The just-concluded 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards, the results were somewhat unexpected.
However, when 72-year-old Sammo Hung received the Lifetime Achievement Award trophy from Ai Jia, the female advocate of the literary film "Eight Liang Gold" in 1989, and 76-year-old Jiang David won the Academy Award when he was nominated for the Academy Award for the first time, it was still difficult for me not to be moved by this Academy Awards.
"Under the White Sun," which led with 16 nominations, and "Diary of a Youth," which had 12 nominations, did not emerge as big winners. "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" won Best Picture.
The bigger surprise is: Tony Leung has been named the best actor for six times, and the best comment is to correct Carina Lau's sentence, "It's not great, it's just a good actor." ”
Zheng Baorui won the best director for "Murder".
More exciting and more mixed feelings than the results are always the award ceremony itself.
The red carpet is lively enough.
Installed at the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade opposite the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, a group of celebrities gathered to set off the beautiful scenery of Victoria Harbour.
First of all, Yu Xiangning, the queen of the movie, made a sexy appearance in a golden backless dress.
She was smiling and temperamental, as if she knew the results of the awards in advance, shining on the red carpet.
The two leading actors of "Rice Drama 2" Deng Lixin and Lin Mingzhen appeared on the red carpet together, and the sister-in-law and sister-in-law are very beautiful.
If you want to talk about the atmosphere, it has to be Carina Lau, who made a high-level appearance, and she replaced Tony Leung to accept the award, with a calm and atmospheric face, which is called the style of a general.
Xie Anqi is dressed in a simple design, and her gaze at Zhang Jicong is undoubtedly true love.
The most beautiful in the audience, I think it is Lin Xilei, who is nearly 50 years old, wearing a black gauze fishtail skirt with an elegant design, showing a superior body curve and shoulder and neck line, which makes people marvel at beauty.
is also anti-aging, as well as the 58-year-old Hong Kong sister Gao Lihong, who holds hands with Sammo Hung, even if her face is wrinkled, she is still beautiful and shining.
Among the male stars, Huang Zihua actually showed a bit of elegance in his playfulness.
Lin Baoyi appeared wearing a small spotted bow tie, and the wrinkles on her face were obvious, but she was still very cute when she smiled.
Wu Kangren, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, appeared in a white suit, elegant and handsome, with an excellent figure.
As one of the few "internal entertainment elements", Dapeng, who nominated the actor, faced the reporter's request, "1, 2, 3!" jumped up on the red carpet. It's him tonight's red carpet comedy.
The most beautiful thing in Victoria Harbour this night is not the starlight in the sky, but the starlight on the ground.
But the liveliness of the red carpet can't cover up the loneliness of Hong Kong films.
Of the three major awards for Chinese films, only the Golden Rooster is independent.
With the decline of Hong Kong films, the influence of the Academy Awards has gradually disappeared.
Through this Academy Awards, I saw three "joys and sorrows".
Another Academy Awards with mixed joys and sorrows is nothing more than a reflection of Hong Kong films, with a mixture of joys and sorrows for another year.
The red carpet has been lively, and the results of the awards have been released, let's take a look at where the "joy" and "sadness" are in this Academy Awards.
The first joy: Tony Leung has no surprises in the six awards, but Lin Baoyi and Huang Zihua have become the uncrowned kings
When I was on the red carpet, I had a hunch that Tony Leung might be going to win the award.
It is said that the Academy Awards respect the elderly.
Whoever stays in the circle for a long time is the actor and actress.
The actors in recent years, Liu Qingyun, Taibao, Aaron Kwok, Louis Koo, and Lin Jiadong, are all good actors and old qualifications.
Tony Leung, Lin Baoyi, Huang Zihua, Dapeng, Lu Zhenye, Tony Leung, Lin Baoyi and Huang Zihua are all "powerful factions" whose acting skills are highly recognized.
Compared with "The Eighth Suspect", he gained 20 pounds and lost 30 pounds, and his performance also made a breakthrough, but he was limited by the fact that mainland movie stars have not won awards since Jet Li, and the actor was between the three of them from the beginning.
The end result was no surprise.
In the past, Tony Leung was a five-time Golden Statue actor, and after tonight, he will be a six-time Golden Statue actor.
In "Goldfinger" written and directed by Zhuang Wenqiang, Cheng Yiyan played by him, from the difficulty and introversion in the early stage, to the conceit and madness in the later stage, he still exudes superstar brilliance. Coupled with winning the Golden Rooster Actor, he became the "Three Golden Actors", and his momentum is flourishing, but in all fairness, this is by no means his best performance.
But judging from the word-of-mouth of netizens, the next two are the uncrowned kings in the hearts of the audience.
Let's talk about Huang Zihua first.
