Cinespot : An Exclusive Interview with Hong Kong Director Derek Yee Tung-sing

An Exclusive Interview
with Director Derek Yee Tung-sing
(Part II)

Career and past works

Cinespot: As a two-time HKFAA winner, how would you define your position in this field?

Yee: How would I define my position? I guess I would only say I am one of the directors who is still working in the business. Now we have less than 100 active directors in Hong Kong. some have moved to other streams, some have changed their jobs, some have retired. Like, Johnny Mak Tong-hung (producer of Long Arm of the Law, To Be Number One etc) has already turned his focus to TV business, and Chui Siu-ming is also working at Cable TV now. Since there are only about 30~40 active directors currently, the number is so small, it is meaningless to define any position, I would only say I am one of the working directors.

Cinespot: Many people say your films are humanitarian as you always show very strong sympathy for the lower class of the society. Do you agree?

Yee: I think... many directors are like that. Personally I enjoy telling stories that are moving and are about human relationships. It is hard to really recall these thoughts. Sometimes when I was watching my old films, I couldn't even clearly analyze what I was thinking at that time too.

Cinespot: What is your biggest influence?

Yee: I don't really have very strong intention when making movies. Usually I start a project if I think the topic is interesting and the audience will enjoy watching. I have many stories stored on my computer, and I also read a variety of books. Like, in 1995 before the production of Sleepless Town, I have already started doing research and paying attention to the stories of Chinese living in Japan. Until now I still keep an eye on it occassionally, as I think it is a very interesting topic. Basically whenever I've found anything interesting, I would store them up first and see if I can use them in the future.
Actually I really wanted to make a movie about veterinarian, but it is very hard to convince investors to invest millions of dollars on an animal, they just couldn't take the risk. Why would people want to invest on wuxia movies? Because it has overseas market. Our market just isn't big enough to house more movies of diffrent genres. Nobody would want to spend 4~5 millions to film a pig. They only know that there are many pigs in the supermarket, but they just don't know how difficult and complicated it is to film a pig or a dog. They don't believe animal is attractive to the audience. Actually it is always hard to sell an animal movie to investors, no matter in Hong Kong or other places. Even though we can see that many animal movies are successful, the investors would still think it is more practical to spend the money on superstars instead of on animals. But the fact is, if you ask me to group some pigs, dogs, cats and geese and make a movie to compete with a blockbuster starring Andy Lau, I am sure Andy would feel intimidated too. I believe that it is not hard to find the audience, just like the Japanese movie Quill last year, it received positive response too.

Cinespot: What is your thoughts about the critical success of One Nite in Mongkok?

Yee: It doesn't really mean a lot. At that night after I picked up the Best Director award at HKFAA, I already had to head for the studio to continue the post-production work of 2 Young immediately. Even if your previous movies have done really well, it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want in your next movies. Perhaps your boss would give you more freedom if your previous works have made a lot of money, but then if your next movie fails at the box office, everything would change again. In general, I think winning an award only gives you an extra of 10% help.

Cinespot: Do you care about the box office result of your movies?

Yee: Yes, a lot! At least it has to offset the budget. Nowadays audiences don't really care about your resume, they simply buy the ticket/dvd and expect to see a good movie. Actually I think we have a high demand for movies, even if the audiences don't go to the cinema, the TV studio would buy the right and broadcast the movies on TV. Certainly making movie is not as profitable as before, but you can still calculate the long run profit, since the dvd can be distributed again and again even 50 years after the release of a movie. The most risky part of making movie is the uncertainties. For example, weather really plays an important role in filmmaking. We would lose a lot of money if it rains and delays the production schedule. But overall speaking, with careful planning, it shouldn't be too hard to offset the budget. I think some big companies couldn't make money because they have too many employees.

Cinespot: The mainland version of One Nite in Mongkok is different from the Hong Kong version. Some of the violent scenes are gone. Do you think the mainland market is limiting the creativity of Hong Kong filmmakers?

