Putting the Hustle Back in Kung Fu

Q&A with Stephen Chow of "Kung Fu Hustle"

By LYNDA LIN, Assistant Editor, Pacific Citizen

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—This side of the Pacific, there is no shortage of starry-eyed Bruce Lee wannabes. Just look at the number of high-kicking Asian and Asian American stars in Hollywood who inspire kids to look in the mirror, puff up their chests and pantomime intricate marital arts moves in the safety of their own imagination. 

Stephen Chow was one of those kids. Growing up poor in Hong Kong had him dreaming about flexing muscles to open doors. But when his family’s meager existence prevented Chow from taking martial arts lessons past the age of nine, his sharp tongue became the weapon of choice. His rapid fire rambling in comedies like “Justice My Foot” and “All for the Winner” endeared audiences to mo lei tau (literally “nonsense”) comedy and catapulted him to “superstar” status in Asia.

But even with over 50 movies to his credit, Chow still faced the daunting task of proving himself to an American audience that only knows names like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. He made a dent in 2001 when Miramax bought the U.S. release rights to Chow’s hit “Shaolin Soccer,” a comedy about a group of rejects trying to put together a winning team, but the studio only half-heartedly promoted the film after shelving it in its famous library for years. Still, “Shaolin Soccer” managed to become a cult hit on DVD prompting Quentin Tarantino (the au courant mouth piece of Asian cinema these days) to sing Chow’s praises.

All the while, Chow was dreaming up colorful characters for his next project, a “ridiculous” little film he would write, act, produce and direct called “Kung Fu Hustle.”

‘My Dream Has Come True’

“To make a kung fu film is like my dream and now my dream has come true because I am a big fan of kung fu movies,” said Chow at a pre-release press conference in Beverly Hills, California. The film’s positive buzz already has Sony (the studio backing “Kung Fu Hustle”) employees walking around with permanently plastered smiles. 

“Hustle” was named best film at this year’s 24th Hong Kong Film Festival. Chow was nominated in the best director, best actor and best screenplay categories, but lost all three.

“Of course I would like to win every award that I am nominated for … getting six awards in Hong Kong Film Awards is a pretty good response already, so we’re pretty happy about it.” said Chow.

“Kung Fu Hustle” is set in 1930s Shanghai where the notorious Axe Gang — a band of elegantly dressed (dapper top hats included) killers — rules the streets and bullies locals with their impeccable aim. They aren’t the archetypal lowbrow gangsters either. Led by the sinister Brother Sum (Chan Kwok Kwan), the Axe Gang can cut up a rug “Westside Story” style.

Chow plays the clumsy wannabe Sing who along with a sidekick (Lam Tze Chung), tries to con people into thinking that they are a part of the gang. When they inadvertently meet the Axe Gang at Pig Sty Alley (an apartment complex as chic as its name), some martial arts masters come out of disguise to fight.

Like in “Shaolin Soccer,” Chow uses his favorite role as the loveable loser to ramble in his self-deprecating style. But wedged between his usual comedic shtick are some references to all-American films like “The Shining” (“One of my favorite horror movies!” exclaimed Chow), “The Untouchables” and “The Matrix.” Brownie points are given to those who can find them all.

Working with Yuen Wo Ping, the action coordinator in “The Matrix” trilogies, also account for some humanly impossible fast-fisted action and flying high kicks made possible by the power of computer generated images (CGI).

The Accidental Icon

“It’s always been my ambition to go international because that’s the only way to do business,” said Chow cautiously picking over his words. He’s fluent in Cantonese and conversational in both Mandarin and English, but keeps a translator nearby anyway. He wants to be a crossover success and work with Steven Spielberg (“Hopefully!”).

Onscreen, Chow looks a decade younger than 43 years. In “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kung Fu Hustle” key shirtless scenes reveal a Bruce Lee-like physique, but face-to-face his frame is slight and buried under a brown jacket. He insists that some of “Hustle’s” best scenes like the dance sequence and the “Road Runner” chase scene were all “accidental” jewels he inserted while on set. And if a question is too personal, the famously private star shakes a finger in the air and deadpans, “I will investigate that.”

Chow said that he’s fast at work with the sequel to “Kung Fu Hustle.” Even going so far as bringing his writers along with him on the publicity circuit to work on the script.

“That’s the plan … but because of the tight schedule, we may not have a chance [to work] except on the airplane. But in the airplane I always fall asleep!”