"The Bad Tongue Lawyer" won an astonishing HK$115 million in Hong Kong, becoming the highest-grossing local film in Hong Kong film history, and another 187 million yuan at the box office in the mainland.
If it is replaced by any other actor, the Hong Kong box office of the film will be at most half of what it is now, let alone save the market.
Huang Zihua's performance is amazing, the courtroom drama is full of infectiousness, and the audience can breathe a bad breath when they watch his performance. Wong Zihua has proven that he is the most talented comedian in Hong Kong after Hui Guanwen and Stephen Chow.
In the previous Hong Kong Film Writers Guild Awards, his idol Xu Guanwen presented the award to him, and the next "Breaking Hell" he collaborated with Xu Guanwen is also the highlight of the Hong Kong film year.
He won everything he could, but the Academy Awards have always been stingy with comedians, and the final result is not that Huang Zihua lacks an Academy Award, but that the Academy Awards lack an actor Huang Zihua.
Finally, there is Lin Baoyi.
Originally, the role of the director of the remnant was his, but Lin Baoyi was filming "Bridge of Sighs" at the time.
Later, the movie couldn't find investment because of the subject matter, and in the end, it was Hong Kong's last film tycoon Louis Koo who took over this future dark horse, Louis Koo originally wanted to play the dean himself, but after the makeup was set, he found that it was not suitable.
Louis Koo personally spoke to Lin Baoyi, fate went round and round, and the role returned to Lin Baoyi's head.
This casting is already half the winner.
Let Lin Baoyi, who is used to playing a good guy, play such a "perverted" role, the more he doesn't look like a bad guy, the more exciting the role is, because the bad guy in reality will not write the word bad guy on his face.
has already proven his acting skills in TVB, and Lin Baoyi, who only lacks an emperor, has completely taken the role of the dean of the remnant hospital, which is subversive enough.
Good face + "big perversion".
Lam's performance is still and deep, deliberately enhancing body language and details, and showing darkness and complexity in a quiet and subtle manner.
Whether it is the calm and deceit of being in the hands of power, or the struggling to cope after the incident is exposed. They all handle the characters very well.
He deserved to win the award.
For so many years, this recognized acting school has always been empty-handed, and it should be embarrassing not Lin Baoyi, but Hong Kong movies.
Although there are no surprises in the final result, the audience's reputation is far heavier than the sixth Academy Award trophy that Carina Lau lifted for Tony Leung.
The second joy: "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" won the best movie, and Hong Kong films embarked on a new road
The best film at this year's Academy Awards was originally two small-budget literary films, the dispute between "Under the White Sun" and "Young Diary".
One of the two won 16 nominations and the other 12 nominations, with Douban scores of 8.2 and 8.5 respectively, which also makes 2024 a rare year for literary films at the Academy Awards.
But in the end, it was "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" that broke the local box office record in Hong Kong.
It's an upset, but it's reasonable.
In a way, "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" is like a knife.
A blunt knife soaked in salt water.
The movie not only uses the poisonous tongue played by Huang Zihua to attack the injustice of reality.
also used a happy finale to open another door for Hong Kong commercial films.
In Huang Zihua's poisonous tongue, I saw the dawn of a new generation of Hong Kong films.
I hope that the surprise of Hong Kong-made commercial films can continue forever.
The third surprise: Sammo Hung said domineeringly, but the birth of a new generation of Hong Kong film queens has roots and roots
Many people don't know that the second Best Actor of the Hong Kong Film Awards is Sammo Hung .
And at this year's Academy Awards, the fat man who was once the most flexible in Hong Kong films finally won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
As a veteran of Hong Kong films, Sammo Hung was domineering when he came to the stage, and asked the audience to give a standing ovation: Sit down!
Then began to thank one by one, and when it came to thanking a group of "dragon and tiger brothers who can do anything", Qian Jiale in the audience smiled like a flower.
Speaking of family, I first thanked my ex-wife who gave birth to four children, and then changed the conversation, and then thanked my current wife.
Sammo Hung humor also brought the atmosphere of the most heavyweight award to a climax, and everyone was very happy.
But the most exciting thing is the final finish, Sammo Hung said, "I have won the best actor, I have won two lifetime achievement awards, and now I am missing a best director award." "I hope to make more than a dozen more movies and win another Best Director Award, and I will be happy.
It's really an old man, with ambitions for thousands of miles.
Respecting the elderly is indeed a tradition of the Academy Awards.
Let's just say that the Best Supporting Actor at this year's Academy Awards, Jiang David,
It's hard to imagine that this representative of Shaw Brothers martial arts films, a veteran of Hong Kong films who won the Asian Film Awards at a young age, was nominated for the Academy Awards for the first time, but he finally defeated Xie Junhao to win the award and created a moving moment at this year's Academy Awards.
