Zhang Yimou’s ‘Cliff Walkers 2’ among Emperor Motion Pictures slate

Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) has unveiled a slate of 12 upcoming films, including a sequel to Zhang Yimou’s box office hit Cliff Walkers and new all-star features from Herman Yau and Alan Mak.

It has also released the first images of Felix Chong’s The Goldfinger, which reunites Infernal Affairs stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau for the first time in nearly 20 years (see below).

The 12 titles, along with two projects in development, equate to an investment of $191.7m (HK$1.5b), representing the company’s positive outlook despite the global pandemic.

Cliff Walkers 2 will see award-winning Chinese filmmaker Zhang return as director and is in pre-production. It follows the 2021 historical spy thriller, which took more than $180m at the Chinese box office, making it one of the top 10 highest grossing films of the year. It was also selected as China’s entry for best international feature film at this year’s Oscars, but did not make the final shortlist.

Yau’s War Customised will feature a starry cast that includes Jacky Cheung (Heaven In The Dark), Nicholas Tse (Raging Fire), Karena Lam (American Girl) and Cya Liu (Limbo) as well as Francis Ng (Drifting). The film revolves around Hong Kong’s customs and excise department and is set to begin filming in the coming months.

“It is a key disciplinary force, but rarely seen in Hong Kong films, so we wanted to create a new perspective,” said director Yau, known for the Shock Wave series. He added that audiences should expect thrilling action scenes as it will mark celebrated actor Tse’s first time taking up the additional role as action director.

Crime thriller Insider will see EMP reteam with actor Aaron Kwok, following the success of 2018’s Project Gutenberg. Mak, co-director of Overheard series, has spent three years developing and writing the screenplay of Insider, in which Kwok plays a lawyer.

The cast also includes Simon Yam (Little Q), Raymond Lam (Back To The Past) and Alex Fong (The Attorney), with the shoot expected to start in May after being pushed back from February due to the pandemic.

A string of previously announced titles are in post-production including Felix Chong’s The Goldfinger, Wai Ka Fai’s Detective Vs Sleuths, Benny Lau’s We Are Family, Terry Ng’s Triad 2, Ying Chi Wen’s Life Must Go On and Gu Changwei’s Call Me Crazy. Kearen Pang’s Mama’s Affair, starring Keung To and Jer Lau from popular boy band Mirror, recently received its world premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival.

Along with Cliff Walkers 2, other sequels in pre-production include Ready O/R Knot 2 and Triad 3.

EMP usually announces its annual slate at a high-profile press event during Hong Kong Filmart, complete with a parade of stars and filmmakers. But as Asia’s biggest film and TV content market took place virtually for a third time earlier this month, the Hong Kong-based company revealed its latest slate via a statement.

First look at ‘The Goldfinger’

EMP has also released the first images of The Goldfinger, directed by Chong (Project Gutenberg), which was made on a mega budget of $44.7m (HK$350m).

Previously known as Once Upon A Time In Hong Kong, the 1980s-set crime drama centres on the sudden collapse of a multi-billion dollar company and reunites top Hong Kong actors Tony Leung (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings) and Andy Lau (Shock Wave 2) for the first time since the Infernal Affairs trilogy ended in 2003. Charlene Choi (The Lady Improper) also heads the cast.

Detective Vs Sleuths was previously due to open on April 2 in China but has been rescheduled due to widespread cinema closures as a result of a rapidly growing number of Covid-19 cases. Other titles in post-production are also undated due to the same issue.

According to online ticketing app Maoyan, only 5,563 cinemas or 46% of the country’s total cinemas opened for business yesterday (March 23. The single-day box office dropped to $1.8m (RMB11.4m), the lowest in 2022 to date, and The Batman has taken just $14.3m (RMB91.32m) after seven days – only a fraction of what a Hollywood tentpole would typically gross.

Meanwhile, the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards, originally scheduled for April 17, will now be held on July 17 at the Star Hall, Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre (KITEC). EMP’s Raging Fire has received eight nominations, including best film and best director for the late Benny Chan.

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