Of course, the main attraction was Francis Ng. Fortunately I registered for the event, or else I wouldn't have gotten in!
He talked about how he was the "disobedient" actor who dared to not do what the director said, but followed his instincts as a professional actor, using his skills to display and draw audience into the show. He also mentioned of the seeming redundancy of creating specific "image" (形象设计) using "art directors"...he cracked a joke about how art directors were created to "ark lei ge" director...if you know Cantonese you will get his joke.
He also joked about why he chose the movie line rather than TV. He said that in the past, people always called TV personalities 艺人 (yi ren) but movie stars, 明星 (ming xing). So he wanted to be a star, that's why he made movies. Of course, now they are all also called 演员 (actors) so it's not so bad now.
Sticking to the topic discussed, he mentioned that everybody has a dark side. Only when you have the dark side, then one can see the good side (light). It is a comparative thing (对比).
Also, there was discussion about how crime in HK cinema has evolved through the years. Though the context is still about the same, the characters have become more complex; in the past, the bad & good guys were quite distinct, but now, the characters have dual (or more) personalities.
A comparison between western & Asian cinema were made, the differing style & how Hollywood has now looked to Asia for inspiration for filmmaking. Also talked about 暴力艺术 (artistic violence) in movies.
Someone from the audience asked about why HK films are mainly about gangsters and if there will be any new changes. He responded that why HK produces so many gangster & comedy films is the same reason why Hindi (Bollywood) films always have singing & dancing (which raised a lot of laughter)!...it is their characteristic, or else who will want to watch?!
Someone also asked if he will film a gangster film in Singapore. Well, I think this person didn't read up enough, as One Last Dance was filmed in Singapore! Anyway, Francis Ng answered his question by saying Singapore was a tad too "clean" to film a gangster flick. He gave some examples of the people who came for the audition who didn't really fit.
About his dream role, Francis said he would love to play an orchestra conductor coz he is fascinated with the expression through hands and that he doesn't know music. It is something different. He said his manager gave him a weird look and said something like hah? 亏本生意.
Someone also asked him if he were to direct/produce a gangster flick, how would he do it? He said he would focus on the woman behind the gangster chief. He said that sometimes, when you 得罪a man, it's ok, but when you 得罪a woman, haha...big trouble. I guess hell hath no fury than a woman scorned. He said a woman is quite powerful and a woman can have a few (powerful) men, using her special abilities to make them do things for her.
He ended with the talk of how the dark side doesn't only exist in 黑社会. Sometimes those in seemingly "light" organisations are even darker.
There were so many things covered that I can't recall all at once, but will add on once I remember. Waiting for my friend to send me the photos to post here.