"In the past few decades, I have only done one job in my life, which is that of a filmmaker. It gave me everything, family, work, friends. If there is a second life, I want to continue to be a filmmaker. ”
But fortunately, there is respect for the elderly, and there is also a welcome for the new.
The Hong Kong Film Awards finally produced another young local actress.
The Academy Award actresses in recent years are either mainland actresses like Liu Yase, or veteran actresses like Sammi Cheng and Hui Yinghong.
In fact, it has also witnessed the lack of success in the Hong Kong film industry.
But this time, a hot newcomer finally emerged, Yu Xiangning.
This year's Academy Actress can be said to be the most suspenseless award.
The singer Xie Anqi was already encouraged, Wang Danni's acting skills are still not strong enough, Lian Shiya and Zhong Xueying's performance is a breakthrough relative to herself, and it is unrealistic to win the actress.
Therefore, Yu Xiangning, who has won the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Annual Awards, the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, and the Hong Kong Online Film Critics Awards one after another, has already held the trophy in her arms.
Hong Kong film actresses have been out of generation for a long time, and after Wen Yongshan, there is finally another one who can run out, which is really a blessing for Hong Kong films.
After watching the triple "joy", I have to face the reality and sort out the three major Hong Kong films reflected in this year's Academy Awards.
That is, this year's Academy Awards, triple "sad".
The first tragedy: Literary films prop up box office word-of-mouth, and action movies disappear without a trace?
Among the nominees for Best Film at this year's Academy Awards, there are five heavyweight films, namely "Goldfinger", "The Bad Tongue Lawyer", "Diary of a Youth", "Under the White Sun", and "Murder".
Judging from the results, low-cost literary films are outstanding.
Not only word of mouth, but also box office.
Among the five films, the mainland box office of "Goldfinger", which attracted audiences with its double actors, was 574 million, and the local box office in Hong Kong was 43.43 million Hong Kong dollars. "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" is not as good as "Goldfinger" at the mainland box office, but it has set a record of breaking 100 million yuan for Hong Kong local films.
The domestic box office of "Murder" is 11.5 million Hong Kong dollars, and it has not been released in the mainland.
On the surface, the results are okay, but considering the relatively high cost of several films, the next two films are the great achievements of the small soldiers.
"Under the White Sun" has a local box office of 22.28 million Hong Kong dollars, which is definitely a box office dark horse, and it is still being released in the mainland.
With an investment of only 3.25 million Hong Kong, "Young Diary" received a box office of 25.89 million Hong Kong dollars, which is a model of small and broad.
On the surface, Hong Kong films such as "Under the White Sun" and "Young Diary" have ushered in a "little spring" for Hong Kong films, and after police and bandit action Hong Kong films have made the audience aesthetically fatigued, these low-cost Hong Kong films have sent a new wind to the market.
Isn't that hi?
The problem is that the strength of low-budget films with realistic themes just reflects the weakness of traditional commercial films made in Hong Kong.
In 2024, there will be only one local film in the top 10 box office in Hong Kong, China.
What's worse is the performance of Hong Kong films in the mainland market.
"The Bad Tongue Lawyer", Huang Zihua's biggest trump card, has always been the most appealing in Cantonese-speaking areas, with a box office of less than 200 million in the mainland.
The best-grossing "Goldfinger" is less than 600 million.
In contrast, at the 40th Academy Awards two years ago, among the major films, "Bomb Disposal Expert 2" and "Rage: Serious Case" all exceeded 1 billion at the mainland box office, and there were also literary and artistic masterpieces such as "Drifting in Turbid Water", "Hand Rolled Cigarettes" and "Wisdom Teeth".
The Hong Kong films of that year actually opened up two paths:
First, such as police and bandits, action, and crime types, represent the core competitiveness of Hong Kong films:
Even if it is questioned as having no new ideas, there is no substitute in Chinese-language films.
The second is a small production, looking down from a perspective, returning to Hong Kong's local humanistic memory and the bottom groups.
That is, to make commercial films to earn box office with one hand, and to explore literary and artistic themes with the other hand, a two-pronged approach.
However, the situation in the past year is: the traditional strength of Hong Kong films, police and gangster films, have all failed in the mainland market, and "Anti-Drug 3", which gathers three actors, failed miserably at the box office.
Even if there are small-budget films to support the momentary scenes, the future of Hong Kong films is full of uncertainty after all.
The second sadness: the elderly group won the award, the newcomers rose with difficulty, where is the future of Hong Kong films
The bigger crisis is the aging of Hong Kong films.
At last year's Academy Awards, Wu Zhenyu ridiculed Liu Qingyun, an "ordinary citizen" who had three movie awards:
"The reason why Hong Kong movies are not accepted is because Liu (Qing) Yun is still continuing to take on dramas. ”
Take a closer look at the list of winners of this year's Academy Awards, and you will find a sad reality: in addition to the actress, the winner is still an "old man".