Yee: I think it is just a transition. The censorship policy of mainland has been evolving in the past 10~15 years, and if you compare it with other countries', you would realize that the growth is very fast instead. Actually our movies also receive censorship treatment in other countries like Singapore, Malaysia and some Muslim countries... there are always some restrictions. I think Hong Kong filmmakers have adapted to these policies and understand that different countries may have different policies in censorship. You know that mainland now is considering to establish a film rating system? But certainly there are a lot of technical issues they have to solve first. Take Hong Kong as an example, we have been enforcing a film rating system for a long time already, but still there are always a lot of problems carrying it out. Basically, I think the film commission in mainland has a good intention about film rating. As for co-production, they are generally supportive. Their attitude is very positive.
In Hong Kong, One Nite in Mongkok got a IIB rating, but in mainland, since the film was not rated, anyone regardless of age could see it, that's why they had to delete some of the violent scenes. I also turned one of the scene with Daniel being punched into black and white, since it would look less bloody and violent in that way. I guess it wouldn't really affect the dramatic structure, as the film also begins in black and white. I understand that they probably don't want to promote violence, as the number of juvenile violence cases has been increasing in recent years. That also explains why it is not easy to make movies about triad society now. Even if the ending shows the gangsters being arrested, there are perhaps still many moments throughout the movies that may contain detailed depictions of triads' activities. It really plays a bad influence on some of the audiences who are not that well educated. I believe that film rating is necessary, as the influence of a movie can be enormous.

Cinespot: You seem to be a believer of quality over quantity, as you have only produced one movie a year in these few years, like Lost in Time in 2003 and One Nite in Mongkok in 2004, and both are well acclaimed works. But this year you're scheduled to direct two movies. In addition to the upcoming 2 Young, you'll also direct a romantic comedy. Why would you want to make more movies this year?

Yee: Actually I was supposed to finish these two movies last year, we have the scripts of these two movies ready long ago, and the crew is basically the same group of people. We didn't make it last year because the market was not that good, and the investors became really cautious, they wanted to take more time to observe the market first and so they were postponed. This kind of thing always happened to me, that includes C'est La Vie Mon Cheri, nobody trusted me and so I had to do it myself. When you work with some big companies, you have a lot of people to help you to handle the issues of marketing, sales, etc, but my company only has five people, you can realize how tough it would be for us to make the movie ourselves. I don't really enjoy the role of producer, as most of the works are not related to filmmaking.

Cinespot: Talking about the domestic film market, what is your view on the future of Hong Kong cinema? Do you still have strong faith in our market?

Yee: I didn't really try to think about this question. But take last year as an example, we had less than a hundred movies, but still there're so many poor ones. In the past we had 300 movies a year, and perhaps 100 of them were good, but last year we only had about 60~70, and you tell me how many bad movies you have seen? I don't really want to name them one by one, but I have seen a few that really pissed me off, and those so-called big movies were also bad.
This year, most of the big movies were actually made last year, so I predict the number of production will still go down. But on the other hand, having fewer movies isn't really that bad, if the overall quality is better, that may actually rekindle the interest of the audience. This year we'll have the highly anticipated movies like Initial D and Seven Swords, I hope they can bring the audience back to the cinema.

Cinespot: Can you tell us something about the romantic comedy you are making now?

Yee: The film title is Thousand Cups No Drunk (Literally as there is no official English title yet, and the title basically means someone who has strong alcohol tolerence). It is a romantic comedy with some touching moments. Miriam Yeung plays a girl who never gets drunk. I am not sure if you notice, female are usually more tolerent of alcohol. They don't get drunk easily. So Miriam is always sober and she really hates the guys who get drunk and talk non-sense. One day, she comes across a guy who is not good at drinking, and that is Daniel Wu...

The Future

Cinespot: We know that you have employed some recent film program graduates to work on the set of 2 Young. What is your view on these newcomers?

Yee: Th program was jointly organized by the government and the film industry. They have an assistant director class over there, and some of the tutors are my friends, so I picked two of the students to intern. Yes, the cost of hiring them is cheap, but the most important thing is whether they are really helpful. If you have someone who doesn't know anything, it'd actually hinder the progress of the production. Due to the poor market, there are more and more people leaving their jobs in our field, and it is unlikely that they'll come back, that is why it is necessary to fill up the empty slots. So this time I tried to give them an opportunity to learn. In mainland, there are many new talents every year, and there are film schools everywhere. Perhaps we'll have to import filmmaking crew from mainland in the future, but in that case, it'd be really bad for the newcomers in Hong Kong.

