Stephen Chow 周星馳

Stephen Chow Sing-Chi, 周星馳 born 22 June 1962, is a scriptwriter, film director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong.Chow is considered the finest Hong Kong screen comedian since Michael Hui, and a mega-superstar to all concerned in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, epitomized by his nickname 星爺 (Sing Yeh, lit. Grandmaster Sing). However, his brand of mo lei tau comedy, which includes puns, double entendre and poking fun at Chinese culture, meant that few of his earlier films could exercise much impact in the West until his later films, Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004).

Professional career

Chow was a graduate at the Shaw Brothers' TVB acting school. In 1990, his performance in Jeff Lau's smash-hit All For The Winner launched him in a comedy film career, which is now his prime genre. His subsequent films were built on the success of All For The Winner, and he developed his distinct brand of humor known as mo lei tau (nonsense or "no-brainer") which makes frequent use of euphemisms and double entendres in inoffensive Cantonese slang. He regularly demonstrates his talent for improvisation, suggesting gags to directors to enhance the script, allowing him chances to make rewrites of the plot. By 1994, he was writing and directing some of his own films.

Occasionally, Chow would take a break from his comedies. One of his more serious films is the second part to A Chinese Odyssey, Cinderella (1994), loosely based on the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West. Although essentially a comedy at heart, Chow was able to develop his character more seriously than before. It was a box-office smash in Hong Kong and even ignited a cult following in Mainland China.

Recent films by Chow have begun to focus on comic action and special effects sequences rather than verbal humour in order to appeal to a wider international audience. The film which launched him to international fame was Shaolin Soccer (2001), which made heavy use of CGI and was directed by Chow himself. A later film, Kung Fu Hustle (2004), was also directed by Chow and in February 2005 went on to surpass Shaolin Soccer as the highest grossing domestic movie in Hong Kong.

In July 2006, Chow started the filming of his latest feature, CJ7 in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo. It has been rumored to have the biggest budget ever for a Chinese film, costing over 100 million Chinese yuan (US$13 million; €10.2 million). In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7 (Chang Jiang qi hao), a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions - Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6.

Filmography

Finl Justice (1988)
Faithfully Yours (1988)
Dragon Fight (1989)
Tragic Heroes (1989)
Thunder Cops II (1989)
Love Is Love (1990)
My Hero (1990)
Lung Fung Restaurant (1990)
The Unmatchable Match (1990)
Curry and Pepper (1990)
Sleazy Dizzy (1990)
Look Out, Officer! (1990)
All for the Winner (1990)

When Fortune Smiles (1990)
Triad Story (1990)
God of Gamblers II (1990)
Tricky Brains (1990)
Legend of the Dragon (1990)
The Top Bet (1991)
Fist of Fury 1991 (1991)
Fight Back to School (1991)
God of Gamblers Part III Back to Shanghai (1991)
Magnificent Scoundrels (1991)
The Banquet (1991)
The Gods Must Be Crazy III (1991) (Narrator)
Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992)
All's Well, Ends Well (1992)
Fight Back to School II (1992)
Justice, My Foot (1992)
Royal Tramp (1992)
Royal Tramp II (1992)
King of Beggars (1992)


Fight Back to School III (1993)
My Hero 2 (1993) (cameo)
Flirting Scholar (1993)
The Mad Monk (1993)
Love on Delivery (1994)
Hail the Judge (1994)
From Beijing with Love (1994) - also writer and director
A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box (1995)
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1995)
Out of the Dark (1995)
Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995)
Forbidden City Cop (1996) - also writer and director
God of Cookery (1996)
All's Well, Ends Well 1997 (1997)
Lawyer Lawyer (1997)
The Lucky Guy (1998)
King of Comedy (1999) - also writer and director
Gorgeous (1999) (cameo in a deleted scene)
The Tricky Master (1999)
Shaolin Soccer (2001) - also writer and director
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - also writer and director
CJ7 (2008) - also writer and director
Kung Fu Hustle 2 (2008) (In Production)
Dragonball (2008) (In Production)

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