“Every film for me is very personal.”
– Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow is one of the most hysterical filmmakers working today. The film that first broke him out, Shaolin Soccer, is a huge cult hit in America and his latest film, Kung Fu Hustle, is getting the right kind of release from Sony Pictures Classics.
Kung Fu Hustle has some brilliant imagination behind it. As the co-writer/director/star Chow has a lot on his plate with this, his most personal film. It’s about a hapless wanna be gangster; Sing [Chow], who must overcome his inability in order to become a member of the notorious Axe Gang. The Axe Gang, meanwhile, want to reign supreme by occupying the most coveted territory, which is a sacred street protected by an unlikely cast of characters, many of whom are highly skilled kung fu masters disguised as ordinary people.
A personal kung fu film may seem like an oxymoron, but Americans have to realize that China’s entire film culture is 95 percent kung fu flicks. They represent the zeitgeist of China’s entire history and are as iconic to them as the Western is to us.
Read our exclusive interview with Stephen Chow on SuicideGirls.com.
