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An Exclusive Interview
with Director Benny Chan Muk-sing
(Part II)
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Career
Cinespot: As the icon of new Hong Kong action cinema who has successfully directed many big-scale
action scenes, what do you think is the biggest limitation of doing such scenes in Hong Kong?
Chan: The biggest problem is location, because there are not too many places we can use, you can't
even find a nice hill in Hong Kong now! haha... Actually the government has been showing more and more
support in recent years, but still it would be great if they can help more, like, to lower the charge for
renting their locations, or to minimize the restrictions. For instance, it is still not easy to make movies
at the airport. There are quite some restrictions. But anyway, it is probably not good to make a conclusion
at this point, since every case is different, but I just think sometimes it is... I don't really know how
to put it, but just like sometimes ago the government has banned our application for shooting an assassination
scene at the airport. I don't really know why they didn't approve us to do that, it's just filmmaking
after all. If you have allowed us to make movies in public place, then why limit our freedom of speech or creativity?
Perhaps they wanted to protect the social image, they probably thought that with the efficient security
measure, it is impossible for something like that to happen at the airport. But on the other hand, I think
it would have negative impact on the prestige of the city. Nevertheless, it is still positive to see
that they're willing to take the first step, but certainly it would be great if they can minimize the
restrictions in the future, since Hong Kong is not an autocratic city.
Cinespot: You have "exploded" cars, buildings and even the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
in your previous movies before. Are there any other big exploding scenes you want to try in the future?
Chan: Yes, but it definitely requires a lot of money to do, like, I was always thinking of doing
a big budget action movies about natural disaster, but well, it doesn't necessarily have to be disaster,
it is perhaps something like a signal no. 10 typhoon, so it is going to be a combination of a typhoon
setting and loads of actions. For instance, a thief has to accomplish a mission regardless of the bad
weather... I think it would be really interesting. But as I said, this kind of project needs a lot
of investment. We can certainly do it without any problem in Hollywood, but in Hong Kong, I just haven't
seen anything like that before. In short, there are many topics we can do, but our market is just too
small, so we are still unable to do something like that at the moment.
Cinespot: Tell us some of your experience in doing your big-scale action scenes?
Chan: The knack is the word "rush". When you are filming such big scene in Hong Kong, you have
to finish it real fast. For instance, we only used four hours to film a chasing scene on a bridge for
Divergence. Because the bridge was temporarily closed for us, and so we had to put all our energy
and rushed everything in four hours. Yes, it is really hectic, especially if you compare it to other
countries like Thailand, Singapore, Macau or Malaysia. Their governments are really supportive and willing
to offer whatever help you need, because they understand that movies can raise the prestige of a city or
stimulate the growth of tourism. Take Dae Jang Geum as an example, you probably wouldn't believe its impact
could be so big, that now even a Korean restaurant has become high class... haha. In Hong Kong, the case is quite
different, like, back to our case before, they would only approve our road closing application unless they
can find an alternative route for the drivers, but then in that case, why couldn't they allow us to use
the locations for longer period of time?
I am still making movies in Hong Kong because this is the city I like and have strong emotional feeling,
and certainly I also want to help introduce this beautiful city to international audiences. By the way,
talking about big scenes, I remember there was a time when I was making Big Bullet in 1996, we had
to explode some drinking machine bottles in a building, but we only got 1 hour to do it, and we had to wait
until the sunrise to begin filming, so it was really a hassle. I liked that building a lot, but on the other hand
we absolutely didn't want to receive any complaints from the offices (mostly lawyers' office) there, so it was
absolutely not easy to make it, but the good thing was that we pulled it off successfully and everyone
loved the scene.
Cinespot: As an expert of action movies, what do you think is the most important element to
capture the heart of the audience?
Chan: Quality! That's always the priority, and then it should be creativity. If both elements
can be carried out well, I am sure the audience would like to go to the cinema to see the movie. I
think these are the basic elements, if you couldn't provide anything new in your movie, it is hard to win the
heart of the audience.
Cinespot: So how do you usually look for new ideas each time when you make a movie?
