Why Andrew Lau is nowhere near retirement, even after 100 movies
The Hong Kong film heavyweight says he still finds his work magical, and would like to open a film school
In mid-August, a retrospective exhibition of the work of Hong Kong filmmaker Andrew Lau Wai-keung was held at the Dongguan Culture Centre in Guangdong. “When I look back [at] all the movies I’ve made, I [feel] really lucky,” says Lau, who has filmed, directed or produced over 100 movies.
“In other places, a director might have [got] about four to five movies made in [as] many years; but Hong Kong directors [have been] so lucky; we could make whatever kinds of movies we wanted,” says the 57-year-old. His latest movie, The Founding of an Army , is the third instalment of the Founding of New China trilogy, and was released in the summer.
Lau joined the Hong Kong movie industry in its heyday in the 1980s, starting out as a location assistant with Shaw Brothers Studio. He later worked as a cinematographer on big movies such as Sammo Hung’s Millionaires Express (1986) and Wong Kar-wai’s As Tears Go By (1988).
“It’s been almost 37 years since. Time flies [by] so fast. It’s just unbelievable,” he says. “I always tell people that I haven’t set my retirement age. Many directors are still making movies in their 80s … To turn an idea into a work, I think that’s something magical.”
Watch: Andrew Lau offers advice to young filmmakers