Six-time actor Tony Leung is 61 years old, Jiang David is 76 years old, Sammo Hung is 72 years old, Huang Zihua is 63 years old, Xie Junhao is 60 years old, Lin Baoyi is 58 years old, Lin Jiadong is 56 years old, and Louis Koo is 53 years old...... Twenty years ago, thirty years ago, and even forty or fifty years ago, it was already active on the big and small screens.
Wu Zhenyu said that Hong Kong films are not accepted because Liu Qingyun is still acting. But if these veteran Hong Kong stars take a back seat, how can there be newcomers in the Hong Kong circle who can hold up the scene?
In that case, I'm afraid that Hong Kong films will not be in disarray, but completely hit the streets.
Of course, a new wave of talented newcomers is emerging.
But let's put it bluntly, even if it's this year's actress, how many people know each other in the mainland?
The post-80s and post-90s generations who should be the mainstay of Hong Kong movies today are out of generation, Jiang Tao and other new generation of Hong Kong top idols, mainland audiences don't buy it at all, and Hong Kong movies are of course still supported by the old guys.
Of course, without a successor, it is not the most terrible for Hong Kong films.
Because of the next "sadness", it is likely to kill Hong Kong movies.
The third sadness: It's not that the Academy Awards are complacent and self-congratulatory, but that Hong Kong films are no longer able to lead the trend
Many people say that in recent years, the Academy Awards have turned themselves into awards ceremonies for Hong Kong's local films to "entertain themselves".
That's right, the Hong Kong Film Awards have always been the primary task of encouraging Hong Kong films.
But to say that the Academy Awards are willing to entertain themselves, I don't believe it.
It's not enough to just look at the 42nd Academy Awards, let's look a little farther.
In the second Academy Awards, Ann Hui won a big victory, Andy Lau was nominated for the best newcomer, and Sammo Hung won the best actor.
The twelfth, look at this year's Best Film nominations: "Ruan Lingyu", "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qier", "Wong Fei Hung 2", in the end, Maggie Cheung won the actress, Leung Jiahui defeated Xing Ye's "Judge of the Dead" to win the actor, and the best supporting actor was Liao Shu Liao Qizhi.
For the twenty-second, one movie is enough, "Infernal Affairs".
Liu Weiqiang won the best director and best film, and Tony Leung and Li Xinjie won the best actor and actress respectively.
Just ask: Who would think that the Hong Kong Film Awards at that time were just entertaining themselves? Hong Kong films are shining stars and have already swept across Asia.
By the 32nd session, the decline was suddenly apparent.
The biggest attraction is just the big winner "Cold War", Leung Jiahui won the best actor again with the film.
Therefore, the Academy Awards are gradually conservative, is it really the problem of the Academy Awards? Or is it all rooted in Hong Kong films.
As far as Hong Kong films are concerned, it was the right time and place to sweep the entire Chinese-speaking circle back then, and it was the choice of the times to lead the trend in the world.
But the tide will eventually come to an end.
When Hong Kong films no longer have the luxury of influencing the world. The only option is to return to the homeland.
The same is true for the Hong Kong Film Awards.
The influence of the Hong Kong Film Awards has always been Hong Kong films, not how the Awards operate.
Even if the Academy Awards, as some people say, become an award for the whole Chinese-speaking region, but under the weak momentum of Hong Kong films, the Academy Awards can shine brightly?
On the contrary, I think that the Academy Awards have returned to their original regional nature and cut off those unrealistic ambitions. Instead, he found his original intention.
Hong Kong films are based in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Film Awards are based on Hong Kong films.
That's right. The mistake is that times have changed.
But the myths of Hong Kong movies in the 80s and 90s were an accident of the times.
The waves run, the waves flow, and the waves pass.
Originally, there was no need to be sad.
Whether it is a Academy Awards, or the golden age of a generation of Hong Kong filmmakers, in the history of Chinese films, it is just a moment in the ocean.
A generation will eventually grow old, but there will always be people who are hot and hot.
Wang Jing said well, there are no Hong Kong movies, only Chinese movies.
Hong Kong films have the experience and level of shooting mature genre films, and they will be integrated into Chinese films in the future and will not disappear completely.
In this way, it seems that there is no need to be sad for Hong Kong films.
However, for real Hong Kong film fans, if you have seen the charm of Hong Kong films that you have never forgotten for thousands of years, you have felt those lingering image memories.
After experiencing a series of twists and turns such as the Golden Age, recession, going north, and compatibility, Hong Kong films finally lost their way and relied on a bunch of 60-year-old men to support the scene.
No matter how splendid the red carpet of this year's Academy Awards is, at a glance, the Hong Kong film goddess who has been peerless and has made a generation look at it for thousands of years is old after all.
Call me how don't you want her?