Edmund Pang Ho-cheung[1] (Chinese: 彭浩翔) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist.
Pang Ho-cheung | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pang at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival | |||||||||||
| Born | 22 September 1973 Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, actor, playwright | ||||||||||
| Awards | Hong Kong Film Awards – Best New Director 2004 Men Suddenly in Black Best Screenplay 2011 Love in a Puff Golden Bauhinia Awards – Best Screenplay 2002 You Shoot, I Shoot 2005 Beyond Our Ken Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Best New Director 2004 Men Suddenly in Black | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early life
editPang was born in Hong Kong in 1973. At the age of 15, he started using a video camera to direct short films with his elder brother.[2]
After graduating from high school, he studied abroad in Taiwan for half a year, before returning to Hong Kong, where he worked for Hong Kong Asian Television Limited as a gag show writer. He later wrote his first novel, and served as a columnist for various newspapers and magazines.[2]
Career
editIn 1997, at the age of 24, Pang began 18 months of research for his first novel, Fulltime Killer. The novel went on to become extremely popular, selling more than 100,000 copies in Hong Kong. It was then reworked as a radio program.[2] Johnnie To adapted the novel into a feature film starring Andy Lau in 2001.[3]
While Pang was still a television and radio host, he decided to fulfill his dream of being a film director. [citation needed]
Pang made his feature length debut with You Shoot, I Shoot (2001).[3]
His feature film Love in the Buff opened the 36th Hong Kong International Film Festival, in March 2012. The film is a sequel to the successful romance Love in a Puff. Both star Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue Man-lok.[4] The films have been likened to Hong Kong's version of the Before trilogy.[3][5]
In February 2019, it was reported that Pang was going to write, direct, and produce a film trilogy based on Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron through Pang's Making Films Production company. Each film was slated to receive an $80 million dollar budget.[6]
Style and themes
editPang has been deemed one of Hong Kong cinema's most recognizable directors. However, he is uncomfortable with being categorized as a "Hong Kong director" as he believes the attribution does not fully capture the full range of films within the industry.[3]
Muse magazine film critic Perry Lam has praised Pang for 'often demonstrat[ing] a Kafkaesque talent for seeing the absurd in the mundane realities of everyday life.'[7]
Personal and political views
editIn 2019, actor and pro-democracy supporter Chapman To posted online that he would be cutting all ties with former collaborator Pang Ho-cheung, over the director's condemnation of anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong.[8][9]
Personal life
editPang is married to producer Subi Liang.[3] In 2021, Pang was rumored to have moved to Canada with his wife, over frustrations surrounding mainland Chinese censorship laws.[10]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Undercover Blues | No | Yes | zh: 刑杀之法 | |
| Killers | No | Yes | zh: 刀手 | ||
| 2001 | The Cheaters | No | Yes | zh: 正将 | |
| 2001 | You Shoot, I Shoot | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Vincent Kok | |
| 2003 | Men Suddenly in Black | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Patrick Kong & Erica Lee | |
| 2004 | Beyond Our Ken | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Wong Wing-Sze | |
| 2005 | A.V. | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Wenders Li & Sam Chak-Foon | |
| 2006 | Isabella | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Kearen Pang, Derek Tsang, & Jimmy Wan | |
| 2007 | Exodus | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Cheuk Wan-chi & Jimmy Wan | |
| Trivial Matters | Yes | Yes | zh: 破事儿 | ||
| 2010 | Love in a Puff | Yes | Yes | co-write with Heiward Mak | |
| Dream Home | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Derek Tsang, & Jimmy Wan Chi-man | ||
| 2012 | Love in the Buff | Yes | Yes | [11] | |
| Vulgaria | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Lam Chiu-wing & Luk Yee-sum | ||
| 2014 | Aberdeen | Yes | Yes | [12] | |
| Women Who Flirt | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Luk Yee-sum | ||
| 2017 | Love Off the Cuff | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Luk Yee-sum & Jimmy Wan Chi-man | [5] |
| 2019 | Missbehavior | Yes | Yes | co-wrote with Sunny Lau | [13] |
Producer
edit- 指甲刀人魔 (short film) (2010)
- 假戏真做 (short film) (2010)
- 谎言大作战 (short film) (2010)
- 爱在微博蔓延时 (short film) (2010)
- A Nail Clipper Romance (2017)
Novelist
edit- Fulltime Killer (2001)
Actor
edit- Mysterious Story I: Please Come Back (1999)
- The Faterangers (1999)
- You Shoot, I Shoot (2001)
- Leaving in Sorrow (2001)
- Men Suddenly in Black (2003)
References
edit- ^ Scott, Matthew (9 February 2009). "Eager actress not ready to go the full distance". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Pang Ho-Cheung:Biography
- ^ a b c d e Kerr, Elizabeth (19 April 2017). "The Most Hong Kong Man in Cinema? A Meeting with Pang Ho-Cheung". Zolima City Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Film festival offers global gems, SCMP, 24 February 2012
- ^ a b Kerr, Elizabeth (11 April 2017). "'Love Off the Cuff': Film Review | Hong Kong 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Chu, Karen (13 February 2019). "Hong Kong Director Pang Ho-cheung to Adapt 'The Deer and the Cauldron' Into $240M Trilogy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Lam, Perry (April 2010). "'Unapologetically local'". Muse Magazine (39): 99.
- ^ "【兄弟決裂】彭浩翔微博轉發「我是護旗手」 昔日戰友杜汶澤：我唔會原諒你 - 香港經濟日報 - TOPick - 娛樂". topick.hket.com. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Chapman To Blasts Director Pang Ho Cheung for Being a Chinese Flag Protector – JayneStars.com". Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Pang Ho Cheung rumoured to have moved to Canada". sg.style.yahoo.com. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ Lee, Maggie (21 March 2012). "Love in the Buff". Variety. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Kuipers, Richard (24 March 2014). "Hong Kong Film Review: 'Aberdeen'". Variety. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Lee, Edmund (29 January 2019). "Missbehavior: Pang Ho-cheung's Chinese New Year comedy". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 August 2021.