Raymond To
Raymond To Kwok-Wai (Chinese: 杜國威) (born 13 August 1946) is a Hong Kong contemporary dramatist, screenwriter and film director, with ancestry from Panyu, Guangzhou, China. Raymond's broadcast script was once broadcast in New York by Chung Wah Commercial Broadcast. He has created more than 60 stage plays, including "Born in Hong Kong", "Boundless Movement", "Dark Tales", "Fuso passing", "I Have a Date with Spring", "Mad Phoenix", "Walled City", "Love Avalokitesvara "," Miss Du ", " Forever"," Adventure, "," Broadcasting Lovers "and" Sentimental Journey "etc. Among those works, "I am a Hong Konger" was tour performed in Europe. In addition, Raymond has written "Under the Roof", "Below the Lion Rock" and other popular series for RTHK. Raymond is not only a prolific and exhaustive screenwriter. Besides, he is the composer and lyrics writer for the scripts, such as "Sentimental Journey", "In love with Sister Liu", etc.
Raymond To Kwok-Wai | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 13 August 1946 China | ||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Dramatist, screenwriter & film director | ||||||||||
| Awards | Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Screenplay 1994 I Have a Date with Spring 1997 The Mad Phoenix Golden Horse Awards – Best Adapted Screenplay 1997 The Mad Phoenix | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 杜國威 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 杜国威 | ||||||||||
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is To.
Early life
Raymond To has a sister, Mei Zi (formerly Duyan Zhi), who is an announcer. During his childhood, Raymond had the reputation of being a "broadcasting prodigy" after he participated in Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and Rediffusion Television programmes. In his early years, he performed in movies including "The affairs of Miss Ping" and "The Fatherless Son".
In 1971 and 1982, Raymond graduated from the Department of Geography at University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Institute of Education.
Career
After graduation, he became a high school teacher at Ho Lap College and was responsible for the school drama club, one of the four kings - Andy Lau, being one of his students. At this time, he was already an amateur writer. He began his second career as a professional playwright when, in 1979, his short play "Ball" was selected by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre for excellence in script writing. and for which he was invited to participate in the performance of "Rickshaw Boy/Camel Xiangzi".
On 3 June 1995, Raymond To, together with Ko Tin Lung and Clifton Ko founded the "Spring Stage Production Company". In addition to being the theatre company's playwright, he is also an artistic director. Although the majority of his original work is for the stage, some have been adapted for film, with To being responsible for many of these adaptions. Raymond To was elected as the president of the Hong Kong Film Writers' Guild. During 2000, Raymond directed his own work for the first time, "Forever and Ever", to much acclaim.
Filmography (1956–2005)
| Year | Film | Credited as |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | The Fatherless Son (Part 1) | Actor |
| 1960 | The Affairs of Miss Ping (Part 1) | Actor |
| 1961 | The Affairs of Miss Ping (Part 2) | Actor |
| 1984 | Shanghai Blues | Writer |
| 1986 | Goodbye Mammie, Peking Opera Blues | Writer |
| 1988 | Call Girl '88 | Writer |
| 1989 | Mr. Sunshine | Writer |
| 1990 | When Fortune Smiles,To Spy with Love!!,Shanghai Shanghai | Writer |
| 1991 | Zodiac Killers | Writer |
| 1992 | Shogun and Little Kitchen, Taking Manhattan | Writer |
| 1993 | The Bride with White Hair 2 | Writer |
| 1994 | One of the Lucky Ones | Presenter |
| I Have a Date with Spring | Presenter & Producer | |
| The Returning,One of the Lucky Ones, Oh! My Three Guys, It's a Wonderful Life | Writer | |
| 1995 | Sea Root | Director |
| Paradise Hotel | Producer | |
| The Umbrella Story, "Remember M, Remember E" | Writer | |
| 1996 | Stooge, My Love, Hu-Du-Men | Writer |
| 1997 | The Mad Phoenix, Hu-Du-Men, "Ah Fai, the Dumb",My Dad Is a Jerk! | Writer |
| 1998 | Ninth Happiness | Writer |
| 1999 | The Doctor in Spite of Himself | Writer |
| 2000 | What Is a Good Teacher | Writer |
| 2001 | Forever and Ever | Director & Writer |
| Love au Zen, The Dark Tales | Writer | |
| 2002 | May & August | Director & Writer |
| 2003 | Master Q: Incredible Pet Detective, Miss Du Shi Niang | Director & Writer |
| 2004 | Forever Yours | Presenter, Producer & Writer |
| 2005 | Perhaps Love | Writer |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2nd Session of the Hong Kong Drama Awards Presentation Ceremony | Best Adapted Screenplay | "The Dark Tales" (2001) | ||
| The 3nd Session of the Hong Kong Drama Awards Presentation Ceremony | Best Adapted Screenplay | "The Mad Phoenix" (1997) | ||
| Hong Kong Film Awards & Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild | Best Adapted Screenplay & Recommend Screenplay Award | "I Have a Date with Spring" (1994) | ||
| Golden Horse Awards & The 17th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | "The Mad Phoenix"(1994) | ||
| 1989 | Hong Kong Artist Awards | Best Playwright | ||
| 1995 | Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies Awards | People of the Year | ||
| 1997 | Louis Cartier Excellence Award | |||
| 1999 | The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China | Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) | ||
| 2005 | The University of Hong Kong | Honorary University Fellow |
References
- "Raymond To Kwok-Wai", Hong Kong Artists' Filmography, HKMDB, retrieved 31 March 2014
- "To, Raymond Kwok Wai", Honorary University Fellows, HKU, retrieved 1 April 2014
- "To Kwok-Wai(Sir Raymond To)", Raymond To's Bibliography, TokwokWai.com, retrieved 31 March 2014 (Chinese Web.)
- "Raymond To Kwok-Wai", Raymond To's Bibliography (in Chinese), Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild, retrieved 31 March 2014