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.[1][2] 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 Chinese | 新喜劇之王 |
| Simplified Chinese | 新喜剧之王 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xīn Xǐjù Zhī Wáng |
| Directed by | Stephen Chow |
| Written by | Stephen Chow Ivy Kong Kelvin Lee Zhao Bojun |
| Story by | Stephen Chow |
| Based on | King of Comedy by Stephen Chow and Lee Lik-chi |
| Produced by | Stephen Chow Ivy Kong |
| Starring | E Jingwen Wang Baoqiang |
| Cinematography | Mazloum Saba |
| Edited by | Yeung Kai-wing |
| Music by | Raymond Wong Wendy Zheng |
Production company | |
| 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 | US$106.6 million |
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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5][6] Actress E Jingwen also worked as an extra prior to The New King of Comedy, similar to the character she played in the film.[7]
Chow recruited the Chinese girl group Ji Feng Shao Nu (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.[8]
Release
The New King of Comedy was released in China on 5 February 2019.
References
- Su (January 15, 2019). "Cecilia Cheung Will Cameo in Stephen Chow's "The New King of Comedy"". jaynestars. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- Addy (December 2, 2018). "Stephen Chow to Release "The New King of Comedy" in Time for Hong Kong's LNY Season". jaynestars. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- Heidi Hsia (December 4, 2018). "Stephen Chow unveils "The New King of Comedy" poster". yahoo.com. Retrieved February 9, 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). November 29, 2018.
- Rui, Zhang (January 13, 2019). "Stephen Chow seeks to inspire losers with new film - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- Fan, Xu (January 18, 2019). "New Chow film walks the extra mile - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- Lee, Jan (February 6, 2019). "Hong Kong director Stephen Chow picks unknown actress for The New King Of Comedy". The Straits Times. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- "Stephen Chow's Chinese New Year movie offers inspiration to those who dare to dream". The Straits Times. January 14, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
External links
- The New King of Comedy at IMDb
- The New King of Comedy at Douban (in Chinese)
- The New King of Comedy at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)