In 2005, when the Chinese film market was in a period of transition, many innovative and cinematic directors were unable to find a platform to display their talents.
As a top star in the film industry, Andy Lau keenly captures the pulse of this era. He realized that for an industry to continue to grow, it must continue to emerge new forces.
As a result, he decisively launched the "Asian Rising Star Guide" plan, and spent 25 million yuan to support potential new directors.
Andy Lau understands in his heart that the rising rookies with outstanding strength and broad vision are the hope for the continued prosperity of the film market. He hopes that through his influence and resources, these aspiring young directors can display their talents and create a brighter and broader tomorrow for Chinese films.
Andy Lau's initiatives show rare foresight and open-mindedness, which is admirable. This also became an important beginning for him to be known as a "godfather" in the future.
The first star director to benefit from Andy Lau's plan was Ning Hao, who later achieved great results. With Andy Lau's funding of 3 million yuan, Ning Hao successfully started filming his debut film "Crazy Stone".
This subversive black humor drama not only won a high box office of 30 million, but also brought a new idea of film themes and styles. It occupies a hot topic of discussion in one fell swoop and is regarded as an innovation in Chinese films.
A few years later, director Ning Hao, who was in full swing, also followed the example of his mentor Andy Lau and launched the "Bad Monkey 72 Movie Project", which specializes in discovering and supporting more outstanding new directors.
Ning Hao realized that the growth of an industry must rely on the continuous participation of new people. He hopes to pass on the opportunities given to Andy Lau to help more newcomers in film.
This spirit of gratitude and gratitude fully demonstrates Director Ning Hao's bearing and mind.
With the help of Ning Hao's "Bad Monkey 72 Movie Project", many talented young directors have been able to show their ambitions in the film industry. Among them, the most successful ones are Wen Muye, Lu Yang, Olympic bids and others.
The films they directed continue to become dark horses in the market, among which the Olympic bid has received a sky-high box office price of 3.8 billion yuan for the exquisite suspense film "All or Nothing".
This fully proves that Andy Lau and Ning Hao's support plan has cultivated a group of new generation directors who have the strength to support the box office. Their film works have novel themes and bold techniques, and continue to inject fresh blood into the Chinese film market.
For example, Wen Muye focused on the shortcomings of the medical system, and the film of the Olympic bid focused on the current hot telecom fraud, all of which showed a strong sense of the times and social responsibility.
These young directors, who were once unknown in the film industry, have quickly grown into the mainstay of films in the new era after gaining development opportunities. Their growth not only demonstrates the foresight of the support plan planned by Andy Lau and Ning Hao, but also makes the Chinese film market vibrant.
This strongly proves that as long as opportunities and support are given, Chinese films will prosper if there are many film talents.
In 2009, after the great results of the early support plan, Andy Lau continued to launch the "Asian Star Gravity Project" to discover more new stars in the film industry. Among them, Wu Ershan is one of the key directors of the program.
With the support of Andy Lau's resources, he won the Best New Director Award at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards for his debut film "Sword Laughter".
Since then, Wu Ershan has gradually grown into one of the top emerging directors in the industry. He has a soft spot for Chinese history and legends, and this year he launched the grand mythological film "Fengshen Trilogy".
The film is ingenious and stunning, and although the first film has a mediocre box office, it undoubtedly has a strong pioneering significance and influence.
Andy Lau has always paid attention to those newcomers and works with a strong spirit of innovation and dreams, and spared no effort to support them with his own resources. And those new directors who have received his help have also proved Andy Lau's foresight through their outstanding works.
They have become representatives of the new power of Chinese cinema and have promoted the continuous development of the film market. This situation of mutual benefit and symbiosis and virtuous circle is exactly the situation that Andy Lau has been trying to create.
After becoming famous, Andy Lau did not rest on his laurels and relied on the aura of the past. He continues to contribute to the development of the Chinese film industry. Andy Lau often stars in films that are not so flattering to the commercial market but are of great significance, just to make these masterpieces come out.
For example, he paid out of his own pocket to invest in the literary film "Sister Peach", which discusses serious topics in the current society. The film revolves around the aging domestic servant group in the city, with strong humanistic care.
and his "Orphaned", which reflects the heartwarming story, is also an unreserved zero-pay performance. This film is based on real events and focuses on the sensitive social issue of "fighting abduction".
In Andy Lau's eyes, the artistic value and positive energy significance of a movie are far higher than the box office revenue. He is not afraid of the risks brought by these non-mainstream themes, just to make more excellent works come out.
It is this spirit of dedication that has won universal respect and admiration both inside and outside the industry.
In recent years, many young directors who have received the help of Andy Lau have grown into first-line directors. They did not forget their original intention and continued to invite the eldest brother to participate in their new projects.
This year, Guo Fan's sci-fi action film "The Wandering Earth 2" is one of the masterpieces. The film pays tribute to Andy Lau's early support for Guo Fan, and also makes Andy Lau rarely dabble in sci-fi performances.
In addition, star director Ning Hao, who has collaborated with Andy Lau in "Infernal Affairs", will also launch a new film "Mr. Red Carpet". The film specially designed a script for Andy Lau and tells the story of an actor's road, which can be called a portrayal of Andy Lau's life.
With the blessing of these cutting-edge directors, Andy Lau's acting career is also becoming broader and broader, advancing with the times.
These cutting-edge filmmakers who have been discovered and promoted by Andy Lau have now grown into powerful helpers for him to expand a wider development space. They also used Andy Lau's box office appeal to make their movies receive higher attention.
This kind of benign interaction and cooperation allows Andy Lau to continue to contribute his talents to Chinese films after the age of 60.
In strong contrast to Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat, who is also a senior in the film industry. In recent years, Chow Yun-fat's word-of-mouth and box office seem to be declining, gradually losing the attention of the audience.
Analysed by comparison, Chow Yun-fat will only stop and repeat his old path, rarely trying to innovate and not discovering new talents.
The new film "Don't Call Me God of Gamblers", which was launched this year, is a typical example. The film is still stuck in the old-fashioned gambling film model, lacking breakthroughs and novelties, and the result is a dismal box office and questioned by the audience.
In contrast, Andy Lau has used his influence to continue to discover and support cutting-edge film talents for many years, and has also made breakthroughs on the road of investment and innovation.
Industry insiders pointed out that Chow Yun-fat should learn Xi from Andy Lau and not talk about misleading the country, but take practical actions to rejuvenate the Chinese film market. He can use his resources and influence to support the growth of new directors, and also make bold innovative attempts in subject matter and style.
Only in this way can we help the Chinese film market continue to prosper, rather than working behind closed doors. Andy Lau used his pioneering spirit and actions to fully prove that in order for an industry to maintain its vitality, it must continue to have fresh blood to join. This has also made the Chinese film market gradually show a benign situation of a hundred flowers blooming under his advocacy for many years.
To sum up, it can be seen that Andy Lau has launched and continued to adhere to a number of plans to support newcomers with his excellent foresight and generous mind of dedication.
He has also supported and promoted the development of the Chinese film market on the road of film investment and innovation. Under his advocacy and drive, a large number of outstanding new film talents have been emerging, injecting a steady stream of vitality into Chinese films.
It is precisely by relying on this long-term vision and open-minded quality that Andy Lau has always been able to occupy a coquettish position in this entertainment industry and win the continuous improvement of reputation and goodwill.
With benevolence, benevolence and practical actions, he actively supports and promotes the prosperity and progress of China's film industry, which can be called the benchmark and model of the entire film industry.