Chan: Haha, it is very difficult! Just as you said before, I am quite familiar with making
action movie, and I know all the tricks and techniques, so I don't really have any big problem
handling it. But in terms of creativity, it is hard to master, there are always infinite room for
new ideas. An inexperienced newcomer can be more creative than a verteran since everyone has different
perspectives. A filmmaker always has to keep pace with the trend and pose himself ahead of the public,
but is it really possible to do so? Especially for filmmakers like us who usually don't have much
time to read during filmmaking. It is not easy. It is more or less like we are sometimes pretending
to be standing ahead. Basically I think we definitely need new ideas, but on the same time we also
have to use the old ones as backup, that is, to tell a new story employing old techniques.
Cinespot: Let's move on to another topic. How did you become a filmmaker?
Chan: Oh, it is really a long story. To make it short, I entered the business by accident. I
have been a film lover since I was very young, I used to watch two Shaw Brothers movies a day, and
also Bruce Lee's movies. It wasn't really hard to get into the business at that time. Due to the
shortage of labor, you only had to finish high school and they would take you. I first joined
Rediffussion TV (later became ATV). It was Johnny Mak Tong-hung's era, his works once became a big
threat to TVB. The directors at that time were very crazy, and most of them has become
successful filmmakers later, like Mak Tong-kit, Tsui Siu-ming, Siu Sang... I was quite able to feel
their ambition and filmmaking talents at that time. Then later I was lucky enough to move to the
film business, and from that on, I began my filmmaking learning process through actual work
experience and observations.
Cinespot: Looking back at your resume, the variety of your work is quite wide, there are
gangster movies like A Moment of Romance, and comedies like Happy Hour. Have you
thought of making non-action movies in the future?
Chan: Probably not, at least not at this moment, perhaps I'll think about it in the future. I
have already formulated my style and direction now, and I hope to follow that direction from now on,
that's why I don't want any divergence at this point. This is my "sam tsa hau" (divergence)! Since
I have decided to specialize in action genre, I guess I'd focus on it now.
Cinespot: What is your work motto?
Chan: Learn from your mistake! The first time you make a mistake, it is because of your ignorance,
and the second time means stupidity. It is really frustrating if you make the same mistake two times. I
don't want to experience that, so I try to learn from my mistake every time.
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Cinespot: Since you are a Christian, have you thought of making a Christian + action movie?
Chan: I don't have such plan right now, but I used to think about directing a
Christian movie, or to produce one.
Cinespot: What about Hollywood, have you considered going there?
Chan: It is all about opportunity, if there is one, sure I would like to try. I
think there are still a lot of rooms for me to improve in Hong Kong, so perhaps I'll do
my best here first, and then think about it later.
Cinespot: Some people say the "new new wave" of Hong Kong cinema is coming. What is
your view on that?
Chan: I hope the new generation can inherit and support the business in the future. I
consider myself a nationalistic man and I believe Hong Kong cinema should never say die! I grew up
watching Hong Kong movies, like movies by Chang Cheh, Lau Ka-leung, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and then
Tsui Hark's Zu: The Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983). I remember I saw Zu
when I first got into the business, and I was amazed by it. It really propelled me to spend more
time to study filmmaking. My biggest obstacle at that time was that I didn't receive any formal training
in filmmaking, so I had to learn about it through actual participation. The filmmaking set was like
a film school to me, and the directors working with me were my teachers. I didn't have any theory to
support myself, so I had to look for one. It was quite a difficult process, but I certainly enjoyed it a
lot. It was especially interesting as you were learning bits by bits every day. Even now I am still
learning, and that's where you find happiness.
I have thought of producing a movie, and I did actually try it before, but after that I found out that
I was not really a good producer. My initial intention to produce was to provide more opportunities for
new directors to work, like, I have produced a movie called Final Romance. After some experience in
working as producer, I began to realize my weakness, that's why I have decided to move back to the directing
stream. Perhaps some years later when I want to see more new faces, I will try to be a producer again,
but it is probably not now since I am still not ready.
Cinespot: What is your next project after Divergence?
Chan: I am still planning, but it will not be carried out this year for sure.
Cinespot: That's all we got. Thank you very much.
Chan: Thank you very much.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the interview was a big success. Director Benny Chan Muk-sing was very generous and
patiently answered all of our questions in details. Again, we would like to appreciate director Chan for
sharing his valuable time with us. Please give a round applause to director Chan!
Special thanks to Golden Scene and Universe HK 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
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Click here to go back to Part I.
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