided to choose us."

Now Shya is in the midst of directing his third and fourth feature films (in addition to a few shorts) - shooting in Shanghai was temporarily stalled because of the virus, but will resume shortly. All his films have been quirky romantic comedies set in Hong Kong or mainland Chinese cities.

[caption id="attachment_208566" align="alignnone" width="1398"] Angelababy and Jing Boran in Hot Summer Days[/caption]

Along with Hot Summer Days (2010), his second film Love in Space (2011) really established Shya’s nostalgic, witty and light-hearted style and genre. When I ask why he chose comedy, he says it’s something that he always wanted to do. “I love comedy," he says. “I want to go to a movie theatre and laugh out loud."

In terms of stars and celebrity, Shya has worked with almost all of them, capturing images of the late golden era of Hong Kong stars, such as Leslie Cheung, Shu Q, Faye Wong, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung as they acted or waited on set. Shya was a deft hand at shooting these stars off-guard, a style so different from the glossy, cultivated looks of Hong Kong celebrities that the media had previously been used to.

In the last 10 years as a filmmaker, he’s directed the likes of Aaron Kwok, Eason Chan, Nicholas Tse, Angelababy, Barbie Hsu, Daniel Wu and Rene Liu, and continues to work with some of China’s biggest rising screen stars.

When I ask if he has any favourites, since there are a few names that regularly come up, Shya diplomatically replies, “Sometimes I don’t choose the stars, actors and actresses ... Jettone is producing my films now and sometimes they’re chosen by the producers. Sometimes there are so many investors to take care of, and they also have a say in casting the stars," he says with a laugh.

It’s Shya’s laidback attitude, wit and sense of humour that have made him such a unicorn in the world of photography, fashion and film. There are no airs nor graces, despite his having achieved cult fame in Hong Kong and China. He’s exhibited in London’s V&A and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and has shot for the likes of iD Magazine,Vogue Italia and Numero. Today, Shya remains one of the most down-to-earth talents I’ve met in this city. Even when talking about his remarkable reputation and success, his take is very typically Shya. “Everything that happened in my life and career has been partly luck ... All the moves and new directions have been natural and organic ... I didn’t really plan it, I just kind of go with the flow and how I feel."

As for that instantly recognisable signature mood, aesthetic and style, Shya says that meeting Terry Jones of iD and shooting for the magazine early on was a defining moment in his career. “Terry was kind of my mentor in establishing my style. When I met him, he just gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted; that creative freedom was amazing and not something that I could find easily in Hong Kong. I could shoot naked people, or blurry pictures - it was the freedom that gave me the inspiration to create my style."

[caption id="attachment_208570" align="alignnone" width="1383"] Shu Qi opposite Du Juan[/caption]

In late 2017, the Shanghai Centre of Photography held a retrospective exhibition of Shya’s work, titled Acting Out - a collection of personal work as well as broad selection of images from his time as Wong Kar-wai’s on-set stills photographer - curated by noted Chinese art critic and curator Karen Smith from his entire image archive (outtakes and mistakes included). The opening, attended by Shya’s family, was an emotional event for him.

Today, the once-prolific fashion photography has mostly stopped. He still shoots for a select few clients and magazines, but is kept increasingly busy by film protects. But that doesn’t mean Shya doesn’t still keep an eye on the photography and fashion scenes, and the many young photographic talents coming out of Hong Kong, China and Asia.

“My style is already vintage style, a bit nostalgic, and honestly I’m not really up to date any more, but I love what the young photographers are doing -- it’s so exciting. It’s not the same stuff that I can do -- but I love it."

The post Photographer Wing Shya on Light and Shadow appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Probably the most talked about film surrounding the 2020 awards season, Parasite, along with its maker South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho has received an insurmountable amount of attention recently -- and for good reason.

The breakthrough film is a work of art; the genre-bending, class-conscious film twists and turns with dark, thrilling and hilarious moments throughout, making it a quick favourite among audiences, critics and judges around the world. Since winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and winning not one, but four Academy Awards at this year's Oscars (including the biggest win for Best Picture) Bong Joon-Ho is paving a new future for foreign films. Just as the director famously said at the Golden Globes: “Once you’ve overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

And while Parasite seems to be the pinnacle of Bong's 20 year career in film right now, there are some of his previous works worth mentioning too; there's the post-apocalyptic science fiction Snowpiercer starring Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, who also appears in the Netflix action and adventure film Okja alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, among others. It is with that in mind that we thought you might like to know which Bong Joon-Ho films are worth the watch. So here it is, seven must-see movies by the award-winning filmmaker you should see right now.

Barking Dogs Never Bite, 2000

Genre: Drama/comedy

Starring: Doona Bae, Sung-Jae Lee, Ho-jung Kim and more

An idle out of work college lecturer becomes fixated and frustrated by the sound of barking dogs in his apartment building. The down-trodden man decides to take action to silence it.

Memories of Murder, 2003

Genre: Crime/drama/action

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim and more

Set in 1986, two simple-minded detectives are assigned to a double murder investigation in a small South Korean province. They struggle with their investigation to solve the case and find the serial killer.

The Host, 2006

Genre: Action/drama/horror

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Hee-Bong Byun, Hae-il Park and more

The result of careless chemical dumping into Seoul's Han River, a monster emerges from the waters and begins attacking and killing hundreds. The creature then abducts a young daughter and her family endeavour to save her.

Mother, 2009

Genre: Crime/drama/thriller

Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Goo Jin and more

A widowed mother lives with her mentally challenged son in a small town in South Korea. When the body of a horrifically murdered young girl is discovered, circumstantial evidence points to the son. The mother has to do what it takes to clear her son's name.

Snowpiercer, 2014

Genre: Action/drama/science-fiction

Starring: Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song, Tilda Swinton and more

Thanks to a failed experiment to combat climate change, the world's final survivors are on board the Snowpiercer, a high speed train travelling around the globe. A new class system emerges and separates the upper-class citizens from the lower-class who want nothing more than to go to the front of the train.

Okja, 2017

Genre: Action/adventure/drama

Starring: Seo-hyun Anh, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and more

Young Mija has been looking after Okja, a big and brilliant beast, with her grandad for years. But that changes when a multinational conglomerate comes to takes Okja away and Mija is intent on rescuing her dearest friend.

Parasite, 2019

Genre: Comedy/mystery/drama

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Woo-sik Choi and more

A poor family con their way into the lives of a wealthy family by becoming their new employees. However, it gets complicated when their deception is threatened with exposure and the unpredictable occurs.

The post 7 Must-see Movies by Oscar Winning Parasite Director Bong Joon-Ho appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.