The New King of Comedy
The New King of Comedy (Chinese: 新喜剧之王) is a 2019 Chinese comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by Stephen Chow.[3][4] It is a remake of Chow's own 1999 film King of Comedy; this time set in Mainland China with different characters.
The New King of Comedy | |
---|---|
Traditional | 新喜劇之王 |
Simplified | 新喜剧之王 |
Mandarin | Xīn Xǐjù Zhī Wāng |
Directed by | Stephen Chow |
Produced by | Stephen Chow |
Written by | Stephen Chow |
Starring | E Jingwen Wang Baoqiang Zhang Quandan Jing Ruyang Zhang Qi Yuan Xingzhe |
Distributed by | Lian Rui (Shanghai) Film Industry Co., Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | China |
Language | Mandarin |
Budget | $8 million (50 million RMB) |
Box office | Worldwide:US$106.6million China:US$93.9million[1] Malaysia:US$4.9million[2] HK:US$3.8million Singapore:US$1.6million Vietnam:US$2.4million |
The film tells the story of a young woman who is dreaming and striving to pursue the actors' dream despite being an extra and stand-in. It was released in China on 5 February 2019 during the Lunar New Year 2019.[5] With a budget of $8 million (US) along with few months of filming and post-production, it is believed to be the smallest project of Chow's career as a filmmaker.
Cast
- E Jingwen as Ru Meng
- Wang Baoqiang as Ma Ke
- Zhang Quandan as Charlie
- Jing Ruyang as Xiao Mi
- Zhang Qi as Ru Meng's father
- Yuan Xingzhe as Ru Meng's mother
Production
Stephen Chow began writing the film in 2015.[6] Filming began in October 2018 and lasted only a few weeks.
For the movie, Chow cast people who could relate to the life of a struggling actor. He intentionally sought out Wang to play the male lead role, due to the latter's experience in working as an extra early in his career.[7][8] Actress E Jingwen also worked as an extra prior to The New King of Comedy, similar to the character she played in the film.[9]
Chow recruited the Chinese girl group Jí fēng shào nǚ (Chinese: 疾风少女; lit.: 'Storm Girls'), whose members were eliminated in the Chinese version of Produce 101, to sing the film's theme song.[10]
Release
The New King of Comedy was released in China on 5 February 2019.
References
- "The New King of Comedy". Maoyan. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- "星爷的《新喜剧》海外票房一路飘红,是华语片在东南亚的票房冠军". Malaysia. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Su (15 January 2019). "Cecilia Cheung Will Cameo in Stephen Chow's "The New King of Comedy"". jaynestars. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- Addy (2 December 2018). "Stephen Chow to Release "The New King of Comedy" in Time for Hong Kong's LNY Season". jaynestars. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- Heidi Hsia (4 December 2018). "Stephen Chow unveils "The New King of Comedy" poster". yahoo.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- 周星驰《新喜剧之王》正式杀青定档! 主演一看就是王宝强. Sohu (in Chinese). 2018-11-29.
- Rui, Zhang (13 January 2019). "Stephen Chow seeks to inspire losers with new film - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- Fan, Xu (18 January 2019). "New Chow film walks the extra mile - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- Lee, Jan (6 February 2019). "Hong Kong director Stephen Chow picks unknown actress for The New King Of Comedy". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- "Stephen Chow's Chinese New Year movie offers inspiration to those who dare to dream". The Straits Times. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
External links
- The New King of Comedy on IMDb
- The New King of Comedy at Douban (in Chinese)
- The New King of Comedy at the Mtime.com (in Chinese)