Hong Kong’s king of comedy Michael Hui hopes to direct a film again after 25-year hiatus - to give the city some hope
Now 74, Godspeed actor known for his perfectionism talks about the art of writing a good script, his hope he can direct films again starting this year, and why there is no such thing as a Hong Kong film any more
After being nominated as best director in Taipei’s prestigious Golden Horse Awards for his 1978 film The Contract, Michael Hui Koon-man thought it was going to become a habit. After all, he had just co-scripted, directed and starred in the now-classic The Last Message (1975) and The Private Eyes (1976), and would go on to cement his place as a Hong Kong comedy legend within a decade.
But for the longest time it seemed that lightning was not going to strike twice.
“I remember that when I was nominated 38 years ago, I thought a nomination would follow every year afterwards,” says the 74-year-old, who was finally nominated again – this time as best actor – for his leading role in the Taiwanese film Godspeed. “If they were to give me the prize this time, it’d be because they thought I didn’t have another 38 years to wait – it would be for humanitarian reasons.”
The cruellest part of the experience for Hui is that – despite heading into the November 26 awards ceremony as favourite for the best leading actor prize – he didn’t win this one, either.
Ironically, missing out on the top honour probably suited Hui just fine: during our 45-minute chat, he shows repeated glimpses of the perfectionism that has made him a solitary artist and one who seldom feels his work is good enough.