Cinespot: But is the market big enough to house so many new workers?

Yee: It is certainly very difficult to house all of them... so at least you have to be an elite! If you want to break into the filmmaking business, you need to be smart and have some connections. Cuss is also very common among the crew, and no matter you are a girl or newcomer or anything, you would be bashed fiercely if you have done something wrong. You may think you are working with some gangsters or lunatics, so you really have to be well prepared to face such situations. On the other hand, filmmaking is a freelance job, and you can get your wage increased real fast. For example, in my previous movie, I was trying to hire an efficient assistant director I know, but I just couldn't afford it as his salary has increased a lot. As a matter of fact, an experienced assistant director can make HK$30000 and think about it and you'll see that the wage is not low. Many directors start out as office boy, but it is never easy to endure. Nowadays the biggest problem of most people who want to start a career in filmmaking is that they have a huge burden as their family need them to support their living. Compared to mainland where the film students can make a living easily with some part time jobs, it is almost impossible for us to do the same thing in Hong Kong.

Cinespot: Why would you want to turn your career focus from acting to directing?

Yee: It is my interest. If you enjoy it, you'd do it. Actually before I became an actor, I've written a script for John Keung (Yee's brother), and together with Eric Tsang, we spent about 10 years to make it, and the title is Legend of the Owl, The. Because I am really into filmmaking, I would do my observation carefully when the others are making their movies.

Cinespot: The last question, do you have anything to share with the ambitious young people who want to develop a career in filmmaking?

Yee: There are two categories, that is, acting and filmmaking. About acting, I don't want to be discouraging, but first you have to make sure you understand yourself well. You don't necessarily have to be very handsome or gorgeous, and in fact even if you look weird, it is ok, because we always need different kinds of face, but the preliminary condition you want to meet is that whether you are eloquent or not. Stop daydreaming if you can't even articulate yourself well, get some training first instead. But on the other hand, I think we still need to pay some respect for those who are not that articulate but are very passionate about the business, haha... It is not always easy for us to clearly understand our weakness. Basically, what I want to say is, don't be misled by the media and think that pop idols can become famous and make money easily. The entertainment circle needs idols, but if your only intention is to hold the spotlight, I am sure you couldn't survive in this field for too long. Take a look at some of the popular idols now, again, I wouldn't name them, but you can see that they really don't know what they are doing, they are just smoking crack every day... So if you really love acting, you have to consider carefully. Many would think the people in the show business are very realistic, but I think it is just no different from any other businesses, you think it is more realistic only because we are more visible to the public.
About filmmaking, that is, the positions behind the camera, you have to expect to struggle in the first few years. But after that, it'll pay back. The key to success is diligence. No matter you are a film school graduate or not, you have to work hard to gain experience, and then you will be promoted quick. If you are lazy and just treat your job as pastime, it is meaningless to stay in the business. Perhaps you can go open a grocery store instead. Filmmaking is a risky business, even if you are a renowned director, if your movie fails at the box office, nobody would want to invest on your next movie for a long time, and certainly your reputation would be affected too. Second, you have to be active looking for job in the first year of your career, you can't just sit there and wait for jobs to come, you have to network with the producers and assisant directors and strive for work opportunities. As I said, this is a business that requires strong connections. It is important to get the people in the business to be aware of your existence and admire your ability. For example, I used to promote an assistant director. He started out as an office boy, and now he has become the second assistant director of Andrew Lau Wai-keung.
Lastly, I think destiny plays an important part too. Yes, everyone has different destiny and encounters...

Cinespot: That's all we got. Thank you very much for spending a good afternoon with us.

Yee: Thank you very much.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the interview was a big success. Director Derek Yee Tung-sing was very generous and patiently answered all of our questions in details. Again, we would like to appreciate director Yee for taking his valuable time and sharing his insight with us. Please give a round applause to director Yee!

Special thanks to Film Unlimited Production for coordinating and making the interview possible.

Thank you!

Host / Text: Eric Liu
Photos: Claudia Wong
Planning: Eric Liu, K. Lui
Translation: K. Lui

4/2005

Click here to go back to Part I.